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Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science

Michael Oberguggenberger
Alexander Ostermann

Analysis for
Computer
Scientists
Foundations, Methods, and
Algorithms
Second Edition
Undergraduate Topics in Computer
Science

Series editor
Ian Mackie

Advisory Board
Samson Abramsky, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Chris Hankin, Imperial College London, London, UK
Mike Hinchey, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Dexter C. Kozen, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
Andrew Pitts, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Hanne Riis Nielson, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
Steven S. Skiena, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, USA
Iain Stewart, University of Durham, Durham, UK
Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science (UTiCS) delivers high-quality
instructional content for undergraduates studying in all areas of computing and
information science. From core foundational and theoretical material to final-year
topics and applications, UTiCS books take a fresh, concise, and modern approach
and are ideal for self-study or for a one- or two-semester course. The texts are all
authored by established experts in their fields, reviewed by an international advisory
board, and contain numerous examples and problems. Many include fully worked
solutions.

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/7592

Michael Oberguggenberger
Alexander Ostermann

Analysis for Computer

Scientists
Foundations, Methods, and Algorithms
Second Edition

Translated in collaboration with Elisabeth Bradley

123
Michael Oberguggenberger Alexander Ostermann
University of Innsbruck University of Innsbruck
Innsbruck Innsbruck
Austria Austria

ISSN 1863-7310 ISSN 2197-1781 (electronic)

Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science
ISBN 978-3-319-91154-0 ISBN 978-3-319-91155-7 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91155-7

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018941530

1st edition: © Springer-Verlag London Limited 2011

2nd edition: © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar
methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from
the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or
for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to
jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface to the Second Edition

We are happy that Springer Verlag asked us to prepare the second edition of our
textbook Analysis for Computer Scientists. We are still convinced that the algo-
rithmic approach developed in the first edition is an appropriate concept for pre-
senting the subject of analysis. Accordingly, there was no need to make larger
changes.
However, we took the opportunity to add and update some material. In partic-
ular, we added hyperbolic functions and gave some more details on curves and
surfaces in space. Two new sections have been added: One on second-order dif-
ferential equations and one on the pendulum equation. Moreover, the exercise
sections have been extended considerably. Statistical data have been updated where
appropriate.
Due to the essential importance of the MATLAB programs for our concept, we
have decided to provide these programs additionally in Python for the users’
convenience.
We thank the editors of Springer, especially Simon Rees and Wayne Wheeler,
for their support during the preparation of the second edition.

Innsbruck, Austria Michael Oberguggenberger

March 2018 Alexander Ostermann

v
Preface to the First Edition

Mathematics and mathematical modelling are of central importance in computer

science. For this reason the teaching concepts of mathematics in computer science
have to be constantly reconsidered, and the choice of material and the motivation
have to be adapted. This applies in particular to mathematical analysis, whose
significance has to be conveyed in an environment where thinking in discrete
structures is predominant. On the one hand, an analysis course in computer science
has to cover the essential basic knowledge. On the other hand, it has to convey the
importance of mathematical analysis in applications, especially those which will be
encountered by computer scientists in their professional life.
We see a need to renew the didactic principles of mathematics teaching in
computer science, and to restructure the teaching according to contemporary
requirements. We try to give an answer with this textbook which we have devel-
oped based on the following concepts:
1. algorithmic approach;
2. concise presentation;
3. integrating mathematical software as an important component;
4. emphasis on modelling and applications of analysis.
The book is positioned in the triangle between mathematics, computer science and
applications. In this field, algorithmic thinking is of high importance. The algo-
rithmic approach chosen by us encompasses:
a. development of concepts of analysis from an algorithmic point of view;
b. illustrations and explanations using MATLAB and maple programs as well as Java
applets;
c. computer experiments and programming exercises as motivation for actively
acquiring the subject matter;
d. mathematical theory combined with basic concepts and methods of numerical
analysis.
Concise presentation means for us that we have deliberately reduced the subject
matter to the essential ideas. For example, we do not discuss the general conver-
gence theory of power series; however, we do outline Taylor expansion with an
estimate of the remainder term. (Taylor expansion is included in the book as it is an

vii
viii Preface to the First Edition

indispensable tool for modelling and numerical analysis.) For the sake of read-
ability, proofs are only detailed in the main text if they introduce essential ideas and
contribute to the understanding of the concepts. To continue with the example
above, the integral representation of the remainder term of the Taylor expansion is
derived by integration by parts. In contrast, Lagrange’s form of the remainder term,
which requires the mean value theorem of integration, is only mentioned. Never-
theless we have put effort into ensuring a self-contained presentation. We assign a
high value to geometric intuition, which is reflected in a large number of
illustrations.
Due to the terse presentation it was possible to cover the whole spectrum from
foundations to interesting applications of analysis (again selected from the view-
point of computer science), such as fractals, L-systems, curves and surfaces, linear
regression, differential equations and dynamical systems. These topics give suffi-
cient opportunity to enter various aspects of mathematical modelling.
The present book is a translation of the original German version that appeared in
2005 (with the second edition in 2009). We have kept the structure of the German
text, but took the opportunity to improve the presentation at various places.
The contents of the book are as follows. Chapters 1–8, 10–12 and 14–17 are
devoted to the basic concepts of analysis, and Chapters 9, 13 and 18–21 are ded-
icated to important applications and more advanced topics. The Appendices A and
B collect some tools from vector and matrix algebra, and Appendix C supplies
further details which were deliberately omitted in the main text. The employed
software, which is an integral part of our concept, is summarised in Appendix D.
Each chapter is preceded by a brief introduction for orientation. The text is enriched
by computer experiments which should encourage the reader to actively acquire the
subject matter. Finally, every chapter has exercises, half of which are to be solved
with the help of computer programs. The book can be used from the first semester
on as the main textbook for a course, as a complementary text or for self-study.
We thank Elisabeth Bradley for her help in the translation of the text. Further, we
thank the editors of Springer, especially Simon Rees and Wayne Wheeler, for their
support and advice during the preparation of the English text.

Innsbruck, Austria Michael Oberguggenberger

January 2011 Alexander Ostermann
Contents

1 Numbers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 The Real Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Order Relation and Arithmetic on R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 Machine Numbers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.4 Rounding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.5 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2 Real-Valued Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.1 Basic Notions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2 Some Elementary Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.3 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3 Trigonometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.1 Trigonometric Functions at the Triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.2 Extension of the Trigonometric Functions to R . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.3 Cyclometric Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.4 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4 Complex Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.1 The Notion of Complex Numbers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.2 The Complex Exponential Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4.3 Mapping Properties of Complex Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4.4 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
5 Sequences and Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
5.1 The Notion of an Infinite Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
5.2 The Completeness of the Set of Real Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5.3 Infinite Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
5.4 Supplement: Accumulation Points of Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
5.5 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
6 Limits and Continuity of Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
6.1 The Notion of Continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
6.2 Trigonometric Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

ix
x Contents

6.3 Zeros of Continuous Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

6.4 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
7 The Derivative of a Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
7.1 Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
7.2 The Derivative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
7.3 Interpretations of the Derivative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
7.4 Differentiation Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
7.5 Numerical Differentiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
7.6 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
8 Applications of the Derivative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
8.1 Curve Sketching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
8.2 Newton’s Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
8.3 Regression Line Through the Origin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
8.4 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
9 Fractals and L-systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
9.1 Fractals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
9.2 Mandelbrot Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
9.3 Julia Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
9.4 Newton’s Method in C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
9.5 L-systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
9.6 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
10 Antiderivatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
10.1 Indefinite Integrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
10.2 Integration Formulas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
10.3 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
11 Definite Integrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
11.1 The Riemann Integral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
11.2 Fundamental Theorems of Calculus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
11.3 Applications of the Definite Integral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
11.4 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
12 Taylor Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
12.1 Taylor’s Formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
12.2 Taylor’s Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
12.3 Applications of Taylor’s Formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
12.4 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
13 Numerical Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
13.1 Quadrature Formulas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
13.2 Accuracy and Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
13.3 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Contents xi

