The Leonine quarter, which embraced the Vatican Hill, with the
oldest St. Peter's Church and a papal palace, was connected with
the town by the Pons Aelius or Bridge of Hadrian. At the head of
the bridge, on the right side, was the sepulchre of Hadrian, a
tower-shaped building in which the Emperors up to the time of
Caracalla had been buried. When the Goths took Rome, the sepulchre
became a fortress, and remained so for a long time.
When the Romans woke up on that memorable morning of the year 998
A.D., they saw twelve wooden crosses erected on Hadrian's Tower
terrace. Right above them was to be seen the image of the Archangel
Michael, with his drawn sword, which had been erected by Gregory the
Great. Many people were assembled on the Aelian Bridge to see the
spectacle, and among them were a French merchant and a Gothic
pilgrim who had come from the west across the Leonine quarter.
The sword of the Archangel flamed in the beams of the sun, which
was now high.
"What are those crosses for?" asked the pilgrim, shading his eyes.
"There are twelve! Perhaps they are intended to represent the
twelve Apostles."
"No, they have finished their sufferings, and the pious Emperor does
not crucify the disciples of the Lord anew."
"Yes, the Emperor! The Saxon! Neither the Goth, nor the Longobard,
nor the Frank were to have Rome, but the Saxon--one of the cursed
nation whom Charles the Great thought that he had extirpated.
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