say his prayers, when a monk, cross in hand, issued suddenly from behind
the altar, and, placing himself before the count, "How hast thou the
audacity," said he, "to enter my monastery and mine house, thou that dost
not hesitate to rob me of my dues?" and, taking Girard by the hair, he
threw him on the ground and belabored him heavily. The count, stupefied
and contrite, acknowledged his injustice, took off the toll that he had
wrongfully put on, and, not content with this reparation, sent to the
church of Tournus a rich carpet of golden and silken tissue. In the
middle of the eleventh century, Adhemar II., viscount of Limoges, had in
his city a quarrel of quite a different sort with the monks of the abbey
of St. Martial. The abbey had fallen into great looseness of discipline
and morals; and the viscount had at heart its reformation. To this end
he entered into concert, at a distance, with Hugh, abbot of Cluni, at
that time the most celebrated and most respected of the monasteries. The
abbot of St. Martial died. Adhemar sent for some monks from Cluni to
come to Limoges, lodged them secretly near his palace, repaired to the
abbey of St. Martial after having had the chapter convoked, and called
upon the monks to proceed at once to the election of a new abbot. A
lively discussion, upon this point, arose between the viscount and the
monks. "We are not ignorant," said one of them to him, "that you have
sent for brethren from Cluni, in order to drive us out and put them in
our places; but you will not succeed." The viscount was furious, seized
by the sleeve the monk who was inveighing, and dragged him by force out
of the monastery. His fellows were frightened, and took to flight; and
Adhemar immediately had the monks from Cluni sent for, and put them in
possession of the abbey. It was a ruffianly proceeding; but the reform
was popular in Limoges and was effected.

These trifling matters are faithful samples of the dominant and
fundamental characteristic of French society during the tenth, eleventh,
and twelfth centuries, the true epoch of the middle ages. It was chaos,
and fermentation within the chaos the slow and rough but powerful and
productive fermentation of unruly life. In ideas, events, and persons
there was a blending of the strongest contrasts: manners were rude and
even savage, yet souls were filled with lofty and tender aspirations; the
authority of religious creeds at one time was on the point of ext