14 Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
14.1 Parametrised Curves in the Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
14.2 Arc Length and Curvature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
14.3 Plane Curves in Polar Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
14.4 Parametrised Space Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
14.5 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
15 Scalar-Valued Functions of Two Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
15.1 Graph and Partial Mappings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
15.2 Continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
15.3 Partial Derivatives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
15.4 The Fréchet Derivative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
15.5 Directional Derivative and Gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
15.6 The Taylor Formula in Two Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
15.7 Local Maxima and Minima. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
15.8 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
16 Vector-Valued Functions of Two Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
16.1 Vector Fields and the Jacobian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
16.2 Newton’s Method in Two Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
16.3 Parametric Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
16.4 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
17 Integration of Functions of Two Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
17.1 Double Integrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
17.2 Applications of the Double Integral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
17.3 The Transformation Formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
17.4 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
18 Linear Regression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
18.1 Simple Linear Regression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
18.2 Rudiments of the Analysis of Variance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
18.3 Multiple Linear Regression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
18.4 Model Fitting and Variable Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
18.5 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
19 Differential Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
19.1 Initial Value Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
19.2 First-Order Linear Differential Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
19.3 Existence and Uniqueness of the Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
19.4 Method of Power Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
19.5 Qualitative Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
19.6 Second-Order Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
19.7 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
xii Contents

20 Systems of Differential Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

20.1 Systems of Linear Differential Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
20.2 Systems of Nonlinear Differential Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
20.3 The Pendulum Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
20.4 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
21 Numerical Solution of Differential Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
21.1 The Explicit Euler Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
21.2 Stability and Stiff Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
21.3 Systems of Differential Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
21.4 Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Appendix A: Vector Algebra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Appendix B: Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Appendix C: Further Results on Continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Appendix D: Description of the Supplementary Software . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Numbers
1

The commonly known rational numbers (fractions) are not sufficient for a rigor-
ous foundation of mathematical analysis. The historical development shows that for
issues concerning analysis, the rational numbers have to be extended to the real num-
bers. For clarity we introduce the real numbers as decimal numbers with an infinite
number of decimal places. We illustrate exemplarily how the rules of calculation and
the order relation extend from the rational to the real numbers in a natural way.
A further section is dedicated to floating point numbers, which are implemented
in most programming languages as approximations to the real numbers. In particular,
we will discuss optimal rounding and in connection with this the relative machine
accuracy.

1.1 The Real Numbers

In this book we assume the following number systems as known:

N = {1, 2, 3, 4, . . .} the set of natural numbers;

N0 = N ∪ {0} the set of natural numbers including zero;
Z = {. . . , −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, . . .} the set of integers;
k 
Q = n ; k ∈ Z and n ∈ N the set of rational numbers.

Two rational numbers nk and m are equal if and only if km = n. Further an integer
k ∈ Z can be identified with the fraction k1 ∈ Q. Consequently, the inclusions N ⊂
Z ⊂ Q are true.

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018 1

M. Oberguggenberger and A. Ostermann, Analysis for Computer Scientists,
Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91155-7_1
2 1 Numbers

Let M and N be arbitrary sets. A mapping from M to N is a rule which assigns to

each element in M exactly one element in N .1 A mapping is called bijective, if for
each element n ∈ N there exists exactly one element in M which is assigned to n.

Definition 1.1 Two sets M and N have the same cardinality if there exists a bijective
mapping between these sets. A set M is called countably infinite if it has the same
cardinality as N.

The sets N, Z and Q have the same cardinality and in this sense are equally large.
All three sets have an infinite number of elements which can be enumerated. Each
enumeration represents a bijective mapping to N. The countability of Z can be seen
from the representation Z = {0, 1, −1, 2, −2, 3, −3, . . .}. To prove the countability
of Q, Cantor’s2 diagonal method is being used:
1
1 → 2
1
3
1 → 4
1 ...
  
1
2
2
2
3
2
4
2 ...
↓  
1
3
2
3
3
3
4
3 ...

1
4
2
4
3
4
4
4 ...
.. .. .. ..
. . . .

The enumeration is carried out in direction of the arrows, where each rational number
is only counted at its first appearance. In this way the countability of all positive
rational number (and therefore all rational numbers) is proven.
To visualise the rational numbers we use a line, which can be pictured as an
infinitely long ruler, on which an arbitrary point is labelled as zero. The integers are
marked equidistantly starting from zero. Likewise each rational number is allocated
a specific place on the real line according to its size, see Fig. 1.1.
However, the real line also contains points which do not correspond to rational
numbers. (We say that Q is not complete.) For instance, the length of the diagonal d
in the unit square (see Fig. 1.2) can be measured
√ with a ruler. Yet, the Pythagoreans
already knew that d 2 = 2, but that d = 2 is not a rational number.

−2 −1 − 12 0 1
3
1
2 1 a 2

Fig. 1.1 The real line

1 We will rarely use the term mapping in such generality. The special case of real-valued functions,
which is important for us, will be discussed thoroughly in Chap. 2.
2 G. Cantor, 1845–1918.
1.1 The Real Numbers 3

Fig. 1.2 Diagonal in the unit

√
square 2
1

√
Proposition 1.2 2∈
/ Q.
√
Proof
√ This statement is proven indirectly. Assume√ that 2 were rational. Then
2 can be represented as a reduced fraction 2 = nk ∈ Q. Squaring this equa-
tion gives k 2 = 2n 2 and thus k 2 would be an even number. This is only possible if
k itself is an even number, so k = 2l. If we substitute this into the above we obtain
4l 2 = 2n 2 which simplifies to 2l 2 = n 2 . Consequently n would also be even which
is in contradiction to the initial assumption that the fraction nk was reduced. 
√
As it is generally known, 2 is the unique positive root of the polynomial x 2 − 2.
The naive supposition that all non-rational numbers are roots of polynomials with
integer coefficients turns out to be incorrect. There are other non-rational numbers
(so-called transcendental numbers) which cannot be represented in this way. For
example, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter

π = 3.141592653589793... ∈
/Q

is transcendental, but can be represented on the real line as half the circumference
of the circle with radius 1 (e.g. through unwinding).
In the following we will take up a pragmatic point of view and construct the
missing numbers as decimals.

Definition 1.3 A finite decimal number x with l decimal places has the form

x = ± d0 .d1 d2 d3 . . . dl

with d0 ∈ N0 and the single digits di ∈ {0, 1, . . . , 9}, 1 ≤ i ≤ l, with dl = 0.

Proposition 1.4 (Representing rational numbers as decimals) Each rational num-

ber can be written as a finite or periodic decimal.

Proof Let q ∈ Q and consequently q = nk with k ∈ Z and n ∈ N. One obtains the

representation of q as a decimal by successive division with remainder. Since the
remainder r ∈ N always fulfils the condition 0 ≤ r < n, the remainder will be zero
or periodic after a maximum of n iterations. 

Example 1.5 Let us take q = − 57 ∈ Q as an example. Successive division with re-

mainder shows that q = −0.71428571428571... with remainders 5, 1, 3, 2, 6, 4, 5,
1, 3, 2, 6, 4, 5, 1, 3, . . . The period of this decimal is six.
4 1 Numbers

Each nonzero decimal with a finite number of decimal places can be written as a
periodic decimal (with an infinite number of decimal places). To this end one dimin-
ishes the last nonzero digit by one and then fills the remaining infinitely many decimal
places with the digit 9. For example, the fraction − 50 17
= −0.34 = −0.3399999...
becomes periodic after the third decimal place. In this way Q can be considered as
the set of all decimals which turn periodic from a certain number of decimal places
onwards.

Definition 1.6 The set of real numbers R consists of all decimals of the form

± d0 .d1 d2 d3 ...

with d0 ∈ N0 and digits di ∈ {0, ..., 9}, i.e. decimals with an infinite number of
decimal places. The set R \ Q is called the set of irrational numbers.

Obviously Q ⊂ R. According to what was mentioned so far the numbers

√
0.1010010001000010... and 2

are irrational. There are much more irrational than rational numbers, as is shown by
the following proposition.

Proposition 1.7 The set R is not countable and has therefore higher cardinality
than Q.

Proof This statement is proven indirectly. Assume the real numbers between 0 and
1 to be countable and tabulate them:

1 0. d11 d12 d13 d14 ...

2 0. d21 d22 d23 d24 ...
3 0. d31 d32 d33 d34 ...
4 0. d41 d42 d43 d44 ...
. ...
. ...

With the help of this list, we define


1 if dii = 2,
di =
2 else.

