Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/surveyofgeographOOpt 8 U R V E Y GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY MIDDLE AGES, A.D. 476—1492! WILHELlffiPUTZ, PRINCIPAL TUTOR AT THE GYMNASIUM OF KOUST. TRANSLATED FROM THE LARGER WORK (IN GERMAN), BY PROFESSOR STIGELL, OF MAYNZ. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY VARTY AND OWEN, 31, STRAND, AND E. GOVER, PRINCES ST., BEDFORD ROW. 1854. LONDON : PRINTED BY J. & W. RIDER, 14, BARTHOLOMEW CLOSI * / E? 6& PREFACE BY THE EDITOR. The " Survey of Mediaeval Geography and History," the larger edition of which is now translated into English for the first time, by Professor Stigell, of Maynz, forms the second volume of a series of Histories by Professor Piitz, of the Catholic Gymnasium, at Koln. The most marked attention has been paid to the spelling of proper names, and to the correcting of the few historical errors which had crept into the German edition ; while those portions of the " Survey " which appeared to the Editor to be too limited to be clearly understood, have been extended. E. G. CONTENTS. 1. Germany before the Migrations. pa&st § 1. Geography of Ancient Germany, or Germany in the First Century of the Christian Era 1— 4 2. State of Civilization among the Ancient Germans ... 5—14 3. The German Wars, from the time of their Conflicts with the Romans until the Migrations of the Nations 15 — 23 2. The Migrations of the Nations. § 4. Dissolution of the Gothic Empire by the Huns 23 — 25 5. General Immigration of the Germanic Races into the countries of the West -26 — 28 6. Dissolution of the Hunnish Empire 28—30 THE MIDDLE AGES. First Period. — From the Dissolution of the Western Roman Empire to the Accession of the Carlo vtngians and Abasstdes, 476 — 752. A. The West, § 7. Geographical Survey of Europe at the end of the Fifth Century 31 8. The West— The Kingdoms in Italy — Ostro-Goths — Byzantine Government in Italy — The Kingdom of the Langobardi (Lombards) 32 — 38 9. The Empire of the Vandals in Africa 38—40 10. Kingdom of the Suevi in Spain 40 11. Empire of the Visi-Goths 40—44 12. The Kingdom of the Burgundiones (Burgundians) in Gaid 44, 45 13. The Kingdom of the Franks under the Merovingians 45 — 53 14. Religion and Constitution of the German Nations ... 53 — 59- VI CONTENTS. B. The East. PAGE § 15. The Eastern Roman, or Byzantine Empire under the Macedonian Dynasty 59 — 68 16. The Arabians , 68 — 78 17. The New Persian Empire 79 C. The North-east of Europe. § 18. The Sclaves or Sclavonians, 80 Second Period. — From the Accession of the Carlovingians and abassides until the period of the crusades, 752—1100. § 19. Geographical Survey of Europe at the time of Charlemagne 81, 82 20. The Pranconian Empire under the Carlovingians 83 — 105 21. The Eastern Pranconian Empire under the last two Carlovingians 105 — 107 22. Empire of the Eastern Pranks under Conrad I., of Pranconia 108, 109 23. The German Empire under the Kings of the • House of Saxony 109 — 117 24. The Grerman Empire under the Pranconian Emperors 117—129 25. Italy 129—133 26. France under the last of the Carlovingians 134 — 137 27. Prance under the first four Capetians 137, 138 28. England (Angle-Land) under the West Saxon Kings 139—141 29. England under Danish Kings „ 141, 142 30. Restoration and Extinction of the Anglo-Saxon Dynasty 142, 143 31. Spain 144—146 32. The Arabians under the Abassides 146 — 148 Third Period. — The Period of the Crusades, 1096 — 1278, § 33. Geographical Survey of Europe during the Period of the Crusades 148—150 34. The Crusades 150—169 35. The German Empire under Lothaire the Saxon ... 169 — -171 CONTENTS. Vll PAGE 36. The German Empire under the House of Hohen- staufen (or Staufen) 171—187 37. The Interregnum in Germany 188 38. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies 188—191 39. France ; 191—197 40. England under Norman Kings 197 — 207 41. Spain (Arabian or Mohammedan) 207 — 209 42. The Byzantine (Greek) Empire 209—211 43. The Arabians 211 44. The Mongols 211—213 Fourth Period. — From the Termination of the Crusades to the Discovery of America, 1273 — 1492. A. The West. § 45. The German Empire 214—238 46. The Italian States 239—244 47. France 244—258 48. England and Scotland 259—271 49. The Pyrengean Peninsula (Spain) 272—274 B. The East. § 50. The Byzantine Empire under the Paheologi 274, 275 51. TheOsmans 275, 276 52. The Mongols 277—280 C. The North-east of Europe. § 53. Russia 280—284 54. Poland— Prussia 285—297 55. Hungary 297—302 56. Survey of the Progress of Civilization during the Middle Ages — Religion — Constitution — Legisla- tion and Government — The Sciences — Literature — The Arts — Commerce and Manufactures 302 — 326 Chronological Table 327—334 HANDBOOK MEDIEVAL GEOGRAPHY & HISTORY, INTRODUCTION. I. Germany before the Migrations. §1. GEOGEAPHY OF ANCIENT GEEMANY, OB, GEEMANY IN THE FIEST CENTUEY OF THE CHEISTIAN EEA. 1. The Land. a) Name and Exten t. — Prom the time that Julius Caesar subdued the German tribes on the left bank of the Ehenus, Rhine, and united them to the Belgic Gauls, Eoman Germany was divided into Germania S'wperior (or Prima), including the territory from Basilia, Basle, to below Mogontiacum, Maynz or Mentz ; Germania Inferior, (or Secunda), along the Ehenus, Rhine from Mogontiacum, Maynz, to the country of the Batavi ; and Germania Magna (Independent or Free Germany, also called Transrhenana or Barbara), consisting of the country between the Ehenus, ffliine, Danubius, Donau, the Vistula, Weichsel, and the North and East Seas. Eoman Germany was fortified against the incursions of the Free Germans by a line of castles and forts, as Bingium, Bingen, Bona, Bonn, Colonia Agrippina, Koln or Cologne, Novesium, Neuss, Castra- vetera, Xanten, which, extended from the Ehenus, Rhine, below the Segus Fl., Sieg, to the Danubius, Donau, nearly to Eatisbona. Those on the Danubius, Donau, extended from Eegina-Oastra or Eatisbona, Megensberg, upwards to the Hungarian Forests. The Eomans also 1 B MOUNTAIN'S, BITERS, SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS. [§ 1. erected detached fortresses on the other side of those two rivers at dif- ferent points, particularly on the Taunus Mountains in Westphalia, for t he protection of their frontiers, and to secure a free passage for their legions into the territory of the enemy. By degrees the Romans acquired possessions on the right bank of the Rhine, and on the left hank of the Donau : these, however, were distinguished from the other Roman G-erman provinces by the payment of tribute, and are termed by Tacitus, agri decumates, tribute lands. The walls, towers, and forts, built by the Romans formed the Yallum Romanum {Great Wall), which, perhaps, was once only a leading highway, such as we now find certain traces of in the Pfahlgraben on the Lower Rhine, and the Teufel's Mauer (Devil's Wall) on the Upper Rhine, which probably extended from Regensberg on the Donau over the Mayn and the Lalm, and joined the Rhine at Neuwied, and reached even to Siebenbergen, Transylvania. b) The Mountains from the Donau to the Carpathians were named after Hercynia, or Orcynia Suva, the Hercy- nian Forests. In later times, as the country became better known, the above name was restricted to the mountains of Eastern Grermany, and other designations were given to the remainder. Those not included in the Hyrcanian ranges were the Taunus, in the angle between the Rhine and the Mayn ; and the Teutelberg Mountains, in which the Amisia, Mm, the Luppia or Lippia, Lippe, and the Yisurgis, Weser, take their rise. c) The Rivers. 1, the Rhine, Rlienus. — The other rivers of Germany known to the ancients were the Neckar, Nicer, the Mayn, Mmnus, the L a h n, Logana, the S i e g, Segus, the Ruhr, Bur a, the L i p p e, Luppia ; 2, the E m s, Amisia ; 3, the Weser, Visurgis • 4, the Elbe, Albis, which (according to Strabo) separated Grermany into two halves, and the Saale, Salas; 5, the Oder, Viadrus; 6, the "Weichsel, Vistula, which divided Grermany from Sarmatia ; 7, the Donau or Danube, Danubius or Ister. This great river formed the boundary of the Roman Alpine provinces, and extended itself on the left side into Grermany. The N a a b, Nablis, the R e g e n, Beganum, the M o r a v a, Mar us, the Grran, Granua, the Waag, Cusus. d) Soil and Productions. According to the Romans (whose accounts are probably much exaggerated), G-ermany was a wild, rugged country, almost impassable from the number of black forests, foul bogs, and wide- extended marshes with which it abounded. Eruit-trees were almost unknown, and the cultivated land was comparatively 2 THE EREE GERMANS. [§ 1. unproductive, the ground being covered with snow and ice during the greater portion of the year. a) The forests, particularly the oak forests, abounded with wild animals, many species of which are now unknown, excepting in the higher latitudes of the north ; as the urus, or wild ox, the elk, and the bear; wild horses and bears were very numerous. The tame cattle were prolific but of inferior size and short-horned, (non gloria frontis.) The horses were ill-shapen and small, but very strong and hardy. Besides these there were sheep, goats, swine, dogs, (hounds for the chase,) fowls, bees, and fish of all kinds, b) The vegetable kingdom: the innumerable dense forests produced a vast quantity of wood ; and many of the trees reached an extraordinary size. The fruits never attained perfection, but oats, barley, and green vegetables of all kinds, were in abundance, c) Of the m i n e r a 1 kingdom: silver, copper, and iron, (used for arms,) salt, and, on the north-eastern coast, a resinous sub- stance called amber, produced from the pine, congealed and hardened in the sea. Silver was, however, exceedingly scarce, and gold (if any) unsought for in the mine. 2. The Tribes of Tree Germans. a) The inhabitants or people of Germania Magna (Free Germany) in the most remote times of which we have any record, were divided into tribes, each of which consisted of a number of families, and formed apparently a distinct nation. They were not, however, bound together by any political tie, but rather by their language, their legal cus- toms, their dissipated habits, and their religion. A seeming unity was preserved amongst them by their traditions, which led them to trace their common origin to one Manus, from whose three sons, Ingo, Isco, and Irmino, the three principal Germanic tribes derived their names, a tradition remarkably analogous in number, if not in name, to the Eno sh, menscli (man), Noah and his three sons, the four fathers of the Asiatic, European, and African races. A. The Free Germans. a) The Istsevones (West Germans) on the right bank of the Rhine, from Maynz to the mouth of the Tssel. To this branch belong (1) the Usipetes, and the Tencteri, who had a small strip of territory on the right bank of the Rhine from the isles of the Batavi nearly to Cologne ; 2) east, between the Lippe and the Siegmen, the Sigambri, or Sicambri; 3) the Mar si, (most probably) in the direction of Coesfeld ; and 4) the Bructeri, who dwelt on both sides of the Ems. b) The Xngsevones (inhabitants of the coast) dwelling THE STTEYIAN GEEMANS. [§ 1. on the borders of the North Sea, from the mouth of the Rhine, to the Cimbrian Peninsula, Jutland. 1) The B a t a v i inhabited the island between the Waal and the Rhine ; 2) the F r i e s i (or F r i s i i) from the east mouth of the Rhine to the Ems, and on the islands of the coast ; 3) the A m p s i v a r i i on both sides of the lower Ems (Amisia), whence their name ; 4) the Chauci, the most numerous of the Ingaevonian tribes, were located in the marshy country extending from the mouth of the Ems to that of the Elbe ; and 5) the S a x o n e s, who were east of the Elbe, in the pre- sent Holstein. c) The Hermiones (or Irmiones), inhabiting the central parts, south of the Ingsevones, and east of the Istsevones. To the above belonged the two confederate tribes of the C h e r u s c i, on both sides of the Middle Weser, and the C atti from the junction of the Fulda, and the Werra in the north, to the union of the Mayn and the Rhine in the south. B. The Suevian Germans. Prom the most remote period large masses of free Ger- mans, from the country between the Rhine and the North Sea, immigrated toward the east and south, and amalga- mated with the people of those countries forming the tribe of the Suevi. The Suevian Germans extended east to the "Weichsel and the Carpathian Mountains, and south to the Danube, where they approached the Roman provinces. The principal tribes of the Southern Suevi were the Hermun duri and the Marcomanni, between the Mayn and the Danube The latter tribe on the advance of the Romans in that direction with drew themselves from the Upper Danube, and retreated to Bohemia when they bordered on the Q u a d i, a Suevic tribe in the south-east The Eastern Suevi were the Semnones, between the Elbe and the Oder ; the Langobardi in the neighbourhood of the Lower Elbe, in the tract called Bardengau; the Burgundiones between the Oder and the Weichsel; and the Northern German tribe of the G o t o n e s, (who in the time of Caracalla appear under the name of Goths,) on the right bank of the Weichsel, and on the Baltic coasts. KELIGIOTTS NOTIONS OP THE QEEMASTS. [§ 2. §.2. STATE OF CIVILIZATION AMONG THE ANCIENT GERMANS. A. Eeligion. In the first century of the Christian era, the religion of the ancient Germans was not a rude worship of nature, but consisted essentially in the veneration of divinities ; even the idea of a most high Grod was not unknown to them, whilst the belief of a future and an immortal state of existence, where glory and honour should be conferred upon the brave and the virtuous, animated their breasts on the battle field, and nerved them in the hour of danger. The religious notions of the Germans bore manifest traces of an Oriental origin. The most exalted of their gods, and that which received the highest worship amongst them, was Wustan, the Odin of the north, and the Buddha of the east. He was regarded as the Almighty, Omniscient, All-creating Power, on whom depended success in war, and prosperity in the time of peace. The second principal deity was Donar, the northern Thor (Roman Mars) ; he was the god of battles, and was said to rule over the thunder (tonnerre) and the lightning, and the seasons, on which depended the fruitful productions of the earth. Beside these there was a special god of war named Zio (Zevs), the Gothic Tius (Deus), from whom the word Tuesday (Dinstag) is derived. He was, as might be expected amongst a nation of warriors, an object of peculiar adoration. The numerous Goddesses (for the ancient Germans had more goddesses than gods) were looked upon as wandering, visiting, nursing mothers, instructing the human race in the domestic occupations and arts, and in husbandry. To one of these goddesses Tacitus gives the name of Nertha, or Hertha (Mother Earth) Nirdu, and describes the ceremonies which were observed in her worship. She was supposed to be the mother of all mankind, guiding and ruling over human affairs, and visiting at stated times the several nations of the earth. Her place of residence was supposed by some to have been the Isle of Rugen in the Baltic Sea ; by others, Heligoland near the mouth of the Elbe. " When she pursued her journey from one nation to another, she was accompanied by a priest who followed the sacred chariot, which was drawn by cows. During her progress, festivals and rejoicings took place, war was un thought of, arms were entirely laid aside, and the sweets of peace were known and enjoyed. On her return to her residence, the priest declared the god- dess satisfied with her visitation, and re-conducted her to the sacred grove, her sanctuary ; the chariot with the sacred mantle which covered it, and, according to some, the goddess herself, and not her effigy, were then purified in the sacred lake, in which the slaves who assisted in the ceremonies were drowned, lest they should divulge the sacred mysteries." 5 BELIGXOITS WOESHIP OE THE GERMANS. [§ 2. The principal heroes, or earth-born gods, probably deified legis- lators or warriors, mortals placed inter divos, were T v i s c o Sohn Man, the father of all men, and his sons In go, Isco, and Irmino. Tvisco was also the most ancient deity of the Scandinavians, and accord- ing to some, the same with the Scythian or Celtic king Treulates. Besides these deities, almost every tribe had its own peculiar d se m o n s, which were partly benevolent and protective, and partly of a malicious and tormenting character, shadowy or ghostly spirits, as elves, giants, dwarfs, goblins, etc. In general, the goddesses of the Germans were more venerated than the gods, hence the importance which they attached to their counsels and responses, and the reverence with which they regarded certain females of their nation, who were supposed to be gifted with prophetic powers. The female sex was sacred, and adultery was considered an inexpiable crime ; it was, therefore, of very rare oc- currence. Amongst the prophetesses, who were silver-haired and named wise women, or A 1 r u n e s, was the celebrated Bructerian prophetess Y e 1 e d a, regarded as their queen. They were not worshipped as gods, but were very highly venerated and esteemed, as from them emanated the oracular responses of the will of the gods, which they interpreted from the entrails of animals' sacrificed for the purpose. Sometimes human victims were offered, supplied from the prisoners taken in war, culprits guilty of great crimes, or slaves purchased for the purpose. Omens, such as the roaring of the waves, the dashing of the billows against the rocks, etc., were also interpreted by the wise women. The religious services of the ancient Germans always took place in the open air. To immure their deities in temples, was to take from them the majesty of superior beings. Woods and groves were their sacred depositories, whilst sometimes holy mountains, consecrated lakes, rivers, and wells, were the places set apart for worship, which consisted of prayers and offerings in sacrifice. The kind of prayer used, and the method of praying are unknown ; but it is supposed to have consisted in lifting up the eyes towards heaven, bending the body, folding the hands, bending the knees, and uncovering the head. The offering of animals, particularly milk-white horses, was common to them. Fruits and flowers are seldom mentioned, probably because of their comparatively small value. The will of the gods was also ascertained by the flight of birds, the casting of lots, and the neighing of the sacred horses, (milk-white steeds,) a number of which were kept at the public expense, and when occasion required were splendidly caparisoned, and placed in the sacred chariot, when they were led forth accompanied by the sovereign. The priests, who interpreted the neighings, were regarded as the organs of the gods. The religious worship of the ancient Germans was by no means destitute of sensual gratifications, and the religious element was largely mixed up by them in all their rejoicings and feastings. The priests were not a sacerdotal caste like the Druids of Gaul and Britain, but united with the priestly character that of the civilian; they attended the public assemblies of the people ; and even accompanied the army to the field, regulating the discipline of the same, and punish- ing delinquencies whenever discovered. 6 CONSTITUTION" AND GOVERNMENT. [§ 2. E. Constitution and Government of the ancient Germans. According to Tacitus, Germany had anciently as many- republics as tribes, all of which were governed by an un- written or common law, formed by the community from the traditions of their ancestors. These were administered by the elder, or chief, who from the Hill of Justice, in the pre- sence of the members of the community, decided upon the cases brought before him. The laws were not, however, universal throughout all the tribes ; a similarity, indeed, pervaded them, but they differed somewhat from each other in every tribe, or confederation of tribes. Written laws probably existed long before the Carlovingian period, and seem to have been first used by those tribes of "Western Grermany, on the left bank of the Rhine, who had come in contact with nations which had forsaken idolatry and embraced Christianity; hence there was a considerable difference between the laws of the Western Germans and those of the East, who were still governed wholly by here- ditary customs. In all the Germanic codes the traces of a jury are discern- ible, whose province it was (at least in more recent periods) to fix the amount of satisfaction, or fine, to be rendered to the party aggrieved, which was regulated according to the rank or quality of the persons concerned, and the circum- stances of the crime. In many cases, however, the injured party was not bound by the decision of the court, but was at liberty either to compromise the matter, or to obtain revenge in whatever way he could. Excepting in a few in- stances, atonement might be made for any crime by the pay- ment of a fine, which, if the culprit were unable to meet, he was reduced to slavery, and, in some instances, put to death. The lands of the Germans were divided into districts, variously named ; a district containing one hundred landed proprietors and their families, formed a Community, or a Centenary, sometimes also called a Hundred. JPagus, or Gau, consisted of several hundreds, whilst a still greater number of communities formed a State (Civitas). Each district had a distinct name, and a magistrate to rule over it, chosen by the inhabitants. Those who ruled over a pagus, were of equal rank with the counts or dukes of a later period. Each district had also its assembly (concilium), in which were 7 THE GENERAL AND ORDINARY ASSEMBLIES. [§ 2. vested the legislative and the judicial power, together with the privilege of making war and determining peace. The magistrates were usually selected from noble families, and from being elective, at length became hereditary. The privilege of voting in the General Assembly was con- nected with the possession of landed property, which alone conferred full political rights ; even the son of a landed proprietor, so long as he had not acquired land of his own, was under the wardenship (mundium) of his father; and even his engagements in military service, however great his bravery, did not exempt him from the parental authority : he could not be independent. The General Assembly, if nothing prevented, was held at fixed and stated periods, and the vicinity of some sacred lake, statue, or cross, was the place usually selected, to add a solemnity to the proceed- ings ; and where neither of these was at hand, the upraised shield of the judge was used as the token. The Ordinary Assemblies were convened once a month, at the new or full moon. At their extraordinary assemblies (annual plaids'), every man took his place completely armed, so that the assembly resembled an army rather than a council of legis- lators. The business of the meeting was opened by the king, or in the absence of a sovereign, by the prince or chief of the community, who was followed by the rest, according to age, nobility of rank, renown in arms, or fame for elo- quence. The decision of the gods, which was sought by the casting of lots, was proclaimed by the priests, and if the proposition had been favourably received, the meeting testi- fied their approbation by the brandishing of their javelins, the clashing of their arms, and the utterance of loud exclamations. The rejection of a proposition was received by the expression of a general murmur. In later times, as the communities became extended, and the distance from the place of meeting consequently more remote, all the proprietors of land could not possibly attend ; delegates, or representatives, were therefore appointed. Subsequently, these assemblies were held twice in the year. At the first, when the more momentous affairs of the monarchy or state were discussed, all the members attended; but the second, at which the financial matters chiefly were determined, was attended only by the magistrates of the respective communities, the dukes and counts, and other 8 GRADATIONS OF ANCIENT GEKMANIC SOCIETY. [§ 2. officers connected with the administration of public affairs. In the former, every man possessing land had a right to be present, but the greater proprietors alone voted ; the smaller could neither take part in the debates nor vote, but had their station within a ring or circle, where they could hear, and were permitted to express their approval or disapprobation. Yiew of the Different Gradations of Society amongst the ancient G-ermans. The mass of the people, who were characterized by their fierce blue eyes, red hair, and robust frame, consisted of those who were free, and of those who were in a greater or lesser degree in a state of bondage to others. Among the free, there was a class of nobility (nobilitas), by no means numerous, the origin and precise condition of which cannot be determined : according to Tacitus, it consisted of those who, having been born of parents long possessed of freedom, were invested with the dignities of the commonwealth. Besides the l\obles, were the Jfreemen, the ^Freedmen, and the Slaves. The Freeman possessed liberty, but no official dignity. "War was his profession ; and on being solemnly invested with his arms in the presence of the great assembly of the people, he joined himself to one of the principal chiefs, who prided themselves in the number of their armed vassals. These, in time of peace, served to increase the splendour of then retinue, and in war were a source of defence. In later times, before nobility became hereditary, it is probable that the nobles were selected from the more renowned of these armed vassals ; hence the extreme jealousy with wbich they guarded the privileges of their order, every departure from which was severely punished. Next to the freemen were the freedmen {liberti), among whom some class the leudes (Htus), or the vassals of a lord. The freedmen may be said to have occupied a position between the freemen and the slaves, amounting to a state of half freedom. The offices discharged by them, were the various duties connected with the household, and agriculture, or the cultivation of the ground assigned to them by their lord. Between the freemen and the freedmen there was, however, a wide difference ; the latter could not (according to some) bear arms, neither could they hold landed property, excepting as a benefice or reward for services, and then it was conferred only for life ; but more frequently it was held only for a certain period ; it did not descend to their family. In the courts of law they coxild not give evidence against a freeman, nor cite one before the judges, even for the most flagrant offence ; it might, however, be done through their patron, who sued on his own behalf. Next in order were the Colon i, or Peasants, {Colonia conditio), who, although distinct from the slaves, may yet be regarded as bond 9 b 3 PEASANTS AND SLATES. [§ 2. labourers. They formed the great mass of the rural population, and occu- pied a condition between servitude and freedom. They were, however, irrevocably fixed to the soil, and could not be separated from the domain to which they belonged ; if the estate were sold, the Coloni were sold with it. Their personal sale was forbidden, and if they made their escape from the domain to which they were attached, the proprietor could claim them wherever found, and compel their return, even though they might have joined the ranks of the clergy, and become priests. The Coloni, although capable of holding property (Peculium), could not alienate or dispose of it without the consent of their masters, to whom they paid a fixed annual rent, which the proprietor himself could not raise. In some respects, the condition of the Coloni was worse than that of the slaves, for their masters could not manumit them from the soil : they could only become free by prescription ; that is, "when they had been for thirty years unclaimed by any proprietor, and therefore free. The Coloni, like the slaves, were subject to corporal punishments, although their masters had no political authority over them, but such as was connected with property. In civil matters, the Coloni could not prefer any charges against their proprietors or patrons, excepting for over-exaction in the rent of the soil, or any crime in which the interests of the public at large were concerned. Below the Coloni were the Slaves; and that they formed a very numerous class may be concluded from the fact, that it was by the produce of the cultivated lands, which devolved upon the slaves and the half-freemen, that the free warriors were supported. The slaves were either born so, or placed in that condition by various accidental circumstances ; the greater portion consisted of Grerman captives taken in war, numbers of whom were sold to the Romans, who drafted them into their legions. Freemen marrying slaves were degraded to the same position, and then* offspring also became the property of the pro- prietor. All debtors unable to satisfy the demands of their creditors, as well as convicted criminals who could not pay the fines levied upon them, were reduced to slavery ; some even embraced this condition through a mistaken piety, giving up their possessions to the church, and themselves with their families to slavery ; and not a few yielded themselves to it, as a protection from want and injustice. Before the period of the empire, slaves might be mutilated and put to death at the will of their masters, and could be sold and transferred from one domain to another. The occupations of the slaves were numerous ; some were wholly engaged in the cultivation of the soil, the entire produce of which, excepting what was barely needful for their own support, went to then- employers : others were occupied in the duties of the household, and in attending upon the person of their lord, and seem, as well as the Coloni, to have had a Peculium {slave property), by which they were enabled to purchase their freedom, and become Liberti, or freedmen. Whether the emancipation of a slave was known in ancient times or not is doubtful. In later times, it was generally conditional, and accom- panied by galling obligations. The manumission before the altar, how- ever, was complete, and the slave was raised above the dignity 10 MAGISTRATES. [§ 2. of the freedman, to that of freeman at once ; so also, when, in the presence of the sovereign, the denarius was struck from the hand of the slave, which signified that his master refused to receive the tribute of his servitude any longer. The most common mode of enfranchisement, however, was to open the door, and push the slave away with the hand, from whence the word manumissione. In later times, as the light of Christianity dawned upon the coun- tries of the west, and the arts and sciences began to be fostered and encouraged, the landed proprietors became alive to the fact, that their vassals could be much more advantageously employed in the industrial mechanical arts than in tilling the soil. Hence, serfs and freedmen gradually became artisans, and engaged in commercial pursuits. Free- men, whose sole occupation was arms,held such employments to be servile and degrading ; but in the reign of the fourth Henry the wall of par- tition between the serf and the freeman was broken down ; they were then allowed to bear arms, and to share in the privileges of the com- monwealth. The free German was known by his long curly hair, his arms, and the dress he assumed, which in the summer consisted of a tunic of wool, and in the winter of a coat of skins. The Bond men had their hair cropped short, and wore a narrow strait garment, or short close dress. According to Tacitus, the freeman' of this class might with the permis- sion of his master, carry arms, and sometimes even occupy a post of honour. On the other hand, the serfs, or the lowest class of bondmen, were regarded as brute beasts, could be bought and sold at pleasure, and, in case of death, no recompense was awarded. The Magistrates. The Magistrate, who presided over a pagus or canton, was termed principe, and possessed an authority fully equal to that of the dukes or counts of a later period ; they were distinguished by the nobility of their birth, and were pro- bably selected from some one noble family. In this respect they differed from the chiefs, Dux, who were chosen only for their valour. The prerogative of the magistrate, or principe, was to govern by his advice and counsel, to deter- mine matters of little importance himself, and to present those of greater moment before the general assembly. There were also principes who ruled over only a single community. The office of Duke (Dux), which was probably filled by one or other of the principes, existed only so long as the war of which they had the direction lasted; he then retired, the office being wholly of a military character. During the war, he led the army of the duchy or canton, over which he was placed, to the field of battle, at the command of the sovereign. Eventually the civil authority was annexed to the military, and the office was held for life, and subsequently became 11 CONSTITUTION OE WAK. [§ 2. hereditary. In earlier times, the dukes had no control over the revenues of the duchy, but simply transmitted them to the court. They had, however, an income sufficient to support the splendour and dignity of their station and office; the revenue of certain lands being set aside for the express purpose, which eventually became in many instances hereditary domains. Below the dukes were the counts, betwixt whom and the dukes there was a difference, similar to that which existed between the dukes and princes. There were also many minor military judges, who superintended the administration of justice in the various hundreds or gaus to which they were elected. An appeal from their decisions to the stiperior courts, however, was allowed, and even to the General Assembly itself, if considered necessary. C The Constitution of "War. The arms used by the German warriors displayed an amount of intelligence and experience, which if it had been applied to the industrial arts would have sufficed to procure for them not only the comforts, but many of the luxuries of life. That they were by no means ignorant of the art of working in metals is evident from the construction of their arms, of which the following is a brief description: — -1) The lances and javelins, with which they attacked their enemies, for although they constantly wore swords, yet they but very seldom used them. The former, which were preferred, consisted of a long shaft of wood tipped with a short narrow piece of iron sharply pointed ; these weapons served either for close engagement or for distant combat, for thrusting and for throwing, and with a shield formed the armour of the cavalry. The infantry had additional missive weapons, such as the short dart or frame (framea) , which was thrown to an incredible distance with almost unerring certainty. Breast plates were numerous, but helmets were rarely worn ; the warriors had also hows and arrows, and some of them carried immense clubs, to which pointed stones were fixed, called stone hammers, or thunder holts. For defence, they carried a shield of ozier twigs interwoven, or basket-work, or one made of wood, thin boards painted or daubed over with shining gaudy colours. Arms and citizenship were assumed by none until declared duly qualified by the state • and the aspirant for the honour must be of the age of twenty years. The candidate was introduced before the whole assembly, either by one of the 12 MANNEBS AND CUSTOMS. [§ 2. chiefs or his father, or some other relative, who, on his acceptance, invested him with a shield and javelin. "When war was declared by the assembly of the nation, a public proclamation was made, summoning all who bore arms to follow their chiefs. These constituted the army (der Heerbann) . There were those also who were designated followers (das Geleite), bands of young men who assem- bled round some hardy adventurer bent on a special expe- dition either at home or abroad, to acquire territory, or to obtain plunder. It was by these marauding, plundering bands that the destruction of the Western Ivoman Empire was mainly effected. In proceeding to the theatre of war, or field of battle, those armed with clubs formed a sort of wedge or close phalanx, whilst on either side and in the rear were their wagons laden with provisions, and their tenderest pledges — -their wives and their children, who were spectators of the battle, and applauded the heroism of the warriors. In the wedge of war marched the prophetesses arrayed in milk white linen, while the bards encouraged the warriors by the sacred songs or hymns which they chaunted before the commencement of the struggle, and at intervals during the conflict. When the order of battle was destroyed, and defeat appeared probable, the women would rush in and mingle with the combatants, and not unfrequently recover the lost advantages by their heroic valour. D. Manners and Customs. The ancient Germans entertained a sort of horror of being shut or penned up in towns or cities, which were therefore not known amongst them; neither did they allow of a continuity of dwellings, but lived in single habitations, which were huts covered with straw, turf, or green sods, and sometimes with a kind of earth, so smooth and glossy that the natural veins had some re- semblance to the lights and shades of painting. Their dwellings were erected amidst their own lands, upon which resided the chief of the family, and all those who cultivated the soil whether free or not ; relatives, labourers, and slaves were like the dwellings, scattered here and there over the whole domain. The chief occupations of the freeman, when not engaged in the business of war, were that of the chase and hawking, 13 MANNEBS AND CUSTOMS. [§ 2. at which the noble ladies frequently attended. The domestic duties of the house and the cultivation of the land were consigned to the aged men, women, children, and the serfs. Their food, like their dwellings and dress, was simple, con- sisting of wild apples, the flesh of recently killed animals taken in the chase, coagulated with milk, etc. Their invi- tations to each other were frequent, and the banquets were always scenes of intoxication, gaming, dissipation, and quar- reling, the latter frequently ending in bloodshed. Songs, of which they were extremely fond, and instrumental music, accompanied by naked dances amidst pointed swords and javelins, made up their social amusements. At their banquets matters of the greatest moment were discussed; but the decision was not given until the following day, when the excitement of the previous night's revelry had passed away, and left them comparatively cool and collected. Their drink was a beverage prepared, with little art, from barley or wheat ; for wine made from the juice of the grape they were as yet unacquainted with; while they carried their love of gaming to such an extent, as even to stake on the final throw, when everything else was lost, their personal freedom itself. Honesty, integrity, and chastity were highly es- teemed among them, and generosity towards vanquished enemies strongly marked the German character ; to which may be added a spontaneous hospitality, a glowing love to the land of their fathers, and the most heroic bravery. Their great vices were their love of drinking, gaming, and fighting. 14 B.C. 58] ARIOVISTUS. — JULIUS C^SAR. [§ 3. §3. THE GERMAN WARS, FROM THE TIME OF THEIR CON- FLICTS WITH THE ROMANS, UNTIL THE MIGRATIONS OF THE NATIONS. A. Wars of the Cimbri and Teutones, against the Romans (b. c. 113 — 101). B. The Conquests of the Eomans on the left banks of the Ehine (b. c. 58— 57). The first authentic accounts of the Germans commence with the invasion of the Roman Empire, when in conjunction with the Gauls, and again under the Macedonian king, Perseus, the great nation of the Bastarnse, carried on an unsuccessful war against the Romans. In 113 B.C., the Romans came again in contact with the Germans when in conjunction with the Cimbri, under the general name of Teutones, they defeated the consul Papirius Carbo on the confines of the Roman dominions. They next appear under the powerful monarch of the Marcomanni, Ariovistus, who assisted the Sequani against their common enemy the JEdui, whom they defeated. Ariovistus at length became the oppressor of both parties, and seized some of the territories on the left bank of the Rhine, belonging to the vassals of the Sequani ; he also poured hosts of German troops into the district of the Gauls who were also oppressed by the Helvetians. The Gauls having applied to Caesar for assist- ance, it was promptly rendered, when the Helvetians were defeated with great slaughter, and compelled to return to their dwellings at the foot of the Alps. The war between Ariovistus and Csesar respecting the dominion of Gaul was determined by the battle of Yesentio, Besanqon, B.C. 58, when the Germans were defeated, and compelled to recross the Rhine. Csesar followed up the defeat of Ariovistus by the subjection of the Belgic German tribes ; the JSTervii, who fought until their nation and name were nearly extinguished; and the Aduatici (probably the same with the Tungri of Tacitus) and the Eburones. He twice crossed the Rhine into the territories of the Sicambri to secure the Gauls from the inroads of the Germans, but without any fixed result. Csesar now resolved to engage the Germans as auxiliaries in 15 B.C. 15.] DKUSUS AND TIBEKITJS. [§ 3. the Soman army, and took a number of them into his pay, whom he employed in the subjugation of G-aul, and after- wards (during the civil wars of Rome) against Pompey, who being defeated at Pharsalus, left Caesar in possession of the empire of the world, b.c. 48. From the time of Augustus, the territory of the Germans on the left bank of the Rhine was divided into Germania Superior and Inferior, and formed part of the Gallic province Belgica. For the defence of the frontier against the irruptions of the Germans towards the west, eight legions were stationed on the Middle and Lower Ehine, having their head-quarters at Mogontiacum, Maynz or Mentz, Colonia XJbi- onum, or Agrippina, Cologne, and Castra Vetera, Xanten. On the Upper Bliine, beyond Mentz, such defences Avere considered unnecessary, as the fidelity of the German tribes in Germania Superior could be depended upon. C. The Conquests of the Romans south of the Danube. — Subjection of the Rhsetians, Vindelicians, and the Noricians, B.C. 15. That a natural frontier boundary might be obtained for the protection of the northern portions of the Roman Empire against the Germans, as well as to secure the passes of the Alps, Augustus caused his sons-in-law, Drusus and Tiberius, to march against the German tribes betwixt the Alps and the Danube. The former advanced from the south by the valley of the Etsch, Atagis, whilst Tiberius came down from Helvetia. The Roman arms were victorious, but the Rhsetians made a brave resistance, and it was not until the two Roman armies had combined that they sub- mitted, when the passes of the Alps were secured to the Romans. Vindelicia, Noricum, and Rheetia, were now (b.c. 15) Roman provinces, and the Upper Danube became the boundary between Germany and the Roman Empire, for the security of which the Roman colony Augusta Yin- delicorum, Augsburg, was established. By these conquests the incursions of the G-ermans towards the south were also restrained. D. Conquests of the Romans in Germany Proper, from b.c. 12 to a.d. 16. 1) Campaigns of Drusus and Tiberius. In order to subdue the tribes of Germany Proper, or the low German tribes, to the Roman dominion, Drusus, 16 B.C. 9, A.D. 4.] DKUSTJS AND TIBERITTS. [§ 3. assisted by his allies the Batavi and the Erisii, undertook four expeditions into their territories, B.C. 12 — 9 ; built additional fortresses on the Rhine (50); which formed the foundations of future cities and towns ; fortified the heights of the Taunus, and the Aliso on the Upper Luppia, Lippe ; and penetrated even to the Elbe. The first campaign was entered "upon in consequence of the attempts of the Sicambri and their confederates, the Usipetes and the Tencteri, to cross the Rhine. Drusus not only crossed the Rhine near the isles of Batavi, into the country of the Usipetes, but overran that of the Sicambri ; and that he might the better attack the enemy, he constructed a canal, Fosse Drusiana, by which he connected the Ehiiie with the Isala, Yssel, and built a fleet of ships with which he con- veyed his armies by the way of the North Sea (which he was the first to navigate) and the Amisia, Ems, into the middle of the country possessed by the Bructeri, whom he conquered. The Sicambrians, comprehending the designs of the Bomans, resolved to oppose the progress of their arms, and confederated with the Cherusci and the Suevi. This compelled Drusus to undertake a second campaign: he again attacked the Usipetes and the Sicambri, and had penetrated the country of the Cherusci as far as the Visurgis, Weser, when he was suddenly arrested, by a rumour of the rising of the nations in his rear. Having vanquished the confederates at Arbalo and fortified Aliso, he returned. The third campaign (from Mogontiacum, Mentz,) was directed against the powerful and warlike tribe of the Catti, who had been drawn into the confederacy of the Cherusci by the Sicam- brians ; Drusus defeated them, and despoiled the greater portion of their country. After erecting a fortress on the heights of the Taunus against them, he retired ; but again took the field in a fourth campaign, when he overran the territories of the Catti and Cherusci ; and, crossing the Yisurgis, Weser, advanced as far as the Albis, File, where, alarmed at the appearance of some gigantic women, he feared to proceed any further. Hastening his retreat, he fell with his horse, broke his thigh, and died in the camp, not far from the Elbe, (B.C. 9.) Tiberius succeeded Drusus in the command of the legions on the Rhine, but had recourse to stratagem, which he found to be more successful than the employment of force. He engaged many of the tribes to enter the Roman service, and thus brought all the nations from the Rhine to the Lower Elbe, together with the Suevi, to acknowledge the Roman sovereignty, (a.d. 4.) 2) The Marcomannic Empire, and the Che- ruscian Confederacy. — Struggles of the Free Germans against the Romans, a.b. 7 — 10. The extension of the Roman empire towards Suevia, 17 A.D. 9.] SATURKEUS — MAEBOD — ARIILNTTTS. [§ 3. brought the Romans into contact with the Marcornannic empire, which embraced many of the Suevic tribes, the chief of which were the Semnones and the Langobardi. Tiberius arranged his forces so as to eifect its destruction, and therefore resolved to attack it simultaneously on the west and south. Saturnius, the Roman governor of the German provinces on the Rhine, was to penetrate through the Hercynian forest, whilst Tiberius with the flower of the army was to precipitate himself upon Bohemia imme- diately from the Danube. The empire of M a r o b o d i u s, (M a r b o d) was, however, for a while saved from destruc- tion. An insurrection broke out in the Illyrian and Panno- nian provinces, on the Adriatic Sea and on the Carnatic Alps, which compelled Drusus to conclude a treaty of peace and friendship with Marbod, and to turn against the rebels. After a severe struggle of four years' continuance, the revolted provinces were subdued. Germany now bid fair to become a Roman province, but the imprudence of Quinctilius Varus, the successor of S. Saturnius, destroyed the advan- tages already gained, and occasioned a confederation of the tribes of Lower Germany to be formed, having for its object the throwing off the Roman yoke, which had been rendered oppressive by unjust taxation, the intro- duction of Roman provincial laws and customs, and the destruction of the native language, by the compulsory use of the Roman. At the head of the confederation was Arminius (H e r m a n), a prince who had not only been educated at Rome, but had served in the Roman armies. Induced by a false report of the rising of the Amsivari or Sicambri, to proceed to the Ems, Varus allowed himself to be enticed into the Teutoburgian forest, where the Germans, under Herman, attacked him, and cut to pieces three of the finest legions which Rome could boast. Varus could not survive this defeat, and falling upon his sword, slew himself in despair, a.d. 9. By this event the Germans regained their liberty, and the Romans lost all their conquests beyond the Rhine. Augustus, fearing an insur- rection among the Germans at Rome, compelled them to leave the city, and disbanded his German body-guard. The Cherusci, among whom Herman was born, now became the most powerful people of Germany. 18 A.D. 14—16.] CAMPAIGNS OF OERMANICTTS. [§ 3. 3) The Campaigns of G-ermanicus, a.d. 14 — 16. Germanicus endeavoured to recover the lost provinces in Germany, nor were his efforts entirely unsuccessful. He met Herman, the Cheruscian leader, at Idistavisus Campus (Idistaviss), now Hastenbach near Minden, and defeated him. The disaffection of the tribes on the other side of the Weser ,, however, compelled his return. On his passage by the way of the Ems and the North Sea to the Rhine, a great portion of his fleet was wrecked during a tempest ; notwithstanding his loss, he resolved to carry out the objects of the campaign; but while preparing so to do he was recalled to Home by the Emperor Tiberius. In the first campaign, G-ermanicus set out from Castra Vetera (Xanten,) and crossed the Rhine towards the north-east. Entering the country of the M a r s i, he laid it waste : the rising of the Bructeri and the Usipetes, however, checked his progress, and compelled his return. In his second campaign, he ascended the Lahn, and fell upon the Catti, whom he defeated. From Castra Vetera, G-ermanicus passed through Aulus Csecina, and attacked the Cherusci both by sea and land, but could not make much impression upon that warlike nation. Returning through the defiles of the Teutoburgian forest, the Romans beheld the skeletons of their fathers and kindred who had perished there, under Varus, six years before ; these Germanicus com- manded to be buried, which was done with much solemnity. Both divisions of the Roman army sustained considerable loss in its return to Rome. Herman harassed the rear, which he hung upon with his army, and a great number were wrecked in a storm oif the North Sea. The third campaign was on a much larger scale than the two former. The fleet consisted of 1,000 . sail, which set out from the Zuyder Zee to the mouth of the Ems ; the army penetrated by land to the banks of the Weser, where they vanquished the Germans at Idistavisus, on the right bank of the Weser. A second victory followed, obtained through the superior skill of the Romans. The advantages, however, which resulted from these conquests could not be permanently retained ; an insurrection of the tribes on the other side of the Weser once more compelled the return of Germanicus. Thus Germany was again free ; its liberty, however, had been dearly purchased, at the expense of the lives of thou- sands of its noblest warriors. The victorious sword of Some was now sheathed with bitter regrets for the past ; its only hope was from the dissensions which mani- fested themselves in the confederations and leagues formed amongst the various tribes, and the jealousies which existed between the principal nations. These breaches the friends 19 A.D. 69, 70.] BATAYIAtf WAR 'OF LIBERATION. [§ 3. (amisi) and allies of Home fostered, and by their intrigues tended to widen, until at last internal warfare brought them into subjection to each other. "War between Arminius (Herman) and Mar- bod (a.d. 17). By the alliance of Marobodius (Marbod) with the Romans, it soon became evident to the Germans that the object of his ambition was not so much the independency of Germany, as the establishment of a firm and lasting empire for him- self. Hence the Cheruscan league was joined by the bravest of the Suevic tribes, the Langobardi and the Semnones, who broke off from Marbod and united in the confederation against the suspected despot. In a bloody but undecisive battle, which was fought in Saxony, Marbod was worsted, and retreated into Bohemia, whence he was driven by the Gothones under their prince Catwald, and took shelter in Eavenna, where Tiberius allowed him to remain, (a.d. 19.) Soon after, Herman, who was also suspected of aiming at absolute dominion, fell a victim to the treachery of his own relations, by whom he was assassinated (a.d. 22.) After these events had taken place, a long and sanguinary warfare between the German and Suevic tribes continued with unremitting ardour for the long period of 150 years. E. The Batavian war of Liberation, (a.d. 69, 70.) On the death of the Roman emperor Galba, the army of the Rhine proclaimed Yitellius, aud accompanied him to Italy, where Vespasian contended with him for the empire. The alliance of the Romans having become burdensome to the Batavi, they took the opportunity of rising against them. Claudius Civilis, a Batavian, although bearing a Roman name, became their leader. At one time, the insur- rection seems to have spread throughout all the tribes on the left bank of the Rhine, even amongst the Belgic Gauls. Inspired by the sacred songs of the prophetesses, and an inherent love of liberty, they advanced towards the confines of the Roman territory, and commenced their attacks. At the beginning of the revolt, Civilis feigned to be collecting an army in favour of Yespasian ; but on the death of Yitel- lius, he shook off the Roman yoke, and all Gallia and the 20 A.D. 165.] ATTACKS OP THE GEEMANS ON THE EMPIEE. [§ 3. Roman legions who possessed it, with the Ubi, rallied round his standard, and a new Gallic kingdom was proclaimed. On the advance of Cerealis, the Roman general, into the Gaulish territories to crush the rebellion, the Gauls with their usual fickleness and want of unity forsook Civilis, and the kingdom was dissolved. The Treveri who remained faithful to their leader, were cruelly slaughtered ; whilst the Ubi, on the contrary, again joined the ranks of the Romans, and in conjunction with them attacked the Erisii and Chauci, who were hastening to assist Civilis, at Tolbiacum (Zul- pich), and cut them to pieces. This victory was followed by another at Xanten, when the Batavi retreated to the Delta of the Rhine, and once more became subject to Rome. The emperor imposed no taxes, nor collected any tribute, but wisely engaged that they should furnish troops to fight in the Roman armies, even against their own countrymen. F. Aggressive Wars of the Germans — At- tacks ofthe Germans on the Roman Empire. The wars of the Romans with the Germans, in the middle of the second century, were of a defensive character. In order to protect their provinces on the right banks of the Rhine, (agri decumates,) and on the left bank of the Danube, a frontier wall had been erected by the gradual advance of garrisons or forts, which extended from the Rhine over the Lahn and the Mayn, even to the Danube. This wall (vallum JRomamm) the Germans had made several breaches in, and had battered down many of the garrisons or forts, which the Romans (now engaged in foreign wars) were not able to protect ; still less able were they to main- tain their frontier on the southern Danube. Thus, when, in the second century, the nations on the Vistula and the Oder rose and poured forth their hosts upon their southern and western neighbours, nothing could withstand them, and they possessed themselves of the whole of the territory between the Black Forest and the Danube to Dacia. At a later date (a.d. 165,) another fearful inundation took place, consisting of hordes of nations hitherto unheard of, as the Yandals and Alans. They swept over the provinces like a torrent, and ascending the defiles of the Alps, did not stay their progress until they reached the immediate neighbourhood of Aquileia, in Upper Italy. On their arrival, 21 A.D.167 — 250.] OONFEDEBATIOSTS. [§ 3. tlie Roman legions were chiefly occupied in the eastern portion of the Roman empire, against the warlike Parthians. The war consequent on this descent of German tribes upon the Roman empire is known in history as the "Marco- mannic war" the Marcomanni being best known to the Romans, having been engaged with them before in the time of Marbod, (a.d. 167 — 180.) The emperor, Marcus Aurelianus, marched thrice over the Alps into Pannonia, against the. barbarians, but could only partially subdue them. To stay their ravages, he took a large number of them into the pay of the empire, as mercenaries, and distributed them throughout the various provinces. He died at Yindebona, Vienna, after having struggled for thirteen years to regain the broken border lines of the empire. Commodus, his son, unlike the father, preferred peace to an unprofitable and destructive war, and therefore entered into a treaty with the Marcomanni, by which he engaged to resign all the Roman fortresses in their territory on condition of the payment of an annual tribute, and the liberation of all captives. This success on the part of those Germans in the Marco- mannic war, revived the slumbering energies of other tribes ; hence other and even more powerful leagues were formed during the third century of the Christian era, as the Ale mannic league, (All men,) composed of all the tribes from the Mayn, along the Rhine to the Alps — the Prankish confederacy on both sides of the Lower-Rhine — and the Saxon, from the Elbe nearly to the Rhine— the three ancient divisions of the tribes. A more important and extensive confederacy than either of the above, and once which exerted a more powerful influ- ence on the Roman empire, was the Gothic, in eastern Germany, embracing the Vandals and Alans. The Western German Confederation had, in the third and fourth centuries, not only regained the terri- tory lying betwixt the Upper Rhine and Danube, but had thoroughly Germanized it, and directing their course towards the south-west, had infringed upon the boundaries of the Roman empire. The Alemanni made themselves masters of the Upper Rhine and the Danube, while the Pranks, crossing the Lower Rhine, invaded Gaul. The Saxons were chiefly occupied in piratical excursions to the Gallic and 22 AD. 375.] HUNS — OSTROGOTHS — YISIGOTHS. [§ 4. British coasts. The Goths, a tribe of the Eastern G e r- m a n s, descended southward, and not only conquered the Roman Dacia, and extended themselves even to the Theiss, but penetrated into Mcesia and Thracia, both by sea and land, ravaging and plundering all the cities on the Greek and Asiatic coasts, and on the shores of the Pontus Euxinus, Black Sea. After the fourth century, they were divided into Ostro, or Eastern Goths, inhabiting the shores of the Euxine ; and the Visi, or "Western Goths, occupying Dacia. About the end of the fourth century both the Alemanni and the Franks had obtained a firm footing within the territories of the Roman empire. They were at first under the supremacy of the Eomans, the Alemanni in Alsatia, Alsace, and the Franks in the northern Nether- lands, on the Batavic Islands, and on the banks of the Meuse and Scheldt, where the appellation of Sales (Saltan Franks) was applied to them as well as to those who were settled in the Roman teritories. II. The Migrations of the Nations. § 4. DISSOLUTION OF THE GOTHIC EMPIRE BY THE HUNS. "While the Visigoths in Dacia maintained a peaceful re- lation with the Roman empire, receiving large sums of money from the emperor, and were occupied in agricultural pursuits in the rich plains north of the Danube, other Gothic tribes were prn'suing their conquests in the plains of Sarmatia, and, under the brave and warlike Hermanric, founded an empire, which not only embraced all the Sclavic tribes between the Euxine and Baltic Seas, but also a great portion of the Einnish TJgrian tribes on the Wolga. After a transient existence, this kingdom was dissolved by the Huns, who, under their leader, Attila, advanced from their primitive habitations, beyond the Ural Mountains, in east- ern Asia. In alliance with the Alani, Alans, between the Wolga and the Don, the Huns attacked the Ostrogoths, whose king, Hermanric, now 110 years of age, proved too feeble to resist the multitudes that poured down upon him. His army being completely vanquished, his spirit could not brook so signal a defeat, and it is said that he put an end to his existence by falling on his sword (a.d. 375.) The Ostrogoths now retreated upon the territories of the Visi- 23 A.D. 378-95.] HUNS — OSTROGOTHS — VISIGOTHS. [§ 4. goths, in Dacia, followed by tlie Huns, when the Visigoths, unable to stem the torrent, retreated to the right bank of the Danube, and earnestly solicited settlements in the wilds of Mcesia and Thracia, within the Eoman territory. Yalens permitted a large portion of them (the Thervingi) to settle on the right bank of the Danube, in Mcesia, on condition that they embraced the Christian (Arian) faith, and assisted in the defence of the Eoman frontiers. Disputes, however, arose between them, and the Roman governors acted with great severity during a famine, (probably feigned) the ne- cessaries of life were sold to them at an exorbitant price ; and, when their gold was gone, their children were ex- changed for a few days' sustenance. This gave rise to an insurrection, and having been joined by the Ostrogoths, Huns, and Alans, the Thervingi crossed the Danube, and de- vastated Thracia, massacring, without pity, men, women, and children, and burning up the crops, etc. In vain the Emperor Yalens strove to drive them back. Giving them battle at Adrian op le, (a.d. 378,) he was defeated with terrible slaughter ; sixty thousand Eoman soldiers were left dead on the field. Valens retreating, took shelter in a hut, in which he was accidentally burned to death, and the empire left without defence. The G-oths left the city of Adrianople, declaring that they did not make war upon stones. Advancing rapidly on Constantinople, after some unimportant skirmishes, they returned west through Macedonia, Epirus, and Dalmatia, marking their passage by conflagration and blood. On the accession of Theodosius, he effected, by intrigue and persuasion, what he could not hope to do by an appeal to arms. He, therefore, took every oppor- tunity of ingratiating himself with the Gothic nation, now separated from their confederates. One chieftain after another was engaged in the service of the Eomans, with their followers, as auxiliaries, until the whole nation at length was induced to lay down its arms, (a.d. 382) six years after having crossed the Danube. Arcadius (a.d. 395) succeeded Theodosius in the Eastern empire, and proved a feeble monarch ; neglecting to pay the accustomed tribute, and refusing to promote the Gothic chieftains according to their valour and ability. A 1 a r i c, of the royal house of the Balthi, having received an insulting reply to his application for promotion, roused 24 A.D. 396 — 406.] ALABIC — STILICHO — BADAGAIS. [§ 4. the warlike passions of the Groths, and announced his inten- tion to attack the empire. Joined by numerous Scythian hordes, he crossed the frozen Danube, and advanced to Con- stantinople, laying waste Illyricum, Macedonia, and Greece, (a.d. 396.) To Athens he granted a capitulation ; the rest of the country he gave up to the fury and rapacity of his soldiers. The Eastern empire having engaged the brave (Vandal ?) Stilicho, who had been long in the service of the "Western empire, opposed the headlong Alaric. By skilful address he drew the Gothic king into a district of mountain gorges in Arcadia, where he was hemmed in, and, as it were, besieged. The intrigues of the court, however, prevented these advantages being followed up. Stilicho was ordered to evacuate the Eastern empire, and peace was concluded with Alaric, who was rewarded with the prefecture of Illyricum, and made master general of the Illyrian infantry. Alaric availed himself of his favourable position, and trained his soldiers agreeably to the Roman discipline. Having (a.d. 402) engaged the Greeks as his allies, he resolved to pass the borders of the Eastern, and attack the Western empire. Crossing the Julian Alps, he invaded Italy, ravag- ing, unopposed in his course, several provinces. On his arrival at Adige, he obliged the emperor to flee, and to seek refuge at Eavenna, which place subsequently became the adopted residence of Honorius. Stilicho, who, during the winter, had obtained soldiers from G-aul and Britain, in the spring of a.d. 403, marched at the head of his army against the enemy. Alaric was defeated in two successive engagements ; first at Pollentia, and then at Verona, after which he was compelled to evacuate Italy and retire into Pannonia. Scarcely had fclie Grothic invasion terminated, when Radagais or Radogast, crossed the Alps with 200,000 warriors, composed of various Grerman tribes, amongst which were the Burgundians, Vandali, Selingi, Grepidse, Suevi, and the Alani; these with their wives and children, entered Pannonia, (a.d. 406) leaving the Grerman territory compara- tively a desert. Stilicho attacked the army of Radagais, near Florence, and drove him back from point to point without giving him an oppor- tunity of fighting a battle, until at last he besieged him on the heights of Friuli, and compelled him to surrender at discretion ; Radagais, who trusted to the honour of Honorius for the preservation of his life, was put to death. Stilicho was now once more hailed as the saviour of Italy. 25 c A.D. 408.] INVASION OF ITALY BY THE GOTHS. [§ 5. §5. GENERAL IMMIGRATION OF THE GERMANIC EACES INTO THE COUNTRIES OE THE WEST. "When Alaric threatened Italy with an invasion, (see § 4) Honorius recalled the Roman legions from the Rhine, to defend the Italian peninsula. The German provinces being abandoned, soon became a prey to the marauding bands of Germans, in search of territory and glory under their dif- ferent leaders. Hence, in a.d. 406, we find that tribes of the S u e v i c race, Vandals and A 1 a n i, have penetrated through Gaul into Spain — the Burgundians have settled in Eastern Gaul, on the upper Rhine, and the Salian Franks taking advantage of the absence of the Roman legions, have settled themselves finally in Northern Gaul. In A.i). 406, Stilicho being charged as the author of the public misfortunes, was assassinated, and the base Emperor Honorius was now left to carry out any dark design he might conceive of. The hostages placed in the hands of the Romans by the barbarians, as security for their fidelity, were all cruelly massacred, on which occasion, 30,000 soldiers of the confederates went over to Alaric, and urged him to avenge their wrongs. Alaric' s demand for compen- sation was treated with contempt, and the invasion of Italy was resolved upon. In a.d. 408, he traversed the principal cities of Upper Italy, and appeared before the walls of Rome, closely besieging the city, the inhabitants of which, to secure their own safety, and induce the departure of Alaric from before their walls, paid to him a ransom of 5000 lbs. weight of gold, 30,000 of silver, 3000 of pepper, together with silk garments and skins of purple dye. With these Alaric retired into Tuscany, where he was joined by the Gothic and German slaves who had fled from Rome. The emperor having violated his treaties with Alaric, the Gothic king again besieged the capital, took possession of their corn magazine, and thus depriving them of the means of sustenance, summoned them to surrender. After a show of resistance they opened their gates to the conqueror. Upon condition that another emperor should be chosen, he generously spared the city. The choice fell upon Attalus, A.D. 409—29.] YISIGOTHS — ALAEIC — WALLIA. [§ 5. wlio proving as incapable as Honorius, was displaced a.d. 409, when the throne was again offered to the latter monarch, who received the proposal with disdain, and treated the Gothic king with indignity. Alaric now appeared before the city for the third time, the Salarian gate {Porta Solaria) was opened to him in the night,* and the city was given up to pillage for six (?) days. The plunderers then set fire to it in several places ; only a small part of it, however, was reduced to ashes. Alaric retired towards the south of Italy, to Campania, with immense booty, and in a few months after, died at Cosentia, whilst projecting the conquest of Sicily and Africa. He was buried in the bed of a neighbouring rivulet, near Cozenza, and the captives employed to dig his grave were put to death, lest they should divulge the place of his sepulture. To Alaric suc- ceeded Ataulphus, or Adolf, who having contracted an alliance with Home, led the Visigoths into Aquitaine (a.d. 412), and into Spain (a.d. 414). Wallia, the second in succession from Adolf, formed a new contract with the empire, and declared war against the other barbarians who had invaded Spain. After a series of engagements, he exterminated the Silingi, and drove the Suevi, the Alani, and the Vandals, into the fastnesses of the mountains of G-alicia. Having restored the rest of Spain to the western empire, he retired to Tolosa Toulouse, in Aquitaine, making it the capital of his new kingdom, which now extended to the Pyrenees, and embraced Aquitania and JSTarbonensis Gallia Septimania; he died a.d. 418, and was followed by Dietrich (Theodoric.) Amongst all the provinces of the "Western Empire, none dad suffered less from the invasions of the Germans than Britain and Northern Africa; the latter, however, was soon lost to Rome, through the intrigues of the favourite iEtius. Jealous of the rising reputation of Bonifacius, or Boniface, the lieutenant-general of the African provinces, iEtius per- suaded the Empress Placidia to recal him, and at the jsame time privately entreated him not to return, but to laave recourse to arms. Diffident of his own resources, jBoniface invited over from Vandalasia, in Spain, the Gothic * Some doubt is entertained as to whether the gate was opened to dim, or whether he took the city by treachery. Whether or no, Eome !>as captured by a barbarian. 27 c2 A.D. 429 — 50.] TANDALS — BEITAIK — JUTES AND SAXOFS. [§ 6. king, Genseric, who soon after took possession of the African provinces with 500,000 of his troops, and thus founded the Vandal Empire in Africa, a.d. 429, (see § 9.) On the decline of the Western Empire, the legions of' Borne were withdrawn from Southern Britain, when it was assailed by the Picts and Scots. Yortigern, who at that time enjoyed the supremacy over the Britons, availed him- self of the assistance of the Jutes, who, under their chieftains Hengist and Horsa, had landed on the coast, A.n. 445, in one of their marauding incursions. The Picts and Scots were driven back, and the Isle of Thanotos Thanet was awarded to the Jutes as their pay. Sub- sequently the Jutes increased their demands, which not being acceded to, they joined the Picts and Scots, and overran the island from west to east ; reverses, however, followed, and they were expelled from Britain. Soon after they left the Isle of Thanotos, then separated from the British coast by a river above a mile in width, and set sail for the Cimbric Isle, (Juteland.) Returning with fresh bands of adventurers and professing peace, they obtained the confidence of the Britons, but whilst celebrating the pacification, by an act of treachery they massacred the British nobles, and took their king prisoner ; Cantwara, Kent, was soon after subdued, and in the course of time, seven (?) Anglo-Saxon states or kingdoms were formed, viz., Cantwara, Suth Seaxas, "West Seaxas, East Seaxas, , jNorthan-Humbria, East Anglia, and Murcia, or Myrcna. The native Britons retired into Cornwealas, Cornwall, Cambria, Wales, and the districts of the western coasts of Britain; they also emigrated to the opposite shores of Gaul, in Armorica, Bretagne. §6. DISSOLUTION OF THE HTTNNISH EMPIEE. The Huns having abandoned to the Sienpi the pastures of Asia on the confines of China, by a march of thirteen hundred leagues, at length arrived in the countries of Eastern Europe ; increased in their course by adherents from the territories through which they passed, they bore down upon the Alani, whom they subdued, and then 28 LD. 430—51.] HUNS — ATTILA — TISI GOTHS — THEODOKIC. [§ 6. idvanced west upon the Ostrogoths, who had fertilized the )lains north of the Danube and of the Black Sea. Having conquered them, they wandered for fifty years in the plains )f Southern Eussia, Poland, and Hungary, where they pastured their herds, and pursued the chase. Under their King Attila, orEtzel, (the scourge of God) who reigned jonjointly with his brother Bleda (434 to 444), and alone rom 444 to 453, they again became formidable, and for a time >ccupied an important position in the history of Europe. The two emperors of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires hav- ng combined, in order to wrest Africa from the Vandals, Genseric sent mhassadors to Attila, King of the Huns, to induce him to invade the iVestern Empire. After defeating the Greeks under Theodosius in hree great battles, the army of the Huns advanced to the very walls of Constantinople, which had recently suffered from an earthquake. Not jeing prepared to undertake sieges, Attila, (whose ministers had been >ribed by presents of large sums of money,) was induced to retire >eyond the Danube, on condition that the usual annual tribute (700 lbs. >f gold) granted by Arcadius, was increased, and a large portion of the Dhracian provinces ceded to him. Attila was now acknowledged as king of kings, and soon tfter extended his dominion from the confines of China, to }he Atlantic ; he ruled over the Ostrogoths on the Lower Danube, the Gepidse in Dacia, the Bastarnse, Heruli, Rugi, md almost the whole of European Germany and Sarmatia. Excited by Genseric against the Visigoths, then in alliance frith the Western Empire, and thirsting for the possession Df the fertile plains of Italy, Attila on being offered the hand :>f Honoria, the sister of Yalentinian III., demanded the half of the Western Empire as her dowry. Being refused, lie ravaged Illyricum and Greece, and subsequently ad- vanced from his Bingus or royal village, on the Theiss, to bhe banks of the Rhine, to occupy Gaul, taking with him (according to Jornades), upwards of 500,000 soldiers, com- posed of Scythians, and the various Germanic nations, whom he compelled to follow in his train. The army under iEtius, the Roman general, was no less a medley, being composed of soldiers of different races and tribes ; Metz was destroyed, and the inhabitants massacred ; Tongres was also ruined, and Orleans, which the Alans had promised to surrender on the arrival of Attila, was besieged. The timely arrival of iEtius, and the Yisigothic king Theodoric, compelled Alaric to retire just as Orleans was on the eve of A.D. 451 — 53.] DEFEAT AND DEATH OF ATTILA. [§ 6. falling into his hands ; he then marched to Chalons, whither ' he was followed by iEtius and the Yisigoths, who halted near a little hillock which divided the two armies, now opposite to each other. The battle which followed was terrible and obstinate, 162,000 men were left dead on the field of the Catalaunian plain, amongst whom was the Gothic monarch, Theodoric. Attila was however de- feated, and retired from Gaul, which iEtius, whose army was not in a condition to follow up the victory, allowed him to do without molestation. Attila returned to Pannonia, but in the course of the following year (452), having again been refused the hand of Honoria, he invaded Italy, when he destroyed Aquileia, and ravaged Lombardy. At the intercession of pope Leo I., accompanied by the ambassadors and senate of Rome, he retired, and soon after died of intoxication, at a festival in celebration of his marriage, 453 ; his empire perished with him. Ardaric, his favourite, founded the monarchy of the Gepidae, in Dacia, the very seat of the Hunnish power. The Ostrogoths took possession of Pannonia; and Irnak, the youngest son of Attila, retired with the Huns into Little Tartary, where they were subsequently enslaved by the Igours, a Siberian nation. THE MIDDLE AGES. ElBST PeKIOD. From the Dissolution of the "Western Roman Empire to the Accession of the Carlovingians and Abassides, 476 — 752 (750). §7. GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF EUROPE AT THE END OF THE FIFTH CENTURY. 1. In "Western Spain: the kingdom of the Suevi. 2. In Spain and Gaul (to the Loire) ; the empire of the Visi- goths West Goths. 3. In Northern Gaul and Western Germany ; the kingdoms of the Franks, (until 486, subject to the Western Eoman Empire.) 4. In Southern Gaul, (embracing also the modern Savoy, and a portion of Swit- zerland), the kingdom of the Burgundiones. 5. In Britain, the British kingdoms, and the early Anglo-Saxon states. 6. In Scotland, the kingdom of the Picts and the Scots. 7. In Northern Germany, the Erizii and the Saxons : in Central Germany, north of the Danube, the kingdom of the Thuringians (comprising various Suevic races) ; on the left bank of the middle Danube, the kingdom of the Langobardi ; north of the Danube, (in the modern Hun- gary, Transylvania, and Wallachia,) the kingdom of the Gepidse. 8. In Italy and the country south of the Danube and Illyria, the kingdom of the Ostrogoths JEast Goths. 9. The empire of the Vandals, embracing Northern Africa, the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, the Balearic and the Pityusse isles. 10. The Eastern Eoman Empire, Byzantine or Greek Empire, embracing the Western European provinces of Thracia, Macedonia, Moesia, and Grsecia. In North-eastern Europe, were the Sclaves, from the Elbe to the Danube ; north and east of them were the Fins or Tchudes ; on the Don were the Turkish Avars, and in the plains of the Pontus were the Huns, who, since the death of Attila, had withdrawn from the countries north of the Danube, and intermingled with the various Turkish races of Western Asia. 31 a.d. 476 — 93.] odoacee's defeat, etc.— theodoeic. [§ 8. A. The West. §8. THE KINGDOMS IN ITALY. I. The Italian empire under Odoacer 476 — 493. Odoacer, the commander of the federated soldiers in Italy, composed of the Heralians, the Rugians, and other Gothic tribes, demanded as a reward for his services, the third part of Italy, which being refused, he deposed the youthful Emperor, Romulus Augustulus, and exiled him to Campania, declaring that one chief was sufficient. The Western Roman Empire (476), being thus put an end to, and the title of Roman emperor abolished, Odoacer caused himself to be proclaimed King of Italy. He did not change the imperial government; the senate of Rome continued to assemble as usual, the consuls were annually chosen, and the municipal and provincial authorities remained as before. Zeno, the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, however, refused to recognise Odoacer; and, but for the war in which he was then engaged with Theodoric, the Gothic monarch, would have endeavoured to restore the Italian provinces to the empire. At this critical period, the King of the Ostrogoths proposed to the Byzantine emperor Zeno, a plan by which he should be allowed to re-conquer Italy, with his soldiers, and govern it as a dependency of the empire. Zeno gladly availed himself of the opportunity of getting rid of a neighbour so formidable, and, regardless of the fate of Italy, concluded the treaty with Theodoric. The Ostrogoths left Thrace, and crossing Moesia, Pannonia, and the Julian Alps, entered Italy. After fighting three pitched battles, Odoacer quitted the open field, and shut himself up in the fortress of Ravenna, where he stood a siege of three years. At length however, he was obliged to surrender, and with his family and followers was put to death (a.d. 493), at the close of a banquet of reconciliation. II. Empire of the Ostrogoths in Italy, 493 — 555. Theodoric the Great, (493 — 526) was recognised King of Italy by the Emperor Anastasius, who also con- 32 A.D. 493 — 526.] THEODORIC — HIS GOVERNMENT. [§ 8. ferred upon Theodoric several other provinces, as Illyricum, etc. The Groths soon after mastered the territory between the Danube and the Alps, and obtained Sicily from the Yandals, when the imperial residence was sometimes fixed at Ravenna, and sometimes at Verona or Bern, hence his name of Dietrich von Bern, (the designation given him by the Grermans). Theodoric was less solicitous for the extension of his monarchy by conquest, than for its internal prosperity, and during the whole thirty-three years of his reign, only took up arms to defend the frontiers of his kingdom against the Franks and the Burgundiones. In the war between the Franks and the Visi or "West Goths, now united with the Ostro or East Goths, Theodoric took part with his grandson Amalric, and at the conclusion of the struggle, added to his territory the country lying between the Durance and the sea. Internal History and Government of Theodoric. On the subjection of Italy, the Groths had been so long engaged in war, that they had lost the habit of labour, hence they would not cultivate the waste districts with whicli Italy abounded, but chose out of the estates of the Eomans one third of their possessions, and probably imposed on them also the handing over of one third of their crops, which perhaps were compensated for by the liberties of the Romans being secured to them by Theodoric, who allowed the constitution of Italy to remain unchanged ; the legislation and the senate continued as before, whilst the governors of the provinces 'were usually selected from the Roman people, to whom also were committed the interests of trade and commerce, arms being the exclusive occupation of the Gfoths, to whom was entrusted the sole defence of the kingdom. Towards the close of Theodoric' s reign, the Romans were not allowed even to wear a sword. At first the dominion of Theodoric over the Romans was absolute and despotic, but over the Goths his power was limited and circumscribed. Although Theodoric had embraced Arianism during his residence (as an hostage) at Constantinople, yet he granted perfect toleration to the Catholics. Anxious to preserve the Roman monuments from spoliation, he assigned an annual revenue for their restoration ; he likewise encouraged agriculture and commerce, and commenced the draining of the Pontine marshes. Towards the close of his life Theodoric became irritable and suspicious to a degree, in consequence of the many obscure conspiracies entered into to restore the Roman empire. Hence the end of his reign was sullied by the cruel death of two conspirators, the senators Boethius and Symmachus, whom he condemned more perhaps on suspicion, than on any proof of real guilt. He died on the 30th of August, 526, just as he was about to set on foot a persecution of the Catholics of Italy, in retaliation for that of the Arians at Constanti- nople. To Theodoric succeeded Athalaric, under the guar- 33 c 3 A.D. 534 — 39.] WAES OF THE OSTEOGOTHS AND EMPIEE. [§ 8. dianship of his mother Amalasonta, who governed over the Ostrogoths in Italy and Provence, and reigned as regent. Athalaric, who gave himself up to drunkenness and de- bauchery, died of disease in 534, at the early age of sixteen, and Amalasonta was allowed to choose her cousin T h e u d a t, or Theodatus, as the future partner of her throne. Soon after, she was arrested by order of her colleague, and stran- gled whilst taking a bath, 535. After her death, the Emperor Justinian under the pretext of avenging her cause, prepared for the invasion of Italy, which he resolved to do by the same general who had acquired such glory in defeating the Yandals in Africa. Commencement of. The Eighteen Tears' War between the Ostrogoths and the Eastern Empire, (533 — 553.) Belisarius, whose army amounted to 4,000 horse, and 3,000 Isaurian foot soldiers, landed in Sicily in 535, and in the first campaign conquered that island. In 536 he trans- ported his army to Reggio in Campania, and proceeded along the coast, accompanied by his fleet, until he arrived at Naples. Suddenly the Calabrians passed over to the standard of the empire, when the Goths perceived that they had been be- trayed, and Theodatus, like a coward, shut himself up in Rome whilst Naples was besieged by the enemy, to whom it surrendered. The Goths, who yet numbered 250,000 warriors, became dispirited and dispersed. Under V i t i g e s, whom they elected king in the room of Theodatus, who had been killed by a private enemy, 536, they again assembled. Vitiges evacuated the capital, and fell back upon Ravenna, to restore the discipline of his army. In his extremity, he demanded the succour of the Eranks, when a dreadful in- vasion of that barbarian people took place, in which Milan and Genoa were destroyed. In 538, the Goths under Vitiges, appeared before Home, and besieged it for a whole year, during which period the Gothic army was almost annihilated, either by the sword or famine, the pressure of which nearly destroyed the inhabitants and garrison of Rome, whose courage was only kept up by the intrepidity and perseverance of Belisarius. The Goths retired, and in 539, Vitiges surrendered the city of Ravenna, and was allowed to end his days in comparative affluence at Constan- tinople. Belisarius was recalled by Justinian, and on his retirement, the Goths of Pavia, the only city that held out 34, A.D. 532 — 68.] EXPULSION OE THE GOTHS EEOM ITALY. [§ 8. against the Bomans, elected Hildebald as their king. Under his second successor T o t i 1 1 a, the broken fortunes of the Groths were revived, and they became almost as powerful as before the commencement of the war. The lost territories were recovered. Belisarius being withdrawn from Africa, where he was quelling an insurrection, was again despatched to Italy, but without an army. On the arrival of JNT a r s e s with supplies, 552, a dispute having arisen respecting the plan of the campaign, Belisarius was again recalled, and the war was committed to Narses alone, who received the title of Proconsul. The army of JNTarses, and that of his followers, including his Langobardic and Herulic auxiliaries, amounted to thirty thousand men. With these he defeated the Groths at Tajina, and Totilla was slain, 552. T e j a s was next raised to the Ostrogothic throne of Pavia, but at the battle of Nocera he was slain, and the Gothic dominion in Italy was at an end, 553. One portion of the Goths capitulated, on condition of being permitted to retire from Italy, whilst a yet larger number induced two Alemannic princes to undertake the invasion of Italy. Joined by a large body of Franks, they entered the Italian territories, but Narses completely routed the combined forces, and compelled the remnant of the Groths to submit, 555. Italy now be- came a province of the Eastern Empire, the government of which was administered by an exarch, Narses being the first. III. — B yzantine Government in Italy, 555 —558. Eor thirteen years after the victories of Narses, Italy was governed in the name of the emperor of Constantinople by Exarchs, who resided at Eavenna ; but in 568, the Lango- bardic invasion took place, and the exarchate was limited by the conquests of the Lombards to Ravenna, the Pentapolis, la Bomagna and some small possessions on the eastern coast. IV. — The Kingdom of the Langobardi or Lombards, 568—774. On their return from Italy, the Lombards, who had mainly contributed to the conquest of that country by the valiant auxiliaries they had furnished to Narses, engaged in an expedition against the Gepidse, under the leadership of their heroic prince A lb o in, heir to the throne. The youthful 35 A.D. 566—73.] THE LOMBAEDS IN ITALY. [§ 8. warrior had before slain the King of the Gepidse and effected his escape, and afterwards inflicted a fresh outrage on that nation by seizing the fair Eosarnunde, the daughter of Cunimunde, one of their princes. This hostility broke out on the accession of Alboin and Cunimunde to the throne of their fathers. The former sought the assistance of the Saxons, and obtained the help of the Khan of the Avars, with whom he stipulated a division of the territory of the Grepidse, in the event of their being subdued, and also the cession of the Lombard territories, engaging to seek his fortune elsewhere. The Gepidse were overthrown in a great battle, 566, and the Lombards gave up Pannonia and Noricum, of which they had held undisputed possession for forty-two years, to their allies. Alboin now prepared for the conquest of Italy ; twenty thousand Saxons, and all the Gepidse who had fallen under his sway, were enrolled in his battalions, and amongst his allies were the Boiares, Bavarians. The exarch Longinus, who had succeeded the aged Narses, accused, probably without foundation, of inviting the Lom- bards to invade Italy, and thus to avenge himself on the Empress Sophia, by whom he had been displaced, shut him- self up in Bavenna. Pavia sustained a siege of three years, when it surrendered, and was made the capital of the Lom- bard kingdom. During the siege of Pavia, the Lombards made an irruption into Provence, the conquest of which they achieved. All the great towns in the interior of Italy capitulated, and were divided amongst the Lombardian dukes ; but those on the coast, as Pisa, Rome, Gaeta, Naples, Amalfi, Eavenna, etc., were faithful to the Greeks, and opened their gates for the reception of the fugitive wan- derers from the besieged cities of the interior. The nu- merous inhabitants driven out of Yenetia, found a refuge in the Lagunes of the Adriatic, and had the Lombards under- stood the arts used in sieges, not any portion of Italy would have been left to the Eastern Empire. Alboin, three years and a half after the fall of Pavia, was assassinated by the order of Rosamunde, to whom he had at a banquet sent the skull of her father filled with wine, commanding her " to drink with her father" After the death of Alboin, she escaped to the exarch Longinus, accompanied by the regicide Helmichis. Captivated with the exarch, she poisoned Helmichis, but was compelled by him to finish the contents of the fatal cup, when she expired. On the death of Alboin, (573) Clef, or K 1 e p h, was 36 A.D. 573-756.] ERANKS IN ITALY — LOMBARDS DEFEATED. [§ 8. elected to the vacant throne, and during his reign the Lom- bard kingdom was extended over nearly the whole of Italy, only a few maritime districts on the coast being reserved to the Greeks. Kleph had occupied the throne only eighteen months, when he was assassinated by one of his pages. At his death the throne continued vacant for ten years, during which period an oligarchy prevailed, each province, of which there were thirty-six, being governed by a duke or president, the chief among whom were the Dukes of Priuli and Beneventum. To control the power of the dukes, and to protect the rights of the people, it was afterwards found neces- sary to appoint a chief; hence Antheric, the son of Kleph, was raised to the vacant throne. Under this sovereign, the conversion of the Lombards from the Arian to the Catholic faith was attempted by Theodolinda, a Bavarian princess, the consort of Antheric. Under succeeding monarchs, the Lombard kingdom was considerably extended at the expense of the Byzantines, who lost all their territories but some districts in Calabria and around Naples. Borne itself at length was surrounded by the Lombards, and Bavenna was already in their possession. The pope, Stephen II., in his distress, accompanied by his clergy, covered with sackcloth and ashes, crossed the Alps into Prancia, and supplicated the assistance of Pepin the Short, le JBref, whom he crowned for the second time, and anointed with a blessed oil, said to be miraculous. Pepin commanded the Lombards to restore the Pentapolis, as well as Carni, and Ceccano, in the Boman duchy, which being refused, the Pranks passed the Alps and compelled the Lombards to retire upon Pavia, to which the Pranks laid siege. The pope fearing that the supremacy of the Pranks might be as fatal as that of the Lombards, mediated a peace, by the terms of which the disputed pos- sessions were to be restored to the papal see. Astolphus, the Lombard monarch, however, on the -departure of the Pranks, refused the cession of the lands, and prepared for future resistance. In the second campaign urged upon the Pranks by Pope Stephen, the Lombards were driven from before Borne, and again took refuge in Pavia, which after a siege of some months capitulated, and Pepin compelled the restora- tion of the cities of Bavenna, JEmili, Centapoli, and the duchy of Borne, which were restored to the church and not to the empire ; thus laying the foundation of the temporal 37 A.D. 429 — 534.] THE VANDALS — THET INVADE ITALY. [§ 9. power of the Eoman See. Astolphus died 756, and Pope Stephen II. in 757. In 773, Charlemagne forced the passage of the Alps on behalf of Pope Stephen III., and demanded of D i d i e r, who had succeeded Astolphus, the fulfilment of the conditions imposed upon his predecessors. Pavia was besieged, and Didier with his family were given up to Charles, who sent them to a prison at Liege. The Lango- bardic kingdom was now incorporated with that of the Pranks, but the duchy of Beneventum refused to submit to the authority of the conqueror, and became an asylum for the Lombardian refugees from the other provinces, 774. See § 20. §9. THE EMPIRE OF THE VANDALS IN AFRICA, 429—534. Extent of the Yandal Empire, a. in Africa. — In the beginning, (429-30,) the empire embraced the Eastern portion of Numidia, Africa Propria, and Byzacene (the Syrtis district). After 430, on the defeat of Boniface, and the fall of Carthage, the Borne of Africa, the Vandal empire extended along the Northern coast, from the Pillars of Hercules, to the extreme limits of Cyrenacia. b. In the Middle Sea, Mediterranean, the Islands of Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, and the Baleares and Pityusae Islands — (476 — 491). History. Prom the shores of the Baltic, in what is now called Pomerania, the Yandals were driven to take up their abode in Dacia and Sarmatia, then in Pannoma and G-allia, and at a later period, in 406, together with the Suevi and Alani, to migrate into Spain, where, being over- powered by the Goths, they subsequently, at the request of Theodosius, passed over to Africa, where, in 534, they were subdued by Justinian. On the death of Yalentian III., by the hand of Maximus, who compelled his widow to marry him, in order to give him some show of right to the vacant throne, Eudoxia resolved to revenge the murder of her first husband by conspiring against the life of the second, regard- less of the interests of Borne. She therefore invited Greiseric, the King of the G-oths, over into Italy, who, not content with the possession of Africa, had already, by his armed fleets, which he obtained from Carthage, ravaged the coasts of Sicily and Italy. In 455, Greiseric disembarked at Ostia ; A.D. 468—534.] DESTRUCTION OF THE VANDAL EMPIEE. [§ 9. and Maximus was slain in a seditious tumult, and the defence of B,ome was impossible ; it was given up to pillage for fourteen days, after which the ships of the Vandals set sail from the Tiber with a booty, which it would have been impracticable to have carried off by land. Amongst the spoils, were thousands of noble captives, including Eudoxia the queen, and the two princesses. The Vandals were next employed in devastating the -coasts of Illyria and Greece; and to clear the seas of these piratical fleets, the emperors of the East and West combined their ships, amounting to 1,000 sail, and entrusted the command to Belisarius. G-eiseric, however, attacked the imperial fleet in the night and de- stroyed a large portion, whilst the rest were dispersed (468.) On the accession of Odoacer, the king of the Heruli, to the kingdom of Italy (476,) the Vandals obtained, as pay for their services, the islands of Sardinia, Corsica, the Baleares, the Pityusa3, and the southern part of Sicily. "With the death of the founder Greiseric, who reigned thirty-seven years over Carthage, 477, commenced the decline of the Vandal empire. It was hastened by the persecutions carried on in the name of the Arian faith against the Catholics, and which were begun in the time of Geiseric, who had embraced the Arian faith. Grelimer having conspired against Hilderic, who succeeded Geiseric, took possession of the throne, when Justinian, who wished to regain the African provinces, profiting by the state of anarchy into which the kingdom was plunged, despatched Belisarius under the pretence of effecting the restoration of Hilderic. In 533, he landed at Caput Vedse, and, by his consummate address, so Romanised the Africans, that Gelimer found himself with his Vandals in the midst of an enemy's territory. With all the troops he could muster G-elimer attacked Belisarius near Carthage, but only to be signally defeated ; his army was routed, and he himself fled to the deserts of Numidia. Carthage surrendered without opposition. Gelimer recalling his brother from Sardinia, collected another army, fought and lost another battle, when Africa was reconquered, and the empire of the Vandals destroyed (534.) Grelimer, who graced the triumphal procession of Belisarius into Constantinople, received ample possessions in G-alatia, where he enjoyed the blessings of peace, surrounded in his old age by his dearest kinsmen 39 a.d. 409—585.] suevi m spain - — visigoths. [§ 10, 11. and friends. The bravest of the Vandals enlisted in the troops of the empire, whilst the rest, involved in the revolutions of Africa, in the course of time entirely disappear. § io. KINGDOM OF THE SUEYI IN SPAIN, 409—585. The Suevi, after their immigration into Spain from Gaul, had settled in Galicia, which they divided with the Vandals ; on the departure of the latter for Africa the Suevi occupied their territories also, and garrisoned the whole of Boetica with Carthaginenses. Their first Chris- tian (Catholic) king, Eechiar, was continually making inroads upon the Roman province of Tarraconensis, which at length drew upon him the vengeance of the Gothic king, Theo- doric, who had engaged to combat the enemies of Honorius. The two armies met at Paramo, on the Obrego, where Eechiar was defeated, and being taken prisoner, executed by order of his brother-in-law Theodoric. The Suevi, as a nation, now seemed to be at an end, but a portion of the people fled to the mountains of Galicia, where they elected another sovereign, and resumed their plundering expeditions. On the succession to the Suevic throne being disputed, advantage was taken of the disorder which per- vaded the kingdom by the Visigoths, who broke in upon it, and subverted it (585,) — henceforth it was blended with the Visigothic empire. §11. EMPIRE OE THE VISIGOTHS, 419—712. (1. Kingdom of Tolosa, Toulouse?) Towards the year 270, the Goths settled on the Danube and on the coasts of the Pontian (Uuxine) Sea, and became neighbours of the Empire. This proximity rendered them more civilized than any of the other German tribes, and also tended to make their progress in the social sciences more rapid. They were the first to embrace Christianity {Arian- ism,) and a translation of the four Gospels by Ulphilas, a Gothic bishop, in the middle of the fourth century, forms the most ancient specimen of the German language extant. In military glory they were not at all inferior to other Germans ; for, before the close of the fourth century, they had intimidated the emperors of the Eastern Empire, into the 40 A.D. 410 — 507.] OSTEO AND VISIGOTHS — THEODOEIC II. [§ 11. cession of Dacia, and the Prefecture of Illyricum, and at the commencement of the fifth century had thrice besieged the capital of the "Western Empire, which was rescued from their grasp only by the payment of immense ransoms. In thus invading Italy, Alaric opened to his countrymen the provinces of Gaul, into which, in 410, he penetrated by crossing the Alps into Gallia JNarbonensis, Aquitania. Narbona, Tolosa, Burdigala Bordeaux, and other towns were taken possession of. In 418, on the return of Wallia from Spain, the Gothic dominion extended from Tolosa the capital, to the ocean, and was the first kingdom founded by the barbarians within the Roman empire. On the invasion of Gaul by the Huns under Attila, the Visigoths assisted the Franks in repelling them, and the victory of the Catalaunian plains and the defeat of the Huns, were mainly due to the valour of the Goths, who lost their king in the battle. With the consent of Avitus proclaimed Emperor of Rome by the Visigoths, to whose king, Theodoric II., he had been despatched as delegate, the barbarian tribes of the Suevi, Alani, etc., in Spain, were to be again attacked, and if possible subdued, whilst the conquered territory was to be secured to Theodoric, who crossed the Pyrenees, and sub- dued nearly the whole of the Suevic kingdom, the monarch of which was executed. Under his brother and successor, E u r i c, the Visigothic Empire of Tolosa obtained its utmost limits. He repulsed the Bretons, whom the Em- peror Anthemius had summoned to his assistance. In 475, he subdued the province of Auvergne, and extended his frontiers to the Loire and the Rhone. In Spain, he sub- jected the whole of Tarraconensis, and finally subdued the whole of Provence. In 480, he died at Aries, leaving a son of tender years to succeed him, hence the extent of the kingdom was of short duration. An able warrior had become the chief of the Pranks (Chlodvig III.,) who soon, under the pretence of defending the Catholics, attacked the Arian Visigoths. The armies of the Pranks and the Visigoths met at the Plains of Vougle. After an obstinate engage- ment, the Goths gave way. . Alaric, the youthful monarch, fell in the battle (507.) Aquitania and Septimania Gothia, Guienne and Gascogne, were lost to the Pranks. The Visigoths assembled at Narbona, and elected Gesalic 41 A.D. 507 — 581.] AMALAEIC — WEST GOTHIC KINGDOM. [§ 11. to the vacant throne, Amalaric being but five years of age. The Burgundians now joined the Franks ; whilst Theodoric, the King of the Ostrogoths, despatched his general Ibbas from Italy to assist his countrymen, the Visigoths. Their combined forces defeated the Burgundians and the Franks, and compelled them to withdraw from before Aries, which they were besieging, and also forced Clovis, the King of the Franks, to raise the siege of Carcasonne. Theodoric, however, stopped short, and instead of pursuing his success, turned his forces against Gesalic, and caused Amalaric, his grandson, to be crowned in his stead. Gresalic, who received assistance from the Vandals and the Franks, endeavoured to regain his throne, but was made a prisoner and put to death by order of Ibbas (511.) The war was still continued between the Goths (now united) and the Franks, but without giving rise to any memorable actions. Clovis preserved Tolosa, Burdegalis, Bourdeauoc, and Aqui- tania. The Visigoths occupied Narbonnensis and Spain; the Ostrogoths, Provence as far as the Rhone; and Theodoric, as guardian of his grandson Amalaric, reigned equally over the two nations until his death, when the kingdom was divided between his grandsons. Amalaric, who reigned over the Visigoths, married the sister of the King of the Franks, but his subsequent ill-treatment of the princess led to a war ; Amalaric fled from Narbona to Barcelona, where he was slain by a soldier in an insurrection which his cowardice had prompted, and thus the royal line of the Gothic monarchs ended, 581. The capital was now trans- ferred to Barcelona, and afterwards to Toletum. II. — West Gothic {elective) Kingdom in Spain, 531— 7 L2. At the commencement of this period, the Gothic monarchy appears to have been either elective or hereditary, according to circumstances. T h e u d a s, the first king chosen, was assassinated, and others also, until, in 550, Athanagild being elected, obtained the assistance of Justinian, for which he ceded the south-eastern coast of the Spanish peninsula. On the death of Athanagild, the throne was occupied by Leovigild, one of the greatest of the Gothic kings. He took the towns held by the empire on the coast, and sub- dued the rebellious Suevi, incorporating their kingdom into 42 A.D. 550 — 700.] VISIGOTHS — LEOVIGILD TO EODEEIC. [§ 11. his own, as a tributary state. The Gothic kingdom now embraced nearly the whole peninsula, Toletum being the capital. The reign of Leovigild was marked by the reform which took place in the legislation and finances. On the expulsion of the Greeks from Spain, the natural limits of the Gothic kingdom were fixed, and less efforts were put forth for its extension ; a bond of union now also existed between the Goths and the Greeks, in the adoption of the Catholic faith by E e c a r e d, the king of the former, who persuaded the nation generally to embrace it (584.) The reign of Eecared was more glorious than peaceful. He subdued the King of Austrasia, but a lasting peace was insured by his intermarriage with the sister of the king. He died esteemed and regretted, 601. After the death of Eecared, the kingdom was torn by internal factions, and for upwards of twenty years confusion and disorder prevailed. Amongst the usurpers, who reigned during this period, one only deserves mention, S i g e b e r t, who added Mauritania (North African Coast,) to the Gothic empire. In 622, the race of Leovigild was recalled to the throne in the person ofSuintila, who finally drove out the Greeks from the few cities they had hitherto occupied on the coast. He was deposed, 631, and for forty years Spain was distracted by the contests of a rapid succession of kings, representatives of factions and cabals. In 672, Wamba, a noble Goth, was compelled to forsake his retirement and accept the crown. He reigned usefully and triumphed over his enemies. The rebels in Austrasia were subdued, and a splendid naval victory was obtained over the Arabians, who had now begun to infest the coasts of Spain and Africa. After a reign of nine years, he retired to a monastery, and appointed E r v i g a as his successor, who also after a peace- able reign of eight years retired to a monastery. E g i z a, a nephew of "Wamba, was now seated upon the throne, and after defeating the Arabs, pursued his legislative labours. He blended the Eoman and the Gothic laws, which he caused to be obeyed throughout the peninsula, the Gothic, and original inhabitants of which were thenceforward called Spaniards, (700). Under "Witiza, who commenced his reign well, but subsequently became a tyrant, the nation rebelled and elected Eoderic in his room, who proved unequal to restore the strength of the weakened kingdom, 43 A.D. 700—56.] MOHAMMEDAN CONQUESTS IN SPAIN. [§ 12. and indulged in every species of licentiousness ; having outraged one of the noble females who attended upon his queen, the daughter of Count Julian, the governor of the Spanish province of Mauritania, that nobleman opened his fortresses to the Arabs, who had settled upon the African coasts, and obtained their help in revenging the indignities offered to his house. Murza, the Arab commander, de- spatched his lieutenant Taric, who, with Count Julian, crossed the straits and landed at Gibraltar. Eoderic met the Arabs at Xeres de la Frontera, where after a struggle of three days (nine days ?) the engagement termi- nated rather in favour of the invaders. Towards the end of the engagement, Eoderic disappeared (711). Muza now joined his lieutenant, and proceeded in the conquest of Spain without opposition, excepting at Gruadalete, where Theodomir, a noble Groth, held out, but at length surrendered on favourable conditions. The dissensions between Muza and Taric, arising out of the jealousy of the former, led the caliph to recal both. Spain was now divided into (1) — Arabian Spain, at first under the governors of the caliphs of Damasek, Damascus, until Abderrahaman, the last of the Ommiades, fleeing from the massacre at Persia, arrived in Spain, where he erected the independent Khalifate of Cordova (756) . (2) The Christian kingdom of Asturias, whither a remnant of the Visigoths had retreated, and where they still defended themselves against the Arabs, thus laying the foundation of the future triumphs of the Christian over the Mohammedan population of Spain. § 12. THE KINGDOM OF THE BUKG-UKDIONES (BUKaiTlN- DIANS) m GAUL, (407—533?) In the first century of the Christian era, the Burgun- diones appear near the Weichsel ; they belonged either to the Suevic or Vandalic race. The loss of a battle against the G-epidse about the year 250, induced them to advance towards the west. They first came into contact with the Romans during the reign of Probus, and afterwards invaded the G-allic provinces with various success ; but in the reign of Honorius that emperor ceded to them lands in the Roman G-ermania Superior, Alsace, near the banks of the Rhine. Subsequently on the dissolution of the "Western Empire, 44 A.D. 407 — 533.] KINGDOM OF THE BURGTJIirDIAlS'S. [§ 13. they extended themselves in the east as far as the Aar to the Alps, in the south to the Durance, and in the west over the valleys of the Shone and Saone. These countries formed " The Kingdom of the Burgundians." At first, the head of the nation was a high priest, who was elected to the office for life. Their kings, for each band had its com- mander or king, resided at Geneva, and at Lyons, Be- sancon, and Vienne ; they were elected, but liable to rejec- tion in case of failure in war, or for personal deformity, and in the time of famine, when, as agriculture and pastur- age formed the principal occupation of the free Burgun- dians, a commander was considered to be unnecessary. In 515, Sigismund the son of Grondebod, ascended the throne, but having by his conduct incurred the resentment of Theodoric the Ostrogothic king, the latter stirred up Clo- tilda, whose father and mother had been put to death by Grondebod, the father of Sigismund, to make war against him and thus to be revenged. The Prankish princes, her sons, at once entered Burgundy, and having vanquished Sigismund, compelled him to take refuge in the convent of St. Maurice Yalais, which he had founded, and where he hoped to be secure. He was, however, discovered', and was, with his wife and family, thrown into a well at Caulmiers near Orleans, 524. A second campaign of the Franks against the Burgundians was not so successful ; Clodomir, the eldest of the Prankish kings, lost his life, and the territory was evacuated. Grondemar, the brother of Sigismund, carried on the struggle during a period of ten years, and was at last made prisoner, when the provinces of Burgundy were ruled over by the descendants of Clovis. The Burgundians were now reduced and obliged to serve in the armies of the Franks, and all the provinces were to pay tribute. The national independence, the laws, and manners of the people, were however retained, (533, 534.) § 13. THE KINGDOM OF THE EKANKS UNDER THE MEEO- YINGIANS. The Franks were cantoned between the Saxons and the Grauls, and were a confederacy of tribes, each maintaining its independency, and having a separate king, probably however, of the same family, and of which the primitive 45 A.D. 241 — 496.] KINGDOM OF THE FEATSTKS — CHLODVIG. [§ 13. ancestor was Meroveus, Meerevig, warrior of the sea. The name of Franks, however, does not appear in history until the year 241 ; it signifies a confederation, and was originally formed for the deliverance of Germany from the bondage of Rome. Since the middle of the first century, the Franks had often harassed the Romans, by crossing the Rhine, and ravaging the province of Gaul; at length they were allowed, on condition of being the per- petual allies of Rome, to establish themselves in Toxandria, Zeeland and North Flanders. In this relation they proved valuable auxiliaries to the empire, the frontiers of which they bravely, but vainly defended agaiust the grand invasion of 406. Before the beginning of the fifth century, they had received large allotments of land as Roman soldiers, and had also seized considerable tracts of territory in the neigh- bouring provinces belonging to the barbarians. Hence they established themselves firmly along the left bank of the Rhine, the Meuse, and the Scheldt. They were divided into two grand branches, the Saltan and the Ripuarian Franks ; the former being sometimes termed the Franks of Tournay, the latter the Franks of Cologne. Under C h 1 o d- vig (Clovis), the grandson of Meroveus, who succeeded his father Childeric 481, and Ragnacer, King of the Franks of Cambray, an end was put to the supremacy of Rome, by the defeat and death of their governor Siagrius, at Sois- sons, 486 ; afterwards the territory on the Seine, and the whole of Armorica, fell to the Franks. Chlodvig was now united to the niece of Gondebod, the powerful King of the Burgundians, who had banished her. To be revenged, she sought to convert Chlodvig to the Catholic faith, and thus make him an implacable enemy to the Burgundians and Alemanni, who had embraced the Arian creed. In 496 the territories of the Franks were invaded by the Arian Alemanni, when the whole of the Frankish tribes assembled to repel it under their respective kings ; the two armies met at T o 1 b i a- cum (Zulich?), and the Franks were on the eve of being defeated, when Chlodvig vowed to renounce the worship of the German deities (yet venerated by the whole of the Frankish tribes) and to embrace the Catholic faith, if he won the victory. During the interval, the King of the Alemanni was slain and his warriors put to flight. Those who had entered Gaul acknowledged Chlodvig as 46 A.D. 496 — 511.] THE EBENCH MONAECHY. [§ 13. their king, and thus placed him at the head of a great army. On the return of the king to Rheims, on Christmas day, 496, he, with three thousand warriors, was baptized into the orthodox Catholic faith, which considerably augmented his power, and added to the ranks of his army ; the Armori- cans after being defeated, joined his ranks, which were also swelled by the addition of the Roman soldiers scattered throughout Graul. Chlodvig, having reduced the Roman provinces in Graul, next directed his arms against the Bur- Igundians and the Visigoths, who had established themselves | within the territory. In one battle, he rendered the Bur- gundian princes tributary to him ; in another, on the plains of Vougle, broke the power of the Visigoths, wresting several provinces from them, and would have driven them across the Pyrenees, had not Theodoric the Ostrogoth : hastened to their assistance. Chlodvig, whose zeal for the Catholic faith would not permit the Arian Groths to possess the best part of Graul, prepared an expedition to attack them. The Franks passed the Loire, and traversed Touraine, then a part of the Visigothic kingdom, until at last the armies met on the Plains of Vougle; the combat was obstinate, and Alaric, the Visigothic king, fell in the battle, and according to some, by the hand of Chlodvig himself; the Visigoths dispersed in all directions. Their principal cities Rhodez, Albe, Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Angoulesme, in Southern Graul, submitted to the conqueror ; the remnant of the defeated Goths took refuge in Carcasoune, where they were besieged. On his return from the Visigothic war Clovis established himself in Paris, which he made the capital of his kingdom; and by causing all the other long-haired Prankish kings to be massacred, the founda- tion of the Prench monarchy was established. The great features in the reign of Chlodvig were the infusion of the elements of Roman law into the German code, the constitution of which was not abolished, and his extending it over all his newly-acquired dominion, and the foundation of a territorial dukedom, which subsequently became en- larged and formed the German empire. On the death of Chlodvig 511, the Prankish kingdom was divided among his four sons, (according to Agathias,) by towns and by people, so that each had nearly an equal share — Paris, Orleans, Soissons, and Metz being the capital cities. The 47 A.D. 511 — 55.] EEANKS — DIETEICH, THEODOBEBT, ETC. [§ 13. eldest, Dietrich (Thierry), of Metz, received the so-called kingdom of Austrasia (Eastern France), embracing the earlier possessions of the Franks in the Netherlands and Grermany, with the newly- conquered territory of Ale- mannia. Neustria, or New Franc ia (Western France), formed another sovereignty. The sons, following in the steps of their ancestor, with the aid of the Saxons subdued in 528 the Thuringian kingdom, which was united to the monarchy of the Franks, and its dukes for two centuries marched under the standard of the Mero- vingians, and between 523 — 533 the great kingdom of the Burgundians was subjugated; its independence, how- ever, was soon after recovered by the very monarch by whom it was betrayed. In 534, when Justinian by his general Belisarius, pro- posed to draw the Goths out of Italy, the assistance of the Franks was invoked by both parties — Theodatus agreed as the price of their alliance to yield that part of Graul which lay between the Alps, the Durance, the Rhone, and the sea (Provence), besides the Alemannic territory, and part of Yenetia, with two thousand pounds' weight of gold, whilst the Emperor Justinian despatched a splendid embassy with valuable presents, which were accepted. To secure the proffered territory as well, and at the same time to prevent a quarrel with the emperor, Theodobert, who had succeeded Dietrich, sent ten thousand Burgundians to the assistance of Vitiges, the Grothic king, but pretended that they acted as auxiliaries in the Italian army without his authority, and afterwards attacked both. Soon after, the Boioares (Bava- rians) became partially tributary to the Austrasian Franks ; they were, however, allowed to be governed by their own dukes who were elective. The accession of this duchy extended the Frankish dominions east nearly to Vienna, but on the advance of the Avars it was restricted to the Ems. For forty-eight years the Frankish monarchy had been divided. But Clotaire I., who, together with his brother Childebert, succeeded to the throne, of Austrasia (555), was ambitious to secure for himself undivided dominion. He accordingly suggested to the Austrasian states that, as his brother in the course of nature could not survive for any lengthened period, and had no heirs, his dominions would soon fall to his share, it would therefore be to their interest 48 § 13.] PROVINCES OF THE FRANKISH EMPIRE. [558 A.D. to acknowledge him sole king at once. This was agreed to. Childebert, however, urged the son of Clotaire to rebel against his father, and assisted him in it, but was shortly taken ill and died (558), whereupon Clotaire re-united the whole dominion of Chlodvig (Clovis). At his death (562), the king- dom was again divided among his four sons. After this, the conquests of the Franks abroad cease, and evil wars commence under the grandson of Chlodvig, during which the Franconian kingdom becomes separated into two great masses divided by the Scheldt. During the period of the civil wars, the Frankish empire con- sisted of four Germanic provinces and four Frankish — viz., Germanic France, Germany, Bavaria, and Thuringia, Austrasia, Neustria, Burgundia, and Aquitania.- The first four were allies rather than subjects, being governed by their own hereditary dukes, and almost independent. Their savage manners, their religion, and their laws, rendered them total strangers to the rest of the empire, so that their very exist- ence was almost forgotten ; while Burgundia and Aquitania, kingdoms subdued by the Franks, were considered as foreign, and hence scarcely any establishments had been formed within them. Properly speaking, France therefore only extended, from the Rhine to the Loire, excluding Brittany, which was tributary, not subject. That part of France which was inhabited by the conquerors had been divided into Austrasia and Neustria, or the eastern and western country. The two provinces were separated by a line, which extended north and south from the mouth of the Scheldt to Bar-sur-Aube. Austrasia was on the right, eastward of this line; Neustria on the left, or to the westward. Three of the capitals — Paris, Soissons, and Orleans — were in Neustria; the fourth (Rheims), in Austrasia. The four Germanic provinces were a dependency of Austrasia, and devolved to Siegbert, who changed the capital from Eheims to Metz ; Burgundia fell to Gontran, who removed the capital from Orleans to Chalons- sur-Saone ; Neustria fell to Chilperic, whose court was at Soissons; and Aquitania to Charibert, whose capital was Paris. .This latter kingdom, on the death of Charibert, was divided among his three brothers (567). This latter divi- sion, by confusing the boundaries of the provinces, led to frequent broils, which were still further fomented by the mutual jealousy and hatred of v the queens of Austrasia and 49 d A.D. 613.] BRUNEHILDE MAJORES DOMUS. [§ 13. Soissons, and led to those civil wars which uninterruptedly prevailed until the reunion of the kingdom, for the second time, under Clotaire n. of Soissons, great-grandson of Chlod- vig (613). On the death of Childebert If. (596), who, with his wife Faileuba, perished by poison (probably administered by his mother, Brunehilde or Brunehault), the latter assumed the authority, and induced her younger grandson, Dietrich (Thierry), to undertake an unjust war against his brother Dietbert (Theudebert), who had excited the jealousy of Brunehilde. The armies met at Kiersy-sur-Oise, but separated after a temporary peace was concluded. Subsequently the war was renewed, and Theudebert was defeated, first at the great battle of Tolbiac, and then at Cologne. Theudebert, being taken prisoner, was put to death by Brunehilde, and his family massacred (618). Shortly after, Thierry himself fell a victim to the wicked passions of his grand- mother, who intended to govern the kingdom herself as regent for her great-grandsons, the eldest of which was only eleven years of age. The Franks, however, were disgusted with the government of Brunehilde, and offered the government to the King of Neustria, Clotaire II., whom the queen was determined to resist. Through the treachery of Warnachaire, the mayor of the palace, whose life she had sought, she, with her grandsons, fell into the hands of Clotaire, who reproached her with the numerous murders she had committed, including the massacre of no less than ten kings ; and, after sub- jecting her to different torments, ordered her to be bound hand and foot to the tail of a wild horse, and so kicked to death. After the death of Brunehilde (613), Clotaire n. united the whole of the Frankish nation under his sceptre. The German Austrasians, however, were opposed to the union, and, after a struggle of upwards of a century, succeeded in having it again erected into an independent sovereignty; Siegbert in., the son of Dagobert, being placed upon the throne, when his father restored to the Austrasian Crown all that it had possessed in Aquitania and Provence, with the exception of the duchy of Deutelin. It was at this period that the Frankish empire was governed by Majores domus, the only ministers existing in the then rude state of society ; they were the stewards of the royal household, and accompanied the monarch and his court from castle to castle, presiding also as magistrates, or royal judges, at the trial of delinquents. They were sometimes appointed by the king, and at others by the people. During the minority of the kings they ruled as regents, and frequently exercised the royal functions after the prince had attained to his majority. In process of time, owing to the imbecility of the princes and the 50 § 13.] WARS BETWEEN AUSTRASIA AND NEUSTRIA. [719 A.D. civil wars between the reigning sovereigns, they became more formidable than the monarch himself. As his chief vassal (major domus regise) he led the serfs (leades?) to battle, and dispensed the royal patronage in Austrasia and Burgundy, etc., and, after the victory of Testry, sat as grand judge {Mord- dome) in the place of the king. The family of Pepin succeeded in rendering the office hereditary in their race, and long ruled with all the honours of royalty without assuming the name. For the possession of this dignity there was a continual struggle between the Franconian nobility, and at last between the mayors of the different kingdoms. Those of Austrasia and Neustria maintained a sanguinary conflict for the government of the entire monarchy, which was terminated by the defeat of the Major domus of Austrasia by Pepin of Heristal, near Liege castle, at the battle of Testry, on the Somme, near St. Quentin and Peronne (687), when Pepin became sole Major domus of the whole Franconian empire. This victory once more united the German and Koman territories ; the former of which, however, having Pepin for its duke, maintained the superiority. The Merovingian monarch, Thierry in., ruled in the usual way, as a mere phantom. He presided over the assembly, or Comitia of the people, when summoned by Pepin, and, as soon as he had received the presents of the great Frankish lords, and issued decrees for the marching of the army on a certain day, was dismissed by the mayor to his country house at Maumague, on the banks of the Oise, while Pepin retired to his palace at Cologne. The almost independent government founded by Pepin in Austrasia, on his death in 714, was not given to his son Charles, yet confined in prison under the care of his mother, but left to Theodoald, his grandson, scarcely six years of age, who was also left mayor of the palace to Dagobert in., himself a minor; Plectruda, the wife of Pepin, being guardian and governor of both. This led to a series of wars between the Austrasians and the Neustrians. The latter, feeling insulted in having an infant mayor placed over them, elected another (Eaginfred) ; whilst the Austrasians took Charles out of prison by force, and placed him at the head of the Austrasian army. The battle of Vincy, 717, one of the most sanguinary on record, and another near Orleans, in both of which Charles was victorious, decided the dispute. Eaginfred submitted to the conqueror, and Charles thus obtained undisputed sway 51 d2 A.D. 718-41.] CHARLES MARTEL THE SARACENS, ETC. [§ 13. over the whole Frankish empire, 719. The Frisians and the Saxons, who had at the same time harassed his northern dominions, were checked in their progress, but by no means subdued; for the Thuringians and the Hessians were com- pelled to pay tribute to the Saxons, as the condition of peace. From 718 to the year 739, Charles, whose victories had pro- cured for him the surname of Martel, or the Hammerer, was engaged against the Germans, the Bavarians, the Frisians, and the Saxons. The first three were compelled to acknowledge the supremacy of the Franks ; whilst the Saxons, whose terri- tories he had at six different times penetrated, remained unsubdued. Charles was compelled to leave the Saxons in some degree to themselves, in order to resist more formidable enemies in the Saracens, who, under their leader Abderrah- man, composed of an army of 400,000 men, had forced their way through the Basque provinces into Aquitania, which they overran, destroying the fortresses, and slaying all the inhabitants of the cities. Bordeaux fell, and Poictiers and Tours were threatened with destruction. At this crisis the Duke of Aquitania applied for assistance to Charles, who, not- withstanding their differences, readily agreed to resist the progress of the common enemy. The Arabs had scarcely passed the great city of Poictiers when they came within sight of Charles and his Austrasian Franks. After manoeuvring in presence of each other for seven days, they at length joined the battle which was fought in the plains of Vougle, near the city of Poictiers. Victory declared in favour of Charles; 75,000 (?) Saracens were left dead on the field; the ardour of the Arabians for conquests in France was stayed, and confidence restored to the Franks and Aquitanians, while the power of the Carlovingian house became firmly established. In 734, the complete subjugation of the Frisians followed, and Christianity was introduced amongst them. In 741, Charles Martel died, and, as regent, divided the monarchy between his sons, Carloman and Pepin. The former had Austrasia, with Suabia and Thuingia; the latter, Neustria, Burgundia, and Provence; a few provinces, or lordships, detached from both, were the heritage of Grifon, a bastard son. This arrangement again altered the boundaries of the empire. Grifon, on account of his turbulent disposition, was imprisoned at Neufchatel, and the provinces left him by Charles seized by Carloman and Pepin; the latter of whom, seeing that the 52 § 14.] RELIGION OF THE GERMAN NATIONS. [325 A.D. Neustrians and Burgundians were preparing to shake off the yoke, and elect a Frankish monarch, took one of the last of the Merovingians (Chilperic in.) out of a convent, and placed him over them. He was not, however, acknowledged in Austrasia. From 743 to 745, Carloman and Pepin were engaged in a sanguinary warfare against the Germans, who en- deavoured to shake off the yoke of the Franks. The Bavarians, the Alemanni, the Saxons, and the Sclavonians were all beaten. In 746, Carloman ordered a meeting of the plaids of the king- dom at the Castle of Gunstadt; soon after which (785) he retired to a monastery, and Pepin became sole ruler. Pepin, who had long sought the regal dignity, threw off the mask, and, having obtained the sanction and support of Pope Zachary, was, with his queen, Bertruda, raised to the kingdom on the 1st of March, in the national assembly held at Soissons, and was afterwards anointed by Boniface, 752. Chilperic, the dethroned monarch, was shut up in the convent of Sithieu, where he died, 755. § 14. KELIGION AND CONSTITUTION OF THE GEKMAN NATIONS. I. Religion. a) The Introduction of Christianity amongst the Germans was one of the most important events which followed the migrations which took place during the third and three following centuries. Already, in 325, we find a Gothic bishop (Theophilus) present at the council of Nice, and his successor, Ulphilas, translated the Bible into the Gothic tongue. This prelate embraced the Arian doctrine, which was also professed by the West and East Goths, the Burgundians, the Vandals, and the Langobards (Lombards), formerly the wor- shippers of Odin. Among the East Goths and Vandals it dis- appeared after the dissolution of their empires, and Catholicism took its place. After the victory obtained by Clovis, at Tolbiac, over the Alemanni, the Franks embraced the Catholic faith ; but their kings made no attempts to convert their German subjects, to whom the gospel was first preached by Columban, an Irish missionary ; whose disciples, Gallus, St. KiHan, and St. Emmeran, were despatched to the Alemanni, the Thuringians, and the Bavarians. It was not, however, until the commencement of the eighth century that the conversion of the Germans took place to any extent, when the " Apostle of the Germans," S t, 53 A.D. 739.] ST. WINIFRIED THE MONASTIC LIFE. [§ 14. Winifried, afterwards called Bonifacius, preached to the tribes located between the Ehine and the Elbe, as the Frisii and the Catti, or Hessians, whom he persuaded to destroy the holy oak at Geismar in Hesse. He built churches, schools, and monasteries ; and in 739, less than twenty years from the com- mencement of his mission, 120,000 had been reclaimed from idolatry. He founded the cathedrals of Erfurt, Bonaberg, Eichstadt, and Wurtzberg, and in the whole eight new bishop- rics, which he subjected at first to the control of the German National Council (Concilium Germanicum), being fully sensible of the advantages of the protection of the Frankish monarch. He filled the office of bishop and archbishop at first without any settled diocese or jurisdiction; but in 745 he was elected to the archbishopric of Mayence and Papal Legate. In 755, this aged Apostle of the Germans caused his friend St. Lullus to be recognised as Archbishop of Mentz, and undertook his fourth mission to the Friezes, among whom, with twenty-two of his companions, he suffered martyrdom. — The conversion of the Anglo-Saxons of Britain was accelerated through the instrumentality of Bertha, the queen of Ethelbert, sister of Charibert, king of Paris, who prepared the mind of the Kentish sovereign for the reception of Christianity. On the arrival of St. Austin, despatched to Britain by Gregory the Great, the worship of Thor and Woden was abandoned, and as many as 16,000 converts were baptized in a single day. b) The. monastic life appears to have originated with those men, who, persecuted by the enemies of Christianity, were compelled to live in seclusion and privacy. Several of these (Monaclii) dispersed themselves in the Egyptian desert, and at length assembled round the hut or cottage of St. Anto- nius (305), near to which they built huts for themselves. Under Pachomius, the disciple of Antonius, they resided in one common building (ccenobium), governed by a prefect (Abbas, Abbot). From Egypt they extended themselves over the countries of the West, where, under St. Benedict, a new form was given to monastic establishments. Manual labour and agriculture were associated with the study of the sciences and the education of youth ; and the " order" or " rule" first made for the regulation of the monks of Monte Casino, near Naples, subsequently introduced into nearly all the monastic establishments of Western Europe ; agreeably to this rule, the noviciate promised to remain in the convent for life, 54 § 14.] CONSTITUTION. and took the triple vow of poverty, chastity, and unconditional obedience. II. Constitution. a) Origin and development of the German States. — On the conquest of the Eoman provinces, the German tribes conducted themselves very differently towards the vanquished. Several, as the Vandals and the Langobardi, who were filled with the most bitter hatred against the Eomans, seized the whole of the landed property, and abolished the Roman laws and insti- tutions. Others, as the Ostro and Visigoths and the Burgun- dians, acted with greater liberality, and allowed their enemies to retain in some instances one-third, and in others two-thirds, of their possessions. The Franks pursued a middle course between the two. It happened, however, that the victors were not in all cases the most benefited ; oftentimes the vanquished were not reduced to slavery, but allowed to retain their free- dom; and, amongst the Franks, they were even elevated to posts of honour, and held high offices in Church and State. The inferiority of the vanquished chiefly consisted in three things — the forced resignation of a portion of their estates, the greater power of the monarch over them than over his armed vassals and followers, and the lower penalty set upon the taking of their lives ; for the fife of a civilized Eoman was by the bar- barian only estimated at one-half the value of his own. These differences served also to prevent the amalgamation or ming- ling of the G-erman and Eoman races, which proceeded but slowly. In the Pyrenean peninsula it was retarded through the high estimation in which the Eoman character was held by the Visigoths ; and in the Hesperian (Italy), the contempt with which the barbarian Germans looked upon the Eomans and their institutions, produced the same result. With respect to the distinctions, or the various gradations of society, which existed amongst the Germans, there were, 1. Noblemen, anciently those who were born of parents long possessed of freedom, and were invested with official dignity. The gradations of rank seem never to have been many ; among the Bavarians, for instance, there existed only six orders of nobility, to which, according to G-erman law, a high penalty attached in cases of violence or loss of life. There was a nobility by service, where the vassal held his land immediately from the sovereign, to whom he was bound by a special oath of fealty. Deeds of heroism and bravery, or any meritorious action performed under the eye of the sovereign, sometimes led to distinction ; but more frequently the possession of a large amount of landed property, wrested *55 CONSTITUTION OF THE GERMANS AND FRANKS. [§ 14. out of the hands of the enemy. These in time became hereditary, and thus formed a new order of nobility. There were also, 2. The Free Germans (warriors), the French Milites. 3. The Half Free Germans, or half leudes, men who did not carry arms, but were engaged in agri- culture. 4. Free Romans. 