_CHAPTER XLVIII_.
_THE TRIUMPH OF FORCE_.
The unexpected departure of the Count of Champagne excited generalsurprise, and even Alexander himself was at a loss to account for themotive. It was said that a horseman had arrived during the night,urgently inquiring for the Count; but none could say whence he came, orof what tidings he was the bearer; all that was known was, that afterthe receipt of some important despatches, the Count had gone away ingreat haste. He scarcely gave breathing-time to his horses, but pressedon so rapidly, that, after six days' travel, he arrived at his castlenear Laon, on the Seventh of September, the date which had been fixedupon for another interview between the Emperor and the King of France.
Louis, who had experienced much alarm as long as he was in sight of theGerman army, appeared to wish anxiously for this meeting. At least hehad ordered tents, for himself and the court, to be pitched in thevicinity of the bridge over the Saone.
About nine o'clock Louis arrived, but Barbarossa had not yet appeared.Rinaldo, with a number of prelates and nobles, seemed astonished at thepunctuality of the King, whom he found more affable than at theaudience in Laon.
"The Emperor can scarcely question my pacific intentions now," saidLouis; "the Count of Champagne has discretionary powers to bring thePope, even should violence be necessary. I am punctual to a minute atthe rendezvous which has been appointed by your master. What more can Ido, to avoid the accusation of treachery or double-dealing?"
The Chancellor was embarrassed for an answer.
"The Emperor admits your good intentions, Sire," he answered. "With hisaid, you will soon be freed from an evil which distracts France andtorments the Church. There is no doubt whatever that the Fathers of thecouncil will refuse to Cardinal Roland, wrongly styled Alexander, allright to the pontifical throne."
"I cannot take it upon myself to decide upon which side is the right,"answered Louis.
Before Rinaldo could answer, a loud noise was heard, and a body ofarmed men were seen advancing. A horseman, covered with dust, spurredto the front, glanced around the royal group, and perceiving the king,bowed respectfully and solicited a private audience. The monarchentered his tent, and through the canvas walls could be heard the voiceof the stranger, interrupted after a few sentences by Louis, whoexclaimed,--
"_Deo gratias_!--God be thanked for this fortunate result!"
Rinaldo was astonished, but while he was reflecting upon the possiblemeaning of what had just happened, they came out. The King's facebeamed with satisfaction, and without noticing the Chancellor'sanxiety, he gave charge of his guest to a nobleman of his suite, withinstructions to treat him with every possible courtesy, and thenturning to Rinaldo, resumed their former conversation.
"We have but one point to regulate, my lord Chancellor, and that is thepressure which the Emperor means to bring to bear upon the council. TheFathers ought to be entirely unbiassed, and their votes must not beinfluenced either by the force of arms or by worldly considerations."
"His Majesty," said Dassel, "will employ both argument and force tore-establish order in the Church."
"Doubtless, according to his own ideas. But there is no guaranty thatthese ideas are exempt from all selfish considerations! The Emperor isAlexander's personal enemy; think you that he would recognize hisrights to the throne of Saint Peter?"
"These questions are insulting, Sire!--Frederic is too just by nature,to be guilty of an injustice.--And you ask for guaranties of the purityof his intentions? To whom would you make the Emperor responsible? Onwhom does he depend?"
"He is responsible to the laws of nations, which he has repeatedlyviolated in many different ways, my lord."
"This reproach has often been made by interested persons; I amsurprised, Sire, that you would repeat it."
"And we are surprised!" said Louis, proudly, "that you, Count, do notfeel the importance of this reproach! Besides, in the Assembly ofBesancon, there will be present both temporal princes and unconsecratedbishops.--Who has conferred on laymen the right of voting in purelyecclesiastical questions, and particularly on questions of thisimportance?"
"The Emperor!" replied Dassel, promptly. "If his Imperial Majesty seesfit to sanction an exception to a rule, this very exception becomes bythe consequence of his high and mighty authority, the rule and the law.And more, if the chief of the Roman Empire, who is, at the same time,the chief of all the princes of Christendom, thinks it expedient togrant a vote upon this question to foreign princes, he has a right toall their gratitude."
"Very good, my lord! and we are then the Emperor's vassals? This is anew phase!--Our bishops will be delighted with the lesson you setthem!--Gentlemen," he added, "are you not somewhat surprised to hearsuch a doctrine preached?"
Rinaldo answered boldly, and some bitter words were interchanged; atlast he lost patience.
"We have no need, in any way, of French bishops to put an end toschism!" he cried. "When a discussion on the subject of a bishopricarises among you, you put an end to the difficulty yourselves: whyshould not the Emperor have the same right? Rome belongs to him."
The French courtiers heard these words, with surprise. Dassel'sopinions were in opposition to all received notions, and to the canonsof the Church. The King profited by the statesman's mistake.