Then x = 0.d1 d2 d3 d4 ... is not included in the above list which is a contradiction to
the initial assumption of countability. 
1.1 The Real Numbers 5

30

1;24,51,10
5
42;25,3

Fig. 1.3 Babylonian cuneiform inscription YBC 7289 (Yale Babylonian Collection, with authori-
sation) from 1900 before our time with a translation of the inscription
√ according to [1]. It represents
a square with side length 30 and diagonals 42; 25, 35. The ratio is 2 ≈ 1; 24, 51, 10

However, although R contains considerably more numbers than Q, every real

number can be approximated by rational numbers to any degree of accuracy, e.g.
π to nine digits
314159265
π≈ ∈ Q.
100000000
Good
√ approximations to the real numbers are sufficient for practical applications.
For 2, already the Babylonians were aware of such approximations:

√ 24 51 10
2 ≈ 1; 24, 51, 10 = 1 + + 2 + 3 = 1.41421296... ,
60 60 60
see Fig. 1.3. The somewhat unfamiliar notation is due to the fact that the Babylonians
worked in the sexagesimal system with base 60.

1.2 Order Relation and Arithmetic on R

In the following we write real numbers (uniquely) as decimals with an infinite number
of decimal places, for example, we write 0.2999... instead of 0.3.

Definition 1.8 (Order relation) Let a = a0 .a1 a2 ... and b = b0 .b1 b2 ... be non-
negative real numbers in decimal form, i.e. a0 , b0 ∈ N0 .

(a) One says that a is less than or equal to b (and writes a ≤ b), if a = b or if there
is an index j ∈ N0 such that a j < b j and ai = bi for i = 0, . . . , j − 1.
(b) Furthermore one stipulates that always −a ≤ b and sets −a ≤ −b whenever
b ≤ a.

This definition extends the known orders of N and Q to R. The interpretation of

the order relation ≤ on the real line is as follows: a ≤ b holds true, if a is to the left
of b on the real line, or a = b.
6 1 Numbers

The relation ≤ obviously has the following properties. For all a, b, c ∈ R it holds
that

a ≤ a (reflexivity),
a ≤ b and b ≤ c ⇒ a ≤ c (transitivity),
a ≤ b and b ≤ a ⇒ a = b (antisymmetry).

In case of a ≤ b and a = b one writes a < b and calls a less than b. Furthermore
one defines a ≥ b, if b ≤ a (in words: a greater than or equal to b), and a > b, if
b < a (in words: a greater than b).
Addition and multiplication can be carried over from Q to R in a similar way.
Graphically one uses the fact that each real number corresponds to a segment on
the real line. One thus defines the addition of real numbers as the addition of the
respective segments.
A rigorous and at the same time algorithmic definition of the addition starts from
the observation that real numbers can be approximated by rational numbers to any
degree of accuracy. Let a = a0 .a1 a2 ... and b = b0 .b1 b2 ... be two non-negative real
numbers. By cutting them off after k decimal places we obtain two rational approxi-
mations a (k) = a0 .a1 a2 ...ak ≈ a and b(k) = b0 .b1 b2 ...bk ≈ b. Then a (k) + b(k) is a
monotonically increasing sequence of approximations to the yet to be defined num-
ber a + b. This allows one to define a + b as supremum of these approximations.
To justify this approach rigorously we refer to Chap. 5. The multiplication of real
numbers is defined in the same way. It turns out that the real numbers with addition
and multiplication (R, +, ·) are a field. Therefore the usual rules of calculation apply,
e.g., the distributive law
(a + b)c = ac + bc.
The following proposition recapitulates some of the important rules for ≤. The
statements can easily be verified with the help of the real line.

Proposition 1.9 For all a, b, c ∈ R the following holds:

a≤b ⇒ a + c ≤ b + c,
a ≤ b and c ≥ 0 ⇒ ac ≤ bc,
a ≤ b and c ≤ 0 ⇒ ac ≥ bc.

Note that a < b does not imply a 2 < b2 . For example −2 < 1, but nonetheless
4 > 1. However, for a, b ≥ 0 it always holds that a < b ⇔ a 2 < b2 .

Definition 1.10 (Intervals) The following subsets of R are called intervals:

[a, b] = {x ∈R; a ≤x ≤ b} closed interval;

(a, b] = {x ∈R; a <x ≤ b} left half-open interval;
[a, b) = {x ∈R; a ≤x < b} right half-open interval;
(a, b) = {x ∈R; a <x < b} open interval.
1.2 Order Relation and Arithmetic on R 7

a b c d e f

Fig. 1.4 The intervals (a, b), [c, d] and (e, f ] on the real line

Intervals can be visualised on the real line, as illustrated in Fig. 1.4.

It proves to be useful to introduce the symbols −∞ (minus infinity) and ∞
(infinity), by means of the property

∀a ∈ R : −∞ < a < ∞.

One may then define, e.g., the improper intervals

[a, ∞) = {x ∈ R ; x ≥ a}
(−∞, b) = {x ∈ R ; x < b}

and furthermore (−∞, ∞) = R. Note that −∞ and ∞ are only symbols and not
real numbers.

Definition 1.11 The absolute value of a real number a is defined as


a, if a ≥ 0,
|a| =
−a, if a < 0.

As an application of the properties of the order relation given in Proposition 1.9

we exemplarily solve some inequalities.

Example 1.12 Find all x ∈ R satisfying −3x − 2 ≤ 5 < −3x + 4. In this example
we have the following two inequalities

−3x − 2 ≤ 5 and 5 < −3x + 4.

The first inequality can be rearranged to

7
−3x ≤ 7 ⇔ x ≥− .
3
This is the first constraint for x. The second inequality states

1
3x < −1 ⇔ x <−
3
and poses a second constraint for x. The solution to the original problem must fulfil
both constraints. Therefore the solution set is
   
7 1 7 1
S = x ∈ R; − ≤ x < − = − ,− .
3 3 3 3
8 1 Numbers

Example 1.13 Find all x ∈ R satisfying x 2 − 2x ≥ 3. By completing the square the

inequality is rewritten as

(x − 1)2 = x 2 − 2x + 1 ≥ 4.

Taking the square root we obtain two possibilities

x −1≥2 or x − 1 ≤ −2.

The combination of those gives the solution set

S = {x ∈ R ; x ≥ 3 or x ≤ −1} = (−∞, −1] ∪ [3, ∞).

1.3 Machine Numbers

The real numbers can be realised only partially on a computer. In exact arithmetic,
√ for example in maple, real numbers are treated as symbolic expressions, e.g.
like
2 = RootOf(_Zˆ2-2). With the help of the command evalf they can be
evaluated, exact to many decimal places.
The floating point numbers that are usually employed in programming languages
as substitutes for the real numbers have a fixed relative accuracy, e.g. double precision
with 52 bit mantissa. The arithmetic rules of R are not valid for these machine
numbers, e.g.
1 + 10−20 = 1
in double precision. Floating point numbers are standardised by the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEEE 754-1985 and by the International Elec-
trotechnical Commission IEC 559:1989. In the following we give a short outline of
these machine numbers. Further information can be found in [20].
One distinguishes between single and double format. The single format (single
precision) requires 32-bit storage space

V e M
1 8 23

The double format (double precision) requires 64-bit storage space

V e M
1 11 52

Here, V ∈ {0, 1} denotes the sign, emin ≤ e ≤ emax is the exponent (a signed integer)
and M is the mantissa of length p

M = d1 2−1 + d2 2−2 + . . . + d p 2− p ∼
= d1 d2 . . . d p , d j ∈ {0, 1}.
1.3 Machine Numbers 9

0 2emin −1 2emin 2emin +1

Fig. 1.5 Floating point numbers on the real line

This representation corresponds to the following number x:


p
x = (−1) 2 V e
d j 2− j .
j=1

Normalised floating point numbers in base 2 always have d1 = 1. Therefore, one

does not need to store d1 and obtains for the mantissa

single precision p = 24;

double precision p = 53.

To simplify matters we will only describe the key features of floating point numbers.
For the subtleties of the IEEE-IEC standard, we refer to [20].
In our representation the following range applies for the exponents:

emin emax
single precision −125 128
double precision −1021 1024

With M = Mmax and e = emax one obtains the largest floating point number

xmax = 1 − 2− p 2emax ,

whereas M = Mmin and e = emin gives the smallest positive (normalised) floating
point number
xmin = 2emin −1 .
The floating point numbers are not evenly distributed on the real line, but their relative
density is nearly constant, see Fig. 1.5.
In the IEEE standard the following approximate values apply:
xmin xmax
single precision 1.18 · 10−38 3.40 · 1038
double precision 2.23 · 10−308 1.80 · 10308

Furthermore, there are special symbols like

±INF ... ±∞
NaN ... not a number, e.g. for zero divided by zero.

