under the sway of the Northmen became for the first time a truly European state. The Northmen and the Roman Having penetrated the wilds of Russia, it was comparatively easy for the Northmen to sail down the Russian rivers to the Black Sea and thence to Constantinople. Some of them went as raiders and several times devastated the neighborhood of Constantinople, until bought off by the payment of tribute. Many the East Northmen also joined the bodyguard of the eastern emperor and saw service under his standard in different parts of the Mediterranean. Empire in Christianity in Russia, 988 A.D. During the reign of Vladimir, a descendant of Ruric, the Christian religion gained its first foothold in Russia. We are told that Vladimir, having made up his mind to embrace a new faith, sent commissioners to Rome and Constantinople, and also to the adherents of Islam and Judaism. His envoys reported in favor of the Greek Church, for their barbarian imagination had been so impressed by the majesty of the ceremonies performed in Sancta Sophia that "they did not know whether they were on earth or in heaven." Vladimir accepted their report, ordered the idols of Kiev to be thrown into the Dnieper, and had himself and his people baptized according to the rites of the Greek Church. At the same time he married a sister of the reigning emperor at Constantinople. Importance version of Russia Vladimir's decision to adopt the Greek form of Christianity is justly regarded as one of the formative influences in Russian history. It meant that the Slavs were to come under the religious influence of Constantinople, of the coninstead of under that of Rome. Furthermore, it meant that Byzantine civilization, then incomparably superior to the rude culture of the western peoples, would henceforth gain an entrance into Russia. The country profited by this rich civilization and during the early part of the Middle Ages took a foremost place in Europe. 1 See page 335. Charlemagne and the Northmen 143. Normandy and the Normans No part of western Europe suffered more severely from the Northmen than France. They first appeared on the French coast toward the end of Charlemagne's reign. A well-known legend relates that the emperor, from the window of his palace, once saw the dark sails of the Vikings and wept at the thought of the misery which these daring pirates would some day inflict upon his realm. The Northmen in France After Charlemagne's death the wars of his grandsons left the empire defenseless, and the Northmen in consequence redoubled their attacks. They sailed far up the Seine, the Loire, and the Garonne to plunder and murder. Paris, then a small but important city, lay in the path of the invaders and more than once suffered at their hands. The destruction by the Northmen of many monasteries was a loss to civilization, for the monastic establishments at this time were the chief centers of learning and culture.1 The Northmen in Germany The heavy hand of the Northmen also descended on Germany. The rivers Scheldt, Meuse, Rhine, and Elbe enabled them to proceed at will into the heart of the country. Liège, Cologne, Strassburg, Hamburg, and other great Frankish cities fell before them. Viking raiders even plundered Aachen and stabled their horses in the church which Charlemagne had built there.2 Thus the ancient homeland of the Franks was laid completely waste. Rollo and the grant of Normandy, 911 A.D. The history of the Northmen in France began in 911 A.D., when the Carolingian king granted to a Viking chieftain, Rollo, dominion over the region about the lower Seine. Rollo on his part agreed to accept Christianity and to acknowledge the French ruler as his lord. It is said, however, that he would not kneel and kiss the king's foot as a mark of homage, and that the follower who performed the unwelcome duty did it so awkSee the illustration, page 310. 1 See page 358. wardly as to overturn the king, to the great amusement of the assembled Northmen. The story illustrates the Viking sense of independence. The district ceded to Rollo developed into what in later times was known as the duchy of Normandy. Its Scandinavian settlers, henceforth called Normans,1 soon became Duchy of French in language and culture. It was amazing Normandy to see how quickly the descendants of wild sea-rovers put off their heathen ways and made their new home a Christian land, noted for its churches, monasteries, and schools. Normandy remained practically independent till the beginning of the thirteenth century, when a French king added it to his possessions.2 3 The Nor mans and Hugh Capet, The Normans helped to found the medieval French monarchy. During the tenth century the old Carolingian line of rulers, which had already died out in Germany and Italy,3 came also to an end in France. A new dynasty was then founded by a nobleman named Hugh Capet, who secured the aid of the powerful Norman dukes in his efforts to gain the throne. The accession of Hugh Capet took place in 987 A.D. His descendants reigned over France for almost exactly eight hundred years.4 987 A.D. 144. Conquest of England by the Danes; Alfred Even before Egbert of Wessex succeeded in uniting all the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms,5 bands of Vikings, chiefly from Denmark, had made occasional forays on the English coast. Egbert kept the Danes at bay, but he died in 839 A.D., and from that time the real invasion England overrun by the Danes of England began. The Danes came over in large numbers, 1 "Norman" is a softened form of "Northman." 2 In 1911 A.D. Normandy celebrated in the ancient capital of Rouen the thousandth anniversary of its existence. See pages 315, 317. The abolition of the French monarchy dates from 1792 A.D., when Louis XVI was deposed from the throne. See page 320. made permanent settlements, and soon controlled all England north of the Thames. King Alfred and the Danes Wessex before long experienced the full force of the Danish attack. The country at this time was ruled by Alfred, the grandson of Egbert. Alfred came to the throne in 871 A.D., when he was only about twenty-three years old. In spite of his youth, he showed himself the right sort of leader for the hard-pressed West Saxons. For several years fortune favored the Danes. Then the tide turned. Issuing from the marshes of Somersetshire, where he had rallied his dispirited troops, Alfred suddenly fell on the enemy and gained a signal success. The beaten Danes agreed to make peace and to accept the religion of their conquerors. Alfred's victory did not end the war. Indeed, almost to the end of his reign, the heroic king had to face the Vik neycraft set up at Winchester, Alfred's ancient capital. It was dedicated in 1901 A.D. on the thousandth anniver- The Danelaw sary of his death. The inscription reads: "Alfred found learning dead, And he restored it; Education neglected, And he revived it; The laws powerless, And he gave them force; The land ravaged by a fear- ings, but he always drove them off and even recovered some of the territory north of the Thames. The English and Danes finally agreed to a treaty dividing the country between them. The eastern part of England, where the invaders were firmly established, came to be called the Dane |