e and his queen, Bertha, were duly crowned and consecrated
by Boniface, the "Apostle of Germany," and Bishop of Mainz. This rite
was performed at Soissons, in 752, with all the pomp that the Jewish
kings had been wont to employ on such occasions. The national assembly
was summoned; and in presence of the great Frank nobles Boniface
produced a phial of oil, announcing it as that which had fallen from
heaven on the day when the first king of the Franks (Clovis) had
received baptism. The sacred oil was then poured upon the head of
Pepin, and amid the acclamations of nobles, soldiers, and peasants, he
was crowned their king.

He was a man, like his father, well fitted to rule over a warlike and
rude people. What was most admired in a king at that period was
personal courage, and, what was most needed, strength of will. Pepin
had both; but he had one defect which, though to us it may seem a
trifle, to men who prized the body far more than soul or mind, was a
serious matter. He was of small stature, and acquired the name of "the
Short" in consequence. Fully conscious that this was a disadvantage to
him, and, indeed, hearing his name once derided by his courtiers,
Pepin took a speedy opportunity of proving that what he lacked in
height he more than made up in strength and bravery. It was common in
those days to exhibit animal fights at the Frankish court, as indeed,
to her shame be it spoken, is common in Spain to this day. On one of
these occasions a lion and a bull were engaged in a savage and mortal
struggle. Pepin and his courtiers were seated round the arena looking
on, when suddenly the king started up, and cried: "Who will dare to
separate those beasts?" There was a dead silence. The attempt was
madness--certain destruction. Unsheathing his sword, and glancing
scornfully round upon his courtiers, Pepin leapt into the arena, and
drew the attention of the combatants upon himself. Raging with fury,
they turned to attack him; but with cool and measured steps he evaded
their onset, and by a succession of well-aimed blows struck off, one
after the other, the heads of lion and bull. Then, throwing down his
streaming sword, he accosted the astonished courtiers: "Am I worthy to
be your king?" A deafening shout was the reply, and the name of "Pepin
the Short" was no longer a term of derision but of honor.

Having thus established his reputation for those qualities which were
most essential to his influence, Pepin took measures t