In general, one can continue calculating with these symbols without program termi-
nation.
10 1 Numbers

1.4 Rounding

Let x = a · 2e ∈ R with 1/2 ≤ a < 1 and xmin ≤ x ≤ xmax . Furthermore, let

u, v be two adjacent machine numbers with u ≤ x ≤ v. Then

u= 0 e b1 . . . b p

and

v=u+ 0 e 00 . . . 01 = u + 0 e − ( p − 1) 10 . . . 00

Thus v − u = 2e− p and the inequality

1
|rd(x) − x| ≤ (v − u) = 2e− p−1
2
holds for the optimal rounding rd(x) of x. With this estimate one can determine the
relative error of the rounding. Due to a1 ≤ 2 it holds that

|rd(x) − x| 2e− p−1

≤ ≤ 2 · 2− p−1 = 2− p .
x a · 2e
The same calculation is valid for negative x (by using the absolute value).

Definition 1.14 The number eps = 2− p is called relative machine accuracy.

The following proposition is an important application of this concept.

Proposition 1.15 Let x ∈ R with xmin ≤ |x| ≤ xmax . Then there exists ε ∈ R with

rd(x) = x(1 + ε) and |ε| ≤ eps.

Proof We define
rd(x) − x
ε= .
x
According to the calculation above, we have |ε| ≤ eps. 

Experiment 1.16 (Experimental determination of eps) Let z be the smallest pos-

itive machine number for which 1 + z > 1.

1= 0 1 100 . . . 00 , z= 0 1 000 . . . 01 = 2 · 2− p .

Thus z = 2 eps. The number z can be determined experimentally and therefore eps
as well. (Note that the number z is called eps in MATLAB.)
1.4 Rounding 11

In IEC/IEEE standard the following applies:

single precision : eps = 2−24 ≈ 5.96 · 10−8 ,

double precision : eps = 2−53 ≈ 1.11 · 10−16 .

In double precision arithmetic an accuracy of approximately 16 places is available.

1.5 Exercises
√
1. Show that 3 is irrational.
2. Prove the triangle inequality

|a + b| ≤ |a| + |b|

for all a, b ∈ R.
Hint. Distinguish the cases where a and b have either the same or different signs.
3. Sketch the following subsets of the real line:

A = {x : |x| ≤ 1}, B = {x : |x − 1| ≤ 2}, C = {x : |x| ≥ 3}.

More generally, sketch the set Ur (a) = {x : |x − a| < r } (for a ∈ R, r > 0).
Convince yourself that Ur (a) is the set of points of distance less than r to the
point a.
4. Solve the following inequalities by hand as well as with maple (using solve).
State the solution set in interval notation.
1
(a) 4x 2 ≤ 8x + 1, (b) > 3 + x,
3−x
1+x
(c) 2 − x 2 ≥ x 2, (d) > 1,
1−x
(e) x 2 < 6 + x, (f) |x| − x ≥ 1,
(g) |1 − x 2 | ≤ 2x + 2, (h) 4x 2 − 13x + 4 < 1.

5. Determine the solution set of the inequality

20
8(x − 2) ≥ + 3(x − 7).
x +1

6. Sketch the regions in the (x, y)-plane which are given by

(a) x = y; (b) y < x; (c) y > x; (d) y > |x|; (e) |y| > |x|.

Hint. Consult Sects. A.1 and A.6 for basic plane geometry.
12 1 Numbers

7. Compute the binary representation of the floating point number x = 0.1 in single
precision IEEE arithmetic.
8. Experimentally determine the relative machine accuracy eps.
Hint. Write a computer program in your programming language of choice which
calculates the smallest machine number z such that 1 + z > 1.
Real-Valued Functions
2

The notion of a function is the mathematical way of formalising the idea that one
or more independent quantities are assigned to one or more dependent quantities.
Functions in general and their investigation are at the core of analysis. They help to
model dependencies of variable quantities, from simple planar graphs, curves and
surfaces in space to solutions of differential equations or the algorithmic construction
of fractals. One the one hand, this chapter serves to introduce the basic concepts. On
the other hand, the most important examples of real-valued, elementary functions
are discussed in an informal way. These include the power functions, the exponential
functions and their inverses. Trigonometric functions will be discussed in Chap. 3,
complex-valued functions in Chap. 4.

2.1 Basic Notions

The simplest case of a real-valued function is a double-row list of numbers, consisting

of values from an independent quantity x and corresponding values of a dependent
quantity y.

Experiment 2.1 Study the mapping y = x 2 with the help of MATLAB. First choose
the region D in which the x-values should vary, for instance D = {x ∈ R : −1 ≤
x ≤ 1}. The command
x = −1 : 0.01 : 1;
produces a list of x-values, the row vector

x = [x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ] = [−1.00, −0.99, −0.98, . . . , 0.99, 1.00].

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018 13

M. Oberguggenberger and A. Ostermann, Analysis for Computer Scientists,
Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91155-7_2
14 2 Real-Valued Functions

Using
y = x.ˆ2;
a row vector of the same length of corresponding y-values is generated. Finally
plot(x,y) plots the points (x1 , y1 ), . . . , (xn , yn ) in the coordinate plane and con-
nects them with line segments. The result can be seen in Fig. 2.1.

In the general mathematical framework we do not just want to assign finite lists
of values. In many areas of mathematics functions defined on arbitrary sets are
needed. For the general set-theoretic notion of a function we refer to the literature,
e.g. [3, Chap. 0.2]. This section is dedicated to real-valued functions, which are
central in analysis.

Definition 2.2 A real-valued function f with domain D and range R is a rule which
assigns to every x ∈ D a real number y ∈ R.

In general, D is an arbitrary set. In this section, 1

however, it will be a subset of R. For the expres-
sion function we also use the word mapping synony- 0.5
mously. A function is denoted by

f : D → R : x → y = f (x). 0
−1 0 1
The graph of the function f is the set Fig. 2.1 A function

Γ ( f ) = {(x, y) ∈ D × R ; y = f (x)}.

In the case of D ⊂ R the graph can also be represented as a subset of the coordinate
plane. The set of the actually assumed values is called image of f or proper range:

f (D) = { f (x) ; x ∈ D}.

Example 2.3 A part of the graph of the quadratic function f : R → R, f (x) = x 2

is shown in Fig. 2.2. If one chooses the domain to be D = R, then the image is the
interval f (D) = [0, ∞).

An important tool is the concept of inverse functions, whether to solve equations

or to find new types of functions. If and in which domain a given function has an
inverse depends on two main properties, the injectivity and the surjectivity, which
we investigate on their own at first.

Definition 2.4 (a) A function f : D → R is called injective or one-to-one, if differ-

ent arguments always have different function values:

x1 = x2 ⇒ f (x1 ) = f (x2 ).
2.1 Basic Notions 15

1.5
y
1

0.5 (x, x2 )
Γ (f )
0
D=R x
−0.5
−1 0 1

Fig. 2.2 Quadratic function

(b) A function f : D → B ⊂ R is called surjective or onto from D to B, if each

y ∈ B appears as a function value:

∀y ∈ B ∃x ∈ D : y = f (x).

(c) A function f : D → B is called bijective, if it is injective and surjective.

Figures 2.3 and 2.4 illustrate these notions.

Surjectivity can always be enforced by reducing the range B; for example,
f : D → f (D) is always surjective. Likewise, injectivity can be obtained by restrict-
ing the domain to a subdomain.
If f : D → B is bijective, then for every y ∈ B there exists exactly one x ∈ D
with y = f (x). The mapping y → x then defines the inverse of the mapping x → y.

