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120 Carinthia 20 CARINTHIA 64. CARINTHIA, which also is a mountainous region, lies next to Carniola and adjoins Styria to the east and north; to the west and south it borders on the Italian Alps and Friuli. It contains many valleys and hills that are fertile in wheat, many lakes, and many rivers, of which the foremost is the Drava, which is no smaller than the Sava and runs through Styria and Pannonia into the Danube. The Austrians hold sovereignty over the country and call its ruler the Archduke. Whenever a new ruler assumes office, they observe a ceremony that I have heard of nowhere else. In a spacious valley not far from the town of St. Veit an der Glan, the remains of an ancient city can be seen, whose name has been effaced by the long passage of time.256 Nearby, in the open meadows, stands an upright marble stone. This is mounted by a peasant, to whom the duty falls by familial descent and the right of inheritance. On the right stands a scrawny black ox, on the left an equally emaciated mare. The common people and all the peasantry crowd around. Surrounded by nobles dressed in purple , the ruler then advances from the opposite side of the meadows, preceded by a banner and the insignia of sovereignty. The count of Gorizia, who supervises palace affairs, leads the way amidst twelve smaller banners, and he is followed by the other officers of state. No one in the procession seems unworthy of honor except for the ruler himself, who presents the appearance of a peasant. His clothes are rustic, his cap and his shoes are rustic, and the staff he holds in his hand identifies him as a shepherd. When the peasant on top of the stone observes him coming, he shouts in the Slavic language (for the Carinthians, too, are Slavs), “Who is this I see advancing with such pride?” The people standing around him answer that the ruler of the land is approaching. Then he asks, “Is he a righteous judge, who seeks his country’s welfare? Is he a free man and worthy of of256 . Probably Virunum, capital of the Roman province of Noricum. Carinthia 121 fice? Is he a follower and defender of the Christian faith?” They all reply, “He is and he will be!” The peasant rejoins, “I therefore ask what right he has to move me from this place.” The count of Gorizia answers, “We purchase this place from you for sixty denarii, and these animals will be yours,” pointing to the ox and the mare. “You will also receive the ruler’s robes, which he removed just now, and your house will be unencumbered and free of tax.” When these words have been spoken, the peasant gives the ruler a light slap on the face and commands him to be a good judge; then he gets up and leaves the place, taking the animals with him. The ruler climbs the stone and, brandishing a naked sword in his hand, he turns in every direction and promises the people impartial justice. They say that he also drinks cold water which is brought to him in a peasant’s cap, as if he were condemning the use of wine. He then makes his way to the Church of Saal, named St. Mary, which stands on a nearby hill; it is said to have once been a pontifical see.257 Following the celebration of a mass, the ruler takes off his rustic garments, puts on a general’s cloak, and, after dining sumptuously with the nobles, returns to the meadows, where, sitting in judgment, he dispenses justice to petitioners and confers fiefdoms.258 65. There is a story that in the year of Christ our Savior 790, during the reign of Charlemagne, the duke of this nation, called Ingo,259 prepared a great feast for the inhabitants and ordered it 257. Aeneas uses the term “pontifical” (pontificalis) several times in this work. The German translation renders it as episcopal (bischöfliche, or some variation), which may, indeed be correct. In para. 105, however, Aeneas designates Cammin a “pontifical city,” stating that its bishop “is subject only to the pope.” To make the distinction clearer, in the same paragraph, he uses the term “episcopal see” (episcopalis sedes) to describe Brandenburg. For Aeneas, then, pontifical does not seem to have been a synonym for episcopal. Hence, although it is an unusual usage, we have maintained the...

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