Chapter II

LOUIS THE PIOUS

KING AND EMPEROR
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The messenger, Rampo, bearing word of the Emperor's death,
reached Louis in his kingdom of Aquitaine, at the royal manor
of Dou6-la-Fontaine near Saumur and the Loire. Offices and
masses for the dead were chanted for four days; and then the
king, known to tradition as Louis "the Pious," set out for Aachen
and his high destiny.
He was now in his thirty-sixth year, of strong and muscular
build and average height; good-looking, with clear, open eyes,
well-shaped hands, and deep, resonant voice. Hunting and all
outdoor activities were his delight. So, also, were his books: his
ancient classics, his writings of the Fathers of the Church. In
manner he was grave; sober and restrained alike in his dress and
in his conduct at social gatherings, "he never laughed aloud"; a
man generous in nature, often overcome by access of anger, but
ready to forget offense. With unfailing devotion he assisted at
mass and other ritual of the Church's days and years. He was
married to one Irmengard; and he had three young sons, Lothar,
Pippin, and Louis.
Crowds acclaimed their king as he journeyed, surrounded
by his men-at-arms. Yet fear, too, went with him, fear deeper and
wider than he himself could clearly describe or define. Not at
this time could he understand the problems that lay in his path;
but some things he did know from his own observation and experience. He knew well that it had been the strength and the glamour
of the character and influence of his father, Charles the Great,
which had kept the dissonant elements of his Empire in subjection to his will, at least in outward union. Charles had been
confident in his power, sure of his success, intolerant of criticism,
utterly determined to stand firm as temporal Lord of his people
in matters of both state and Church, to draw into his Empire
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