Definition 2.5 If the function

f : D → B : y = f (x),

is bijective, then the assignment

f −1 : B → D : x = f −1 (y),

1.5
y = x2 y = x3
1.5 1

1 0.5

0.5 0
x
−0.5
0
x −1 injective
−0.5 not injective
−1.5
−1 0 1 −1 0 1

Fig. 2.3 Injectivity

16 2 Real-Valued Functions

1.5
y=x 4 y = 2x3 − x
1.5 1

1 0.5

0
0.5 x
x −0.5
0
−1 surjective
−0.5 not surjective on B = R
−1.5
−1 0 1 −1 0 1

Fig. 2.4 Surjectivity

Fig. 2.5 Bijectivity and y

inverse function
y = f (x) = x2

√
x = f −1 (y) = y
x

which maps each y ∈ B to the unique x ∈ D with y = f (x) is called the inverse
function of the function f .

Example 2.6 The quadratic function f (x) = x 2 is bijective from D = [0, ∞) to

B = [0, ∞). In these intervals (x ≥ 0, y ≥ 0) one has
√
y = x2 ⇔ x= y.
√
Here y denotes the positive square root. Thus the inverse of the quadratic function
√
on the above intervals is given by f −1 (y) = y ; see Fig. 2.5.

Once one has found the inverse function f −1 , it is usually written with variables
y = f −1 (x). This corresponds to flipping the graph of y = f (x) about the diagonal
y = x, as is shown in Fig. 2.6.

Experiment 2.7 The term inverse function is clearly illustrated by the MATLAB plot
command. The graph of the inverse function can easily be plotted by interchanging
the variables, which exactly corresponds to flipping the lists y ↔ x. For example,
2.1 Basic Notions 17

Fig. 2.6 Inverse function y

and reflection in the diagonal
y = f −1 (x)

y = f (x)

the graphs in Fig. 2.6 are obtained by

x = 0:0.01:1;
y = x.ˆ2;
plot(x,y)
hold on
plot(y,x)

How the formatting, the dashed diagonal and the labelling are obtained can be learned
from the M-file mat02_1.m.

2.2 Some Elementary Functions

The elementary functions are the powers and roots, exponential functions and loga-
rithms, trigonometric functions and their inverse functions, as well as all functions
which are obtained by combining these. We are going to discuss the most important
basic types which have historically proven to be of importance for applications. The
trigonometric functions will be dealt with in Chap. 3.

Linear functions (straight lines). A linear function R → R assigns each x-value a

fixed multiple as y-value, i.e.,
y = kx.
Here
increase in height Δy
k= =
increase in length Δx
is the slope of the graph, which is a straight line through the origin. The connection
between the slope and the angle between the straight line and x-axis is discussed in
Sect. 3.1. Adding an intercept d ∈ R translates the straight line d units in y-direction
(Fig. 2.7). The equation is then
y = kx + d.
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 Plate IV
The modern reproduction of the Tomb of St. Martin. To face p. 213.
When Martin died, the people of Poitiers flocked to Condate to
claim the body of their former abbat. But the people of Tours
asserted their better claim, and carried him off in a ship to Tours. The
body of the saint was landed from the ship on the south bank of the
Loire, and deposited in a small oratory; the spot was called the
Station of the Body of St. Martin. It was moved thence to a more
central spot, and miracles began to be wrought at its new abode.
Briccius, his successor in the bishopric, built a church over it in the
eleventh year after the Saint’s death. Perpetuus removed this church
and built a more magnificent structure. The rich gifts of kings and
others made the church of Perpetuus very beautiful. St. Odo, in a
sermon on its destruction by fire, described it as lined with various
coloured marbles; in one place the walls were red with Protonis
marble, in another white with Parian, in another green with Prasine.
This church was burned by Willicharius. Chlotaire I rebuilt it. The
Normans burned it again in 853 and 903, and soon after the year
1000 it was rebuilt by Hervey the Treasurer in the form in which it
existed to the time of the Revolution. The Calvinists pillaged it, as
has been said above. At the destruction in the time of the Revolution
the various parts of the church were sold to speculators, and under
the First Empire all disappeared except the two towers which now
remain. The Cathedral church in the old Roman city, the eastern part
of the present city, was burned in the wars between Louis VII of
France and our Henry II, who was Lord of Tours and Count of Anjou.
In 1861 a rock-hewn tomb was found under a house which was
known to stand on the site of the high altar of the Abbey church. A
subterranean chapel was built over the tomb, and adorned with red
granite. This is now the Confessio of the new basilica of St. Martin.
There had only been two bishops of Tours before Martin. The first,
Gatian, died in 301. He had officiated secretly[203] in the remarkable
cave, across the front of which the ancient church of St. Radegonde
now stands, with its inscriptions.

Sca Radegundis Gemma Galliæ Pretiosissima, Ora pro

nobis. S. R. Regina Galliæ. Scus Gatianus Turonum Primus
Episcopus huius Parochiæ Fundator Primo Sæculo.

Lidorius succeeded Gatian after a lapse of thirty-seven years, and

built a small basilica for his bishop’s stool.
Martin had, during his bishopric, brought from St. Maurice, in the
valley of the Rhone, some relics of that saint, which he deposited in
a chapel built by Lidorius, to which also he removed from the
cemetery the remains of Gatian. This was the origin of the Cathedral
church of Tours, and we are thus enabled to see why its primary
dedication was to St. Maurice, and its second and permanent
dedication is to St. Gatian.
The public library at Tours, which is now on the quay facing the
Loire, and not at the place, as indicated by the guide-books, where
the Mairie stands, has a remarkably interesting collection of
manuscripts. Two of the finest of them are undoubtedly of
Charlemagne’s time. One of these, Tours No. 22 (St. Martin No. 247)
is a beautiful Book of the Gospels, written all in gold on very white
parchment, in remarkably perfect condition. The gold employed must
have been singularly pure. There are 277 leaves each with double
columns of 25 lines, and in all 289 leaves; the size is 12 ⅖ by 9⅕
inches. The initial letters are quite simple, and in exceedingly good
taste. The other, Tours No. 23 (St. Martin No. 174), is also a Book of
the Gospels, with 193 leaves, 11 ⅗ by 9⅕ inches. It has so-called
Hibernian initial letters, purple, with interlacements, and birds’ heads
with the characteristic eyes and beaks. It is much more probably
Anglian than Hibernian, and we may attribute it to the scriptorium of
the school of York, or to that of St. Martin of Tours as a copy from a
York manuscript. The present librarian assigns it to the writing school
of Marmoutier, across the Loire, which he thinks was the chief writing
school of Tours in Alcuin’s time. That opinion is founded on a remark
in connexion with the first establishment of Marmoutier, to which
reference will be made below;[204] the English student may well
attribute the MS. to St. Martin’s itself, produced, as a copy, under
Alcuin’s own eye, especially as it has always appeared in the
catalogue of St. Martin’s and not in that of Marmoutier, and is now
classed as a St. Martin’s MS.
The Evangeliarium first mentioned, in gold letters on white
parchment, is a book of historic fame. It is the book on which the
kings of France down to Louis XIV, in 1650, took their oath of fidelity
and protection to St. Martin of Tours, when admitted as abbat and
first canon of the collegiate church. The book was bound with great
magnificence of gold and gems; and when the Huguenots, under the
Prince of Condé, sacked the place, they carried off the rich binding,
but fortunately left the manuscript itself quite uninjured. The oath of
the kings is written on the reverse of folio 277, in a style closely
copied from the manuscript itself, probably in the eleventh or twelfth
century, all in small gold capital letters, with a point after every word.
The entry runs as follows;—

Hoc est iuramentum regis Francie quod facere tenetur dum

primo recipitur in abbatem et canonicum huius ecclesie beati
Martini Turonensis.
 Ego N. annuente Domino Francorum rex Abbas et
canonicus huius ecclesie Beati Martini Turonensis iuro Deo et
Beato Martino me de cetero protectorem et defensorem fore
huius Ecclesie in omnibus necessitatibus et utilitatibus suis
custodiendo et conservando possessiones honores iura
privilegia libertates franchisias et immunitates eiusdem
Ecclesie quantum divino fultus adiutorio secundum posse
meum recta et pura fide sic me Deus adiuvet et hec sancta
verba.

