Rheims and the Battles for its Possession Part 1

Rheims and the Battles for its Possession.

by Various.

_On July 6th, 1919, the President of the French Republic conferred the_ =Croix de la Legion d'Honneur= _on Rheims (fastening it personally on the City Arms), with the following_ "=citation=":--

"_Martyred city, destroyed by an infuriated enemy, powerless to hold it._

"_Sublime population who, like the Munic.i.p.al Authorities--models of devotion to duty and despising all danger--gave proof of magnificent courage, by remaining more than three years under the constant menace of the enemy's attacks, and by leaving their homes only when ordered to do so._

"_Inspired by the example of the heroic French maid of venerated memory, whose statue stands in the heart of the city, showed unshakeable faith in the future of France (Croix de Guerre)._"

[Ill.u.s.tration: RHEIMS, AS SEEN FROM THE GERMAN LINES (_Photograph found on a German prisoner_)]

=RHEIMS=

=POLITICAL HISTORY=

Rheims is one of the oldest towns in France, so old that legendary accounts, in an endeavour to outdo one another, carry back its foundation sometimes to 1440 B.C. after the Flood, sometimes to the siege of Troy. Lying at the intersection of the natural routes between Belgium and Burgundy, and between the Parisian basin and Lorraine, _i.e._ between political districts that long remained different in character, and regions having different commercial resources, it was at one and the same time the "_oppidum_" and _market-town_. Its military and commercial position destined it early to be a great city.

It probably takes its name from the tribe of the _Remi_, who occupied almost the whole territory now forming the "_departements_" of the Marne and the Ardennes, and who were clients of the _Suessiones_ (Soissons) before the Roman conquest. It was already a prosperous town, under the name of "_Durocortorum_," when Caesar conquered Gaul. It freed itself from the yoke of the Suessiones by accepting the Roman domination. When the Belgians revolted in 57 B.C., the _Remi_ remained faithful to Caesar and received the t.i.tle of "_friends of the Roman people_." Neither did they take any part in the general revolt of Gaul in 52 B.C. Under the Empire, Rheims was, with Treves, one of the great centres of Latin culture in "_Gallia Belgica_." On becoming a federated city, it retained its inst.i.tutions and senate. A favourite residence of the Roman Governors, Rheims was embellished with sumptuous villas and magnificent monuments, and soon became one of the most prosperous towns in Gaul. At the beginning of the Germanic invasions Rheims drew in its borders and became a military town. Under _Diocletian_ it was the capital of _Belgica Secunda_.

According to tradition, Christianity was first preached in Rheims by St.

Sixtus and St. Sinirus, the first bishops of the city. However that may be, Christianity was firmly established there as early as the 3rd century. A bishop of Rheims was present at the Council of Arles in 314.

The conversion of several great Roman personages (amongst others, the _Consul Jovinus_--see p. 118) favoured the progress of the Christian religion.

In the 5th century, when Rome, otherwise occupied, was unable to hold back the barbarians, invasions interfered with the development of the city. The Frankish conquest marked the beginning of a new period of prosperity. In 486, after the victory of Soissons, _Clovis_ entered into negotiations with St. Remi, who, at the age of 22, had been elected Bishop of Rheims in 459, and whose long episcopate of seventy-four years is probably unique in history. On Christmas Day, A.D. 496, St. Remi, who had arranged the marriage of Clovis with the Christian princess Clotilde, baptized the Frankish king with his own hands in the Cathedral. This important event took place undoubtedly at Rheims and not at Tours, as a learned German, _Krusch_, has attempted to prove.

Under the Merovingians and Carolingians, the history of Rheims became merged in that of the French monarchy. The possession of the city was disputed as fiercely as that of the throne. The city was mixed up in quarrels from which it suffered, without, however, losing its religious prestige. Pepin-le-Bref and Pope Stephen III., Charlemagne and Pope Leo III. had famous interviews there. When the Carolingians restored the religious hierarchy Rheims became one of the twenty-two chief cities of the Empire. From the time of Charlemagne, the Archbishop of Rheims ruled over twelve bishoprics, comprising the cities of the ancient Roman province of _Belgica Secunda_.

