THE DAWN AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE WILLIAM L. NIDA GIFT OF Publisher EDUCATION DEPT* THE DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO DALLAS SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO ., LIMITED LONDON BOMBAY CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. TORONTO THE DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY I N EUROPE BY WILLIAM LEWIS NTDA, Pn.B. SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, RIVER FOREST, ILLINOIS AUTHOR OF "THE STORY OF ILLINOIS AND ITS PEOPLE, AND "AB, THE CAVE MAN" Nefo gorfc THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1924 All rights reserved ( *> COPYRIGHT, 1912, 1919, BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1912. Gift pcMfetav .EDUCATION DEPT. Norinoolr J. 8. Ousting Co. Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. PREFACE EIGHT years ago the author began giving to the pupils under his supervision the benefit of a European histori cal background before introducing them to their texts in American History. That the wider historical horizon greatly strengthened their later grasp of the history of our own country has been both evident and gratifying. The available texts having been found unsatisfactory in many ways, the author resolved to try his hand, and had covered a part of the ground before the Report of the Committee of Eight of the American Historical Associa tion was brought to his attention. Slight alterations in his plans have made them conform in general to the ex cellent recommendations of that Committee. Since no judgment of a text is as searching and final as that formed from actual use in the classroom, neither labor nor expense has been spared in making this test. The pages of the following work were first stenciled on the typewriter, and with much labor more than a hundred copies of each page were run off on the duplicator. These were collected in books with notebook covers and placed in the hands of about a hundred sixth-grade pupils in our own schools and in selected classes of neighboring Chicago suburbs. The author not only taught a class, but closely observed the use of his chapters in the hands of a number of superior history teachers. This experience with the children coupled with the invaluable suggestions of those VI PREFACE teachers, made possible great improvement in the second writing of the manuscript. Only those who have undertaken to squeeze the history of twenty centuries into one short text, can comprehend fully the difficulties encountered. Many interesting sub jects had to be eliminated in order that space might be afforded to make the remaining narrative live and dramatic. The aim has been, above all things, to tell the story in such a way that the pupil may readily see how one event led to another, for even very young children enjoy the tracing of cause and effect when the subject matter is put before them in a proper manner. The problems and difficulties encountered and overcome by mankind in its upward progress have been kept in the foreground, stimulating the mind of the child to thought and judg ment, and forcing into the background the mere memory facts. The author desires to express his deep gratitude to those splendid teachers who have tried out the text in their classes. The questions appended to the chapters are largely those of Miss Alice Louise Davis, an unusual teacher of history, as she used the chapters from day to day with her pupils in the River Forest schools. To the author s wife is due the credit of polishing off many rough edges and of aiding in that irksome task of putting the manuscript in form for publication. Our hearty thanks are tendered the following publishers : Messrs. Scott, Foresman & Co. for permission to use the illustrations from Harding s "Middle Ages" that appear on pages 2, 8, 13, 157, and 273; Messrs. Ginn & Co. for the illustration on page 26, taken from Atkinson s " Euro pean Beginnings of American History"; Messrs. Allyn & PREFACE vii Bacon for the map on page 23, which is taken from West s " Ancient History"; and Messrs. D. C. Heath & Co. for the cuts on pages 29, 225, and 265, which are taken from Bourne & Benton s u Introductory American History." WILLIAM LEWIS NIDA. RIVER FOREST, September, 1912. PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION ON account of the growing intensity of international communication and commerce in recent times, the world has become so small that no nation can presume to live in isolation from the family of nations. The World War has greatly furthered this international brotherhood. Therefore, in order properly to understand our own nation and its problems, the American schools must necessarily give greater attention to the development of modern Euro pean nations. Those nations of Europe that developed prior to the settlement of America are treated in a simple but rather thorough manner in this volume. WILLIAM L. NIDA. January, 1919. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. THE STORY OF THE FIRST MEN i II. THE EARLY MEN OF EGYPT AND BABYLON . . 7 III. THE WONDERFUL PROGRESS OF THE GREEKS . 13 IV. ROME CONQUERING THE WORLD . . . .21 V. How THE ROMANS LIVED 39 VI. BARBARIANS DESTROYING THE EMPIRE . -57 VII. THE TEUTONS AT SCHOOL IN THE EMPIRE . . 76 VIII. THE MONASTERIES 87 IX. ENGLAND AND THE SAXONS ... .98 X. ALFRED THE GREAT AND THE DANES . . .116 XI. THE BEGINNING OF FRANCE 134 XII. FEUDALISM 139 XIII. CASTLE LIFE ... . 14? XIV. How THE PEOPLE LIVED 163 XV. COMMERCE IN THE DARK AGES . . . .174 XVI. MOHAMMED AND THE MOORS . . . . 188 XVII. THE CRUSADES . ... 201 XVIII. RESULTS OF THE CRUSADES . .223 XIX. THE GROWTH OF FRANCE 232 XX. THE COMING OF THE NORTHMEN . . .239 XXI. WINNING ENGLISH LIBERTY 246 XXII. THE RISE OF SPAIN . .... 253 XXIII. MARCO POLO AND THE EAST . .264 XXIV. PRINCE HENRY AND THE PORTUGUESE . . .271 XXV. COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD . . . .279 XXVI. RACE TO THE INDIES ... .297 XXVII. THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA 306 iz CONTENTS CHAPTER XXVIII. RISE OF THE PROTESTANTS . XXIX. THE REVOLT OF THE NETHERLANDS XXX. THE FALL OF SPAIN XXXI. THE FRENCH IN AMERICA XXXII. THE DUTCH AT NEW AMSTERDAM. XXXIII. ENGLISH SETTLEMENT OF AMERICA XXXIV. CONCLUSION . PAGE 318 329 340 348 356 360 365 MAPS FULL-PAGE MAPS PAGE Roman Empire (Colored) .... between 28 and 29 Alfred s England (Colored) .... facing 129 Palestine, Showing the Routes of the Crusaders . .215 Spain in the Days of Isabella (Colored) . . . facing 260 The First Voyage Around the World .... 304 French Explorations -354 European Claims in North America at the Time of the Found ing of the Last English Colony (Colored) . . facing 365 MAPS IN TEXT Roman Dominion and Dependencies . -23 Map of Africa 277 ILLUSTRATIONS Departure of Columbus on His Western Voyage . Frontispiece PAGE The Fish-hatchet Made of Rudely Chipped Flint . . . i Kindling Fire by Friction 3 The Great Pyramids Q Egyptian Hieroglyphics .... 9 A Phoenician Ship of War and Trade . .11 The Acropolis, as It Appears at Present . -14 Hannibal Crossing the Rhone ... .22 Temples of the Gods at Athens (Restored) . -25 Caesar, the Greatest of the Romans . ,26 A Portion of the Roman Wall .... .27 Cross-section of a Roman Road ... . 2Q A Roman Bridge .30 Triumphal Procession in the Sacred Way, Rome . . 33 Roman Fleet in the Harbor .... -35 Arch of Constantine . . . . 36 The Fates .... -39 Victory .... .... 40 A Roman Mosaic Pavement 40 A Roman Wall Painting . 4! Reading a Roman Book 42 An Old Roman School . . -43 Ruins of the Aqueducts, Rome . . .... 45 Interior of the Coliseum 47 In the Arena ... 49 A Roman Dining Room 52 The Chariot Race . . . - 55 Irene and Plutus 58 Constantinople and the Bosporus 5g xiv ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE A Roman Goddess . 61 Alaric in Athens . , ... 62 Victory of Samothrace ... .... 63 The Tomb of Emperor Hadrian at Rome .... 67 Temple of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, Rome (Restored) . 69 Ruins of the Roman Forum 71 The New Appian Way 73 St. Peter s, Rome 80 St. Benedict 88 Cloister of the Monastery 89 Plan of an Abbey 90 A Monk at Work 92 Melrose Abbey 95 Saxon Ships . 100 The Saxon Tool and Weapon 103 The Residence of a Saxon Nobleman 1 1 1 The Viking Ships . . ... . 117 The Fiord in Norway 119 Ancient Boat found in Denmark 121 The Wise Men of Alfred s Time King Alfred ... Weapons of the Danes . A Viking Ship and an Ocean Liner . .... Charlemagne An Old Castle TickeU Castle .... . . The Oath of Fealty to the Young Lord Plan of a Castle ... The Drawbridge The Vigil . . ... A Knight in Armor Castle of Falaise A Sport of the Day A Tournament Conferring Knighthood on the Field of Battle . Manor House and Village Manor House .... Costumes of That Day . . . , ILLUSTRATIONS XV PAGE Conway Castle 170 A Ship of the Middle Ages . . . . 175 An Old Street in Worcester . . . .178 The Merchants Hall at Bruges . 182 Old English Town Hall . . .184 Camels of the Desert . 189 A Barren Desert . ....... 190 Jerusalem as it Appears To-day . . . . . .192 The Court of Lions, Alhambra ...... 194 Arabian Horses .... ... 197 Minaret of Mosque of the Sultan Kalaun, Cairo . . . 198 Pilgrims Entering Bethlehem on Christmas Day . . . 202 Peter the Hermit Preaching to the Crusaders .... 204 A Knight of the Cross 206 Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives . ... 219 Richard I in Palestine . .220 The Sacking of Jerusalem. . . ... 221 Ancient Ships 224 Mariner s Compass . . . . 225 A Dutch Windmill ... . .228 Norman Soldiers . , . 240 Westminster Abbey .... . 249 A Farmhouse formerly a Monastery . -255 Early Cannon .... ... 261 Venetian Ships .265 Marco Polo . 266 Finding the Latitude 273 Henry the Navigator ...... -275 Christopher Columbus -279 Toscanelli . . . . . . 281 Columbus at the Court of Spain . ... 285 Columbus Fleet .... .... 288 The Landing of Columbus . . . . .292 Vasco da Gama and the Zamorin . . . . . .299 Magellan . .... ... 300 Cortez . . 307 Balboa Sighting the Pacific 311 De Soto s Discovery of the Mississippi 315 xvi ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE St. Augustine, Florida . 317 The Vatican 3*9 Petrarch .321 Gutenberg s Press 3 2 4 Martin Luther 3 2 5 Philip II of Spain ... . . - 329 DukeofAlva ... .... 331 William the Silent -333 Dikes of Holland . . . . . 336 Queen Elizabeth . . 34i The Meeting of the English Ships with the Spanish Armada . 343 The Sovereign of the Seas . . 344 Cartier ... . -349 Champlain . 35 1 Quebec in the Early Days . 35 1 Champlain Defeating the Iroquois . -353 Half M oon on the Hudson . -357 The Dutch in New Amsterdam . . 358 Sir Walter Raleigh ... . ... 361 The Lost Colony .... ... 362 John Smith 3 6 3 The Ruins of Jamestown 3^4 THE DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE THE DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE CHAPTER I THE STORY OF THE FIRST MEN Early Cave Men. We read history to know what men have done in the past. It is certain that men lived upon the earth thousands of years be fore they learned to write down their doings. They lived first in trees, later in caves, having a hard struggle to get food and to keep from being devoured by the huge cave bears and tigers of those days. We can read their story in the rude tools they left behind and in the rough drawings they made on stones and on the walls of their rocky caves. Most of their time was spent merely in getting food and in fighting the wild animals that and side views > swarmed the woods. They had little time for learning or inventing new tools. At first they had no clothing and only such food as they could find from day to day. Their THE FISH-HATCHET MADE OF RUDELY CHIPPED FLINT. (Front 2 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE food consisted of roots, herbs, wild berries, nuts, and birds eggs, and the raw meat of young animals which they cap tured in the trees. They lived much as did the animals in the woods about them. But early man had some great advantages over the ani mals about him because he possessed a wonderful pair of hands with a thumb to help grasp objects, and a brain that could think and reason. He could correct his own mistakes, and invent weapons and tools. His spare moments could be spent in thinking out better ways of getting food and shelter ; and better schemes for defeating and capturing animals. Tools and Weapons. Man s first weapon was the stone that he hurled or the club that he wielded. After a time he combined the stone and the club, making a far more powerful weapon the stone ax or hatchet. Mighty strokes from these delivered from the limb of a tree brought down large animals caught napping. But with these weapons the hunter could not reach very far and as he preferred to fight at a longer range he invented the pike or javelin. This was simply a long stick with a bone or a stone tip, but it was a big step forward. Men, women, and boys searched for sharper stones or bones till they learned to chip flint into a sharp point. Daggers and knives of flint were a tremendous help to these early people. Then some clever man invented the bow and arrow, which enabled him to keep a still safer distance in a fight or to bring down game, for raw meat had now become one of the chief foods. Somewhere in these far distant days some one discovered how to make fire, a truly wonderful discovery, for it has been one of man s greatest friends. Try to imagine how we would live to-day without the aid of fire. With fire early THE STORY OF THE FIRST MEN man could warm his cave, drive away the animals, and cook his food. With the stone ax, the flint knife, the bow and arrow, and the aid of fire the people had made much progress. For ages man procured food by hunting, trapping, and fishing. Many ani mals fell before his weap ons, so skins came to be , . A 1,1- i A i KINDLING FIRE BY FRICTION made into clothing by the women. Fur clothing not only is warm but it lasts a long time. Taming Wild Animals. During these times the boldest men learned to capture some of the animals in traps and to tame them. The wolf-cub was probably the first ani mal tamed. We call him the dog. Later he became a helper in the hunt. The goat and the sheep were tamed, too ; and the goat furnished not only meat but milk, which was a fine addition to the diet. The cow was also tamed at an early period, and what a blessing she was with her milk and butter ! Oxen were yoked and made to do man s work. An ox-team could do as much work as half a dozen men. Next came the donkey, and at last the horse was brought under man s control. For ages he was used only to ride and fight, for men fought not only with animals but with other tribes or clans. Who first tamed these animals, so precious to man, we shall never know, for it took place long before men learned to write. Shepherds. Life had now become quite different from that in the days of the cave man ; for with the dog, goat, sheep, cow, donkey, and horse, mankind had traveled far on the road to better ways of living. More time was left 4 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE for thinking and for improving weapons and tools. Some tribes, ceasing to be mere hunters and trappers, became shepherds wandering about in search of better pastures for their flocks and herds, which now afforded most of their food and clothing. As they moved frequently their houses were only tents made of hides stretched over poles. Cultivating Wild Grasses. The people of these early days did not like a pure meat and milk diet. They rel ished nuts and berries and seeds of some wild grasses. As they moved about they found spots where these wild grasses grew more abundantly. They gathered and stored up the seeds for winter use along with nuts from the forest. Some noted that these seeds could be planted or sown the next year, and the soil would bring forth many more, espe cially if the ground was worked fine and mellow before sowing. Thus our early forefathers, or rather foremothers, for the women did the cultivating, began to till the soil and raise small crops of wheat, barley, and rye. These were stored away for use in winter when food was scarce, thus making the daily food hunt easier. Early Farmers. Some families in fertile valleys came more and more to rely on the crops. These were the first farmers. They ceased to roam, as their crops and domestic animals kept them in food and clothing. They soon learned to build their houses of stone plastered with mud, and later with bricks made of clay dried in the hot sun. The women, when unable to obtain skins for clothing, learned to weave grass, to spin or twist thread from the flax plant, and yarn from the wool which was sheared from the sheep. This linen thread or woolen yarn was then woven into cloth after the manner of weaving grasses. THE STORY OF THE FIRST MEN 5 During the hunting age the women followed the hunters to carry home the meats and hides. After the taming of the cow, the donkey, and the horse, loads were carried on the backs of these animals. Then sleds were made which the animals dragged from place to place. Those who Jwelt along rivers made boats and canoes for traveling. The wagon was a later invention. All these were steps toward easier living. First Use of Metals. Though fairly good tools were made from flint, some one at length discovered that copper could be melted and easily shaped into tools with sharp edges. Copper tools do not hold a sharp edge very long as the metal is too soft. However, tin was found to melt easily, and some clever man hit upon the idea of mixing molten copper and tin. This mixture made a harder metal called bronze. Iron is much harder than bronze. It took man a long time to master iron, for this metal requires a much higher temperature to melt than does tin or copper, and it was a big task to get the required heat. Finally this problem was solved, and better tools and weapons were then made of iron. Great indeed were the men who helped in these won derful steps forward, but who they were we shall never know, for these great advances were all made before man learned to write. At length certain tribes migrated into some very fertile valleys where it was so easy to get food and clothing that they had much time left to improve themselves. Here they worked out systems of writing, and so recorded history begins with the people of these valleys. We shall read about them in the next chapter. 6 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE QUESTIONS i. How do we know the story of tree-dwellers and cave men? 2. What advantages had they over the animals? 3. What advan tages had the large animals over the people ? 4. Tell how inventions helped early man. 5. Which do you think a greater help, the bow and arrow or the use of fire? Why? 6. Tell how you think each animal was tamed. 7. Which do you think a greater aid to man, the horse or cow? 8. Which has done more for man, wheat or iron? CHAPTER II THE EARLY MEN OF EGYPT AND BABYLON The Nile Valley. There are many good reasons why the people who came to live in the Nile Valley of Egypt made such rapid progress. It is a mild country where people do not suffer from cold. The land is fertile but there is no rain. If it were not for the kindness of the Nile River, the whole country would be a desert without in habitants. Every summer when the heavy rain falls in the source regions of the river, the Nile rises so high that it overflows the entire valley through Egypt. When the river returns to its channel, it leaves the valley covered with a coat of moist, rich soil which it has carried from the regions of its source. Thus without any labor on the part of the people their land each year is freshly fertilized, watered, and in a way prepared for planting and sowing. Grain was scattered by hand in this rich soil and in early times it was tramped in by driving over it herds of cattle, sheep, and goats. The harvest was bountiful, furnishing food for man and animals. Thus, you see, one could get a living here without working all the time. Egypt furnished food to other peoples beside her own. You may remember the story of Joseph, whose brothers went into Egypt to purchase grain when their home land was suffering from famine. Storing Water. As the water for the farmer s fields came all at one time, he learned how to store up part of it 7 8 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE for the dry season. So the Egyptian farmer built reser voirs and canals and irrigated his lands in much the same way as many of our western farmers are doing to-day. One of these huge reservoirs was many miles in diameter and was so well built that it was in good condition two thousand years after it was built. By storing the water more than one crop could be raised each year. Wheat and barley were the chief crops but in the garden you could find peas, beans, radishes, lettuce, onions, and cu cumbers. Grapes were grown, and wine was made for family use. The date palm was the most useful tree, furnishing excellent fruit as well as fiber for rope and twine, and wood for fences and houses. Who had first brought into use all these vegetables and fruits we do not know, but they all helped to make life easier and to give time for other things. The Egyptian farmer learned to use oxen to draw his plows and donkeys to carry his burdens. His plow was of wood and he had rude hoes. In pictures we see him cutting grain with a sickle and pounding it out with a flail. In his barnyard you might see goats, sheep, cows, and hogs, and he often had great flocks of geese and ducks. The First Trades. Workmen in the towns began to live by making useful articles and exchanging them for the food and clothing they needed. The potter learned to use a wheel in shaping his jars, bowls, and other pottery, and to harden the soft clay by burning it in closed furnaces. There were workers in copper, bronze, and gold, and later in iron. Egyptian glass was widely known for its beautiful form and color. There were workers in wood and leather. There were splendid weavers, too, of fine silk and rugs of splendid design. Ships were built on the Nile to carry trade up and down the river. THE EARLY MEN OF EGYPT AND BABYLON As it was easy to make a living, attention was given to the artistic side of life. Men built wonderful temples and pyramids. The Great Pyramid of Gizeh would cover several city blocks and is about as high as Washington s V :, * K itHtMiiur n THE GREAT PYRAMIDS monument. It is still standing, though built five thousand years ago. The pyramids were the tombs of the kings and were built with remarkable skill. Writing and Learning. -- The Egyptian had learned the art of writing by making pictures to represent words. This is one of his greatest achievements, but some men were afraid it would do more harm than good. The king feared that be cause men could write things down they would quit trying to remem ber. Later the people began to make letters of the alphabet, still using some pictures. In science, too, the Egyptians made wonderful progress. As the floods washed away the boundary lines of their farms each year, they learned geometry and surveying so as to put them back correctly. The sky was always clear, and men studied the EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS 10 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE stars, learning astronomy so well that they worked out the correct length of the year. They divided the year into months, making a calendar about as we use it to-day. They knew the exact directions, foretold eclipses, used decimals in arithmetic, and wrote figures as high as millions. They had a good system of weights and measures and reck oned time by means of the sundial and the water clock. Surely the Egyptians solved many difficult problems, the benefits of which we enjoy to-day, and the Nile was the foundation of it all, for it made life easy. Babylon. Another favorable home for early man was the narrow tongue of land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (see map, p. xviii). These rivers rise in the snow capped mountains of Armenia and flow toward the south east till they pour their water into the Persian Gulf. Here to-day is the city of Bagdad. In very ancient times the people who dwelt here were called the Chaldeans or Baby lonians. Many different nations have lived in this fa vored spot. The two rivers did for the people here what the Nile did for the Egyptians. There was the same overflow with the fertile soil. The crops were marvelously large. Splendid irrigation works were built. In many ways the Chaldeans were as far advanced as the Egyptians. It was from Egypt and Chaldea that man got much knowledge and many lessons in better living. These countries are called the " twin sources of the world s culture." Even in those early times there was considerable trade and commerce. The Nile was alive with boats bearing the wares of the people for exchange in other markets. The merchants of Babylon sent caravans into distant countries to exchange their grain and wool for timber and metals which were not produced at home. THE EARLY MEN OF EGYPT AND BABYLON II Phoenician Merchants. But the greatest merchants and traders of ancient times were the Phoenicians, whose home was a narrow strip of land bordering the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea (see map, p. xviii). As there was a desert between Egypt and Chaldea the best road connecting these two great countries was by way of Phoe nicia. Here, then, came the caravans of camels and donkeys bearing goods from both these countries to be exchanged, and to buy other products gathered by the Phoenician traders along the Mediterranean shores, for they were famous as the first seamen in the world. The Phoenician country was a narrow coast land ten to fifteen miles wide and one hundred fifty miles long, facing the sea with the Lebanon mountains behind it. Forced by their shut-in location to take to the sea, the people became the traders and colonizers of the ancient world. Phoenician ships were built of fine cedar wood from the mountains near by. They were small open boats, propelled by oars and sails. These seafaring people, setting out from the home ports of Tyre and Sidon, ex plored every shore bor dering the Mediterranean and built trading stations on far-away coasts. The ships brought back copper from Cyprus, lead and silver from Spain, ivory and slaves from the west coast of Africa, and tin from Britain. Thus you see their ships not only plowed the Mediterranean, but boldly steered into the open Atlantic. They were guided at night by the north star, for the compass was unknown. A PHCEMCMN SHIP OF WAR AND TRACE 12 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Spreading Civilization. -- The Phoenicians were not only great shipbuilders and sailors but they made important articles for trade. Their best service to the world was, however, not that they made or found out things for them selves, but that they carried the ideas and inventions of other peoples far and wide. They took the alphabet of the Egyptians, for example, and having made some im provements upon it, gave it to the Greeks, who passed it on to the later nations of western Europe. This alphabet with some changes we are using to-day. QUESTIONS i. Why was it easy to get a living in Egypt? 2. How did the farmers manage to raise more than one crop in a season ? 3. What are some of the vegetables we learn about from Egypt ? 4. How do you think these vegetables were first discovered? 5. How did the trades get a start here? 6. Why was writing a great invention? 7. Tell about the knowledge of Egypt and Babylon. 8. What do we owe to the Phoenicians? CHAPTER III THE WONDERFUL PROGRESS OF THE GREEKS As the Phoenician sailors pushed northwestward into the Mediterranean they came upon many islands. In short sails from one island to another, they came at length to Greece, bringing with them their alphabet, and all the knowledge and inventions of Egypt and Babylon. With domestic animals, tools, cereals, and improved ways of getting a living the Greeks had a splendid foundation upon which to build. We shall see that they made great progress. The Country of Greece. Greece is a small country not nearly as large as Ohio or Indiana. It is almost sur rounded by water (see map, p. xviii). There are many gulfs and bays reaching so far inland that no place in the country is said to be more than forty miles from the sea. The country is divided by mountains into many little val leys shut off from one another. The people in each of these little valleys lived in different manners, and had their own laws and governments. Thus instead of one united country like the great nations of to-day there were perhaps a hundred small nations with a great variety of customs and laws. This variety was a good thing, for it set them thinking when they compared different ways of doing things, and thus they taught one another. These little states were jealous of one another, and many wars were waged among them. Their entire population 13 14 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE being small, each state built a strong high wall of stone about its chief city, and when war came the people gathered there for safety. The city was often built about a lofty hill which they called the Acropolis. This hilltop they used THE ACROPOLIS, AS IT APPEARS AT PRESENT as a fort, and to it their warriors retreated if an enemy broke through the city walls. A Seafaring People. Greece is not a fertile country like Egypt. Much of it is barren rock and mountainous, yet the early Greeks raised small crops of wheat and barley and enjoyed the fruits of the grapevine and the pear, apple, fig, and olive trees. The climate is so mild that people can live out of doors most of the time. With little fertile soil for raising food, it was natural for the Greeks to become sailors and traders like the Phoenicians and to get their food from abroad. In the seas about Greece are hundreds of islands which became stepping stones for Greek sailors, and here they built trading stations and established colonies of Greek people. Their ships scoured the seas in search of articles THE WONDERFUL PROGRESS OF THE GREEKS 15 for trade and for food supplies at home. They sailed through the Dardanelles into the Black Sea for fish and timber, and dotted its shores with Greek colonies and trad ing posts. They visited Egypt and the shores of Africa for grain, wines, and oils and pushed into the western Mediterranean for metals. Greek colonies appeared in far-off Sicily and France and on the north coast of Africa. The Mediterranean became a Greek lake. This extensive commerce brought to them not only riches but knowledge. Riches brought leisure with time to think, and there is nothing like travel to bring new ideas and to spur people to improvement. Wars with Persia. You must not think that all this spreading of Greek life took place without war. The Greeks had first to prove themselves valiant fighters. The most dangerous enemy the early Greeks had was Persia, a great kingdom stretching from the ^Egean Sea far into Asia. After the Persians had conquered every nation in the East, they turned westward to bring the Greeks to their knees. King Darius of Persia was very bitter toward some of the Greeks of Athens for giving aid to certain of his enemies. It is said that he appointed a herald to cry out to him three times each day, " Sire, remember the Athenians! " Darius gathered a great army and a fleet and sent them against the Greeks, but the ships were dashed to pieces in a storm and the expedition failed. Nothing daunted, the king prepared for a second attack. Before setting out a second time, however, he sent messengers to the Greek cities demanding " earth and water " in token of their yielding to Persia. The messengers were thrown into pits and wells by the Greeks and told to help themselves to all the earth and water they wished. The Persian king was more enraged than ever and the war began. 1 6 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE The Battle of Marathon. This time the Persian fleet and army sailed straight to Greece and landed on the plain of Marathon some twenty-five miles from Athens. When the Persian host was first sighted, a swift Athenian runner named Phidippides was sent to Sparta, over one hundred fifty miles away, to ask the Spartans to come quickly and help the Athenians. But the Spartans said it was against their law to go into battle before the full of the moon. Perhaps they were jealous of their old rivals, the Athenians, and were eager to see them brought low. The Athenians, with about ten thousand warriors, were compelled to face ten times their number. The Greek soldier was protected by his bronze helmet, which covered his forehead and nose, by his breastplate, made of leather covered with small metal scales, and by greaves or pieces of metal in front of his knees and shins. He also carried a shield long enough to reach from his face to his knees. He fought with a long spear and a short sword. The Per sians were used to fighting chiefly with bows and arrows and were not so well armed for hand-to-hand combat. It seemed almost foolhardy for the small Greek army to offer battle to the Persian host, but with strong hearts they boldly went forward. In order to defeat the use of bows and arrows, the Greeks rushed upon the enemy to fight at close quarters. The Persians were surprised and confused and their arrows had little effect on the heavy armor of the Greeks, while the long spears of the Greeks played havoc with their enemies. The battle was soon over, and more than six thousand Persians lay dead upon the field, while only a hundred and ninety- two Greeks fell. Phidippides was sent with all haste to announce the vic tory at Athens twenty-two miles away. Over the hills he ran until he reached the market place, and there, after shout- THE WONDERFUL PROGRESS OF THE GREEKS 17 ing, " Victory is ours," he fell dead in his tracks. The Per sians hastily took to their ships and sailed away, and the little city-state of Athens had saved all Greece. The Battle of Salamis. Ten years later the Persian hordes gathered from forty-six different tribes and nations and came again. Xerxes, the new Persian king, built a bridge across the Dardanelles Straits which separate Europe from Asia. The bridge was made of boats lashed together by Phoenician carpenters. Over this marched the Persians in great numbers. A great fleet of ships also sailed against Greece. The Athenians sent their families away and took to their ships, leaving their city to be burned. Xerxes had an immense fleet, manned by famous sailors from Phoenicia and Egypt, and he felt certain that victory would be his. In order that he might witness the battle he caused a golden throne to be built upon the hillside overlooking the bay of Salamis, where he knew the naval battle would be fought. The crafty Greeks had forced the battle into a narrow place so the enemy could not use all of his ships at one time. The battle lasted from morning until night, and the Persian fleet, with twice as many ships as the Greeks, was utterly routed and one half of it was destroyed. The great king, having had all the entertainment he desired, withdrew his army; and the Athenians returned to their plundered city and began rebuilding it. The Persian army was also beaten by the brave Greeks the next year. It is said that two hundred sixty thousand Persians went into battle at Plataea and only three thou sand ever got back to their homes in Asia. Freedom and Growth. These victories are important to us because they saved Greece with its love of freedom, its noble ideals, and its art and learning. From the earliest 1 8 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE times the Greeks had loved freedom above all things. They never allowed a king to make slaves of them as was done in Egypt, Babylon, and Persia. Instead the citizens kept their independence and ruled themselves much as we do. They showed the people of all later ages how to live in a democracy. Because Athens made the best use of her freedom we are more interested in her than any of the other free states of Greece. Sparta is another state worth studying. The boys of Greece were well educated, but almost no attention was given to the girls. The boys of Sparta were all trained for the army ; and the Spartans were famous for brave deeds, but they never became anything but fighters. The Athenians had a better idea of education. They gave their boys a good athletic training, but they trained their minds also. They studied reading, writing, arithmetic, geometry, drawing, and music. They played upon the harp and flute and sang and recited poems. The Greek boy went to school at sunrise and came home at sunset. When he became eighteen years old he was given arms which he was to bear in war, and he took a sacred oath to be faithful to his city in peace as well as in war, and to help make and keep his city safe, clean, and beautiful. The Greeks were very religious, believing in many gods. They believed some of their gods to be good and others bad, and that they were much like people only stronger. They thought the gods spoke to them in signs and dreams. You have no doubt read many stories of the Greek gods, who dwelt on Mount Olympus. Matchless Greek Art. The victory over the Persians gave the men of Athens great faith in themselves and led them on to do other wonderful things. Pericles was for a time a leader in Athens because he was a great orator. THE WONDERFUL PROGRESS OF THE GREEKS 19 He ruled the people by persuading them to do the wisest thing. Under his fine leadership Athens became the most beautiful city the world had ever known. In the midst of the city stood the high rocky hill, the Acropolis, and here Pericles built the Parthenon of white marble, the most beautiful building in ancient times. Per icles called upon Phidias, the greatest sculptor who ever lived, to help in this splendid work. On the walls of the Parthenon Phidias carved in marble wonderful pictures. Within he carved the statue of Athena, the goddess best loved by the people. It was thirty-eight feet high and made of gold and ivory. The world will always re member Pericles and Phidias because of the glories of the Parthenon. Every artist and architect to-day makes a care ful study of the matchless buildings and works of art of the Greeks. Greek Learning. The Greeks also produced great literature. They loved to tell stories about their gods and write poems and plays. Poems written several thousand years ago are read and enjoyed to-day. You have surely read stories from Homer about Ulysses and the one-eyed giant Polyphemus, and Helen of Troy. Large outdoor theaters open to the sky were built on the side of a hill with seats cut into the rock. It is said thirty thousand people sometimes sat from morning till night listening to the excellent plays which the Greeks used as a means of educating the people. Some Greeks wrote history that is a model for us to day; others became noted as speakers. Athens was ruled by an assembly or a meeting of all the men over eighteen years of age. Here the men all learned to talk well, for the speakers who could move their hearers had their ideas and plans followed. Then, too, each man who had a lawsuit 20 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE could not have a lawyer but was compelled to plead his own cause. Thus to speak well was very important, and Greece had many famous orators. The greatest of all was Demosthenes. How hard he worked to become a speaker is an interesting story, but you must read it elsewhere. There were other great writers in Greece called philos ophers, who were noted for their deep learning and thinking. Among them were Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato. They gathered together all the knowledge of the ancient world and handed it down to later nations. Their books are read even to-day by our profound scholars, and the world has been greatly influenced by them. Greek Culture Spreads. -- The small states of Greece never united to form one nation. They continued to be jealous of one another, wasting their strength in fighting their brother Greeks. At length they were all conquered by Philip of Macedonia, whose son, Alexander the Great, built up a great empire, including not only Greece and Macedonia, but Persia and Egypt. Alexander made his capital at Babylon. The great achievement of Alexander was not that he conquered many nations but that in doing so he scattered Greek culture everywhere his armies went. Greek cities appeared throughout his empire, one of which was Alexandria in Egypt, which became the center of Greek learning for many years. QUESTIONS i. What gifts did the Greeks owe to the Phoenicians? 2. Why were there so many different states in Greece? 3. What was the Acropolis? 4. What led the Greeks to be sailors? 5. Tell about the battles of Marathon and Salamis. 6. Why do we study Athens more than other Greek states? 7. Tell something about Greek art, literature, oratory, and philosophy. 8. Make a list of ten good questions of your own on this chapter. CHAPTER IV ROME CONQUERING THE WORLD The City of Seven Hills. Rome, the City of Seven Hills, was once mistress of the world. The city was built upon low hills along the Tiber River, fifteen miles from the sea. In the early days the Romans ruled over only a small dis trict along the Tiber, but they were great warriors. Not only was each soldier very brave, but the regiments, which they called legions, were well trained and armed with good weapons. They obeyed all commands instantly, and as in a trained football team, each man played his own separate part. First, they made their home city safe by building huge walls around it. Then they set about to subdue all the surrounding tribes. It was not long before Rome was ruler of the entire peninsula of Italy. Rome Matches Swords with Carthage. So proud were the Romans of their valor that they were easily provoked to battle. Thus they were soon in the midst of long wars with the ancient city of Carthage, a very powerful city on the northern coast of Africa. Carthage was a rich and prosperous state whose trading ships carried on an extensive commerce upon the Mediterranean in those days. The city had many great ships of war, and her sailors were at home upon the sea. The Romans had no ships whatever, and they did not even know how to build a vessel of any kind. How, then, could the Romans hope to fight the men of Car thage? A fortunate thing happened to the Romans about this time, for a great storm wrecked a Carthaginian warship, 21 22 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE and the waves cast it upon the shore of Italy. The Romans looked it over carefully, and made some ships like it. They put their soldiers into them and pushed out to sea. Ap proaching the enemy, the Romans let heavy iron hooks, fixed upon the ends of poles, fall upon the enemy s ships, and this fastened the vessels together two by two. The Roman warriors leaped upon the Carthaginian ships and fought as if on land, and conquered. From this time on, the Ro- HANNIBAL CROSSING THE RHONE. mans became more and more powerful and victorious upon the sea. The Great Hannibal. Rome won in the first war with Carthage, and gained the island of Sicily. But some years later Carthage was again ready to fight. Her great gen eral, Hannibal, had sworn everlasting hatred for the Ro mans. Hannibal resolved to lead his splendid army and his huge war elephants into Italy. So he crossed the Strait of Gibraltar into Spain, where he won some victories over ROME CONQUERING THE WORLD 23 the Romans. Then he marched with great difficulty through the steep mountain passes into Gaul, or France. The mighty Alps lay across his path, but Hannibal did not fal ter. Rafts were built to ferry his elephants across the rivers, and before long his army was toiling through the foothills of the Alps. The snow was deep in the mountain passes, the trails were narrow and slippery, and men and beasts fell over steep cliffs and were crushed to death upon the rocks below. The hostile mountain tribes rolled stones down the steep slopes upon the struggling men. Carthage Taken. At last Hannibal descended into Italy with his army and war elephants and won many battles over the Romans ; but he feared to attack Rome. After a time Hannibal was called back to Carthage, and the Romans followed and defeated him in Africa. Hannibal took his own life rather than fall into the hands of the Romans. After a hundred years of fighting, Carthage was taken by the plucky Romans, who promptly burned it to the ground. They ran a plow over its site and forbade its ever being rebuilt. The Mediterranean a Roman Lake. The Romans now ruled over nearly all the countries touching the western end 24 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE of the Mediterranean, but they were still dissatisfied. They kept pushing their boundaries farther and farther, until the entire Mediterranean Sea, from east to west, became a Roman lake, in which no other nation dared so much as wash its hands. Greece Set Free. Rome had become a friend of Egypt and was getting great food supplies from the Nile Valley. When the kings of Macedonia and Syria joined hands to capture Egypt and shut the Romans out, Rome went to war. The Roman soldiers easily defeated the army of Philip V. of Macedonia and set the Greeks free from Macedonia. Syria Conquered. Meanwhile the king of Syria, who had sheltered Hannibal, had been plundering Egypt s pos sessions in Asia and now he turned toward Greece. Rome had either to desert her allies in Greece or fight the Great King, the Lord of Asia. The war was a short and easy one for Rome, whose soldiers for the first time invaded Asia and shattered the Syrian kingdom. Rome s allies were rewarded with gifts of territory and most of the Greek cities and small states of Asia were declared free. They really came under Rome s protection. Bearing the Riches to Italy. When the Romans con quered the East, they plundered the cities, and carried to Italy shiploads of beautiful things, priceless statues and busts of marble and bronze, adorned with gold, silver, and jewels ; vases and urns beautifully carved, and all the rich furniture of homes and temples. The Romans brought along many books written in the Greek language, and thou sands of educated Greeks, whom they made their slaves. Pushing the Boundary Eastward. Pompey, a great Roman general, conquered the East, and made the far-off Euphrates River the eastern boundary of the Roman power. ROME CONQUERING THE WORLD 26 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Upon his return to Rome he was given a grand triumph through the streets of the capital. In the procession were seen the spoils of his campaign. Three hundred and twenty princes walked as captives before the conqueror s chariot. Banners were borne along which announced that Pompey had conquered twenty- one kings, taken a thou sand forts, nine hundred towns, eight hundred ships, and subdued twelve millions of people. The Greatest of All Romans. Another Ro man, -Julius Caesar, led his legions into Gaul and added what are now France and Spain to Roman territory. Caesar found it very hard to subdue that part of Gaul near the English Chan nel, because the Britons were sending aid to the Gauls. So Caesar deter mined to punish the Britons for interfering. CESAR, THE GREATEST OF THE ROMANS. . He crossed over into Britain and won victories there, but he did not remain long. Caesar was a great general, and his victories had made him famous. He returned to Rome, where he was appointed to high office. He soon became absolute master of Rome, and proved himself even greater as a statesman ROME CONQUERING THE WORLD 27 and ruler than as a general. Some leading Romans, how ever, became jealous of his growing power and slew him. Augustus Willing to Stop. The great Augustus, who was emperor at the time that Christ was born, said the empire was at last big enough. Her boundaries reached to the desert sands of Africa on the south, to the far-off Euphrates River on the east, and to the Rhine and Danube Rivers on the north, while her western border was the Atlantic Ocean. A POPTTON OF THE ROMAN WALL. All the great nations of the earth had now been conquered, and their lands made a part of the Roman empire. When you cast your eye over this vast empire, you behold within it many countries. There were Italy, Switzerland, half of Austria, Turkey and Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, all North Africa, Spain, and France, besides many islands. Rome, the Eternal City, was then indeed the light and ruler of the world. The Natural Boundaries of the Empire. But how could Rome hold such vast domains under her sway ? Did 28 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE she not need an immense army to guard such extended boundaries against the swarms of barbarians on all sides ? It would seem so, but these boundaries were themselves a fairly good protection. The empire was guarded on the west by the stormy Atlantic, on the south by the desolate sands of the Sahara and Arabian deserts. It was only upon the Euphrates and the Rhine-Danube borders that the mighty and sleepless legions were needed to watch and guard. Keeping out the Teutons. But so ferocious were the Teuton barbarians on the north, that a later emperor built a huge wall from the headwaters of the Danube to the headwaters of the Rhine. This great wall was three hundred and thirty-six miles in length, fifty feet thick at the base, and higher than your schoolroom. Along this wall were frequent forts and castles. There were also watch- towers near enough to one another to signal by lighting fires at night, and by other signs by day. Outside the wall, on the barbarian side, was a wide ditch, and beyond this was a stretch of waste land which the Teutons might never cross unless they were accompanied by the Roman soldiers. Seizing Upon Britain. Later emperors undertook to subdue the wild Bri tains who then occupied the island of England. All the southern portion of the island was con quered, and made into a Roman province. But so tame less were the wild tribes of what is now Scotland, that even the brave Romans gave up the task of subduing them. It was easier, they thought, to build a huge wall across the island from sea to sea to protect the province than to try to overcome these savages of Scotland. Another Mighty Wall. The first wall across England was of earth, but later a solid stone wall eighty miles long was constructed. It was from six to ten feet thick and 16 longitua ROME CONQUERING THE WORLD 29 eighteen feet high, with a mighty ditch on the north or barbarian side. Beyond this wall there was nothing worth fighting for, because the battle, even if the Romans won, would have to be fought over and over again. These old Picts and Scots, if beaten, took to the mountains, but were back the next day ready for another trial of strength. The World Ruled by Rome. - - To the Roman empire, which already included the whole civilized world, England was now added. All in all, the empire embraced an area as large as the United States, and in it lived one hundred millions of people. Roman Roads. -- There was another thing besides the bravery of her soldiers that aided Rome in conquering and CROSS SECTION OF A ROMAN ROAD. ruling the whole civilized world, and that was her magnifi cent roads. They were the most solid roads that the world has ever known, and they were built out from the gates of Rome in all directions. As soon as the soldiers subdued a new country, they at once set about to extend these fine roads to it. The Romans knew nothing of steam or elec tricity, and so their best means of travel was a good wagon road. Troops and supplies for the army had to move quickly in order to protect such wide boundaries. Roads Made Straight. --The quickest roads for soldiers were, nf course, the shortest, and so these military roads 30 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE were made to run as nearly straight as possible. They cut through hills, they bored great tunnels through mountains,, and they spanned wide rivers with high bridges of stone. The arches of these bridges were often a hundred feet high and a hundred and fifty feet wide. The Trajan bridge over the Danube was more than a mile long. The Claudian Way. After two thousand years of use or neglect, some of these fine roads are still good. Some of the tunnels are also used. One of the roads in service to-day is the Claudian Way. It was three hundred and fifty miles long and paved with the hardest flint. It was broad enough for two carriages to pass each other. The stone flags were often five feet square, and so well cemented together that they appeared but one stone. Below the stone were two layers, the first of rough stone cemented with mortar, and the lower layer of gravel. These layers ROME CONQUERING THE WORLD 31 measured about three feet thick, and were well bedded in ground that had been first leveled and beaten hard. Conveniences Along the Way. The roads were raised somewhat, so as to command a view of the surrounding country. On either side were stone footpaths. Measuring from, the gates of Rome, there were milestones along all roads to the very limits of the empire. On each of those stones was marked the distance from the capital. At shorter intervals were stones for travelers to rest on, or to assist them in mounting horses. In later days, inns were built along the roads a half day s journey apart, where fresh horses were kept for the use of the messengers of the em peror. Travelers made good speed on these stone roads. Caesar passed from the Rhine River to the capital, a distance of eight hundred miles, in eight days. Along the roads were camps or forts, about which towns grew up for trade, just as they do along railroads to-day. These splen did roads and bridges and tunnels were built by the Roman soldiers during days of peace. Provinces Become Romanized. Without the roads Rome could not have held her vast empire together for a single year. With them, she not only held her distant provinces with a firm grip, but she extended to them her just laws, her fine schools, her glorious Latin language, and even her customs and manner of living. So the provinces became thoroughly Romanized, and the people were happy and well protected. Rome knew how to rule well. Her good laws and wise judges gave out justice and fair treat ment to rich and poor alike. In law and government, Rome has been the teacher of the world. Country Estates. All over the country districts were beautiful villas or farm homes and elegant summer resi dences of the wealthy city folk. The land was held in great 32 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE estates and worked by hundreds and sometimes thousands of slaves under hired overseers. Cities of the Empire. The empire was dotted with hundreds of great cities ; some, like Rome and Alexandria, were nearly as large as the city of Chicago to-day. Most of the people lived in cities, and such cities as they were! We think it wonderful to-day that we have in our whole country a few buildings of marble, but there were hundreds and thousands of cities in the Roman empire that had marble buildings libraries, temples, baths, and palaces. Augustus boasted that he found Rome a city of brick, and left it a city of marble. Commerce Safe and Rapid. Throughout the Roman world commerce was safe. Pirates had been driven from the seas and robbers from the land. The harbors were crowded with ships, and the Mediterranean swarmed with sails. Between Europe and Central Asia, there was a flour ishing commerce, carried along three great routes: one by way of the Black Sea, and by caravan across Asia; one by way of the Suez and the Red Sea, to India ; and one by caravan across Arabia. From frontier to frontier travel and trade were safe and rapid. The grand military roads ran in great trunk lines from every frontier toward Rome. From these main highways ran branch roads which formed a dense network in every province. Routes and distances were given in guidebooks, and there were many hotels along the way. Messengers who hurried along the great high roads traveled a hundred or a hundred and fifty miles a day. In all the provinces, rude stockaded villages changed into splendid cities, huts into palaces, footpaths into paved Roman roads. The Romans watered part of the African desert and made it the garden of the world. The traveler of to-day may see the ruins amid the drifting sand. In ROME CONQUERING THE WORLD 33 34 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Gaul Caesar found no real towns ; in the third century that province had one hundred and sixteen flourishing cities, with their baths, temples, amphitheaters, works of art, roads, aqueducts, and famous schools of learning. Centuries of Peace. We are told that for centuries the entire civilized world was at peace. There were oc casional wars on the distant frontiers, but the millions of Romans throughout the empire heard and saw little of war. Thus there was peace and prosperity everywhere. Never before or since has so large a part of the world known such a long time of unbroken rest from the horrors and waste of war. The great historian, Gibbon, said that he would rather have lived at some time during those centuries of peace than at any other time in the world s history. The Spread of a New Religion. It was in these days, when all the civilized world was at peace, when there was one language and one law for all, when there was a vast trade and unlimited travel among all parts of the empire, that Christ lived and taught and was crucified. No better time could have been chosen for the spread of a new re ligion. Rome allowed all religions in the empire. People might worship as they pleased, provided only that they would also worship the emperor. The teachings of Jesus were quickly carried by missionaries over the entire Roman world. At first only the lowly and the poor believed in Jesus ; but as the centuries passed, the rich and noble classes began to accept Christianity. Christians Persecuted. Because the Christians refused to worship the emperor or to celebrate pagan holidays, the Roman authorities became suspicious of them. They were blamed when barbarians attacked the frontiers or when a pestilence broke out, for it was said these things did not happen when the Romans worshipped pagan gods. ROME CONQUERING THE WORLD 35 36 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Thus public opinion called for a persecution of Christians who refused to worship the Roman gods. Once when a great part of the city of Rome was burned to the ground, and the people were accusing their wicked emperor, Nero, of ordering it done so that he might build it up again more beautiful than before, Nero declared that the Christians had burned the city. To make it appear that he was innocent, ARCH OF CONSTANTINE. he began torturing and killing the Christians. He cov ered their bodies with tar and burned them at night as torches in his imperial gardens. Some he wrapped in the skins of wild beasts and threw them to dogs to be torn and killed. Empire Becomes Christian. The more the Christians were persecuted, the more they increased in numbers. The Romans had ceased to believe in their old gods ; and as the Christians increased, there came at last an emperor who gave help to them. Constantine, hard pressed by his rivals, prayed to the God of the Christians to help him in ROME CONQUERING THE WORLD 37 the battle that was to decide the supremacy of the West ern Empire. He made the cross his standard and pro claiming himself a Christian marched to battle. With the help of the Christians he triumphed over his rivals. He granted to the Christians freedom of worship and made Sunday a day of rest. And now at last Christianity was tolerated and even protected by law, and multitudes of the people quickly accepted it. QUESTIONS i. Locate Rome. 2. How was it protected ? 3. How did Rome first gain more territory ? 4. Describe the fall of Carthage. 5. Who had built up Carthage ? 6. What did its fall mean to Rome ? GREECE 7. Discuss the Greek ways of living. 8. What were the ideals of Greece ? 9. In what ways was she superior to Rome ? 10. Why was Rome able to conquer Greece ? n. What part of Greek civilization was absorbed by the Romans ? 12. What part was lost ? 13. Of what gain was this conquest to Rome ? 14. Is it a fortunate or unfortunate thing for the world that Rome conquered Greece? 15. Why? PoMpEY sWoRK 16. What kind of man was Pompey ? 17. What was his ambition? 18. What did he do for the Roman Empire? 19. How was he honored ? CESAR S WORK 20. What was Caesar s ambition ? 21. Wherein lay his power? 22. Compare him with Pompey. 23. What did he add to the Roman Empire ? 24. Describe his campaign in Britian. 25. What became of Caesar ? THE ROMAN EMPIRE 26. At the height of its power what was the size of the Roman Empire ? 27. What were its boundaries ? 28. On which boundaries was there great need of protection? 29. Why? 30. How did Rome protect herself from the barbarians? 31. How did she hold her land ? 32. Why did Rome keep shifting her legions from one place to another ? ROADS 33. What need was there for good roads? 34. How were they made ? 35. To what use were they put ? 36. What con veniences were there along the roads? 37. How did people travel over them? 38. Show how they affected the growth of towns 38 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE 39. What is the meaning of Romanizing the provinces ? 40. Tell four ways in which Rome did this. 41. What do you think were the most important ideas that she spread ? 42. During her long peace period, how did Rome grow? 43. Describe her towns. 44. What in them came from Greece? 45. Describe the old country estates, 46. What other names were there for them ? CHAPTER V HOW THE ROMANS LIVED The Romans Loved Beautiful Things. From their con tact with the noble art and architecture of the Greeks, the Romans learned to love beautiful things. They were soon THE FATES GREEK ART. found copying and imitating the beauty of Greek art ; but it was merely copying, for the Romans never succeeded in producing much that could be called original. Art, Architecture, and Learning. In every city and home there were educated Greek slaves. They were far above their Roman masters in learning and culture, and they be came the teachers of the Roman youths. In this way the learning and art of Greece were scattered over the Roman world. Wherever the victorious legions marched, they carried these wonderful gifts of the Greeks. And so the 39 40 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE whole empire came to love books and learning, as well as the comforts and luxuries first found in the cities of Greece. Mosaics. The Romans were soon decorating their buildings with splendid stat uary, beautiful paintings, and especially with wonderful mo saic pictures. These mosaics were made of small cubes of colored glass or stone, so put together as to make beautiful pictures. Sometimes a series of such mosaics were so ar ranged as to tell a complete story; for example, a fable with perhaps a fox stealing chickens to represent night, or a crowing cock to indicate morning. These costly mosaics were used for decorating VICTORY. A ROMAN MOSAIC PAVEMENT. HOW THE ROMANS LIVED floors and walls, not only in public buildings but in the best private homes. Common Workmen were Artists. Even the plainer homes had their marble busts and statuary, and their walls were decorated with splendid paintings instead of wall paper. There was such an enormous public demand for artistic things that many artists were needed. Even the common people became good judges of art, and everybody was glad to lend a touch of beauty to whatever he possessed. The common workmen and decorators knew enough of art to paint copies of fa mous pictures on the plaster walls of the poorer homes that they decorated. We Americans are far, far be hind the Romans in our ability to make and to ap preciate beautiful things. Roman Monuments. What books and printing are to us, art and architecture were to Romans. They recorded great deeds, not so much by writing them down in books, as by building magnificent arches and columns and monu ments to commemorate them. How Work was Divided. In the cities the people lived very much as we would be living to-day if we did not know about steam and electricity. They divided up their work. There were mechanics, engineers, physicians, dentists, teachers, barbers, bakers, and merchants and traders of all sorts. These trades and professions were carried on by A ROMAN WALL PAINTING. 42 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE slaves and by men who had once been slaves. Roman citizens thought that all work was unbecoming to them ex cept that of a lawyer, an officer, a soldier, or the master of an estate. Even teaching and medicine were practiced only by Greek slaves or freedmen. Books of the Romans. There were no printing machines or movable type in those days, so all books were made by copying with pen and ink. Thousands of slaves were thus kept busy making new books, and, it is said, they became cheap because the slaves learned to copy so fast. Books were sometimes writ ten on parchment, or sheep skin, but these were expensive. The common material used was papyrus. How Paper was Made. Paper was made from the pith of the papyrus plants. The pith was cut into strips, and these were placed side by side upon a wet board and pasted together. A second layer was placed upon this with the strips running the other way. These two layers were then pressed into paper and dried. There were as many as nine kinds of paper, from the best quality of letter paper to common wrapping paper. Queer Books. Sheets of this paper were pasted together to make long rolls on which books were written, in columns. A book roll was often a hundred feet long. In reading, the roll was held in both hands, to be unrolled by one and rolled up by the other, as the reader progressed. Writing Letters and Messages. When the Romans READING A ROMAN BOOK. HOW THE ROMANS LIVED 43 wrote messages and letters that they did not wish to pre serve, they used tablets or squares of thin wood covered with wax. On this they wrote with a metal stylus about the size of a pencil, pointed at one end for writing in the wax, and flat at the other for erasing, or smoothing away the letters. Several of these tablets made up a letter and were tied together and sent by a messenger. The same tablets were used to send back a reply. Schools and Education. In the early days of Rome there were no public schools. The sons of Romans were AN OLD ROMAN SCHOOL. tutored privately. But both public and private schools were established later, in which reading, writing, simple arithmetic, and Latin literature were studied. They taught much public speaking and elocution, because this was needed in public life. A good speaker was sure to be in favor among the people. Having no news papers, the Romans got most of their information from speakers. 