The first king who held the secular abbacy of St. Martin of Tours
was Charles the Bald, Charlemagne’s grandson, who became king
of France (Neustria) in 843, about thirty years after Charlemagne’s
death. There were ecclesiastical abbats till the year 845, when the
Count Vivian became the first lay abbat. After Charles the Bald it is
probable that the kings held the abbacy. Hugh Capet (987-996)
united the title of Abbat of St. Martin to that of King of France. The
fifteen kings from Louis VII in 1137 to Louis XIV in 1630 took the
oath on this book on admission to the abbacy.
The status of the abbat and of the brethren of St. Martin was long
in uncertainty. Charlemagne refers to the vague status of the
brethren in his letter of rebuke to them, which is given on p. 237;
they called themselves canons, or monks, as best suited the
necessities of an occasion. Probably there had been a time when the
monastery included both secular and regular inmates. It is uncertain
also whether the brethren elected the bishop (or archbishop) of
Tours, and, indeed, whether they had not a bishop of their own.
Hadrian I, addressing the abbat Itherius, who was the first founder of
Cormery as a place of residence for regular monks of St. Benedict,
writes thus[205] of St. Martin’s—“we decree that it be lawful to have a
bishop there as has been from ancient times up to now, by whose
preaching the people who come from various parts with devoted
mind to the holy thresholds of the said confessor of Christ may
receive remedial help from the Creator of souls.” Urban II, in 1096, at
the Council of Tours, recognized this, and “united the Martinensian
bishopric to the Apostolic See”, a very honourable extinction. We
have the names of eight abbats before Itherius. The seventh of
them, Wicterbus, was bishop and abbat; the eighth, the immediate
predecessor of Itherius, Wulfhard I, was abbat only. It is supposed
that the appointment of Alcuin, one of the secular clergy and in
deacon’s orders, was a decided step in the secularization of the
Abbey, and that his policy was in the same direction. It may be
suggested that already in the time of Itherius that abbat was
conscious of a secularizing tendency, and on that account founded
Cormery; and that Alcuin found the existence of the regular abbey at
Cormery a convenient outlet for the remnant of regular brethren at
St. Martin’s, and handed St. Martin’s over to his successor, Wulfhard
II, as a purely secular foundation. The step to a lay abbacy was then
not a long one.
 CHAPTER XIII
Further details of the Public Library of Tours.—Marmoutier.—The Royal Abbey
of Cormery.—Licence of Hadrian I to St. Martin’s to elect bishops.—Details of the
Chapter of the Cathedral Church of Tours.

