PEPIN AND THE DO-NOTHING KINGS

Charles Martel did one good deed in overcoming the Mohammedans. He did another in bringing up his two sons so well that when the kingdom was left in their hands, they did not fight over it in a struggle for each to get the whole for himself, but worked together to do their best for the country. Before many years had passed, however, one of the sons became tired of ruling and entered a convent, leaving the possessions of both under the rule of his brother Pepin.

Pepin was a strong man, but of less than medium height, and people called him Pepin the Short. There was enough of him to make a king, but for some years he seemed to feel, like the rest of the Franks, that a people must have a Merovingian king, even if he did nothing but eat and drink and sit on a throne. Pepin discovered somewhere one of the royal family who seems to have been overlooked in spite of his long hair, and made a figurehead of him. Charles Martel had not been so careful of the prejudices of the Franks. _His_ Merovingian had died or entered a convent, and Charles had never troubled himself to search for another, but had gone on ruling without one.

Pepin had a good deal of common sense, and after he had ruled for a few years with the Merovingian sitting on the throne and saying whatever he was told to say, he sent a messenger to the Pope to ask, “Who has the better right to be called king, the man who has the title or the man who rules?” “It is better that the man who rules should have the royal title,” the Pope replied.

This settled the question as far as the monks and the clergy were concerned, but the masses of the people were still to be reckoned with. Pepin knew well that they would not be won by any reasoning, but by some showy feat of strength and fearlessness. It was a common and most cruel amusement to have fights between wild beasts or between beasts and men in great arenas, and one day when thousands watching a lion attack a bull, Pepin waited until both were in a mad fury and the lion was getting the better of it; then, while people were watching in breathless silence, he rose and cried, “Which one among you dares to go and save that bull?” No one cared to try. Pepin waited a moment, then he himself leaped down into the arena, drew his sword, and, if we may trust the old story, cut off the lion’s head at one blow. “Am I not worthy to be your king?” he demanded; and the people shouted: “Pepin! Pepin! He is worthy! King Pepin!” In the face of such a feat as this, the people had forgotten their old feeling that, no matter who ruled, a descendant of Meroveus must sit on the throne. The Frankish warriors raised Pepin on a shield, and the archbishop anointed him with the holy oil and placed the crown upon his head. The Franks were used to obeying Pepin’s commands and following him in battle, and all went on as usual, no one caring in the least when the last of the long-haired Merovingians was taken away to a convent to spend the rest of his days.

The Pope had stood by Pepin, and now was the time to return the favor. The Lombards, a German people, had fought their way into northern Italy, had made settlements there, and were threatening to attack Rome. Stephen, who was now Pope, was too wise a man to be satisfied with sending a letter to Pepin. He was particularly anxious to win, not only the help, but the lasting friendship, of the king, and he crossed the Alps and journeyed to Paris. Pepin wished to do him all honor, for he, too, had a favor to ask; and he sent his son Charles, a manly young prince of twelve years, to represent him and give the Pope a cordial and brilliant reception.

Pope Stephen spent the winter at Saint Denis, winning friends wherever he went. Pepin promised to make an expedition against the Lombards, and the Pope promised to crown him a second time, for Pepin felt that his hold upon the throne would be stronger if the Pope himself had laid the crown upon his head. This the Pope did, in the cathedral at Rheims. He did it with generous thoroughness, for he anointed not only Pepin, but his two sons, Charles and his younger brother. He also gave Pepin the title of “Patrician of Rome.”

Pepin now kept his part of the bargain, for he and his warriors went straight to Italy. “I demand that you evacuate the towns that you have seized,” he declared, “and agree to leave Rome untouched.” This the Lombards had no idea of doing, and now Pepin and his Franks came down upon them, overpowered them, and shut them up in Pavia. They were soon ready to promise anything and everything, and Pepin went home. Pope Stephen did not believe that the Lombards would keep their word, but how to get Pepin back was the question. He concluded to send an appeal from higher authority, and he sent a letter to the king purporting to have been written by Saint Peter himself, and promising Pepin that if he would come at once to the rescue of the Church, he should conquer his own enemies all the rest of his life and should be sure of the joys of heaven.

After hearing this letter, the Franks were wildly eager to return to Italy. They overcame the Lombards and again shut them up in Pavia. This time the Lombards were thoroughly subdued. They had taken a number of walled towns, and these Pepin had recaptured. He now made Pope Stephen a present, namely, the keys of the gates of all these cities. This was the beginning of the owning of territory by the Popes.

Under Charles Martel Europe was saved from the Mohammedans. Under Pepin, the power of the Church was greatly strengthened. The rule of these two men lasted only a little more than half a century, but in this time they accomplished more than the whole line of the Do-Nothing kings.