Charlemagne: The accounts for the years 775 to 776 from the Annals of the Kingdom of the Franks

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Then the pious and illustrious lord king Charles held the assembly at the villa called Düren, from where he undertook a campaign into Saxony. He captured the castrum of Syburg, rebuilt Eresburg and reached the river Weser at the place called Braunsberg, where the Saxons, who intended to defend the bank of the river, were arraying themselves for battle. By the help of the Lord and the exertions of the Franks the Saxons were put to flight; the Franks seized both banks and many Saxons were killed there. Then the lord king Charles divided his army and himself advanced with the men whom he had chosen to the river Oker. All the Saxon Eastphalians [Austreleudi] came there with Hessi, gave hostages as he was pleased to demand and swore oaths of fidelity to the above-said lord king Charles. Similarly, when the most gentle king returned from there the Angrarians came with Bruno and their other optimates to the district called Bucki [Bückegau] and there gave hostages, like the easterners [Austrasii].

On his return from there the aforementioned king joined up on the river Veser with the other part of his army, which was holding the bank as ordered. The Saxons had fought a battle with them at the place called Lidbach [Lübbecke] where, by the will of God, victory had fallen to the Franks, who had killed a great number of those Saxons. When the lord king Charles heard of this he fell upon the Saxons a second time with the army. He inflicted no less slaughter on them and won much booty from the Westphalians, who gave hostages like the other Saxons. Then the lord king Charles returned home with God's help to Francia; he had taken hostages, acquired abundant booty and three times brought about carnage among the Saxons.

When he then heard that Rodgaud the Lombard was betraying his faith, breaking all oaths and seeking to rouse Italy to rebellion, the lord king Charles undertook a campaign to those parts with a number of Franks. And he celebrated the Lord's birthday at the villa called Scladdistat [Sélestat]. And the count of the years changed to

776 AD

Then the lord king Charles entered Italy and proceeded to Friuli. Rodgaud was killed and the lord king Charles celebrated Easter in the city of Treviso. He distributed all the captured cities - Cividale, Treviso and the others which had rebelled - among Franks and returned to Francia, once again successful and victorious.

Then came a messenger reporting that the Saxons were in rebellion; they had abandoned all their hostages, broken their oaths and induced the Franks at the castrum of Eresburg, by means of destructive siege-engines [mala ingenia] and fraudulent assurances, to evacuate this. With Eresburg thus deserted by the Franks, the Saxons destroyed its walls and works. Moving on from there, they planned to deal similarly with Syburg; but with the Lord's help the Franks resisted them manfully and they accomplished nothing. For since they were unable to deceive the defenders in this castrum by assurances as they had done those in the other castellum, they began to array their troops for battle and to prepare the siege-machinery so that they could capture the fortress by main force; but by God's will the catapults which they had set up did more harm to them than to those within the fortress. And when they saw that they were getting nowhere they also prepared hurdles for an attack by storm upon the castellum. But God's might, as is right, overcame theirs, and one day, when they had made ready for the assault upon the Christians inside the castrum, God's glory appeared manifest above the building which housed the church there. This was witnessed by a large number of people, both inside and outside, many of whom are still alive today; and they say that they saw the likeness of two shields, red in colour and flaming and moving to and fro over the church. And when the pagans outside saw this sign they were thrown into immediate disorder. Struck by great terror, they began to flee to their camp; and as the whole multitude of them became seized by the panic and caught up in the flight, so some killed others and were themselves in turn killed. For those whose fear caused them to look back impaled themselves upon the spears borne on the shoulders of those fleeing in front of them, while others suffered from various blows which they struck each other and were condemned by divine vengeance. How greatly God wrought His might upon them for the deliverance of the Christians defeats description; but the greater their terror grew, the more the Christians were strengthened and praised almighty God, Who vouchsafed to make manifest His power over His servants. And when the Saxons fled from that place and the castrum had been saved, the Franks pursued and killed them as far as the river Lippe; and the Franks returned victorious.

And after the lord king Charles had arrived at Worms and heard about all these matters he summoned the assembly to that city. And when he held the general assembly there a decision was swiftly reached, with God's help; and moving with extreme speed he surprised the Saxons and penetrated their barricades and lines of defence. The penetrated their barricades and lines of defence. The Saxons were all thoroughly terrified and came from every quarter to the place where the Lippe rises; they all surrendered their country, by means of a pledge, into the hands of the Franks, promised to become Christians and subjected themselves to the dominion of the lord king Charles and the Franks. And then the lord king Charles and the Franks rebuilt the castrum of Eresburg once again, and another castrum on the Lippe; and there the Saxons came, with their wives and children, a multitude without number, and were baptised and gave hostages, as many as the aforesaid lord king demanded of them. And after the above-said castella had been completed and the Franks had stationed scarae to live in them and guard then, the lord king Charles returned to Francia.