art of Switzerland between the Reus, the Valais,
and the rest of Savoy.

Such was the geographical state of Germany at the close of the
Carlovingian Dynasty.

I. 2.

_State of Literature in the time of Charlemagne_.

So far as Literature depends upon the favour of the monarch, no aera in
history promised more than the reign of Charlemagne. His education had
been neglected; but he had real taste for learning and the arts, was
sensible of their beneficial influence both upon the public and the
private welfare of a people; and possessed the amplest means of
encouraging and diffusing them; his wisdom would suggest to him the
properest means of doing it, and the energy of his mind would excite
him to constant exertions.

[Sidenote: I. 2. State of Literature in the time of Charlemagne.]

Nothing that could be effected by a prince thus gifted and disposed, was
left untried by Charlemagne. He drew to him the celebrated Alcuin, Peter
of Pisa, Paul Warnefrid, and many other distinguished literary
characters: he heaped favours upon them; and a marked distinction was
always shewn them at his court. He formed them into a literary society,
which had frequent meetings. Their conversation was literary, he often
bore a part in it; and, what was at least equally gratifying, he always
listened with a polite and flattering attention while others spoke. To
establish perfect equality among them, the monarch, and, after his
example, the other members of this society, dropt their own and adopted
other names. Angelbert was called Homer, from his partiality to that
poet; Riculphus, archbishop of Mentz, chose the name of Dametas, from an
eclogue of Virgil: another member took that of Candidus; Eginhard, the
Emperor's biographer, was called Calliopus, from the Muse Calliope;
Alcuin received, from his country, the name of Albinus; the archbishop
Theodulfe was called Pindar; the abbot Adelard was called Augustine;
Charlemagne, as the man of God's own heart, was called David.

[Sidenote: 800-911]

The Emperor corresponded with men of learning, on subjects of
literature; they generally related to religion. In one of his letters,
he requires of Alcuin an explanation of the words Septuagesima,
Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima, which denote the Sundays which
immediately precede, and the word Quadragesima, which denotes the first
Sunday which occurs in Lent. The denominations of those Sundays give
rise to two difficulties; one, that t