Page:Readings in European History Vol 1.djvu/308

 272 Readings i?i European History II. THE ISSUE BETWEEN POPE AND EMPEROR IN THE MATTER OF INVESTITURE 108. The A conference was arranged at Chalons in 1 107 between conference t ^ e representatives of the pope and those of the emperor, at Chalons sur Marne where the demands of each party might be clearly stated. tothe ald Although this did not occur until just after the death of question of Henry IV, it seems best to introduce at this point an investiture. ., (1107). (From account of the arguments advanced by each side, since fiffTf Luis the y serve to show the real nature of the troubles between the Fat.) Henry and Gregory. The report which follows is given by Suger in his Life of Louis the Fat (see above, p. 198). He was himself present at the conference and evidently neither liked the Germans nor approved of their argu- ments and point of view. The pope (Paschal II) having spent sometime in Chalons, the representatives of the emperor, men void of humility, hard and rebellious, betook themselves according to agree- ment to the place of meeting, with much display and a nu- merous escort, all richly appareled. These envoys were the archbishop of Treves, the bishops of Halberstadt and of Miinster, several counts, and Duke Welf, who had his sword carried before him. The latter was a man of great corpu- lence, truly astonishing in the length and breadth of his 'surface, and a loud-mouthed fellow withal. These turbu- lent men seemed to have been dispatched with a view to terrify those they met rather than to discuss matters in a rational way. We should make a single exception of the archbishop of Treves : he was an agreeable person, of good manners, well educated, a good speaker, and with a touch of French polish. He made a clever speech, saluting the lord pope and the assembly in the name of his master, and offering the empe- ror's services, saving always the rights of the imperial throne.