44 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Going Abroad to Study. The sons of the wealthy went to Greece to study. They learned to speak Greek as well as their native Latin language. Each boy was accompanied to and from school by a slave whom they called pedagogus. Education was for the Roman citizens only. The slaves had no chance, except a few promising ones who were wanted for clerks. Above the grammar schools were the great universities ; one at Rome, famous for law ; one at Alex andria, famous for its medical school ; and one at Athens. Romans Loved a Good Time. The emperor gradually took the government out of the hands of the people, and since all work was done by slaves, the Romans came to spend much time in amusements. In daytime they might be found at the theater, the games, in the forum, or at the baths. Public Baths. The Romans built magnificent baths in every city in the empire. By bathing twice a day they thought they could make two days out of one, and thus double the length of their lives. Some took as many as a dozen baths in a summer s day, with banquets at the homes of friends between. They could be seen clad in bathing costumes going back and forth from the homes of friends to the public baths. Magnificence and Comforts of Baths. The baths were of all kinds, some simple, and some with every possible luxury. The walls were adorned with gorgeous mosaics, and water flowed from solid silver taps into basins of marble. Water was provided at all temperatures. There were rooms for gymnasiums, restaurants, libraries, picture galleries; there were lounging rooms and shops for the sale of per fumes. There were magnificent private baths also, but even the emperors frequently used those open to the public. Emperor Severus was often seen returning to his palace in HOW THE ROMANS LIVED 45 bathing costume, bearing no mark of his rank save his purple cloak. Slaves rubbed the bodies of their masters and afterward applied oil and perfume to them. So large and so numerous were the baths of Rome, that sixty thousand people could be RUINS OF THE AQUEDUCTS, ROME. cared for daily. Ruins of these splendid baths have been found under every sky throughout the empire. City Water Systems. To supply these numerous baths, water was brought to the city by great aqueducts, through which rivers flowed from distant mountains into the city water system. As the baths increased in number new 46 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE aqueducts were needed, until there were at Rome twenty in all, the longest being forty-five miles. Nothing that the Romans built, except their splendid roads, gives clearer proof of their greatness. The aqueducts were usually built beneath the surface ; but when a valley was to be crossed, they were supported on huge stone arches, some of which were more than one hundred feet high. The tunnels of some of these aqueducts through which the water flowed were so large that a man might ride through them on horseback. So well were these aqueducts built, that now after many, many centuries, some of them are still standing, and they have been repaired so as to supply the city with water from the far-off hills. The Circus. The Romans had their circus, where chariot races were held, and such feats were performed as we see in a modern circus. Everybody attended the races. Some gambled on them. The Great Circus would seat many thousand people. Riots sometimes broke out here. On one occasion thirty thousand rioters are said to have been killed in the tumult. Who Paid the Bill. But chariot races after a time did not interest the lazy Roman people. To entertain the mob, great amphitheaters were built where men, called gladiators, and wild beasts fought to the death. The people looked upon games as a debt owed them by the politicians and the rulers. Anybody who wished to win favor among the people provided games or races, which were free to all. Almost any event served as an excuse for them, even a doubtful victory on the far-off frontiers. Street Parades. Sometimes a general who wished to celebrate a victory and win favor among the people ar ranged for a splendid procession before the game. In one procession the common people and soldiers marched to the HOW THE ROMANS LIVED 47 capital in white cloaks, followed by women and slaves, bearing wax tapers and lamps. In the procession were a hundred white oxen, two hundred white sheep, ten ele phants, twelve hundred gladiators, and two hundred domes tic animals, besides troupes of actors. On such occasions the city took a holiday and enjoyed the splendid pageant. Wild Beasts from the End of the Earth. At first only wild animals fought in the amphitheater. Wild animals INTERIOR OF THE COLISEUM. from every corner of the world were turned loose to tear one another to pieces, while a hundred thousand men and women in holiday attire looked on. There were lions and tigers, leopards and elephants, from the jungles of Africa and Asia ; there were bears from the frozen north, and monsters from the sea. Animals in the Arena. Underneath the great amphi theater were cages for the wild beasts. At a signal, the cages were brought up on an elevator, the doors were thrown 48 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE open, and the animals leaped out into the arena. Several hundred lions sometimes tore one another to pieces in one spectacle. Augustus tells us that in twenty-six exhibitions given by him, thirty-five hundred animals were killed in the amphitheater. On one occasion, when the Coliseum was com pleted, five thousand animals were slain in one day. The Coliseum would seat many thousand spectators. The arena was large enough for several hundred animals to fight at one time. It was covered with sand, but there were water pipes beneath, and it could be flooded for monsters of the ocean, or for naval fights. Men and Beasts Fight. But the worst combats of the amphitheater were those of men gladiators they called them. Gladiators were usually slaves, captives, or crim inals. Sometimes even Roman citizens entered the arena for money, but by so doing they lost their standing among respectable people. Untold numbers of men were killed in these combats. After one great Roman victory, games and shows continued for one hundred and twenty-three days, in which eleven thousand animals of different kinds were killed and ten thousand gladiators fought. Some times the men fought beasts, but the gladiators also fought with one another. Thumbs Down, He Dies. The gladiators at first fought a sham battle with wooden swords, and then at a signal of the trumpet, they took up their steel armor and rushed at each other with the sharpest swords. They fought until one lowered his arms as a sign that he was vanquished. The victor then turned to the spectators to know if they wished him to spare the life of his opponent. If the spec tators wished the man to be slain, they turned their thumbs down ; if they wished him to be spared, they turned their thumbs up. After each combat, whether of beasts or men, HOW THE ROMANS LIVED 49 slaves entered the arena with hooks and dragged out the dead and those mortally wounded. There were schools for the training of these gladiators, who were in great demand in every large city of that great empire. Sometimes a gladiator was given his freedom because he had succeeded in killing his opponents in combat. Not only city people attended these games, but country IN THE ARENA. people for miles around came flocking by the thousands to them, as people do nowadays to a league ball game or to the circus. The Scramble for Tickets. At the close of these state games, presents were given to the common people. Nero, on one occasion, threw tickets for all sorts of things into the crowd for it to scramble for. There were tickets for corn, for articles of food, for birds, for money, pearls, pic tures ; tickets for horses, cows, ships, and even for houses 50 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE and lands. There was a terrible scramble for them, and many were hurt. Respectable folk usually went home be fore the distribution began. Rome s Greatest Evil. But the crowning evil of these later Romans was human slavery. Some slaves they ob tained by war, some by way of punishment for crime, and some were born in slavery. On one occasion ten thou sand were bought in a single day on the island of Delos. Enemies of Rome who surrendered willingly were allowed their freedom, but those who were taken in the field or while storming cities were sold at auction. After the cap ture of Jerusalem, Titus sold ninety-seven thousand Jews into slavery. Large Number of Slaves. The Roman slaves were not dull, degraded savages or negroes. They were white men, and often highly educated. Many of them were superior even to their masters in learning and culture. They brought prices ranging from $25 for a common drudge to $10,000 for a fine cook, a steward, or a clown. The number of slaves in Rome and Italy was very large. Some rich Romans had several thousands so many that they did not even know their names. Indoor Work of Slaves. Slaves waited at table. Some put the plates in order, some gave the guests water and towels to wash and wipe their hands, some served the bread, some brought in the food and set the cups, some carved, and some served wine. In hot weather slaves cooled the room with fans and drove away the flies. There were slaves to dress the hair, others for shaving; slaves for cutting the nails, and slaves to put on the master s shoes. Every great household had its physicians, artists, secre taries, librarians, copyists; its teachers, readers, authors, and philosophers ; and they were all slaves. HOW THE ROMANS LIVED 51 On the Street. When masters were invited out to dine, slaves carried their slippers and other articles of dress that were needed. In their walks about the city each master had a slave to tell him of approaching acquaintances and to whisper their names in his ear. Other Work of Slaves. Not only did slaves do all the domestic work, but they were employed in trades and manu factories, and they raised the crops and took care of the great estates. They were promoted according to behavior from such positions as that of drudge or common slave in town to that of overseer in the country. In the later days of the empire slaves were employed on public works, such as building bridges, cleaning sewers, and keeping up the aqueducts. How Slaves were Treated. Slaves were not allowed to wear the clothing of free citizens, but must dress according to law so that they could be easily recognized. They were not allowed to marry. On the great estates it was difficult to oversee so many and keep them from running away. So they were chained together while they toiled in the fields and while they slept. The master had absolute power over them, just as though they were his cattle. He might whip them or put them to death. The common punishment was with the lash, but they were sometimes branded on the forehead with a red-hot iron. Sometimes they were shut up in a workhouse and made to turn a mill for grinding corn. When slaves were beaten, they were sometimes sus pended, and a weight tied to the feet so they might not flinch. In case they were to be killed, they were usually nailed to a cross. There were, however, many good mas ters, whose slaves were well treated and happy. Many pur chased their freedom. Cicero said that a diligent slave could earn enough in six years to become a free man. 52 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Later Romans Lazy and Worthless. The early Romans lived pure and simple lives. So brave and patriotic were they, as you have read, that they became masters of the whole civilized world. But now after many centuries, the later Romans were becoming lazy, wicked, and worthless. They loved pleasure and amusements, and were more eager for wealth and high society than for honor and bravery. A ROMAN DINING ROOM. Later Romans Neither Work nor Fight. Not only did the later Romans load all their work upon slaves, but now at last they would neither rule their country well, nor would they fight to protect it from the barbarians. The empire had become a mere shell. On every side savage hordes were breaking in to rob, to murder, and to burn. Why did not the Romans call out a mighty army, as they had done in the olden days, and hold the line of the two rivers so that not a Teuton should set foot across it ? The Romans were no longer willing to do this, because they enjoyed life so much HOW THE ROMANS LIVED 53 in their theaters, their circuses, their baths, and their beau tiful villas in the country or at the seashore, that they no longer cared to go into the army. So worthless were they, that they had ceased to love their country and their Roman eagles enough to fight for them. Instead they preferred to hire some one else to do their fighting. Young Men Avoid the Army. - - The government raised the pay of soldiers until all the money in the treasury was gone, hoping to make the soldier s life attractive to young Romans. Lands were given to the veterans, and other favors shown to soldiers; but all this failed to draw the lazy Romans into the army. Then laws were made, forc ing every Roman proprietor either to go himself, to hire a substitute, or to pay a heavy fine of forty-two pieces of silver. But many of the young men of Italy chose to cut off the fingers of their right hand so that they could not hold their weapons rather than enter the army. Who the Hired Soldiers Were. So the only thing to do was to hire soldiers, and the best soldiers to be hired were the Teutons. l They did not have to ask leave of any ruler; often they came, rulers and all, across the border, and hired themselves for money to the Roman generals. It mattered little if they were then employed to fight against their own brothers. They earned their pay, saw the world, and went home to fill the ears and the eyes of their kinsmen with the wonderful story of the precious spoils of Rome. Or, they stayed in the army, and rose to high positions, so that from the fourth century on, we find the very highest posts in the army and in the government filled by men whose fathers lived the life of the barbarian." Love of Kin. - These barbarians became every day more dangerous to Rome. Goths and other Teutons were en rolled in the legions and given places of high command. 54 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE They often invited their wilder relatives to come over and plunder Roman provinces, and then managed to let them escape unhurt. Taxes. It took so much gold to pay the legions of soldiers, and such a vast amount of money to run the govern ment with its host of dishonest officers and its costly shows, that the taxes ate up everything that the farmers made. Farmers preferred to become beggars rather than to toil hard in the heat of the day, and then to see everything snatched from them for taxes. They lost interest in farm ing and abused the soil. The worn-out farms were finally abandoned. Beggars increased by the thousands and be came such a danger that the government had to furnish them with free corn to prevent trouble, besides entertain ing them with costly shows. Conditions were growing worse every year. A New Way to get Money. -- The Romans had forgotten how to rule. When taxes failed to bring in money enough, the worthless emperor devised a new way. Wealthy people were put to death by the wicked Nero so that he might have their money. He built his Golden House by causing the death of rich men and taking their property. He ordered his old teacher, Seneca, to commit suicide for this very purpose. Tax Dodgers and Taxgatherers. When the rulers were so wicked, their officers, by the hundred, practiced what we call " graft" ; that is, took money that did not belong to them. Rich men dodged taxes; and the poor could not pay. What money was turned in from taxes was largely stolen by the taxgatherers, who became so numerous, that it was said that there were more taxgatherers than tax payers. So the empire could neither get men to fight for it nor money to pay its debts. The Roman empire was now HOW THE ROMANS LIVED 56 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE no longer fit to live. " Like an old tree, whose every root is decayed, it did not fall simply because the storm had not yet come." The Shell is Broken. But now swarms of barbarians were sweeping over the frontiers. Everywhere they found an easy victory and wonderful spoils. Tribe after tribe followed until they took possession of the great Roman empire and made it their own. QUESTIONS i. Describe the beautiful decorations used in the homes, public buildings, and streets. 2. Who did this decorating? 3. What was the influence upon the people ? 4. Where have we like decorations ? 5. What occupations did the people follow ? 6. Describe the Roman books. 7. Describe the Roman paper. 8. Describe the Roman schools. 9. Who were the teachers? 10. What was taught? ii. Who were the speakers? 12. Of what importance were they? 13. When was Christianity brought into the Roman Empire? 14. How was it spread ? 15. How and why were the Christians per secuted? 1 6. When did the empire turn Christian ? 17. Tell four ways in which Christianity raises the civilization of a country. AMUSEMENTS 18. Describe the circus. 19. Describe the pa rades. 20. Describe the arena fights. 2 1 . Who were the gladiators ? 22. What do you think was the effect of these amusements upon the people? 23. Describe the baths. 24. Where did the water supply come from ? SLAVES 25. Why did the Romans have slaves ? 26. Where did they get them ? 27. To what class of people did these slaves belong ? 28. What work did they do ? 29. How were they treated ? 30. Were these slaves good for the Romans ? 31. Why ? or, why not ? ROME WEAKENED 32. Why did Rome hire soldiers ? 33. Where did she hire them? 34. How did she raise money to pay them? 35. What was the effect of hiring soldiers upon Rome ? 36. What was the beggar class? 37. How did Rome come to have a beggar class? 38. Give five causes of Rome s weakness. 39. What was the greatest cause? 40. To what is the weakness of Rome compared? 41. What was "the storm"? 42. Why did Rome fall ? 43. Give as many reasons as you can. CHAPTER VI BARBARIANS DESTROYING THE EMPIRE Fleeing from the Huns. The West Goths, a tribe of Teutons who dwelt along the north bank of the Danube, near the Black Sea, were being driven southward by hordes of savage Huns. In the year of 375 the Goths came down to the bank of the river and begged the Romans to let them cross over into the empire for safety from their savage ene mies. Who the Huns Were. The Huns were frightful little men who swept over the country like a whirlwind, leaving only destruction behind them. Their hair was worn long and tied in a knot behind. Their noses were so much turned up that the frightened Romans fancied they had nothing but two holes in the middle of their faces. The Goths said the Huns were children of witches and demons, that they were pig-eyed, hideous beings, with cakes instead of faces, wearing " ratskin caps, armed with arrows tipped with bone, and lassos of cord ; eating, marketing, sleeping on horseback, so grown into the saddle that they could hardly walk in their huge boots." With them were tribes who painted their hair and skin blue, others who carried shields made of horses hoofs, and decked their horses with human scalps; and still others, armed with scythes and wrapped in cloaks of human skin. So fierce were these savage Huns that nothing could resist their wild charges. The Goths at School. The West Goths, or Visigoths, who were now seeking entrance into the empire, were by 57 58 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE far the most advanced of all the barbarian tribes in their manner of living. From the long years of close touch with the Roman empire, with only the Danube between them and civilized life, they had put aside many of their wild customs and rude man ners, and had learned to behave somewhat like civilized people. The Goths had crossed over this river more than once and had taken rich cities. They had fought so well with im proved weap ons that the Roman em peror had been forced to buy them off. They had built flat- bottomed boats, and with a fleet of five hundred ships had sailed along the Roman shores of the Black and Mediterra nean seas, learning new customs, and ravaging as they went. They had penetrated into Greece and Athens, had looted the IRENE AND PLUTUS. BARBARIANS DESTROYING THE EMPIRE 59 beautiful Parthenon, the treasure house of Greek art, and had been driven out with difficulty. In all this contact with Roman life, they had seen and learned many things. Goths Make Good Promises. The West Goths had even received Christian missionaries and become, after a fashion, Christians. They were now asking the Christian Romans to receive them as brothers and to protect them from being CONSTANTINOPLE AND THE BOSPORUS. ASIA MINOR ACROSS THE STRAIT. cut to pieces by the savage Huns. They promised that if they were permitted to come across into the empire, they would become peaceable and loyal Romans and join their army to that of the emperor. The Emperor Gives Permission. The Roman emperor, whose capital, since the days of Constantine, had been at Constantinople, hesitated a little to admit so near his capital such a multitude of barbarians. However, since (5o DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE he, too, dreaded the Huns and needed more soldiers, he allowed them to come over. But they were forced to give up their arms and to deliver the children of their chieftains to the Romans to be educated. The Goths Inside the Empire. Many days were con sumed in getting the multitudes of Goths across the Danube, which is, at that point, over a mile wide. So great was their number that those who were set to count them gave up in despair. Including men, women, and children they were said to be a million strong. They gave up their children, but bribed the corrupt Roman officers to let them keep their beloved weapons. The Greedy Roman Governors. Land was set apart for the Goths, but food had to be furnished them for a time, until they could cultivate their land and raise a crop. The funds sent by the emperor to buy them food were pocketed by the greedy and corrupt Roman governors who, instead, sold the starving Goths dog flesh at terrible prices. For a little good meat they charged the Goths outrageous sums. When their money was all gone, the Goths had to sell their children into slavery or starve. While the Romans were off guard along the Danube, the entire nation of East Goths dashed across the river boundary, arms in hand, and demanded for themselves the same favors that had been granted their kinsmen. Goths and Romans at War. This encouraged the West Goths, who resolved to endure the ill treatment of the Ro mans no longer. In a short time they came to blows with the Roman soldiers, the war cry was raised, and fighting began. The West Goths defeated the Romans and armed themselves with the weapons of the slain. They recovered some of their children, who told dreadful tales of how they had been treated, and the maddened Goths re- BARBARIANS DESTROYING THE EMPIRE 61 solved to have revenge. They went about killing, plunder ing, and burning. It is said they left nothing alive, not even the beasts of the field. Brambles and thickets soon grew up where once had been fair fields and growing crops. Risking All on One Battle. - Emperor Valens gathered his forces, came out from his walled cities, and risked everything upon one great pitched battle in the open. The battle took place near Adri- anople (378). The emperor lost. His light horse men fled before the long lances and heavy swords of the Gothic horsemen, who then turned on the Roman foot soldiers, broke their ranks, and put them to rout. Two- thirds of the Roman army were slain, and generals and officers without number. Emperor Valens fled, wounded, to a near-by cottage. The Goths set fire to it and burned him and his staff of officers before they knew that A ROMAN GODDESS. 62 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE they had in their hands the Emperor of Rome, upon whom they had always looked with such awe and fear. The Shell is Broken. From that day the end of the Roman empire was assured. It was only a matter of years. The Teutons had matched themselves against the Romans and had won a great victory. They had defeated and slain the Roman emperor himself yes, they had killed " the man-god whom the world had worshiped for ALARIC IN ATHENS. centuries, and behold he died like other men." And it was all so easy. What was there left now that the barbarians could not do? Alaric Chosen King. Other tribes crossed the Danube on the ice and joined the Goths. After a few years the bold Alaric became their leader, and the mighty host swept down through Greece. Athens paid a ransom to be spared. Here " Alaric enjoyed a Roman bath and a public banquet and tried to behave for a day like a Roman gentleman." Making Greece a Desert. The Goths sacked the splendid cities of Corinth and Sparta. They were eager for BARBARIANS DESTROYING THE EMPIRE 63 VICTORY OF SAMOIUKACE. 64 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE gold and silver, for purple and fine linen, and, especially, for rich meats and intoxicating drinks. The splendid pieces of sculpture and beautiful paintings which the Ro mans had spared to the Greeks, were now trampled in the mud or broken by the huge battle-axes. No end of plunder was drawn away in their oxcarts. Vineyards, olive groves, and orchards were laid waste ; estates were destroyed ; buildings burned ; and men, women, and children were plundered, stripped, and driven off in gangs to become slaves to the barbarians. The path of the Goths became like a desert. There was now no enemy in the eastern part of the empire that dared face the barbarians in the field. So they marched hither and thither, wherever they liked, leaving destruction behind. Marching on Rome. Alaric was at last defeated by the gigantic Stilicho, a Teuton who was in command of the armies of the western empire. But after a time Alaric led his Gothic tribes from Greece around the head of the Adriatic Sea. The foolish emperor of the West had now be come jealous of his great general, Stilicho, and had him murdered. When Alaric heard that Stilicho was dead, he marched straight on Rome. Down through Italy he passed without meeting an enemy, and sat down before the walls of the capital. The good-for-nothing emperor of Rome was safe behind the walls of Ravenna in northern Italy, and he made no effort to help his people at Rome. Starving Rome to Surrender. For eight hundred years Rome had not seen a foreign enemy before her walls. Her people could hardly believe their eyes. Alaric did not try to storm the proud city, because he had no engines such as the Romans used to batter down the walls of cities. Quietly Alaric sat, he and his Goths, waiting for the Romans within to starve and die, for he would allow no provisions to be BARBARIANS DESTROYING THE EMPIRE 65 taken into the city. And many did starve and die. Men maddened by hunger murdered one another for food. Romans still Proud. Not until hunger and disease had worked dreadful havoc in the city, did the Romans send to ask terms of the barbarians. When the messengers of the city came before Alaric, they began with lofty pride to warn him not to make the Romans desperate by hard or dis honorable demands. They told Alaric that if he did, the fury of the Romans would be terrible; besides, they warned him, their number was enormous. Knowing their weak and starving condition, Alaric laughed at their boast ing, and said, " The thicker the grass the easier it is to mow." Then they asked him what terms he would take. Alaric s Hard Terms. " Give me all your gold, all your silver, all your movable property, and all your barbarian slaves, or the siege goes on," said the greedy Alaric. " What will you then leave us? " inquired the frightened Romans. " Your lives," replied the haughty Goth. They bought him off, however, with a strange ransom ; 5000 pounds of gold, 30,000 pounds of silver, 4000 robes of silk, 3000 pieces of scarlet cloth, and 3000 pounds of pepper. The Romans had to strip the gold and jewels from the statues of their gods to raise the great ransom. The great amount of pepper probably consisted of spices of all kinds, which the Romans used to season their foods, and which the Goths were learning to like. Breaking the News to the Emperor. An officer rushed into the presence of the worthless emperor at Ravenna and told him that Rome had perished. " What I " cried the emperor, " she was feeding from my hand an hour ago." He was greatly relieved when told that it was not his favor ite hen, " Roma," but only the capital of his empire that had perished. 66 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE An Offer of Peace. Alaric got 40,000 Teuton slaves out of the wicked city and enrolled them in his army, which now numbered 100,000 fighting men. He might have made himself king of Italy but for his awe of Rome. He could not think of himself as fit to be king of that majestic city which he had all his life almost worshiped. So he offered to become an officer under the Emperor at Constantinople and to rule Italy under him. But when the conceited Romans refused him this honor, he cut off the food supplies and marched on the capital in earnest. Plundering Rome. At midnight one of the gates was opened, probably by a Teuton slave within, and for six dreadful days and nights the rough barbarian warriors ransacked everywhere. Alaric commanded his followers to leave the Christian churches untouched, but the wealth of the citizens he gave them leave to take. The barbarian oxcarts went forth in long trains piled high with costly furniture, golden vessels, and silken garments. They had a table of solid emerald with its three rows of great pearls, a great dish, weighing a ton, covered with gems of India, and other priceless spoils. There were long columns of captives, too. Alaric s Death. Alaric marched south through Italy with his rich plunder, but he soon died. His devoted Goths turned the course of a river and buried their hero in its bed. " They buried him covered with mail, sitting upright upon his horse, with gold and jewels and arms, that he might make a worthy showing among the other dead heroes in Odin s hall. And then they turned back the river into its bed and slew the slaves who had done the work, that no man might know where Alaric lies ; and no man does know to this day." After the death of their king, the West Goths turned BARBARIANS DESTROYING THE EMPIRE 67 north and marched into Gaul and later into Spain, fighting, as they went, with different Teuton tribes and bearing with them the treasures of Rome. They mingled with the Romanized inhabitants of Spain and became the forefathers of the modern Spaniards. Many Tribes Sweep over the Rhine. While the Goths were marching through the empire, plundering as they went, THE TOMB OF EMPEROR HADRIAN AT ROME. other tribes, much more barbarous, swarmed across the Rhine boundary. Whole nations came, men, women, and children, horses, cattle and dogs, bag and baggage. Living on their flocks and herds and grinding their corn in hand- mills, they roamed wherever they liked, hunting and ravag ing and burning. The Savage Vandals. The most reckless destroyers of all were the Vandals. Whenever we now wish to speak of wicked destruction of property, we call it vandalism. The 68 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Vandals were filled with wonder at the sights that they be held in the fine cities of Gaul. They did not understand the art and the beautiful architecture that they saw on all sides. These Vandals had always lived in rude huts or roamed the forest. What use had they for the magnificent temples, baths, and mansions, filled with treasures of art? So they plundered and laid waste whatever they saw. Priceless statues and images of the Roman gods were stripped of their gold and jewels and then broken to pieces with huge battle-axes. One Teuton warrior was waiting in the antechamber of a splendid house, when he was astonished to see ducks apparently swimming on the floor of the room. He dashed his battle-ax at the beautiful mosaic to see whether the ducks were alive. Like children, these wild people de stroyed whatever attracted their idle curiosity. The Vandals in Africa. The Vandals ravaged Gaul and Spain, crossed the straits of Gibraltar, and overthrew Roman authority in all northern Africa. Here they set up an empire of their own with Carthage as their capital. The Pirate Vandals. These Vandals, who had scarcely caught sight of the sea for generations, now soon became bold and daring pirates, spreading terror along the entire Mediterranean coast. When their leader, Gaiseric, was once setting out on a plundering expedition, he was asked by his pilot which way to steer. " Wherever there are people with whom God is angry," replied the Vandal cap tain. Vandals Looting Rome. On one occasion they made a destructive raid on the city of Rome. For two weeks they hunted out valuables and plundered the city. They carried off whatever goods and precious spoils they could lay their hands on. But, like the Goths, they did not destroy BARBARIANS DESTROYING THE EMPIRE 69 yo DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE the buildings. They took away with them hundreds of Roman citizens to serve them as slaves. We can see how low Rome had sunk, when we are told that all this hap pened without the Romans striking a single blow in their own defense. The Franks. Another Teuton tribe, of whom we shall later hear much, were the Franks, who gave their name to modern France. The Franks for a long time had homes on both sides of the lower Rhine. They were ruder and more barbarous than the Goths, for they had not yet received the gentle message of Christianity. A half century after Alaric had ransacked Rome, the Franks began to add to their territory by spreading themselves out slowly lover northern Gaul. These wild warriors wrought havoc wher ever they went. Other tribes who came into the Roman empire during these dark days were the Lombards, the East Goths, the Burgundians, and the Suevi. Slipping Back into Barbarism. From the fifth century on for three hundred years, the civilized world was slipping back into barbarism. The formerly civilized lands were plundered time after time by fresh, never-ending hordes of barbarians. Each raid destroyed more of the little good that was left, and human society seemed hopelessly wrecked. The Country Districts Ruined. The destruction was complete in the rural districts. Villas, pillaged time and again, were at last abandoned. The paths and walks were grown up with thorns and briers, the doors were wrenched from their hinges, and the roofs were left open to the sky. Houses and mills were in ruins. Fields, once fair with growing crops, were now over grown with forests or had passed back into marsh or desert. There was no live stock to be seen no hogs, sheep, cows, or horses. There was not even seed corn left by the BARBARIANS DESTROYING THE EMPIRE 71 plunderers, with which to start the raising ol crops again. The wretched inhabitants took to hunting and fishing, living meanwhile in the woods or caves. In some places all human beings had entirely disappeared, and sheep I RUINS OF THE ROMAN FORUM Compare with the cut on p. 69. might be seen running wild and wheat springing up self- sown. The Cities Wrecked. There were villages and towns almost wholly in ashes, with no inhabitants but dogs. City after city was taken and wrecked, now by Goth and now by Vandal or Lombard. The city of Treves in Gaul was four times looted by different barbarian tribes. " When the population was half destroyed by fire and sword, the poor dying of famine, corpses of men and women lying about the streets breeding pestilence, while dogs devoured them, the few Roman nobles who were left comforted them selves by sending to the figurehead emperor to beg for 72 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE games." The wretched people who had escaped death from the barbarians were soon swept away in countless numbers by the starvation and disease that stalked over the land. Rome a Den of Thieves. A third time Rome was ransacked and plundered, until nothing was left but fever-haunted ruins. The towering walls of this once glorious capital were full of great holes and gaps. Broken- down aqueducts appeared here and there, and the people drank from the muddy Tiber, because not one of her score of aqueducts remained whole. Her noble and beautiful statues, her majestic palaces and libraries and temples -where were they? The splendid villas along the Tiber were gone, the trees burned or cut down, the terraces had slipped away into the river, and the magnificent tombs along the Appian Way were broken and falling to pieces. Law and order were gone, and Rome had become a den of thieves and robbers. Men were brawling in the streets, ill clad and savage, armed with sword and knife and club. Children were running the streets wild and untaught, and were growing up to be fierce and ignorant like their fathers. Commerce and Travel cut Off. The roads fell out of repair, and the bridges were torn down. Travel and com merce were almost entirely stopped except along the Medi terranean coasts, where a few ships dared to ply in spite of the swarms of pirates. Communication, not only between inland cities and countries, but even between neighboring towns, was broken off. Highway robbers were in hiding everywhere. Unable to get provisions from abroad, the people were left to feed and clothe themselves by their own toil. Knowledge and Skill Disappear. Much of skill in making things was forgotten because the people, who were BARBARIANS DESTROYING THE EMPIRE 73 74 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE slipping back into barbarism, no longer cared for the con veniences and luxuries that civilized people need. There was no longer any skill in art, building, or decorating, nor even a love for beautiful things. In the palmy days of Rome, industry had been purely domestic; that is, all manufactured articles that were not brought from abroad were made in the homes. There were no factories. In the mansions of nobles, and even in the palaces of kings and emperors, women and serf work men were employed to manufacture the coarse stuffs with which they clothed themselves and their households. These mansions had been many times looted by the bar barians, and the workmen had been driven to the four winds. Thus skill in all these handicrafts was lost, and all manufactured articles became rude and barbarous like the people. Schools and Learning Vanish . No one was now inter ested in learning. In the wild days of the Frankish, the Gothic, and the Lombard kings, men had neither time nor desire for serious thought and study, much less for writing books. What writing they did was for the immediate calls of the day. The ability to speak and write the Greek lan guage was entirely forgotten. Even the knowledge of Latin literature sank into a darkness that was to last for many hundred years, and spoken Latin was everywhere lost save among the monks and priests, who used it in the services of the church. All schools disappeared except those of the monastery. Men s minds were absorbed by the calamities about them. All power fell into the hands of the rude and ignorant barbarian chieftains. Their no less ignorant warriors became the great landowners and the ruling class. The centuries that followed were so full of ignorance, suffering, and blood- BARBARIANS DESTROYING THE EMPIRE 75 shed that they were called the Dark Ages. But dark as the times were, they were the forerunner of better days. QUESTIONS THE WEST GOTHS i. Who were the West Goths? 2. What promises did they make ? 3. How did the Romans treat them ? 4. What caused war between the Goths and the Romans ? 5. De scribe Alaric s advance. 6. What were its results ? 7. Describe the march to Rome. 8. Describe the fall of Rome. 9. Where did the Goths go next ? THE VANDALS 10. Who were the Vandals? n. Where did they make invasions? 12. Results? 13. Compare the Vandals with the Goths. 14. What other barbarians were invading at this time? THE FRANKS 15. Who were the Franks? 16. Where did they live? 17. How did they compare with the other Teutons? 18. Why did they invade Rome? 19. Where did they settle? 20. What was happening in Britain ? 21. What were the results of these barbarian invasions? 22. Show the effect of these invasions upon commerce, schools and learning, and upon the language. 23. What period was called the Dark Ages? 24. Sum up what you think were the causes of the Dark Ages. CHAPTER VII THE TEUTONS AT SCHOOL IN THE EMPIRE What was Spared. -- The wandering Teuton conquerors did not by any means stamp out Roman civilization every where. It is true that most districts of the empire were turned back into deserts and swamps, and hundreds of magnificent cities were wiped off the earth. But there were corners and out-of-the-way districts that escaped the plunderers almost entirely. A few widely scattered cities were also spared. And since the barbarians, because of their wild, roving nature, refused to live in cities, the few towns that escaped were left to themselves. In these towns the people kept up much of the Roman manners, customs, language, and laws. These few centers of Roman life later taught the rough Teutons many civilized habits and arts, as well as the Romans mode of governing cities. The churches and monasteries, being largely spared, also served to shelter many good things, until the barbarians were ready to accept them. What the Teutons Added. The Teutons, who were to begin where the Romans left off and carry on the world s work, brought new blood into the dying empire. Like a youthful nation, they refreshed the Latins with new hopes and ideas. They had a higher respect for woman ; they refused to obey laws unless they had a voice in making them, for they believed that one freeman was as good as another, not excepting even the king. The barbarians had the muscles and brains and pluck to do great things. All 76 TEUTONS AT SCHOOL IN THE EMPIRE 77 they needed were good teachers and time to learn. So they gave a healthier tone to society. Though Roman life had declined to a very low mark, the barbarians helped to start it anew. Ten Latins to One Teuton. The barbarians were spread out unevenly over the empire, thinly in some places and thickly in others, while the great mass of the people un der their control remained Latin as it had been before. In most parts of the empire there was not more than one bar barian to every ten or even fifteen Latins, but the superior courage and fighting power of the Teutons enabled them to keep the upper hand. Seizing Upon Roman Lands. Some barbarians, like the East Goths and Lombards in Italy, took but one-third of the land, leaving the rest to the Latins; but the West Goths and Burgundians in Spain and Gaul took two-thirds. Other tribes had no fixed rule, but simply drove out the larger Latin landholders and took their estates. After years of war and strife, the two peoples settled down peace fully, side by side. The Christian Church Well Established. The Christian religion was thoroughly rooted in the empire long before the Teutons came. The Romans, both the rich and the poor, the high and the low, had come to respect and trust the church with its unselfish and noble-minded clergy. The Christian bishops and priests had already gained much power in moral and social life. So much power had they, that they had put a stop to the great gladiatorial games, which had been so dear to the hearts of all the Romans. The church had also done away with suicide and with the worst cruelties of slavery in the empire. The Emperor Becomes Weak. As the empire declined and became at last too weak to preserve order in these wild 78 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE times, the burden of controlling evil men, and of stopping, so far as they might, the endless robbing, quarreling, and bloodshed, fell more and more upon the priests. In this way, much of the power that formerly rested in the hands of the emperor and his government now fell to the Christian bishops and priests ; for, amid the vast ruins of that great empire, the church alone stood erect and strong. Churches were sometimes broken into and plundered, and their ministers put to the sword. Still the Christian leaders with noble courage faced the wild barbarians, holding out the " light of heaven," while the air was filled with storm and darkness, and the land with cruelty and bloodshed. Standing in the Emperor s Place. Another thing that made the church strong, in these wild days, was the kind of men who were chosen for its leaders noble,unselfish, godly men, who were giving their lives in kindly service to others. The barbarians, who were everywhere robbing and seizing upon goods and lands, saw all about them the churchmen, taking none of the rich plunder. They saw that the priests did not live for the things of this world, and they could not help admiring and giving ear to them. Another thing that added to the influence of the clergy was the fact that they were permanent in office. Some of the most remarkable bishops held their power for very long periods of time, for fifty or even sixty years, while rapid changes were going on all about them. And so when the bishops spoke, the people gave heed. Something Stronger Than the Battle-Ax. The rough characters of those savage times had very little respect for anything save the keen sword or the huge battle-ax. When rude barbarian chiefs, like Clovis, saw something stronger than force and greater than kings, they were bewildered and awed into respect. The church was a different power TEUTONS AT SCHOOL IN THE EMPIRE 79 from any that they had ever met a power that had no battle-axes and yet was not afraid of theirs. Bishops Awe the Barbarians. The wild Teutons looked upon the bishop as a pure, peaceable, just, and brave man. He had boundless learning, besides a room full of books and a map of the whole world. He could read, write, and cipher, talk Latin and, perhaps, Greek. They gazed at his wonderful dress and listened to his strange chants. What magical or supernatural power might he not have? Things New and Strange. They entered the churches, trembling, and stared at the arts new to them, while they were kindly taught and fed by the bishops and priests. They gazed in wonder at the frescoes and carvings. The bishop preached to the king and his men, bold, brave sermons in the presence of the stone coffin of the saint, for every church held the remains of some holy life. He told them to consider in whose presence they were and to cast out the seven deadly sins. He said, " This saint, asleep but ever awake, cannot abide those who rob the orphan and the widow ; he will watch them like an eagle in the sky and track them like a wolf of the wood till he punishes them with a great destruction." The Bishop s Sermon Strikes Home. The courage of the bishop, who feared not to speak bravely and plainly even to these savage warriors, made the strong men blush and tremble. " Though the coat of mail never leaves my breast," said the king of the Goths, " and though my hand is ever at the brazen hilt of my sword and the iron guards my side, I have found a man who, for all my armor, can vanquish me with his words, which pierce like an arrow to my very heart." 8o DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Barbarians Accept the Church. So the wild king and his wild warriors hesitated. They could face flesh and blood ; but who could face the terrible tortures of an angry God? Being men of wicked lives, their consciences made them cowards. " There must surely be," they said, ST. PETER S, ROME. " some other power greater than the battle-ax." Every where they went the barbarian chiefs met with these same fearless bishops. They knew that they must either accept and make terms with the church, or root it out and destroy it. They accepted the church, for the most part, in all countries of the empire, save in Britain. Bishops as Rulers. In times of war the bishops be came the messengers and peacemakers. They were the only trusted guides. They settled disputes about land boundaries without fighting; they protected the weak against the strong, the slave against his cruel master; TEUTONS AT SCHOOL IN THE EMPIRE 81 they taught the people to live pure lives. Being the only authority left during hundreds of years of darkness and strife, the church was the best teacher that the rough bar barians had ; and it helped to lift them up slowly toward the level of civilized living. Teutons need the Latin Language. The barbarian settlers Goths, Franks, and Lombards found them selves in the business of life in daily contact with a Latin-speaking population many times more numerous than themselves. The Romans, whom we shall hereafter call Latins, were also more cultivated and lived upon a higher plane than their Teuton overlords. If the bar barians were to rule over these people, they must under stand something of Latin. This was not the Literary Latin in which Caesar wrote his matchless history, and in which Cicero uttered his famous orations, but the Latin of the street, the Latin of the soldiers, farmers, workmen, and slaves, with its vulgar slang and outlandish pronunciations. The new masters could not talk with the woodsmen, the carpenters, and masons on their great estates, without acquaintance with their language. Where Latin Aids the Teutons. Whenever these rude Teuton lords had need of the services of the church to baptize their children, or to bury the dead, they found that here, also, the only language in use was Latin. In the court or lawyer s office the same was true. They soon found that their Teuton dialect was too barbarous for use even in business and government. Latin would not only be a great aid to them in gaining power and influence, but they must learn it or be always looked upon as foreigners. Two Languages Side by Side. For centuries the two languages were spoken side by side, varying in different districts, and among different classes of people, each bor- 82 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE rowing words from the other. The barbarians found that they had no words, whatever, for many things that they met with in this higher life about them, so they freely bor rowed Latin names and expressions. Latin Triumphs. The contest between the two lan guages went on silently and unnoticed, but the Latin gradually took the lead, as being the best suited to the public needs. German continued for a long time the lan guage of the home and fireside, but at length Franks and Goths married Latin wives, and in this way Latin came more and more into the homes. A few centuries blotted out almost every trace of the German dialects in Italy, France, and Spain. This was especially true in the cities. Rude Dialects Instead of Latin. For many, many years, in fact for centuries, there was almost no travel or commerce. Each community lived very much to itself. Each province or country became peculiar in dress, in customs, and even in language. The people in different countries of the empire very gradually came to pronounce the same words differently, and when they again learned to read and write, they spelled the same words differently. Let us take the Latin word schola, meaning school, and see how it came to be spelled in different parts of the empire. In Italy, schola came to be spelled scuola; in Spain, escuela; in Portugal, escola; and in France, ecole. From the differ ent ways these words were pronounced you would hardly dream that they all came from the Latin mother word. Moreover, new words were coined and brought into use, at first perhaps as slang, just as we are making new words and expressions to-day ; but the slang of each province was, of course, utterly different from that of the others. Thus many dialects grew up, very unlike the mother Latin and unlike one another. These dialects, as the centuries passed, TEUTONS AT SCHOOL IN THE EMPIRE 83 all ran apart like spokes from the hub of a wheel. Differ ent provinces could no longer understand one another s language. In Spain the people came to speak Spanish dialects ; in France, French ; in Italy, Italian. So the lan guages of these countries to-day are modified forms of Latin. For this reason the Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese languages are called Romance tongues. A Barbarian Lawsuit. The barbarians came into the empire, not only as armies, but as tribes; and, as they settled, the tribes or nations broke up into clans, which were large groups of kinsmen. Outside the clan, or family group, there was no law to appeal to. If men got into a dispute, one way to settle it was by wager of battle ; that is, to fight it out fairly, either in single combat or with champions who fought for them. They believed that God would give victory to the right side. A Blood Feud. Another way to settle the trouble was to ask the clan or family to take it up. Then a blood feud arose between two families, whose followers carried on a sort of warfare for years, during which time, in many in stances, many were killed on both sides. Fines. Still another way to settle difficulties was by fining the wrongdoer. Fines were called weregelds, and there were weregelds for every kind of misdeed. Among the Lombards, whose laws were at last written in Latin, a man who murdered another was fined 900 pieces of gold. For blinding another s eye, one was fined as much as if he had killed his enemy. Each limb had its price. A front tooth was worth sixteen coins, because it disfigured the face, while a back tooth was worth but eight. A slave s tooth was worth but four coins, for the barbarian laws were different for different classes of people. A noble or freeman was let off easily for a crime that would be severely 84 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE punished if committed by a poor man or a slave. So a man was always fined less for injury to a serf or a slave than to a freeman. Breaking a Man s Head. To call a man " a lazy loon " was a serious offense among the Lombards, and for this crime one must either apologize and pay a fine of twelve coins, or, if he still said it was true, he must fight the duel. To break a man s skull cost twelve coins, and twelve more for each fracture up to three, after which they were not counted. But before the full fine was paid, a piece of bone must come out which would make a sound when thrown into a shield twelve feet away. The fine, or weregeld, for taking a woman s life was 1200 coins, while that for man was only 900, because he could defend himself while she could not. Personal Liberty. -- The Teutons had so high an opinion of life and liberty that they never imprisoned a man, and very rarely imposed the penalty of death, no matter what the crime was. A man s person was sacred among them. Laws Made for a Certain Territory. When we Ameri cans go from one state or country to another, we come every time under a new system of laws, for all laws to-day are made for a certain territory and limited to it. So we say our laws are territorial. Personal Laws. But the Teutons, who roamed about so much, could not well have territorial laws. They made their laws once for a lifetime ; and no matter where they went, each man carried his own laws with him and expected to have them respected. A man s laws were always those of the tribe into which he was born. So the Teuton thought that his laws were personal ; that is, a part of himself, and he could not change them or part with them if he wanted to do so. TEUTONS AT SCHOOL IN THE EMPIRE 85 Two Law Codes Side by Side. While he always claimed the right to be judged by his own laws, the Teuton gave to other people the same right. The Teutons, when they entered the empire, settled down under their own unwritten laws, which they had brought from beyond the Rhine; but they allowed the Latins to continue under Roman laws. For a long, long time there existed side by side two sets, or codes of law, one for Teutons and another for Latins. Owning Land, New to Teutons. No sooner had they settled than each freeman began to own some land, which they had never thought of doing in the wild woods of Ger many. They soon wished to build and to plant, to buy and sell, and to make wills so that their children might inherit their lands. They began also to have conflicts about land boundaries and about live stock belonging to one man stray ing on the lands of another. Likewise in their business deal ings they began to have disputes. Their own rude laws would not cover any of these cases. No such disputes had ever arisen in the forests of Germany, because there the people had not owned land. What should they do? Roman Law Triumphs. They soon learned that the Roman laws, which had come down from centuries before, and which were written in great books, covered all these cases, with a fairness and justice that astonished the Teutons. They found also a class of learned men, or lawyers, whose business it was to explain these laws and apply them in the courts. They came to see how much better were the laws of Rome for all their new needs, and so they allowed their old Teutonic laws to die out gradu ally and disappear. Roman Law an Aid to the Barbarians. In this manner the great and wonderful system of law, which was Rome s best gift to mankind, lived on and became the foundation 86 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE for the laws of many nations to-day. These noble laws spread abroad justice and fair dealing. They became a mighty aid to the Teutons in their onward and upward struggle. The best teachers for our rude forefathers were, however, the monasteries, and of them we shall read in the next chapter. QUESTIONS i. What parts of the Roman empire were spared? 2. W 7 hy? 3. Of what value were the things that were spared? 4. What valu able things did the Teutons bring into the empire? 5. How was the language changed? 6. How did the Teutons and Latins com pare in numbers ? 7. Why had the Teutons such power ? 8. Who was seizing the lands ? 9. What great work was Christianity doing for the empire ? 10. What was its effect upon the barbarians ? ii. Discuss the punishments of this time. 12. What do they show? 13. Discuss the laws. 14. Who made them? 15. Show how the Dark Ages were a good thing? 