The crossing of the Pyrenees. It is almost universally accepted that Charles' first army crossed the Pyrenees at Roncesvalles and the second at Pertus, in the far east of the Pyrenees. Per Septimaniam proficiscentes ad Barcinonam civitatem pervenerunt . (Annales Mettenses). ...advancing through Septimania, they reached the city of Barcelona. The first army, on the other hand, entered through the Pyrenees and immediately took Pamplona: Primo Pampelonem Navarrorum oppidum adgressus in deditionem occepit . (Annales Regii posteriores). Coming first to Pamplona, the Navarrese fortress, he took it by capitulation. qui cum prima Pyrenaei iuga superasset ad Pampelonen, quod fertur nobile castrum esse Navarrorum veniens, id ceperat armis. (Poet Saxonis). The use of the verb come has made Rita Lejeune think that Carlos did not go directly from Roncesvalles to Pamplona, but that he came from somewhere else, from Jaca, having crossed the Pyrenees through Somport. More annales ne disent pas que Pampelune se trouvait directement sur le chemin des Francs la descente de Pyr n es. Au contrarie. On comprendrait plut t que Charlemagne a op r un mouvement qui le d tournait de sa route pour taquer Pampelune. In effect, par deux fois, il n'est pas seulment question de prendre la ville mais de comer vers elle, puis de s'assurer de sa possesion (Localisation de la d faite de Charlemagne, Colloquios, p. 33). The meaning of both words, adgressus and veniens, is indeed to come, to arrive. But the Latin verb venire means to go, to come, and to arrive. And not only that: as Corominas masterfully explains, venire commonly expressed the determined aspect, and ire, the indeterminate aspect. That is: venire (to come) expresses a movement directed toward a defined place, while ire (to go) does not, in itself, tend toward a precise place, but rather expresses the place one is going, the manner in which one goes, the purpose of one's departure, etc. In this way, ire will often be equivalent to the Spanish word "andar," while venire expressed movement toward a place, regardless of the position occupied by the speaking subject in relation to it. But since the spoken language of every person is especially rich in phrases about movement toward the place they occupy, it is natural that in all the Romance languages there was a tendency to associate venire with movements toward that place, a use for which it was already impossible in Latin to use ire, due to its very aspectual meaning. However, in the other Romance languages the possibility of using venire for movements toward places not occupied by the speaker is preserved, a possibility that remained almost unlimited in the medieval period and that in modern times has been practically restricted to movements toward the person to whom one is speaking or toward the person speaking, or to movements toward a third place when done together with the person speaking. In view of these clarifications by the specialist Corominas, it can be determined that the use of venire is correct in the sense of going to, arriving, or arrived at. The crossing of the Pyrenees took place at the end of April 778. The Astronomer highlights the difficulties of crossing the Pyrenees and the elevation of its peaks. He vigorously describes the height of the peaks, the ruggedness that causes terror in the spirit, the thick forests into which the sun does not penetrate, the narrow roads that hinder the passage of such a great army, and how they overcome difficulties with the favor of Christ. Statuit Pyrinaei montis superatta difficultate ad Hyspaniam pergere... qui mons, cum altitudine coelum penis contingat, asperitate cautium horreat, opacitate silvarum tenebrascat, anguish viae vel potius sumitate commeautum non modo Tanto exercitui, sed paucis admodum penis inercludat. Christo tamen favente, prospero emensus est itinere. (Vita Hludowici imperatoris). He arranged that, once the obstacle of the Pyrenees had been overcome, they should enter Hispania... this mountain, which, although it almost touches the sky in height, inspires terror with the ruggedness of its cliffs, is made dark by the opaqueness of its forests and almost blocks the way - because of the narrowness of its passes, or rather, because of its height - not only to a powerful army, but even to a few, was, however, crossed, with the help of Christ, in a prosperous journey. Finally, they reach the summit, Pyrinei yugum, and begin the descent towards Pamplona.