From the 9th to the 11th century the history of Rheims is that of its church. The Counts of Vermandois, the Lords of Coucy and the archbishops first disputed, then divided its temporal possession, the latter falling eventually to the archbishops in the 11th century. After becoming Counts, with the right to coin money, and, from 940, powerful temporal princes, the archbishops played a great political part in the struggles between the Carolingian princes. Under _Charles-le-Chauve_, Archbishop Hincmar became the protector of the enfeebled monarchy. In 858 he prevented _Louis-le-Germanique_ from deposing his nephew and becoming King of France. In 987, Archbishop Adalberon, at the Meeting of Senlis, drove the legitimate heir, _Charles de Lorraine_, from the throne, and favoured the election of Hughes Capet. Although, under the Capetians, Paris became the political capital of France, Rheims became the religious metropolis of the kingdom. From the time when _Louis-le-Pieux_ had himself consecrated emperor in the Cathedral, by Pope Stephen IV., it was understood that every new king must be consecrated by the successor of St. Remi.

=The Consecration of the Kings of France=

In the 12th century, Popes and Kings formally acknowledged the right of the Archbishop of Rheims to consecrate and crown the kings of France. As a matter of fact, until the Revolution, all the kings, except Louis IV.

and Henri IV., were consecrated at Rheims.

The ceremony of consecration filled the Cathedral with a great crowd of people. Apart from the peers, numerous prelates, dignitaries of the Kingdom, the Court, the Chapter of the Cathedral and the populace crowded in. Staging was erected for the public in the transept ends and along the choir. Before the consecration took place, the archbishop, at the head of a procession, went to receive the _Sacred Ampulla_ at the threshold of the Cathedral, brought on horseback by the Abbot of St.

Remi. Returning to the altar, the prelate received the King's oath and then consecrated him, anointing him with the holy oil on his head and breast, between and on his shoulders, on the joints of his arms and in the palms of his hands, each motion being accompanied with a special prayer. Then the Peers handed the insignia of royalty to the archbishop, who, surrounded by all the Peers, placed the crown of Charlemagne on the head of the King, _while the people shouted_ "_Long live the King_."

The King was then led to a throne prepared for him at the entrance to the Choir, and ma.s.s was celebrated with great pomp. The King and Queen communicated in both kinds, and the royal party then went in procession to the archbishop's palace, where the _Feast of Consecration_ was held.

In 1162, the Archbishopric of Rheims, until then a county, became a Duchy and the highest peerage in France, which explains why it was given to great personages, such as Henri-de-France and Guillaume-de-Champagne, brother and brother-in-law of Louis VII.

In the 12th century the archbishops, freed from the feudal rivalries, were confronted by a new power, the _bourgeoisie_ or middle cla.s.ses, born of the progress of industry and commerce, and whose importance was demonstrated by the great Champagne Fairs held sometimes at Rheims and sometimes at Troyes. The first _Company of Burgesses_, founded in 1138, soon became a "_Commune_." In 1147, the suburb of St. Remi, which the archbishop refused to allow to become attached to the "_Commune_" rose in revolt and was only appeased by the intervention of St. Bernard and Suger.

In 1160, Archbishop Henri-de-France, with the help of the Count of Flanders, who was occupying Rheims with a thousand hors.e.m.e.n, suppressed the "_Commune_" whose independence was alarming him. In 1182 a royal charter, granting to the inhabitants the right to elect for a year twelve "_echevins_" (aldermen), re-established the _Commune_ in fact, if not in name, but the struggle between the _Commune_ and the archbishop still went on. In 1211, Philippe-Auguste compelled the aldermen to hand over the keys of the city gates to the archbishop.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE CONSECRATION CEREMONY OF THE KINGS OF FRANCE IN THE CATHEDRAL OF RHEIMS (_see p. 4_)]

In 1228, Archbishop Henri-de-Braine, not feeling himself safe in the city, built the fortified castle of Mars-Gate (or old castle of the archbishops) outside the walls, but looking towards the city (_photo, p.

6_). During the serious riots of 1235, the burgesses besieged the archbishop's castle, for which act they were excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX., and rebuked by St. Louis. In 1257, St. Louis intervened once more, to put an end to the fighting between the free Companies of the Burghers and the soldiers of the archbishop.

In the 14th century the two adversaries frequently came to blows, until the king, in 1362, put an end to their quarrels by taking into his own hands the care and military government of Rheims.

