THE ROYAL HOUSE OF FRANCE - outriders poetry project

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© 2009 Max Wickert
had died (that is, Constantine III, who became emperor after Pepin’s death.) There Charlemagne
was elected Emperor of Rome by Pope Leo and the College of Cardinals. When he received the
news of his election, he accepted and determined to journey to Rome to accept the rule of the
empire simply as a nobleman elect, for he did not wish to be named full emperor until he had
succeeded in making Gerard of the Thicket, Duke of Burgundy, submit to him. 47
He therefore gave command that all Christian barons subject to the crown of France should present
themselves at his court the following spring. At the appointed time, they gathered in Paris and
Charles held the most magnificent court ever assembled in Paris. Charles made such huge gifts of
cities and castles, of arms and horses, of lordships, of gold and of silver, of garments and jewels, that
his fame spread throughout the world. (That courtly magnificence cost King Anglant dearly.) All
the nobles present swore to hold their lands subject to him and performed their oaths of fealty.
Charles asked them to prepare to accompany him to Rome in the following spring, and they all
professed themselves eager to go wherever he wished. When the celebrations were finished, they
returned to their lands.
Departing from Paris at that time there was a minstrel, and he went abroad, as minstrels do, and
came to Spain. There he heard that King Anglant was returning to Africa after his conquest of all
Asia. Therefore that minstrel crossed from Spain to Africa to see him. It was this minstrel who was
47 The contortions of Andrea’s Italian here defy exact rendering: “[Carlo] diliberò andare a Roma e di pigliare il
titolo dello imperio come nobile eletto, perché non voleva fare imperadore insino a tanto ch’egli non facea
ubidire Gherardo da Fratta.” The general sense, however, is clear: Charles has become emperor de iure by
election, but cannot claim the title de facto until he has brought his recalcitrant subject Gerard to heel. See
Chapter [] below.