16. How had the church gained so much power as it had ? CHAPTER VIII THE MONASTERIES The Monks as Teachers. -- Through all the centuries of the Dark Ages, when the crude and barbarous Teutons were waging bloody wars upon the Romans and upon one another, everything seemed hopelessly ruined. The teach ers who saved most of the Roman skill and knowledge from utter destruction until the barbarians were ready to take them up were the monks. Early Monks Godly Men. -- The monks wanted none of the riches of this world. While other men in those dark days were killing and robbing their neighbors, the monks sought quiet, peaceful places away from the wrangling and the wickedness, where they might live lives of service to God. They were merciful and kind, pure and temperate ; and they wanted places in which to think, to work, and to pray. Thus there arose, shortly after the Teutons took possession of the empire, great monasteries, whose high walls shut out the wicked world. Nunneries. These monasteries sprang up rapidly everywhere in Western Europe. Such a life appealed to women, too, and so there appeared a great many nunneries in Italy and in Gaul. Both monasteries and nunneries be came filled with those who wished to lead a more perfect life than was possible in the world with all its distractions. Many others adopted this way of living as a penance. St. Benedict and His Rules. It was St. Benedict who founded the order of monks that became the model for 87 88 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE all others. St. Benedict succeeded well because of his strict rules. The monks who joined his order made three great vows ; always to re main poor, to live chaste and pure lives, and promptly and strictly to obey their superiors. The Monk s Vow to Re main Poor. By the vow of poverty the monk denied himself all property of his own. The very pen with which he copied his pious books and the clothing that he wore belonged not to him, but to the monastery. STl No matter how hard he worked or what property came because of his efforts, it all went to his order. Not Allowed to Marry. -- The vow of chastity bound the monk never to marry, and thus he was cut off forever from all the ties of home and children. In this way all his labors, his ambitions, were for his order. Obeying Their Abbots. The vow of obedience to the abbot, the head of the monastery, was intended also to make the monk forget self. He no longer had even a will of his own, but he must look always to his superior, the abbot. How the Monks Worked. St. Benedict made another rule, that the life of the monk should be spent in work, for he said, " To work is to pray." " A laboring monk is troubled by one devil ; an idle monk by a host of devils," said another. Every day so much time was spent in prayer, and so much in work with the hands. One order divided THE MONASTERIES 89 the day in this way : seven hours of manual labor, seven hours of sleep, seven hours of prayer ; two for study and one for the single daily meal, which consisted of two vege tables and some fruit. They were to fast, too, but not more than they could bear. The monks wore only the plainest CLOISTER OF A MONASTERY. clothing; a shirt of undyed wool, which was covered, at work, with a long scapulary, and at church with a cowl. Gifts of Land. Many noble and saintly men who wished to help the cause of Christ were glad to aid the monasteries by gifts of land. They often left their property to the abbey which they loved. Some wealthy princes who had lived wicked lives were eager to save themselves from pun ishment in the next world. The easiest way, they thought, was by a gift of land to a monastery ; especially since a dense forest, a barren tract, or a swamp would gain the good will and prayers of the monks. DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Where Abbeys were Built. A swamp was considered a very good place to build a monastery, for it compelled the monks to work the harder to reclaim it and make it tillable. The harder, more painful, and un attractive the work, the better suited it was thought to be for monks. Great monas teries sprang up amid swamps and in the un broken forests, upon land given by some pious prince or wealthy landowner. Here a site having been chosen for the monastery, the monks set about to clear the forests or to drain the swamp. As the years passed, more and more land was thus prepared for wav ing crops. The Christian Colony. Each Benedictine monastery was a little world in itself, surrounded and shut off from the outer world by palisades and moats and turreted walls. Many were the buildings about a cloister, sometimes forty or fifty. There was the abbot s stately house with its kitchen and storerooms ; there were the schools for out siders, inns for the convenience of travelers, infirmaries for the aged and the poor who came for alms, and the dis pensaries, where medicines were given free to those who PLAN OF AN ABBEY. THE MONASTERIES 9 1 needed them. There were also the dom church, the library, and the workshops. The workmen had their own abodes, hidden by hedges and walls. A Sort of Hospital. A building was set apart for the letting of blood, which played so large a part in the practice of medicine in those days. At this time much of the med ical and surgical practice was in the hands of the religious orders, particularly of the Benedictines. Different Kinds of Work of an Abbey. The monks in an abbey numbered several score, often even several hun dred. Every man was expected to spend his life in doing good. Whatever talent he had he used for the good of his order and of his fellow-men. In their church they met to ask for strength from on high to do their work as Chris- tianizers and civilizers of mankind. Then they went forth to work at farming, gardening, carpentering, writing, doctor ing, teaching in the schools, or preaching to the heathen around them. Good Examples to the District. -- The people came from far and near to gape at the busy workers and to carry home the new ideas. So, wherever an abbey appeared, the sur rounding country quickly learned its lessons and began to improve. The Teutons Reached Through Farming. It was through agriculture that the new and crude Teutons could best be lifted to a higher plane of living, because they lived at first only on farms. So the monks became good teachers, by example, of how to raise the best crops, how to drain swamps, build dikes, and how to breed better cattle, sheep, and hogs. If illness broke out in the com munity, the monks hastened with their remedies ; for they were great healers, and distributed their medicines free to all who sought them. DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Monastic Schools. -- The schools connected with the monastery were of two kinds : one for those who would later join the order, and the other for the sons of the neigh boring nobles and freemen. Reading, writing, and arith metic were the chief subjects taught. Pupils were shown how to imitate the letters of the alphabet by crossing and curving their fingers. Saving the Ancient Learning. One of the chief labors of the monks, and the one for which we should thank them most, was the copying of old manuscripts. In this way, alone, have we come into possession of the knowledge and learning of the Greeks and Romans. For the books of those early times, as we know, were written either upon papyrus or upon parchment, which is sheepskin. These parchment rolls decayed and fell to pieces ; and if they had not been copied, all the treasures of Greek and Roman learning would have been lost. In every monastery there was a library and a writ ing table. Toilsome Labor. Many a manuscript copied in the tenth century is still clear and legible. The greatest care was taken in the writing of the words and es pecially in starting the page with a beautiful initial letter. Some copyists found their work so tiresome that they sometimes wrote on the margins that they were glad that darkness had at A MONK AT WORK. THE MONASTERIES 93 last fallen, or that the work was ended. Still it was a joy to many a monk to see the library of his monastery grow. Some manuscripts were bound in leather and beautifully adorned. People Loved the Monks. The saintliness of the true monk gave him a sacred character in the eyes of the common people. They looked up to him as missionaries are looked up to to-day, when they do their work well. When a noble abbot or a monk of exceptional goodness died, he was mourned by thousands who had received from him some kindly service or noble lesson. Honest Labor. Another debt that we owe the monks is for teaching the world the duty and dignity of work. In ancient times nearly all manual labor was put upon slaves. Both the Romans and the Greeks held themselves above it. The monk set a noble example of the duty of honest labor> and the world to-day is according more and more honor to the man who toils. Monastery Self-supporting. The abbot divided the labor among the monks, and all the needs of the monastery were supplied on the spot. Each was a model farm, following the plan of a Roman villa. Every monastery had its own tanner, shoemaker, and saddler, its blacksmith and worker in iron, its carpenter and mason, sheep tender and farmers. The clothing of the monks was made by their own hands, from wool grown upon the backs of their own sheep. Some spun the yarn, others wove the cloth, and still others dyed it the desired color; then it was at last ready for the tailor. The wheat and other grain were grown upon their own lands and ground at their own mill. They made wine from the fruit of their vineyards, and they even brewed their own beer. In this way skill in the different trades was kept alive through the Dark Ages. 94 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Commerce. The monks sometimes had a surplus ol products, which it was thought best to sell. In some cases they needed to purchase raw materials for their in dustry. And so they came into commercial relation with the outside world. Wine and woolen stuffs were sold and sent to other cities. In this way new arts and new knowl edge were brought in. Good Roads Needed. The monasteries came to take an interest in roads, and some religious houses were founded for the very purpose of repairing roads and rebuilding bridges. Such work was considered pious. Large abbeys on some rivers had great numbers of carrying vessels, while the peasants on their estates were required to furnish oxen and wagons for land transportation. The monasteries often built up a prosperous trade and became wealthy. Later they were the chief objects of the plundering raids of the Danes and Northmen. Monks Kept Art Alive. --The monks not only taught better methods of agriculture, and kept alive ancient learn ing; but they preserved some interest in the fine arts, although their drawing consisted of little more than childish scrawls. They also composed hymns that the church will never cease to sing. They were the leaders and guides in all good things, until the Teutons were ready to take up the work and carry it on. A Remarkable Monk. Some monks were skillful in doing many things. In the time of Charles the Fat of France, a certain monk, Totilo by name, was famous as a preacher and teacher, a poet and a musical composer, and yet was able to turn his hand to painting, sculpture, or architecture. Charles cursed those who had made a monk of such a brilliant man, because he would have liked to have him as an ornament to his court. THE MONASTERIES 95 Teaching Everything. The monk knew his Bible well, and he taught it to the people. Those who learned to read at the abbey learned to read their Bibles. Those who never learned to read, the monk taught by sermons and pictures. It is well to remember that the monks did much good in keeping alive the desire for learning among the people. In return for this the monks were loved and MELROSE ABBEY. respected. Centuries later, the reading of the Bible caused much religious discussion. Shelter Towns. Under the shadow of monasteries towns sprang up, and in these towns were taken many steps toward freedom for the laboring classes. Becoming Wealthy. - The monasteries gradually be came the great landowners, and the abbots became very powerful. Often men of wealth, desiring to spend the last years of their life in quiet and study, gave large tracts of land to a near-by monastery, and there sought an asylum g6 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE^ from the dangers and trouble of that restless and barbaric age. Many pious men and women left gifts to their favorite abbeys, and since an abbey had no children among whom to divide its wealth, it never lost any of it, and more money was always coming in. Riches. Monasteries came in later times to own boundless forests and vast tracks of land upon which farm ers liked to live because the land was fertile and could be secured at a low rent. From the natural increase in the value of the property, the abbots became wealthy and some of them even lived in ease and comfort. Since some times the land was rented to farmers, some of the monks no longer worked in the fields, nor did they need to spend hours of toil in a dark cheerless cell in labor with the pen. Abbeys Refuse to Pay Taxes. At this period the mon asteries were exempt from paying taxes, for it was then generally recognized that their debts to the government were cancelled by their prayers, their charities to the poor, by the educational work that they were doing and by the .agricultural improvements that they had made in the land. In monasteries where the primitive rule was religiously kept, all encroachments of ambitious princes met with op position. The monks refused to pay taxes, and so they were disbanded, their monasteries were destroyed and the state confiscated their lands. Four Friends of the Teutons. We have read about four great helps that assisted in raising our Teuton fore fathers to the level of the Greeks and Romans, (i) There was the splendid Latin language, which enabled the Teu tons to talk with the more civilized Latins. Through this their barbarous eyes were opened to many new ideas. (2) The matchless system of Roman laws did much to quiet disputes and to bring about peace, to encourage the Teutons THE MONASTERIES gy to cease fighting and to settle down to quiet farm life. (3) The monks kept alive knowledge and crafts and turned these good things over to the Teutons when they were ready to learn. (4) The church, with its noble bishops and priests, was the greatest aid of all. It checked the wild life and habits of the barbarians, taught peace and kindness, and held out the rewards of heaven to those who lived righteous lives. QUESTIONS i. Describe the monasteries. 2. Where were they built ? 3. Why ? 4. What property had they ? 5. How did they gain great power ? 6. What rules governed the monks lives? 7. What work did the monks do ? 8. How did they dress ? 9. What was their attitude toward work? 10. Describe their schools, n. How did they in fluence commerce ? 12. What was their influence upon the Teutons ? 13. What great wealth did the monasteries acquire? 14. How? 15. What was the result? 16. What brought about the destruc tion of the monasteries ? CHAPTER IX ENGLAND AND THE SAXONS England Robbed of Her Strength. England, as you remember, was also a part of the Roman empire; let us see what happened there when Rome fell. The Roman gov ernment, for years, had been enlisting the young men of England in her legions. They were sent to the Rhine- Danube boundary or elsewhere, and never came back. This robbed the island of its best blood and its righting strength. The legions stationed in England probably had been enlisted in Gaul, Spain, or Africa. Wild Picts Scale the Wall. When the Goths and Vandals burst over the Rhine-Danube boundary, Rome hastily called away from England every soldier to help turn back the tide of barbarians from the capital. This left England at the mercy of the wild Picts and Scots, who quickly climbed over the Roman wall, which extended across England, and began to loot and burn, unchecked. The Romanized Britons could not hold their own because they had depended so long upon the Roman legions. Moreover, they could not act together because of jealousy. The Britons Ask the Romans for Help. The Britons finally wrote to the Roman general, ^Etius, begging him to come back and help them against the wild Picts and Scots. This was their message : " To /Etius, thrice consul, the groans of the Britons. The barbarians drive us to the sea, the sea drives us back to 98 ENGLAND AND THE SAXONS 99 the barbarians ; between them we are exposed to two kinds of death: we are either slain or drowned." But ytius had his hands full with fighting the Goths and Vandals, and he turned a deaf ear to the prayer of the Britons. Barbarians in Front and Rear. The Britons were also attacked along the coasts. The North Sea and the Eng lish Channel swarmed with heathen Saxon pirates. The Saxons were Teutons also, and the most cruel of all the native tribes. They had lived around the Baltic, far from the empire, and had received none of its gentle and civilizing influence. The Saxon pirates sported about in the North Sea in large, flat-bottomed boats. These were framed of light timber with sides and upper works of wicker, covered with strong hides to keep out the waves. Because the boats were so light and could ply on such shallow water, the bold pirates easily proceeded far up the smaller rivers. Then stealing a yoke of oxen, they transported the light boats by oxcart to the headwaters of another river, driv ing off cattle and carrying away rich plunder as they went. Saxon Sea Rovers Love the Sea. They were skillful sailors, much at home upon the sea. The poorest of their sailors could handle an oar, rear a sail, or act as captain of a vessel. These savage Saxons rejoiced in the appearance of a tempest, because it concealed their own movements, and, at the same time, scattered the fleets of their enemy. Rob, Burn, and Escape. In their swift barks they swooped down upon any unguarded district very suddenly, and were off swiftly before an army could be summoned. The next day they appeared in another district far away, burning, slaying, and plundering. Gathering their spoil upon the shore, they sacrificed to Odin a tenth of their cap tives, slaughtered the stolen cattle and hogs, and vanished ioo DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE in safety. In this manner they terrorized the entire British coast during the whole of the summer season, disappearing upon the approach of winter to return with the birds in the spring. The Saxons Come to Stay. After a time the Saxons no longer invaded the island for mere plunder. They now sought to get a permanent foothold in the land. They built strongholds, in which they collected their booty SAXON SHIPS. and from which they made dashes farther inland. Against such swarms of speedy and warlike pirates, the British chiefs could do but little, especially as they did not act together, but were often engaged in petty quarrels among themselves. An Old Legend. At last, according to a legend, Vorti- gern, king of Kent, who had raised himself above other British chiefs by his bravery and wisdom, hit upon a shrewd plan. Since the Picts troubled him by land and the Saxons by sea, Vortigern said to himself, " I shall do well if I can set these robbers the one against the other." So in 449 he ENGLAND AND THE SAXONS IOI called in Hengist and Horsa, two chiefs of the Saxon pirates, and promised to give them the island of Thanet, near the mouth of the Thames, if they would help to drive out the wild Picts. Hengist and Horsa gladly came in three ships. They at once pushed back the Picts, and settled upon Thanet. Too Many Friends. For some years they were content. Then they sent word to their kinsmen, the Angles, telling them of the worthlessness of the Britons and of the richness of their lands. At that there came swarms of Angles and Jutes, offering to fight for the Britons and to take land for their pay. Their offer was refused, because the Britons had begun to fear them more than the Picts. The new comers, therefore, angry at being refused, attacked the Britons themselves. The Fatherland. The Angles and Saxons came from the wild Baltic shores, which were overgrown with big tim ber and thick scrub down to the water s edge. Their far- reaching woodlands were broken only by shallow lakes and thick swamps, with scattered clearings and barbarian camps. The only highways were the rivers. England a Golden Land to the Teutons. The country upon which they now had set their eyes and hearts was largely cleared of forests and yielded good crops. Along the rivers were long meadows, bordered by fine hill pastures with herds of cattle and flocks of sheep of many breeds. There were herb gardens and orchards and vineyards about the houses, and broad wheat fields of many acres, produc ing more grain than the island could use. The land was tilled with improved Roman tools iron-coltered plows, iron hoes, picks, and spades. There were ironworks, mines of tin and lead, quarries, potteries, brick and tile kilns, and glassworks. Scattered 102 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE over the land were more than thirty walled towns and many military camps or stations. These were knit together by good, well-graded, stone-made roads, serviceable all the year through for men, horses, and wagons. The rivers were bridged, or where fordable, they were staked and stone-bedded. Along the roads were farm houses or Roman villas with their farms tilled by slave or serf labor. The ports and harbors were safe and conven ient, and a constant trade was carried on with the continent during the summer months. The Britons sold and sent out grain, metal, jet, slaves, hounds, and horses. Is it any wonder that England appeared like a golden land to the wild and savage Teutons ? The Saxons Advance Slowly. The Jutes, Angles, and Saxons were not united, but were broken into many tribes, each acting for itself. Their advance was therefore slow, with many victories and many defeats, for the Britons disputed every foot of ground. They would not tamely submit to be slaves to the wild Saxons. The sword was bare for a hundred and fifty years. But the barbarians, though often defeated, never retreated far. Little by little the land was taken. The Britons fought behind the walls of their towns until the Saxons laid waste the land, cut off all supplies, and starved them out. As the country was overrun by the enemy, one road after another was blocked, and traffic ceased. Thus the trade, which alone kept the city people from starving, was entirely stopped. When food supplies were cut off, the cities melted away. The men went to join the army of defense, while the women and children followed afoot, traveling by night and probably through the woods to escape the fierce Teutons. What Became of the Britons. The Saxons did not de mand one-third or two-thirds of the land, as did the Goths ENGLAND AND THE SAXONS 103 and Franks on the continent, but they took it all. What became of the Romanized Britons or Welsh we do not know with certainty. No records of those dark days are left to us no books, no writings, save such a brief fact about a battle as, " There was not a Briton left." Just what hap pened will never be known. In the eastern part of England the Britons were probably nearly all killed off, while farther west there was perhaps a sprinkling of them left. Those who were spared were made slaves. They became the only teachers left to the savage Saxons. There are signs that some of the Britons were driven to the caves of Yorkshire for shelter from the fierce invaders. One of these caves contains bones, household implements, and other traces of the Britons. The Saxons Make a Clean Sweep. The Angles and Saxons, fresh from the sea and pirate life, or from the bleak flats and sand hills of Denmark, knew nothing of the great Roman civilization, nothing of city life, nothing of Roman law. They knew nothing of Christianity, the Roman religion, and they had neither reverence nor respect for it. So, wherever they got a foothold, those heathen Saxons made a clean sweep of everything. Not only did the Britons disappear, except those who were made slaves, but everything the Romans had built up perished by fire and sword. Great cities one by one were stormed, fired, and abandoned. Where were once splendid cities, were now fallen towers, desecrated altars, broken walls ; and the un- THE SAXON TOOL AND WEAPON. 104 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE buried bodies of the slain were left to the wild beasts and birds. London a Shell. " There was nothing left in the city of London except the deserted homes, the churches, the forum, the bridge, and the wall. In the port and below the bridge there were no ships, on the wharf there were no goods, in the market place there was no trade, in the streets there were no people. The deserted city, all day long, presented the appearance of a city at sunrise, when the folk are asleep in their peaceful beds. And, as with London, so with other towns ; they were ruined and deserted ; all over the country these ruins stood dotted about. Here and there, perhaps, a town survived." But the people who knew how to live in cities were nowhere to be seen. Destruction in the Country. The magnificent villas in the country were burned down, the splendid network of stone-made highways, which had made it possible for all England to reach the continent with valuable streams of trade, were neglected. The bridges were down, and trade and travel were thus cut off. Towns and cities, if any had been spared from Saxon fire and sword, now crumbled away for lack of trade. The ironworks, the mines for tin and lead, the quarries, potteries, brick and tile kilns, and glass works were silent and in ruins. The herb gardens, or chards, and vineyards were laid waste. The Language Disappears. The Saxons rooted out and destroyed the Welsh language of the lower rural people, and the Latin of the villas, towns, and cities. Both lan guages were foreign to the Saxons, who hated them equally. Laws and schools were swept away utterly. Christianity Gone. The pagan Saxons were also bent on driving away all traces of Christianity. Goths and Franks on the continent had bowed before Christian bishops ENGLAND AND THE SAXONS 105 and had respected Christian churches. But the fierce Angles and Saxons hated Christianity as much as they did the Britons, and they resolved to drive both from the land that was to be their home. The religion of Odin and Thor took the place of the religion of Christ, and the country became a heathen country. In the death of Christianity there was left no bridge for the Saxons into civilized life, no priest to act as go-between, no monks to show better ways of living. The very days of the week were renamed after the heathen gods : The Sun s day, the Moon s day, Tiu s day, Woden s day, Thor s day, and Frigu s day. Thus the Anglo-Saxons became the one pure and unmixed nation that arose upon the wreck of Rome. How the Angles and Saxons Settled. --The Saxons hated cities and walled places. They preferred to settle upon clearings and homesteads often far apart, as they had done in the wilds of Germany. This scattered farm life kept them for many, many years from uniting to form one people. There were the East Saxons of Essex, the Middle Saxons of Middlesex, and the West Saxons of Wessex. The Angles also were divided into several na tions, each with its separate territory and king. So when, four hundred years later, they were attacked by the Danes, the Anglo-Saxon nations were not united and we can easily judge what happened. The Casting of Lots. The invaders divided the land of England by casting lots. A stretch of country was divided into parcels according to the number of villas, or estates, and these were given out by drawing lots. Around the ruins of a Roman city there were probably a number of lots. A barbarian noble or thane took several, while a small knot of brothers or kinsmen, drew but one. 106 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE The Roman Villa. Buildings, if not burned down in the raids preceding the settlement, were usually left to fall into decay. Sometimes they were pulled down, and the material used to build up a pigsty or to repair a road. In a few cases they may have been taken over as the dwelling of a Saxon settler. Thus there was left scarely a trace of Roman civilization, save here and there a heap of ruins. England Becomes a Heathen Land. We have read how the heathen Saxons utterly destroyed all churches and abbeys in Britain, wiped Christianity away, and brought in the religion of Thor and Odin. We remember how the just laws of Rome were put aside, and the splendid Latin language and literature were lost. Much of the knowledge of raising crops was forgotten. The skill in building, the blowing of glass, and the work in metals and handicraft - everything that a thousand years of civilized life had developed was swept away ; and Britain became the heathen land of the Saxons. The country was named England after the Angles, and the language, Anglo-Saxon, became the mother of our English speech. The English a Pure Teutonic People. The Angles and Saxons transferred to their new island home the rude laws and customs, the language and religion of the German wilderness. No tribe of Teutons was so much given to robbery and bloodshed, to fierce and revengeful family feuds, as the Anglo-Saxons. If a man were murdered, his relatives took a speedy vengeance. While the Saxon war riors swept away everything that the Romans had built up in England, still they brought with them a young and vigor ous race, with fresh blood, strong muscles, and keen minds, which, in the future, was to do great deeds for the world. These freemen of the German wilderness had a love of liberty, and a proud spirit that refused to obey any laws ENGLAND AND THE SAXONS 107 except those that they made themselves. They were bold and brave, willing to work, to think, and to learn, and their new island home was an ideal place in which to build a great nation. We shall soon see them outstripping their kinsmen on the continental ruins of Rome. Of all the Teu ton nations who settled in the empire, the Anglo-Saxons, alone, held to their language, their customs, and their laws. These, they thought, were a good foundation to build upon ; and so they were. A Little Saved. In places a few Roman slaves and serfs escaped the sword, nobody knows how many; and these may have saved for the rude Saxons a little Roman knowledge and skill in weaving, in the raising of grain, fruit, and vegetables, in the making of weapons and iron farm tools, and in the building of ships. This was the only knowledge or skill that the heathen Saxon tribes could then use or appreciate. The Low Beginning. From this low stage our Anglo- Saxon forefathers began their growth and their rise toward civilized living. For a hundred years and more, England remained a heathen land with the petty tribes fighting one another. At last in 597 a very important thing happened, for Christianity was then brought back to England by mis sionaries from the pope. Saxon Slaves in Rome. An old story says that a few years before this time some boys, with white faces, fair skins, and beautiful eyes and hair, appeared for sale at the slave market in Rome. As it happened, a Roman deacon, named Gregory, saw those handsome slave boys and asked their race, for he admired them very much. He was told they were Angles from the heathen country of England. He declared that they looked more like angels and that such fine people ought to be saved from paganism. Io8 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Augustine Sent to England. Some years later Gregory became pope, and as head of the church, he organized a body of monks to go to England as missionaries. Augus tine was their leader. He passed through France and ob tained some helpers who could speak Anglo-Saxon. They crossed the channel, and in 597 landed in Kent, a petty kingdom of England. Augustine Kindly Received. Augustine easily obtained a hearing because the king of Kent had married a Christian woman from Paris, named Bertha. She had taken a Christian bishop with her to her heathen home. So when Augustine landed, the king of Kent received him kindly, but only in the open air, for the king feared Augustine might be able to exert some magical power indoors. Augus tine and his companions came to the meeting solemnly chanting songs and bearing a silver cross and a picture of Christ painted upon a board. He preached to the king, and was given permission to teach and preach throughout the kingdom. After a time the king of Kent and many of his people became Christians. Christ Triumphs over Thor and Odin. This was but the beginning, for gradually monasteries appeared in many places ; and the entire island was slowly won back to Christianity. The old Teutons were very unwilling to give up Thor and Odin and their drunken feasts, but Chris tianity brought such hopeful and comforting messages to the slave and to the poor and miserable, including pro tection against the proud and the mighty, that they gladly adopted it. All classes were at last won over to Christ by his noble teachings. The Church a Civilizer. In many ways the church became a leader and an example to the Saxons. It taught those rough people new habits, new laws, and manners. ENGLAND AND THE SAXONS 109 It called gluttony and drunkenness sins, it forbade the killing of little children, it taught men that it was wrong to divorce a good wife, wrong to be cruel to a serf or slave. The church denounced revenge, it forbade work on Sun days. It taught that peace is better than war, that slavery is wrong, and that work is honorable. The Church on Trade and Language. The church, with its pilgrimages to Rome, brought England into con tact with the continent, where the Anglo-Saxons, received many new ideas. Commerce also sprang up with the con tinent, and the Saxons traded for good things to eat and wear and better tools to work with. Since the bishops and priests from all England often met in councils, they came gradually to use a mixture of the dialects of the Angles and the Saxons, and in time Anglo- Saxon was spoken by the churchmen. The New Testament was printed in this Anglo-Saxon, and the people all came to use it, for they and their priests must speak so as to under stand one another. Monasteries grew up in many places, and the monks showed the Saxons better ways of raising crops, how to drain swamps, and how to weave better clothing. A Help Toward Union. The people all belonged now to one church with an archbishop at its head, and they gradu ally came to think more about having one strong kingdom instead of so many weak ones. No Need of Roads. The Roman roads in Britain, like those on the continent, were too well built to be wholly ruined by neglect. Portions of them may still be seen to day, hard and serviceable. But in the old Saxon days they were broken through in places, bridges were down, and no where were they repaired. The towns that they had for merly connected were in ruins, because trade was gone, and there was little need for roads. no DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Supplying Their Own Wants. The people lived the simple farm or village life, supplying about all their own needs. There were only two articles that they could not everywhere produce for themselves. These were iron for weapons and implements, and salt for daily use. So iron and salt were brought in by traders. Cities. Along the coast where the harbors were good were clusters of buildings, which were the beginnings of future cities. Near the large abbeys, towns were also starting up. But the Saxons hated cities and walled places, and lived almost entirely in the country. The Country. Nearly all the country was waste and woodlands, where roamed the great herds of swine for acorns and nuts. There was some pasture land for cattle, horses, and sheep. Along the streams were meadow lands with homestead after homestead clear of brush and thicket. About each homestead were a ditch and a fence, and near by were acres of plowland used to grow wheat, rye, and barley. Here could be seen great ox-teams dragging the plows eight oxen to each. Along the streams were mills for grinding corn. Upon the coast were well-to-do salt- men with their salt pans and fishermen washing their nets. Everywhere the lord s officer, called a reeve, was gathering his dues, or rent, of grain, fish, or salt. The chief build ings in the village were the Lord s hall, the little church, and the shop, where rang the blacksmith s anvil. The woodlands echoed with hound and hunter s horn. A Yeoman s New Home. The Saxon gentleman or yeoman s homestead was made up of several buildings. The long, timber-roofed hall, the bellhouse, the big gate, and the moat about the stockade were the signs of a gen tleman s house. There were bowers, or homesteads for the gentleman and his family, and some dozen or score of rush- ENGLAND AND THE SAXONS m thatched huts for the serfs and bondsmen. Among them were seen the storehouse and the stacks, also the horse shed and wagon shed. Women Slaves. The Saxon lord had everything that he needed made in his own house. Women slaves, who were bought and sold like cattle, spun yarn and wove cloth of linen and wool; they ground flour from various kinds THE RESIDENCE OF A SAXON NOBLEMAN. of grain in hand mills or stone querns, and made bread in round, flat cakes ; they pickled, smoked, and salted down meat, and made sausages ; they made ale, mead, and wine. Slaves on the Farm. On the farm were many laborers, also slaves. There were beekeepers, swineherds, cow herds, oxherds, shepherds, cheesewrights, and barn- keepers. From an old English dialogue we read the duties of some of the slaves. The plowman says : " I work hard ; I go out at daybreak, driving the oxen to the field, and I 112 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE yoke them to the plow. Be it never so stark winter I dare not linger at home for awe of my lord ; but having yoked my oxen, and fastened the share and coulter, every day I must plow a full acre or more. I have a boy driving the oxen with a goad iron, who is hoarse with cold and shouting ; I have to fill the oxen s mangers with hay and water them. Mighty hard work it is for I am not free." The Shepherd Complains in These Words. " In the first of the morning I drive my sheep to pasture," says the shepherd, " and stand over them in heat and cold with my dogs, lest the wolves swallow them up ; and I lead them back to their folds, and milk them twice a day, and their folds I move ; and I make cheese and butter, and I am true to my lord." The oxherd says : " When the plowman unyokes the oxen, I lead them to pasture, and all night I stand over them, waking against thieves ; and then again in the early morning I betake them, well-filled and watered, to the plowman." Serfs. Serfs were slowly getting some rights. Some were bound to the soil and could not be sold unless the land was sold with them. They paid rents and worked part time for the lord. Still this was much better than slavery, for they could rear their families in peace. Laws Unwritten. --The laws of the early Anglo-Saxons were, of course, unwritten. They were merely repeated from memory by a " lawman," but they were looked upon as divine and not to be changed. As times grew better and new needs arose, the " lawman " and the folkmoot, a gathering of the freemen, gradually softened or changed the rude laws without knowing that they did so. In this way the laws were slowly growing better without any body s knowing it. ENGLAND AND THE SAXONS 113 The Effect of the Church on Laws. When the church came, bringing along written church laws, the time was soon ripe to write down the common laws; and after this was done, the laws ceased to change and to grow of themselves, for they were written down in black and white. The people had to give up the idea that laws are divine and not to be changed. They now set about to change them purposely. As the years passed the people wished to do away with the cruelest laws. Thus the Anglo-Saxon laws began to grow along lines of reason and common sense. English Laws Spread. In this way English laws came to be very different from those governing countries that copied after the laws of Rome. Millions of people, not only in England and America, but in Canada, South Africa, and Australia are to-day living under laws that grew out of the common law of these old Anglo-Saxons. English Ruled Themselves. The village, with the surrounding farm lands, woods, and waste grounds, made up what came to be called the township. The yeomen, or freemen, of a township gathered at midsummer, and in spring and fall, under the sacred oak in a meeting called a moot. This meeting gave forth the laws and held court for the trial of law-breakers. So every freeman had his say in making the laws and in judging those who broke them. The Saxons Elect Their Bang. Among many of the European tribes the freemen elected the kings. They usually chose the eldest son of the king to succeed to the throne ; but amid such a warlike society, it very often happened that the king s sons all fell in battle before their father. In that case the freemen were forced to choose a king. This custom of electing kings was always kept in mind by the Anglo-Saxons. They held that a king got ii4 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE his right to rule from the people ; and that if he ruled badly, the people had a right to depose him and elect another. This right to elect and dethrone kings was forgotten by the Franks, Goths, and Lombards on the continent, and their rulers often became tyrants. Wessex the Chief Kingdom. Several shires or counties made a little kingdom that was ruled over by a king and a body of nobles called the Witan, who advised the king and helped make the laws for the kingdom. These king doms were many, and they were continually at war with one another. The stronger people with the best kings got the upper hand, and so the smaller kingdoms were swallowed by them. Then, again, the larger ones fought it out, until Wessex, or the kingdom of the West Saxons, proved itself the strongest of all. QUESTIONS BRITAIN i. Who lived in Britain before the Romans came? 2. What robbed Britain of her strength ? 3. What troubles was she having ? 4. Where did she beg for help ? 5. Why ? 6. Where was the home of the Saxons ? 7. What kind of a people were they ? 8. How do you account for these characteristics ? 9. How did they bother Britain? 10. Where in Britain did they settle? n. Who were the two leaders ? 12. Why was it easy for the Saxons to subdue the Britons? 13. Was it fortunate or unfortunate for the Britons? 14. Who were the Angles? 15. Discuss their coming to Britain. 1 6. The fact that Britain is called England, or Angleland to-day, tells us what ? 17. Why did the Saxons and Angles like Britain ? 18. Who were the Jutes? 19. Why did it take the barbarians so long to conquer Britain ? 20. How was Britain changed by these invasions ? 21. What became of the Britons? 22. Describe London after the invasions. 23. Show the effect of the invasions upon the language, in dustries, laws, schools, commerce, and religion. 24. How were the Anglo-Saxons different from the Goths ? 25. Why did England become purely Anglo-Saxon ? 26. How did the Anglo-Saxons settle in Britain ? 27. What kind of government did they have? 28. How was the ENGLAND AND THE SAXONS 115 land divided? 29. Who were the yeomen? 30. Describe the homestead. 31. What good qualities are found in these Anglo- Saxons? 32. How did the Anglo-Saxons really make England their home, as to language, laws, religion, and customs? 33. What little of the civilization was saved ? 34. How ? 35. What did these barbarians need most ? 36. Why? 37. What would it do for them ? 38. When did Britain become England? 39. How did England become Christian ? 40. Who sent Augustine to England ? 41. What helpers had he? 42. What kind of reception did he receive? 43. What work did he do ? 44. Show the effect of Christianity upon England. CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY 45. Where were the cities? 46. Why? 47. What trade was there ? 48. What kind of roads had they? 49. What industries were there? 50. Why was the black smith so important? 51. What animals had they? 52. What grains were raised? 53. What was the work of the slaves? 54. Who were the serfs ? 55. How were they different from slaves ? 56. How had English law grown ? 57. In what way had the church affected the laws? 58. How was the village governed? 59. How was the county governed ? 60. How was the king chosen ? 61. How had his power increased ? 62. In what way did the government of England differ from that on the continent ? 63. How do you ac count for this difference ? CHAPTER X ALFRED THE GREAT AND THE DANES Saxon England No Longer Heathen. Since England had again become a Christian country, with monasteries and Christian priests in every little kingdom, the people were fast learning all the lessons that the monks and the priests could teach better ways of tilling the soil, better ways of living, better education, better laws. They were beginning to trade more, and thus they were bringing in from the continent many new ideas, new tools, and new luxuries of dress and food. They were fighting less, since the petty little states were being swallowed up in the larger kingdoms, with Wessex the strongest of all. A New Enemy. While the Anglo-Saxons were thus making long strides forward in civilization, and the future was looking bright, a new and fierce enemy appeared. Warrior pirates began to be seen in the English Channel in great ships. These ships were sometimes seventy feet long, but with a depth of little more than three feet, so that they could ply on very shallow waters. Besides they were built for speed. They were propelled by sails, and when the wind was low, by fifty or sixty oars. On their sails were painted dragons or other monsters. The Danes. --These swift vessels were filled with bold warriors well-armed with swords and spears, with battle- axes, bows and arrows, and shields. They carried no food, but landed at sunset and robbed some farm of its sheep and cattle, then they feasted and slept on the shore, and at day- 116 ALFRED THE GREAT AND THE DANES 117 break they had disappeared to strike somewhere else the following evening. These horrible sea wolves were the Danes and the Northmen. They are also called Vikings. Growing Bolder. While the Danes came at first not to fight, but to plunder and sail away, they soon grew bolder. In many ships they rowed up the rivers, surprised and looted a village or town, carried off everything they wished, burned and killed, and vanished before an army could be gathered. So swift were these pirate vessels that there was no knowing where they would strike next, and the English were helpless. Their Savage Customs. Among all the fierce fighters of those times, the Danes were the fiercest. They had nothing but contempt for pain or death. It is said that a noble Dane, who was taken prisoner, was offered the choice of death by burn ing or marriage with the king s daughter, and he grimly chose to die at the stake. Their Prisoners. They had no pity for their prisoners or captives. The women, even the daughters of kings, were most shamefully treated and thrown to the common sol diers as slaves. The men were slain, often by tortures too horrible to mention. The Danes enjoyed hewing down the priest at his altar, and revelled in the grim sport of tossing babes from pike to pike. The English cried in terror, "Deliver us, O Lord, from the fury of the Northmen." VIKING SHIPS. Ii8 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE A Good Joke. A story is told of their love of a joke. They had captured some Jomsburg Vikings whom they were about to kill. These captives were seated on a log with their feet bound to it. One after another was beheaded there where he sat, without flinching or even winking, the story says. At last the axman came to one of them named Sigurd, who had very long and beautiful hair. As his turn came he cried out : " I fear not death. But let no slave touch my hair, nor blood defile it." So one of the North men stepped forward and held up his hair till the ax should fall. But Sigurd gave a sudden jerk and the ax fell not on his neck but on the Northman s wrists, cutting off both his hands. This trick so delighted Eric, the king s son, that he laughed heartily and ordered all the other Jomsburgers to be pardoned. The Home of the Northmen. The heathen Danes and the Northmen lived about the Baltic in Denmark and Norway. They were too far away to have been touched by the civilization of Rome. They were cousins of the Angles and Saxons, though they still clung to their heathen gods, while their English kinsmen had advanced a very long way in Christian civilization. Hard Life of Northmen. The winters of their northern home were long and severe, and the short summers and the barren soil drove them more and more to the sea for their food. So they came to feel at home upon the sea, where they obtained their harvest of fish and plunder to help them through the long winters. Their growing population forced some to seek homes elsewhere, and when they heard of rich new lands to the south, with herds of cattle, sheep, and swine, they decided to go thither. The Danes Come to Stay. They found none of the little kingdoms into which England was divided able to ALFRED THE GREAT AND THE DANES 119 hold them back. Our Saxon forefathers had not yet learned that there is strength in union. So the Danes ceased to return home in the autumn. They drew their ships upon the shore of some island just off the English coast, fortified their camp, and went into winter quarters. How the Danes Fortified. The Danes understood the value of fortified places. They usually chose for then A FIORD IN NORWAY. camps places protected by the bend of a river, where their ships could be moored. Then across the bend in front of their camp they dug a ditch and put up a stockade. Here they were safe, for the English did not know how to storm a fortified camp, nor had they any machines or battering rams to assist in breaking in. The Danes were here joined in the spring by many more ships with numerous warriors, and they again spread themselves over England to plunder. 120 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE The English Need Forts. The Saxons, as we have learned, disliked walled towns ; so they had destroyed all the fortified cities and camps of the Romans. Now when they wished to defend their country against sea rovers who could swoop down suddenly, they needed forts in which a few men could hold out against a large number. But they did not know how to fortify even their camps with palisades and ditches. When they were beaten in open battle, their army was scattered, while the Danes, if worsted, quickly retreated to their stockade and were safe. The pirate Danes also had good arms and armors, such as battle-axes, bows and arrows, spears, and shields, which they had gathered up in their many sea fights. The Army of the English. The English army was made up of two classes of fighting men. First were the nobles, or thanes, who were bound to join the host as soon as sum moned by the king. They were mounted, well-armed, and carried coats of mail, helmets, and shields. But the thanes were few in number. By far the larger part of the English army was made up of the fyrd, which was composed of all free landowners. They could be summoned to war only by the folkmoot. When called into the king s service, they came armed with clubs and hedge stakes, which could do little against the battle-axes and spears of the Danes. The moot was always slow in calling them out, and so they often came to the scene after the Danes had plundered and disappeared. Two Months Service. Long marches or long campaigns were impossible, because the English had no organized plan of feeding an army. When their provisions gave out, they must be near home to secure more, because each man was expected to feed himself. Besides, the farmer had left his crops growing, and he wished to get home to care for ALFRED THE GREAT AND THE DANES 12 1 them. The fyrd had never been expected to remain in the field longer than two months, but even this was too long to hold the farmer when his crops were in need of care. So the king had a law made, fining a man heavily for leaving the service before his time was up. The Danes Always in Arms. When the Danes were beaten they fell back behind their stockades and waited patiently until the two months were up and the English host had gone back to their farms. The Danes had a standing army one that remained in the field from month ANCIENT BOAT FOUND IN DENMARK. to month and from year to year. Moreover they were ex perienced warriors. Roads Poor. Another reason why it was so difficult to check the swarming Danes was because the English could not move their troops quickly from place to place. There were no roads, only tracks through the forest, and the water ways of rivers which were useless without boats. The English had long given up their sea-going habits for settled farm life and had forgotten all about navigation. Boats and Horses of Danes. The Danes had their light boats which could ply on all the rivers. When they must leave their boats, they stole all the horses in the neigh- 122 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE borhood and traveled quickly on horseback. If the Saxons chased them too closely, they took to their boats and soon appeared in another part of England with the Saxon army far away. Why the Danes Hated Monasteries. The Danes and Northmen still worshiped Odin and Thor. They thought that their English cousins had abandoned the true Teutonic religion for a false one. So the Danes eagerly killed all priests, monks, and nuns on whom they could lay hands. They destroyed churches with joy, and were never so happy as when they had plundered a monastery and given it to the flames. It was in the monasteries, also, that the richest plunder was to be found. Not only Canterbury, but all the abbeys near the coast, soon lay in blackened ruins with the monks cruelly slain. Fresh Hordes Keep Coming. The English could not help being discouraged, for fresh hordes kept swarming up the rivers. They came all armed to the teeth, in fleets of a hundred vessels or more. There seemed to be no limit to the supply of these wolves from the north. They dashed from place to place on swift horses, so quickly that the English could not corner them. The rich cities, churches, and monasteries farther inland were the objects of special raids. Danes Victorious. They seized more land and built more forts. Sometimes they were checked, but they never gave up a foot of the territory that they had taken. One little kingdom after another fell into their hands, for the English did not know yet how to unite their strength. The Outlook was Dark. - The Danes had already seized upon every kingdom of England except Wessex ; they had destroyed everything. Not only were the monasteries and churches looted and given to the flames, but schools ALFRED THE GREAT AND THE DANES 123 and books and learning were gone. All improved tools and houses and barns were in ashes ; flocks of sheep and herds of cattle and hogs had been driven off and butchered by the hungry Danes ; even the people had disappeared from en tire districts, leaving ruins and neglected fields behind. Nothing remained but the memory of peace and a bitter THE WISE MEN OF ALFRED S TIME. hatred for the cruel Danes. Still a new king boldly took up his battle-ax to defend Wessex. Alfred Becomes King. Alfred had three older brothers, so there seemed to be little chance that he would ever be come king. But each brother, in turn, fell in battle with the Danes, after reigning only a few years. It was in 871, when his last brother was slain, that Alfred, at the early age of twenty-two, was called to rule his West Saxons. King Alfred s Boyhood. Alfred s mother died, we are told, when he was still a child. When he was four years old, his father, the king, sent him to Rome with Bishop Swinthun, who carried many costly gifts to the pope. Here Alfred was anointed by the pope and adopted as his spiritual 124 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE son. Very little is known of Alfred s boyhood. It was customary in those days for the king s son to be taken from women and nurses as soon as he was strong enough to practice riding and the use of arms, and to be placed in the court or the house of some noble, where he was daily taught in all kinds of manly sports, such as hunting and throwing. Above all things he was trained to be a soldier, for fighting was the first duty of every man. Alfred and the Danes. Wherever he was brought up, Alfred must have heard every day the clash and clang of arms. All through his boyhood, stories were told of the coming of more Danes in their multitude of ships, of victories and defeats. Alfred did not know that he was one day to conquer these very Danes and to make England one kingdom with one law, one religion, and one language. As he grew he was permitted to follow the king s army and, perhaps, to watch the fight from a distance. Alfred s Love of Learning. In the long winter evenings, Alfred sat with the king and thanes, the queen and ladies, around the fire in the great hall, and listened to the min strels chanting and reciting verses about old heroes, wars, and legends, while they waited for spring and the return of the Danes. So Alfred grew to love learning and poetry and books. He learned much from the scholars- and monks of the monasteries, from priests and from noble ladies in the nunneries. He understood Latin and could turn Latin books into Anglo-Saxon. Even after the Danes had overthrown and burned the monasteries, Alfred s love of learning clung to him through all the stormy years of war and destruction The Danes in Wessex. The boy was at last old enough to join the king s army and to fight in a coat of mail. He could now, no doubt, wield the great battle-ax as deftly as his brother, the king ; when, suddenly, he was himself called ALFRED THE GREAT AND THE DANES 125 upon to wear the crown of Wessex. Having taken all the other kingdoms, the Danes now came upon Wessex with a large army, not only of their own men, but of Northmen, also. They swept up the Thames, having on either bank troops mounted and on foot. In one year the young king Alfred fought nine pitched battles with them. Sometimes he was defeated, and sometimes he was victorious ; but even a vic tory did little good, for the swift Danes quickly appeared in another part of the country. At last in order to gain time to strengthen his army, Alfred bought off the enemy, and they returned to London, outside of Wessex. Fighting the Danes at Sea. - Three years later Alfred again took the field against the Danes. He knew that in order to beat them, he must meet them on the sea ; so he built a small fleet, - - the first KING ALFRED. English warships. Out of seven Danish vessels, he captured one and put the rest to flight. So Alfred has been called " The Father of the English Navy." Alfred is Beaten on Land. Alfred was not so successful on land. He could not drive the swarms of Danes out of the country, but neither could they overrun his kingdom, as they had all the other kingdoms of England. The Danes seemed to have met their match. The war went on till winter and impassable roads put an end to the fighting. Danes at Last Victorious. In the depths of winter when Alfred s army had scattered to their homes, the Danes suddenly broke up their winter quarters and quickly spread over the country. Thus Wessex was taken by sur prise, and the land was left desolate like the other kingdoms. 126 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Farms were ravaged, villages and towns were ransacked and burned, churches and monasteries lay in blackened ruins. Alfred s subjects seemed to be discouraged and worn out with their long marches back and forth, in trying to corner the WEAPONS OF THE DANES. fleeing Danes. Alfred could do nothing more to check the enemy. To him everything seemed as black as night ; so he disappeared and let the Danes take his kingdom. King Alfred an Outlaw. But Alfred alone of all the Saxons had not lost hope. He settled down with a band of followers upon a little island in the river Thames. Here, ALFRED THE GREAT AND THE DANES 127 like an outlaw, he remained in hiding in the woods. When ever he saw a good chance, he sallied out and struck the Danes unexpectedly, doing them all the harm he could. Then he stole back to his hiding place. Here he kept think ing how he might drive them out altogether. He planned a great fleet, he learned how to build forts like those of the Danes, and he made better arms for his men. Alfred s Hour has Come. At last Alfred felt that his Saxons were ready to fight in earnest. So when the leaves were budding in the forest in the spring, he stole from his island and called his men together. Suddenly his army dashed from the dense forest and marched straight upon the Danes at Chippenham. The Danes were amazed at this great army which seemed to have sprung up out of the earth, but they came out to meet Alfred s host. Battle of Chippenham. -- The English army gripped their weapons firmly as they remembered their burned homes and their children carried over the sea as slaves. Alfred ar ranged his army in the shape of a wedge, and they rushed in to battle with a wild shout. The fight was soon over, and the Danes were fleeing to their fort. Alfred rode after them, and his army sat down to besiege their camp. For two weeks he kept them penned up, and they begged for peace. Alfred knew that he could not drive all of the Danes out of England, for they were too numerous and had too many forts. So he made terms with them. The Treaty of Wedmore. The Danes gave men to Alfred as hostages, or pledges that they would keep their word. They swore mighty oaths that they would quit ravaging Wessex, and their king Guthrum promised to become a Christian and to be baptized. This he did with many of his great warriors. Alfred and Guthrum now agreed to make the Thames River a boundary between their 128 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE two kingdoms. So the Danes kept northeastern England, while Alfred kept all the south and west, which was all of Wessex and a great deal more. Thus " Wessex was saved ; and in saving Wessex, Alfred had saved England " from be coming a heathen land again. Alfred Repairing the Ruin. Alfred now set about to repair the ruin of his kingdom and to get ready for another war with the Danes, because he was unwilling to leave the city of London in their hands. He realized that he must have a larger standing army, forts, ships, and better arms, if he were to hold his own against these warriors. A Larger Army. So Alfred divided the lands of his kingdom into small military districts of a few hundred acres each. Each district was to send an armed man at the king s summons and to provide him with food and pay. This gave Alfred a respectable standing army. The fyrd was divided into two parts. One part took the field, while the other looked after the crops and protected the homes and the townships. This enabled Alfred to under take a longer campaign. He also built forts and encouraged the townsmen to fortify their towns with ditches and pali sades ; he built a fleet of ships larger and swifter than those of the Danes; and he continued to improve the weapons of his soldiers. So when war came again in 886, King Alfred was ready. The Danes Meet Their Match. Alfred soon took London from the Danes and made it his capital. He forced them to give him much more territory. With London and the Thames valley in his hands, Alfred fortified and closed this waterway to the Danes. Since the invaders had already built homes in their new lands, they could not fight so well, for they must now defend their own homes before they could burn and destroy those of the Saxons. So they were beaten, ENGRAVtD BJ B1MHAT 4 CO, , ALFRED THE GREAT AND THE DANES 129 and Alfred extended his rule over more and more of their lands. King of England. So great was the respect and ad miration for the wonderful Alfred among all the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes that they turned to him as their hope and their deliverer from slavery to the Danes. The jealousies among the people, who had before formed little kingdoms, now disappeared, and in its place was a growing pride in the greatness of England, a feeling of oneness and union. The Danes Become English. The Danish newcomers settled down quietly, after a time, and were tamed. They readily mixed and intermarried with the English; they received the English religion and the Anglo-Saxon speech; and after a few generations, the Danes could not be distin guished from the Anglo-Saxons. One great reason for this lay in their being close kin to the Saxons and having customs and a language very similar to them. The Danes brought many good qualities to enrich the English stock greater daring, deeper love of personal freedom, better seamanship, and a warmer love of the sea, besides a keener spirit of trade and commerce, in which England excels to this day. Alfred s Work in Time of Peace. Alfred now spent his years of peace in building up and uniting the greater part of England. He encouraged trade and travel, because these would help to do away with the ignorance and prejudice of his people. He did all that he could to make England safe for foreign merchants. He raised to the order of gentle man every merchant who had made three voyages to the Mediterranean at his own expense. Alfred sent ambassadors to Rome, to France, to the East, and even to India. He also encouraged the work of craftsmen, goldsmiths, and jewelers, for in these crafts the Saxons were very skillful. DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE A VIKING SHIP AND AN OCEAN LINER. (Columbian Exposition.) ALFRED THE GREAT AND THE DANES 131 Character of Alfred the Great. Alfred is said to have been the most perfect character in history. * No other man on record has united so many great qualities. He was a good Christian man in an age when so many were wicked. Like Washington he was a great warrior, never cast down in defeat nor cruel to the enemy when he had conquered. He was unselfish, for he lived only to serve his people. In addition to all this, Alfred was a great statesman, improving the army, building up a navy, erecting walls about the cities, and making good laws for his people. Alfred gathered together all the good laws wherever he could find them and wrote them down and caused them to be obeyed instead of the cruel and barbarous customs of the Saxons. In this way he greatly improved the laws of his kingdom. Alfred s Court and Judges. Alfred also saw to it that everybody, rich and poor, obeyed the laws. There arose during Alfred s reign many powerful nobles, who would not obey the orders of the shire moot if they did not choose to do so. Alfred made all the nobles bring their cases to him, and he saw to it that the poor man got justice and that the rich nobles obeyed his decisions like other people. He heard cases day and night. Of course these nobles hated Alfred heartily because he made them do right. Alfred once said that to be a good king one had to do many un pleasant things and make many enemies. Encourages Learning. Alfred encouraged great scholars and men of learning to come over from the continent. He entertained them in his court ; he raised them to be bishops and abbots ; he consulted with them and made them his personal friends. Alfred was himself a great scholar, in an age when nearly everybody was ignorant. He built schools and monasteries, encouraged learning, and wrote books in Anglo-Saxon so that his people could read them. 132 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Everything Alfred did was done, not for his own glory, but for the good of his people. King Alfred s Death. After ruling for nearly thirty years, King Alfred died in 901. In his will he left money to all his family and friends and gave his slaves their free dom. In his last days he wrote : " This I will say, that I have tried to live worthily while I lived, and after my life to leave to the men that come after me a remembering of me in good works." No ruler ever set so good an example of what a king should be, and the English people have never ceased to love him and to call him Alfred the Great. England for the English. After Alfred s death, for more than a hundred years, England was ruled over by strong Wessex kings. They bent all their powers to finish what Alfred had begun to unite and strengthen the English people. Thus, the whole country became so thoroughly English, with one language, one system of laws, and one religion, that it has ever remained so. Eng land was later conquered by fresh hordes of Danes under Canute. It was still later conquered and ruled over by the Normans under William the Conqueror, with his French- speaking army and nobles. However, the English lan guage, laws, and customs were so well grounded that they could not be rooted out by the foreign king or a foreign nobility. For this we are indebted mainly to the strong kings of Wessex, of whom Alfred was the greatest. QUESTIONS DANES AND NORTHMEN i . What improvement was there in England? 2. Why was there less fighting ? 3. Describe the home of the Danes and Northmen. 4. Where was it? 5. What were the characteristics of these men ? 6. Why did they rove? 7. Where? 8. Why do they settle in Britain ? 9. Whom do they find there ? ALFRED THE GREAT AND THE DANES 133 10. Why are the Danes able to settle there? n. Describe the Danish fortifications. ENGLISH ARMY 12. What divisions of people were there in England at this time ? 13. What two classes of soldiers were there ? 14. How were the soldiers called together? 15. How were they armed? 16. What supplies did they get? 17. Describe the cam paign. 18. What weakness was there in this army? 19. Compare the English and Danish armies. 20. What was the feeling of the army toward the monasteries? 21. What were the results of the Danish invasions? KING ALFRED 22. Describe his boyhood. 23. Discuss the treaty of Wedmore. 24. How was Alfred s army different from the old one? 25. How did Alfred prepare to meet the Danes? 26. What territory did he seize ? 27. Why? 28. Wherein lay King Alfred s strength? 29. Why was he able to defeat the Danes? 30. Results. 31. What good qualities did the Danes add to the Eng lish nation? 32. Why was it easy for them to settle in England? 33. What do you think of King Alfred as a man? 34. What did he do for England? 35. What were the results of Alfred s rule? CHAPTER XI THE BEGINNING OF FRANCE The Franks. The most important tribe that settled in Gaul was the Franks, who, after a time, gave their name to that country. There were several tribes of them. The chief who made them strong and great was Clovis. He was only fifteen years old when he became king of his tribe of Franks, but he was an unusually brave youth and soon proved to be a great warrior. He early began to conquer the tribes about him and to add their lands to his own. Some of the other chiefs Clovis drove away, and some he murdered. Franks Become Christians. The Franks had been pagans until Clovis married a Burgundian lady, Clotilda, who had become a Christian ; and this paved the way for all of the Franks to accept Christianity. Clovis had waged war on the Burgundians, conquered them, and made them receive him as their king. He then moved against the Alemans, another Teutonic tribe. This time he almost met his match. In the midst of the battle, Clovis saw his lines giving way, and the battle seemed almost lost. Then he called upon the God of his wife, vowing that if Christ would help him to victory, he would be baptized and become a Christian. In Clevis s army were many Christian Gauls, and when they heard of his vow, their enthusiasm and fierce fighting at last defeated the Ale- mans. So Clovis kept his word, and on Christmas day was baptized, together with three thousand of his warriors, who thus became members of the Catholic Church. 134 THE BEGINNING OF FRANCE 135 Clovis and the Pope join Hands. --This act of Clovis had a great influence on France, for the Christian Gauls now gladly accepted him as their king, and joined his army. The pope of Rome also was greatly pleased, for he and Clovis could join hands against the enemies of the Roman Catholic Church. Becoming a Christian had made very little change in the conduct of Clovis, but he was glad to have the help of the Christian Gauls and of the Church. So he became its champion. He made war on the West Goths and took a large territory from them, and then turned against the other tribes of Franks, whose rulers were his friends. Clovis had these secretly murdered or killed in different ways, until he was ruler of nearly all the territory of what is now France. The Gauls and Franks were uniting to form the French people. Paris became the capital city. As Clovis s kingdom became larger and larger his power grew, and the people had less to say as to how they should be ruled. France was in a fair way to become a strong kingdom, when Clovis died in 511. The country was then divided among his four sons. Centuries of Darkness. There followed a long, long time when France was full of darkness, of wickedness, and of crime; when there was no safety anywhere from robbery and fighting. And then at last there appeared at Paris another strong ruler, Charlemagne, or Charles the Great. Charles Subdued the Saxons. Charles was also a member of the Roman Church and in high favor with the pope. He wished to unite all his tribes in one great Christian state. If he were to succeed in this plan, he must first conquer the Saxon tribes who lived along the Rhine. These pagan Saxons were great warriors, and Charles found the task of subduing them a hard one indeed. 