Note 8 — XIV

When Otto, the Saxon, a remote kinsman of our race, became a Roman Emperor, he became the Conservator of Rome and all her works. When William the Norman became King of England and the leader of Gothic races, it was his chosen mission to undo, in part, the work which Rome had done. As a soldier and statesman, the Norman leader had been trained in the "school" of the Saxon King. Read Mr. Freeman's "Western Europe in the Eighth Century." It is an impressive introduction to that "realm of shadows" which forms the background of the Norman Conquest. It was the genetic period of modern civilization. The geographic outlines of great modern States were just beginning to appear.