From this time, we shall confine ourselves to the History of the Netherlands.  We shall then, therefore, endeavour to give a short view of the geography of these countries, and of the manner in which they were acquired by the Princes of Burgundy; then, shortly mention the successful revolt of the Seven United Provinces.

In one of them, GROTIUS, the subject of these pages, was born; the part which he took in the public events of his times, forms the most important portion of his biography.

I. 1.

Boundaries and Devolution of the Empire of Germany during the Carlovingian Dynasty.

800-911.

The Ocean on the north, the Danube on the south, the Rhine on the west, and the Sarmatian Provinces on the east, are the boundaries assigned by Tacitus to Antient Germany.  It formed the most extensive portion of the territories of Charlemagne; descended, at his decease, to his son, Lewis the Debonnaire; and, on the partition between his three sons, was allotted to Lewis, his second son.

All the territories of Charlemagne were united in Charles the Fat; he was deposed by his subjects, and his empire divided.  Germany was assigned to his third son, Charles the Brave.  On his decease, it was possessed by Arnold, a natural son of Carloman, the elder brother of Charles:  from him it descended to Hedwiges, the wife of Otho, Duke of Saxony, and she transmitted it to their son Henry the Fowler, the first emperor of that house.

[Sidenote:  800-911.]

From the skirts of Germany and France two new kingdoms arose:  the kingdom of Lorraine, which comprised the countries between the Rhine, the Meuse, and the Scheld; or the modern Lorraine, the province of Alsace, the Palatinate, Treves, Cologne, Juliers, Liege and the Netherlands;—­and the kingdom of Burgundy:  This was divided into the Cis-juranan, or the part of it on the east, and the Trans-juranan, or the part of it on the west of Mount Jura.  The former comprised Provence, Dauphine, the Lyonese, Franche-comte, Bresse, Bugey, and a part of Savoy; the latter comprised the countries between Mount Jura and the Pennine Alps, or the part 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.