Under Charlemagne’s management the crown possessions became models of
husbandry. Nothing escaped his attention, and whatever he planned was
successful. The stewards received lists containing the names of species
of corn, kitchen herbs, fruit trees, medical simples, which were to be
planted, cultivated, and looked after in field and garden. He ordered
poultry, geese, and doves to be kept at the mills so that the
superfluous grain should not be wasted. He laid out fish-ponds,
constructed apiaries, planted noble vineyards, and introduced improved
methods of wine-making. Nor did he confine himself to the strictly
useful. He arranged for the keeping of pheasants and peacocks. He
cultivated great quantities of flowers in the beautiful pleasure
gardens. He employed gardeners, fish-masters, and bee-keepers. He
arranged to have experts in the making of butter and cheese teach the
people. Upon the crown estates as well as upon others, wolf-hunters were
posted, who had to deliver annually a certain number of skins or suffer
a penalty. Whatever produce from the crown property was unnecessary for
use at the court was sold, and a yearly account of it was kept. The
supervision of the house stewards extended to the slightest detail.
Charlemagne was far from avaricious. His household never suffered for
lack of anything. Whenever corn was disposed of he arranged to sell the
measure about a denier below the ordinary price. He had the highest
sense of order in the management of affairs, and looked upon disorder,
whether in the State, the family, or intellectual matters, as conducive
to disastrous results. He did not live upon the fat of the land, but
upon the abundance from his own estates.
Let us consider the conditions of industry and business in Charlemagne’s
Empire. His wars were in no wise detrimental to material prosperity.
Arrow, missile, and helmet makers, as well as sword and bow and bullet
makers, were in demand. At the royal palaces there were blacksmiths,
armorers, gold and silver smiths, shoemakers, tailors, millers, turners,
masons, wheelwrights, builders, brass-workers, tanners, soap-boilers,
fowlers, potters, bakers, joiners, saddlers, net-weavers, coopers,
architects, glass-blowers, parchment makers, painters, and dyers. After
Charlemagne’s order that monks who failed in studies should make
themselves useful as handworkers, there was an active emulation among
all the artisans employed at the palaces, the monasteries, and in the
cities. Ferdinand Pfalz states in his “Scenes in City Life” that under
Charlemagne, notwithstanding his frequent wars, the cities enjoyed
material prosperity:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account