The Life of Hugo Grotius: With Brief Minutes of the Civil, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of the NetherlandsButler, Charles
History
The Life of Hugo Grotius: With Brief Minutes of the Civil, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of the Netherlands
Butler, Charles
Grotius, Hugo, 1583-1645; Netherlands -- History
The civil law then consisted of the Theodosian code, the Salic,
Ripuarian, Allemannic, Bavarian, Burgundian, and other _codes_; and of
the _formularies_ of Angesise and Marculfus. To these Charlemagne added
his own _capitularies_. The whole collection, in opposition to the canon
or ecclesiastical law, received the appellation of _Lex Mundana_, or
_worldly law_. The canon law consisted of the code of canons which
Charlemagne brought with him from Rome in 784; a code of the canons of
the church of France; the canons inserted in the collection of Angelram,
bishop of Metz; the apostolic canons, published by St. Martin, bishop of
Braga; the capitularies of Theodulfus, of Orleans; and the penitential
canons, published in the Spicilegium of d'Acheri.[001] To the study,
both of the canon and civil law, schools were appropriated by
Charlemagne: few, except persons intended for the ecclesiastical state,
frequented them. Rabanus Maurus,[002] abbot of Fulda, and afterwards
archbishop of Mentz, has left an interesting account of the studies of
this period; it shews that all were referred to theology, and only
considered to be useful so far as they could be made serviceable to
sacred learning. Such a plan of study could conduce but little to the
advancement of general literature or science. Still, it was productive
of good, and led to improvement.
[Sidenote: I.2. State of Literature in the time of Charlemagne.]
It is observable that both antient and modern civilizers of nations,
have called music to their aid; among these we may mention Charlemagne.
In his residence at Rome, he was delighted with the Gregorian chant.
After his return to Germany, he endeavoured to introduce it, both into
his French and German dominions. The former had a chant of their own;
they called it an improvement, but other nations considered it a
corruption of the Gregorian. Greatly against the wish of Charlemagne,
his Gallic subjects persisted in their attachment to their national
music; the merit of it was gravely debated before the Emperor; they
vehemently urged the superiority of their own strains. "Tell me," said
the Emperor, "which is purer, the fountain or the rivulet?" They
answered, "the former." "Return ye, then," (said the Emperor) "to St.
Gregory: he is the fountain, the rivulets are evidently corrupted." The
Emperor was obeyed, and the Gregorian chant was taught, both in France
and Germany, by Italian choristers. The Italian writers of the times
describe the difficulties which they experienced in forming the rough
and almost untuneable voices of their French and German pupils to the
softness of the Gregorian song. They appear to have succeeded better
with the Germans than the French. By these, their lessons were so soon
and so completely forgotten, after the decease of Charlemagne, that
Lewis the Debonnaire, his son, was obliged to request Pope Gregory IV.
to send him from Rome, a new supply of singers to instruct the people.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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