136 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Every time he defeated the Saxons, they rose up again. Nine times Charles put them down, the last time with great cruelty, for he beheaded four thousand Saxon warriors in one day. Then he declared that every living Saxon who refused to be baptized as a Christian, or who ate flesh during Lent, should lose his head. So the Saxons on the Rhine were finally con quered, and their lands added to the empire of Charles. A Strong Ruler. Charles succeeded in build ing up a very great Christian empire. It included all of what is now France, Belgium, Netherlands, and nearly all of Germany. Charles ruled it well, for he was a strong king. He had great armies, as well as fleets of warships. Robbers and pirates were driven away, and the rude tribes had a brief period of peace in which they might take a few steps toward civ ilized living. " Emperor of the Romans." -In the year 800, Charles went to Rome to settle a dispute between Pope Leo III and his enemies. The trouble was settled, and the pope held a solemn service in St. Peter s on Christmas day to give thanks, and to celebrate the peace that Charles had obtained for him. As Charles the Great was kneeling CHARLEMAGNE. THE BEGINNING OF FRANCE 137 before the altar during the service, the pope came to him, and, to his surprise, set a crown upon his head and saluted him as " Emperor of the Romans," amid the applause of the people. Encourages Learning. Charles not only kept order in his great empire, but he began to educate the people. He urged the priests and bishops to establish schools in connection with their churches, and to teach the boys to read, for those were times of great ignorance among the people. Charles himself built up a great school in his palace to teach the sons of noblemen. He gathered to gether the greatest scholars and teachers from all countries. Amusements. One sport of Charles the Great s time was tracking and driving animals of all sorts into pens made of cloths or nets, where the hunters killed them by the thousand. It was said of Charlemagne, that though usually at war, he never missed a chance to hunt. He enjoyed hunting so much that he rested himself by galloping through the forest. On these occasions he was followed by hunts men and attendants of his household, and by his wife and daughters, all mounted on magnificent horses. All the members of the party vied with one another in attacking the fiercest animals. " They often used a stuffed cow as a blind while approaching wild fowl. We find sportsmen shooting with bow and arrows at bears, wild boars, and stags. Their arrows had sharp iron points. When hunting rabbits, an arrow with a big blunt end was used in order to stun the animal without piercing his body. Sometimes a sportsman with his crossbow was seated in a carriage all covered with boughs, so as to approach his prey without alarming it any more than a swinging branch would do." Another Period of Darkness. Charles the Great died in 814, and the whole empire went to pieces again, for 138 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE the tribes were not yet able to settle down to live lives of peace and honest labor. As soon as the strong arm of Charles the Great was no longer felt, robbers and brigands swarmed over the land to kill, torture, and plunder as they pleased. It took a strong man to rule those rough people, and such a man was not to be found. " The ninth century was an age of indescribable horror and misery in France." QUESTIONS i. Where had the Franks settled? 2. Who was their leader? 3. Why had Clovis so much power ? 4. What did he do for France? 5. In what condition was France after his death? 6. Who was Charlemagne? 7. What was his ambition? 8. Over how great a kingdom did he rule? 9. What did he accomplish? 10. Why was his empire so easily destroyed? u. Why and where were the Northmen plundering? 12. What were the results? CHAPTER XTI FEUDALISM The Northmen on the Continent. At the time when England was suffering from the raids of the Northmen, their fleets were also plundering the coasts and river cities of France, Spain, and Germany. Everywhere these sea wolves found the government too weak to resist them, and everywhere they wrought dreadful havoc. The people of France suffered severely. The Northmen not only ravaged the country districts, but sacked scores of great cities, among them Paris. The rich plunder that they sought was found mainly in churches and in monasteries. These they robbed and burned with delight, while they mocked and scoffed at the Christian religion. It is said that they even stabled their horses in the fine cathedral near the tomb of Charles the Great. The Fighter is King. Since all government was gone, and no power whatever was left to protect the people from the continual plundering of the Northmen, each community was forced to look out for itself. There was usually found in each neighborhood one man who was stronger than the others. Perhaps it was because of his riches or his influence with men, but more likely it was because of his ability to fight. So he was made leader, and all the weaker men with their families looked to him for protection. Warding off the Northmen. Each of these fighting chieftains planted himself upon some strong position in his domain a ford, a pass into a valley, or a hilltop, where he 130 140 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE built a strong castle. Here he stood with his troop, arms in hand by day and sleeping upon them at night, to hold the rob bers at bay. In those dark days, kings, nobles, and knights, in order to be ready at all hours, kept their horses in the same rooms in which they themselves slept with their families. Their beds were piles of leaves or straw upon the floor of the AN OLD CASTLE. hall, and their spurs were seldom taken off when they went to sleep. Safety for the Peasant. The neighborhood was no longer a prey to the wicked Northmen. The peasant enjoyed protection. He did not live in constant fear of being cut down by the battle-ax or led away captive with his family as slaves. He plowed and sowed crops, feeling sure that he would reap a harvest, unharmed. In case of danger, he knew a safe place for his family, his cattle, and grain, under the shelter of the castle on the distant hilltop. People lived were glad to live under the iron-gloved FEUDALISM 141 hand of a noble, even if he did sometimes use them roughly. This was much to be preferred to falling into the hands of the savage Northmen. " Not to be killed, and to have a good sheepskin coat in winter, was for many people of the tenth century the height of felicity." Agreement between Noble and Farmer. The chieftain or noble and the small landowners in the country around came to an agreement. They gave their lands up to him and received back only the use of them, while the noble was to afford them protection. In order to do this he must keep up his troop of ready fighters. The peasants, in re turn for this protection, cultivated their lord s land, did his work, paid him dues for house rent, for every head of cattle they raised, and for turning over their land to their children. They paid these dues in stock, grain, poultry, and the like, for there was very little money in those days. Taking Toll. Moreover the noble alone had wealth enough to construct a mill, an oven, or a wine press; to build a bridge, or to maintain a ferry ; and in order to be paid for his trouble, he taxed all the people who used them. The time came when the " vassals could not take their corn to any other than their lord s mill, their bread to any other than the lord s oven, or their grapes to any other than the lord s wine press " ; and they must pay whatever toll the lord demanded. There was nothing to prevent the noble from taking half the farmer s corn as toll for grinding the other half. So a greedy noble sometimes " ground the people s faces while he ground their corn." Another Kind of Tax. The vassals had also to pay, or to provide, certain aids to their lord. They were expected to help buy his freedom if he were taken prisoner, to help pay the expense of knighting the lord s eldest son, and of the marriage of his eldest daughter. Then, too, they must 142 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE entertain their lord and his followers when he came into their midst. Some vassals gave such scanty fare that it was often written down just what food and drink they must provide for their lord on these visits. Receiving a Fief. When the lord gave to his vassal a section of land, which they called a fief, there were certain ceremonies to be performed. First, the vassal, to show TICKELL CASTLE. devotion to his lord, uncovered his head, unbuckled his belt, and put aside his sword and spurs ; he then knelt and placed his hands between those of his lord and promised to be his man thenceforth, to serve him loyally with life and limb, in return for the lands that he was about to receive. Then he swore a solemn oath to be true to his lord. Lastly the lord took the man to the land and gave it into his possession, or if the land was too far away, the lord gave the vassal a piece of turf, a stone, or a branch, as a symbol of the land. Each Lord a King. The small landowners ceased to FEUDALISM 144 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE own farms and became vassals to a neighboring lord or noble. The whole country was thus divided into these petty little fiefs or states; castles crowned the hilltops; and instead of one strong central government, it was said that there were ten thousand in France alone. Each lord was practically independent of the king, for he made his own laws and compelled obedience to them ; he laid and collected his own taxes, coined his own money, when he had any, and held court to try lawbreakers. The people of these petty states often became proud of their lord and his family. They repeated with pride his great feats of arms, and they cheered him as he passed by with his knights. The Idea of King Not Forgotten. This feudal gov ernment grew up through the Dark Ages. Feudal lords sometimes pieced together large districts. Some of this they received from other nobles or from the king, and in this way, lords became vassals of those above them. All the land was supposed to have belonged at first to the king. He gave it out to his vassals, the nobles, in large tracts, and they granted it in smaller fields to their vassals or serfs. These again divided up the land in farms to their vassals. In this way the idea of a king was not forgotten, even though he seemed to have so little power, for the nobles owed him allegiance and service. Sometimes when there was war between two great nobles, the king was called in as peace maker. In this way he showed that he still had a little power left. However, the common people owed no duties to the king, but only to their lords. Fighting as a Business. Fighting was the chief occu pation of the feudal lords. With so much selfishness and greed and so many chances to quarrel, there was no trouble in finding an excuse for war. Each lord had proud enemies all about him. At some time in his life he was likely to FEUDALISM 145 fight each of his neighboring lords, bishops, and abbots, then his fellow-vassals, and lastly his under vassals. Every body took advantage of a weak neighbor. A son often carried on war against his father to get hold of part of the estate before the father s death; younger brothers often fought against older ones. The Lord s Court. Each lord had a court to settle the disputes of his vassals, but often he let them fight it out rather than force upon them the decisions of his own court. The laws of those days did not forbid neighborhood fighting, but merely provided that neighbors should fight in a decent and gentlemanly way. The " Truce of God." -These continual wars were very destructive. People were killed off in great numbers, buildings were burned, and crops laid waste. It was impossible in such wild times for the people to grow more civilized. The poor came to wish more and more for peace. The church always opposed war; now it finally brought about the " Truce of God," which prohibited all fighting from Thursday evening of each week until the following Monday morning. Likewise on fast days warring was forbidden. The bishops forced the feudal lords to take oath to keep this weekly truce. If any lord refused, he was excommunicated from the church and was declared an outcast. In those days there was but one church, and to be turned out of it was a trying punishment. Thus the church gradually helped to do away with fighting for a part of every week. QUESTIONS i. What is the meaning of feudalism? 2. What started feudal ism? 3. Describe the castle. 4. How was it protected ? 5. What workers were there in it? 6. Describe the life of a peasant. 7. What agreement was made between the noble and the peasant ? L 146 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE 8. What was a fief ? 9. A vassal? 10. Why could the lord grow so strong? n. Discuss tolls and taxes. 12. What power had the king at this time ? 13. Why was there so much fighting ? 14. What was the result of such continual fighting ? 15. What was the "Truce of God"? CHAPTER XIII CASTLE LIFE How Castles were Protected. The nobles and barons were not fighting all the time ; now we will get a glimpse of how they lived in their castles during days of peace. The castles were enormous buildings of stone, the walls of which were often so thick that a man crawling out of a window would have to creep three times his length. On the outside of the wall was a wide moat, or ditch, filled with water. Along the outer edge of the moat was often a palisade. If the enemy got over the pali sade and across the moat, he was face to face with the huge wall upon which were the defenders of the castle, who might hurl down stones or logs or boiling pitch. At short intervals along the walls were strong towers with narrow windows from which to shoot. U7 PLAN OF A CASTLE. 148 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE The Entrance. The gate to the castle was even more strongly guarded. In front of the gate was a drawbridge across the moat. The drawbridge was lowered to allow friends to cross this ditch and then raised on end against the wall to prevent enemies from entering. On both sides of the gateway were heavy towers of stone, which were filled with warriors in case of attack. Loopholes looked 3C THE DRAWBRIDGE. down on the enemy from many directions. Between these tall towers were great wooden doors, and behind the doors was a heavy iron grating called a portcullis, which was lowered to block the entrance of an enemy. Keen-eyed guards were always on the lookout for foes. So strong and so massive were these castles that the gray walls of many of them are still to be seen to-day, crowning the hill tops of Europe. Upon such a fort as this the Northmen spent their force in vain. Seldom did they get a peep inside of such strongholds. CASTLE LIFE 149 A Peep Within. But we may enter, for we are friends. One blast of our familiar bugle horn and the drawbridge is lowered by its huge chains, and we cross the moat. The wooden gate is opened, the iron grating, or portcullis, is raised, and we enter the courtyard. Here we see a variety of buildings and an open space of several acres, perhaps, which may serve to shelter cattle and other live stock when the plunderers are abroad. Near at hand are stables for the horses of the knights. We see the great oven where the bread is baked for the lord and his followers. Near by is a building with storerooms and cellars for storing provi sions, because, in case of a long siege, much food is needed. Next we behold the great kitchen where cooking is done, and possibly a chapel. The Donjon Keep. Now, to our surprise, we come upon a fort within the fort. It is the keep, or " donjon," with walls of stone eight or ten feet thick. This is the last and stoutest defense of all for the noble and his family. We find it provided with its own well and storerooms, and be neath it are also dark dungeons for prisoners. The only way to take it would be to starve out the defenders by a long siege. Even when that is done, there are hidden or underground passages leading to the moat outside the wall, so that the baron and his family may escape to the open country rather than be captured and thrown into his own dark dungeons to die. Workers in the Castle. The people who lived in the castle were not all knights. There were craftsmen of several kinds. Each great lord had his tailor and blacksmith, his saddler and shoewrights, who made of hides shoes of various kinds, leather bottles, bridles, halters, and pouches. The most important of all, perhaps, were the swordsmiths and the makers of armor. A number of women also were 150 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE gathered into a sort of factory, making clothes for all the people in the castle. The Page. It was the great hope of every high-born lad of those days to become a knight when he grew up. At the age of seven these boys were taken to the castle of some great noble, where they were to be trained for knighthood. Between the ages of seven and fourteen the lad was called a page. It was the page s duty to attend his master and mistress in their travels or on hunting trips, and to be polite and courteous to all, especially to ladies. A page carried messages, waited on his lord and lady at meals, carved their food, and poured their drinks. Pages played at doing everything they saw knights do. They held combats or duels among themselves, using sticks for lances or swords. These boys were most anxious to be come squires. Sometimes if they showed skill and bravery, they were made squires younger than their fellows, and so every page wished to show his bravery in any way he could. Becoming a Squire. When about fourteen, the page went through a very solemn ceremony to become a squire. He stood before the altar and received from the hands of the priest a sword upon which the priest had pronounced a blessing. This consecrated sword the page promised to wield on behalf of honor and of the church. Duties of a Squire. As a squire his time was spent in hard training for knighthood. He put on heavy armor and practiced leaping to the back of a horse, and walking or running long distances on foot. He turned somersaults, he struck blows with a battle-ax, or hurled spears and lances. Clad in full armor, he was expected, by placing both hands on the saddle, to leap clean over his horse. It was a duty of the squire to receive visiting nobles to his master s court. He must care for the stables, break in new chargers, CASTLE LIFE 152 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE and assist his lord to mount his horse. Squires fastened the armor on their lord. If he were unhorsed in battle, they were at hand with a fresh horse and helped him to remount. If wounded, they tried to carry him from the field before he was slain. They also had charge of all prisoners taken by the knights on the field of battle. The Spurs were Won. After the squire had shown himself honorable and brave and had " won his spurs," he prepared to become a knight. He ate no food for days, he spent three nights in prayer, he appeared before the altar clad in pure white to see his sword consecrated. And then a day was fixed for the great ceremony. He again appeared before the altar on bended knee with the sword suspended from his neck, for he had not yet the right to gird it to his side. The bishop took the sword from its scabbard and gave it to the knight, saying, " Receive this blade in the name of the Father and use it for your own defense and that of God s Holy Church, and, so far as possible, wound no one unjustly with it." The new-made knight arose, bran dished the sword, wiped it on his left arm, and replaced it in the scabbard. The bishop gave him the kiss of peace, saying, " Peace be with thee." Then with the naked sword he struck the knight gently three times on the shoulders, saying, "Be thou a peaceable, brave, and faithful warrior." The knight next received his armor cuirass, gauntlets, helmet, and sword ; other knights put on his spurs, gave him his shield and lance, and his charger was brought. Two Duties of a Knight. Whenever a knight was present at mass, he held the point of his sword before him while the Gospel was read, to show his determination to defend religion. The Christian nations had great respect for their women, who were noble and virtuous; and this regard came to enter into knighthood, for each knight was CASTLE LIFE 153 A KNIGHT IN ARMOR. 154 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE bound to protect the weak. Knights were commanded to love God and the ladies. It was believed in the castles that he who was faithful and true to his mistress was al most sure of reward in the next world. The Crusades. When the Mohammedan Turks cap tured Jerusalem, the Christian knights of all Europe burned with a desire to win back the tomb of Christ from these Turks. After that time, every knight pledged himself to be ready to go on a crusade to the Holy Land, when the op portunity came. A False Knight was Expelled. If a knight broke his sacred vows, or proved to be a man without honor, he was degraded. He was stripped of his armor, which was broken to pieces before his eyes. His spurs were cast into the mud. His shield was tied to a work horse and dragged through the dirt, and his charger s tail cut off. The dishonored knight was then placed on a scaffold in nothing but his shirt, and a herald called out three times in a loud voice, " Who is there? " Each time he was answered with the name of the knight, and each time the herald replied : " No, it is not so. I see no knight here ; I see only a coward who has been false to his sacred vows." Training of the Women. Women of the higher classes were taught from childhood to do acts of kindness to friends and strangers, and especially to knights who might enter their castles. On a knight s return from battle or from a tournament, the women unbuckled his armor with their own hands, brought forth perfumed and spotless linen and a mantle and a scarf that they had embroidered. They prepared his bath and waited upon him at table. They did their utmost to win approval by modest behavior. Respect for Women. -- Women have not usually had much influence among people of rude manners, because they CASTLE LIFE 155 had no chance to show their beauty and grace by becom ing dress and adornment. These are woman s God-given charms and her defense, just as strength and power are man s. So long as man s pastimes were only drunken brawls, woman had no part in them. But castle life gave the women a chance to share in man s pleasures ; and she quickly improved them by driving out much of the drunken- CASTLE OF FALAISE. ness and rude manners. Commerce began to bring in the rich furs of the North and the fine silks of Asia and the wrought gold of home manufacture. With such adorn ments, the women soon cast a spell of loveliness and beauty over the life of the castles. A Banquet in the Castle. Women were present at festivals and tournaments, and sat among the men in the halls of their castles. A story of those days tells of a great feast, where eight hundred knights had each of them a 156 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE lady eating off his plate. For to eat off the same plate was then a sign of friendship. Lords and ladies often gath ered in the great hall of the castle for a banquet. Tables were loaded down with roast pork, hams, sausages, beef, poultry, and game of all kinds. The feast sometimes con tinued several days. Minstrels came from far and near with their songs and stories. Some of them played all sorts of instruments. There were jugglers who performed feats. They tumbled, turned somersaults, and leaped through hoops, placed a certain distance apart. They played with knives, slings, baskets, balls, and plates ; they walked on their hands with their feet in the air. Even women sometimes became acrobats. There were also court fools, who were often dwarfs or comically deformed. They were dressed ridiculously as clowns are to-day. There were rope walkers, too, some of whom even danced upon a rope. Games and Sports. The people of the castles played games of chance such as dice. Chess and backgammon were also favorite indoor games. Dancing was likewise popular in society, even though it was forbidden by the Catholic Church. A favorite sport in the Dark Ages was hunting. Kings, nobles, knights, and ladies all vied with one another in the chase. Animals were often brought in from foreign countries to stock the woods, or to be used in catching other animals. They used the hound and hawk in the chase, and also the leopard and panther from Africa. The sportsmen rode across the country, preceded by their dogs, each hunter with a leopard sitting behind him on the saddle. When the dogs started the game, the leopard was let loose. He sprang from the horse, and as he caught the game, the hunter galloped up and threw the leopard a piece of raw meat, for which he gave up his prey and re mounted behind his master. CASTLE LIFE 157 Hunting with Hawks. Another delight of the nobles of the Middle Ages was falconry or hunting with a hawk. When a knight went hawking, he carried his falcon sitting on his wrist. It was fastened by a stout cord or chain, and its head was covered with a hood. When game was started, the falcon was unhooded and sent after its prey. Hawking was held in such esteem that a nobleman or his lady never J A SPORT OF THE DAY. appeared in public without a bird on the wrist as a mark of dignity. Even bishops and abbots entered the churches with their hunting birds, which they placed on the steps of the altar during the service. Everybody of importance had hunting birds of some sort to keep up his rank. Training the Bird. "To train the bird, he was first made fearless of men, horses, and dogs. Then a string was fastened to one leg, and the bird was allowed to fly a short 158 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE distance, when he was brought back to the lure or mock bird, where he always found a dainty bit of food. Then the hunter would throw down a wounded partridge close by, and let the falcon loose to catch it. It was at once taken from him, and he was rewarded by choice food again. If the bird was to hunt hares, a stuffed hare within which was food, was dragged before the bird." The Value of a Falcon. A well-trained falcon was a bird of great value and was the finest present that could be made to a lady or a noble, or to the king himself. The arrival at court of a hawk dealer from a foreign country was a great event. In the fourteenth century there were so many nobles who hawked that in the rooms of inns there were perches made under the large mantelpieces, on which to place the birds while the sportsmen were at dinner. Emperors and kings were as keen as others for this amusement. The Tournament. Another favorite entertainment of knights was the tournament. In the early days the tourna ment was a rough and violent sport, wherein knights fought with weapons with dulled points and edges. Still we read of a tournament in Germany where sixty knights were killed. The iron men of those days loved to measure strength, one against the other, with sword strokes, lance thrusts, or mace blows. In later days this extreme rough ness was done away with. The Field or List. The tournament took place in a large square or circle, marked out near some castle or abbey. The field was decorated with ornaments and gay-colored banners. There were stands roofed for the shelter of per sons of rank in bad weather. Here were stationed princes and judges and, sometimes, kings and queens. Only Honorable Knights Enter. The knights who were to take part had their banners and coats of arms hung CASTLE LIFE 159 upon the walls of the monastery or castle near by, and these were inspected by nobles and ladies. If a lady had a com plaint against any knight who was about to enter the sport, she touched his banner. Then an inquiry was made, and A TOURNAMENT. if the knight were found guilty, he was forbidden to appear at the tournament. Entering the Field. - The squires came into the arena for a trial of strength as a prelude to the real tournament. 160 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE The squires fought with less dangerous weapons, and those who made a fine showing were soon knighted. Then came the knights with slow and solemn procession, all magnifi cently armed and equipped, and followed by their squires. Each lady had given a scarf or a veil to her favorite knight. CONFERRING KNIGHTHOOD ON THE FIELD OF BATTLE. This was placed on his shield or helmet, so that his lady might be able to recognize him. The Combat. When the knights in full armor rode at each other at full speed with leveled spears, there was great shouting ; and every brilliant stroke brought loud applause. As the lady saw her favorite getting the best of his opponent she threw coins to the crowd, whereat they set up a tre- CASTLE LIFE 161 mendous shouting. When the combat was over, the judges declared the victors. The prizes were given by the ladies, and the winners were dressed in splendid clothes. Later the victors were celebrated in poems and songs. Victory at a tournament was attended with more glory than a victory upon the real battlefield, because no battle could be viewed by such distinguished witnesses. The Weapons. In the later tournaments the weapons were pointless and often of wood, and the laws bound the knights to strike only upon the strong armor of the body. Still the combat often ended in wounds and death. The church objected to the sport, but in vain. What Knighthood Taught the People. This system of knighthood, or chivalry, taught the people of the Middle Ages many good lessons. It taught the sacredness of reli gion, of respect for women, and of honor. It taught the knights to be just and to defend the weak from the strong. It taught men to be loyal, for to break a promise was a disgrace. A knight who was not courteous was a brute to be barred from good society. Knights were expected to be generous, to distribute wealth to minstrels, to poor knights, and to the common people who were suffering. Knighthood Disappears. When gunpowder was in vented, it did away with knights in armor, for no knight could wear steel armor thick enough to protect him from a powder-driven bullet. Foot soldiers could then defeat mounted knights. Thus knighthood and chivalry, having taught the world all the lessons they could teach, and being no longer needed, disappeared along with tournaments. 162 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE QUESTIONS AMUSEMENTS AT CASTLE i . Discuss the banquets, the games, and dancing. 2. Why was hunting so popular? 3, Where did they hunt? 4. How? 5. Of what use were the leopard and falcon? 6. How were these birds trained? 7. What was a tournament? 8. Where was it held ? 9. Who took part ? 10. Describe a combat, ii. How did a page spend his time? 12. How did he become a squire ? 13. What were the duties of a squire ? 14. How did a squire become a knight? 15. What were the duties of a knight? 16. What happened to a false knight ? 17. What did the women in the castle do? 18. What did knighthood teach the people ? 19. What caused knighthood to decline ? 20. Why ? CHAPTER XIV HOW THE PEOPLE LIVED The Manor. Most people in the Dark Ages grouped themselves, largely according to kin, in villages that con tained a score or more of houses. Each village was sur rounded by plowlands, meadows, pastures, and woods. The village and its near-by land was called a manor or a vill. The whole country was broken up into manors, each of which belonged to some lord or abbot. The Manor House. Nor far from the village stood the lord s castle, or manor house, with its halls for holding court, its court yard, its houses for cooking and brewing, and its farm buildings. Near by was an orchard and a gar den. The village and manor house were usually built near a stream, whose current was used to run the mill that ground corn for all the people of the manor. In each village was also a church and a parsonage. The Houses of the Village. --The houses of the village were mostly dirty hovels, one-roomed and thatch-roofed, with a hole in the roof, like that of an Indian wigwam, for smoke to go out and light to come in. Even in the well-to- do houses, glass was rare. When there were windows, they were covered with oiled linen cloth, or paper that admitted a little light and kept out the snow and rain. The poor had a fire in the middle of the house, and the wife and children hovered about it in the ashes and dirt. They slept on straw for a bed, with mats of bearskin or the skins of ani mals for warmth. The stable for cattle was often under the 163 164 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE HOW THE PEOPLE LIVED 165 same roof with the house. Carpets were unknown. There were no floors, but the ground was covered with straw or rushes. When the straw became old and worn out, it was not removed, but simply covered with a fresh layer. This must have had something to do with the frequent and awful plagues of those times. Furniture. The furniture was rude ; rough-hewn benches and stools were used instead of chairs. The drink ing cups were of horn or wood. Sometimes gourds were used. People were Farmers. Behind each house of the vil lage was usually an orchard of apples and pears, and a small garden in which grew cabbages, onions, parsnips, and carrots, but no potatoes, for the original home of the potato was America, and America was still unknown to Europeans. Since the roads were so poor, and there were robbers everywhere in hiding, there could be little trade or com merce. The village tried to produce everything that it needed so to be free from the uncertainties and expense of trade. Save a blacksmith, a shoemaker, and a carpenter, all the villagers were farmers. Their tools were rude, and very poor crops were raised. They did not fertilize the land with plant food, so the fields had to lie unused every third year, to rest. The farmers seldom got more than six or eight bushels of wheat or rye from an acre, and two bushels of this had to be kept for seed. To-day an acre of the same land yields thirty or more bushels. Sometimes there was a crop failure, which caused a famine, for there was no way to get food from abroad. In such times the people were forced to live on acorns, roots, and bark ; and great numbers starved. In years of good harvest the people lived better, but they had not learned to save for the days of famine. 166 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Everybody Held Land. The villagers all held their land from the lord of the castle or manor, and they paid him rent in produce, or in day s labor upon the fields that he kept for his own use. The amount of land held by each villager varied from a hundred or more acres to a small strip of ground. Some had only a patch of garden and a cottage to dwell in, and these were called cotters. Farms Scattered in Strips. Strangely a man s farm was not all in one piece, but was made up of a strip here and a strip there, and one yonder. These several separate strips of land were scattered in different fields among those of other farmers. Because of this, the farmers cultivated their crops in common, with a plow team of eight or twelve oxen, for the plow was -rude and heavy. Each villager brought his single ox, or yoke of oxen, as his part of the team. The Pasture and the Meadow. There was a common pasture land, where all might pasture their cows and horses ; and the woods fed droves of pigs with beechnuts and acorns. But perhaps the most valuable land of all was the meadow, where wild grass was cut with a rude scythe. This wild hay was in great demand to feed the stock through the long winters. These villagers knew nothing of timothy, or clover, or alfalfa. Most of the cattle, hogs, and sheep had to be killed and salted down in the fall, for lack of feed to win ter them on. It is said, " Those that survived were often so weak in the spring that they had to be dragged to pas ture on a sledge." Articles Brought in by Traders. For preserving their meat through the winter, salt was brought from the salt works on the seashore, where it was obtained by evaporating sea water in huge pans. Another article that had to be obtained abroad and brought in was iron for weapons and farm tools. In addition, millstone and tar, to keep mur- HOW THE PEOPLE LIVED 167 rain from the sheep, were imported. The churches needed certain things that were not made in the village ; and the nobles obtained wine, spices, and fur from abroad. Trade was carried on by peddlers, who carried their wares on their backs or on pack animals. Slave Trade. There was one kind of property that was easily transported, and that was slaves. Chained together, they were often driven in troops of a hundred or more, MANOR HOUSE. from country to country. King Alfred made a law to keep a father from selling his daughter to servitude among strange people. Food. -- The food of the plain people was coarse and limited to a few dishes. Wheat bread was only for the well- to-do, the poor having white bread only on feast days. Bread made of barley was more common. The poor man had to be content with bread made of a mixture of rye, oats, and beans, which was dark and tough. Leaven or yeast was unknown ; and so the bread was heavy. It had 1 68 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE to be baked thin and was used for plates to cut other food on. When this bread plate became softened with sauce and gravy, it was cut up and eaten as cake. The rich had ovens for baking, but the poor used an iron plate or a covered iron dish, surrounded by hot coals. They might use the lord s oven if they were able to pay the toll. Meat, the Food of the Well-to-do. While the poor must live largely on black bread and cabbages, the rich ate meat chiefly pork in winter, because it was best fitted for salting down. If a servant ate meat of his own accord, he was fined or " made to suffer in his hide." Lords, bishops, and abbots had great droves of swine for them selves. Even in the towns every family had a pig or two, which were allowed to roam the streets. Fish was much used for food, and the rivers were then more plentifully stocked with them than now. Sea fish were not caught, because the people had not learned how. Preserving Meat. Salt was expensive in the Dark Ages on account of the long haul, or the carriage on horseback over mud roads. It was used so scantily in salting down meat for winter s use that the bacon often became rancid and the ham covered with maggots long before the winter was over. For months at a time fresh meat could not be had, and so much salt food was a cause of disease. Honey Instead of Sugar. Sugar was unknown. Every body who could kept bees for honey. So precious were swarms of bees that they were left by will to favored chil dren or friends. In summer new swarms were often sold before they came from the hive. The woods were searched for bee trees; and the night when such a tree was cut down was one of great merriment. What the People Drank. --The people of the Dark Ages drank beer. Every lord and bishop and abbot had his HOW THE PEOPLE LIVED 169 brewery. The French had two kinds of beer one made from grains and honey for the rich, the other made without honey for the poor. Cider was also a common drink. Wealthy people made and drank wines. Coffee and tea were unknown. The people sat at table to eat. They had knives and spoons but no forks. Clothing and Fashions. The workers wore hardly any clothing. Their arms and legs were free. They wore but one garment, which reached to the knee. It was held at the waist with a belt of rope or leather, in which was worn a knife for hacking bread or stabbing an enemy. For a long time it was the fashion in England to wear a full beard. The hair was worn long. Nobles swore by their hair. It was thought to be the height of politeness to pull out a hair and present it to a person. Sometimes a king or a bishop, who had been on a long journey, carried home a handful of hair. COSTUMES OF THAT DAY. 1 70 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE People Unclean. No one pretended to keep clean, even in the castles. People passed the days and nights in the same clothes. They wore the same woolen, fur, or leather garments for a lifetime, and then bequeathed them to others to wear. They slept under uncleansed sheepskins upon musty straw in windowless and airless rooms, which were damp and full of disease. Their narrow, crooked alleys CON WAY CASTLE. or streets were piled with all sorts of refuse ; and the mire was often knee-deep to men and beasts. The drinking water was from wells that were often polluted by street water. In dark, damp dungeons under the castles, prisoners were starved to death and their bodies were never taken out. Every church was full of corpses, for they usually buried the dead within the church. It is not surprising that great plagues swept over the land, sometimes destroy ing half the population. The wonder is that any people HOW THE PEOPLE LIVED 171 lived through such unsanitary conditions. Children must have died by the thousands. Those who lived, suffered from itch, scurvy, ringworm, and a score of diseases. At the gates of every town were many lepers, covered with loathsome sores and begging for food. Cruel and Barbarous Laws. The laws of the land in the Dark Ages were merciless and terribly cruel. The most horrible tortures imaginable were practiced. One writer says that there were fourteen different ways of inflicting torture, some of which were many degrees worse than those practiced by the American Indians. Men were hanged for the merest trifles; and they were hanged in such ap palling numbers, that the gallows was seldom allowed to remain long out of use. Evildoers were often mangled and their bodies torn asunder. Many were branded with red-hot irons or burned at the stake with shocking cruelty. Criminals Numerous. Still crime raged everywhere. These tortures and hangings only made the people savage and bloodthirsty. " A violent ruffian knew if he robbed a man he would be hanged, and that if he murdered him, the punishment could be no worse. -He had nothing to gain by letting him live, and nothing to lose, if he cut his throav. Rather than be captured, he might as well make a good fight and kill as many as stood in his way of escape." Church Laws. The church claimed the right to try in its own courts all members of the clergy, no matter what their crime was; and the punishments inflicted by the church courts were very mild and lenient. The church taught that it was wrong to hurry a man to death with his sins and crimes fresh upon him. He should at least be given time to repent. Christ had been a noble example of forgiveness and mercy. So the church set itself against the 172 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE cruelties and wholesale slaughter of evildoers ; and in this way it helped to check the worst of the punishments. Clerics. There were different orders among the clergy in those days ; and it did not require great learning to be admitted to the lowest of these orders, the members of which were called clerics. Some wicked men sought to become clerics in order to obtain the right to a trial in the church with lenient punishments, when they were caught in mischief. Hard Lot of Serfs. Excepting the nobles, knights, and clerics, all the people were villains, or serfs. Some had the use of more land than others and more rights, perhaps, but the lot of all was miserable enough. A man or woman born in villainage could never shake it off. They might not even go away from the manor where they were born; they were not allowed to marry without the lord s license, and for this they had to pay. Their only hope of freedom was to be made clerics, for clerics were always free. In Eng land a serf might not purchase his own liberty, but a son might buy his father s freedom, and this meant liberty for the whole family. If a serf ran away, he might be caught and brought back like a common slave, but in later times, if he escaped to a town and lived there for a year and a day, he was free. So the towns became more and more a shelter for the run-away villain or serf. Amusements. The lord and knights of the castle had many amusements ; in fact they divided their time between fighting and playing, for they never worked. But the serfs had very little leisure, since they had to work hard to feed and clothe the lord and his many knights of the castle. What time was left the peasant, he must use to keep his own family from starving. Still there was some pleasure for him, for he occasionally gave chase to a fox or a rabbit, HOW THE PEOPLE LIVED 173 and dug it from its burrow. Wandering minstrels some times came to the villages and, with rude musical instru ments, sang coarse songs, which amused the people. They cared more for the words than for the music. The working people also enjoyed seeing the gay nobles and knights passing back and forth between castles on horseback. Occasionally there was a feast in the village, where wrestling matches took place. There was also a queer combat with sticks. Two men, each blindfolded and armed with a stick, entered the arena and went round and round trying to strike a fat goose or a pig, which was let loose with them. Most of the blows of these blindfolded men fell on each other, amidst the shouts of laughter from the spectators. Nothing amused our ancestors more than these blind com bats. QUESTIONS MANOR i. What was the manor? 2. Give other names for it. 3. Describe the manor house. 4. Describe the houses of the village and the furniture in them. 5. What occupations did the people follow? 6. Why these? 7. Who owned the land? 8. What was peculiar about the farms? 9. What difficulty had they with their cattle ? FOODS 10. Give the kinds of foods used. n. How were they preserved? 12. How cooked? 13. What effect had these foods upon their health? 14. How did they make their drinks? 15. Describe their clothing. 16. What caused such awful plagues? 17. What laws were there ? 18. Who made them? 19. What was the effect of these laws ? 20. In what way did many people escape punishment? 21. How did the church influence these laws? 22. Who were the clerks ? 23. Who were the villains ? 24. What is a villain to-day ? 25. Can you see how our meaning to-day grew out of the old meaning ? 26. What kind of life did the serf lead ? CHAPTER XV COMMERCE IN THE DARK AGES Bad Roads and Commerce. During the Dark Ages the roads were so bad that it was almost impossible to transport goods from place to place on land. The roads were often mere trails through the woods and could be traversed only on horseback, the use of wagons being almost out of the question. Even as late as 1300, roads continued poor in deed, and goods were still generally carried on the backs of animals. It took four horses or eight oxen to drag a wagon through the mud in winter. Nearly everybody traveled on horseback or afoot. Water Transportation. There were few bridges, and travelers had to ford streams on horseback ; or, if the river was too deep, a clumsy ferryboat was used. It was much easier to transport goods by water, even though the distance was greater, because a single boat could carry as much as could five hundred pack animals. But river navigation was often hindered by mill dams and fish weirs. Robbers. Merchants, however, suffered more from bad men than from bad roads. Robbers were so common that all strangers had to be watched. There was an old English law that read, " If a man come from afar, or a stranger go out of the highway, and he then neither shout nor blow a horn, he is to be accounted a thief, either to be slain or to be redeemed." So great was the danger from robbers that merchants were forced to go in company with others, all being well-armed. COMMERCE IN THE DARK AGES 175 Robber Barons. The numerous feudal lords were also a great hindrance to trade, because they frequently sheltered outlaws and robber knights in return for a share of the plunder. Sometimes the lords, themselves, turned robbers. A SHIP OF THE MIDDLE AGES. Tolls. All the feudal lords tried to enrich themselves by taxing the merchants who passed through their lands. Such taxes were called tolls, and were levied everywhere on all kinds of goods. " Even an organ grinder could not pass the gates of Paris without making his monkey show off to pay his own way." Everywhere along routes of com merce were monasteries and castles, and each was a toll station where the merchant must stop and pay a tax on his 176 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE wares. In the fourteenth century there were seventy-four toll stations along the Loire River in France. One merchant shipped some cloth from Paris to the East. He stopped at every station and paid his tax. By accident the cloth was wet and had to be sent back to Paris to be redyed, and everywhere along the road the merchant had to pay the tolls again. Why Tolls were Paid. For all these taxes the merchant got nothing in return except the right to look out for him self. The tolls were supposed to pay the lord to protect the merchant and to take care of the roads and bridges; but the feudal lords pocketed the money and did nothing in return. After a time the lords even refused to allow new and better roads to be built, for fear the merchants would quit using the old roads that were lining their pockets with gold. " A man had to pay toll, not only when he went over a bridge ; he had to pay toll when he went under it, and could not escape the toll by going around it." When such taxes were added to the cost of wares, they made the price of the goods so high that the merchant often could not sell them for what they cost him, and thus many were driven out of business by these never ending tax stations. Loss of Time. Besides loss in money there was loss of time in having to stop and unpack goods at each station. Many times this caused the merchant to reach his market too late. " The monks of a certain monastery near Paris took three pennyworths from each horseload that passed by, and on fast days they spent so much time in selecting their fish that the rest of the load spoiled before it reached Paris." Money Scarce. --- There was also very little money in use, and this caused many hardships to the merchant, who had to barter or exchange one ware for another, when he would have much preferred money to the article received. COMMERCE IN THE DARK AGES 177 Not only was money scarce, but there were many different kinds. Every petty lord had his own money coined for his little fief. Traders found much false money and many coins short in weight. Trade Grows. However, in spite of bad roads and robber barons, in spite of tolls and bad money, or none at all, commerce grew slowly and became a little safer after the year 1000. Then some of the villages, because of their trade, begn to grow into towns, with several hundred, or even several thousand people. Serfs Obtain Freedom or Rights. Since the people in towns were all free, there was a strong temptation to serfs to run away from their lords on the manors and to flock into the towns, where they became free after a year. The lords of the manors and fiefs were fast losing their workers, so they were compelled to give their serfs better treatment in order to keep any of them. Thus the serfs came to have some rights. Where Towns Grew. Since towns could not thrive without peace and protection, they often grew up near a great castle or monastery, where the strong hand of a lord or abbot afforded them shelter. We find the largest towns springing up mainly along some line of travel, on a river or by a good harbor on the sea coast, where merchants were able to reach them safely with goods. Wherever merchants were likely to stop on their journey and exchange wares, as at a ford or a bridge or a ferry, was also a place for a town to grow. We still have towns named after such places as Ox-ford and Cam-bridge. Still Like Villages. While the towns were different from villages, yet they had grown from villages and kept many village features. Most of the townspeople owned some land which they used for gardens, and outside each town 178 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE was considerable plow and pasture land, which was largely owned and worked by people of the town. The towns were not large. First-class towns of those times had, on an average, not more than five thousand people, while very few had so many as ten thousand. Appearance of. Towns. The streets were narrow and crooked, having been built along trails. Some of the AN OLD STREET IN WORCESTER, greatest streets of London are said to have been built along cowpaths. Streets were not paved, and all kinds of filth and garbage were piled in them. This is perhaps why the people wore wooden overshoes when they went out. All houses were of wood. Fires were frequent and very destructive, for there was neither city water nor a fire department. Wares were exposed for sale, either in the open market place, or in a little shop like a peddler s booth at the front of the house. There was no police pro tection, and towns were sinks of crime as well as of disease. COMMERCE IN THE DARK AGES 179 Labor Began to be Divided. It was impossible for a shoemaker to sell more than two or three dozen pairs of shoes a year in a village, because there were so few people near by. So he had to support his family partly by farming. But as the population grew from a village to a town, one man could sell enough shoes to keep him busy. Another was kept occupied as a blacksmith or a carpenter ; and many others were employed as weavers, dyers, and tailors. Then there came to be expert workmen with better tools. A man who spent all his time at one kind of work could make better goods and more of them. The comforts and con veniences of life became cheaper. Different Crafts. As the towns grew, the work of life was divided more and more, and the different kinds of skilled workmen increased. Butchers, brewers, and bakers were kept busy feeding the people, while the need of clothing called for tanners, furriers, and tailors. People must have houses and furniture, too ; so there was a demand for bricklayers, masons, carpenters, and cabinet makers. Still others made tools and wagons, or saddles and harnesses. The coppersmiths of those days become the tinners of our time. It was the work of fullers to improve the texture of cloth after it had been woven, by beating and washing it with fuller s earth, a kind of clay that absorbs the grease from the wool. Craft Guilds. The men who lived by these crafts be came organized in craft guilds, or societies, which were somewhat like our labor unions to-day. Every trade had its guild composed of the workers of that trade. There was a weaver s guild, a baker s guild, guilds for shoemakers, tanners, coopers, and so on. In one city there might be fifty or more of such unions. Each brotherhood of workers had its guild hall, where the men of the craft met to make l8o DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE the rules governing the members, and for banquets and other social events. No citizen of the town could make or sell any kind of goods unless he belonged to the proper guild. Neither could a man come into a town from other cities or countries and sell, without special permission from the guild. Each guild had three classes of members : the masters, journeymen, and apprentices. Apprentices. When a boy wished to become a carpenter, a blacksmith, or a skilled worker of any kind, he bound him self to a master of that craft as an apprentice. He was re quired to serve him without pay for a term of three, seven, or ten years, according to the law of the guild. The mas ter furnished him food and clothing and taught him the trade. Journeymen and Master Workmen. After his appren ticeship he became a free journeyman with the right to go anywhere and practice his craft for pay, but still under some master. The journeyman often traveled about for a few years among different cities, working and seeing the world. When at last he had proven his skill in the trade by some " masterpiece " fine enough to be accepted by the craft guild, he became a master workman. Then he might own a shop, which was usually a part of his dwelling, and employ journeymen, or take apprentices. As a master he continued to work with his hands among the journeymen and appren tices of his shop. The Object of Guilds. The guilds had several objects. They fixed the prices of the products that they made, and no member might cut prices, nor was any one allowed to sell goods except at the appointed times and places. No master was allowed to buy cheaper raw materials than his fellows. So they had a rule that any member had a right to share in the purchase of another by paying his portion. COMMERCE IN THE DARK AGES 181 If a master weaver bought wool very cheap, he was re quired to share his purchase at the same price with any brother who desired it. Thus there was no competition in either buying or selling. Strict rules were made to keep up the quality and to regulate the size and weight of goods. The guild was a great help to its members. When a member became poor or ill, he was given assistance. If he died in poverty, his funeral expenses were paid, and his family was not allowed to suffer. How Guilds Served the People. The rules of the guilds were strict. If an article was not made according to their rules, it was called " false." For such " false work " mem bers were fined. One half of the fine money went to the town and the rest to the guild. If a member continued his " false work " and was caught the fourth time, he was expelled from the guild. Fines were imposed also for put ting better goods at the top of a bale or basket than below, for moistening groceries to make them weigh heavier, for selling second-hand furs for new, for soldering broken swords, for selling sheep leather for doe leather, and for mixing poor wool with good. There were fines for all kinds of dishonesty in work and business. Labor and Capital. The guilds were unlike our labor unions in this, that both laborers and employers belonged to them. There was always a friendly spirit between the workers and the owners of the shops, for both had a voice in fixing the wages of labor as well as the price at which goods were to be sold. Thus there was no such thing as a strike or a lockout. The man with money to use, and the man with labor to sell, joined hands to get the best market for both. Such good feeling is sadly needed to day. Laborers then took a deeper interest in their craft, and they turned out high-class products of which they might 1 82 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE COMMERCE IN THE DARK AGES 183 well feel proud. There was a high sense of honor and honesty in good work that the world misses now. Merchants Guilds. Merchants had formed guilds for their protection long before the craftsmen did. Their guilds came about in this way. The dangers from the robbers and outlaws forced them to form bands when they went on journeys, like the caravans of to-day in countries of the East. They made such rules as these: Every one was obliged to carry armor, a bow and twelve arrows, on penalty of a fine. They must stand by to help one another when they set out upon a journey. In case one member had not sold his wares, the others must wait for him one day. If one was imprisoned, the others must ransom him. These bands of traders grew into merchants guilds, or unions, which came to be a part of town government, and the town used the guilds in pushing its trade against its rival towns. Rights of Trade Guilds. To these trade guilds belonged all merchants, butchers, and fishermen. They had the exclusive right of trading within the town. Merchants from other towns might bring in goods and sell them whole sale, but they were forbidden to keep shop and sell at retail. The government of the town was entirely in the hands of the guilds, and there was often great strife between the mer chants or trade guilds, and the craft guilds. Sometimes bloodshed resulted. The unskilled, or common workers, had no voice in the town governments. Laws About Trade. The only way to be sure that strange traders had not stolen their goods was to require witnesses to be present when bargains or trades were made. In this way merchants could prove that they had come honestly by their wares. Cattle and swine were, in those dark times, the chief riches of men, and they could easily be stolen ; strict laws were made stating where and when cattle 1 84 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE COMMERCE IN THE DARK AGES 185 could be bought or sold. If a merchant could not prove that he had purchased his cattle or goods, he was treated as a thief. Such laws were a great help to honest dealers. The Market. Another advantage given to town mer chants was that of a market. The townspeople would not allow traders or farmers to come to town singly and sell their produce, because they might charge too much for it, or they might take all business from the town shopkeepers. So the towns established certain days called market days, perhaps one or two a week, and a certain market place ; and all country people with articles to dispose of were required to sell only on market day and at the market place. They even tried to force farmers to sell out before the market closed. This plan, it was believed, would keep prices low. After the families had purchased enough for their needs, shopkeepers were allowed to buy goods to retail from their shops during the rest of the week. Import Taxes. Each town made such laws about trade as would give the home people the advantage over those from other towns. They taxed all goods brought in. One of London s laws was: " Every load of poultry that comes upon a horse shall pay three farthings." Sometimes when a certain article was scarce and dear, the town tried to prevent such goods from being shipped away by placing on them a tax called an export tax. Or they made such trade unlawful. Thus, " No butcher, or wife of a butcher, shall sell tallow or lard to a strange person for carrying to the parts beyond the sea ; by reason of the great dearness and scarcity that has been thereof in the city of late." Fairs. In addition to their market days once or twice a week, the towns had fairs, which occurred once a year, and sometimes oftener. To these fairs, traders and merchants came long distances, even from other countries. The fair 1 86 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE grew up under the protection of some feudal lord or abbot, or possibly a bishop, who was to have the taxes collected here. The fairs were usually held just outside the town limits in an open field. The owner of the fair built wooden booths or stalls in long rows, and, as the merchants came, they were given places according to the country that they came from, or the kind of goods that they had to sell. While the fair was going on, all buying and selling was forbidden in the near-by towns. Tolls were collected for the lord on all goods brought in or taken out of the grounds. Rent was also paid for the booths and for the use of the lord s weights and scales. A court was held on the grounds to settle dis putes and to enforce honest dealing. Fairs Encourage Social Life. People came to these fairs for pleasure as well as for business. There were " side shows " of all kinds wild animals, trained dogs, musicians, actors and clowns, dancing and gambling halls. " There was a chance to turn a penny dishonestly as well as honestly." They often lasted several weeks, and then the merchants packed up and trudged away to some other fair. At last the greedy owners taxed the merchants who came so heavily that they could make no profit ; and so fairs grew smaller and fewer and finally died out altogether. QUESTIONS COMMERCE i. Why was there so little trade ? 2. Discuss land travel. 3. Discuss water transportation. 4. Why were there so many robbers? 5. Where were tolls paid? 6. Why? 7. How did these tolls affect the price of goods ? 8. Why ? 9. What was paid for goods ? 10. Describe the towns where did they spring up? ii. Why? 12. What is the meaning of "Labor began to be divided"? 13. What was gained by it? 14. Was anything lost? 15. What were the craft guilds? 16. Who belonged? 17. What COMMERCE IN THE DARK AGES 187 rights had these guilds? 18. What laws were made about trade? 19. Why? 20. Describe the market place. 21. Describe the market day. 22. Of what value was this market? 23. What are export and import duties? 24. Why are they laid? 25. Do we have them to-day ? 26. Who really pays an import duty ? 27. Who planned the fairs ? 28. Why? 29. What business was done there ? 30. What pleasures were there? 