"I am astonished," he said, "that so cautious a man as yourself shouldadvance such extraordinary assertions. We have the right to choose ourbishops after a previous understanding with the Holy See. But no bishopof my kingdom is chief of Christendom; your argument is consequentlyinvalid. You say that the Emperor and his bishops alone have the rightto choose the Pope. Did not Christ confide to Saint Peter and hissuccessors all his flock? Were my bishops and myself excepted? Is thePope only your shepherd, and not mine?"
This language astonished Rinaldo, who was nevertheless forced to admitits truth; but all efforts to explain his words were useless, Louisturned away from him, and soon after rode back to Laon.
"What a changeable man!" said the Bishop Gero of Halberstadt."Yesterday the French king was the Emperor's humble servant, and to-dayhe seems to defy him."
"Patience!" replied Werner of Minden; "Frederic will teach himobedience. It must come to that. If peace were to last forever, therewould be no need of our good armor. Believe me, this insolence of Louiscomes very opportunely; in two days' time the Imperial eagle will floatover the French frontier."
"Yesterday, the Emperor gave me a splendid charger and a suit ofVenetian armor; I shall be glad of a chance to use them," said Philipof Osnabruck.
"I shall wear my Nuremberg mail," added the Bishop of Munster; "it was apresent from Frederic, and so far no weapon has started a single link."
The entrance of the Count of Champagne interrupted the conversation;Dassel, who had been reflecting seriously, approached him.
"Back already?" said the Chancellor. "I trust that you have brought theCardinal Roland with you."
"With the best intentions in the world, it was impossible," repliedHenry, whose gloomy face presaged no good. "All is lost. The Englishking, Henry, is marching forward with a mighty army. Luckily I wasinformed in time, and so escaped from falling into the hands of thesepartisans of Alexander. Just now I saw the English ambassador, EarlGilbert, in the King's suite."
Rinaldo was thunderstruck.
"At last," he cried, "I have the clue to the mystery. But it is strangethat the negotiation between Alexander and England should have escapedour notice. I can scarcely believe it possible."
"It was entirely out of my calculation," said Henry, trying to consolethe statesman. "The English king, whose character you all know, haspursued a course which no one suspected, but which probably has beenlong in preparation. It is certain that he is not marching merely toAlexander's assistance, but against the Imperial supremacy."
"It is really absurd! As if a feeble gazelle could struggle against atiger," said Dassel. "Let us go at once to the Emperor; he must hear itfrom your own mouth."
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br /> The Count was in no hurry, for he looked at the question in a differentlight.
"My personal safety forbids it," he said. "I have done all I could; Isupported the Emperor; but it would be madness in me to give theEnglish King a pretext for seizing my domains. For the time being, Ican only be a secret ally of Frederic."
"What! Count, you think to serve two masters?" cried Dassel, furiously."How can you be at the same time the friend and the enemy of theEmperor?"
The Count admitted the dilemma, but no entreaties could change hisdetermination.
"It cannot be, my lord; I must no longer delay my return to Laon.Farewell; present my homage to the Emperor."
He sprang into the saddle and rode towards the city.
"Ah! these falsehearted Frenchmen!" said the Chancellor; "but it iswell; our arms will teach them honor and conscience."
"That is my advice too," said the fighting Bishop Werner; "Germanhonesty, which more than once has been the dupe of its own rectitude,is well known. Let us go to the camp at once, raise our standards, andreap a new harvest of laurels in the heart of France."
The nobles returned to the Imperial camp, where they found theirsovereign surrounded by his princes and bishops. The startlingintelligence of the change in the French policy, and the movements ofthe English King, amazed every one. A few, among whom were the fierceOtho of Wittelsbach and the schismatical bishops of the Empire, were infavor of crossing the frontier at once. But the Dukes of Austria,Saxony, and Bavaria, and some others, who were secret partisans ofAlexander, took the matter with the greatest coolness.
Barbarossa remained calm in appearance, although the flash of his eyesand the contraction of his features gave unmistakable evidence that hewith difficulty controlled his rage and disappointment. With a slightinclination of the head to the assembly, he beckoned to Rinaldo andleft the tent, which had now become the scene of an animateddiscussion.
Hastily divesting himself of the sumptuous costume with which he hadthought to dazzle the King of France and his great vassals, Barbarossaseated himself before the Chancellor.
"The solution of the question can now only be arrived at in the field,"said Dassel, with the insinuating manner of a serpent creeping on hisprey. "We must attack Louis before his troops are thoroughly organized.You have been insulted, and every man, even to the meanest serf in ourarmy, feels the outrage done you by the King of France; let us profitby the opportunity."
