made for the repose of the soul of the dead, he set out on his journey for Aix-la-Chapelle in company with his wife and children and the chief lords of his party. He was doubtless uneasy as to what measures were being taken there by his father’s former ministers, among them Wala, the grandson of Charles Martel, who had wielded so great an influence at the late Emperor’s court. Such fears, however, were groundless, for hardly had Louis reached the banks of the Loire than the lords of Francia, hastening to meet him and take the oath of fealty to him, gave him an enthusiastic welcome. The famous Theodulf, Bishop of Orleans, having received timely notice, had even found leisure to compose certain poems for the occasion, hailing the dawn of the new reign. Wala himself came to meet his cousin at Herstall, before the Emperor, who was going by Paris in order to visit the celebrated sanctuaries of Saint-Denis and Saint-Germain-des-Prés, had entered Erancia. Most of the magnates hastened to follow his example.
At Herstall the new Emperor made some stay. There was at the palace of Aix a clique of the discontented who relied, perhaps, on the support of Charles’s daughters, and whose chief offence in the eyes of Louis seems to have been their disposition to pursue the dissolute way of life which had been customary at the court of the late Emperor. Wala, Lambert, Count of Nantes, and Count Garnier were sent on in advance to secure order in the palace and to seize upon any from whom resistance was to be feared. They were obliged to use force in carrying out their mission, and some lives were lost. After Louis, on 27 February, had made his solemn entry into Aix-la-Chapelle amidst the shouts of the people, and had taken over the government, he continued the same course, taking measures to put an end to the scandals, real or alleged, which for the last few years had dishonoured the court. His sisters, whose lapses from virtue, however, dated many years back, were the first to be assailed. After dividing among them the property due to them under Charles’s will, he sent them into banishment at various convents. Nothing is known of the fate of Gisela and Bertha, but Theodrada was obliged to retire to her abbey of Argenteuil, and Rothaid to Faremoutier. The Jewish and Christian merchants also, who were found established in the palace, were summoned to depart from it, as well as the superfluous women not required for the service of the court. At the same time Louis kept with him his illegitimate brothers, Hugh, Drogo and Theodoric. But the arrangements made in the name of good morals were followed up at once by measures directed against the descendants of Charles Martel. In spite of the loyalty just shewn by Wala, his brother Adalard, Abbot of Corbie, was exiled to the island of Noirmoutier, while another brother, Bernier, was confined at Lerins, and their sister, Gundrada, at St Radegund of Poitiers. Wala himself, fearing a like fate, chose to retire to Corbic.
