The last act of Charlemagne's life in ordering the manner of his son's coronation,--which was imitated, a thousand years afterwards, by Napoleon, who, in the presence of the Pope, Pius VII., himself set the crown upon his own head--showed that he designed keeping the Imperial power independent of that of the Church. But his son, Ludwig, was already a submissive and willing dependent of Rome. During his reign as king of Aquitaine he had covered the land with monasteries: he was the pupil of monks, and his own inclination was for a monastic life. But at Charlemagne's death he was the only legitimate heir to the throne. Being therefore obliged to wear the Imperial purple, he exercised his sovereignty chiefly in the interest of the Church. His first act was to send to the Pope the treasures amassed by his father; his next, to surround himself with prelates and priests, who soon learned to control his policy. He was called "Ludwig the Pious," but in those days, when so many worldly qualities were necessary to the ruler of the Empire, the title was hardly one of praise. He appears to have been of a kindly nature, and many of his acts show that he meant to be just; the weakness of his character, however, too often made his good intentions of no avail. [Sidenote: 816.] It was a great misfortune for Germany that Ludwig's piety took the form of hostility to all learning except of a theological nature. So far as he was able, he undid the great work of education commenced by Charlemagne. The schools were given entirely into the hands of the priests, and the character of the instruction was changed. He inflicted an irreparable loss on all after ages by destroying the collection of songs, ballads and legends of the German people, which Charlemagne had taken such pains to gather and preserve. It is not believed that a single copy escaped destruction, although some scholars suppose that a fragment of the "Song of Hildebrand," written in the eighth century, may have formed part of the collection. In the year 816, Ludwig was visited in Rheims by the Pope, Stephen IV., who again crowned him Emperor in the Cathedral, and thus restored the spiritual authority which Charlemagne had tried to set aside. Ludwig's attempts to release the estates belonging to the Bishops, monasteries and priesthood from the payment of taxes, and the obligation to furnish soldiers in case of war, created so much dissatisfaction among the nobles and people, that, at a diet held the following year, he was summoned to divide the government of the Empire among his three sons. He resisted at first, but was finally forced to consent: his eldest son, Lothar, was crowned as Co-Emperor of the Franks, Ludwig as king of Bavaria, and Pippin, his third son, as king of Aquitaine.