"If you had observed my faithful vassals, you would scarcely call thepresent a good opportunity," replied Barbarossa. "Besides, I do notwish to trust all to the fortune of war. We are not strong enough yetto engage the united forces of France and England. But," he added, "isthe result of this ecclesiastical meeting very certain?"
"Certain!" said the Count. "We are sure of our own bishops, but not ofthose of the King of Sweden. Some things cannot be accomplished by merebrute force, and rather need skill and intelligence than threats ofviolence."
"You are at your tricks again, and I am tired of them," saidBarbarossa. "The Danish prelates are only men; after all, self-interestwill guide them. Besides, Victor will be enjoined from the commencementof the Council to abrogate all appeal to Rome or elsewhere. We shallsee how the Danes can get over this difficulty."
"All well enough in its way! that may intimidate some," answeredDassel; "but in this way you lessen the Papal power, and increase thatof the bishops. What will the Emperor gain by the change?"
"What the Pope alone possesses now, will become the property of athousand different individuals, and I have always looked upon a dividedpower as more easy of direction than when it is vested in one person."
"Your Majesty's observation is just and to the point," replied the wilystatesman.
After a lengthy interview, Rinaldo left the Emperor to take charge ofthe preparations for the council. Louis breathed freely at theannouncement of the departure of the German army for Besancon.Alexander had written to him of the intended campaign of the EnglishKing against Frederic. At the same time he learned that Andrew ofHungary was ready to march an army into Germany, as soon as theImperial troops crossed the French frontier. In the meanwhile, theEmperor, accompanied by several of his princes, and by about fiftyBishops and Archbishops, nearly all of whom were as yet unconsecrated,had arrived at Besancon. King Waldemar of Denmark came to meet himthere, but he was attended by only one prelate, the Bishop Absalom ofRoskilde, for the northern sovereigns could not make up their minds toattend a council which had been convened in defiance of the canonicalrules, and with the sole view of legalizing the acts of theschismatical Frederic. The preliminaries against Alexander, therecognition of Victor, and, as a natural consequence, the Imperialsupremacy, were rapidly and skilfully arranged.
As the Emperor was leaving his apartment, to proceed with great pomp tothe cathedral where the council was to be held, a letter with the sealof the Abbey of Cluny was handed to him.
"From Cluny! Who brought this?" he asked.
"A strange horseman," said the chamberlain. Barbarossa hastily ran itover, while Rinaldo examined his expression, with eager curiosity.
"Pshaw! it is scarcely worth talking about," said Frederic, laying theletter aside; "at least, we have no time to meddle with it. Still ifyou would like to know," he added, seeing Dassel's curiosity, "CountRechberg informs us that he is going on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.That is all; the young man could do nothing better in order to escapethe bonds in which a sage statesman would have tied him. Let us hopethat he will come back completely cured. My lord Chancellor, you maygive the signal for our departure now."
Under ordinary circumstances, it is probable that Barbarossa would nothave listened so calmly to his kinsman's resolve, but just then he wasbusied in a matter of interest to all Christendom, and he could thinkof nothing else.
A long and brilliant cavalcade of princes and prelates proceeded to theCathedral of Besancon, where the Emperor did not neglect theopportunity of holding the Pope's stirrup. Victor received theattention haughtily, as though it were in some way an offset to themany humiliations which he had suffered. The bishops and princes tooktheir places in the centre of the nave. The presidency of the councilwas assigned to Victor, with Frederic on the right hand, and Waldemar,King of Denmark, on his left.
Barbarossa opened the proceedings by a recital of all the acts andartifices of the French and English sovereigns. He also paraded hisefforts for the pacification of the Church and the suppression ofheresy, and his discourse convinced the audience of his moderation andgood intentions.
Victor followed with a long series of complaints against those whom hecalled the enemies of the Church, and particularly against Alexander.The substance of his discourse stated the numerous privileges whichwould be accorded to the Bishops.
After him Rinaldo spoke, and in skilful words insisted upon thelegality of Victor's claims, while he endeavored to prove that thepresent meeting was in reality a general council.
Finally, Barbarossa rose and besought the assembly in energetic terms,to put an end to the schism, to banish Roland as an enemy of theChurch, and to proclaim Victor as the head thereof. A general confusioncommenced to prevail in the Cathedral. At this juncture Bishop Absalomrose and made a signal to his sovereign.
"For the love of God, my dear brother," exclaimed Victor, "do not leaveat this most important moment."
"I am only here as an attendant on my sovereign," said Absalom, withmarked coolness. "As he is leaving the Cathedral, I must follow him."
The withdrawal of the King and his prelate caused additional confusion,and a few other bishops, with whom the sentiment of honor was strongerthan the dread of the Emperor's anger, followed their example.
But the proceedings were in no way hindered by their absence. Alexanderwas excommunicated, and Victor solemnly proclaimed Head of the Church,and then, after the _Te Deum_, the assembly adjourned.
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