In spite of these local struggles the city developed in the course of the Middle Ages. With Chartres it had a well-attended episcopal school, long before Paris. Among the masters of this school were _Gerbert_, one of the most learned men of the Middle Ages, who became Pope under the name of Sylvester II., and _St. Bruno_, founder of the Carthusian Order.

Among the pupils were _Fulbert_ (afterwards Bishop of Chartres), the historian _Richer_, _Guillaume de Champeaux_, and _Abelard_ (adversary of St. Bernard).

During the Hundred Years' War (_see military section_) the Town Council of Rheims, which the Treaty of Troyes in 1420 had placed under the domination of the English, declared in favour of Charles VII., in spite of the Duke of Burgundy, who was residing at Laon, and notwithstanding the intrigues of the Bishop of Beauvais, Pierre Cauchon, who, profiting by the absence of the archbishop, went so far as to have a _Corpus Christi_ procession in the city, to call down the blessing of Heaven upon the English. On July 17th, 1429, Joan-of-Arc handed over the keys of the city to the king, and was present at the consecration, standing near the altar with her standard which, "after having been through much tribulation, was accounted worthy of a place of honour." Since the return of Charles VII. to Rheims, the city had never ceased to be French. After the departure of the king and Joan-of-Arc, a friend of Pierre Cauchon plotted to deliver the town into the hands of the Duke of Burgundy, to whom the English promised it, provided he could take it.

The plot was discovered and failed.

Under Louis XI. a serious revolt, known as the Micquemaque, broke out in the town. Louis, well received at the time of his consecration, had promised the people of Rheims (or so they believed) the abolition of the tax known as the "_taille._" When, therefore, in the following year, the collectors demanded payment, the people rose in revolt and drove them out.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE OLD CASTLE OF THE ARCHBISHOPS OF RHEIMS, RAZED TO THE GROUND BY HENRI IV.

_The Archbishops of Rheims were formerly powerful temporal lords (see page 4)._]

As usual, the king had recourse to treachery. Disguised as peasants, his soldiers entered the city unperceived. Once inside, they arrested those who were most deeply compromised, and carried out violent reprisals.

Houses were plundered, many of the inhabitants banished, and nine put to death.

During the War of Religion, Rheims sided with the Catholics.

Under the influence of the _Guises_, five of whom were archbishops of Rheims (notably Cardinal Charles de Lorraine, the protector of Rabelais and Ronsard, and founder of the University of Rheims in 1547), the town espoused the cause of the League and opened its gates to the Duc de Mayenne in 1585. It submitted to Henri IV. only after the battle of Ivry, when the Castle of Mars Gate (stronghold of the archbishops) was razed to the ground. Henceforth the archbishops played no political part, and Richelieu put an end to strife by turning the _Guises_ out of the archi-episcopal see.

In the 17th and 18th centuries the town lived in peace, with alternations of misery and suffering (caused by plague or famine) and commercial and industrial prosperity. It was at Rheims that the first French newspaper, the "Gazette de France," printed by G.o.dard in 1694, appeared.

During the Revolution, Rheims received the new ideas with enthusiasm. It furnished a great number of volunteers to withstand the invasion, and on August 14th, 1792, the Legislative a.s.sembly proclaimed that the city "_had deserved well of the country_."

Under the Restoration its industry developed. In August, 1830, the people, who were favourably to the Revolution of July, overturned the cross of the "_Calvaire de la Mission_," erected in 1821 by the ultra-Catholic party, and in its place set up a funeral urn with the inscription, "To the brave men who died for liberty on the 27th, 28th and 29th days of July, 1830." The population accepted the monarchy of July, but without enthusiasm.

The Second Empire witnessed a remarkable development of business activity which, after the momentary stoppage caused by the War of 1870 and the Prussian occupation (_see military section_), made of Rheims, at the end of the 19th century, one of the great commercial and industrial cities of France. The population increased from about 30,000 (in 1792) to 59,000 (in 1865) and to more than 115,000 in 1912.

When the War of 1914 broke out, the rich and ancient city was still as _La Fontaine_ had described it:

"_No town is dearer to me than Rheims, The Honour and Glory of our France._"

[Ill.u.s.tration: RHEIMS, FROM AN OLD ENGRAVING (1622)]

=MILITARY HISTORY=