Barbarossa; An Historical Novel of the XII Century.Bolanden, Conrad von
History
Barbarossa; An Historical Novel of the XII Century.
Bolanden, Conrad von
Germany -- History -- Frederick I, 1152-1190 -- Fiction
"Here is a document," he said, "written by Pope Adrian. It will show
you that our predecessor was gravely annoyed by the Emperor's conduct
which always was hostile to the independence of the Church. 'God be
thanked,' he writes to the German bishops, 'that you have remained
faithful! God be thanked for giving you the ability to judge,
dispassionately, between Frederic and the Holy See! This schism which
he has instigated will recoil upon his own head; it is like a dragon,
which, wishing to fly to heaven, has fallen to the earth, and has been
swallowed up. He who would exalt himself, shall be abased. This fox
seeks to lay waste the Lord's vineyard; this guilty son forgets all
gratitude and all fear. He has fulfilled none of his promises, he has
deceived us in everything; he deserves then to be treated as a rebel to
his God, as a heathen, as an outlaw.' You see then, my children, how
severely Adrian judged the Emperor. What would this saintly Pontiff
write now; what sentence would he pass upon Frederic at the time when
he is persecuting with still more virulence the Church of God?"
A savage yell, which seemed to approach the castle, interrupted
Alexander, and Frangipani appeared.
"Holy Father," said the soldier, "I can no longer endure the presence
of these bandits; allow me to drive them away by force."
"By no means; let no blood be spilled! Tell them," he said, turning to
Guerrazzi, "that there can be no alliance between Christians and the
enemies of God; tell them, distinctly, that Rome has naught to fear, so
long as she fights against the foes of the Church!"
He withdrew, and a few moments later, Guerrazzi was again upon his
column, haranguing the rabble which pressed eagerly around him. The
tailor inveighed bitterly against the harshness of Alexander, who, he
asserted, had no pity for the sufferings of the people, and was
disposed to resist the Emperor at any cost.
"I represented everything to him," he said, "I reminded him of Milan,
of your inevitable destruction if you rejected the proffered mercy! I
reminded him of our captive brothers who will certainly be hung, unless
we stretch out our hand to Barbarossa. With tears in my eyes, I
besought him to have pity upon us, upon our wives, upon our helpless
children; my words would have touched a heart of stone, but they were
powerless to move this barbarian. Do you call such a one a holy man, a
father?--He is a tyrant, a destroyer!"
Guerrazzi at last had carried his point; the crowd was rampant with
sedition.
"Death to Alexander! Down with the tyrant!"
"Forward!" resumed the tailor, violently,--"brave people, rise in your
might, break your chains, and go to meet your Augustus!"
He sprang to the ground, for his task was accomplished, and the fire of
sedition was spread rapidly through the masses. Rinaldo's emissaries
urged on the revolt, and soon nothing was heard but wild panegyrics of
Barbarossa, and curses against the Pope.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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