=General Education.=--We have seen that the prevailing idea was that education should subserve the interests of the Church. Charlemagne turned the current of thought toward the national idea. He believed in religious training, but wanted to found a great State, and therefore insisted that those things which encouraged intelligent patriotism should be taught. He protected the Church, but insisted that the Church was subordinate to the State, and that his will was law over both. Consequently he required priests to preach in the native tongues rather than in Latin, and decreed that monasteries that would not open their doors to children for school purposes should be closed. The priests, he insisted, should be able to read and write, should have a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and of the chief doctrines of the Church, and should instruct the people in these things. The seven liberal arts formed the basis of school instruction. Monks were not to remain in idleness and ignorance, but were required to teach, not only in the monasteries, but also outside of them. He also encouraged education among his nobles, and plainly intimated that merit and not noble birth would entitle them to favor. Charlemagne visited the schools himself, and required the bishop to report to him their condition. He thus became a superintendent of schools, being as familiar with the educational interests of his kingdom as he was with every other interest. He sought to teach first the priests and nobles, and after that the masses of his people. He introduced the practice of _compulsory education_ for all children, and decreed that truant children be first deprived of food as punishment, and if that did not suffice, that they be brought before him. Reading, writing, arithmetic, and singing were taught, especial attention being given to music, which was of use in the church services. The Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer were also taught. In 801 Charlemagne decreed that women and children should receive instruction in the doctrines of religion, because he believed religion to be the foundation of a civilized nation. Charlemagne's career shines out in brilliant contrast with the ignorance and superstition of his age. The world was not yet ripe for his advanced ideas, hence when the work lost the support of his strong personality, its effects soon became obliterated, and a retrogression of civilization resulted. The clergy, who had entertained but little sympathy for the enterprises of the emperor, soon closed the monasteries to outside students, and returned to the same practices from which the authority and energy of Charlemagne had aroused them. His work was not wholly in vain, however, for he laid the foundations of the Prussian school system.[40] =Summary of Charlemagne's Work.=--1. He elevated the clergy by demanding greater educational qualifications of them and by insisting that they do their duty.