The Truce of God / A Tale of the Eleventh Century

to g

ive. O natio

led tyrant, b

see thy wholes

CB

s horse, and, accompanied by Father Omehr, set out for the Cas

lt all the exhilaration of returning strength

to tremble at the gloomy period before us. We are upon the eve of a tremendous struggle. You may not be aware of it, for you are unaccustomed to watch events which gover

rt, "has imputed to His Ho

oved, with the face of an Angel, neither imploring mercy nor attempting an ineffectual resistance-cannot be accused of a want of firmness. The matchless benevolence-the heart which melts at the first sympto

abia pays so heavy a tribute? I wish that when his infant majesty f

ou have no conception, and a Christian forgivene

who has loaded with insult a princess al

d blush to commit a crime he would punish in another; and that, unless he renounced his iniquitous project, he would incur the denunciation of the Church and the severity of the holy canons.' The result was the reconcilement of Henry with Bertha, in Saxony. And though Alexander was Pope, Peter received his instructions from Hildebrand. But there is a wide difference between your hostility to

severity against Henry IV of Austria, it is certain that, in his own day, he was charged by many of his own friends, particularly, in Saxony and Suabia, with too tender a regard for a monarch who violated his most solemn engagements the moment he fancied he could do so with impunity, and whose court, already openly profligate, threatened to present the app

e the first opportunity of sending legates to Henry, to acquaint the king with his views. But, while proferring his love, he declared that, if Henry should venture to offer God insult instead of honor, he would not fail in his duty to the Divine Head of

s to render the Church completely depend upon the State, and to change and corrupt its very source with the varying vices of libertine despots. It was found (and how could it be otherwise?) that the protégés of the emperor studied only how to please him; and that, in serving the State and the prince, they became indifferent to the Church. Selected to serve a particular purpose, or chosen in consideration of a va

submission and the fairest promises. He confesses, not only to have meddled in ecclesiastical matters, but to have unjustly stripped churches of their pastors-to have sold them t

It was in this year that Henry, already pressed by the Saxons and Thuringians, found himself threatened by Salomon, Ki

ve victory at Hohenburg. But once in security and crowned with success, the graceless monarch forgets his submission, and exclaims, "It does not befit a hero, who has vanquished a warlike people, struggling in defence of what they hold most sacred, to bow humbly down before a priest, whose only weapon is his tongue!" Faithless to his recorded

ecration of Hidolphe in the archbishopric of Cologne, that Fat

ion of impending evils, to the miserable feud actuall

on just pronounced by his companion. "I could willingly forgive all the injuries

was gazing with an abstracted air upon the blue outline of the bea

t were far better to forgive them when you remember the prayer of your dying Jesus fo

id he return the glance of his frie

d to the Lady Margaret my deep sense of the interest she deigned to display in my regard, and which I fear h

ut he saw with pain and uneasiness the direction which the arden

e a natural repugnance to yourself. She would rather miss than receive any return you can make, and is always more inclined to set a

foot of a long, high hill, which they began to ascend in silence. Gilbert presse

ed the mercurial stripling; "and what is there

r the tall hill that it so elegantly crowned. It was situated upon the border of the lake, which, by trouvère and troubadour, in song and in verse, in every age and in every clime, has been so justly celebrated. A few miles to the southwest the mighty Rhine came tumbl

is father, and hastened to meet him. Their meeting was manly and cordial. The baron stopped but to embrace his son

"but for your kindness; and you know t

n's eyes expressed mo

retion, and not applaud me!" Thus saved from a formal and unsatisfactory c

elegance. It had been dedicated to Mary the Morning Star, as appeared from a statue of the Blessed Virgin surmounted with a star, and was called the Pilgrim's Chapel. It was in charge of Herman, a priest, who had studied at Monte Cassino under the Benedictines, with Father Omehr, whom he loved as a brother. They had spent their period of training and had been ordained together; and, for forty years they had labored in the same v

r missionary entered through the sacristy and knelt beside him. The little chapel was very beautiful, with its branching pillars, supporting clusters of Angels carved in stone. The images of the Saints served to awaken many fine emotions-and the principal statue of Our Lady, which the artist had designed to represent the immaculate purity of the Mother of God-gave

gave way to the impulse of human love, which

rest-compared the condition of their flocks-and wandered back to Naples and Monte Cassino. The introduction of this last subject seemed to remind Herman of something he had forgotten; for he started up and went to a shelf, wh

ictine monk," he said, when Father Omehr had finishe

has wri

pt was discovered in his cell. What is more remarkable is that the monk was distinguished f

ved by that beautiful effusion of Catholic piety, seemed not

what tenderness! what love! You certainly must feel it

perceive that I am dist

lf to say until now-An

ho celebrates his virtues, he sat with the haughtiness of the lion; in the hut of the peasant, he stood with the humility of a lamb. So obnoxious was he to the king, that Henry at one time assaulted him sword in hand; and he was only saved from death by the interposition of a monk. Alone, h