31. What good came from them? CHAPTER XVI MOHAMMED AND THE MOORS The Early Arabs. About a century after Clovis built up the empire of the Franks, and while Augustine was preaching to the Saxons in Britain, there was growing up a strange, new kingdom in the deserts of Arabia. Hitherto the Arabs had never come much into public notice. Their ignorant and scattered tribes were usually busy making war on one another. They were heathen, each tribe having its own idols. A New Prophet. But now a great man arose among them Mohammed, who was to do wonderful things for his people. Mohammed was born at Mecca, the chief city of the desert country. He was of noble family, but he early became penniless. In his youth he was a shepherd, watching the flocks by night as did Moses and Abraham. Later he entered the service of a wealthy widow as camel driver and led caravans across the desert for trade. He proved to be a shrewd merchant and became wealthy. Later he married his employer. As he traveled into Palestine and elsewhere to trade he saw much of the Christian civiliza tion of other countries and he resolved to raise his people above their idols. Mohammed s Vision. He claimed that the angel Gabriel appeared while he was once praying in the desert, and revealed to him a new and higher religion. This new religion taught that there is but .one God, and that Moham med is His prophet. Many of the better teachings of this 188 MOHAMMED AND THE MOORS 189 new faith were drawn from the religion of the Christian and the Jew. It taught that Abraham, Moses, and Christ were true prophets, but that Mohammed was the last and greatest of them all. The Mohammedan religion was called Islam. It had no priests nor showy forms of worship. Five times a day the faithful must pray, always with their faces turned toward Mecca. During one month of the CAMELS OF THE DESERT. year they must fast ; and all who could must make a pil grimage to Mecca, the birthplace of Mohammed. The Koran. From time to time Mohammed had dreams and visions in which more and more of the " Heavenly Book" was revealed to him. This he taught to his followers, who treasured it in their hearts. Sometimes they wrote it down upon pieces of pottery, or upon the shoulder bones of sheep or upon palm leaves. Mohammed never learned to read or write, but after his death his teachings were gathered into a book called the Koran, which became the Mohammedan Bible. The Arabs and the New Faith. Although Mohammed could not read he was a wise man. He was a fluent speaker and preacher a man born to lead and to rule. His 190 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE wife believed in his visions at once, and his friends quickly accepted his teachings. But his neighbors, the people of Mecca, jeered and scoffed at him. " Who are you? " they asked, " to teach a new religion? We have known you from your cradle, and you are no wiser than the rest of us." At last they plotted to kill him. Hearing this, Mohammed fled from Mecca in the year 622. His followers A BARREN DESERT. called this year the year i, and have since reckoned time from it, as we do from the birth of Christ. Taking up the Sword. Mohammed s teachings did not spread very fast by mere preaching, so he now took up the sword. By going on the warpath he not only pro tected himself, but gave his followers a purpose something to do, which he thought would unite them and arouse their enthusiasm. " The sword," said he, " is the key of heaven. A drop of blood shed in the cause of God is of more avail MOHAMMED AND THE MOORS 191 than two months of prayer and fasting : whoso falls in battle, all his sins are forgiven ; at the day of judgment his wounds shall make him glorious." The Arabs knew no such word as fear. They took up the sword eagerly, rejoicing in death on the field of battle, and so fiercely did they fight that they carried all before them. They soon captured Mecca, which became their sacred city ; and in a few years all the people of this desert country were followers of Islam. The Califs Spread the Faith. Mohammed lived only ten years after his flight from Mecca, but his teachings had set the people upon a higher plane of living than they had ever known, and had started them on a world-wide crusade to spread theii religion by the sword. At the death of the Apostle, his successor, who was given the title of Calif, continued to extend the rule of the Arabs to the north and the east. Palestine was for the Mohammedans, as it was for the Hebrews, a land of promise, flowing with milk and honey, and after a few years, Calif Omar set out for Jerusalem. No nation of the East was able to withstand the fierce courage and zeal of the Arabs, and Jerusalem soon opened its gates to Omar, who rode into the sacred city upon a camel, carrying with him a bag of dates and skin of water, which supplied all his needs. The Mosque of Omar. The Arabs respected the Chris tians and allowed them to continue in their faith, but they were required to pay tribute to the rulers of Islam. Jerusalem was not destroyed because it was already holy ground for the Arabs. On the site of the Temple of Solomon Omar built a magnificent church, which was called later the Mosque of Omar. Spreading the Greek Civilization. All Syria soon fell into the power of the Arabs, for the emperor of Constanti- 192 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE nople was helpless before their fiery enthusiasm. The Arab readily adopted all the best things of the Greek civilization. Ail the books of Greek learning were translated into Arabic. Greek knowledge of art and architecture, of the weaving of fine cloths, and other crafts, of agriculture, all that was good the Arabs carried with them in their journey through Egypt and to the west, for they now turned their steps west- JERUSALEM AS IT APPEARS TO-DAY. ward, and before many years they had overrun all northern Africa. The Moors Cross the Straits. The Straits of Gibraltar did not check them. In the year 711 an army of Moham medan Moors crossed into Spain. Workers Mistreated. The people of Spain were not loyal to their Gothic king and nobles. These Gothic overlords had never mixed with the common people, but MOHAMMED AND THE MOORS 193 had held themselves above the workers, treating them as slaves. So now the great body of common people were un willing to fight for their king. They were glad to change their masters because they thought things could not be much worse for them. The Jews Dissatisfied. There were also in Spain many Jews, who were the wealthiest and most intelligent people of the cities. They had often been persecuted and robbed by the Gothic nobles, so they, too, were anxious to turn Spain over to the Moors, who belonged to their own race. Under the Moors, the Jews had reason to expect better treatment and more power. The Moors Victorious. So the Gothic king, Roderick, and his nobles were forced to fight the Arabs and the Moors alone, and they were too few to hold their ground. The Moors fought desperately. For them, defeat would have meant death, as they could not retreat with the straits at their back. The Goths were routed and Roderick was slain. The great cities of Spain yielded without a blow, and the country was abandoned to the Arabs and Moors. It was an easy victory. The Goths were driven into the Pyrenees Mountains, and remained here, holding their country so firmly by its borderland that they never were driven out. The Moors passed on into France, where they were beaten by the Franks and their advance was checked. Moorish Cities. In Spain the Moors began a brilliant career. Large numbers came from Africa to settle here. The Emirs, as the Moorish rulers were called, showed them selves far above the Christian princes of Europe in culture and civilization. Cordova became their capital. It soon boasted of two hundred thousand houses and more than a million people. The streets were made straight; and it was said, a man might walk through the city after dark for IQ4 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE ten miles in one direction by the light of public lamps. Even seven hundred years later, there was not one public street light in London. Cordova streets were paved and clean, while for centuries still to come whoever stepped into the streets of Paris on a rainy day sank to his ankles in mud. THE COURT OF LIONS, ALHAMBRA. There were other large cities of the Moors as splendid as Cordova Granada, Seville, and Toledo. The Calif s Palace. The Mohammedans had brought with them the civilization and luxuries of Asia. The Calif s palace at Cordova was of polished marble. The ceilings MOHAMMED AND THE MOORS 195 were of stained glass speckled with gold. The floors were of beautiful mosaics, and the walls were covered with splendid paintings representing views of Paradise. From the ceilings hung great chandeliers, one of which held nearly two thou sand lamps. There were marble columns, fountains, and flower gardens. The courts for children to play in were of marble. In winter the rooms of the palace were hung with rich tapestry and the floors were covered with Persian car pets. The buildings were supplied by metal pipes with hot and cold water for the marble baths. The Calif s library was very great and grand. The catalogue alone filled forty volumes. There were rooms for copying, because printing had not yet been invented; also rooms for binding and ornamenting books. How Christian Rulers Lived. Such was the palace of the Arabs of Spain, while the rulers of England, France, and Germany were still living in dwellings scarcely better than stables, without windows, and with a hole in the roof for smoke to go out, like Indian wigwams. Their castles were dark and gloomy and had but few comforts. Moorish Parks. - - The Moors had pleasure gardens where they raised flowers and fruits. They brought the peach and other fruits from the East. They made artificial lakes, where they raised fish for the table. They had a " zoo," in which many strange animals were to be seen. How They Dressed. While the people of France, Eng land, and Germany were still clothing themselves in skins or rude cloth, the Moors had skilled workmen weaving silk, cotton, linen, and all the wonders of the loom. The Moorish women loved finery. Frequently their outer garments were of silk, embroidered and decorated with gems and woven gold. " So fond were the Moorish women of gay colors and precious stones that, it is said, the interior of any building 196 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE where they were permitted to appear looked like a flower garden in the spring besprinkled with rain." Schools and Learning. The Spanish Califs encouraged schools and learning. Their great universities were filled with students from all over Europe. The Califs themselves were noted scholars, and one, at least ; was the author of many books. Some learned men wrote on Algebra, some concerning Astronomy, others composed music. They even had a college of music with famous professors. Their music and poetry, especially their love songs, were later carried over the Pyrenees, and formed the beginning of poetry and literature in France and in other countries. The wandering minstrels of Europe copied their music and poetry from the Moors of Spain. Schools. Every town had its library, and every mosque its public school, in which the children of the poor were taught to read and write and were instructed in the Koran as our children are in the Bible. There were academies for those who were well-to-do. In their universities the Arabs studied botany, which is a knowledge of plants, astronomy, or the knowledge of stars, and chemistry, which they used in medicine, for they had schools for doctors and surgeons. Their skillful surgeons used the knife in operations without any hesitation. While the Christian peasant, who was fever-stricken or overtaken by an accident, was hurried to the nearest saint shrine, where he expected to be cured by heaven, the Spanish Moor relied on a prescription, or on the knife and bandage of a surgeon. We Use Their Arithmetic To-day. From India the Arabs learned Arithmetic, especially the nine digits: i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and to these the Arabs added the o. Europe was still using the old Roman numerals such as XIX. What a dreadful task it must have been to add or subtract MOHAMMED AND THE MOORS I 97 these numerals ! But worse still, think of a problem in long division or in fractions. How they must have toiled, to multiply MDCCCVII by XLIX ! Indeed it was such a task that they called these Roman numerals the " sweat ing calculators." As soon as the merchants of Italy learned how much better the Arabic numbers were, they ARABIAN HORSES. took them up, and the old ones largely went out of use in business. Some Things the Arabs Learned. The Arabs became great students of mathematics. They believed the earth to be round and computed its correct size. It is said they were teaching geography in their schools from globes, while the Christians were still maintaining that the earth was flat. The Arabs determined that the earth s atmosphere is about fifty-eight miles deep, and they were correct. They built observatories for studying the stars, and they made the first clock with a pendulum, while the Christian nations ig8 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE MINARET OF MOSQUE OF THE SULTAN &ALAUN, CAIRO. were still using the sand in the hourglass for measuring time. What the West Owes to Them. The Moors were skillful in tilling the soil and in raising fine sheep. Their horses are even now famous the world over. They brought into Spain rice, sugar, cot ton, silk, and nearly all the fine garden and orchard fruits. Later they brought to the West gunpowder and cannon made of iron, and still later, the mariner s compass. The Arabs Make a Cheap Paper. - - The Arabs also taught the people of Europe how to make a cheap paper out of cotton or linen. This was a very im portant discovery for the world. The papy rus plant used by the Romans had practi cally disappeared, and it was very expensive MOHAMMED AND THE MOORS 199 to make books out of sheepskins, or parchment. But cotton or linen paper was cheap ; and when the invention of printing came a little later, books and learning were brought within the reach of the poor. Since education is the first step in securing rights and liberty for the poor and oppressed, we can see how much paper and printing meant to the world. How Could Europe be in the Dark ? We are surprised to read of all this learning and civilization in Spain, while the other countries of Europe were in the midst of the Dark Ages ; but we know that the roads were poor, and that there was very little travel or trade. In addition, the Christians looked upon the Moors as hated infidels, whose learning, the Christians believed, must have come from Satan. What the Arabs Saved for Us. --The Mohammedans gathered together the books, the learning, and the skill of all the countries that they conquered, and they added much to it. We are very glad indeed that they were able to save this learning until our European forefathers were ready to take it up and carry it forward. How much of the civilization of the East came through Spain and how much was brought back by the crusaders, we do not know ; but, at any rate, the Arabs and Moors did the West a great service. QUESTIONS MOHAMMED AND THE MOORS i . Why was so little known of the Arabs? 2. What was the condition of their civilization ? 3. What did they need? 4. Describe Mohammed s early life. 5. This life led him to make what resolve? 6. What vision did he have? 7. What was his attitude toward Christianity ? 8. What was his be lief ? 9. How was the Koran made ? 10. How did the Arabs receive the new faith? n. What did Mohammed accomplish ? 12. Who was Calif? 13. What was the ambition of the Mohammedans? 14. What did they conquer? 15. What was their attitude toward 200 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE the Christians? 16. Describe Omar s mosque. 17. What good qualities did these Arabs show? 18. Where did they journey? 19. Describe their advance into Spain. 20. Who were the Moors? 21. How do you account for their cities ? 22. Compare the homes of the Moors and Christians. 23. Tell about their schools. 24. What were the sweating calculators? 25. Why were they so called? 26. What gains came to western Europe through the Arabs ? CHAPTER XVII THE CRUSADES Christians of Jerusalem Persecuted. After Omar s death, the Christians of Jerusalem were treated more harshly then before. They were forced to conceal their crosses and their Bibles. Sometimes they were driven from their homes and insulted in their churches. The Saracens now demanded a heavier tribute and forbade them to carry arms or to be seen on horseback. The Christians were forced to wear a girdle of leather, which was the badge of their servitude ; and they were not allowed to speak the Arabic language. Sunshine and Storm. Sometimes the Christians were not persecuted for a long time ; then under a new Calif all worship was prohibited, they were driven from the sacred city, and their churches were turned into stables. Then once more, they were permitted to return and to rebuild their churches. But all this persecution could not stop the crowd of Christian pilgrims from going to Jerusalem. Instead they increased in numbers, until one band of pilgrims numbered several thousand. The Saracens usually encouraged these pilgrimages because of the money tribute they wrung from them. Saracens and Turks. About a hundred years after the death of Alfred the Great, the Mohammedan empire was attacked in the East by the Turks. They were a rough, cruel, and barbarous people. In their ways of living, their manners, habits, and skill in labor, the Turks 201 202 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE were far below the Saracens, whom they now attacked with great fury. The Arabs had absorbed the culture and skill, and the art of the Greek life about them, and had settled down to quiet, civilized habits. In doing this they lost much of their fiery courage and their knowledge of war. Thus the empire of the Saracens fell to the rude and warlike PILGRIMS ENTERING BETHLEHEM ON CHRISTMAS DAY. Turks. Though they accepted Islam, the Turks remained cruel and savage as before. Turks and Christians. The Turks took Jerusalem (1076), robbed the Christians, and reduced them to fright ful misery. As more and more of Palestine fell into their hands, the pilgrims to Jerusalem began to meet with very harsh treatment. After a visit to the sacred city, the pilgrims returned to Europe and told with groans of their wrongs, and of the outrages that the Turks had committed upon the tomb of Christ. Christian bishops, they said, were THE CRUSADES 203 dragged from their churches and thrown into dungeons to die, and the followers of Jesus were tormented in countless ways. Peter the Hermit in Jerusalem. During these days, according to the story, Peter the Hermit, a restless monk, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He followed the crowds of pilgrims to Calvary and to the tomb of Christ. He visited every sacred spot with head bowed in sorrow, because all that he saw was in the hands of the inhuman Turks. Peter and Simeon. Then Peter appeared before Simeon, the chief Christian bishop of Jerusalem, and to gether they wept over the wrongs done the Christians. The Hermit asked whether there was to be no end to such suffer ing and insults. The white-haired Simeon replied : " Oh most faithful of Christians ! All Asia is in the power of the Turks, all the East is sunk into a state of slavery ; no power on earth can assist us." Then Peter told Simeon that perhaps the Christian princes of the West might some day come and free Jerusalem from the infidels. At these words, it is said, Peter and Simeon embraced each other, shedding tears of joy and hope. Then the enthusiasm of Peter knew no bounds. Peter Hears a Voice. One day while praying before the Holy Sepulcher, he believed that he heard the voice of Christ saying, " Peter, arise, hasten to proclaim the suffer ing of my people ; it is time that my servants should receive help and that the holy places should be delivered." With these words ever in his ears, Peter left Palestine, crossed the Mediterranean, landed on the coast of Italy, and has tened to cast himself at the feet of the pope. Pope Urban II received Peter kindly, listened to his story, and bade him do as the voice had directed proclaim that Jerusalem must soon be delivered. DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Peter Preaching the Crusade. Peter then crossed the Alps, visited all parts of France, and nearly all of Europe, arousing the people everywhere with his zeal. He traveled about, mounted on a mule, a crucifix in his hand, his feet bare, his head uncovered, his long frock girded by a cord. Wherever he appeared he was looked upon as a saint. From city to city, from country to country he went, preach ing a crusade from the pulpits of churches, in the high roads, and other public places. In vivid words Peter told PETER THE HERMIT PREACHING TO THE CRUSADERS. how the blood of Christians was shed in torrents in the streets of Jerusalem. When he had stirred up the ignorant multitude with his fiery words, he showed the crucifix that he carried with him. All the while he wept, striking his breast and wounding his flesh. The People Aroused. The people followed the steps of Peter in crowds. Those who could but touch his gar ments deemed themselves happy, and a hair pulled from his mule was preserved as a holy relic. They raised their voices to heaven in prayer. Some offered all their riches, THE CRUSADES 205 others their prayers ; and all promised to lay down their lives for the rescue of the Holy City from the wicked Turks. Alexis Asking Help. About this time the Turks were marching to take Constantinople, the capital of the Greek empire ; and the Emperor Alexis sent urgent letters to the pope and to western princes, asking them to come to help him drive back these savages. He wrote of the treasures and beauty of his great city, of its many sacred relics, and begged the barons and knights to defend them. He could, he said, bear the loss of his crown, but not the shame of seeing his empire plundered by the inhuman Turks. The Council of War. Pope Urban II now called a council to meet at Clermont in France to decide what to do. Immense crowds were present. The pope ascended a kind of throne, which had been built for him in the great market place; and by his side was Peter the Hermit, dressed in his usual rude manner. The Hermit s Stirring Speech. Peter spoke first : " I have seen," he said, " Christians loaded with irons, dragged into slavery, or harnessed to the yoke like the vilest animals. The Turks tore from them their very bread as tribute. The Christians could not even salute the temple of their God without paying the accursed Turks a tax. Ministers of God were dragged from their churches, beaten with rods, and condemned to death." As Peter told of these wrongs of the Christians at Jerusalem, his face was cast down and his voice was choked with sobs ; while the people wept. Then Pope Urban spoke. He begged the Christian knights to cease their petty wars upon one another. " If you must fight," said he, " take arms against those inhuman Turks who are desecrating the tomb of the Savior." When he told of the miseries of Jerusalem, the whole assembly was again 206 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE in tears; the warriors who listened to him clutched their swords and swore in their hearts to avenge the cause of Christ. " Christian Warriors/ he said, " listen to the groans cf Jerusalem ; Jesus Christ calls you to his defense. 1 And he quoted from the Bible the words of Jesus. The whole assembly arose in a mass as one man, and cried, " It is the will of God ! It is the will of God ! " " Yes, without doubt, it is the will of God," continued the elo quent pope. " Let those words be your war cry." The War of the Cross. - The barons and knights now forgot their private quarrels and took a solemn oath to rescue the tomb of Christ. So war was de clared against the infidel Turks. As the bishops re turned to their churches they continued to bless the crowd of Christians along the way, who wished to be led to the Holy Land. They took the name of " Bearers of the Cross," and the holy war was called a Crusade. The cross, which was their emblem, was of red cloth or silk. It was first blessed by the pope or some bishop and then sewed upon the right shoulder or fastened upon the front of the helmet. The Crusaders begged the pope to lead them in person, but he felt that his presence was needed at home, so KNIGHT OF THE CROSS. THE CRUSADES 207 he appointed the Bishop of Puy as his legate with the army of Crusaders. Preparing for the Journey. The fame of the holy war soon spread abroad, and every one was eager to march to Jerusalem. All Europe seemed to be taking arms against Asia. The Council of Clermont was held in November (1095), while the departure of the Crusaders was fixed for the iollowing spring. During the winter nothing was thought of but preparations for the voyage to the Holy Land. Men were eager to sell everything that they could not carry with them. A Queer Army. As soon as spring came the people hastened to the places where they were to assemble. The greater number went on foot, some on horseback, and many in ox wagons. They were armed with lances, swords, javelins, iron clubs, or other rude weapons. The crowds were a curious mixture of all sorts of people knights and monks, rich and poor, old men and boys, and even women and children. Europe Taking Arms. Everywhere was heard the clang of arms and armor or the braying of trumpets. The zealous knights were even now chanting their songs of victory. On all sides resounded the war cry of the Crusaders : " It is the will of God ! It is the will of God ! " Entire families and whole villages set out for Palestine ; even the sick and weak often dragged themselves along. Those who could not go wept as the Crusaders set out. Expecting Food from Heaven. The thousands of poor, ignorant people who made up the mob never stopped to ask themselves where they were to get their food. They thought that surely God would not leave pilgrims clothed with the holy cross to perish from hunger. Even the great lords knew little of the world or what a long and 208 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE difficult march they were undertaking. Some took their hunting and fishing outfits and marched away with their falcons on their wrists, preceded by their hounds. The Army is Divided. Such countless numbers had taken up the cross that there were enough to form several large armies; and as they would have to live upon the countries through which they passed, it was thought best for the chief princes to lead their followers along different routes, and for all to meet later at Constantinople. Peter in Command. The multitude who followed Peter chose him for their general. He took command, mounted upon his mule, and soon found a mob of one hundred thousand people at his back. Among them were women, children, and many sick, who thought that God himself would protect them, that the rivers would part for them to pass over, and that manna would fall from heaven to feed them. The multitude was divided into two armies. Walter the Penniless led the way with only eight horsemen, and a part of Peter s army following on foot, Peter was to set out some time later with the remaining host. As each new city came into view, the children cried out : " Is that Jerusalem? " The Crusaders in Bulgaria. The Crusaders were well fed by the people as long as they were on French and Ger man soil; but on the banks of the Danube Walter found a cold reception among the Bulgarians. When the gov ernor of the Bulgarians was unable to supply the army of the cross with food, the Crusaders spread over the country, carried off the flocks, burnt the houses, and massacred some of the people, who objected to being plundered. The Bul garians ran to arms and fell upon the soldiers of Walter loaded with booty. A hundred and forty Crusaders per ished in the flames of a church in which they had taken THE CRUSADES 209 refuge, while the rest sought safety in flight. The wreck of Walter s army, suffering from famine, continued its march through the forests. After two months of fatigue, they arrived under the walls of Constantinople where the emperor Alexis permitted them to wait for the army of Peter the Hermit. Peter Bringing up the Rear. Peter s army was then passing through Germany and about to receive worse treatment than that of Walter. Upon arriving at the gates of Semlin, in Hungary, Peter s host beheld the slain bodies of several Crusaders hanging on posts. This aroused Peter s wrath, and he gave the signal for revenge. More than four thousand of the inhabitants of Semlin fell under the sword of the Crusaders. Peter s Army Beyond Control. The king of Hungary now gathered an army, and his people fled from their un fortified cities into the forests and mountains. Peter s army, as it proceeded, found the cities and villages deserted, and there was no food for the hungry host. The leader lost control of his mob, and when they burnt some mills, an army of the enemy fell upon his rear guard, massacred hundreds of his followers, captured two thousand wagons and a great number of prisoners. The Host of Peter Routed. A battle followed, and the pilgrim mob, fighting without orders and without leaders, was routed and cut to pieces. The women, the children, the horses, even the chest that contained the numerous offerings of the faithful, all fell into the hands of the furious enemy. The Hermit Peter escaped with the wreck of his army. Only thirty thousand were left; and this ragged and starving mob was no longer feared. Being supplied with food through pity, they at last arrived at Constanti nople. 210 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Alexias Lending a Hand. The armies of Peter and Walter now numbered one hundred thousand. They obeyed no one, but pillaged the country and even the churches about the city. Alexis, being anxious to get rid of them, fur nished ships to carry them to the other side of the Bosporus. No sooner had they set foot upon Asia than they committed all sorts of violence and crime. They robbed and plun dered everywhere, Christians and Turks alike; and then fell into quarrels among themselves over the booty. Christian Army Slain. The French boastfully claimed credit for every good fortune. So the other Christian nations chose their own general, who led them at once to meet the Turks. This was just the chance the Turks desired. They met this part of the army of the cross and put the whole multitude to the sword. When the dreadful news reached the proud French, they spurned all advice and set out in haste to avenge the slaughter of their fellow-pilgrims. The Turks concealed a part of their army in the forest and awaited the Christian host. The soldiers of the cross were soon surrounded and cut down amid horrible carnage. Walter, whose commands were no longer heeded, fell, pierced by seven arrows. The whole army perished in this single battle; and of the multitude who had set out for Jerusalem there remained only a confused heap of bones spread over the plains of Nicea. Why They Failed. Peter had returned to Constanti nople before the battle. He said that the Crusaders had become a host of brigands and that God was unwilling to have them look upon the tomb of His Son. Thus the count less multitude who set out from Europe with confidence perished miserably and in vain, without setting eyes upon the Holy City. Can you think of some reasons why they failed? THE CRUSADES 211 Godfrey and His Knights. However, their terrible fate could not check the crusading spirit, for other multi tudes were now coming together in Italy, France, and Germany. The throngs who followed Peter had been little more than mobs of wretched beggars and robbers, but the new army now ready to start was chiefly made up of well-armed knights and nobles led by Godfrey, a famous knight and duke. Godfrey was brave, virtuous, and of powerful build ; and from his earliest youth, he had been trained to fight. Many a knight had fallen before his battle-ax. His army was composed of the greatest warriors of Europe, clad in the finest steel. Money for the Holy War. Everything was sold to pro vide arms. Knights and barons sold charters of liberty to their towns, they sold all the crops of their estates, they brought forth their secret stores of gold; they even sold their castles and lands to procure all things needed for the holy war. Signs in the Heavens. During these days when the people were very ignorant and superstitious, the moon went into eclipse, and the frightened people said that it was the color of blood. Some weeks after this the whole horizon seemed to be on fire, and the terrified people be lieved that the enemy was advancing from the north, fire and sword in hand. These portents, with other signs in the heavens, the people said, foretold the terrible war. Nobles in Arms. Those who had not yet taken oath to fight against the infidels hastened now to take the cross. Robert of Normandy, the eldest son of William the Con queror, led his vassals to the holy war ; Robert, Count of Flanders, placed himself at the head of his knights ; Stephen, Count of Blois, had taken up the cross ; and knights and nobles enlisted by the hundreds in all the Christian countries. 212 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE An Army, Not a Mob. In different armies they set out and were soon encamped near Constantinople. Every where they saw the whitening bones of the pilgrims who had been with Walter and Peter. The leaders learned lessons from these early calamities, and laid down strict rules of discipline for their troops. They advanced in the best of order through Asia Minor. Headed for Palestine. After defeating the Turks at Nicea, the host advanced toward Palestine, passing some times through deserts, where they met with untold suffer ing and where hundreds died of thirst. At one time when the whole army was about to perish in the parched desert, the dogs were seen to depart from the camp and to come back later covered with wet sand. The whole army rushed headlong following the tracks of the dogs, and came to a river. Suffering from heat and thirst, they plunged in and drank so eagerly that three hundred of them died almost immediately, while many others became ill and could not continue the march. Crusaders at Antioch. At last, after losing many soldiers in battles with the Turks, the Crusaders reached the ancient city of Antioch, where lay the ashes of hundreds of Christian saints and martyrs. Before its walls the Crusaders suffered greatly from hunger and disease, for the fleets had ceased to follow them with food. After a siege of seven months, Antioch fell to the Christians, who rushed in with the cry : " It is the will of God ! It is the will of God!" They found great riches, but little food, and they were soon shut up in the city and besieged by a great army of Saracens. The Christian Army Starving. Articles of food cost their weight in gold, while a pound of silver was given for the head of a horse or of an ox. The poor who followed THE CRUSADES 213 the army were compelled to subsist on roots and leaves; some even devoured the leather of their bucklers and shoes. Famine carried off every day a great number of the Christians. The living became so weak that they were scarcely able to lift their armor or to bury the dead. Their Only Hope. In this starving condition they marched out against the enemy, singing hymns. They looked like an army of beggars coming to ask alms, but they bore down upon the Saracens in such a desperate charge that the Saracen army fled. Their camp was taken, with immense booty in treasure, provisions, camels, and horses. Every Crusader suddenly became rich. It is said the Infidels left one hundred thousand dead on the field of battle, while the Crusaders lost but four thousand. Fif teen thousand camels and a great number of horses fell into the hands of the Christian army. Through Syria. Six months passed before the Crusaders set out from Antioch for Jerusalem. On the way they re ceived with great joy a reenforcement of new Crusaders from Holland and England. In passing through the prov inces of Syria, the Crusaders came upon great groves of olive trees, oranges, and a new plant, which attracted at tention because it was sweeter than honey. The inhabit ants called it zucra; it was what is now called sugar cane. This plant afforded much assistance to the Crusaders during famine. Sugar cane had been unknown in the West, but it soon became of great importance in commerce. Following the Coast. -- The crusading army was now re duced by losses and desertion to fifty thousand. Perhaps this made them the stronger, for they were not burdened by a multitude who wer of no help in battle. Following the coast in order to be provisioned by Genoese and Flemish fleets, they passed by Sidon and Tyre and Acre and Joppa. 214 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Nearing Jerusalem. And now with great joy the Crusaders approached Jerusalem. When they ascended the heights of Emmaus and beheld the Holy City itself before their eyes, they shouted: " Jerusalem! Jerusalem! It is the will of God! It is the will of God! " Their shout resounded over Mt. Zion and the Mount of Olives. Some cast themselves upon their knees on beholding the sacred places, others kissed the earth where the Savior had trod. The horsemen dismounted and marched barefooted. By turns they passed from joy to sadness. They wept over their sins, and rejoiced that the end of their long, long journey was in sight. They all renewed the oath they had so often made to deliver the Holy City from the yoke of the Saracens. There was not a valley or a rock but had a name sacred to the Christians, and they could not with draw their eyes from the Holy City, nor cease to lament over its misfortunes. It looked as though it were buried in its own ruins. Turks Making Ready. The Turks had ravaged the surrounding plains, burnt the villages, filled up or poisoned the cisterns, and made the country a desert. So the Chris tians soon began to suffer from famine and disease. The Calif had brought to the city provisions for a long siege, had called upon all the Turks to come to the defense of Jerusalem, and had employed a great number of workmen, day and night, to construct machines of war, and to repair the towers. The garrison of the city amounted to forty thousand men besides twenty thousand of the inhabit ants who had taken up arms. An Immediate Attack. Some of the Christian leaders urged an immediate attack, although they had neither ladders nor machines of war. They thought that surely God himself would come to their aid. The Christian THE CRUSADES 215 THE CRUSADES Scale of Miles 50 100 150 200 250 300 First Crusade +++++ + -H- + + -M- * Second Crusade PALESTINE, SHOWING THE ROUTES or THE CRUSADES. 216 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE army, therefore, approached the walls with great zeal, holding their bucklers over their heads and trying with pikes and hammers to destroy the walls. Some stood farther away and used their slings and crossbows to drive the enemy away from the walls. The Turks threw down from the parapet oil, boiling pitch, large stones, and enor mous beams ; but they could not check the enthusiasm of the Christians. The Inner Wall Solid. The Crusaders tore down the outer wall, but found an inner one which was solid. They must either scale it with ladders or give it up. Having one ladder that was long enough to reach the top, the bravest mounted upon it and fought the Turks hand to hand. But so few could gain the top with but one ladder that they could not hold their own against the swarm of Saracens. Heaven did not come to their aid, and their bravery was unvailing. So the Christians had to retreat. Building Machines of War. They now set to work at once to build machines of war. But it was difficult to find the necessary wood in a country of barren sands and rocks. They tore down houses and even churches near the city to obtain timber for the hurling machines and batter ing rams. Dying of Thirst. -- The most intense heat of summer now came upon them. A scorching sun and hot southern winds loaded with the sands of the desert swept the country. Plants and animals perished, streams and springs dried up. The Christian army soon became a prey to all the horrors of thirst. Every morning, it is said, the sufferers glued their parched lips to the marbles covered with dew. They even plowed up the ground with their swords to bury their heads in the moist earth. Quarrels Break Out. Those who were fortunate THE CRUSADES 217 enough to discover a spring concealed it from others, and quarrels broke out. Of ttimes the Crusaders drew their swords upon one another for the sake of a little muddy water. The animals were released and wandered over the desert to die of thirst. The Saracens might have attacked them then and won an easy victory, but they feared the famous knights. Heaven Sends Aid. Just at this time the Christians heard that a Genoese fleet with provisions was sailing for the port of Joppa, and they sent a band to meet it. Soon after the fleet arrived, it was surprised and captured by a fleet of the Turks, but not until some provisions and mate rials of war had been landed. Engineers and carpenters had also landed from the fleet. These hastened toward the sacred city and soon appeared before the walls of Jeru salem. Every one renewed his zeal. Those who could help worked night and day upon the machines of war. Three of these machines were huge towers built on rollers. Each tower had three stages, or stories, the lowest for the men who were to move it up to the walls, and the second and third stories, for the warriors who were to clear the parapets of defenders and to mount upon them. These towers were higher than the walls. At the top was fixed a kind of drawbridge, which could be let down upon the walls for the knights to pass over. Ready for Another Attack. When the machines were ready, the Christian army began to work up their courage. After a three days fast, the whole army marched bare headed and barefooted around the city, preceded by priests clothed in white, carrying images of the saints and singing holy songs. They stopped on the very spot, upon the Mount of Olives, where Christ ascended into heaven. They looked upon the rocks of Calvary and fell upon their knees 218 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE to pray. They passed by the pool of Siloam, where Christ restored sight to the man born blind ; they marched along the foot of Mount Zion, and towards evening they returned to their camp, where many spent the night in prayer. An All-day Battle. At daybreak on the morning of July 14, 1099, the clarions sounded the call to battle in the Christian camp, and the Crusaders flew to arms. All the machines were moved to the walls, and the Christians at tacked the enemy with great fury. While the bowmen discharged a storm of arrows, the men raised ladders to scale the walls, the hurling machines threw huge stones, and the battering rams hammered at the towers. The Turks, in turn, fought with a great courage. They shot arrows, hurled javelins, and threw down boiling oil and Greek fire, which vinegar alone would quench. And thus the fiercest fighting went on all day and until darkness came. The Christians had the best of the fight and re newed it the next morning. Jerusalem Taken. The Turks upon the walls now taunted the Christians for worshiping a God who was not able to defend them. Again they hurled torches, firepots, and innumerable stones, for they had fourteen machines within the walls. The Christians continued to fight bravely, facing the greatest dangers. At last the tower of Godfrey, although on fire, was pushed up close enough for the drawbridge to reach the wall; and Godfrey and his powerful knights leaped upon it, fighting like giants. Others quickly followed. The flames and smoke from some burn ing straw were carried by the wind into the faces of the Turks, and they retreated from the walls before the swords of the knights. The walls were now easily scaled with ladders, the gates were opened, and the Christian host en tered shouting, "It is the will of God." The Saracens THE CRUSADES 220 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE were massacred in the streets and in the houses by the tens of thousands; and Jerusalem was filled with blood and mourning. A Thanksgiving. Godfrey repaired to the church of the Holy Sepulcher, barefooted and unarmed, to render RICHARD I IN PALESTINE. thanks. When the others heard of this, they ceased slaying, cast away their bloody garments, and marched bareheaded and barefooted to the church of the Resurrection. While they were thus assembled on Calvary, night came on. Wearing a Crown. The next day the slaughter of the Turks began anew. For weeks the Saracens were hunted down and put to the sword. Then came a desire for peace, order, and government. Godfrey was chosen king, but he would not wear a crown of gold in the city where the Savior wore a crown of thorns. Instead of king he was THE CRUSADES 221 called " Defender and Baron of the Holy Sepulcher." Of the vast throngs of Crusaders who set out from their homes in the West for the Holy Land, only a few were now alive. Many of these soon embarked for home. Their presence in Europe stirred up great enthusiasm, and thousands were eager for a new crusade. The Second Crusade. The Crusader knights who re mained in Jerusalem drove back the Turks from Palestine and built up a Christian empire in Asia, but it was not long before the Turk was again gaining ground. A second Crusade therefore took place about fifty years after the first. It was led by Emperor Conrad III and Louis VII of France, but it failed miserably because of ignorance and bad generalship. Another Failure. Forty years later, when the Turks had recaptured Jerusalem, a third crusade was attempted. THE SACKING OF JERUSALEM. 222 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE This time three rulers of Europe took part: Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, Philip II of France, and Richard of England. This was the best known of all the Crusades, but it also failed. The death of Frederick and the jealousy between Philip and Richard ruined the expedition. More Ignorance and Folly. Still other expeditions against the Turks set forth, only to fail. There was even a children s Crusade in which tens of thousands of children lost their lives. All this shows how ignorant and foolish the people of those times were. The Turks held their own against all comers, and Jerusalem remained at last in their hands. It now became more popular for those who wished to make war on the infidels to help the Spanish Goths in their efforts to drive out the Moors from Spain. QUESTIONS i. How were Christians living in the Holy Land treated ? 2. How did the Saracens treat the pilgrims to Jerusalem ? 3. Why ? 4. Who were the Turks? 5. How did they change after taking the Saracen empire ? 6. Did they behave differently toward the Chris tian pilgrims? 7. Tell about Peter the Hermit in the Holy Land. 8. Describe Peter s later preaching. 9. How was he received by the people? 10. Who was Alexis and why did he hate the Turks? ii. Teh 1 about the Council of Clermont. 12. Describe Peter s army and tell what became of it. 13. Give some reasons why he failed to reach Jerusalem. 14. How did Godfrey s army differ from Peter s ? 15. Describe the march through Asia Minor toward Jerusalem. 1 6. Locate the cities through which the army of the cross marched. 17. What mistakes did the Christians make ? 18. Tell about the cap ture of Jerusalem. 19. Discuss the later crusades and tell why they failed. CHAPTER XVIII RESULTS OF THE CRUSADES Saracens Not "Horned Devils." -The Crusades were scattered through a field of two hundred years, during which time throngs of men of all classes matched swords with the Turks. And although they all failed to rescue the Holy Land, still Europe reaped great gain from them. The army of the cross set out, as they thought, to " kill horned devils," but those few who escaped death came back to tell of the wonderful cities, and the great countries that they had visited, and of the educated people whom they had met. The Returning Knights. Not only the multitudes who went, but those who stayed behind, were wonderfully stimulated and educated by the Crusades ; for the return ing knights of the cross were welcomed to every fireside, and the people were never tired of listening to their exciting experiences. Europe Ready to Learn. Europeans found that the world was larger than they had dreamed, and that there were many great nations, who had newer ideas, higher ways of living, and better ways of doing things than they had. The people of Europe saw that they must learn the great lessons of civilized living from these hated Saracens, if they wished to be the leading people of the world. Europe was now ready to learn, and the Arabs proved fine teachers. New Fashions and New Foods. The Crusaders brought home among other ideas new fashions, such as shaving and bathing. They also taught to Europe the growing of 223 224 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE lemons, apricots, watermelons, rice, and sugar cane. These things made life in the West much pleasanter. Ship Building. The Crusaders also greatly stimulated ship building. Many new vessels had to be built in the Mediterranean to carry supplies to the army of the cross. The later Crusaders, in order to avoid the long, toilsome, and dangerous journey overland, took passage on water. Thus many new ships were needed. The ships that plied ANCIENT SHIPS. the Mediterranean were larger than those upon the Atlantic, because the inland sea is not as rough as the ocean, and there were great numbers of men seeking passage for the Holy Land. The vessels were often a hundred feet long and could carry, besides several score of oarsmen, a hundred or more passengers with their provisions and baggage. The ships were propelled mainly by oars, but sails were used when there was a favorable wind. The ship captains, in early times, took their lives in their hands when they ventured out of sight of land. They had to rely upon the RESULTS OF THE CRUSADES 225 sun and stars as guides, and there was always danger of the heavens being hidden by clouds. Ships often missed their port by as much as five hundred miles. But with the Crusades came greater knowledge of the sea and of the use of ships. The Compass. Shortly after the first Crusades the Europeans learned the use of the mariner s compass from the Arabs, who brought it from the East. Who invented the compass, we do not know, but it is supposed by some to have come from China. Since the compass always points to the north, sailors could now tell the directions in cloudy weather. The first compasses were merely magnetized needles fixed upon cork and floating upon water so that they could turn easily. When the sea was rough, the i . -, , v ji n i MARINER S COMPASS. water on which the needle floated was disturbed, and the needle could not do its work. At last some one tried balancing the needle upon a point, and this proved satisfactory in all weather. The compass could now be relied upon, and it became a great aid to commerce. " Sailing directions " also came into use. These were little books telling the sailor about the coasts, the tides, and the shallows or rocks near the surface of the sea. Water Transportation Costly. Voyages came to be longer, but the expense of shipping was still great. Spices cost three times as much in Belgium as in Venice, and Eng lish wool sold in Italy for twelve times as much as at home. Each ship had to carry a band of armed sailors, for sea fighting was a regular practice, often among respectable people. Sometimes an ordinary merchantman turned pirate, if it met a weaker ship. Even a Canterbury abbot was proved to have plundered a vessel loaded with wine. It 226 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE is said that Christopher Columbus was known to have taken part in pirate expeditions. The crews and passengers of the captured vessel were frequently tossed overboard, sometimes with their hands tied behind their backs, or they were murdered on the deck with heartless cruelty. All this added to the dangers of the sea and to the cost of transporting goods by water. Spices and Luxuries, from the East. But in spite of the dangers, commerce grew rapidly. Spices, such as cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg, became cheaper. They were in great demand for seasoning in every home, because the food of even the nobles was, in those days, coarse and un inviting. Spices were also needed in preserving food for winter use. Dates and oils were now to be had. Merchants brought cotton goods such as calicoes from Calicut, and muslin from Mosul ; they brought fine satins and silks from Syria, tapestries and carpets from Persia, and precious stones and perfumes from Arabia. Desire for Travel. Men began to want to travel and to visit strange and far-off people. Such men as Marco Polo set out for China, going overland through Asia. In this way new trade routes were opened, new countries appeared on the map, and new luxuries were sold in the market place. The Crossbow and Gunpowder. Soon the crossbow appeared, coming also from the East. It was used in war and in the chase, until gunpowder took its place. Nobody knows who invented gunpowder or where it came from, but many think that it, too, was brought from the East by the Arabs. Others believe that Roger Bacon, an Englishman, invented it. Bacon read much from the Greeks, and he had a laboratory where he performed experiments. He said that anybody who wanted to make a big flash and a great noise could do so by mixing saltpeter, charcoal, and RESULTS OF THE CRUSADES 227 sulphur, and touching fire to it. " Truly," he said, " I am not joking." No one would think of saying now that gunpowder is a joke. The First Gun. Some unknown man found out that powder would throw objects that were lying upon it when it exploded; and finally some genius thought of using a hollow iron tube, closed at one end, so that the powder could throw straight. And thus the gun was invented. Woe to the knight with all his armor, for the poorest serf with a gun could now fight better. The Windmill. Another machine very useful to man came into Europe just after the Crusades. Again we cannot learn where or by whom it was invented, but it, too, is believed to have come through the Arabs. This was the windmill. Anything that will help mankind to get food or clothing more easily, or that will save labor, is a great blessing ; for when man does not have to spend every hour in search of his daily food, he has time to think, time to make better tools and to invent new ones. The people had long used water power and horse power; but not wind power, save in the case of the sails of ships. Use of the Windmill. The first windmills were built on wooden towers, but whenever the wind changed, the whole tower had to be turned so the breeze could again catch the wheel. After a time some clever man made one so that he could turn the wheel to the wind without moving the tower. Then people came to build the towers of brick and stone. Although rudely made, the windmill was early used for grinding corn when the water was too low for water mills to run. Besides, windmills might be built anywhere, while watermills could be useful only along swift rivers. Money a Help. --To carry on the increasing trade of Europe after the Crusades, it was necessary to have to make 228 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE exchanges easily ; and when money came in abundance, it accomplished other things besides helping the merchants and traders. Tenants no longer had to pay their rents in produce or in day s labor for their lord ; they paid money rents instead, for they could now sell their surplus product? A DUTCH WINDMILL. for cash. Money rents freed tenants and serfs from many burdens. King Grows Stronger. The kings, too, were glad that money had come back into use ; because now they could col lect a tax for the state and use it to keep up a standing army. With a good army they were able to make the nobles and barons obey them. So instead of a very great number RESULTS OF THE CRUSADES 229 of petty feudal states, there came to be a few large and strong kingdoms with powerful rulers. The Third Estate. Up to the time of the Crusades, there had been but two ruling classes who had any power or share in the government. They were the nobles and the churchmen, or clergy. Now we notice a third class rising into view. It was called the Third Estate, or the towns. Towns Buy Freedom. Many lords and abbots, and even kings, were in hard straits for money to defray the expenses of their expeditions to Jerusalem. So they sold charters of liberties freely to the growing towns upon their estates. These charters stated what privileges and freedom the townspeople were to have and enjoy, and this written charter bound the king or noble or abbot as firmly as it did the town, for his name was signed to it. In this way many towns obtained freedom from taxes to their feudal lords and freedom from tolls and from all sorts of burdens. Other Towns Free. Hundreds and thousands of nobles who embarked for the Holy Land never came back, and many towns got their liberty in this way. Still other cities in France and Germany made war on their lords. Some cities rose up in arms five, six, or a dozen times, before they won their freedom. Towns Ask a Share in the Government. The towns people were obtaining riches from the growing commerce and manufactures, and with riches came leisure. They had time to think, to read, to travel, and to become as well educated as the nobles and clergy. Then the towns began to demand a share in the government with the other two classes. The King and the Towns Join Hands. The king was friendly to the towns. They could furnish the money he needed to keep a standing army. The king alone could in- 230 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE sure the peace and freedom for trade that the towns wanted because of his standing army and his growing power over the robber barons. So the towns and the king joined hands against the feudal lords. The nobles were no longer to be rulers over their estates, but were forced to obey the king s laws. This, along with money rents, caused feudalism gradually, but surely, to disappear. Serfs in Cities. During all these years the common working people had no rights whatever; these belonged only to the nobles and the clergy, and now to the towns. But the condition of the workers tended gradually towards freedom, although very slowly in some countries. Serfs in the towns and cities often purchased their liberty with money that they earned. Others were not worth the food and clothing that they required, and the masters were glad to be rid of them. Some ran away to other towns, and some were given their freedom. Thus serfdom disappeared in the cities. Free Farm Laborers. In the country districts it was a much longer time before all the serfs were free. Some few landowners gave liberty to their serfs because they knew that free laborers do more and better work than serfs. The king was always ready to help the serf to freedom, because he wanted to weaken the unruly nobles by taking their laborers from them. But possibly the strongest friend of the unfreed workers was the church. On church lands the tenants or serfs received kind treatment, and ofttimes they were set free. The clergy also urged the nobles to do like wise. Lords who were old and near their deathbed fre quently granted liberty to their serfs as a peace offering to heaven. The King and the Serf. Kings, in order to get money, often sold freedom to all toilers on lands belonging to the RESULTS OF THE CRUSADES 231 crown ; but sometimes the price was so high that the tenants refused to take advantage of the offer. However, serfs and vassals no longer had to grind their corn in the lord s mill, to crush their grapes in his wine press, or to bake their bread in his oven, every time paying toll to him. They became more and more subject to the king s laws and less to those of their lord. In this way the king and the central government were growing stronger at the expense of the nobles, and finally the serf became a free laborer, working for wages. QUESTIONS i. How were the Christians surprised in what they found in the Holy Land? 2. Tell about the returning knights. 3. Who was more highly civilized at this time, Europe or the Arabs ? 4. Why ? 5. What effect did the Crusades have upon ships and navigation? 6. Describe the early compass and tell what good it did. 7. How were goods transported in those days ? 8. Were foreign wares costly ? 9. Why ? 10. Name the chief spices obtained from the East and tell how each was used. n. Tell about the Poles. 12. What made them risk the dangers of distant countries ? 13. Do people visit wild lands to-day for the same or for different purposes ? 14. Tell about the crossbow and gunpowder. 15. What change did gunpowder make in the world? 16. Tell how you think the first gun was in vented. 17. Discuss the windmill. 18. How do you think it was first invented or thought out ? 19. How did the Crusades affect the kings in Europe? 20. The trading classes or towns? 21. Why was the king friendly to the towns? 22. What change now came about for the serfs? 23. Who was now growing stronger and who weaker ? CHAPTER XIX THE GROWTH OF FRANCE The King a Figurehead. We have seen that in the feudal times France was broken up into a great many little districts. In each of them a count or duke or other noble ruled like a king, paying no attention whatever to the real sovereign at Paris, because he had lost nearly all of his power. Some of these dukes and counts were stronger than the monarch himself, and they did not hesitate to make war upon him. Things had come to such a pass that it was scarcely safe for the king to travel about freely over France. The Country Divided. There was not only a large number of feudal states, which were practically independ ent, but the people of these fiefs or duchies usually spoke different French dialects. They had different laws, dif ferent kinds of money, and, of course, separate rulers. What was needed was a strong king to mold these many unlike people into a united nation with one language, one system of laws, and one ruler. The church was glad to offer aid to any king strong enough to protect both the churches and the people against the greedy and wicked nobles. The Capetian Kings. During the stormy feudal age Charlemagne s crown had fallen to a new family, the Cape- tians, who were to rule France for eight hundred years. The early Capetians came into power in Paris, because they fought off the Northmen bravely from the Seine and Loire valleys. 232 THE GROWTH OF FRANCE 233 Dividing up the King s Duchy. But some of these Capetian kings did not have a very firm hold upon their own duchy. Certain haughty barons, even in the neigh borhood of Paris, had built strong castles, and defied the king in his own province. They boldly plundered the merchants and peasants on church lands, and often openly treated the king with contempt. They meant to become independent of the king, just as the greater barons had done all over France. Louis the Fighter. However, there came a king at last, who was stronger than the rulers before him. This king, Louis the Fighter, resolved to bring his own duchy, at least, into better obedience. With this solid support he hoped to build up a great, united France out of the many fragments. When he was but twenty years old, he made war upon the unruly barons of his duchy and kept it up until his death. He captured their castles, pulled them down, and threw the barons into prison. After this his word was law throughout his own duchy, and the dues and rents from his vassals all came into his own hands instead of going to the feudal lords. Fighting the Greater Dukes. With this extra rent and united support, Louis now felt strong enough to make war upon some of the greater dukes and counts of France. These noblemen called him king and owed him allegiance, but they utterly refused to obey him. One of them was the Duke of Normandy, who had conquered England, and had become the English king ; but he still held a large part of the land of western France as a vassal of the French king. The English kingdom, with the duchy of Normandy, fell to the succeeding sovereigns of England. Louis could not make much headway against the English king, who was aided by the German emperor and other allies. 