In 802 he further commanded that "laymen shall learn thoroughly the Creed and the Lord's Prayer" (R. 64 c). Finally, in his enthusiasm for schools, Charlemagne went so far as to direct that "every one should send his son to school to study letters, and that the child should remain at school with all diligence until he should become well instructed in learning." Charlemagne, of course, was addressing freemen of the court and the official classes. That he ever meant to include the children of the laboring classes, or that the idea of compulsory education ever entered his head, may well be doubted. EFFECT OF THE WORK OF CHARLEMAGNE AND ALCUIN. The actual results of the work of Charlemagne and Alcuin were, after all, rather meager. The difficulties they faced are almost beyond our comprehension. Nobles and clergy were alike ignorant and uncouth. There seemed no place to begin. It may be said that by Charlemagne's work he greatly widened the area of civilization, created a new Frankish-Roman Empire to be the inheritor of the civilization and culture of the old one, checked the decline in learning and reawakened a desire for study, and that he began the substitution of ideas for might as a ruling force among the tribes under his rule. That for a time he gave an important impetus to the study of letters, which resulted in a real revival in the educational work of some of the monasteries and cathedral schools, seems certain. Men knew more of books and wrote better Latin than before, and those who wished to learn found it easier to do so. The state of society and the condition of the times, however, were against any large success for such an ambitious educational undertaking, and after the death of Charlemagne, the division of his empire, and the invasions of the Northmen, education slowly declined again, though never to quite the level it had reached when Charlemagne came to the throne. In a few schools there was no decline, and these became the centers of learning of the future. Charlemagne having substituted merit for favoritism in his realm, promoting to be bishops and abbots the most learned men of his time, many of these became zealous workers in the cause of education and did much to keep up and advance learning after his death. Among the most able of his helpers was Theodulf, Bishop of Orleans. He carried out most thoroughly in his diocese the instructions of the king, giving to his clergy the following directions: