s; the second set aside for his sons and daughters,
and for the sons and daughters of his sons, and redivided among them in
a just and proportionate manner; the third dedicated, according to the
usage of Christians, to the necessities of the poor; and, lastly, the
fourth distributed in the same way, under the name of alms, among the
servants, of both sexes, of the palace for their lifetime. As for the
books which he had amassed, a large number in his library, he decided
that those who wished to have them might buy them at their proper value,
and that the money which they produced should be distributed among the
poor.

Having thus carefully regulated his own private affairs and bounty, he,
two years later, in 813, took the measures necessary for the regulation,
after his death, of public affairs. He had lost, in 811, his oldest son,
Charles, who had been his constant companion in his wars, and, in 810,
his second son, Pepin, whom he had made King of Italy; and he summoned
to his side his third son, Louis, King of Aquitaine, who was destined to
succeed him. He ordered the convocation of five local councils which
were to assemble at Mayence, Rheims, Chalons, Tours, and Aries, for the
purpose of bringing about, subject to the King's ratification, the
reforms necessary in the Church. Passing from the affairs of the Church
to those of the State, he convoked at Aix-la-Chapelle a general assembly
of bishops, abbots, counts, laic grandees, and of the entire people,
and, holding council in his palace with the chief among them, "he
invited them to make his son Louis king-emperor; whereto all assented,
saying that it was very expedient, and pleasing, also, to the people. On
Sunday in the next month, August, 813, Charlemagne repaired, crown on
head, with his son Louis to the cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle, laid upon
the altar another crown, and, after praying, addressed to his son a
solemn exhortation respecting all his duties as king toward God and the
Church, toward his family and his people, asked him if he were fully
resolved to fulfil them, and, at the answer that he was, bade him take
the crown that lay upon the altar, and place it with his own hands upon
his head, which Louis did amid the acclamations of all present, who
cried, 'Long live the emperor Louis!' Charlemagne then declared his son
emperor jointly with him, and ended the solemnity with these words:
'Blessed be thou, O Lord God, who hast granted me grace to see with min