234 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE King Henry of England. Henry II, who now became king of England, actually gained territory in France, for he had married Eleanor of Aquitaine, and thus had added nearly one fourth of France to what he had already held as Duke of Normandy. In fact Henry of England now ruled over three times as much territory in France as did the French king. Another Strong French King. Louis the Fighter had left his own duchy united and strong as a starting point for his successors. The French crown fell, a few years later, to Louis s grandson, Philip Augustus, who made up his mind to extend the boundaries of his duchy by seizing other fiefs and driving out the feudal lords. Philip was a great king. He knew what to do and how to do it, besides having the patience to wait until the time was ripe. He was only fifteen years old when he took the crown, but in six years he had beaten the feudal barons, and had annexed to his royal domains three great counties; and before long he forced Henry II, one of England s strongest kings, to give to him another big county in France. A Weak English King. After the short rule of Richard the Crusader, the English crown fell to John, a weak and good-for-nothing king ; and Philip s hour had come. He re solved to drive John from his French domains. A quarrel was easily hatched ; and Philip won a glorious victory, taking from John several large French provinces, but not all of them. France Nearly United. - Thus Philip had multiplied by three the territory of the French crown, and his people were wild with joy. They began to feel proud of their name and to long for a great united nation. Later kings gained other territory from the vassal barons, and after a time, all France, save what was still held by the English crown, was united under the French king. THE GROWTH OF FRANCE 235 The French Kings Hold Their Grip. The kings of France not only won new territory, but they planned to keep a firm hold upon all the distant provinces, so that the feudal nobles might not again seize power. How could the king make his power felt so far from his capital ? Philip solved the problem in this way. He appointed agents to look after his affairs in the distant provinces. He kept transferring these men from one region to another at regu lar times, for fear they might become too well acquainted with the feudal barons and plot with them against him. In this way the agents were held under strict control by the king, and were loyal to him. The Work of the King s Agent. In the district to which he was sent the agent was to act for the king, to see that the king s laws were obeyed, and that the taxes were paid into the royal hands. He was a kind of royal judge, too. Thus these agents helped the king to make his power felt everywhere in the land, and sometimes they even helped to add new territory to the king s domains. The Noble St. Louis. The grandson of Philip was also a noble and good king, though he was not a great fighter. He did not gain territory, but neither did he lose any, save what he gave back to Henry of England, because he believed that his grandfather had seized it unjustly. His victories were victories of peace; and he was called St. Louis because he was so just and fair, not only to his friends, but to his enemies. Louis did not hesitate to oppose the bishops and the popes when he thought that they were wrong. He believed that what was right should always be done, no matter who suffered ; so he punished the nobles of highest rank or even his nearest friends, if they committed a wrong. He even punished his loyal officers if they did an injustice in trying to advance the king s interests. DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE St. Louis was ambitious to have peace and justice prevail in every province. Philip had gathered in all the fragments of France, and St. Louis wished to bind all these parts of the kingdom firmly together under himself. The King s Fairness Makes Friends. As the king s power grew and his territory expanded, the feudal lords began to show greater respect for the king s supreme court at Paris, and to obey more willingly the decisions of that court. So fair and just was St. Louis that many barons were glad to have him settle their disputes, and his court at Paris became popular. Keeping Peace and Order. There was another thing that Louis the Saint wished very much to do in order to make his power everywhere complete. This was to es tablish in all the provinces national courts, or king s courts, which should be higher than the feudal courts of the lords. In this way the king could enforce peace and order, and do away with all petty private wars between the lords and vassals ; for we must remember that fighting had been the chief business of the nobles for centuries, and they felt that days of peace were just so many days lost. We must also remember that the merchants and the towns desired peace very much, and for it they were willing to pay taxes to the king to be used for his standing army. The King s Courts Win. The king s agents in the district provinces were called upon more and more to settle disputes between the quarrelsome lords and vassals, and thus much of their time was taken up as king s judges in these lawsuits. Soon there came to be a king s court in every province. After a time these subordinate king s courts were looked upon as better than the old feudal courts because the judges were fair and just, and because the king forced the people to obey the court s orders. THE GROWTH OF FRANCE 237 Carrying a Dispute to a Higher Judge. One more important thing happened, which made the king s courts very popular. It was this : when two men got into a quarrel over property, they took their dispute to the king s court in the province for a settlement. If either of the men were not satisfied with the court s decision, he might carry the lawsuit to the king s supreme court at Paris and get another trial with, perhaps, a different decision. This is called appealing a case to a higher court. A case could not only be appealed from one king s court to a higher king s court, but the king could force the unwilling feudal barons to permit any one to appeal from the feudal court to the king s court. This right of appeal the king labored very earnestly to bring about; and when it came, it did away entirely with the independence of feudal lords, and created much more respect for the king. Studying Roman Law. Another thing that added much to the power of the French king was the study of Roman law. The trained lawyers of France were studying Roman law very diligently ; for here, we know, they found the best system of law that the world had ever seen. But the laws of the Roman empire were all framed upon the idea that the Roman emperor was the supreme head of the state. He was the king, the lawmaker, and the judge, all in one, and the people of the Roman empire had no share and no voice in their government. Roman Laws Copied in France. Now French lawyers, trained in the laws of Rome, brought these same ideas into the courts of the king of France. The king liked the ideas and was very glad indeed to appoint the lawyers trained in such manner as his judges. So great was the influence of these lawyers that after a time the king of France be came an absolute monarch. The French people, like the 238 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE people of Rome, came to have no rights and no power of deciding how they should be ruled. The King Holds the Nation s Pocketbook. --The king not only made all the laws and appointed all the judges, but the time came when he levied all the taxes upon the people of France, and collected the money through his agents without consulting the people. As usual the king hired a standing army with these taxes, which he used to make the people obey him. They were thus forced to hold their peace, leaving him free to do as he wished. The king was now all powerful, with the people practically his slaves. However, the people were happier than in the feudal age when there was continued fighting. This abso lute rule is very different from the government that grew up in England. There the people insisted on having a voice in the making of laws and some way of checking the taxes that they were to pay. QUESTIONS i. Compare the French king s power with that of his nobles. 2. Was this a good thing? 3. Why, or why not? 4. How did the Capetian house come into power in Paris? 5. What good did Louis the Fighter do for his kingdom ? 6. How did France get into trouble with England? 7. Tell about Philip Augustus and King John of England. 8. What good things did Philip do for his kingdom? 9. How did the king make the distant province obey him? 10. Tell about St. Louis, n. Why was it hard to be a good man in those days? 12. Was the king s court a good thing for the people? 13. Why? 14. What changes came about because of studying Ro man law? 15. Why do people pay taxes to-day? 16. What was the money used for in those days? 17. How did the government in France differ from that in England ? CHAPTER XX THE COMING OF THE NORTHMEN Northmen in France. At about the time that King Alfred was struggling to save England from the Northmen these same sea wolves were also plundering on the opposite side of the channel in France. One of these pirate bands was led by a chieftain named Rolf, or Rollo. He was a man of great stature, powerful and barbarous. It is said that there was no horse in Norway tall enough to lift Rolf s feet from the ground as he rode. That is why he was called Rolf the Walker. Normans in Normandy. The king of France was no match for Rolf and his fierce sea rovers. So the French king made a treaty with the Northman, giving him lands about the mouth of the Seine River. In return for these lands Rolf was to protect the Franks from other bands of Northmen. Rolf called his new province upon the Seine Normandy, and his people Normans. Hither came many of his kinsmen from the sea until a large district was occu pied by them. They intermarried with the earlier inhabit ants, accepted the Christian faith, and gradually took up the language of the Franks. William the Great. Rolf was followed a hundred years later by another strong Duke of Normandy, called by men of his own day William the Great. Later the English named him William the Conqueror. It was said that no knight under heaven was his equal. No man could bend his bow, and the blows of his mace were fatal. So 239 240 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE powerful and so fierce was he, that none dared resist his iron will. Putting Normandy in Order. William was troubled for many years by the robber lords of his duchy. His very kinsfolk made war on him, but two, great vic tories brought them all to his feet. Some of his enemies died in his dungeons, while others were driven into exile. Thus Normandy settled down at last to peace and order. Harold and William Rivals. Edward the Saint, who was then king of England, had no children. He was a kinsman of William of Normandy, and on one occasion, he had promised his crown at his death to the Norman duke. But there was a great English noble man named Harold, who also had hopes of gaining the English throne. It is said that when Harold was once cruising in the channel, a storm drove him upon the French NORMAN SOLDIERS. THE COMING OF THE NORTHMEN 241 coast, and he fell into the hands of Duke William, his rival. William ordered Harold to swear solemnly to aid him to the English throne upon the death of King Edward. Harold was unwilling to give up his own chances. " Swear or die," said the stern William ; so Harold took the oath. Harold Receives the Crown. Now when King Edward died, he named Harold as his successor, in spite of the prom ises both had made to William. Harold thought it was his duty to accept the English crown. William was furi ous at what he called Harold s treachery, and prepared for war. Gathering an army of steel-clad knights, he crossed the channel and gave battle to the English army under Harold at Hastings (1066). Battle of Hastings. In the midst of the fight the Nor mans were being worsted, and the cry arose that their Duke had fallen. " I live," shouted William as he tore off his helmet, " and by God s help will conquer yet." When he found that he could not break the firm English line by fierce charging, he pretended to flee, hoping to draw the enemy after him and thus to throw their ranks into disorder. When they followed, William turned on them ; and Harold fell pierced by an arrow, while his army was put to flight. Then William the Conqueror " pitched his tent on the very spot where his rival had fallen, and sat down to eat and drink among the dead." London opened her gates to the Conqueror, and William was soon crowned king of England. Seizing Great Estates. William claimed to be the rightful successor to the crown. Those who opposed him he considered traitors and seized their estates. Nearly all the English nobles, at one time or another, rose up against the Conqueror, but in vain. They were either killed or driven into exile, and their great estates fell into William s hands as king. The small landholders, however, were not disturbed. 242 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE The Feudal System in England. In order to hold his throne William must have an army ready at his call to put down the many revolts against him. How could he build up and maintain a loyal army? He decided to distribute the great estates among his faithful Norman followers, on condition that they would muster in arms when summoned by him. Even the poorest Norman soldier now received a large amount of land and rose to wealth and power as a vassal of the king. The large holdings of land were again divided by the king s vassals among their tenants on the same terms of service to them. In this manner, you see, William introduced the feudal system into England. This was the only way known to him of keeping control of his subjects or obtaining an army when he needed one. How William Gets a Firm Grip. But William remem bered how many years of fighting it took to put down his proud feudal lords in Normandy who were struggling to become independent. He feared his new Norman-English nobles might also desire to become separate kings on their own estates, and he resolved to prevent this evil. When he gave out a great English estate, he did not give it all to one noble. He divided each estate, giving to one only a small share. Then far away, in some other part of the kingdom, he gave this same noble another strip, and elsewhere, per haps, another. So that every noble s land was in small sections, widely scattered, a farm here and another farm miles away. Now the noble could not become an in dependent king if he wanted to. Thus William, by one brilliant stroke, destroyed the worst danger of feudalism. Swearing Loyalty to the King. William did another thing to hold a check upon his nobles. In France, you re member, the vassals of a lord always took a solemn oath to fight for him against all enemies and even against the king. THE COMING OF THE NORTHMEN 243 William overcame this danger by making every landholder, in addition to the oath of fealty to his lord, swear loyalty directly to him as king. A Norman Sheriff Over Each County. In order to keep his grip upon the more distant counties, the king appointed sheriffs to look after his interests just as the agents of the French king did, and naturally these offices were filled by Normans. In many places William built strong castles and manned them with his knights, to keep his people in order better. Stamping Out Feudal Courts. Instead of allowing independent feudal courts to grow up as had happened upon the continent, William kept the Anglo-Saxon courts, and above them he placed his own king s court. Cases at law might be appealed from these lower courts to the king s court, as was done in France. Thus, you see, the king was making his own power very strong indeed. The Crown Lands. We must notice three more plans of William s to strengthen his power. He did not by any means give away all the lands that he had seized, but kept very large tracts as crown lands, so that he might have money or dues coming in from them all the time to fill his treasury and to pay his officers and knights. Getting Church Support. William also wished to win the support of the church. So he put aside all the English clergy priests, abbots, bishops, even the archbishop of Canterbury and put Norman clergymen into their places. Can you think why ? Old Taxes. No king can be strong without money to pay his officers and keep up his court. The question of taxes has always caused much strife. Long before William the Conqueror invaded England, the people had been asked by their king and Witan to pay a sum of money to buy off 244 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE the Danes whose raids could not be checked. This money that every landowner had to pay was called Danegeld or Dane tax. But the Danes kept coming and the tax was called for again and again. So the people were accustomed to paying out money to the government as taxes. The Domesday Book. William wished to know how much land every man held, so that he might spread such a tax fairly. He therefore caused a record of the property of each man in the entire kingdom to be written down in a great book called the Domesday Book. He was now able to spread his taxes fairly, and he knew how much money could be raised in this way without ruining his subjects. Strong Kings and a United Country. While other countries of Europe were still broken up into small separate provinces, each with its earl or count or duke, and each almost independent of its king, England, we see, was bound together firmly under a strong king. So for several centuries there was more peace and happiness in England than anywhere in Europe, for William was followed by a line of able kings who were successful, although they were sometimes cruel. Other Gains. The Norman conquest brought England into closer relation with the south of Europe and its grow ing trade and town life. The Normans and English were Teutons and closely related. They gradually mingled and became one people. The Norman nobility, however, continued for a hundred years or more to speak the Norman- French language. But as the hatred between the English and the Normans died out and as the nobles and common people mingled more and more, the Anglo-Saxon speech won its way among the nobles. In the meantime, however, it had received very many words from the Norman-French. Thus our mother tongue is much richer and broader and THE COMING OF THE NORTHMEN 245 better because of the new element introduced by the Nor mans. With the Normans came also more learning and refinement, more knowledge of art and architecture, of crafts and manual skill. QUESTIONS i. Who were the Northmen? 2. How did they come to settle in France? 3. Tell about William the Great and his good work. 4. How did Harold and William come to claim the crown of England ? 5. Tell about the battle of Hastings. 6. What did William do with the estates of the nobles in England ? 7. Why did he introduce the feudal system into England ? 8. How did he get a firm grip upon England ? 9. What was the Domesday Book and what was its use ? 10. Was the Norman conquest of England a good thing for the island ? 1 1 . Why, or why not ? CHAPTER XXI WINNING ENGLISH LIBERTY Absolute Rulers. The English kings ruled the country much as they pleased for many years, for neither the nobles nor the people had a voice in the affairs of the nation. Though the land was both peaceful and prosperous, the nobles objected to the absolute rule of the king over them, and the people resented the heavy taxes about which they were allowed to say nothing; but things went on in this way for a hundred and fifty years. Hands of the Nobles Tied. Each one of the nobles would have liked to become independent of the king, as were the nobles in France and Germany ; but the lands of the English nobility were scattered, and they could not do this. So they said at last : "If we can never become in dependent of the king, let us, then, band together and force him to share his government with us. Only in this way can we check his absolute and unjust rule over us." And now came their chance, for one of the worst kings England ever had came to the throne King John. Loss of Normandy. The people of England soon found John to be a wretched tyrant untruthful, dishonest, and treacherous. The new king rapidly lost the love and even the respect of all classes of his subjects. So hated was he, that he was at war with the pope, with France, with Scot land, Ireland, and Wales, all at the same time. In the war with the king of France, John lost nearly all of the English possessions in France, including Normandy, which 24 6 WINNING ENGLISH LIBERTY 247 the English kings had held for a hundred and fifty years ; and the people of his kingdom, whom he had abused by tyranny and by crushing taxes, refused to help him. John Like Other Tyrants. In all ages it has been the habit of kings, who wish to rule with an iron hand, to single out and throw into prison those of their subjects who love liberty and are most likely to object to harsh rule. In these dark dungeons the patriots lay for months or even years, without a trial. Sometimes the prisoners were so cruelly treated that they soon died, others were murdered in cold blood without excuse. By such inhuman treat ment, tyrants frightened their subjects into obedience and silence. Rich men who had become too zealous in looking after the rights and liberties of the people were given a hint of the king s displeasure in the form of a crushing fine. This, perhaps, accomplished two things. It destroyed the noble s longing for liberty and helped to fill the king s empty purse. John was like other tyrants. He abused his subjects, and those who objected received more abuse. The right to a speedy trial before a fair jury cost our fore fathers much in treasure and in blood before it was won. The Great Charter. -- The nobles vowed that they would compel John to restore their liberties and to give them a charter to which the king must attach his seal, making it a law. The barons therefore gathered in arms and demanded a charter. " Why do you not ask for my kingdom? " cried John, in an angry passion, but it was of no use to re sist, as the people were all against him. So he met the barons at Runnymede in 1 2 1 5 and signed the Great Charter, sometimes called the Magna Carta. The Liberties Given in the Charter. John agreed in the charter that he would never again put a man in prison and keep him there without a trial by a jury. Neither 248 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE would he seize a freeman s property nor banish him without a good and lawful reason. He promised justice and fair treatment to all his subjects. And, most important of all, the king agreed not to extort money from his people either as fines, aids, or taxes, without first consulting the barons about it. The Council of Barons. But nobody believed that John could be trusted to obey this charter, and so a council of twenty-five barons was chosen to watch over their liberties and to declare war on John if he again started to disobey the charter. " They have given me five-and- twenty overkings," cried John in a burst of fury, flinging himself on the floor and gnawing sticks and straw in his rage. John kept up the fight against his barons for a time, but he soon died. And every king since has been made to promise to obey the Great Charter. It is the foundation of the liberties of all English-speaking nations. The King Who Broke the Charter. The next king was Henry III, who reigned for more than fifty years. Henry was not a good king, and he naturally hated the charter, since it prevented him from doing as he pleased. After a while he began to disobey one important law in the char ter. He forced dues, or taxes, upon the people without asking the Great Council of barons. Moreover Henry sent judges over the kingdom, who fined rich people un justly and heavily, merely to get more money for the greedy king. From the cities and from rich Jews the king de manded gifts, and the people hardly dared to refuse. Reforms First, Then Taxes. This ill-gotten money was not enough for the spendthrift king and his extravagant court. He summone d a parliament of the Great Council of barons and asked them to tax the people. Henry asked for a large sum of money. But the parliament of barons WINNING ENGLISH LIBERTY 249 told him that they would not allow him one penny unless he first promised to cease his breaking of the Great Charter and his unlawful fining of the people. What could the king do ? He promised, and the barons levied the taxes for him. WESTMINSTER ABBEY. Simon of Montfort. Henry broke his oath, however, within a year and declared war on the barons, though he soon made peace and again promised to obey. At last war broke out in earnest, and the knights and barons under 250 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE their splendid leader, Simon of Montfort, captured the king and put him into prison. Simon, the patriot, then called a general council, or parliament, to represent all classes of people. To this parliament he summoned not only the barons, the bishops, and several knights to speak for the counties, but he introduced something new by calling upon the towns to send representatives. This was the first time the towns had been allowed a voice in the government. A Great King. After a time Simon died, and Henry patched up peace by another promise. The people were tired of fighting, and they endured the king until his death a few years later. Following him came a great king, Edward I, who conquered Wales and Scotland and planned to unite all the island of Great Britain under one law and one king. Edward died, however, before he could make his hold upon Scotland permanent. The Model Parliament. In 1295 King Edward called the perfect or Model Parliament. For a seat in this body the clergy had chosen their bishops and archbishops to represent them, that is, to speak for them and to vote for laws that were for their best interests ; the chief barons were also summoned to act and speak for the nobility. Besides these each county elected two knights to represent it ; each city, two citizens ; and each town, two burghers. And so the common people of the whole kingdom were represented by those whom they had chosen to go to Parlia ment and to look after their interests. Such was the Model Parliament, so called because all the later ones were pat terned after it. A Clever Idea. --This idea of choosing representatives to act for the many who could not go to act for themselves was a clever idea of the English. It is the only way for the people in a large country to have a voice in the law WINNING ENGLISH LIBERTY 251 making. Had it not been for this plan, all the power of government would have fallen to the king and the rich nobles, and the common people might have suffered severely under bad kings. Teutons Love Their Freedom. That is just what hap pened among the other Teuton nations who settled in France and Spain. As the small tribal kingdoms united, they copied their governments after that of Rome, where the emperor became very tyrannical. In this way the French and Spanish lost their liberty and their voice in their governments, for they did not build up this plan of electing representatives. We shall look to England as the place where the people learned how to rule themselves through their chosen representatives. Two Houses. The Barons or Lords, after a time, met separately and were called the House of Lords, while the elected knights and citizens also met in a separate room and were called the House of Commons, because they were supposed to act for the good of the common people. From this time on the parliament used its right to vote or to re fuse taxes as a huge club to force the successive kings to give them other powers, or a larger share in the government. The King s Need of Money. A great war soon broke out with France over the lands still held there by the Eng lish king. This war lasted, off and on, for about a hundred years. The heavy expense of keeping an army in France forced the English king to call upon his parliament again and again for money. The king felt that he would do al most anything rather than lose his French possessions ; but the English people no longer cared for the lands in France. Curbing the King. So when the king asked parliament for more taxes, they demanded first to know what use he was going to make of the money. The king was angry, 252 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE but he had to yield, for there was no other way to get money. After a while parliament would vote money only for certain uses, and before voting any more they made the king show how he spent the last allowance. Another Step. Again parliament used the tax as a club ; for when, on a certain occasion, the king needed more money, parliament said, " Not unless you first dismiss and punish your wicked and cruel officers," and the king had to do it. At last, by always holding this tax club over the king s head, parliament gained so much power that it un crowned a wicked king and chose another in his stead. Becoming a Republic. In this way parliament came to control, not only the making of laws, but even the appoint ment of the king s ministers or officers who ruled over the people. Wicked officers of the king were brought before parliament, where they were judged and punished. At the end of the Middle Ages the people of England had gone a long way toward freedom and toward self-government. Though there was still a king, he was shorn of much of his power, and the government was becoming more like a republic, where people rule themselves. QUESTIONS i. What is an absolute ruler? 2. How were the hands of the nobles tied? 3. Who lost the English king s provinces in France? 4. Why? 5. Row was John like other tyrants? 6. Tell about the Great Charter. 7. Was it a good or a bad thing? 8. Why? 9. What is a trial by jury? 10. Would you rather be tried by a jury or by a judge ? 1 1. Why ? 12. Who broke the Great Charter ? 13. Why ? 14. How did the king get money besides levying taxes ? 15. Tell why we should be grateful to Simon of Monfort. 16. What was the Model Parliament and why was it called model ? 17. WTiat is meant by a representative government ? 18. Is it better or worse than a monarchy? 19. Why or why not? 20. How did the English people force their kings to share the government with them ? CHAPTER XXII THE RISE OF SPAIN The Fall of the Goths. When, in 711, the Gothic king, Roderick, was beaten and slain by the Arabs, and his army was scattered to the winds, the Goths gave up hope of saving Spain, and the Moors quickly overran it. The great cities yielded without a blow. Moors Kind to the Christians. How many Goths remained among the Moors we do not know, but the Moors were very kind to those who wished to stay. They allowed them to keep, not only their homes and property, but their religion and forms of worship. Even in Cordova, the Moor ish capital, there remained seven Christian churches for the use of the people. In addition to all this the Arabs gave the Christians the right to live under their own laws and officers, paying only a light tax, no heavier than was required of the Arabs about them. Moors and Goths Mixing. So it is believed that many of the Gothic subjects, especially the serfs and common people, besides a considerable number of nobles, preferred to remain in their homes under Moorish rule rather than to live a life of toil and hardship in the mountains. In after years, many of their children accepted the Moham medan religion and mixed freely with the Moors, inter marrying with them. What Became of the Gothic Nation. However, the stoutest and most independent of the Gothic host refused to submit to their Arab conquerors. Some fled to France, 253 254 D AWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Italy, and Britain, while others, true and devoted to their country, retreated behind the mountains of northern Spain. The Saracens did not consider these mountain provinces worth conquering. Even the barren plains near these mountains were not occupied, except by military camps. The Mountain Kingdom. Here among the rocks and crags of Asturias, the Goths and their followers halted, They were all equal now, for there was land, such as it was, for everybody. So these Gothic nobles mixed with the slaves and common people who came with them. They intermarried and became the ancestors of the modern Spaniards. Pelayo and the Moors. The Goths set their backs to the sea and their faces toward their enemy, the Moors, and chose Pelayo as their king. When the Arabs heard of the retreat of these people, they sent an army to subdue Pelayo and his mountain tribe. They found the chief and his band intrenched in a rocky cavern. The Moors were badly beaten, and thereafter the Spanish kingdom rested safely in its rocky nest. Hither came all the Christian Goths who had become dissatisfied with the rule of the Saracens, together with the stoutest and best of the Gothic nobles. Hard Life of the Mountaineers. Among the barren crags the Spaniards lived their hard life, obtaining food from hunting, from scanty crops, and from plundering one another as well as the people of the Moorish provinces. It was a life similar to that of their ancestors in the Ger man wilderness, save that they kept the Christian religion. They learned to endure hunger and fatigue, to live upon plain and scanty food, and to fight against odds. So they became a sober, hardy race of warriors. Facing About. From their barren mountain tops, the Spaniards looked down upon the pleasant valleys and fruit- THE RISE OF SPAIN 255 256 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE fill vineyards of their Gothic ancestors. They beheld their holy Christian churches given to infidels, with the hated crescents on the domes, where once was the sacred cross. After many years these hardy Spaniards resolved to quit the shelter of their mountains and to lay hold upon the lands of their forefathers. So, relying upon their strong right arms, they descended to the open, sunny plains of the Moors. Pushing Back the Moors. No sooner had the Span iards left the hill country than they found themselves face to face with the fleet cavalry of the Moors, while they them selves could fight only on foot. The Arabs swept over the country and carried off, in a single raid, the hard-earned produce of a whole season. But slowly they were pushed back. As soon as the Spaniards reached a natural boundary like a river or a chain of hills, they constructed a line of fortifications to hold their Moorish enemies in check. Quarreling Among Themselves. However, the prog ress of the Spaniards in recovering Spain was slow indeed. As they increased in numbers and spread out, they split up into several little states or tribes with separate kings. Among these petty Spanish kings and their warlike barons there was bitter hatred and fierce quarreling. More Christian blood was wasted in these feuds than in all the encounters with the Moors. On account of this con tinual fighting among themselves they made very slow headway in driving back the Mohammedan Moors. Love of Freedom. In each little state the people held to their Gothic liberties, their right to choose their king, and to share in law making. It is said that they took an oath of loyalty to their chosen king after this manner : " We, who are each of us as good as thou, and who together are more powerful than thou, swear to obey thee if thou dost obey our laws, and if not, not." THE RISE OF SPAIN 257 Frontier Cities Favored. In order to make progress against the Moors it was necessary to arm and drill every citizen, and so each warrior felt that he had a right to a voice in the matter of government. In order to push back the Arabs it was necessary to plant new towns and forts on the lands taken from the Moors as well as on the ex posed frontiers. To these towns especial favors were given in order to attract settlers to them. So the frontier towns obtained charters of liberties, allowing them great freedom in ruling themselves. A Voice in Law Making. In several kingdoms the towns sent representatives to the law-making assembly, which, in Spain, was called the Cortes. These representatives were chosen not by ballot, but by lot. This onward step toward freedom for the people occurred long before the Saxons of England had developed the representative system. Difficulties in Uniting. These jealous and warlike states for centuries kept uniting and splitting up, only to join again, in a different way. The king of one state would conquer another and take his lands, or, perhaps, he would marry a princess or widowed queen of another kingdom and thus enlarge his domains. This would soon have united all these various states into one great country had not the Spanish rulers followed the practice of dividing up their kingdoms at death among their sons. So the struggle for union had to be fought over and over again. However, the little states were slowly swallowed up by the larger ones, until, by 1400, there were three chief kingdoms in the Spanish peninsula. They were Portugal, Castile, and Aragon. Queen Isabella s Suitors. Over Castile there now ruled a remarkable queen named Isabella, a brilliant and charming woman. She had many noble and royal suitors s 258 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE from all the courts of Europe. Isabella declared she would not permit her kinsmen to dictate to her, but that she would marry whom she pleased. Among her suitors was a prince of Aragon, Ferdinand. To him she gave her hand, and it is said, " never in the annals of courtly marriage was a match so happy and so entirely blessed." Union and Peace. --Thus were united the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, the two largest states in Spain, and the wisest people in both kingdoms rejoiced that the time had come when wars and feuds might cease and peace reign. Nor were they disappointed. Putting Her House in Order. Isabella promptly set to work to bring the blessings of peace to her distracted king dom of Castile. She compelled obedience to her laws, and forced the great nobles to lay aside their arms and to refer their disputes to impartial judges. She tore down some sixty of the castles, where these fighting barons lived. She respected the clergy, but enforced obedience from them too. Once when they tried to shield a criminal because he was a churchman, she punished some of the priests and bishops, and banished others from the country. Feuds and bloodshed ceased, and the people believed the Golden Age had returned. Ferdinand a Strong King. Ferdinand did for Aragon what Isabella had done for Castile. He curbed the warlike barons, and knit his kingdom firmly together. Ferdinand was not only a great king and a soldier, but he was a tactful statesman with a clear head. He saw that Spain could never be great without a strong central government. He promptly made his laws respected by the barons, and did away with feuds and private wars. Getting More Power. With their home kingdoms in order and their subjects obedient and loyal, the king and THE RISE OF SPAIN 259 queen had a firm foundation for the future. Next Ferdinand and Isabella wished to drive out the Moors, and thus join together all the fragments of the old Gothic kingdom. So they quietly and gradually stole away the liberties of their people, because if the people had a voice in the government, they might disagree with their rulers and hinder their plans. " When anything needs to be done," said Ferdinand, " one head is better than a thousand " ; and in his smooth and crafty way, he contrived to take away the rights of his subjects and still not come to blows with them. The People Losing Power. Ferdinand no longer called upon the people to send representatives to the Cortes. He did not do this all at once, but slowly, one town or province at a time, upon one excuse or another. It was not long before Ferdinand and Isabella were the absolute rulers of all Spain, save what was still held by the Moors. The people had no more liberties than the people of France. But the king and queen were good rulers and did not mistreat their subjects. Knights of the Cross in Spain. After the Crusades the knights from all parts of Europe flocked in large numbers to Spain to help fight the Moors. The pope lent his aid by the promise of paradise for those who fell in battle with the hated infidels. Thus the zeal and enthusiasm of the Spaniards arose to a high pitch. They felt that they were fighting, not only their own battles, but the battles for the church and for all Christian countries. One Faith. Isabella and Ferdinand saw that in order to make the best headway in driving out the Moors they ought to keep their own church above reproach. There were in Spain many Jews who were the richest people in the land and who did not belong to the Catholic church. Then, too, there were some Christians who refused to accept 260 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE all the teachings of the church. They were called heretics. The presence of these Jews and heretics did not look well in the chief Christian nation that was carrying on war against the infidel Moors. So Isabella and Ferdinand decided to persecute all disbelievers among their subjects. Persecution. Heretics were to put aside their peculiar beliefs and become loyal Catholics or be punished : and all punishments in those days were very severe. Isabella felt it her duty to do this, and she hoped it would make all the people good Catholics and save their sinful souls. But Ferdinand had a lower purpose. He needed money to carry on his wars against the Moors, and this would be an excuse for robbing the rich Jews who, he knew, would never give up their Jewish faith. In twelve years two thousand Jews were burned at the stake, while seventeen thousand more were exiled and their property taken from them. Fighting the Moors Again. Ferdinand was content, for he got enough money to carry on his war against the Moors. The Moorish kings had been losing territory to the Spaniards, and had been paying tribute to them to prevent war. One king of Granada, when asked for his annual tribute, replied that " the mints of Granada no longer coined gold but steel." This haughty reply brought on a war which went on for years with growing success for the Spaniards. The War Queen. Isabella was the soul of this war. Her object was not to get more territory, but to spread the Catholic religion. It was for the same desire, to extend her faith, that she gave ear at this time to Christopher Columbus, who visited her court, praying for funds to make a voyage westward to the Indies. Preparing Arms and Powder. The Moors held strong positions and were well fortified. The Spaniards could THE RISE OF SPAIN 261 not easily capture their walled cities. But Isabella sent to England, France, and Germany for engineers and iron workers. Forges were constructed in the Spanish camps, and materials were prepared for making cannons, balls, and powder. Large quantities of powder were also imported from abroad. Thus Isabella soon had a train of artillery better than that of any other ruler in Europe. The Early Cannon. More than twenty cannons used in one siege were afterwards used as columns in the market place of one of the captured towns. They were huge and clumsy, the largest being twelve feet long. They were made of iron bars, two inches wide by twelve feet long and held together EARLY CANNON. by iron belts and rings. They were made fast to the gun carriages. They could not be aimed either up or down, to right or left, without mov ing the whole gun carriage. They hurled balls of iron or marble more than a foot in diameter, which weighed one hundred and seventy-five pounds. These early cannons could not fire more than forty shots in one day, while some modern guns fire one thousand bullets a minute. Moorish Days Numbered. Nevertheless these crude guns served to batter down the walls of forts and to assist the Spaniards in capturing Granada, the splendid capital of the Moors. For eight hundred years the Moors had possessed the fairest lands of the peninsula, and had taught Europe many valuable lessons in art, learning, and crafts; but at last they were to make way for the Spaniard who seemed more able to carry on the work of civilization. 262 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Fall of Granada. The Moorish king yielded the keys of his beloved city, and the Christian army entered in triumph. As the Moorish king rode away he reached a hill from which he had his last view of Granada. " He checked his horse, and, as his eye for the last time wandered over the scenes of his departed greatness, his heart swelled, and he burst into tears. Alas! exclaimed the unhappy exile, when were woes ever equal to mine ? : The scene of this event is still pointed out to the traveler by the people of the district ; and the rocky height from which the Moorish chief took his sad farewell is still called " The Sigh of the Moor." "There was crying in Granada when the sun was going down, Some calling on the Trinity, some calling on Mahoun ; Here passed away the Koran, there in the cross was borne, And here was heard the Christian bell, and there the Moorish horn ; Te Deum Laudamus was up the Alcala sung. Down from Alhambra s minarets were all the crescents flung; The arms thereon of Aragon and Castile they display ; One king comes in triumph, one weeping goes away." A United Spain. By this conquest the Spanish gained a large extent of country with a fruitful and temperate climate besides a long coast line dotted with good harbors. The scattered fragments of the ancient Visigothic kingdom were again united in one monarchy, and Spain soon rose to the level of the greatest European countries. One People. --The Moorish war did much to bind the people of Spain together as one nation. All parts of the country were interested in the war and fought against the same enemy. When a victory was won, the Spaniards all rejoiced together. In this way, they came to look upon one another as brothers, no matter in what province they dwelt or what dialect they spoke ; and so the most distant THE RISE OE SPAIN 263 provinces were knit together in a bond of union that has remained to this day. The dialect of Castile gradually took the place of all others and became the language of the Spanish nation. Spain in the Lead. These wars were a fine training school for the Spanish soldiers. They learned how to drill, how to obey commands promptly, and how to fight. The wars also developed some great generals among the leaders. These celebrated captains and war-stained veterans won fame and respect for Spain, all over Europe. Having united his own country, Ferdinand now looked for new worlds to conquer. While other countries were still busy with troubles or problems at home, Spain was reaching out to other lands. QUESTIONS i. What became of the Goths in Spain when the Moors came? 2. Who was Pelayo and what did he accomplish for his people ? 3. Describe the way in which the Spanish Goths pushed back the Moors. 4. Tell about Isabella s suitors. 5. Was it well for Spain that Isabella and Ferdinand were married ? 6. Why? 7. How did Ferdinand take from the people their share in their government? 8. What was Ferdinand s purpose ? 9. What was Isabella s purpose? 10. Tell about the last war with the Moors, n. De scribe the early cannon. 12. What made Spain the strongest nation of all in those days ? CHAPTER XXIII MARCO POLO AND THE EAST Europe Facing Eastward. For many centuries the most advanced nations of the world had formed a fringe about the Mediterranean Sea. To them, this inland ocean seemed the center of the world. The people of Europe had always stood with their faces toward the east and their backs to the stormy Atlantic, fearing to venture far in their frail ships upon this " Sea of Darkness " with its unknown terrors. What really lay to the westward nobody knew. To the south, no traveler had ever gone beyond the burning sands of the Sahara, while the frozen plains of the far north were occupied by fierce and barbarous peoples. Thus it was toward the east only that Europeans turned their gaze. Dim Knowledge of the East. Since the ancient days they had heard strange stories about the dim and distant East. Long before the Crusades, Europe had fought many wars with the nations of Asia ; but it was through commerce, mainly, that the West gained its scanty knowledge of China, Japan, and the East Indies. The luxuries of the East were carried by caravans to the shores of the Mediterranean, and the spices and rich silks passed through many hands so many that the people at one end of the route knew almost nothing of those at the other end. The Romans, to whom silk was known, supposed that the threads of this beautiful fabric grew upon trees or plants, so dim was their knowledge of China. 264 MARCO POLO AND THE EAST 265 Wares Exchanged. During the Middle Ages, as we have read, spices came to be in great demand throughout western Europe. People were glad to buy, at high prices, cloves, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and other spices, to season their coarse foods and to heal diseases. Certain of the spices were worth their weight in gold. In return for spice and silk, Europeans sent back to Asia, gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin. They also gathered wool, VENETIAN SHIPS. hemp, and dried fish for the slow-sailing ships and caravans to carry back to the East. Rise of Venice and Genoa. The Crusades greatly quickened this profitable trade, as we have seen, and many cities of western Europe were eager to get a portion of the rich commerce. The lion s share fell into the hands of two thriving Italian cities, Venice and Genoa; and the Mediterranean was filled with their richly laden ships. Merchants set out from these cities upon long journeys among strange peoples, where white men had never been before. The Polos. Among the great Venetian merchants were two noblemen, Nicolo Polo and his brother, Maffio, whose 266 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE business often carried them to Constantinople. They started eastward from that city (1260) on a trading journey through the Black Sea, and the farther they went along the caravan routes, the better bargains they made, until they had at last passed nearly across the great continent of Asia. Finally they arrived at the court of the Great Khan in northwestern China, or Cathay, as it was then called. The Polos were kindly received here, and the noble ruler, in his desire to civilize his subjects, sent them back with rich gifts and a message to the pope, asking for missionaries to be sent to his people. The brothers at last reached Venice, only to learn that the pope whom they remem bered was dead. The new pope offered only two friars, and they, in dread of the fierce Tartars along the way. refused to go. MARCO POLO. Marco Polo Becomes a Traveler. Again the Polo brothers set out for China (1271), taking with them Nicolo s son, Marco, now a lad of seventeen. After four years of toilsome travel, they reached the presence of the Great Khan near the northern end of the Great Wall of China. Young Marco quickly learned to speak and write several languages of Asia, and was soon made an officer of the Khan. While his father and uncle were busy filling their pockets with gold, Marco was acting as a trusted servant of the monarch, making long journeys through the vast regions of China. The MARCO POLO AND THE EAST 267 Khan held the Polos, especially the young Marco, in such high esteem that when they wished to return to Venice with their riches, he was unwilling to let them depart. A Chance to Return. At last, in 1292, a royal bride was to be sent from Peking to the king of Persia a long, long journey to the West. The overland route was unsafe because of a war among the interior tribes. So the bride was to be sent to Tabriz by water. It was a long and dangerous ocean voyage, which called for trusted seamen. All Venetians were thought to be seasoned sea dogs, so the royal bride was piloted to her western bridegroom by the Polos, who were delighted at the thought of returning home. The Homeward Journey. They set out from a port of China, sailing southward along the coast of Asia. They passed by Sumatra into the Indian Ocean. At last, after a voyage of two years, they reached the Persian Gulf. Leaving the royal bride at Tabriz, they pushed on by way of Constantinople, arriving at Venice after an absence of four-and-twenty years. Unknown at Home. -- Their kinsmen had long since given them up for dead. The elder Polos had grown old and gray, while Marco was much changed. When they came to their own palace, in their shabby clothes of foreign cut, they were turned away. A few days afterward they invited a party of old friends to a splendid dinner at the best hotel in Venice. It is said that the Polos, clad in velvet and lace, and still unrecognized, entertained their guests royally. Displaying Diamonds. Then they brought forth three shabby coats, ripped open the seams, and began pulling out and heaping upon the table great treasures of diamonds and emeralds, rubies and sapphires, to the astonishment of the guests, who cried out that these must be the long-lost 268 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Polos. When the news became known about Venice, the whole city, rich and poor, flocked to the house to embrace them and to show them respect. Marco Polo a Prisoner His Book. Three years later, Venice and Genoa being at war, Marco Polo took command of a Venetian warship, and in the sea fight that followed was captured and imprisoned at Genoa for a year. While here, he delighted his fellow-prisoners with wonderful stories about his travels in China and the East. One of the prisoners, who knew a little French, wrote down these stories as Marco told them, and made a book, which was one of the greatest literary works of the Middle Ages. It told more new facts about the earth s surface than any other volume of those days. His Story Told. In this book Marco told how the three Polos had traveled on and on toward the sunrise " for a thousand days," until they came into the presence of the Great Khan. He told about the caravan routes in many lands ; about Sumatra and Borneo and the Spice Islands ; about Calicut, where a fine cotton goods called calico was made and where Chinese ships came to unload their cargoes of silks and spices. Marco told of Japan, where the emperor s palace was roofed with gold. In this book were many things that were indeed true, but there was also much that was mere fairy tale or hearsay. This story was copied by scribes, printing being still unknown, and the rich merchants and learned men all over Europe read it and talked about it. Not All Fairy Tales. The ignorant minds of those days were staggered by all these new and interesting facts of geography. The learned people thought that the book was full of fairy tales. But one point brought out in this tale could not be denied, and it set the educated people MARCO POLO AND THE EAST 269 to thinking. An early geographer, named Ptolemy, had said that Asia extended on and on, and that no one might reach the edge of it because of swamps. But Marco Polo had proved this to be untrue, and had shown that there was a great ocean east of China and Japan, upon which were many ships engaged in trade. This was certain, for the Polos had actually made the voyage from the coast of China to the Persian Gulf. Some learned men who believed the earth to be round like a ball began to wonder whether the great sea east of China might not be the same as the " Sea of Darkness " to the west of Spain and France. The Turk in Europe. Something now happened that made the people of Europe not only think, but act. The hateful Turk, whose westward march had been checked by the Crusades for a time, was again on the warpath. The Turks had actually crossed into Europe, secured a foothold there, and were threatening to capture Constantinople, the center of most of the eastern trade. Cutting off Trade Routes. Every step gained by the Turks meant cutting off more of the caravan routes to the East. At last, in 1453, Constantinople fell into their hands, and this ended the eastern trade through the Black Sea, which was the route then followed by the Genoese mer chants. At the same time, other bands of Turks were rapidly overrunning Syria and threatening Egypt ; and if Egypt should fall to them, Venice s route to India and the East by way of Egypt and the Red Sea would likewise be cut off. Besides these evils, the Turkish pirates were swarming about the eastern end of the Mediterranean itself, and driving away all Christian vessels. A New Route Wanted. What was to be done ? Should the people of Europe try to get along without the luxuries of the East and should the rich merchants and traders give 270 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE up all their profitable business because the eastern routes were cut off by the Turk? At any cost, some new route to the East must be found. How much safer it would be if an all-water, an outside route, could be discovered! Such a water route would not only be safer but far cheaper, since transportation by caravan was very costly indeed. QUESTIONS i. Was Europe interested in the East or West in those days? 2. Why? 3. Why was so little known of the East ? 4. Why were spices wanted in Europe? 5. What made Venice and Genoa grow into important cities? 6. Tell about the Polos and their journey. 7. Their return. 8. How did Marco Polo come to write a book, and what good did it do ? 9. What were the Turks doing at this time? 10. Trace the trade routes of Venice and Genoa, n. Why was a new route wanted ? CHAPTER XXIV PRINCE HENRY AND THE PORTUGUESE Two All- water Routes. The all- water route to China and the Spice Islands must be sought for upon the Atlantic, the u Sea of Darkness." Some geographers declared that one might easily sail around Africa to the East, while others held that the world was a globe, much smaller than we have since found it to be, and that China might be reached by sailing directly westward across the Atlantic. But no one had yet been bold enough to defy the terrors of either route. It was easier to believe in such ideas than to act upon them, because such a voyage called for great courage. One Sea Route Frozen, the Other Boiling. Men who had sailed to the far north beyond England and Scotland, and beyond the Shetland Islands, found the winter nights there very long and cold. The lands were covered with deep snow, and the ocean was filled with mighty icebergs. The farther north they went the colder it grew. Other travelers, who had gone southward along the coast of Africa, found that the hot climate grew hotter as they proceeded toward the equator. Thus people came to be lieve that in the extreme northern country the land and even the sea was frozen solid, while in the south the sea must be boiling hot, and the land inhabited only by goblins and monstrous reptiles. Moreover, they said, the southern atmosphere became fiery, and if a ship ventured too far, it would be swallowed up in a steaming whirlpool. 271 272 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE The Down-hill Voyage. Sailors were discouraged, too, by other stories. People had noticed that when a ship disappeared over the horizon, it seemed to go down hill, because the lower parts of the ship dropped below the horizon first, then the other parts of the vessel, and, finally, the topmost sail. The fearsome sailors thought that if they went too far from land on the down-hill voyage, they might never get back up again. Pulling the Nails Out. It was believed by some people that there was a mountain of loadstone in the bottom of the sea, guarding the entrance into the Indian Ocean, and that it drew all metal to it, even pulling the nails from the ships that tried to sail over it, and wrecking them. These difficulties were mere fancies. There were, however, many real difficulties for the sailors of those Dark Ages. Some Real Difficulties. The ships of those days were crude and clumsy. They were not as swift as those that the Northmen had sailed hundreds of years before. In size they were no larger than our yachts, and far less active. Against head winds these awkward ships, propelled only by sails, made very slow progress. They had to sail zigzag against the wind and often had to go four miles in this crooked fashion to reach a point only one mile away. With no metal below the ship s water line, the wooden hull was likely to be pierced by worms burrowing into the wood. These worms were more to be feared than all the monsters of the deep, for they sometimes sent ships to the bottom of the ocean. The Ship s Provisions. Another difficulty was the question of supplying the sailors in these tiny ships with food enough for a long voyage. People lived mainly on a meat diet. With nothing but dry, hard bread and salt beef or pork the sailors was soon attacked by that dreaded PRINCE HENRY AND THE PORTUGUESE 273 disease, scurvy, caused by lack of fresh vegetable food. Fre quently on long voyages half of the sailors died from dis ease, or, if they went too far from land, starvation carried them off. Fear of the Compass. The compass had been perfected, and this enabled the pilot to steer his ship straight when the sky was hidden by clouds or fog. But so ignorant and superstitious were the seamen, that for a long time few would use this wonderful instrument. They thought that it had been invented by the devil, and might ^k lead them into some awful whirlpool. Direction and Dis tance from Port. The compass pointed faith fully to the north, but there are other things a sailor upon the trackless blue ocean wishes to know besides the direc tion of the north pole. He wishes to know how far he is from home, or from his port, and in what direction he must sail to reach it. If he knows his distance from the equator, which we call latitude, and his distance from the coast of Europe, which we call longitude ; then he knows exactly which way to steer and how many miles he must go to reach port. The Jack Staff. Sailors had noticed that as they sailed north, the north star appeared more nearly overhead, while if a southerly voyage was taken, the same star sank gradu ally toward the northern horizon. If they had an instru ment that could measure the height of the north star, they FINDING THE LATITUDE. 274 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE would know their latitude. A rude instrument called a jack staff was invented. It was an absurd instrument, but it showed a ship s latitude within a hundred miles or so of the truth. To-day we have quadrants that tell latitude exactly. Distances East and West. How was a seaman to know his longitude, or his distance from the coast of Europe? There was no such instrument as a clock, or a cyclometer, to measure the distance traveled. Ships usually sailed due north or due south to the parallel of the place they were aim ing for, then turning a square corner, they sailed due east or due west to it. The sailors roughly guessed how far they had gone per day according to the help or hindrance of the wind. By watching bubbles on the water, as the ship crawled along, they made a guess of the speed per hour, while the sand in the hourglass kept record of the time. Upon approaching shore, they often found themselves a hundred miles north or south of the place where they thought they were, and five hundred miles too far east or west of their port. Sailing and Learning. But in spite of ignorance and superstition, in spite of small and clumsy ships, hard to guide, there were bold sailors who kept pushing a little farther on each voyage ; and an ocean route from Europe to Asia was sure to be discovered. Henry the Navigator. There was born in Portugal (1394) a child named Prince Henry, whose life was to be spent in trying to sail around Africa to Asia. Prince Henry and the Portuguese had learned to sail the seas in their wars with the Moors in Spain and Africa. At one time, when in Africa, Prince Henry heard that far down the west coast of that country gold was found and carried by caravans to the Moors. He thought that the Gold Coast PRINCE HENRY AND THE PORTUGUESE 275 would be a fine place to reach by water, then the yellow metal might be carried to Portugal, while, at the same time, the wild African tribes found there might be Christianized. Better a Scholar Than a Warrior. So Prince Henry came home from Africa to devote himself to the study of geography and navigation. He was already famous as a warrior, and many chances came to him to win further glory by leading an army for the pope or for King Henry V of England or for the king of Spain. Still other flatter ing offers came, but Prince Henry re fused them, one and all, and chose to live in a lonely secluded spot where he might study without interruption. Prince Henry s Observatory. Upon a rocky headland called Point St. Vincent, overlooking the sea, Prince Henry built a high tower ; and to this tower he invited teachers of map drawing, shipbuilding, and seamanship from foreign countries. One day his brother brought him a copy of Marco Polo s book; and as he read of the wonders of China, Japan, and the Spice Islands, he was more deter mined than ever to find an ocean route to the East. HENRY THE NAVIGATOR. 276 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Pushing Southward. So he sent forth his captains to plow the seas far south along the coast of Africa, while he spent his hours in viewing the stars, in reading books of travel, and in studying geography. The returning captains, at first sight of the home land, beheld the high tower of the prince, and in reply to his anxious inquiries as to how far to the south they had gone, and whether they had found the end of Africa, they always returned a disappointing answer. They had, they said, gone farther than any captain before them; but their sailors had refused to go any farther, because they feared the boiling sea, the monsters of the deep, or the down-hill voyage. They had discovered islands, the Madeiras, the Canaries, the Azores ; but Africa, they said, appeared to have no end. The Gold Coast Reached. Prince Henry laughed at their superstitious fears, and sent them back to sail around Africa. The prince had enemies who scoffed at his plans and objected to spending so much money on these worthless expeditions, but Henry kept on. At last his sailors crept southward as far as Cape Palmas, where the coast line turns eastward along the Gulf of Guinea. Now they took courage, believing that at last the end of the continent had been reached. Instead they came upon the Gold Coast and loaded their ships with gold, ivory, and slaves. When they returned with this precious cargo, all Portugal was wild with excitement and joy. The people now took a greater interest in Prince Henry s work and ceased to criticize him for the money he was spending. Henry s Death. Prince Henry did not live to see his ships sail around Africa, but he had aroused so much interest that, after his death, several gallant captains con tinued to push southward on long, long voyages of thousands of miles. Each one reached a more distant point than PRINCE HENRY AND THE PORTUGUESE 277 his predecessor before turning back to the Gold Coast for a cargo for the homeward journey. So slowly did they proceed, that one voyage often took a year or more. Cape of Good Hope. At last in 1486, Bartholomew Diaz, while carrying the Portuguese flag four hundred miles south of the Tropic of Capricorn, was caught and driven southward before a heavy wind for nearly two weeks without seeing land. As soon as pos sible he turned his ship eastward, expecting soon to touch the coast. But Diaz was then beyond the southernmost point of Africa, and after sail ing eastward for a while and seeing no land, he turned north and touched Africa two hun dred miles east of the end of the continent. He followed the coast northeastward for several days until he saw it turn to the north. He now felt sure that he had passed the end of Af rica. His worn-out sailors refused to go farther, however, and Diaz turned "back reluctantly from the Indian Ocean toward the Atlantic. On his homeward way, Diaz passed in full sight of the southernmost cape of Africa; and he named it the Stormy Cape. But upon his arrival at Lisbon, King John said, " Let it rather be called the Cape of Good Hope, for the chances of reaching the East by this route are now bright." Diaz had really discovered the end of Africa; but it was ten years before a ship sailed around Africa to India. On this voyage with Diaz was an Italian 278 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE sailor named Bartholomew Columbus, a younger brother of Christopher Columbus, of whose courage and daring we shall read in the next chapter. QUESTIONS i. What two water routes were suggested? 