Note 253 — Chapter X · THE ERA OF THE LATER CAROLINGIANS

Charles had been made duke of Lower Lorraine by the German emperor. This passage in Adalbero's speech looks like something of an appeal to Frankish pride, or as we would say in these days, to national sentiment. Still it must be remembered that while a sense of common interest was undoubtedly beginning to develop among the peoples represented in the assembly at Senlis, these peoples were still far too diverse to be spoken of accurately as making up a unified nationality. Adalbero was indulging in a political harangue and piling up arguments for effect, without much regard for their real weight.