a great gamble, but Hugh made it anyway, and chose him as archbishop instead of Gerbert, in order to appease Carolingian sympathizers and the local populace. Following the customs of those times, he was made to invoke a curse upon himself if he should break his oath of fidelity to Hugh. Arnulf was duly installed, and was confirmed by the pope. Yet to Arnulf the ties of blood with his uncle Charles was the stronger than the oath he had given Hugh. Gathering the nobles in his castle, Arnulf sent one of his agents and opened the gates of the city to Charles. Arnulf acted as if terrified, and took the nobles with him to a tower, which he had emptied out of supplies beforehand. Thus was the city of Reims compelled to surrender; to keep up appearances, Arnulf and Charles denounced each other, until Arnulf swore fealty to Charles. Great was the predicament of Hugh, and he began doubting whether he could win the contest by force. Adalberon, bishop of Laon, whom Charles expelled when he took the city, had sought the protection of Hugh Capet. The bishop made overtures to Arnulf and Charles, to mediate a peace between them and Hugh Capet. Adalberon was received by Charles favorably, but was made to swear oaths that would bring curses upon himself if broken. Adalberon swore to them all, "I will observe my oaths, and if not, may I die the death of Judas." That night the bishop seized Charles and Arnulf in their sleep, and delivered them to Hugh. Charles was imprisoned in Orléans until his death. His sons, born in prison, were released. Reaction in the south The betrayal of Charles and Arnulf by Adalberon, which occurs in the very moment of the council of Charroux (989), strongly strikes the imagination in the southern half of the kingdom: Adalberon is totally discredited in these provinces and the image of Hugh Capet is tarnished. The ruthless war against Charles of Lorraine in Laon and Reims (988–991), known by the story of Richerus of Reims and the letters of Gerbert, made the king hostile in the eyes of some of the churchmen. For a long time it was stated that the southern subjects had consistently rejected the first Capetian. Recently, studies have issued nuances. It seems that the rejection is political (the capture of Charles of Lorraine) rather than dynastic.