The Public Library of Tours, as we have seen, has a very large

and interesting collection of manuscripts, which have come mainly
from three sources, the libraries, namely, of (1) the Cathedral church
of Tours, (2) the Monastery known as Marmoutier, and (3) the
Collegiate church of St. Martin. Twenty-one other churches and
foundations in the neighbourhood contributed manuscripts, besides
such collections as the expelled nobles possessed. In 1791 the
libraries of the old churches were collected into one depot, the
French Church having been organized as a civil institution in that
year and monastic vows made illegal. In 1793 the Conseil Général of
the Indre-et-Loire ordered that “les livres et manuscrits provenant
des maisons religieuses et des émigrés seront placés au ci-devant
Évêché, à l’effet de quoi le citoyen Suzor sera averti de l’évacuer au
plus tard le 15 mars prochain”. The third floor of the Évêché was
used for housing the manuscripts, &c., and by a most fortunate
appointment a true lover of the old things was made librarian. This
was Dom Jean Joseph Abrassart, ex-religious of Marmoutier. He
succeeded in saving a very large proportion of the ancient
manuscripts known to be in existence in the neighbourhood,
especially those at Marmoutier.
The library of the Cathedral church at Tours dated from the time of
St. Perpetuus, the sixth bishop, who left to his Cathedral church all
his manuscripts except the copy of the Gospels written by the hand
of St. Hilary of Poitiers (353-68) whom St. Martin had visited.[206]
Perpetuus was Bishop of Tours from 460 to 494. Ruinart, whose
edition of Gregory of Tours Migne took as the original of his edition,
notes that he had seen in the Cathedral library at Tours a book in
Saxon characters which had been supposed to be the work of
Hilary’s own hand; but he found that it contained matter much later
than Hilary’s time, and that the author had appended an inscription
stating himself to be Holaindus by name. A catalogue of the
Cathedral library was made in 1706 by the Chanoine Victor
d’Avanne, at which time the library contained 461 manuscripts. The
Chanoine complained that many other manuscripts had been
borrowed by savants and not returned; he names as culprits Auguste
de Thou, André Duchesne, Maan, and Michel de Marolls. Of the 461
manuscripts catalogued, the Public Library now has 309.
The library of Marmoutier was founded by St. Martin himself with
the abbey: so at least the phrase is understood to mean, “except
writing (or scripture) no art was exercised there.” Dom Gérou,
librarian of Marmoutier, made a catalogue of the manuscripts in his
charge, and Chalmel’s copy of that catalogue is now in the library of
Tours. There were, in 1754, 360 manuscripts, and there are now 263
of them in the library. Many of these are of value. Marmoutier was
always rich in Latin manuscripts. In 1716 a great collection made by
the Lesdiguières family was bought at Toulouse; these were chiefly
French, and thus it comes about that the library of Tours now
possesses some of the very first rank of the most ancient
monuments of French literature.
Sulpicius Severus, who made a special visit to St. Martin at Tours,
gives us an exact description of the site of this monastery, founded
by Martin in or about 372, at a distance of two miles from the city, on
its north-east side. He describes it as bounded on the north by a
range of precipitous rock, and on the south by a portion of the
stream of the river Loire, here divided. In those times it was only
accessible by one narrow way. Martin’s own cell was of wood, but
many of the eighty brethren excavated cells for themselves in the
rock, the nature of which lends itself to such excavation. The range
of cliff is honeycombed to this day for stables, wagon-sheds, &c.;
indeed, excavations of this character are a feature of the district,
observable from Poitiers to many miles on the Orleans side of Tours.
This abbey, like that of St. Martin, gradually became secularized, and
it, like St. Martin’s, was ruled by Count Vivian forty years after
Alcuin’s death. The names of many of its abbats before Alcuin’s time
are known, but it is only from the year 814 that a continuous series is
recorded. A photograph of some remains of the abbey is given in
Plate V.
The library of the Collegiate church of St. Martin was founded by
Alcuin, who borrowed books from England, mainly from York, and
had them copied; probably some of the borrowed books remained at
Tours, for Northumbria was in too disturbed a state to look after
manuscripts lent to France. In 1739 Bernard de Montfaucon
published an inventory of this library, which then contained 272
manuscripts. Of these the library of Tours now possesses 140. The
twenty-one other sources referred to above have provided 96
manuscripts, and the library has, besides, 159 which cannot be
traced to their source. This makes nearly 1,000 manuscripts in all
from these sources. The twenty-one sources referred to, and the
number of manuscripts each has provided, are as follows: The
Augustins of Tours 16; les Carmes 11; les Capucins 1; les Dames du
Calvaire 3: l’Oratoire 19; les Récollets 1; le Grand Séminaire St.
Julien 3; St. Pierre le Puellier 2; l’Union Chrétienne 3; la Visitation 2;
Aigues Vives 1; Amboise 3; St. Florentin d’Amboise 1; l’Abbaye de
Beaumont 4; Bois-Rayer 1; Cormery 5; Notre-Dame de Loches 2; la
Chartreuse du Liget 5; les Augustines de Beaulieu-lès-Loches 1; les
Religieuses Hospitalières de Loches 1; les Minimes du Plessis-lès-
Tours 11. What endless treasures England would now have
possessed if municipal authorities had taken such care as this of the
monastic libraries in the time of Henry VIII.
 Plate V
Some remains of Marmoutier. To face p. 222.
In translating the life of Alcuin, we omitted one of the examples of
Alcuin’s insight into the ways of men which the anonymous author
gives. It relates to Cormery, some miles up the river Indre, one of the
places from which manuscripts were brought into the library of Tours.
The trick played was as clever in itself as the detection of it was. It
got over the difficulty of the vessels being found to be partly empty,
and the difficulty that, if they were filled up with water, the taster of
the monastery would detect the fraud at once.
This is the passage in the Life:—
“To the brothers of Cormery, whom he greatly loved, the father had
ordered a hundred measures of wine to be given. When the wine
was to be taken to the monastery, he ordered the stewards of the
monastery, through Sigulf, a monk of Abbat Benedict, that they
should detain the conveyors of the wine, until in their presence the
wine should be poured from the vessels in which they had brought it
into others; because some of them had stealthily taken out some of
the wine, and, in order that the vessels might be full when they
reached the monastery, had put into them river-sand. That this had
been done, the fathers proved most conclusively.”
The monastery of St. Paul at Cormery has a special interest for
students of Alcuin. William of Malmesbury makes mention of it in the
famous passage in which he so highly praises Alcuin.[207] After
quoting Alcuin’s request[208] to Karl that he may have sent over from
his library of York some of the manuscripts which he describes as
the flowers of Britain, “that the garden of paradise may not be
confined to York, but some of its scions may be transplanted to
Tours,” William proceeds thus: “This is that same Alcuin who, as I
have said, was sent into France to treat of peace, and during his
abode with Charles, captivated either by the pleasantness of the
country or the kindness of the king, settled there; and being held in
high estimation, he taught the king, during his leisure from the cares
of state, a thorough knowledge of logic, rhetoric, and astronomy.
Alcuin was, of all the Angles of whom I have read, next to St.
Aldhelm and Bede, certainly the most learned, and has given proof
of his talents in a variety of compositions. He lies buried in France, at
the church of St. Paul of Cormery[209], which monastery Charles the
Great built at his suggestion; on which account, even at the present
day (about 1130 a.d.), the subsistence of four monks is distributed in
alms for the soul of our Alcuin in that church.”
 We have the documents which relate to the foundation of St. Paul
of Cormery, and they do not quite carry out William’s statement.
Itherius, the predecessor of Alcuin at St. Martin’s of Tours, had
acquired land at Cormery for the residence of monks, and in 791 had
issued a precept for the construction of a monastery. Much
discussion has centred round this fact, to which further reference is
made in another part of this book.[210] In the year 800, Karl issued
two interesting documents[211], both dated from St. Martin’s at Tours,
one signed by the king himself, the other certified by Genesius,
acting as deputy for the chancellor Hercambold. The first of these
documents has interesting features, and in it we find the reason for
the abbey being called, down to the Revolution, l’Abbaye Royale de
Cormery, and having as its armorial bearings the crowned eagle of
the empire impaling the lilies of France ancient. It is addressed to “all
the faithful men of St. Martin at that time serving in the holy place
where that precious confessor of Christ rests in the body, and to all
who shall follow them. Our beloved master Albinus has with pious
devotion begged of us that he may be allowed to settle monks in the
cell of St. Paul, which in rustic speech is called Cormery, there to live
the regular life according to the statutes of the holy Benedict. This
place his predecessor Abbat Itherius had acquired; he had built it,
and handed it over to St. Martin. We have thought it right to give our
assent to his pious devotion, and have caused it to be confirmed by
our letters under the seal of our authority, in order that no severance
may ever take place. For if divine piety has given to our parents and
to us the power over the whole monastery of St. Martin, and the right
to give it to whom we will, how much more have we the power of
assigning to God the aforesaid place. It is not lawful for any one to
contemn the donation or confirmation of royal benignity, especially in
an order so pious and wholesome as this. Therefore we entirely
order that this our donation stand to all time fixed and inviolate, and
that this place be never taken away from the possession of St.
Martin, but that there monks shall live under the full rule of St.
Benedict and have protection and help from the abbats of the
monastery of St. Martin. If any abbat in time to come should
disregard this our precept, let him know that he shall render an
account of his presumption to our Lord Jesus Christ in the day of His
great advent. So also shall any who diminishes aught of the things
which Abbat Itherius of blessed memory acquired, of the property of
St. Martin which he gave to the church of St. Paul, or of the things
which the said Abbat Albinus has given, at whose request we have
caused write these letters, or anything which any one may have
given in alms for his soul. That this may stand the more firm, we
have determined to subscribe it with our own hand and have caused
it to be sealed with our ring.”
The other document, addressed to all bishops, counts, officers,
&c., grants licence to the monks, “at the request of our most beloved
and faithful the venerable Abbat Albinus”, to have two ships coming
and going with necessary things on the rivers Loire, Sarthe, and
Vienne, free from toll. This was ordered to be sealed with Karl’s ring.
The navigation of the Indre, being their own river, was no doubt free
to them without grant.
 Plate VI
Capital found at Cormery. To face p. 227.
Ithier governed St. Martin’s at Tours from 770 to 791. Soon after
791 he died, and was buried in a grave at the entrance of the nave of
the abbatial church of Cormery, on the north side. The place can still
be pointed out. Fridugisus, the Nathanael of Alcuin’s letters, who
was designated by Alcuin as his immediate successor, became
abbat of St. Martin’s after Wulfhard II. He built a stone church, the
west front of which still stands in considerable part, with the
eleventh-century Romanesque tower, most of which still stands,
applied to it, the east wall of the tower being the west front of
Fridugisus. Plate VI shows a capital which has recently been found,
evidently of the time of Fridugisus. Considerable parts of the later
Gothic walls still stand. They are carefully tended by M. Octave
Bobeau, the local correspondent of the Minister of Public Education,
whose apartments are in the refectory of the abbey. The curé of
Cormery, M. l’abbé Jaillet, is a most obliging guide to the ruins, as
also to his own very fine cruciform parish church. In these most
recent days “his own” is a misdescription. The inventories have been
taken, and Monsieur le Maire is the master of the parish church and
its services. The large house of the abbats of Cormery is now a
dwelling-house in connexion with the communal school. An early
engraving in a French account of Touraine shows that the western
tower was crowned with a gallery and spire, not unlike that shown in
the illustration of Marmoutier, Plate V.
Some commentators suppose that the “other monastery”, which
Alcuin informs Arno he has built some eight miles from the city, was
this monastery of Cormery. But the distance named is not easily
reconciled with the geographical facts, and Alcuin could not properly
have stated that he was the founder of Cormery.
Cormery provided a home for the severer side of the monastic life,
St. Martin’s and Marmoutier remaining secular. Cormery being a
considerable distance away, a Benedictine abbey, of St. Julien, was
established in the eastern part of Tours, in the tenth century, by
Archbishop Théotolon, and a Romanesque abbey-church was built,
the square tower of which still remains; the church in its present
state has some ancient paintings, and deserves a visit. Being within
the limits of the ancient Roman town, it would naturally be under the
jurisdiction of the archbishop.
This will be a convenient point at which to give further details[212]
of the remarkable licence of Hadrian for a permanent bishopric of the
western part of the present city, at that time a district separate from
the ancient city, in which latter was the stool of the archbishop of
Tours.
The licence of Hadrian I, allowing the abbat and brethren of St.
Martin’s to elect and to have their own bishop, is printed (from Baluz)
in Gallia Christiana, vol. xiv, p. 7 of the Instrumenta relating to Tours.
The date is 786. The licence is addressed to Abbat Autherius, that is,
Itherius. It sets forth that by royal and papal privileges the Abbey of
St. Martin of Tours was in all respects independent of the episcopal
authority of the bishop of Tours;[213] whatsoever in the flock of St.
Martin needed arranging, ruling, or correcting, was a matter for the
abbat, provost, dean, and other most approved men. Hadrian
declares that they may have a bishop of their own, as had been the
custom from ancient times until most recent times, because of the
great numbers of persons who flocked from all parts to visit the
shrine and needed instruction in the faith. The person elected by the
abbat and the flock shall be ordained by the neighbouring bishops.
The metropolitan bishop—that is, the archbishop of Tours—shall not
enter the church for any exercise of his episcopal office, such as
ordinations, or making the chrism, nor shall he have power to
summon any of the priests of the monastery to appear before him.
The abbey bishop must not be impleaded without the assent of the
abbat. He is to have the pastoral care of the neighbouring districts
held by the abbey, and is to amend and correct in canonical manner
and due order with the consent of his abbat. If the abbat does not
choose to settle any matter of dispute which may arise between the
St. Martin’s bishop and the bishops of the neighbourhood, the matter
must come direct to the apostolic see.
That is a very remarkable document. We are not without
indications of other unusual customs in the province of Tours.
The Archbishop of Tours had eventually eleven suffragans, Le
Mans, Angers, Rennes, Nantes, Vannes, Cornouaille, Léon,
Tréquier, St. Brieuc, St. Malo, Dol. Some of these bishoprics trace
their origin to refugees from Britain in the middle of the sixth century.
A marked feature of the Archbishopric was the existence and
permanence of the office of Archpresbyter. The Chapter of Tours
itself, in its most complete form, consisted of Dean, Archdeacon of
Tours, Treasurer, Praecentor, Chancellor, two other Archdeacons,
the Archpresbyter of Tours, and fifty or more Canons. The Princeps
Archipresbyter preached on the greater Sundays, as the
Ecclesiastes Theologus did on other Sundays. At Le Mans, before
Alcuin’s time at Tours, there were two Archpresbyters, each in
management of half of the diocese; in the eleventh century there
were three; in 1200, eight. In 1230 Maurice replaced them by seven
Archdeacons, who had under them a number of rural deans, decani
rusticanis negotiis, an office into which the Archpresbyters, once so
important, subsided. Archdeacons of Le Mans are first named in the
will of St. Bertramn, in 623. At Angers the chief Archdeacon had
under him four Archpresbyters; the second Archdeacon had one
Archpresbyter and two Rural Deans; the third Archdeacon had three
Rural Deans. At Angers the Archbishop of Tours acted in 1334 much
as the Archbishop acted at St. Martin’s at Tours in or before Alcuin’s
time; he freed the Chapter from episcopal control and himself
confirmed the Deans[214].
 CHAPTER XIV
Great dispute on right of sanctuary.—Letters of Alcuin on the subject to his
representatives at court and to a bishop.—The emperor’s severe letter to St.
Martin’s.—Alcuin’s reply.—Verses of the bishop of Orleans on Charlemagne,
Luitgard, and Alcuin.