2. What objections did the people have to each? 3. What did the people mean by a down-hill voyage? 4. Explain the belief about the Indian Ocean. 5. What were some of the real difficulties in sea travel in those days ? 6. What was the jack staff? 7. Do you admire Henry the Navi gator ? 8. For what ? 9. Why was it easier to make progress down the coast of Africa after the Gold Coast was reached ? 10. Tell about Diaz s voyage to Good Hope. CHAPTER XXV COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD Genoa and the All- water Route. When Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453, the merchants and sailors of Genoa began to take great interest in finding an all-water route to the Spice Islands. Hearing stories of Prince Henry s voyages down the coast of Africa, many Genoese sailors were drawn to Portugal to take part in them, for they believed that it was possible to sail around Africa to India and the East. Among these Gen oese sailors at Lisbon was one named Christopher Colombo, or Columbus. Early Life of Columbus. - Of his boyhood and his early life, we know very little. His father was a wool comber one who combs the fibers of wool straight so that it may be CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. , ^i . , spun into yarn. Christo pher spent his youth partly in going to school and partly in trips upon the blue Mediterranean. He learned Latin, a little geography, and something of the stars, as such knowledge was needed for the sailor life to which he was looking forward. He must have taken part, now and then, 279 2 8o DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE in sea battles with Turkish corsairs and in pirate expedi tions. He became a skillful sailor, and, between trips at sea, he earned his living in Genoa by making maps and charts, which were in much demand in the growing sea trade. Columbus was a man of striking appearance, tall and powerfully built. His eyes were light gray, his cheeks ruddy as those of a boy, and his hair was waving and in later years as white as snow. We are also told he had a hot temper, but he kept it pretty well under con trol. Columbus at Lisbon. Christopher was later attracted to Lisbon, whither his young brother, Bartholomew, had gone some years before. Lisbon was then the center of interest in geography, in travel, and discovery. Here Columbus spent his time making maps, and now and then taking a voyage down the coast of Africa upon the stormy Atlantic. His Island Life. While at Lisbon Columbus was married and went to live in quiet at Porto Santo, a little island three hundred miles out upon the blue Atlantic. It was here that he began to think of the best way to reach the Indies. He received from his father-in-law many valuable sailing charts, and studied these diligently. Now and then some ship bound for the Gold Coast touched at the island, and probably Columbus talked with the sailors about the great problem of how to reach China by water. Planning a Western Voyage. After a time Columbus went back to Lisbon to live. He began to talk of a west ward voyage to the East. The Portuguese had found, to their disappointment, that beyond the Gulf of Guinea the coast of Africa turned southward again, and long, long voyages had failed to find the end of the continent. This COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD 281 was before the discovery of the cape by Diaz. The dis tance already traveled was so great that people began to wonder whether there might not be a shorter route to Asia. Toscanelli. The most famous geographer of those days was Toscanelli, who lived at Florence, Italy. To him Columbus wrote a letter, asking what he thought about sailing westward across the Atlantic. Co lumbus also sent him a chart that he had made of the Atlantic as he be lieved it might be, show ing Europe on the east of it and Cathay on the west. Toscanelli wrote back, saying that it was certainly a shorter jour ney straight westward to China than it was by way of Guinea and Africa. He sent Columbus a map upon which he showed Asia extending so far east that it reached California. East of this he had placed Japan, about where the West Indies are. He told Colum bus that a voyage across the Atlantic was a grand and a noble project and that its achievement would bring him, not only great riches, but great honor. Believing the Earth a Round Ball. From the days of ancient Greece wise men had believed the world to be round, and at the time when Columbus lived people of education had come to accept this belief. It was for Columbus to show the sublime courage of proving his conviction in the face of all the mysterious terrors of the " Sea of Darkness." TOSCANELLI. 282 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Two Fortunate Mistakes. In estimating the distance straight to China, Columbus relied upon Toscanelli s map ; and thus he made two fortunate mistakes. He calculated that the earth was somewhat smaller than it is, and he thought that Asia extended as far to the east as the Gulf of Mexico. On account of these two beliefs, Columbus was confident that a voyage of twenty-five hundred miles west from the Canaries would land him on the wonderful island of Japan. This was less than the distance from Lisbon to Guinea. If he had known that the distance westward to China was twelve thousand miles, how poor his chances of obtaining men and money would have been! His twenty-five hundred miles scarcely carried him to the un known West Indies; and, of course, he never dreamed that the great continent of America lay across his path. Making Up His Mind. About 1482 Columbus returned to Lisbon from a voyage to Guinea. He had found this country far away, and Africa seemed to extend on and on, no one knew how many miles. It was then that he made up his mind to try the straight westward route, if he could get the ships and sailors. A fine new astrolabe had just been invented, which enabled sailors to keep their latitude at sea. With this new instrument they felt a little safer upon the ocean. The Portuguese were now pushing south ward in earnest. Columbus and King John. Columbus applied to King John of Portugal for men and ships for his daring westward voyage. King John called his learned men to gether and asked them what they thought of Columbus s idea. Some said that it was nothing but a dream ; others, that Asia did not extend as far to the east as Columbus maintained ; and still others told the king that the voyage would cost too much. Moreover, they thought Columbus, COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD 283 who was a foreigner, wanted too many rewards and too much honor for his share, if the voyage were a success. Playing Unfair. King John, who had some of Prince Henry s love of bold deeds, wanted to try the venture; but he feared that if he spent a large sum of money and the enterprise failed, the whole kingdom would laugh at his folly. He did not mean to be unfair to Columbus, but he planned to try the experiment quietly, so that if he failed, no one would be the wiser. He secretly sent out a ship with the charts of Columbus, to sail westward from the Cape Verde Islands. But the sailors and the pilot soon lost heart at the great stormy sea before them, and returned to Lisbon. Columbus heard of the trick and left Portugal in anger. At the Court of Spain. We next find him in Spain at the court of Ferdinand and Isabella at Cordova. The Spanish sovereigns were at war trying to drive out the Moors. So they had little time to consider the plans of Columbus, but they were sufficiently interested to call a council of learned men, including the professors from the famous university of Cordova. Some thought that his scheme was worth trying, but others ridiculed him. The Earth Round? Folly. One churchman declared that Columbus was a madman. " Is there any one so foolish," said he, " as to believe that the world is round, and that people live on the other side with their feet toward ours : people who walk with their heels upward and their heads hanging down : where trees grow with their branches downward and where it rains, hails, and snows upward? " And he laughed Columbus to scorn. So at this time nothing was done by the Spanish rulers to aid our hero. Asking England and France. Columbus s brother, Bartholomew, had just now returned to Lisbon from his 284 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE voyage with Diaz in which they had discovered the Cape of Good Hope. Columbus hastened to Lisbon to see him. After talking it over and thinking of the long, long distance to Good Hope, Columbus was more anxious than ever to attempt the westward route. So he sent Bartholomew to England and to France to seek aid for him. Reception in England and France. We hear of Barthol omew first in England at the court of Henry VII. What he said to the English ruler we do not know, but Henry loved his money too much to risk it upon such an undertaking. From England Bartholomew went to the court of France. Several years passed, and Columbus heard nothing from his brother. Patiently Waiting. All this while Columbus seems to have been waiting for an answer from Spain. But the Spanish were still fighting the Moors and too busy to give ear to him. After years of vain effort in Spain, Columbus was thoroughly disappointed. He determined to go to France. It is said that the children of Seville and Cordova looked upon him as insane, and when they saw him pass, they tapped their foreheads and smiled. Growing Old, but Resolute Still. Columbus had now been trying for nearly twenty years to interest some ruler in taking up his plans, and old age was coming on. So with his little son, Diego, he set out to leave Spain forever. He stopped at a monastery near Palos for bread for his boy The prior, named Perez, a worthy monk, listened to his story and took a deep interest in it. He had formerly been the father confessor to the Spanish queen, and he now sent her a letter pleading for Columbus. Come Back. Queen Isabella summoned the monk to her, and by him sent some money to Columbus, inviting him to return to her court. With this money Columbus COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD 285 286 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE bought a mule and a new suit of clothes, and set out for the Spanish court to lay his case before the queen. Again Before Learned Men. Upon his arrival, his plan was argued before a body of learned men. Several church men were now in favor of aiding Columbus, but others continued to ridicule the undertaking. Then Isabella prom ised to take up the scheme as soon as they could capture Granada, the last of the Moorish towns. Columbus waited again, but not long, for the Moorish capital soon fell to the Christians ; and nobody rejoiced more than did our hero to see the cross take the place of the crescent in Granada. Help Again Refused. But instead of the help that he was expecting to receive, he was again accused of demand ing too much power over any heathen lands that he might discover; and he was finally denied aid. With his last hope crushed Columbus set out upon his mule for France ; but some one who favored him ran to the queen and begged her not to let this splendid offer pass on to France or Eng land. He told her how her enemies would laugh and her friends sorrow, if France should get the honor and riches from this westward voyage. Changing Her Mind. Suddenly the queen changed her mind, and a fleet messenger was sent to stop Columbus. Spurring with all speed, he overtook him at a lonely bridge about six miles from Granada. Columbus, with many doubts, turned back his mule a second time toward the Spanish court. This time his plans were accepted by Queen Isabella, who promised to provide the money. King Ferdi nand had no share in the undertaking. His Hard Terms. Columbus was to be admiral for life of all the islands and continents that he might discover. He was to have for himself one tenth of all pearls, diamonds, gold, silver, and a share in the profits on spices and other COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD 287 articles of trade. These were the hard terms that Columbus insisted on so stubbornly. He did not seek wealth merely for himself, but he had longed for many years to deliver Jerusalem from the Turks, and he meant to use every penny of his money in this cause. Difficulties Begin. Columbus was deeply moved, and tears of joy came to his eyes, when he .knew that after so many years of trial and disappointment he was to be per mitted to risk his life in the greatest voyage ever attempted. When he reached the town of Palos, with orders from the queen for ships and men, there was almost a riot. No ship owners were willing to furnish vessels for such a voyage on the " Sea of Darkness," nor had the sailors any desire to steer straight into the jaws of death. But the royal orders for ships and provisions must be obeyed, no matter what the groans and curses. Enlisting Sailors. To get sailors was the hardest task. Criminals were released from jail on condition that they would promise to enlist with Columbus. At last seamen were simply forced to go, whether they wished to or not. They put every hindrance in the way of getting started. Those who were calking up the seams of the vessels to pre vent leaks, did a careless job, so that it had to be done over again ; others deserted and hid themselves. Off to the West. At last, after many troubles and diffi culties, Columbus set sail from Palos on Friday, August 3, 1492. How his heart must have leaped with joy, now that he was fairly started! He had under his command three small vessels with ninety sailors aboard. These hardy seamen bade their friends a last farewell in tears, as though they never expected to behold one another again. Headed for the Canaries. The tiny fleet steered first for the ^Canary Islands. From there the course was to be 288 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE due west to Japan. For his guide Columbus had the map, or chart, sent him years before by Toscanelli, upon which he had made some improvements. Hardly had Columbus left port, than he began to see signs of mischief among his dissatisfied crews. The rudder of one ship was soon broken, purposely he thought, so that the ship could not go on ; but a steering gear was made that would do until the Canaries COLUMBUS S FLEET PINTA, NINA, SANTA MARIA. were reached. While making repairs here, the sailors were frightened out of their wits by seeing a lofty mountain belching out flames and smoke. Columbus explained that it was merely a volcano, saying he had often seen such sights in Italy. Straight into the " Sea of Darkness." - After making a new rudder for the disabled ship and taking on wood and water, the prows were turned westward into the unknown ocean. Other great sea captains had sailed hundreds of COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD 289 miles along strange coasts ; but Columbus was steering straight into the trackless ocean, with no support but his own bold idea. Keeping Two Records. As the Canaries sank from sight on the east, and only the vast stretch of ocean lay before, the sailors cried and sobbed like children. Columbus knew that he would have trouble with them on his long voyage, so he kept two records of the distance traveled. One record was as nearly correct as he could judge from the bubbles and foam through which the vessel plowed. This record was for his own eye. Another record, a false one, was for his officers and crews. If he had sailed 120 miles in a day and night, he put down, perhaps, 108 miles. The weather was fine and the voyage might have been a pleasant one, had not the sailors been looking all the time for monsters or for a boiling sea. The Compass Bewitched. After many days Columbus noticed that the compass no longer pointed directly to the north star but bent to the left, and, with each day, it pointed a little farther from the pole star. Columbus was troubled about it, but said nothing. For a time he hid this truth from the eyes of his pilots. It finally became known, how ever, and all were in deep alarm. Must they cease to trust the compass ? Was it a witch trying to lead them into some awful whirlpool ? What was there left now to guide them in this trackless ocean ? Faith in Columbus. But they believed in the profound knowledge of Columbus, and he quieted their fears by telling them that the compass was correct, but that the pole star had moved just as other stars do. This was not true, for the pole star is always over the north pole ; but it was the only explanation that Columbus could give. We now know that the compass points, not to the north pole, but to the mag- u 2po DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE netic pole, which is a little south of it on a peninsula of Canada. You will find it on the map. Another Scare. - Some days later the boats came upon a great sea of growing seaweeds and grasses. It was the Sargasso Sea, three times as large as France, where tangled seaweeds grow upon the surface of the water that is two miles deep. To the sailors, this looked like an endless green prairie. So long as there was a good breeze, Columbus s fleet plowed easily through it ; but when the winds calmed, they could make little headway, and the crews were afraid of running aground. When their longest plummet line failed to touch bottom they took heart, and after some days they passed again into a clear sea. Doubting a Friend. Sailors always take delight in a favorable breeze, but our heroes now found themselves hurried westward by a strong and steady wind which kept up for weeks. They began to wonder whether they could ever return against such winds. They had simply entered the belt of constant trade winds, but, for all they knew, they were being hurried along to some awful fate. The wind changed after a while, however, and they began to look for some other bugaboo. Plotting to Throw Columbus Overboard. Now after many days and weeks of steady sailing, the crews began to be impatient at finding no land. So they gathered in groups to plot against Columbus. Should they throw him over board some dark night and turn back, or should they put him in chains, and steer for home? Had it not been for some signs of land, Columbus would have failed through some of these dark plots. Signs of Land. Every day now they saw something that might point to land near by. Often they saw birds, which they thought always roosted on land ; or perhaps it COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD 291 was a weed, believed to grow only in fresh water; or a branch ; or the appearance of clouds hovering upon the hori zon, which the sailors said was a sign of land. Once they saw a whale, and Columbus assured them that it was an indication that they were near shore. But always their hopes were dashed, for the following day brought only a vast expanse of the blue ocean. The men then became discour aged and more than ever angry with Columbus, who, they said, was only a foreigner and a madman. " Land! Land!" -But soon more favorable signs appeared. Columbus promised a reward to the good pair of eyes that first saw land. Seamen often climbed into the rigging, straining their eyes to the west; and frequently the cry of " Land! Land! " was heard, but the next morn ing proved it all a dream. Again the crews clamored to go home. But Columbus could not be moved from his purpose by either prayers or threats. Other Signs. One morning, at sunrise, a cannon was fired as a signal of discovery ; but the supposed land proved to be only a cloud on the horizon. Flocks of small field birds were now seen, also a heron, a pelican, and a duck; but again the next day brought only a boundless sea. The angry crews became threatening and dangerous. At last the signs were unmistakable. A thorn bush with berries on it floated by, and the men picked up a small board and a cane carved by a man s hand. Nobody could doubt these indications, and the spirits of the men rose high. All Eyes on the Horizon. All day, ninety sailors were eagerly on the watch, and when nightfall came, Columbus took his station upon the cabin or high point of the vessel, keeping his eyes on the horizon. Not a seaman slept. About ten o clock at night, Columbus saw a moving light. On they sailed. At two o clock in the morning a gun an- 292 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE nounced the discovery of land, and everybody could see the shore distinctly about five miles away. There was great joy and excitement on board the ships. The little fleet took in sail, and the crew impatiently waited for daybreak. Landing Upon the New World. When morning came, almost all the crew, with Columbus at the head, rowed to THE LANDING OF COLUMBUS. land. It was the i2th of October, 1492, when they stepped upon the shores of the new world. " They threw themselves upon their knees, kissed the earth, and returned thanks to God with tears of joy." Then Columbus arose. He drew his sword, unfurled the flag of Spain, and declared the island to belong to the queen of Spain. So great was the rejoicing, that the officers embraced Columbus or kissed his hands, while the sailors threw themselves at his feet begging his forgiveness. Strange Inhabitants. While this was going on, a multi tude of savages appeared near by. The men, women, and children had copper-colored skin, and their naked bodies COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD 293 were greased and painted. They looked with awe and astonishment upon the strange visitors who they believed came down from the sky. They thought that the ships were monsters of the sea. Columbus believed that he had dis covered an island of the East Indies. So he called the savages he saw here Indians. He was really upon one of the Bahama Islands in what was later called the West Indies. Making Friends. At the first sight of the white-winged monsters the natives had fled in terror to the woods ; but they now cautiously returned, keeping for a while at a dis tance. The Spaniards encouraged them with nods and smiles, as they came slowly up to the "white visitors from heaven " and touched them with their hands to make sure that they were real men and not ghosts. The Indians gladly gave up their gold ornaments and whatever else they had, for beads and other trinkets brought by the Spaniards. Where were the Spices and Gold? The Spaniards talked to the Indians by signs and asked for the golden cities of China and Japan, but the Indians merely pointed off in one direction or another. Columbus cruised about for ten days among the Bahamas, puzzled at not finding spices and drugs and great cities. But he felt sure that he was near Japan and China. He discovered Cuba and other large islands, always hoping that he had at last found Asia, but always disappointed. Left with One Ship. One vessel, which was speedier than the others, now deserted Columbus. Pinzon, the commander, meant to return with it to Spain, and claim credit that was not his. On Christmas morning, Columbus s flagship struck a sandbank and was beaten to pieces by the waves, but not until the men and valuables on it had been saved. This left Columbus with only one ship. " What if 294 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE something should happen to it! " thought he. Then Europe might never know of his discoveries. Planning to Return. He decided to return at once to Spain and to plan a second voyage with a larger fleet. He could not carry back all the men upon his lone ship, so he built a blockhouse of parts of the wrecked vessel and placed the ship s cannon in it. Here he left forty of his men with a promise to return, and speedily set sail for Spain. A few days later they caught up with the deserting ship, whose commander made many lame excuses for desertion of Columbus. Together they now turned their prows straight toward Spain. Preparing for the Worst. In mid ocean they met with a terrible storm. It seemed probable that both ships would be lost. They again became parted to take different courses. Fearing a watery grave, Columbus wrote two reports of his discoveries. These he covered with wax and wrapped in cloth. He then sealed each in a barrel, one of which he flung into the sea, while the other was left upon the deck to float away in case the ship went to the bottom. Columbus hoped that one of these barrels might one day be washed ashore, or be picked up by some ship ; and thus his discoveries might be made known. Driven Upon the Coast of Portugal. Both ships, however, weathered this storm and made sail for Spain. But Colum- bus s ship, when nearing home, was caught in another storm and driven upon the coast of Portugal, where it was guided safely into the mouth of a river. Lisbon was wild with excitement at the news of Columbus s discovery. He set sail shortly after, and at noon on March 15, 1493, entered the harbor of Palos, having been gone more than seven months. Home Again. As the news spread about, the whole COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD 295 town gave itself up to rejoicing. There was scarcely a citizen who had not some relative with Columbus, and behold, they were not dead! Bells were rung, shops were closed, and people took a holiday. Towards evening the other vessel, which was parted from Columbus in the storm in mid-ocean, sailed safely into the same harbor and the sailors joined in the general rejoicing with friends and relatives. Europe Aroused. The great navigator was soon sum moned to the court of Ferdinand and Isabella, where he was received with great honor. As he rode through the cities of Spain, he was greeted like a king. The joy over his dis coveries was not confined to Spain. All Europe was aroused with wonder and admiration. In London, Paris, Lisbon, and Genoa the name of Columbus was hailed with enthusi asm ; and everybody, including the great navigator, felt sure that Asia had been reached. When Columbus prepared for his second voyage, it was difficult to prevent people from embarking with him, so eager were they to obtain riches without effort. Later Voyages. Columbus made four different voyages to the region of the Gulf of Mexico. On the third, in 1498, he touched the mainland of South America, near the mouth of the Orinoco River. But he failed to find the golden cities of the East, and all those who had taken part in the expeditions, hoping to become suddenly rich, met with only hardship, poverty, and disease. The blame for their troubles and failures they heaped upon Columbus. Once he was taken back to Spain in chains ; but the queen, to whom he wrote a touching letter, ordered him set free. Neglect and Death. When the queen, his best friend, died, his enemies showed their spite. He lost all his honors and his offices. Da Gama had sailed around Africa 296 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE to the Indies and returned with spices, rich silks, and wealth for his men ; while Columbus had brought back only misery. From this time on, Columbus was poor and neglected and broken in health. He died in 1506, and little notice was given the event. His body was first buried in Spain, but was later brought over and laid to rest in the New World. QUESTIONS i. Why was Genoa interested in new routes? 2. What was Columbus s early life? 3. Why did he go to Portugal? 4. Why was Lisbon the center of interest ? 5. What did Columbus gain by his marriage? 6. Where did he and his wife settle? 7. Why were the people anxious for a western voyage ? 8. What was Colum bus s plan? 9. What encouragement did he get? 10. Describe Toscanelli s map. n. What two mistakes did Columbus make in his reckonings? 12. Why were these fortunate? 13. What was the purpose of his voyage? 14. Why did not Portugal help him? 15. Why did Columbus go to Spain? 16. What conditions did he find there? 17. What did the learned men of Spain think? 1 8. Where did Columbus try to get aid ? 19. Who finally helped him ? 20. What was Columbus to receive as pay for his discoveries ? 21. What did he intend to do with his riches ? 22. What kind of a crew had he? 23. What course did he take ? 24. Tell about the super stitions of the sailors. 25. What frightened them? 26. What signs of land led them on? 27. Describe the landing. 28. What kind of reception did they get? 29. Where did Columbus land? 30. When? 31. Why didn t he take all his men back? 32. De scribe the hardships of the homeward voyage. 33. How long did it take? 34. How did the people receive Columbus ? 35. What did he think that he had discovered ? 36. How many trips did he make ? 37. What became of Columbus ? 38. What did he really do for the world ? CHAPTER XXVI RACE TO THE INDIES England Hastens to Share in Rich Trade. When the news of the first voyage and return of Columbus reached England, there was deep disappointment because Spain, and not England, had been the path breaker to the West. Everybody thought that Columbus had surely reached Asia, and they admired and praised him very much. There was in England at that time another Italian merchant and mariner named John Cabot. He applied to King Henry VII of England for aid to sail westward and share in the riches and honor of the trade with China and Japan. The king was glad to reap where he had not sown ; so in May, 1497, the Cabots, John and his son Sebastian, sailed from Bristol with one ship and eighteen sailors. A few weeks later they discovered what they supposed to be the coast of China, but they probably landed on Newfoundland or Labrador. They did not see any Indians, though they found traces of them and reported that " the natives used needles for making nets, and snares for catching game." The Cabots Return. A little later the Cabots vessel returned to Bristol, where John was received with much honor. We are told that the people called him the " Great Admiral and ran after him like mad people." A Second Voyage. The next year Sebastian Cabot sailed again to America with a larger fleet and coasted along our eastern shores for many hundreds of miles. Like Colum bus, the Cabots believed that they had reached China, but 297 298 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE they failed to find the Spice Islands. Sebastian Cabot carried back three Indians, but no silks or spices. The voyages were a failure so far as bringing riches to those who bore the expense, and so the English did not follow up these discoveries. But a hundred years later when England came to demand a share of the New World, she claimed it because of Cabot s discoveries. Portuguese in Brazil. During the time when Columbus was making voyages to the west, there was living in Spain still another Italian, named Americus Vespuccius, a native of Florence, whose interest in navigation and trade had led him to Spain. He took part in several voyages across the Atlantic, and on one of them he carried the flag of Portugal far southward along the coast of Brazil. The New Land. Vespuccius was delighted with the balmy climate, the birds of brilliant plumage, and the dense forests of enormous trees. He visited many tribes of Indians, and in one place saw salted human flesh hanging up for food. He saw one cannibal who boasted that he, himself, had eaten three hundred men. Sometimes the Indians showed fight and shot arrows at the newcomers, but a few volleys of powder and lead sent them scurrying to the woods. Describing the New World. Upon his return, Americus wrote letters that described this new land and told where it was situated. The geographers were puzzled, for they knew well that Asia did not extend so far south. They still believed Columbus s discoveries to be Asia, but what new world was this that Americus had discovered south of the equator ? This voyage made a greater stir among scholars than those of Columbus. Naming the New Land. About this time a famous geographer wrote a little book in which he said that this new RACE TO THE INDIES 299 world of Brazil should be named America for its discoverer. Later the name America was given to all South America. After a while it was found that the lands north of the Gulf of Mexico were connected with Brazil, and the name America came to be applied to the entire western continent. So it was by mere accident that the New World was named America, and the honor that was due Columbus was given VASCO DA GAMA AND THE ZAMORIN. to another. No one meant to do injustice to the great navigator, for Columbus and Americus were friends. Vasco da Gama Successful. In the year 1498, young Vasco da Gama started from Lisbon for the Cape of Good Hope, which Diaz had found ten years before. He turned the cape and gayly sailed his little fleet across the Indian Ocean and entered the harbor of Calicut on the west coast of India. Two years after starting, he returned to Lisbon with nutmegs and cloves, pepper and ginger, rubies and emeralds, silk and satin cloths, and much silver and gold. 300 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE He had seen splendid cities and had talked with great rulers. He had met many Arab vessels, whose crews looked upon a Christian ship with indignation because they thought that it had no right to sail the Indian Ocean. Thus Portugal had been first to find the all-water route to the Indies, and was reaping such a harvest of riches that other nations were eager to share in it. Groping About in the Dark. Most of the shores of America, from the coast of Labrador to the southern part of South America, had at this time been seen by different European explor ers, but the geographers were deeply puzzled. Startling facts were brought back from the New World much faster than they could be gath ered together and ex plained. Geographers were certain that South America was not Asia, and therefore must be a new world; however, the land seen by the Cabots and Columbus was still believed to be China, or some land barrier near Asia. But where were the Spice Islands? Somewhere there might be a strait leading through America into the Indian Ocean, though no one had found it. A few men began to think of sailing around South America to China, for they believed that since Africa had an end, the New World might also have a limit, and, if so, one might sail by it to China. MAGELLAN. RACE TO THE INDIES 301 Magellan. - - The bold sailor who meant to try this long and dangerous voyage was Ferdinand Magellan, a Portu guese. He proposed the plan to the king of Portugal, but the king was unfriendly to him and turned a deaf ear to his offer. Then Magellan went to the young king of Spain and persuaded him to try the plan. Voyage Round the World. In September, 1519, a little fleet of five vessels departed from the coast of Spain for Asia by way of South America. There were on board a mixed crew of two hundred and eighty sailors from various countries, and some of them were traitors to Magellan before they left Spain. They had not been at sea long when they were becalmed. So very quiet was the atmosphere that it took them three weeks to sail nine miles. Then the weather changed, and the rolling waves of a stormy sea lashed them for a month. Meanwhile their food and water grew scarce. Reaching America. At last, after threats of mutiny among the crews, the little fleet touched the coast of Brazil. Shortly after they sailed into the mouth of the La Plata River, which they thought, at first sight, might be a strait into the Indian Ocean. They explored this stream for three hundred miles, but found that it became narrower and the water fresher. So they concluded that it was a river and returned to the sea. Their voyage down the coast was interrupted by storms, and as winter with its cold weather was approaching they went into winter quarters at Easter. In this southern land the winter months are the same as our summer months. A Mutiny. Here the sailors mutinied, and three ships threatened to go back to Spain, for their journey had been full of hardships. The sailors said that they had already gone near enough to the south pole, and they felt that there 302 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE was no such strait into the Indian Ocean as they had hoped to find. They declared that their commander, being a Portuguese, intended to play false to Spain, and so they meant to go back home. Who was to prevent? Three of the five ships were in their hands. But they did not know the man, Magellan. By a shrewd, bold move, he captured one of their ships ; and having now three to their two, he blockaded them, opened fire upon their ships, and soon brought them to his feet. All this Magellan did in one day. The leader of the mutiny was beheaded and all others pardoned, after which there was no more disobedi ence to Magellan. The Straits. When the first signs of spring came, late in August, the ships went on their way southward, harassed by frequent storms. Late in October, they entered what some believed was a strait through to the western ocean. On both sides of the strait were high, snow-capped moun tains. For more than five long weeks they wound their way through the maze of bays and narrow passages. They kept finding the water deep and salt and were sure that they had discovered the strait. One ship, however, de serted and returned to Spain. Facing an Unknown Ocean. At last they came out of this long, crooked strait, called later the Strait of Magellan, into an unknown, open sea. Tears of joy came to the eyes of the great captain. Many sailors begged to go back, now that the long-sought passage had been found, for their provisions were nearly gone; but Magellan firmly said that he would go on, "if he had to eat the leather off the ship s yards." Sailing the Pacific. The great sea upon which they now embarked was so calm and peaceful that Magellan named it the Pacific. It was as truly a Sea of Darkness RACE TO THE INDIES 303 to Magellan as the Atlantic was to Columbus. No one knew how near or how distant was the coast of China, but they were already so far from Spain that now none dreamed of returning home the way they came. They must reach Asia, or perish in the attempt. Month after month they sailed on, with the blue sea beneath and the blue sky over head. The Starving Crews. At last they had sailed twice as far from the straits as had Columbus in 1492 from the Canaries, and they were yet thousands of miles from Asia. All their food was gone, except some putrid meats. Their supply of fresh water had turned yellow, and they were face to face with starvation. They were forced to eat skins and pieces of leather, which were found among the ropes and rigging of the ship. The skins were so dry and hard because of the hot sun and winds that they hung them by a cord into the sea for several days to soften them so that they could be eaten. Starvation and foul food brought on that dreaded disease of scurvy, and scores of poor sailors died, while many others were too sick and weak to move about. But the sea was calm, and they made good speed, or they would all certainly have died in mid-ocean. Some of the sailors began to think that perhaps the world was not round after all, and that they were sailing to cer tain death with no shore before them. But amid this awful suffering and misery, Magellan did not flinch. The sailors would have mutinied many times, but what could they do ? If they deserted or killed Magellan, where could they go ? To turn back now meant death before land could be reached. So they sailed on, no one knew where. Land Ahead. At last, with great joy, they came upon an island inhabited by savages, where they found plenty of fruit, fresh vegetables, and meat. It was one of the 304 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE RACE TO THE INDIES 305 Ladrone Islands. A few weeks later they discovered a group of large islands, which they called Philippines after Philip II of Spain. Asia had been reached! The Death of Magellan. Here they met traders from China and the Spice Islands. Now Magellan knew for a certainty that the world was round, and he had won glory and fame. While trying to spread Christianity upon these islands, the great navigator was killed ; but his fleet reached the Spice Islands. One of his ships sailed through the stormy Indian Ocean, passed the Cape of Good Hope, crept slowly up the west coast of Africa, crossed the equator, and on September 6, sailed into a home port. Home at Last. Of the two hundred and eighty bold sailors who set out to sail around the world, only eighteen haggard, suffering men had lived to reach home again. It was the greatest voyage ever undertaken, and its bold hero must be given the title of the Prince of Navigators. He not only proved the world to be round, but he showed clearly that the great continent of America was separated from Asia by an ocean thousands of miles wide. Europeans began slowly to realize that Columbus had discovered a grand new continent much nearer to Europe than it was to Asia. QUESTIONS i. For whom did the Cabots sail? 2. Where did they explore? 3. Why did not other English sailors follow up the Cabots ? 4. How did America come to be so named ? 5. Tell about De Gama s voyage. 6. Why were the people so puzzled about America? 7. Describe Magellan s voyage. 8. Was he a greater man than Columbus? 9. Why, or why not ? CHAPTER XXVII THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA Short-cut to China. Two all- water routes to Asia and the Spice Islands had now been found, and either called for a long, long voyage for the slow-sailing vessels of those days. America was very much nearer to Europe than was Asia, and a race began for the possession of the riches of the New World. The explorers, one and all, however, hoped that in their search for gold in America they might find a short-cut through America to China. For a hundred years yet it was the dream of Spanish, French, and English navigators to find a strait through North America to the Pacific. The Potomac, the Hudson, the St. Lawrence, every large bay and river was at first looked upon as the long-sought passage through the continent, so eager were all to discover a shorter route than that by Good Hope or the Straits of Magellan. Spain Takes the Lead. For several hundred years the knights and warriors of Spain had won glory and honor in the long wars against the Moors. Now the Moors were expelled, and the brave Spanish knights who had lost the habit of work must seek glory and adventure elsewhere. Every ship from the west brought home to Spain marvelous stories; and America became to these people a land of wonder and promise. Thus adventurers by the hundred were eager to spread their sails for the west; and Spain quickly took the lead in the exploration and discovery of the New World. 306 THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA 307 Why They Came. Some of the explorers came in the king s service; others fitted out expeditions to roam over land and sea at their own expense. The chief reasons for their coming were a thirst for gold and a love of adventure ; but there was another object. For centuries Spain had been fighting for the cause of the church ; hence her people came to look upon themselves as the chief defenders of the cross, and to have much of the missionary spirit. There was a fine field in which to spread the faith among the children of the American forests; and so these rough and wicked explorers, amidst their search for gold, tried to convert the red men to Christian ity. The First Settlements. Settlements were first made upon the islands of the West Indies. With these as a base of supplies, the daring explorers pushed boldly on to the mainland, and before long, large portions of South Amer ica, Mexico, and the United States were overrun by these searchers for gold. Cortes. Among the men who helped to fasten the Spanish grip upon America was Hemando Cortes. He CORTES. 308 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE belonged to a noble Spanish family, who had lost its wealth ajid position. When he grew to manhood, young Cortes resolved upon a life of adventure in America, where he hoped to find riches enough to restore his family to its old position of influence and power. He practiced horseman ship and the use of arms, and at last he attracted attention. On to Mexico. Soon we find Cortes in Cuba, whose governor sent him to conquer and settle Mexico. He set out from Cuba (1518) with ten vessels, six hundred soldiers, eighteen horsemen, and some pieces of cannon. In due time he landed safely upon the mainland of Mexico. The noise of his cannon, the appearance of horses and warships, all of which were new to the Indians, spread terror among them. They looked upon the Spaniards as gods, and quickly sent them many rich presents. Montezuma. Cortes learned of the great Indian king, Montezuma, who reigned over a vast empire. Monte- zuma s riches were untold, and his word was law throughout the vast country of Mexico. Cortes first founded the city of Vera Cruz as a base for supplies ; and then burning his ships, so that his soldiers would know that they must win or perish, he set out to conquer the great Indian king. Although Cortes had but a handful of soldiers, a horse and a gun were so terrible to the natives that he had a great advantage. With some tribes, who were hostile to Monte zuma, Cortes made friends; and many natives joined his army. Other tribes he put to flight with his horsemen and cannon. Approaching a Great City. At last, with six thousand natives and a few hundred Spaniards at his back, Cortes came in sight of a lake in the midst of which was built the city of Mexico, Montezuma s beautiful capital. Monte zuma received Cortes with great pomp ; and his millions THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA 309 of subjects, who believed the strange white king to be a descendant of the sun, cast themselves upon the ground before him. But later, when the Indians saw the head of another Spaniard an enemy who had just landed at Vera Cruz sent to Cortes, they no longer believed the Spaniards to be immortal. Noting how few there were of the white men, and having by now less fear of their horses, the Indians were ready to fight to be rid of their enemies. Seizing the Indian King. But Cortes fortified himself in one of the palaces, seized Montezuma, and put him in irons. He burned several Indian warriors before the gates of the palace, and succeeded in awing the swarming red men for a time. Though Montezuma gave them a vast amount of pure gold and an untold quantity of precious stones to purchase his freedom, the Spaniards continued to hold him a prisoner. Warring Against Great Odds. Fighting broke out many times ; and it seemed as though Cortes and his little band of Spaniards were about to fall into the hands of the howl ing savages, who outnumbered them five hundred to one. But a few slight victories gave the Indians too much con fidence, for they risked an engagement upon an open plain. This was just the chance Cortes desired. He gave the signal for battle ; and his well- trained troops, with good arms and cannon, won a great victory. This broke the spirit of the Indians, and Mexico was conquered and made a Spanish province (1520). Mines were discovered, and much gold and silver were carried to Spain. This caused a wild scramble for the riches of America. Balboa on the Isthmus. After the Spaniards had explored and made settlements upon the Isthmus of Darien (now Panama), the government was placed in the hands of a noble named Balboa. In his journeys among 310 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE the Indian tribes on the isthmus, Balboa received from an Indian chief a present of a large amount of gold. When they attempted to divide it, the greedy Spaniards fell to quarreling. News of a Golden Land. The eldest son of the chief was surprised at their greed : " What is this, Christians? " said he. " Is it for such a little thing that you quarrel? If you have such a love of gold, I will show you a country where you may have all you want. But you must have a large army, for you will have to fight your way with great kings " ; and the Indian pointed southward toward a sea which would carry them to the golden kingdom where, he said, the people had so much of the yellow metal that they ate and drank out of golden vessels. A White Man Sees the Pacific. Balboa resolved to be the discoverer of that sea to which the Indian pointed. So he set out to cross the isthmus. After a toilsome march, Balboa s company approached the top of the mountain range from which the Indians had said that he might be hold the other sea. Wishing to be alone, Balboa bade his men sit down while he went on. When he had reached the summit, he looked out upon the vast Pacific Ocean, which occupies more than one-half the surface of the earth. Balboa descended to the coast and waded into the surf. Then he drew his sword and took possession of this unknown sea for the Spanish king (1513). From the Indians here, he received a great amount of gold and two hundred and forty large pearls. Among the Spanish soldiers there was a wild hunt for more treasures. Pizarro. With Balboa was a soldier named Pizarro, who was much interested in what he heard of the golden kingdom far away to the southward. Pizarro saw no chance for himself as long as Balboa held the leadership of THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA 311 the expedition ; so he became jealous and joined the leader s enemies, who hatched a plot and promptly put the noble Balboa to death. Bound for Peru. Some years later Pizarro sailed down along the west coast of South America beyond the equator, until he came near the country of the Incas, the land of BALBOA SIGHTING THE PACIFIC. gold. Pizarro saw enough to convince him that they were indeed very near the golden kingdom, for they picked up rich articles in trade. Here they first saw llamas. They also traded for beautiful vases of gold and silver, and gar ments of fine wool. Having but a small party, Pizarro returned to Panama and hastened to Spain, where he ob tained the right to conquer and rule such new lands as he might discover. With a much stronger army, he again crossed the isthmus and sailed for Peru. 312 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE First News of the White Men. The Inca chief heard with dread of the coming of the bearded, white strangers. They thought that the Spanish horses were unearthly monsters, and that the lightning and thunderbolts of their guns were great and awful mysteries. The Indian of Peru. After a long march, Pizarro found the capital of the Incas. The city contained many thousands of people, who lived chiefly in houses of adobe brick with thatched roofs. These Indians were well ad vanced toward civilization. They wore cotton cloth and used weapons pointed with copper and bronze. The Golden Kingdom. All the utensils of the palace and those in the temples of the Incas were of gold. Outside the temple was a garden of artificial plants with the leaves, fruit, and stalks of pure gold. The buildings were large and stately. The palace had terraced gardens, baths, and fountains. The Indians were skilled in agriculture. Dry waste lands were irrigated, and the mountain sides were terraced, sometimes a hundred terraces deep, for the pur poses of farming. They had built up a splendid system of level, well-paved roads, on which travel was easy and speedy. The Inca chief often ate fresh fish that had been caught a day or so before in the Pacific, three hundred miles away. Vast flocks of llamas and alpacas supplied meat for food, and wool for fine cloth. In many ways these Indians had reached a higher civilization than had those who were now about to conquer them. The Inca in Prison. The Inca looked upon the visitors as sky-gods, and received them most politely. However, when the Spaniards saw the many thousands of red men, they realized that their safety lay in frightening the natives. They followed the example of Cortes in Mexico by seizing and imprisoning the Inca. THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA 313 Buying His Freedom. The chief was placed in a room about the size of a schoolroom. The frightened Indian made a mark on the wall as high as he could reach, and offered to fill the room to that mark with gold if they would set him free. Pizarro accepted the offer, and, it is said, gold was collected to the amount of $15,000,000. There were, besides, great treasures of silver. All this wealth was divided among the Spaniards. Inca s Death. The swarms of Indians became so unfriendly that Pizarro felt that he must do something to frighten them or they would overwhelm the Spaniards. So he led Inca out into a public place, after having taken all the gold that he had gathered, and killed him before the eyes of his people. Peru Conquered. Before the Indians had their revenge, more Spaniards came. They now numbered five hundred men. Very shortly they routed the red men and brought them to their knees. Thus Peru, the land of the Incas^ was conquered and added to the domains of Spain. When Pizarro landed in Europe with his load of riches, there was the wildest excitement. Again the Spaniards began flocking to America in search of gold. Ponce de Leon. One of the first explorers to push into the wilderness of what is now the United States was a Spaniard named Ponce de Leon, who had been with Colum bus on his second voyage. Ponce de Leon, now an old man, had often heard of the fountain of youth. Those who drank at this fountain were said to be cured of all disease and to become young again. Searching for the Fountain of Youth. From the Indians in Cuba, De Leon learned that this fountain was to be found somewhere to the northwest. So he obtained permission from King Ferdinand to search it out. He touched the 314 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE mainland near what is now St. Augustine, on Easter Sunday (1513). De Leon was charmed with the beautiful foliage and the many bright flowers. It was because of this that he named the new land Florida, which, in Spanish, means the land of flowers. Attempt to Settle Florida. De Leon coasted around the peninsula of Florida, but on account of trouble with the Indians, he returned to Cuba. He came to Florida a few years later with settlers for a colony. This time the Indians attacked him with great fury. Instead of finding the fountain of youth, De Leon was wounded by an Indian arrow and went back to Cuba to die. De Soto. Among the followers of Pizarro, who shared in the rich plunder of the Incas, was one named Ferdinand De Soto. De Soto returned to Spain with immense wealth and lived like a king, until he spent the most of his riches. Then he decided to find another golden kingdom and again to line his pockets with its spoil. In Florida. Hearing of Florida, he secured permission to explore and conquer this land of flowers. With about five hundred men and half as many horses, De Soto landed at Tampa Bay. He was immediately set upon by swarms of howling Indians, who drove the Spaniards to their ships. But De Soto bravely put his men ashore again in order of battle and began his long, long march in search of new treasures. The Indians Unfriendly. The Indians had been so horribly abused by other explorers that De Soto could not win their friendship, although he sent many presents to their chiefs. One old chief sent this reply to his offers of peace : " Others of your accursed race, in years past, have poisoned our shores. They have taught me what you are. What is your employment? To wander about like vaga- THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA 315 bonds from land to land ; to rob the poor, to murder the weak? With such people I want no friendship. War never ending, war to the death is all I ask." Endless Wandering. The Spaniards continued their mad search for gold. Suns rose and set ; weeks and months passed by ; and all the while the Spanish army was wander ing about in the deep wilderness, often through swamps and DE SOTO S DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. marshes. They got their food from the Indian cornfields, and from the herds of hogs that they drove with them. Indian Fighting. They passed through Florida and Alabama, sometimes fighting all-day battles with the fierce red men. In one great Indian battle De Soto lost one hundred and seventy men. Though this was a small number compared with the Indians who fell, the Spanish leader could not afford many such victories. Two year? 316 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE of aimless wandering had passed, and De Soto was sad and weary ; but he was too proud to give up and go home a poor man. The Mississippi. In 1541, De Soto came upon a great river more than a mile wide. It was the Mississippi. For countless ages the majestic stream had flowed on, unknown to civilized man. But De Soto cared not for the glory of discovering a new river ; he was in search of gold, and gold, alone, would satisfy him and his greedy followers. Exploring the West. They crossed the great Mississippi and spent a year searching through the present states of Arkansas and Missouri. In this year of hardship and suffer ing, many of the men died of disease or in battle with the red men. De Soto s Death. And now De Soto was worn out. He returned to the banks of the Mississippi, where he soon fell ill of a fever and died. In order that the prowling Indians might not know of the death of their great leader, the Spaniards buried him at dead of night in the bosom of the wonderful river that he had discovered. De Soto s followers then built rude ships, floated down the river to the gulf, and arrived, at last, at a Spanish colony in Mexico. Menendez in Florida. A Spaniard, named Pedro Menendez, was bent upon founding a colony in Florida, and Philip II gave his permission. With a fine fleet of thirty-four vessels and more than two thousand persons in his company, Menendez spread his sails for the sunny land. Hearing of a colony of French Protestants who had already settled in Florida, Menendez vowed that he would hang every Frenchman he found there ; first, because they were on the domains of Spain, and next, because they were heretics who had broken away from the Catholic faith. He kept his pledge, and the band of Frenchmen were slain. THE SPANIARDS IN AMERICA 317 St. Augustine. Menendez founded the first permanent European settlement within the present boundary of the United States at St. Augustine in 1565. It then appeared as though Spain were to get a grip upon the fairest portions ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA. of North America. However, Europe was at this time torn asunder with religious wars, and we must notice how this contest affected Spain s hold upon what is now the United States. QUESTIONS i. Why did Spain take the lead in exploring? 2. Why did she send men to America? 3. Where did Cortes explore? 4. What city did he found? 5. What did he do in America? 6. What did Spain claim because of his work? 7. Tell about Balboa s work. 8. What civilization did Pizarro find ? 9. How do you account for it? 10. How did he conquer Peru? n. What do you think of Pizarro? 12. What Spanish navigators have we already studied? 13. Review the work of each. 14. For what was Ponce de Leon hunting? 15. Where did he explore? 16. Who was De Soto? 17. For what was he looking ? 18. How did the Indians feel toward him? 19. Where did he travel? 20. Who made the first settle ment in America? 21. Where? 22. Because of her explorations, how much and what part of America did Spain claim? CHAPTER XXVIII RISE OF THE PROTESTANTS Rome sheltered Many Faiths. The Roman Empire, as we have read, permitted people of all religions within its realms, and they were allowed to worship as they pleased. There were, therefore, many different faiths in the wide boundaries of the Empire. But at last Christianity became the leading religion, and all other faiths declined. The Christian Church. Finally the Empire fell, its government went to pieces, and the church largely took its place. Since there was no power or authority left to keep order, the Christian bishops stood forth to protect the people and to check the bloodshed and lawlessness and crime. Church and State One. The church became so woven into the government that they were really one power, or, as we would say, the church and the state were united. In our country the church and the government are entirely separate, but in some lands to-day the two are united. Nearly all the people of Europe during the Middle Ages were Christian Catholics and they never thought of the church apart from the government. For many centuries the church did more to keep order than the state, and it therefore deserved to have a voice in all matters of govern ment. In the choice of kings and of emperors the decision was often left to the pope. Sometimes he uncrowned a king and selected another to fill his place. In fact, at this time there were only two classes that had anything to say 318 RISE OF THE PROTESTANTS 319 regarding how laws should be made and how they should be enforced. These were the clergy and the nobles. After the crusades a third power came forth to demand a share in law-making, and this was the Third Estate or the cities. Disputing Church Authority. Then as nations grew up in Europe and their kings became stronger they were less willing to obey the pope s commands, and thus there arose THE VATICAN, THE POPE S PALACE, ROME. many wars between the kings and the head of the church. But the pope was strong: not only did he have a voice in the governments of all the countries of Western Europe, but there were large portions of Italy that belonged abso lutely to the church, and over these sections the pope ruled much the same as did kings in other countries. The Vast Wealth of the Church. In every Christian country, in every county, and city, and village, the church owned property; and this amounted to untold riches. This wealth of possession came to the church in much the same way as the monasteries obtained their wide domains. Most of it came as gifts from pious and zealous Catholics of means who wished to aid the cause of the church. Many 320 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Christian princes and nobles, who died without children to inherit their property, gave their entire estates to the church. Some gave rich gifts during their days of prosperity because good fortune had followed them and they believed their health and success was due to the favor of heaven. Others celebrated happy occasions and special good fortune by a gift to the mother church. The wealth of the church in creased, not only by gifts of money and property and the accumulation of money and rent, but through the natural increase in the value of their lands, much of which they had greatly improved. The power and wealth of the church naturally led some unworthy men to seek positions within the church and even to become priests and bishops, not so much to aid in good deeds and holy service, but to secure an influential position or a place of ease and com fort. In this they were sometimes successful, and when they had once succeeded in getting into the church it was very difficult to rid the church of these selfish men. A Noble Reformer. Then there came to the papal chair one of the noblest men of the Dark Ages, Pope Sylvester. He loved learning, and tried to awaken the thirst for knowl edge. In many places he found men ignorant and supersti tious. Sylvester also tried to reform the church, to put godly men in the places held by the unworthy and the selfish. His life was one long struggle against wickedness, and he died after ruling the church only a few years. The time had been too short to root out all the wickedness that had crept in. New Learning in Italy. After the Crusades, the Italian towns became immensely rich through the trade with the East. Men now had money, and with money came leisure - time to read and to think. The people of means not only wished to see more of the world, but they were eager to know what was written in books. RISE OF THE PROTESTANTS 321 Petrarch. The most famous scholar of the time was an Italian poet named Petrarch. In his youth he wanted to read Greek and Latin manuscripts and to know all that the old Romans and Greeks had known. Petrarch s father, however, wished his son to become a lawyer ; and when the boy spent his money on Greek and Latin books, the father threw them into the fire. But when he saw the deep grief of his son, he snatched the books out again. So Petrarch was per mitted to study the dusty books of the Greek and Latin au thors. He soon be came a famous poet and scholar, and col lected many old books, or manu scripts. Petrarch a Teacher. He showed people how to read these old writings, and how to compare them with one another to see whether some of them were copied from others, or whether all of them were copied from old books that had decayed or been lost. Thus scholars came to be fine judges of the writings of the old Romans and Greeks, and could pick out the mistakes and errors that had crept in through the different slaves and PETRARCH. 