lbeit the Emperor Michael desired to give him many very great
treasures, yet would he take nothing, save the wood of the holy cross
and the nail of Christ, which he brought back into France, and which
is in Paris to this day. And when he had returned to France, he ruled
by his prowess and virtue not only over the realm of France, but all
Germany, Provence, Navarre, and Spain, and all Italy.

Sec. 14.--_Of the progeny of Charles the Great, and of his successors._

Sec. 15.--_How Charles the Great, king of France, was made Emperor of
Rome._

[Sidenote: Par. vi. 94. De Monarchia iii. 11.]

[Sidenote: 801 A.D.]

When Charles the Great had returned from over seas into France, as we
have said, and had subdued Germany, Italy, and Spain, and Provence,
the wicked Romans, with the powerful Lombards and Tuscans, rebelled
against the Church, and seized Pope Leo III., which was then reigning,
at Rome, as he was going to the procession of the Litanies (S. Mark's
Day, April 25th), and put out his eyes and slit his tongue, and drave
him out of Rome. And as it pleased God, by divine miracle, and because
he was innocent and holy, he recovered the sight of his eyes and the
power of speech, and went into France to Charles the Great, praying
him to come to Rome to restore the Church to her liberty; which
Charles, at the request of the said Pope Leo, came together with him
to Rome and restored the Pope and the Church to their state and
liberty, and took great vengeance against all the rebels and enemies
of Holy Church throughout all Italy. For the which thing the said
Pope Leo, with his cardinals and general council, with the consent of
the Romans, by reason of the virtuous and holy deeds done by the said
Charles the Great on behalf of Holy Church and of all Christendom,
took away the Roman Empire from the Greeks by a decree, and elected
the said Charles the Great Emperor of the Romans, as being most worthy
of the Empire; and by the said Pope Leo he was consecrated and crowned
in Rome, in the year of Christ 801, with great solemnity and honour,
on Easter Day.

The said Charles reigned with great good fortune fourteen years one
month and four days, ruling over all the empire of the West, and the
provinces afore named, and also the emperor of Constantinople was
under his obedience; and he caused as many abbeys to be built as there
are letters in the alphabet, and the name of each one began with a
different letter. And he caused his