In the year 801, or early in 802, a question of sanctuary arose on

which Alcuin and Charlemagne took opposite views. The Emperor
was imperious in his dealing with the matter.
Two of Alcuin’s pupils, Candidus and Nathanael, Ep. 179.
held offices in the court of the Emperor at Aachen.
Nathanael was the pupil to whom Alcuin wrote a well-known letter
about the temptations and occupations of the court, his warnings
against the temptations being conveyed under cover of figurative
language. “Let not the crowned doves come to thy windows, that flit
about in the chambers of the palace; let not wild horses break in at
the door of thy chamber; do not occupy thyself with dancing bears.”
To Candidus and Nathanael he wrote, in evident anxiety, to tell them
what had happened, and to bid them put it before the Emperor in a
favourable light. This is what he says.
“The venerable father Theudulfus the Bishop [of Ep. 180. a.d. 801-
Orleans] has a dispute with some of your brethren 2.
of St. Martin’s about a certain fugitive culprit. This
culprit, after suffering very many kinds of punishment, suddenly
escaped from confinement, fled to the church of St. Martin a chief
confessor of Christ, confessed his sins, begged for reconciliation,
appealed to Caesar, and demanded to go to his most holy presence.
We gave him up to the messengers of the said bishop. They knew, it
is said, that preparations had been made to waylay them; they
dismissed him as he stood before the doors of the church, and went
their way. Thereupon there came a large number of the men of the
said venerated bishop, in a hostile manner as we have ascertained.
Eight principal men entered the church on the Lord’s day with our
own bishop [Joseph, the Archbishop of Tours]. These were not the
‘eight principal men’ who are read of in the prophet[215] as wasting
the land of Nimrod with swords and lances; they came to carry off
the culprit, to profane the sanctity of the house of God, to belittle the
honour of the holy confessor of Christ, Martin; indeed they rushed
into the sanctuary within the gates of the altar. The brethren drove
them out before the front of the altar. If they deny this, they say what
is absolutely false. No one of them at that time bowed the head
before the altar of God.
“The report spread that a hostile force had come from Orleans [a
distance of seventy miles] to violate the rights of St. Martin, for they
were known to be Orleans men. The pensioners rushed together
from every part of the city to the defence of their own defender.
Tumult and fear grew rapidly all over. Our brethren rescued the men
of the aforesaid bishop from the hands of the crowd, lest they should
be evil intreated, and drove the people out of the church.
“Now I know that the above-named pontiff will bring many
accusations against our brethren; will exaggerate what was done;
will say that things were done which were not done; for we have it in
his letters.
“I therefore charge you, my dearest sons, that you cast yourselves
at the feet of my lord David the most just and serene emperor. Beg
of him that when the bishop comes to complain, an opportunity of
defence may be afforded, and of disputing with him whether it is just
that an accused person should be taken by force from a church and
subjected to the very punishments from which he has fled; whether it
is right that one who has appealed to Caesar should not be brought
to Caesar; whether it is lawful to spoil of all his goods, even to a
boot-lace, one who is penitent and has confessed his sins; whether
that saying of the Scripture[216] is well observed, Mercy rejoiceth
against judgment.”
Alcuin then criticises the letter of the Bishop of Orleans, which has
not been preserved. In the course of the criticism he says two rather
clever things.
 “The venerable father says that an accused sinner ought not to be
received in the church. But if sinners are not to enter the church, how
are you to have a priest to say mass in the church, or who will there
be to respond except some quite newly baptised person? For does
not St. John say, If we say that we have no sin we deceive
ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Again, we find that in the
venerable bishop’s letter the accused man is called a devil, not a
man. Think what the Apostle says, Judge not before the time.”
Alcuin then proceeds to quote the canons on fugitives, and to
describe the arrangements made in all parts for men to take
sanctuary. He ends with a powerful appeal to the Emperor to bear in
mind the danger of allowing any supreme dignity to be made light of.
In another letter, written at the same time, and in Ep. 181. A
great part in the same words, to a bishop not fragment.
named, Alcuin adds something to what he has said
in the letter to his pupils. The man, he says, had certainly committed
many sins and done very impious wickedness. But he had the
evidence of two priests, Christian of St. Benedict of Tours and
Adalbert of St. Martin, that he had made confession to them before
he was seized and bound and tortured. Probably Alcuin thought that
would not appeal very forcibly to the mind of the Emperor, and that
the impiousness of the man would do more harm to his cause than
the fact of confession would do good. The man was given up by the
brethren of St. Martin not that he might be taken off to Orleans, but
that he might be taken before the Archbishop of Tours by the
messengers of the Bishop of Orleans, a matter very different from
what it appeared to be in Alcuin’s letter to his representatives at
Court. The attempt to carry off the fugitive was very unscrupulous,
for the man was within the altar rails and was actually lying prostrate
in supplication and appeal before the sepulchre of St. Martin.
Alcuin thought it best to send the fugitive far out of the way. We do
not know what he had done, or who he was; but we may gather that
his name was something like Kalb from the words which Alcuin
applies to him in sending him to Salzburg, to the safe keeping of
Arno the Archbishop.
 “I have sent to you this animal, the calf of my Ep. 183. a.d. 801-
hand, that you may help him and keep him out of 2.
the hands of his enemies. Help him as much as
you can, for the venerable bishop, that is Theodulfus, is greatly
enraged against us. I have put into the mouth of this youth, the calf
being an animal unnaturally rational, what he must moo in the ears
of your holiness.”
Now let us hear the voice of the emperor, by no means the moo of
a calf. We learn from his letter what on other grounds we should
have imagined, namely, that the culprit was a cleric. Well might the
bishop of Orleans rage against the Abbat of St. Martin.
“In the name of the Father and of the Son and of Ep. 182.
the Holy Ghost. Charles &c.[217] to the Venerable
Master Albinus and the whole congregation of the monastery of St.
Martin.
“The day before your letter reached our presence, a letter was
brought to us from Bishop Theodulf [of Orleans], containing
complaint of dishonour done to his men, or rather to the bishop of
the city [of Tours], and in contempt of the order of our empire. Which
order we caused write under the authority of our name for the
rendering up of a certain cleric, escaped from the bishop’s custody,
and in hiding in the basilica of St. Martin, a copy of which you have
sent to us. In it we think that we did not decree anything unjustly, as
you have thought we did.
“We have had both letters read to us again, yours [that is, Alcuin’s]
and Theodulf’s. Your letter appears to us to be much harsher than
Theodulf’s, and to have been written in anger, without any seasoning
of charity towards him; in defence of the fugitive, and in accusation
against the bishop. Under cover of a concealed name it maintains
that the accused person could and should be allowed to bring an
accusation, whereas both divine and human law forbids to allow a
criminous person to accuse another. For this he was defended and
protected by you, under pretext of the authority of our name; as
though one who had been accused and judged in sight of the people
of his own city of Orleans should have an opportunity of bringing an