Herman, after a pause, "in taking him

s body, and the celestial visions and brilliant apparitions that delight

he widow and the orphan, and whose soul is in the hand of God!"

s the reply; "nor yet fo

y paused, unable to pro

e his successor? Who is

enry of

er, who not until this moment clearly

not scruple to dishonor the see of Cologne! But let us pra

his polished address, and saluted them with even more than his usual politeness as they entered the dining-room. He was the only one of the group

t, for he will no longer let me abuse my friends at Stramen, but sides with them agains

sed his wound, must be blame

ack as night, and as quickly recovered its former mildness; but

t the young lady possesses much virtue, intelligence, and be

ealth is so feeble, that the grave will p

of the death of the Archbishop of Cologne, and from that time until they r

s of the lake. The noble sheet of water stretched away to the south far as

tation which the best man cannot expect-and, indeed, woul

e-and, on the mother's, from the illustrious family of Otto the Great. He was styled King of Arles, and resided for the most part at Zurich. He was connected with Henry of Austria by a double tie, Matilda, his first wife, having been the sister of the king, and Adelaide, to whom he was then married, being the sister of the queen. But, though thus allied to Henry, he neither loved nor respected him. Once, indeed, the emperor had summoned him to court, on the charge of entertaining projects hostile to the house of Franconia, but Rodolph, well knowing the treacherous character of the monarch, and always a hero, boldly refused, preferring the fortune of arms to the fate of an investigation. Subsequently, filled with horror at the impiety of the Saxons in burning the Cathedral at Hartzburg, hallowed by numerous relics, and filled with the rich offerings of

to accompany him the preceding year in the expedition against Saxony. This refusal had been dictated by the knight's invincible rep

ordially embraced the Lord of Hers, and extended his regards to

d to the youth, "you would now be a knigh

t upon which they knelt had been worked with many a rich and curious device; but time and the knees of the faithful had

... feci ... du

he drew from under his robe a golden chalice, and gave it to Herman,

laimed Rodolph, as he approached the castle g

e simple floor of a chapel," said Father Omehr. "I wis

en him the walls, the pillars, the windows, and the roof, and a

nce. They mounted a heavy flight of stairs, and, traversing an arched gallery, were ushered into the principal hall. This large room was hung with solemn tapestry, reaching from the ceiling to the floor. The characteristic piety of these ages displayed itself in the beautiful r

ould crumble over their posterity; but looked to the wants of future generations. And, then, there was a reliance upon posterity which is neither felt nor warranted now. Thus, in the minor Church of the Nativity in the lordship of Stramen, which had been designed by Father Omehr, and which had exhausted the revenues of the barony, the missionary had conceived it upon a scale to

chairs of state; but yielding a graceful respect to the aged prie

aron, as an attendant entered with some wine-cups-"and I beg you

uth, and replied, as he raised it to hi

n, "to have seen you outstripping all the chivalry

for the thrust at my face, which made me see more s

t Henry; and I was loth to b

ensive, and they broke it b

without strengthening the power of

the duke; "but you judged ari

replied the baron, "I c

f the Church of God, and you, Albert of Hers, that Henry

ir feet, while their looks expressed their horror and su

hness inform u

e purification of Milan, Firmano, and Spoleto, and has thus replied to the threat of excommunication. The nominee is Hidolph, who is attached to his own chapel, a ma

Father Omehr. "Is h

e, and the people of Cologne are imploring

confirm the nominati

ra

His Holiness?"

the missionary prono

munica

Duke of Bohemia: and he has liberated Otto of Nordheim, my adversary at Hohenburg, and received him into his most secret councils. It must come, my friend," he

ted features of the hero of Hohenburg that the impending excommunication would be the signal for a revolt. He rose, and, exchan

the duke, "if you will delay

rder the best horse for the duke, and to see that his venerable benefactor should want nothing to carry him safely over the interveni