322 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE monks who had written out these parchment books. Petrarch became famous among scholars, princes, and other great men. He was a tireless worker, and even old age could not check his study. One morning at the ripe age of seventy he was found dead in his library. Learning Awakes. Petrarch had started a great move ment, which we call the Revival of Learning ; for. as you know, learning had slept for ages. Petrarch had many followers, and they continued to search the monasteries and churches of Italy for the long-lost books of the old authors. They found old Latin books and learned to read them. Many became fine Latin scholars. The enthusiasm for this learning spread over Italy and to other countries of western Europe. Greek Learning Saved. When the Turks were about to capture Constantinople, scores of learned men of that city took ship for Italy, bringing with them a knowledge of the Greek language and many rare old books written in that tongue. There had been Greek scholars in Italy be fore this time, but now came many more, with treasures of writings of the old authors of Athens. They received a hearty welcome in Italy. Students began to read the Greek manuscripts eagerly, and they urged their friends to do the same. Gradually a knowledge of Greek literature and a love for it spread over Europe. " I have given up my whole soul to Greek learning," said Erasmus, " and as soon as I get more money I shall buy Greek books and then I shall buy some clothes." Studying the Bible. The light of this new learning and study was turned upon the silly superstitions of that ignorant time. It was also turned upon the church and the Bible. It was found that the Bible in the Greek lan guage and the same book in Latin did not read exactly RISE OF THE PROTESTANTS 323 alike, and some claimed that mistakes had been made in translating the Bible from Greek into Latin. Students of the new learning in many lands began to doubt the correct ness of many passages of the Latin Bible. The bolder critics began to point out what they thought were evils in the church and among the clergy. Thus men began to dis agree and to dispute about questions of religion. The Inquisition. For nearly a thousand years there had been but one church and one religion in all Western Europe. To break away from the church was believed to be the worst possible sin and to deserve the severest pun ishment. Even the civil authorities believed that a rebel lion against the church would be followed immediately by a rebellion against the government. Consequently in quisitors were often appointed to examine doubters or here tics, and when found guilty they were punished severely, even with the burning of the guilty ones at the stake. Block Books. Some years before the time of Columbus the printing press had been invented (1438). Books now became cheap. The old methods of making books by copy ing with pen and ink was slow and tiresome. The use of parchment, or sheepskin, instead of paper, made books very costly, and few people could afford to own one. A way was then invented to print a whole page at once. The printer took a block of wood or a board the size of the page he wished to make, and on it he drew the outline of the letters of all the words on the page. Then with slow and toilsome care he cut away the wood, leaving the letters raised. By inking this and pressing it upon the paper, an entire page was printed at once. Such books were called block books ; and while they were cheaper than the manu script books, it was still a costly process to print them, for it was slow work to cut a block for each page. Moreover, 324 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE these expensive blocks were useless except for this par ticular book, and it seemed a great waste of time and labor to throw them away. John Gutenberg. About this time a printer named John Gutenberg, who lived in Germany, began to dream of a better method. At last the idea came to him of cutting each letter from a separate piece of wood and then binding these letter blocks together to form a page. These page forms might be broken up and used again and again, for differ ent pages or books until they were worn out. Mak ing movable type was a great in vention, but it was still a hard task to print a book. Gutenberg learned to mold his type of metal, for the wooden letter blocks soon wore out. Then he crowned his great work by making a printing press. New Religious Sects. Printing presses were soon in demand in every country of Europe. They could not be set up fast enough. Everybody could now afford to own a few books. The Bible was quickly translated into German, English, and other languages, and the common people began to read it. This greatly hastened the spread of the new learning, and set people to thinking for themselves about GUTENBERG S PRESS. RISE OF THE PROTESTANTS 325 the Bible. The more they thought, the more differences of opinion there were about religious things. Thus there arose many different sects. Martin Luther. Martin Luther was born at Eisleben and spent his early childhood at Mansfield in Saxony. MARTIN LUTHER. After he had completed his studies in the University of Erfurt he entered the Augustinian monastery at that place. A few years later he was appointed a professor in the Uni versity of Wittenberg and a lecturer on theological subjects. In 1511 Luther made a sacred pilgrimage to Rome on a mission connected with the monastery at Erfurt, and on 326 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE his return he became sub-prior of the monastery at Wit tenberg. -His time was now devoted to the study and teach ing of the scriptures and to the discussions of church doc trine. He believed that evils had crept into the church, and he wished to drive out this wickedness as Pope Sylves ter had tried so hard to do many years before. A few years later he issued his Ninety-Five Theses on Indulgence and posted them, as was the custom, on the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg. When these Theses were translated into German and spread broadcast they caused much discussion. Luther was called upon to recant, but he refused. The Protestants. Nothing could stop the spread of Luther s beliefs. His followers, because they made a pro test, were called Protestants. They sprang up all over western Europe. Preachers went from town to town and from country to country, spreading the new teachings. Germany, England, and other northern countries broke away from the Catholic Church and formed new religious sects, for the Protestants could not agree among themselves on religious questions. Large numbers of Protestants were found in France and the Netherlands. But there was one country, above all others, that was loyal to the pope and to the mother church, and that country was Spain. Purifying the Church. Soon after the Protestant nations of the north had broken away from the mother church, Europe became divided into two hostile camps, and long religious wars followed. The nobler and better people among the Catholics sought to purify their church, to drive out selfishness and wickedness, so that they might face their enemies with a clear conscience and a united en thusiasm. Thus there arose in the Roman church several orders whose purpose was to bring back the purity, the noble RISE OF THE PROTESTANTS 327 devotion, and the virtue of former days. The most im portant of these was the " Order of Jesus/ or the Jesuits. The Founder of the Jesuits. The founder of this noble order was Ignatius Loyola, a Spanish knight. He had been crippled in battle by a cannon ball, and during his long illness, he read the lives and stories of the saints. These had a marvelous influence on his mind. He gave up his dreams of military glory and dedicated his life to the church of Rome. The Jesuits were a devoted body of noble and unselfish men, who proved a great aid to the Catholic Church in this trying time of bitter wars. They denied themselves all ties of home, family, and friendship. Nothing was permitted to come between them and their service for the church. The Jesuits did not shut themselves away from the world about them to fast and pray for their own souls, as did the early monks, but they gave themselves in glorious service to their fellow-men. Nothing was too high nor too low for their noble endeavors. They were preachers and confessors, they were politicians, they were advisers of kings. As missionaries the Jesuits endured the hardships of a lonely life in the far-off corners of the world in order to teach and to lead the savages into the Christian faith. One of the greatest services to their time was the founding of the Jesuit schools, which were the best in Europe. But above all the Jesuits helped to establish a new life of sanctity and learning in the Catholic Church. QUESTIONS i. How did riches weaken the church? 2. Who was Pope Syl vester and what noble thing did he try to do ? 3. Why was desire to learn stronger in Italy than elsewhere? 4, Tell about Petrarch s life. 5. What movements did he set going ? 6. How was the knowl edge of the Greeks saved ? 7. Who were heretics ? 8. What were 328 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Block books ? 9. Tell about the invention of the printing press. 10. Can you think of other inventions that have meant more to the world? ii. Give reasons for your beliefs. 12. What caused the split in the Catholic Church? 13. Who led in this movement? 14. Who were the Jesuits and what noble work did they do ? CHAPTER XXIX THE REVOLT OF THE NETHERLANDS Philip Defends the Roman Church. The crown of Spain fell, in 1555, to Philip II. He also received from his father the Netherlands. Now Philip was a zealous Catholic. He thought it was his religious duty to burn every heretic in his dominion or to force them all back into the Catholic Church, and he started to do it. The Spanish had fought many years to uphold the faith and to expel the infidel Moors. They were in no mood to allow any one to criticize or PHILIP II OF SPAIN. break away from the faith for which they had sacrificed so much in treasure and in blood. Stamping Out Heresy in the Netherlands. Philip vowed he would stamp out all Protestantism from his domains, 329 330 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE and at once ordered the governor of the Netherlands to burn or kill all who refused to accept the Catholic form of worship. Many great nobles and hundreds of the leading citizens of the Netherlands were true Catholics. Never theless they objected to this wholesale hanging and burn ing of their neighbors because of religious belief. Too Much Freedom. Philip saw that he was likely to have trouble in making the people of the Netherlands obey his cruel orders against the Protestants. The towns and provinces of that country had long had charters of liberty, and the nobles spoke out boldly against this tyrannical order. So Philip concluded that the first thing to do was to take away their liberties. Would Become an Absolute Ruler. He planned to capture all the stout-hearted patriots and liberty-loving nobles, many of whom were loyal Catholics, and upon one excuse or another to put them to death. In this way he hoped to frighten all the common people and force them to submit to his absolute rule. After that it would be easy to root out Protestantism. The Beggars. One of the king s officers in the Nether lands called the Protestants " Beggars " ; and they gladly adopted the name, crying, " Long live the Beggars ! " One of their leaders soon appeared in public dressed as a beggar; and from this time, the Netherland Protestants wore the beggar s costume of coarse, gray cloth, with a wallet and wooden bowl as emblems of their beggarhood. The Beggars Striking Back. On several occasions, mobs of Protestants broke into Catholic churches, wrecked the altars, smashed the images to pieces, and destroyed all objects of art and beauty that fell in their way. They were just as ready to persecute the Catholics in their turn ; for at this time, no one believed that more than one religion THE REVOLT OF THE NETHERLANDS 331 could exist in the same land. Every one felt that his belief was the only right religion, and that it was his duty to per secute all other faiths. "It shall Cost Them Dear. -When the king heard of these outrages, he broke out in anger, " It shall cost them dear, I swear it by the soul of my father." He now sent a new governor, the Duke of Alva, with a great army to carry out his wicked designs in the Netherlands. The Duke of Alva was one of the greatest generals of Europe. He was stony-hearted and merciless. He believed, with Philip, that all heretics should be put to death, and was glad of the chance to butcher DUKE OF ALVA. the Beggars. The Duke of Alva s Plot. " I have tamed men of iron in my day," said Alva, as he set out ; " I shall know how to deal with these men of butter." Everybody who stood for the liberties of his land, Catholic or Protestant, Alva was charged to put to death upon one excuse or another. Alva was kindly received by the great nobles of the Netherlands ; and he hid his wicked intentions beneath many smiles, while he contrived a plan to capture all the leading patriots 332 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE at one time. He arranged a brilliant festival in the most friendly way, and invited all the leaders to the capital. Most of them came. His officers had their orders to arrest their men at a given signal. Thus the bravest leaders of the Netherlands, some of whom had fought for King Philip on many battlefields, were taken unawares and landed in prison. The Council of Blood. Alva quickly made up a court of heartless men to try these nobles, either as traitors or here tics. He called this new body the Council of Troubles ; but people have since named it the Council of Blood. " Whole batches of the accused were condemned together, offhand ; and from one end of the Netherlands to the other the exe cutioners were busy with stake, sword, and gibbet until the whole land ran red with blood." Hatred for the Spaniard. On an Ash Wednesday, when the people were at home, fifteen hundred patriots were ar rested ; and Alva wrote to Philip, saying, " I have ordered them all executed." Many loyal Catholics objected to this wholesale slaughter, but nothing could move Philip or the blood-thirsty Alva. This atrocious burning and killing of good men for no crime but a love of liberty, or a desire to worship as they believed right, aroused undying hatred against the Spaniards. William, Prince of Orange. Among the unhappy Netherlanders was a patriot, Prince William of Orange, whom Alva, with all his cunning, could not catch, although he laid many traps. He invited the prince to feasts, he offered him bribes, he hired assassins to slay him; but William of Orange was a wary man, and the cruel Alva tried in vain to capture him. William was so careful in what he said, that people began to call him William the Silent. THE REVOLT OE THE NETHERLANDS 333 William, the First to Believe in Religious Freedom. - Prince William was the leader and defender of his people at this hopeless time. He believed that no man, without an exception, had a right to punish others for believing and worshiping as they pleased. The prince encouraged his people to fight; he raised money; he raised armies; he made friends in other countries, in France, Germany, and England, who were willing to send aid. Crushing the Patriot Armies, William the Silent was a tireless worker. But Alva, v/ith his veteran Spanish soldiers, scattered, one by one, every army that the patriots could raise. In one battle the Spaniards lost but seven, while their opponents lost seven thousand men. The Spanish armies crushed all be fore them, for William was no match for Alva as a general. Stamping Out Teutonic Liberty not Easy. Still the prince would not own himself conquered. After a bitter defeat, he said, " With God s help I am determined to go on." Again armies were raised, and again Alva put them to rout. He wrote Philip, saying, " We may regard the Prince of Orange as a dead man; he has now neither in fluence nor credit. 1 WILLIAM THE SILENT. 334 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Dark Days for Liberty. Alva s armies marched up and down the land, capturing most of the towns, and putting many of the people to death. Everything looked dark to the Netherlanders. Thousands of Protestants fled for refuge to France, Germany, and England. The Sea Beggars. The brave Hollanders now tried a new way of fighting. They began to build ships, and soon had eighteen vessels sailing about in search of the enemy. These Dutch vessels were manned with wild and lawless men, who hated the Spaniards bitterly. They were as cruel as Alva himself. The crews cared nothing for dangers, as long as there was plenty of fighting and rich booty. The Spaniards called them Sea Beggars. Philip s Match on the Sea. In a year they had taken three hundred Spanish vessels and enormous booty. En couraged by this, William of Orange built more ships, until the number had reached eighty-four. The crews spread terror everywhere, but little of the booty ever reached Orange. The Sea Beggars sailed up and down the coast, seeking revenge for Alva s cruel deeds. The Sea Beggars First Port. Once a fleet was driven into the Meuse River by a storm. Finding the Spanish garrison of Brill off their guard, six hundred Sea Beggars marched in and took the city, pillaged the churches, and murdered the Catholic clergy and officials. Then they strengthened the walls, ran up the flag of Orange, and held the town, which became their first port. Dutch at Home Upon the Sea. From this small begin- ing, Holland was to grow into a great sea power. Alva tried again and again to retake Brill, but in vain. One port after another quickly fell into the hands of the Sea Beggars, and several whole provinces were retaken by them in the name of William of Orange. THE REVOLT OF THE NETHERLANDS 335 Holland Holding Out. Rich merchants now opened their purses to William ; and there seemed hope of saving the northern provinces from the clutches of the victorious Alva. Prince William decided to give up the southern provinces, in which the people were largely Catholic, and to make his last stand for the low countries of Holland, where the Protestants were numerous and ready to put up the stoutest fight. This was a swampy land protected by dikes. The Fate of Holland. One of William s coast towns was Harlem. Alva resolved to take this, and the contest lasted for months with fighting night and day. Every time the Spaniards made an attack they were driven back with great loss. At last they surrounded the town and sat down to starve Harlem into surrender. So long as the shallow waters surrounding the town were covered with ice, swift skaters darted in during the dark, foggy nights with food. But when spring came, a Spanish fleet cut off approach by water. The starving people inside the town had eaten shoe leather and even weeds. At last they were forced to give up. The blood-thirsty Spaniards rushed in and butchered the weak and helpless survivors by the hundred. Still Defiant. Philip now offered pardon to the stout hearted Hollanders if they would lay down their arms and return to the Catholic faith. But they bitterly hated Philip, the man who had hanged, beheaded, burned, and buried alive their innocent brethren. So they replied, " As long as there is a living man left in the country, we will fight for our liberty and our religion." Attempt to Take Leyden. Accordingly, a powerful Spanish army set out to capture Leyden, a city not many miles from the sea. They were beaten off by the brave defenders and again sat down to starve them out. William 336 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE could not raise an army big enough to beat back the Span iards, but he urged the brave Hollanders to hold out for three months, promising that he would save them from the clutches of the enemy. Facing Starvation. Weeks passed by, and food became scarce in the town. They wrote Orange that they had kept their promise, they " had held out two months with food, and another month without food. Their malt cake would DIKES or HOLLAND. last but four days; and after that was gone there was nothing left but starvation." The Only Hope. Orange had but one resource left. That was to cut the dikes and send the ocean waves to fight the Spaniards. The people hesitated to surrender to the sea their crops and lands won by years of toil, but they at last agreed with Orange when he said, " Better a drowned land than a lost land." Cutting the Dikes. Orange, therefore, cut the great dikes in sixteen places, and the ocean poured through. The Sea Beggars had two hundred ships of light draft, well-manned, ready to sail to the relief of Leyden, but the THE REVOLT OF THE NETHERLANDS 337 sea rose very slowly, as the wind was in the wrong direc tion. The fleet had approached to within five miles of the city and lay there waiting for the water to rise. Starving for the Sake of Liberty. A week passed and the starving citizens began to lose hope and to complain bitterly. Bread, malt cake, and horseflesh were all gone. They had eaten all the dogs, cats, and rats. A few cows were left, but they were needed for the milk. Each day some were killed, and small bits distributed among the starving people. The cowhides were chopped, boiled, and eaten eagerly. The green leaves were stripped from the trees for food. Men, women, and children were dying in great numbers, for a pestilence had come upon the unhappy city. Supreme Heroism. The Spaniards taunted the brave people on the walls, but the plucky Hollanders shouted back : " Ye call us rat eaters and dog eaters, and it is true. So long, then, as ye hear dog bark or cat mew, ye may know that the city holds out. And when all have perished but ourselves, be sure that we will each devour our left arms, retaining our right to defend our women, our liberty, and our religion against the bloodthirsty Spaniard." The Unconquerable Van der Werf . Some hopeless wretches gathered about the brave burgomaster Van der Werf, the commander of the town, and accused him of preferring to starve them rather than give up to the Spaniards. That hero replied : " Here is my sword, plunge it into my breast and divide my flesh among you to appease your hunger; but expect no surrender so long as I shall remain alive." This shamed the faint-hearted citizens to obedience, and there was no more flinching. The Wind Changes. Presently the wind changed and drove the sea waters over the land. The Dutch fleet with 338 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE their beloved prince aboard sailed in among trees and farm buildings, defeated the Spaniards, and brought food to the suffering people of Leyden. Every man, who could stand, came out to meet the fleet, and bread was thrown from every vessel into the crowd. Some ate so eagerly that they choked to death. They gathered in their church where they sang, prayed, and wept like children. Leyden Rewarded by a University. When William listened to the story of their glorious defense, he rejoiced exceedingly. Wishing to reward the heroic defenders of liberty, the prince offered to release the city from all taxes. But the Dutch were as wise as they were plucky. They said, " We prefer a university." Sometime later the prince founded the great University of Leyden in honor of this victory. In the course of time this became famous and drew scholars from all civilized lands to enjoy its advan tages. Philip Hiring Assassins. King Philip was now con vinced that he could never conquer Holland as long as the wonderful patriot William was alive ; so he proclaimed him to all the world as a traitor, and offered twenty-five thousand crowns of gold to any one "who shall deliver this pest to us, dead or alive; or take his life." An assassin got access to William s house and shot him as he went to dinner. The villain fell, pierced by many arrows, while William recovered. The Great Patriot Falls. But another ruffian with murder in his heart secured permission to enter the house. He was in a wretched condition, so William sent him a present of twelve crowns. With this gift the scoundrel bought a pistol, watched his chance, and shot William dead. All Holland mourned the death of their noble chief, and they buried him with great honors. THE REVOLT OF THE NETHERLANDS 339 A New Enemy of Spain. William the Silent had done his work so well that the Dutch Republic, which he had founded, could not be overcome by Spain. Elizabeth, the Protestant queen of England, now offered aid to the brave little country of Holland. Philip, in anger, turned to conquer England ; after which he believed he could finish the destruction of liberty in Holland. QUESTIONS i. What country was the most loyal to the mother church? 2. Why ? 3. Where did Philip of Spain get the kingship of Holland ? 4. How did he try to stamp out the Protestant sects there ? 5. Who were the Beggars ? 6. Who was Alva and what kind of a fighter was he ? 7. Was he as good a man as he was a general ? 8. Tell about his plot. 9. What was the Council of Blood? 10. Who was the great patriot of Holland? n. Compare him with Alva as a fighter and as a man. 12. Tell about the Sea Beggars and what they did for Holland. 13. Tell about the fate of Harlem. 14. How was Leyden saved? 15. What became of William of Orange? 1 6. What new enemy now arose against Spain ? CHAPTER XXX THE FALL OF SPAIN English Sea Rovers. Among the English sea captains of those days were many bold and daring leaders. The sea swarmed with pirates, and even kings were willing to share the stolen plunder. Queen Elizabeth was eager to aid these sea dogs in taking trading vessels from the East Indies or Spanish treasure ships bearing cargoes of riches from the gold and silver mines of Mexico and Peru. Sir Francis Drake. In 1585 Drake led a fleet of thirty vessels against the Spanish colonies. Other famous captains, Martin Frobisher and Richard, the son of John Hawkins, went with him. Their names were known and feared on every sea. They went about capturing and plundering, destroying what they could not carry away. Steering for the Spanish colonies in America, they seized scores of ships and burned many towns among them St. Augustine with its two hundred and fifty houses. The next year they returned to England with immense booty, including vast sums of gold and silver. Such lawless deeds aroused Philip to the fighting point. Why Philip Hated England. Philip had more reasons than one for making war upon England. He hated the island kingdom because she had broken away from the Catholic Church, as well as because Drake and other English sea rovers had captured so many Spanish treasure ships from America and the Indies. And, above all, Philip was furious because Queen Elizabeth had sent soldiers and 340 THE FALL OF SPAIN 341 guns to help the Protestants of Holland against the Span iards. His Plans. Philip vowed that he would conquer the island of heretics, throw Elizabeth into prison, and make himself king in her place. Then he would restore the Catholic religion, both in England and Holland. The Great Armada. Philip now resolved to gather all his troops and ships, and in one great Armada bear down QUEEN ELIZABETH. upon England in overwhelming numbers. He counted his forces and found that he could get together 150 great ships of war 360 smaller vessels and storeships, and 46 galleys a total of 556 ships. This grand fleet, which he called " The Invincible Armada," would land his world-famous army of 94,000 men on the English coast and the war would soon be over. 342 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE " Singeing the Spanish King s Beard." But before the Armada was ready to sail, Drake was sent to prevent the fleets of Spain from joining forces. He sailed boldly into the Spanish harbor of Cadiz, sank forty or more ships of war, burned the shipyards and all seasoned lumber, and sailed away, towing four storeships well-filled with pro visions. They called this " singeing the Spanish king s beard." After destroying scores of Spanish merchant ships, Drake sailed toward the Azores to await a Spanish trading fleet, which he heard was coming from the East Indies. He fell in with it and won an easy victory. Then he spread his sails for home, carrying booty of enormous value. The Armada Sails. Drake had done such damage to the Spaniards that they were forced to postpone the time of setting sail. It was not until 1588 that the Armada was ready to put out to sea. Philip had launched a fleet of 130 ships, carrying 8000 sailors and 14,000 soldiers. His ships were large, strong, and imposing; and they out numbered Elizabeth s fleet four to one. Moreover, Spain had long been the strongest nation in the world. Her generals were famous and her soldiers seasoned by years of service and many victories. The Armada in Trouble. Philip ordered the Armada to sail first to Holland, taking on board the great Spanish armies there, and then to land them across the channel on English soil. No sooner had the Armada put out to sea than its troubles began. The great ships were built for fair weather and were made of poorly seasoned timber, for Drake had burned up their good lumber. So the vessels soon began to leak badly. The sailors were gathered largely from Mediterranean ships, and were not used to the stormy Atlantic. Their food was poor and most of it soon spoiled ; their bread became moldy and their meat putrid. Their THE FALL OF SPAIN 343 supply of water also ran short, and sickness soon broke out upon the crowded fleet. The English Fleet. At last the Armada was sighted off the coast of England, where the little fleet of Elizabeth was awaiting them. The English fleet was small, but much faster then the big ships of Spain. It was commanded by Lord Howard, a noted sea captain ; and with him were Drake, Hawkins, Frobisher, and many other daring cap- THE MEETING OF THE ENGLISH SHIPS WITH THE SPANISH ARMADA. tains. The ships were manned by sailors trained in many sea battles. The English fleet was supplied with long- range cannon and good gunners; while the Armada was crowded with soldiers whose only method of fighting was at close range. The big English guns fired four shots to the Spaniards one. A Running Fight. The fleets came together, and the little English ships darted in and out among the huge, awkward ships of Spain. They shot holes in Philip s big vessels, and captured the slower-sailing ones as well as those that were disabled and had to fall behind. The 344 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE Spanish admiral, being unable to grapple or to approach close enough to harm the English vessels, drew off and anchored in a harbor on the east side of the channel. The English ships followed, but dared not enter the port. They collected some big fire ships, and under a favorable breeze sent them blazing into the harbor among the scores of THE SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS. Philip s wooden vessels. The Spaniards, in great alarm, cut their cables and amidst much confusion tried to escape to the open sea. Many ships collided and were damaged, some were burned, and the entire Armada floated out at night. The ships became scattered, without an admiral to give orders. The nimble English vessels followed in close pursuit. In that running, nine days fight up the channel, the Spaniards saw that fortune was against them. They cried out in despair, " God has forsaken us ! " THE FALL OF SPAIN 345 The English Have the Best of It. Many of Philip s ships were sent to the bottom, some were driven ashore, and some were captured, as the English chased their big enemy into the stormy North Sea. The splendid Armada was badly scattered, and to escape the English, they fled to the northward. The British fleet had run short of pow der and had to stop to restock the ships. Howard wrote to Queen Elizabeth, saying, " Their force is wonderful and strong, and yet we pluck their feathers little by little." Returning Home. The defeated Armada tried to sail around Scotland and Ireland and thus return to Spain, for they dreaded another meeting with Lord Howard s fleet, which was waiting for them to come back. The scattered fleet of Spain had neither pilots nor sea charts. Their ships were full of leaks and holes made by the English guns, and the weather was wild and stormy. Many of Philip s ships were wrecked off the coast of Scotland and Ireland, and their men and cargo were scattered along the shores. The Spanish soldiers and sailors died in great numbers of wounds, sickness, cold, and famine. Philip in Defeat. Only a small part of the fleet ever reached home. Spain was ruined. Philip had taxed the land to the uttermost to fit out the wonderful Armada, and now despair and rage rang through the country. For days, Philip was found at prayer: " It is Thy cause, O Lord. If in Thy wisdom defeat is best, then Thy will be done! " Holland Takes Spain s Place. Even after the defeat of the Armada, Spain kept up her fight against Holland until Philip s death ; but it was a losing fight. During thirty years of continuous fighting, brave little Holland had held her own with the strongest nation of Europe; and her provinces had become the chief trading country of the world. The southern provinces, now known as Belgium, 346 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE had been brought to their knees by the great Spanish armies, but many of the leading citizens of Antwerp, Bruges, and Ghent had gone to Holland and helped to build up the great commerce of that country. Holland Free; Protestantism Spared. The people of Holland were, above all else, a sea-faring nation, and their trade grew marvelously. Their ships were on every sea. The Mediterranean, the White Sea, the East Indies, China, and the Amazon knew their trading vessels. When the fighting was ended in 1609, Holland was practically a free country, for Spain never renewed the attack. The Protestant religion was saved. The Moriscoes. When Ferdinand and Isabella drove out the Moors from Spain, a considerable number of them, who had accepted Christianity, were permitted to remain in the country. These Moriscoes were the most skillful laborers of Spain. While the Spaniards had come to despise honest labor and to look upon war as the only honorable occupation, the Moriscoes were busy manufacturing silk and paper, cultivating sugar, rice, and cotton, and raising sheep. The riches of Spain in those days came from two sources: from the labor of the Moriscoes, and from the mines of America. The Utter Ruin of Spain. The defeat of the Armada was a deathblow to Spanish leadership, but Philip s son has tened the ruin of his kingdom by another stupendous blunder. The Spaniards had always been suspicious of the Moriscoes faith, and powerful leaders of the Roman church in Spain now resolved to drive them from the country. Thus a million of the best workers and thinkers of Spain were exiled amid untold suffering and cruelty. The nation has never recovered from this severe blow. Madrid and Seville lost half of their population. The mines THE FALL OF SPAIN 347 of America were soon exhausted, and Spain was now fallen very low. Instead of being the leading world power, she had become a land of beggars. Her control of the sea, her world-wide commerce, her vast possessions gradually fell into other hands. QUESTIONS i. Give three reasons why Philip made war on England. 2. What preparations did he make ? 3. How was he hindered ? 4. How did he plan for his men to go to England ? 5. What hardships did they suffer? 6. How was the whole plan spoiled? 7. What did it mean to Spain ? 8. What did it mean to England ? CHAPTER XXXI THE FRENCH IN AMERICA Dividing the World. For almost fifty years after the voyages of Columbus the French nation took little interest in exploration, and during this time Spain and Portugal seized the newly found lands and the world s trade. Portu gal had taken possession of the route to the East by way of the Cape of Good Hope, while Spain claimed all lands discovered to the west and southwest. In order to prevent trouble between Portugal and Spain, the pope had divided between these powers all the new lands that might be dis covered. A line was drawn across the map from pole to pole, two hundred and seventy leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. All new lands discovered east of this line were to belong to Portugal ; those west of it to Spain. France Wants a Share. The king of France saw no good reason for allowing Spain and Portugal to divide the world between them. He began to wish for a share of these newly found lands, where mines of gold and silver, like those that the Spaniards had found in South America and Mexico, might be discovered. Moreover, no one had yet found a short route to China. Perhaps there might be a northwest passage ; and, if such were true, it would bring riches to whatever nation first took possession of it. Cartier. In 1534, a Frenchman, named Jacques Cartier, started in search of a northwest route to China. He steered for Newfoundland, which was then pretty well known in France through the hardy French fishermen who had made 348 THE FRENCH IN AMERICA 349 many voyages to these waters for codfish. After reaching America and exploring many bays and islands, Cartier at last entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which seemed to promise a passage to the western ocean. But as autumn, with its stormy weather, was approaching, Car- tier resolved to go home and return the next year. So he turned his prows eastward and bore away for France, carrying with him two Indians whom he had kid napped. A Second Trip. The next year, Cartier with three ships spread sail for Newfoundland, and on St. Lawrence s day entered the bay, which he named St. Lawrence, the long-sought passage. CARTIER. He fondly hoped that this was But the farther up he sailed the narrower he found the bay and the fresher the water, until he knew that it was only a great river. Montreal. Sailing up the St. Lawrence River, he passed by the rocky height where Quebec now stands, and came to an Indian village on the present site of Montreal. Be hind the village was a hill, high enough to give Cartier a splendid view of the surrounding country. He called the hill Mont Real, or the Royal Mountain. A Hard Winter. Winter came on with its extreme cold a real Canadian winter. The shores and the great river were frozen solid and covered with snow, which 350 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE drifted high about the ice-bound ships and the fort that the French had built. The Indians were friendly for a time, but the scurvy broke out among Carrier s men and many died. Sometimes, it is said, only three or four were well enough to care for the sick. Being unable to bury their dead on account of the frozen ground, they hid them in snowdrifts. They feared that the Indians might hear of their plight and massacre those that the scurvy had spared, so they refused them the privilege of approaching the fort. The Indian s Cure. One day Cartier saw an Indian who had just recovered from the scurvy. He inquired what medicine he had used. The Indian told him of a drink made from evergreen leaves. The Frenchmen drank it eagerly and were soon on the road to health. Headed for France. When spring came and the ships were thawed loose from their moorings, Cartier made ready to return to France. By shameless treachery he seized a chief and eleven Indians who seemed to know most of the country farther inland and spread his sails for home. Canada for France. Cartier came a third time. He spent some weeks exploring, but went home after planting the French flag in Canada and taking possession of New France, as he called it. It has been said that the only ad vantages the country offered were a " bitter climate, a savage people, a fatal disease, and a soil barren of gold." Profits in Fur Trade. The French fishermen, who had, for many summers, visited the banks of Newfoundland for codfish, soon saw greater riches in fur trade with the Indians. Many of them cast away their nets and journeyed through the deep forests in quest of the more profitable bear skins and beaver skins. The First Settlement. It was many years later, how ever, before the French undertook to make permanent THE FRENCH IN AMERICA 351 settlements in Canada. The fur trade had grown and become valuable. At last came one of the greatest and noblest Frenchmen of those times - Samuel de Champlain, who in 1608 made a settlement at Quebec, and became the founder of Canada. Champlain s Plans. Champlain wished to carve out a grand empire in America for the French king. His plan was to explore the coun try and to make friends with the Indians all the while building up a profitable trade with them. At the same time missionaries were to teach the red men and to lead them into the Catholic faith. Thus the fur trader and the black-robed Jesuit priest set out through the forests together. It was also part of "2-L , QUEBEC IN THE EARLY DAYS. Champlain s plan to establish strong military posts, or forts, at well-chosen places. Champlain and the Iroquois. In order to cement a firm friendship with the Algonquin Indians of the St. Lawrence 352 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE valley, Champlain agreed to help them in a war with their bitter enemies, the Iroquois. Near the banks of the beauti ful lake that bears his name, Champlain led his Indian friends in a battle against the Iroquois. The crack of the muskets as the French sharpshooters picked off their chiefs, frightened the Iroquois warriors. Being afraid to fight against men who used thunder and lightning, they fled to ward home. This battle established a firm friendship with the Algonquins, but it made the Iroquois, who were the strongest Indian confederacy in America, the everlasting enemies of the French. In after years they did great harm to the followers of Champlain, by cutting off their fur trade or by surprising and capturing their forts. The Iroquois, by preventing the French from pushing south into their country now the state of New York forced them west ward into the Great Lake region. La Salle s Gift to France. Following in the footsteps of the founder of Canada, came the man of the iron will, Cavelier de La Salle, who was to extend and complete the work begun by Champlain. La Salle, with his wonderful determination, explored the region of the western lakes and the great valley of the Mississippi, and planted there the French flag. Thus he gave to his king a vast empire stretching westward from the crest of the Alleghanies to the unknown Rockies. Making Friends of the Indians. One of the chief rea sons for the success of the French was their ability to win and to hold the good will of the Indians. No other Eu ropeans knew so well how to make firm allies of the red men. The French traders and trappers learned the Indian lan guage ; they dressed like Indians, often painting their faces and joining in their war dances. Some took Indian wives and came at last to live much as did these children of the THE FRENCH IN AMERICA 353 354 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE FRENCH EXPLORATIONS. THE FRENCH IN AMERICA 355 forest. They made long voyages in canoes and learned to endure the adventure and hardship of savage life. Weakness of the French. But while the French had won the friendship of many Indian tribes, and had taken possession of such a large territory in the fairest portion of North America, they had made but few settlements. Their chief object being the fur trade instead of a desire to settle and till the soil, they had spread themselves out thinly over wide regions. Being so scattered, they were widely exposed to attack, when the English crossed swords with them some years later. QUESTIONS i. What had aroused French interest in America? 2. What men explored for her? 3. What territory did they claim? 4. Settle ments? 5. How did they try to hold their territory? 6. What were their relations with the Indians? 7. What where their in dustries? 8. What was their religion? 9. How did their govern ment differ from that in the English colonies? 10. Which country has the strongest hold in America? n. Why? 12. From the standpoint of progress, which nation would make the most of America? 13. Why? CHAPTER XXXII THE DUTCH AT NEW AMSTERDAM Seizing the World s Trade. After the defeat of the Armada, England and Holland soon became the leading powers upon the sea. The Dutch ships spread their sails for the East Indies, and before many years they had seized upon Java, Sumatra, the Molucca Islands, and other valu able possessions of Portugal and Spain. All this rich trade fell into the hands of Holland. It was the Dutch who introduced into Europe the use of coffee and tea. They established a colony at the Cape of Good Hope ; they dis covered the far-off continent of Australia in 1605 and named it New Holland, a name that it bore for a long time. Tas mania and New Zealand were visited, and the Dutch flag was seen on every sea. A Northeast Route to China. The Dutch merchants were especially anxious to find a shorter route to China and Japan, since it took many months for their slow-sailing vessels to creep around Africa to those distant ports. Some people hoped that there might be found a northeast passage around the northern coast of Europe and Asia. The Dutch East Indian Company sent Henry Hudson, a noted English navigator, to find it for them. Henry Hudson. Hudson spread sail for the frozen north. He met with so many icebergs that he feared that his ship might be caught and crushed, so he gave up the attempt. Instead of returning home, as he was ordered to do in case he failed, Hudson turned his prows for the 356 THE DUTCH AT NEW AMSTERDAM 357 west and crossed the Atlantic in search of a northwest route to China. He sailed down along the coast of New England, and in September, 1609, the Half Moon entered the beautiful river that bears his name. He sailed up the Hudson as far as the present site of Albany, trading with the Indians and admiring the scenery of the country. He declared that it was " as fair a land as was ever trodden by the foot of man." New Amster dam Settled. - During the next few years, other Dutch vessels came to the Hudson, bring ing blue glass beads and strips of red cotton cloth to exchange for the valuable skins of beaver, otter, and mink. By 1613 the Dutch had built four rude huts on Manhattan Island, where the great city of New York now stands. It mattered not to the thrifty Dutch merchants that they were settling upon land claimed by England. They named the cluster of huts New Amsterdam; they THE Half Moon ON THE HUDSON. 358 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE built forts to protect their new country ; and they made a treaty of friendship with the Iroquois, who were glad of the chance to buy muskets with which to take vengeance upon the French for the defeat at Lake Champlain a few years before. Thus the Dutch had seized upon the finest harbor on the eastern coast and the gateway into the THE DUTCH IN NEW AMSTERDAM. interior, since the Hudson furnished an easy passage for inland traffic in furs. Helping to Build Our Nation. The Dutch were close kin of the Angles and Saxons and were, perhaps, the purest Teutonic stock among the early settlers of America. The Dutch were industrious and thrifty. They were shrewd in money matters and skilled in driving bargains. Their city quickly took the lead in trade and wealth in America, and it has held the first place to this day. They brought to America that love of liberty and freedom of worship THE DUTCH AT NEW AMSTERDAM 359 that they had gained in Holland. Thousands of this sturdy people came early to our shores, and they have helped greatly in making our country what it is to-day. QUESTIONS i. What becomes of Spam s possessions in the East after the de feat of the Armada? 2. What new routes to the East did Holland explore? 3. What was the result? 4. Tell about Hudson s voyage. 5. Tell about New Amsterdam. 6. What ideas of govern ment and religion did the Dutch bring to New Amsterdam ? 7. How did the Dutch differ from the English in these matters ? CHAPTER XXXIII THE ENGLISH SETTLEMENT OF AMERICA Frobisher and the Short-cut to China. So anxious were the nations of Europe to find a short route to China that English sailors also entered into the search. Among those who set out to find a northwest passage through North America was Martin Frobisher. The man who found this short-cut, Frobisher thought, would become both rich and famous, for he believed it was the only great thing in the world left to do. His Voyage. Frobisher was too poor to fit out an expe dition himself, and it was a long time before he could find a wealthy or powerful friend to aid him. At last the friend was found ; and as Frobisher sailed down the Thames with three little ships (1576), Queen Elizabeth waved a friendly farewell. One of the vessels went down in a storm at sea, while the crew of another became frightened and turned their prows toward home. But Frobisher sailed fearlessly on. He landed somewhere north of Labrador, and took possession of the country for Elizabeth. In spite of his perseverance, Frobisher failed to find the passage to China. He carried home an Indian and some worthless stones which he believed to contain gold ; but his voyage was a failure. Drake Sailing Around the World. Meanwhile Francis Drake (1577-1580) sailed around the end of South America and up along the west coast, plundering Spanish settle ments and taking their ships laden with immense treasures 360 THE ENGLISH SETTLEMENT OF AMERICA 361 of gold and silver ore. Drake explored the west coast of what is now the United States as far as Oregon, and sailed for home by way of Asia and the Indian Ocean. Such voyages fired men s minds with dreams of gold and boundless plunder, but they did not encourage any one to settle and build up trading colonies in America. Trying to Found a Colony. Sir Humphrey Gilbert and his half brother, Sir Walter Raleigh, made up their minds to plant an Eng lish colony in America. They believed that col onies would pay better than the aimless search ing for gold, for they would open up trade with the Indians, and develop agriculture in America; and above all, the colo nies would be a fine mar ket for English goods. So they obtained from Elizabeth a grant of land, and the right for their T , , A ir SIR WALTER RALEIGH. colony to rule itself. With a fleet, fitted out largely at their own expense, they set out for the New World. One ship was lost at sea. After fighting a battle with the Spaniards they returned to England without success. A second attempt also failed, and Sir Humphrey s tiny ship went down at sea. Raleigh s Lost Colony. Sir Walter Raleigh, who had not sailed on the second trip, had now risen to great favor with Queen Elizabeth. He was not the man to give up easily, and his heart was set upon planting a colony in 362 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE America. At great expense, he sent several expeditions to found a settlement. A little company of about a hun dred men and women was landed on Roanoke Island on the coast of what we now call North Carolina. The colony was short of food, and soon were forced to send their only ship home to England, hoping for a speedy return. But THE LOST COLONY. these were the days of the Armada, and all the strength and effort of Englishmen were being put forth to sink the great Spanish fleet. Thus the little colony was neglected, and when a few years later a tardy ship came to Roanoke, with food and supplies, the settlers had disappeared. What became of them nobody knows. Pointing the Way. Sir Walter had now spent a fortune of nearly a million dollars, trying to start an English nation THE ENGLISH SETTLEMENT OF AMERICA 363 in America, and had failed. He concluded that the cost of such an undertaking was greater than one man could bear. So he turned his charter over to a trading company of London merchants. Raleigh had failed, but he had pointed out the way and had shown what the difficulties were. Now that the Spaniards were driven from the sea, and supplies could be safely sent from home, the way was clear to plant English colonies in the New World and to protect them there. The London Company. The London Company fitted out a little fleet, under Captain New port, and started it for Virginia, bearing about a hundred colo nists (1606). The voyage was a long one, and their provisions were nearly used up before they arrived. There was trouble among the men; and before America was reached, they had arrested and bound in chains a certain John Smith, who later proved to be the wisest of them all. Jamestown Founded. The ships entered Chesapeake bay and sailed up a river, which they named the James in honor of the King. After fighting with one Indian tribe and smoking the pipe of peace with another, the company landed and decided to build their settlement upon a penin sula, which they called Jamestown, about fifty miles up the river. The Outlook Dark. The site for their settlement was not wisely chosen, for it was low and swampy and might breed disease. However, axes were soon busy felling forest JOHN SMITH. 364 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE trees to build homes and a fort. But the workers were few. There were only four carpenters and twelve laborers, while half of the entire company were " gentlemen " who were unused to work and who expected to fill their pockets THE RUINS OF JAMESTOWN. with gold quickly and return to England. The ship soon sailed back home, leaving the colony short of supplies. John Smith saved the settlers from starving by making a rule that he who would not work should not eat. The colony became the first permanent English settlement in America. QUESTIONS i. Tell about Frobisher s voyage and its results. 2. Who was Drake and what great voyage did he make? 3. Tell about Sir Humphrey Gilbert. 4. What was the "Lost Colony"? 5. Why was it lost ? 6. Who was John Smith and what did he accomplish ? 7. What do you think would have happened to the Jamestown colony without Smith ? CHAPTER XXXIV CONCLUSION Spain s Outlook in AmeTica. The Spanish were earliest upon our shores, but they wasted their time and resources in wild searches for gold, until they lost control of the sea. They did not know the importance of honest labor, nor did they appreciate the value of thinking men in politics or re ligion. They made a mistake in denying liberty of thought to their people. Every prosperous nation must have workers and thinkers, but Spain had neither. The Spanish rulers and nobles claimed to have Teutonic blood in their veins, but they had lost the spirit of liberty and all other virtues of the Teutons. Since they misunderstood their own people and misgoverned their own country, it is no wonder they failed in the struggle for possession of America. The French as Builders. The French had seized the two gateways to North America by taking hold of the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi. They held the best por tions of the continent, and had secured the friendship of all the Indian tribes save the Iroquois. But they had scattered widely in search of furs instead of settling down to industrious labor and home-making. Since they were gov erned at home by an absolute king, the colonists had no freedom or voice in their laws. The governors of Canada were chosen in Paris, and there, too, the laws were made ; so there was no inducement for men of strong mind and heart to settle in Canada. France, like Spain, robbed herself of her best workers and thinkers, when the king persecuted and drove away the Huguenots. 365 366 DAWN OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN EUROPE The French have much more of the Teutonic blood than the Spaniards, but at the time of settling America, they had strayed far from the spirit of their Teutonic forefathers. They put up a stout fight for the possession of our country, but we shall see them fail before the English, who were best fitted to build up a great nation in America. The Dutch Prefer English Liberty. The Dutch at New Amsterdam became dissatisfied with the liberties allowed them. They saw the people of New England en joying great freedom and shaping their own affairs; and when the opportunity came, the Dutch were glad to be come an English colony, and New Amsterdam was renamed New York. The Coming of the English. The English were late in getting a foothold upon our shores. The French had seized upon the St. Lawrence, the Great Lake region, and the vast Mississippi valley. The Spanish were intrenched in Florida. Thus the English were confined to the narrow Atlantic coast plains. The English knew best how to plant colonies, so it was not long before their settlements were scattered along the coast from Maine to Florida. It was fortunate that they were hemmed in as they were, for they settled more thickly and became strong and self- reliant. They were not drawn away from tilling the soil by trailing through the forests for furs, as did the French, nor by searching for gold, like the Spanish. In order to clear the forests and raise crops, the English drove away the Indians. They brought with them their wives and families, for they meant to build permanent homes here. They brought also their ideas of freedom, of having a voice in their own affairs, and of choosing their own religion. Thus the English were laying a good foundation for a free, happy, and prosperous colonial empire. America was CONCLUSION 367 destined for the nation who knew best how to settle the wilderness, to build it up, and to rule over it; and that nation proved to be the Anglo-Saxons. QUESTIONS Review i. Locate the territory claimed by Spain, England, France, Holland. 2. Locate the settlements made by Spain, England, France, Holland. 3. Tell about the government in the settlements of Spain, England, France, Holland. 4. Tell about the religion in the settlements of Spain, England, France, Holland. 5. Why will Spain fail to get control of all North America? 6. Why will France fail? 7. Why will England become the controlling nation over here? 8. Then what ideas of government will become established? 9. What will keep America from ever becoming really a part of England ? 10. What will be the government of America ? 1 1 . Trace the Teutonic characteristics in America. 12. Show how it is a land for all people. INDEX Abbey, 89, 90, 91. Abbot, 88. Acre, 213. ,Etius, 98, 99. Africa, 271, 278. Alaric, 62-66. Alexandria, 44. Alexis, Emperor, 205. Alfred, the Great, 123-132. Alps, Hannibal crosses, 23. Alva, Duke of, 321-329. America, 2, 301 ; discovery of, 292. Americus Vespuccius, 298, 299. Amsterdam, New, 356. Angles, 101-115. Anglo-Saxon, 109, 116-132. Antioch, 212, 213. Appian Way, 72, 73. Apprentice, 180. Aqueducts, 45. Arabia, 226. Arabic numerals, 196, 197. Arabs, 188-199, 202. Aragon, 258-263. Arches, Roman, 36, 41. Arena, 47, 48. Armada, The Invincible, 341-345. Asia Minor, 27. Athens, 44, 57, 58. Augustine, 108. Augustine, St., 317. Augustus, Caesar, 3, 27. Australia, 2. Austria, 27. Azores, 276. Bacon, Roger, 226. Bahamas, 293. Balboa, 309, 310. Baltic Sea, 5, 11-12. Banquets, 155-156. Barbarians, German, i, 80. Barbarossa, Frederick, 222. Baths, Roman, 44. Beggars of the Sea, 329, 330, 334. 2B Belgium, 136, 345, 346. Benedict, St., 87, 88. Bertha, Queen, 108. Bishop, Roman, 79-81. Block books, 323, 324. Books, ancient (manuscript), Roman, 42, 92, 93- Borneo, 268. Brazil, 299. Brill, 334- Britons, 26. Bulgaria, 208. Burgundians, 70, 77. Cabot, John, 297, 298. Cabot, Sebastian, 297, 298. Caesar, Julius, 5, 26, 27. Caesar Augustus, 2, 27. Calicut, 226, 268. California, 281. Califs, 191. Canary Islands, 276, 287, 288. Canterbury, 122, 225. Cape of Good Hope, 277, 283, 284, 305. Capetian, 232. Cape Verde Islands, 283. Carthage, 21-23. Cartier Jacques, 348-350. Castile, 258-263. Castles, 147-161. Cathay (China), 225, 226, 264, 266, 275, 35- Catholic Church, 318-327. Charlemagne, 135-138. Charles the Fat, 94. China (Cathay), 225, 226, 264, 266, 275, 305- Chippenham, 127. Chivalry, 161. Christianity, 34; persecution of, 34-36. Church, Christian, 66, 77~8o. Cicero, 52. Cipango, see Japan. Circus. The Great, 46. City of Seven Hills (Rome), 21. 369 370 INDEX Clergy, 230. Clerics, 172. Clermont, Council of, 205. Clovis, 134, 135. Coliseum, 48, 49. Columbus, Bartholomew, 2, 278-283 284. Columbus, Christopher, 278-296. Combat, 160. Commerce, 94, 166, 174-186; British 102; with East, 265. Compass, 225, 273, 289, 290. Conrad III, Emperor, 221. Constantine, 36, 37, 59, 60. Constantinople, 59, 60, 66, 200. Cordova, 193-195, 253, 283, 284. Cortes, 257. Cortez, Hernando, 307-309. Council of Blood, 332. Crafts, 179. Criminals, 171. Crossbow, 226. Crusades, 154, 201-231. Da Gama, Vasco, 295, 296, 299, 300. Danegeld, 244. Danes, 94, 116-132. Danube River, 28, 58, 60. Dark Ages, 75, 144. Denmark, 103. De Soto, Ferdinand, 314-316. Diaz, Bartholomew, 277. Domesday Book, 244. Donjon, 149. Drake, Sir Francis, 360, 361. Dutch, i. Edward the Saint (Confessor), 240. Egypt, 27, 192, 269. Elizabeth, Queen, 340, 360, 361. Emperor, Roman, 77. England, 271, 297. Erasmus, 322-323. Euphrates River, 24, 28. Fairs, 185, 186. Falcon, 158. Farming, German, 9 ; in Middle Ages, 165, 166. Ferdinand, King, 258-263, 283-286. Feud, Blood, 83. Feudalism, 139-145, 242. Fief, 141. Fines, 83, 84. Florida, 314. Folkmoot, 120. France, 27, 136, 232-238. Franks, 134-138. French language, 82, 83. Frobisher, Martin, 340, 358-360. Gaiseric, 68. Gama, Vasco da, 295, 296, 299, 300. Gaul, 26, 70. Gauls, 135. Genoa, 265, 279, 295. Gibbon, the historian, 34. Gibraltar, 68. Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 46-49. Godfrey at Jerusalem, 211-223. Gold Coast, 276. Good Hope, Cape of, 277, 283, 284, 305- Goths, 53, 57-75, 77, 135, iQ3, 222; accept Christianity, 59. Granada, 260-263, 286. Great Charter, 247, 248. Greece, 24, 27, 62. Greek, art, 24, 191-192; language, 44, 74, 322, 323. Gregory, 107. Guilds, 179-184. Guinea, Gulf of, 276, 280, 281. Gunpowder, 161, 226. Gutenberg, John, 324. Guthrum, 127, 128. Hannibal, 22-23. Harlem, 335. Harold, King of England, 240. Hastings, Battle of, 241. Hawking, 156-158. Hawkins, Sir John, 340. Hengist and Horsa, 101. Henry II of England, 234. Henry VII of England, 297. Henry, Prince, the Navigator, 271-279. Heretics, 259, 323. loliday, 46, 47. lolland, 346. loly Land, 154. INDEX 371 House of Commons, 251. House of Lords, 251. Howard, Lord, 343~345- Hudson, Henry, 356-358. Huns, 57. Inca, 312-314. Indian Ocean, 267. Indians, American, 2. Inquisition, Spanish, 259-260, 323. Iron, 7. Isabella, Queen, 257-263, 283-286. Italian language, 82, 83. Italy, 27. Jackstaff, 273. Japan, 264, 275. Jerusalem, 154, 191, 201. Jesuits, 327, 351. Jews, 193. John, King of England, 234. John, King of Portugal, 277, 282, 283 Joppa, 213. Jury, Trial by, 247. Jutes, 102. King, power of, 229, 230. Knights, 152-161, 206-231. Koran, 189, 190. Labrador, 297. La Salle, 352-355- Latin language, 74, 81, 82. Latitude, 273. Law, Barbarian, 83, 84; Roman, 85; Teutonic, 84. Leo III, Pope, 136, 137. Leyden, 335, 338. Lisbon, 279, 294. Lombards, 70, 77. London, 104, 128, 295; Company, 363. Louis the Fighter, 233, 234. Louis VII of France, 221. Luther, Martin, 325, 326. Magellan, Ferdinand, 300-305; Straits of, 302. Magna Carta (Great Charter), 247, 248. Manendez, Pedro, 316, 317. Manor, 163. Manuscript books (ancient), 92, 93. Marco Polo, 226, 264-269, 275. Mark, 7. Markets, 185, 186. Master workmen, 180. Mecca, 188-191. Mediterranean, 21, 58, 224. Merchants of the Middle Ages, 183-186. Mexico, 282, 308, 309. Migration. German, 9. Mississippi River, 316. Model Parliament, 250. Mohammed, 187-190. Mohammedans, 188-199. Moluccas (Spice Islands), 268, 275, 305. Monasteries, 87-97, 109, 122. Money, 176- 177. Monks, 87-97. Montezuma, King of the Aztecs, 3o8 s 300- Montreal, 349, 350. Moors, 188-199, 222, 253-263. Moriscoes, 346. Mosaics, 68. Mosul, 226. Mount of Olives, 214, 217. Nero, 36, 49, 54. Nerthus, 11-12. Netherlands, 136, 329-347. Newfoundland, 297. New France, 350. New Testament, 109. Nicea, 210, 212. Noble, 141-145. Normandy, 233, 239. Northmen (Vikings), 94, 139, 140, 232, North Star, 273. Norway, i. Nunneries, 87. Odin, n, 66, 99, 106, 108. Omar, 191. Orinoco River, 295. Pacific Ocean, 310. Page, training of a, 150. Palos, 284, 287, 294. Panama, 311. Papyrus, 42. Paris, 232, 295. Parliament, 251. Peking, 297. Perez, 284. Persia, 226. Persian gulf, 269, 372 INDEX Peru, 312-314. Peter the Hermit, 203-210. Petrarch, 321, 322. Philip Augustus, 234. Philip II of France, 222. Philip II of Spain, 329-347. Picts, 98. Pilgrims, 201-205. Pizarro, 310-314. Polo, Marco, 226, 264-269, 275. Pompey, 25-26. Ponce de Leon, 313, 314. Pope, the Bishop of Rome, 318325. Portugal, 279. Portuguese, 82, 83, 271278. Printing, invention of, 324. Protestantism, 318-327. Pyrenees, 193. Quebec, 351- Raleigh, Sir Walter, 361-363. Red Sea, 269. Revival of Learning, 322-327. Rhine River, 3, 28, 67, 70. Richard the Lion-hearted, 222. Roads, Roman, 29. Robber barons, 175. Roderick, 253. Rolf (Rollo), 239. Roman, amphitheaters, 46-50; archi tecture, 39-41 ; art, 39-41 ; books, 42 ; cities, 32-34; commerce, 32; educa tion, 43; irrigation, 32; law, 85, 237; learning, 39-41 ; monuments, 41 ; mosaics, 40, 41 ; roads, 29 ; wall, 28, 29. Romans, 2. Rome, 3, 4, 21-37, 44 J becomes Chris tian, 36, 37 ; fall of, 62-75. Sahara, 28, 264. St. Augustine, 317. St. Benedict, 87, 88. St. Louis, King of France, 233, 234. St. Peter s, 136. Sanitation in Middle Ages, 170, 171. Saracens, 201-231. Sargasso Sea, 290. Saxons (English), 98-115, 135, 136. Schools, Monastic, 92; moorish, 196. Scotland, 271. Scots, 98. Sea, Black, 58; Mediterranean, 21, 58, 224; North, 99; of Darkness, 264, 269, 288. Serfs (villains), 112, 172, 230. Seville, 284. Ships, Roman, 21-22; Carthaginian, 21-22. Simon, Bishop of Jerusalem, 203. Simon de Montfort, 249, 250. Slaves, Teutons, 66; trade, 167; Ger man, 6; Roman, 45, 50-52. Smith, John, 363, 364. Soldiers, German, 52, 53. South Africa, 2. Spain, 27, 67, 253 263; language, 82, 83- Spaniards in America, 306-317. Spice Islands (Moluccas), 268, 275, 305. Squire, training of, 150, 151. Stilicho, 64. Suevi, 70. Sumatra, 267. Sweden, i. Switzerland, 27. Sylvester, Pope, 320. Syria, 27, 213, 226. Taxes, Roman, 54 ; monastic, 96. Teutons, 1-19, 76, 136; language, 324, Thames River, 126, 127. Third estate, 229. Thor, 1 06, 1 08. Tiber River, 21, 72. Tolls, 141, 175, 176. Toscanelli, 281, 288. Totilo, 94. Tournament, 158. Towns in the Middle Ages, 177. Truce of God, 145. Turkey, 27. Turks, 201-231. Tyre, 213. Urban II, Pope, 203-207. Varus, 3. Vandals, 68-70. Van der Werf, 337. Vassals, 141-145. Vatican, 319. Venice, 265, 267, 268. Vespuccius, Americus, 298, 299. INDEX 373 Vikings (Northmen), 94, 116-132. Villains (serfs), 112, 172, 230. Villas, Roman, 70, 106. Vortigern, 200. Walter the Penniless, 208-211. Wedmore, Treaty of, 127. Welsh, 103. Wessex, 114, 122. West Indies, 281. William the Conqueror, 239-245. William the Silent, Prince of Orange 332-338. Witan, 114. Yoke of Rome, 3, Printed in the United States of America. 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED EDUCATION-PSYCHOLOGY LIBRARY This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. FEQ General Library University of California Berkeley - x r-^ 5 Bo < i UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY