The Chosen People: A Compendium of Sacred and Church History for School-ChildrenYonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary)
Religion
The Chosen People: A Compendium of Sacred and Church History for School-Children
Yonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary)
Bible -- History of Biblical events; Church history
The first province thus left bare of troops, was Britain, which remained
a prey to the savage Scots, and then was conquered by the Saxons and
Angles, two of the heathen tribes of Teutons, who seemed for a time
quite to have put out the light of Christianity in their part of the
island. The Britons in the Welsh hills, however, still continued a free
and Christian people; and Patrick, a noble young Roman, who had once
been made captive by the wild Irish, and set to feed their sheep, no
sooner grew up than he went back to preach the Gospel to them, and
deliver them from a worse bondage than they had made him suffer. So many
did he convert, and such zealous Christians were they, that Ireland used
to be called the Isle of Saints; and it has never forgotten the trefoil,
or shamrock leaf, by which St. Patrick taught his converts to enter into
the great mystery, how Three could yet be One.
In the meantime Alaric marched against Rome. Once he was beaten back,
and Honorius celebrated the victory by the last Roman triumph ever held,
and after it, by the last of the shows of righting slaves. A monk sprung
into the amphitheatre while it was going on, and, in the name of Christ,
forbade the death of a gladiator who had been wounded, and was to have
been killed. The people, in a rage, stoned the good man; but they were
so much ashamed, that these shocking entertainments were given up for
ever. Rome never won another victory. Alaric came on again; and though
he honoured the noble city so much, that he could not bear to let loose
his wild troops on it, the false dealing of Honorius at last made him so
angry, that he led his Goths into the city; but he was very merciful,
he ordered that no one should be killed, and no church injured nor
plundered; and he led his army out again at the end of six days.
Honorius had fled to Ravenna, and though a few more weak and foolish men
called themselves Emperors of the West, the very title soon passed away,
and the chief part of Italy was held by the Goths and other Teuton
tribes; but they seldom came to Rome, where the chief power gradually
fell into the hands of the Pope.
Gaul was conquered by another Teuton race called Franks, who were very
fierce heathen at first, but were afterwards converted. Their great
leader, Clovis, married a Teuton lady named Clotilda, a Catholic
Christian. She was very anxious to lead him to the truth; and at last,
in a great battle, he called out in prayer to Clotilda's God; and when
the victory was given to him, he took it as a sign from Heaven, and on
coming home was baptized, and built the Church of Notre Dame at Paris,
which is said to be just as long as the distance to which King Clovis
could pitch an axe.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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