5. Tributary Romans (captives taken in war). Quite independent of these distinctions in the state, was that order of nobility which consisted of the attendants upon the sove- reign (comitatus), as the great civil and military officers, who formed, as it were, his bodyguard, and were themselves accompanied by a nume- rous train of leudes, and belonged to the royal household. Change of Constitution, more particularly in the kingdom of the Franks. The foundation of the Franconian empire was laid in conquest. From Franconia to Aquitania, the G-erman tribes and Romans owned the supremacy of the Frankish sovereigns. Before their entrance into Gaul, they had their hereditary princes, one sovereign family, from which alone their future kings were chosen. The revenues for their support were derived from the land. Their own domains were extensive. Annual presents from the dignitaries of the church, and certain taxes which were imposed upon all, as well as judicial fines, all passed into the royal treasury. Oftentimes the revenues of the king were increased by the venal sale of dignities, and the appropriation of the revenues of the monasteries, and even of the cathedrals, to the royal purse. To the king belonged the partitioning of the land conquered by his followers from its original possessors, and also the nomination of the dukes and counts, and other high officers of state. This served considerably to consolidate and to strengthen the royal power, which, while the annual plaids, consisting of the armed freemen, continued to assemble, received a check. At length, when the territory became inore extended, and the vassals dispersed to a greater distance from the centre of the empire, these plaids were but thinly attended. The government, therefore, devolved upon the king, his official attendants, and the counts and dukes, to whom also an almost uncontrolled authority in their respective territories was delegated. To the king alone, however, belonged the power of declaring war and the settlement of peace, and to him only were the presents of the vanquished presented, or the contributions of allied princes paid. It was likewise the province of the king to amend, and to prepare new laws for the consideration of the assemblies, which, when sanctioned, were to be carried out by the territorial dukes and counts. In later times, on the decline of the royal power, the counts, but more particularly the dukes, whose dignities were originally official, and lasted only during the will of the sovereign, became here- ditary. They now no longer attended the plaids and assembhes as the official servants of the king, but as the representatives of districts and provinces ; feudal princes, not in behalf of the sovereign, but to serve their own personal interests. In the remoter districts of the kingdom, the counts or dukes governed almost as independent princes, and were acknowledged as such by the local nobility and inhabitants. In process of time they invested themselves with certain privileges and immunities at the expense of the crown, and thus formed a numerous temporal and ecclesiastical aristocracy, winch not only gradually oppressed the lower freemen, but also became opposed to the sovereign himself, 56 § 14.] FEUDAL SYSTEM. b) The Feudal System. — The territory won from the original inhabitants by the king and his followers (Gasindi) was divided by him among those who assisted in the acquisition; each obtained an allotment (allodium), which, on the death of the tenant, could be held on the usual condition of military service by some other member of the family. Thence it was in a manner hereditary; nevertheless, although the king himself had no power to deprive any tenant of his domain, it might be done at the annual meeting of the plaid, on the vote of the assembly. Subsequently, as the power of the free men or warriors increased, the lands became hereditary, and were equally divided at death among the offspring of the pos- sessor. In the division of the land, the king himself retained a larger portion than the most favoured of his vassals was allowed to possess. For, as the sovereign and his court lived upon the proceeds of the royal domains, travelling from palace to palace to consume successively the provisions which had accumulated at each of them, such ample domains were neces- sary for the support of the royal dignity, and to enable the king to confer upon his favourites and his valiant followers (vassen or vassals) small domains, for which they were required to render military service. These allotments were termed feods or benefices (feudum or beneficium), and at first were granted only for life ; they afterwards became hereditary, but whether by grant from the monarch, or by usurpation, does not appear. The military service of the beneficed vassals was termed lehe-man, leudes; that of the freemen, bound by duty for its defence, heer-men, arimanni. In course of time, the allodial proprietors, who were bound only for the national defence, became, by their acceptance of the grants of lands from the king or the nobles, feods, and were bound to do military service in private as well as in public war. Hence a sort of personal militia was created, devoted to the maintenance of private interests, and governed by a contract, rather than by the law of the kingdom. The first vassal of the king was the Major domus (region), who, as the first representative or lieutenant of the sovereign, led the serfs (coinitatis) in time of war, distributed the royal patronage, and sometimes (as in Austrasia) sat on the seat of justice as the representative of the king. In the time of Charlemagne many of the petty allodial proprietors became vassals, finding it to be more safe to place themselves under 57 d3 A.D. 450.] LEGISLATION. [§ 14. some great baron, who was bound to protect bis vassals, than to be plundered by their superiors. The small allodial proprietor, therefore, made over his estate to some great lord, from whom he received it back as a fief (feuclum oMatum). In subsequent times, these smaller pro- prietors almost wholly disappear; they became sub-vassals to some duke, count, or baron, whose armed forces were consequently augmented, and in many instances more than a match for those of the sovereign, — a policy which constituted the chief strength of the feudal system, which for so long a period existed in the German empire, and amongst the Franks, the Anglo-Saxons, and the Lombards. c) Legislation. — Until the middle of the fifth century, the Germans were governed only by an unwritten law. In the three centuries which followed, written laws (leges) were from time to time published, first, for the tribes which had passed the Bhine, or the united people composing the Frankish con- federacy, as the Salii, Ripuarii, Alemanni, Bavarians, Burgun- dians, &c, and subsequently for the Westgoths, Lombards, and Anglo-Saxons. These codes were all, with one exception, that of the Anglo-Saxon, composed in the Latin language, and were probably the acts of the assembly in councils, or the results of treaties entered into between the king and his sub- jects. One object of these laws, which at first were but an embodiment of former customs, was to expunge those heathen elements which were incorporated with them, and so introduce the purer principles of Christianity. Hence, Lex Salica, which was published before the conversion of the Franks to Chris- tianity, in the reign of Clovis, underwent several successive changes, and received from time to time large additions to meet the circumstances under which they were placed. These laws {leges), especially the Lex Salica of the Franks, are prin- cipally characterised by their penalties, chiefly against theft. Excepting under certain circumstances, the freeman could not be punished with death or corporal chastisement ; only the unfree, the serf. To the free- man every injury was redeemable by a fine (compositio) , and he who could not pay the composition became the slave of the injured party. Even the crime of murder could be expiated by the payment of the fixed number of solidis {shillings), which varied according to the rank of the victim, and the circumstances of the case. With respect to judicial proofs and purgations, the kinds of proof were in general four : — 1. That of written documents. 2. The oaths of witnesses. 3. The oath of the plaintiff, who was privileged to bring his nearest relatives or friends (conjuratores or consacramentales) to swear for him — viz., to make oath that, from their knowledge of him, he had sworn according to the best of his belief. The number of coujuratores varied from two to eight hundred. The general number was twelve. Compurga- tion. — The most ancient method was by cold water, in which the 58 § 15.] EASTERN ROMAN OR BYZANTINE EMPIRE. [395-565 A.D. guilty sank and the innocent swam. Boiling water : A cauldron of which the accused thrust his arm into, when it was immediately ban- daged, and if, after a certain short time, on its removal the arm appeared in a healthy condition, the accused was held to be innocent. The ordeal by red-hot iron consisted either in holding the hot iron rod with the naked hand, or walking, with naked feet, over a number of burning ploughshares. There was also the purgation by the cross, which took place before the cross in the church, and consisted in holding the hands crossed over the head for a certain time. If the arms dropped before the expiration of that period, the accused was pronounced guilty, and punished accordingly. B. The East. § 15. THE EASTERN EOMAN OE BYZANTINE EMPIEE UNDEE THE MACEDONIAN DYNASTY, 395—867. I. The Eise of the Empire from 395 to the death of Justinian, 565. On the division of the Roman empire by Theodosius, between his two sons, Arcadius and Honorius, the former received the eastern half, termed the Eastern Roman or Byzantine empire, which extended west and east from the shores of the Adriatic to the banks of the Tigris. North and south it embraced the countries south of the Danube and the Euxine, and those on the African coasts of the Mediterranean. Arcadius, a weak, effeminate prince, was governed by his minister, Rufinus, a Gaul, who is said to have invited the Huns to make incursions into the territories of his sovereign. He was put to death by Gainus, a Goth, when the eunuch Eutropius for a time became the reigning favourite. He was, however, a great intriguer, and was charged with being the author of the Phrygian revolt, brought to trial, banished to the Isle of Cyprus, and then behead- ed. Gainus, who had been instrumental in the banishment of Eutropius, soon after lost his life in a battle against the Huns. In his later years, Arcadius was assisted in the government by the Empress Eudoxia. He died (408), and was succeeded by his son, Theodosius n., who, like Arcadius, was only nomi- nally emperor, the reins of government being in the hands of Anthemius ; who, considering Pulcheria, the sister of Theodo- sius, better qualified for the administration than himself, re- signed his office into her hands. She ruled ably and successfully". In the latter days of Theodosius, the eunuch Chrysaph governed, Constantinople was threatened by the Huns, and was only 59 A.D. 412.] THEODOSIUS-MARCIAN-LEO-ZENO-ANASTASIUS. [§ 15. saved by acceding to the payment of an increased annual tribute, at last amounting to 2,100 lbs. of gold. In 412, Armenia was partly lost to the Persians. In 450, Theodosius was thrown from his horse and killed. He has the honour of being the first monarch who published a digest of the laws (leges) of the empire, for the benefit of his subjects. Pul- cheria, who had ruled for some time during the reign of Theodosius, now succeeded to the vacant throne, and gave her hand to the senator Marcian, who had distinguished himself in the Persian and other wars. He refused to pay the annual tribute to the Huns ; and on the breaking up of their empire, after the death of Attila (453), he cultivated peaceful relations with the Eastern Goths, south of the Danube, formerly tribu- tary to the Huns. On the death of Marcian, Leo i. was raised to the throne by Aspar, the general of the eastern army, whom he afterwards ungratefully put to death, and thus fixed a stain upon his fame. Leo was the first sovereign crowned by a bishop (the patriarch of Constantinople). During his reign he expended a vast sum in an expedition against Genseric, king of the Vandals, which ended in the utter destruction of the army engaged in it. He died 474, leaving the throne to his infant grandson, whose father, Zeno (an Isaurian), governed in his stead, and probably murdered the young prince that he might possess the throne. The widow empress of Leo drove the usurper from the seat of power, and conferred the throne upon her brother Brasilicus, who, however, subsequently offended his sister, and through a conspiracy was betrayed into the hands of Zeno, who again usurped the throne, 477, which he kept possession of for fourteen years. His reign was disgraceful, and remarkable for the concessions he made to the Ostrogothic King, to whom he yielded a part of Lower Dacia and Ma3sia, and, probably as the price of his forbearance from attack- ing Constantinople, the government of Italy was surrendered. On the death of Zeno, his virtuous widow, Ariadne, bestowed her hand and the empire upon Anastasius, who engaged vio- lently in the disputes which then agitated the church ; and, by abolishing some of the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon, brought about the beginning of the first religious war. During his long reign of twenty-seven years, the Bulgarians on the shores of the Euxine frequently attacked the provinces on the Danube ; to preserve the capital from any assaults, he built the famous long wall which extended from the Euxine to the Marmora 60 § 15.] JUSTIN — JUSTINIAN. [520-65 A.D. sea. He also recognised the kingdom of the Franks. On his death (518), he was succeeded by Justin, a Thracian peasant, who obtained the throne by artifice, distributing among the troops the gold entrusted to him by Amantius with a view to his own elevation. He was chiefly occupied in the propaga- tion of Catholicism, which he effected by persecution. In his reign, the first monastic order of the Benedictines was esta- blished, and spread itself over the countries of the West ; Monte Casino, in the Neapolitan territory , being founded as early as 520. After a reign of nine years Justin died, and was succeeded by his nephew Justinian, whose talent lay in his discrimination, by the exercise of which he selected the most fit and proper persons to command his armies, and to regulate the internal affairs of the empire. Justinian (527-565) began his splendid reign by the improvements which he effected in the Roman law by the — a) Codex Justinianus, (12 vols.), or a regular and copious body of jurisprudence, embracing, in a digested and simple form, the judicial wisdom which had accumulated during the former reigns. This im- portant work was executed by ten of the most distinguished lawyers of the age, under the superintendence of the great Tribonian. Soon alter its production, this code was felt to be insufficient; it therefore underwent a revision, and in the course of six years it appeared in a new form, b) The Institutiones, a compendium of Roman law, for the use of the schools, c) The Pandect se, or Digesta, a collection of the opinions or most important explanations and decisions contained in the writings of forty of the most eminent jurists, d) The N o v e 1 1 a3, being an addition or supplement to the former ; it embraced the laws made during the latter period of Justinian's reign, and those of the later emperors. The whole work received the title of " C o r p u s Juris Civiris," and recognised the will of the emperor as absolute. The internal tranquillity of the empire was disturbed by the insurrections or tumults which took place between the Blues and the Greens in the Hippodrome at Constantinople, which were neither of an ecclesiastical or political character. Chariot racing, a favourite amusement among the Romans, had been introduced into Constantinople, and both the empress and the wife of Belisarius were the daughters of charioteers, who wore dresses either of a blue or green uniform. In process of time, the whole population was divided into two opposite parties, 61 A.D. 532-50.] THE VANDALS — OSTROGOTHS — BELISAPJUS. [§ 15. distinguished by these colours. Justinian embraced the cause of the Blues, and justice was withheld from the Greens. These riots at length assumed the character of open rebellion. In 532, one of the most terrible of these revolts, called N i k a, or victory (from the cry adopted), took place, when all the public buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged. During the five days the capital was in the hands of the mob, and upwards of 30,000 of the Green party were massacred. Justinian was on the eve of taking flight, but was prevented by the firmness of the Empress Eudoxia. The emperor subsequently restored the stately buildings, which had been damaged or destroyed, to more than their original magnificence, especially the church of St. Sophia. Justinian now turned his attention to the strengthening of his frontier provinces. To render the north secure against the attacks of the Bulgares, he erected between the Save and the mouth of the Danube a line of fortifications, embracing more than eighty fortresses, and after a great sacrifice of human life, in consequence of the opposition of the Persians to the Lazic alliance with the Romans, the war was put an end to by a treaty purchased with gold (506). Entrenchments were also thrown up, and treaties entered into with the various nations of Armenia, etc. It was during the Persian war against the Eomans, that the eunuch Narses, afterwards a celebrated general, passed over to the Romans, and that Belisarius won his first laurels. Justinian now endeavoured to make Italy and Africa once more Roman provinces, and thus to effect the restoration of the Roman empire. The empire of the Vandals in Africa was destroyed by Belisarius (see § 9) ; and thus, by one of the most rapid conquests ever achieved by disproportionate numbers, was Africa placed again in the hands of the Romans. The Ostrogoths, who possessed the whole of Italy, were next attacked (see § 8), and after a war carried on by Belisarius for eighteen years, and by the eunuch Narses (who succeeded to the command) for two years, Italy was for a time added to the empire. In 550, the sea coast of Southern Spain was surrendered to Justinian, as the price of his assistance to Athanagild (see § 11). The narrow-minded Justinian, jealous of the success of his general Belisarius, withdrew him from Africa to repel the aggressions of Chosroes (or Nurshivan), the Persian monarch, who, pressed upon by the Ostrogoths, broke the treaty which 62 § 15.] COLCHLiN WAR WARS WITH PERSIA, ETC. [540-87 A.D. he had concluded with Justinian (540), and invaded Syria and Antioch. the latter of which was reduced to ashes. Armenia was devastated, and Palestine was threatened, when the ap- pearance of Belisarius in the east compelled the Persians to withdraw. The Colchian war, however, was disputed with the greatest obstinacy for sixteen years by the two emperors, and it was not without much negotiation that a treaty of peace was concluded (556). The territories of Colchis, on the south- eastern shore of the Euxine, were now free from the payment of the annual tribute to Persia, and formed the boundary of the Roman empire in that direction. After a reign of thirty- eight years, Justinian expired (565), leaving to his successor an exhausted exchequer, which had been expended in the erec- tion of costly buildings, and in the purchasing of treaties of peace. To meet these demands, offices of state were publicly sold, monopolies granted, and burdensome taxes laid upon the people. These things, Justin n., who saw the errors of his uncle's administration, undertook to remedy. II. Decline of the Empire, from 565 to the accession of the Macedonian Emperors, 867. During the reign of Justin n., a mild and benevolent prince, Italy was lost to the Lombards (comp. § 8, iv). The Avars, pressed upon the Turks, founded an empire in the fruitful plains of the Danube, and finally possessed themselves of the Illyrian peninsula. Towards the close of the reign of Justin, Chosroes, the Persian monarch, ravaged Syria; and Apamea, was reduced to ashes. In 574, he resigned the crown to Tiberius, the brave captain of his guards, who successfully resisted the Persian arms ; but after a short reign of four years was cut off by a mortal disease. Maurice, a valiant officer, was chosen to succeed him, and during his reign, the Khan of the Avars carried terror to the walls of Constantinople, and even insulted the ambassador of the emperor. Maurice, how- ever, was more successful against the Persians even than Tiberias, and on the rebellion of Bahram (see § 17) assembled an army under Parses (not the conqueror of Italy) and placed Chosroes n. upon the throne. In 602, Maurice attempting to reduce the pay of his soldiers, an insurrection broke out, in which he and his five sons were butchered, and their heads exposed in the Hippodrome at Constantinople. Phocas, a centurion, the leader of the insurrection, assumed the purple for eight years, during which the most opulent cities of the 63 A.D. 532-50.] THE VANDALS — OSTROGOTHS — BELISAEIUS. [§ 15. distinguished by these colours. Justinian embraced the cause of the Blues, and justice was withheld from the Greens. These riots at length assumed the character of open rebellion. In 532, one of the most terrible of these revolts, called N i k a, or victory (from the cry adopted), took place, when all the public buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged. During the five days the capital was in the hands of the mob, and upwards of 30,000 of the Green party were massacred. Justinian was on the eve of taking flight, but was prevented by the firmness of the Empress Eudoxia. The emperor subsequently restored the stately buildings, which had been damaged or destroyed, to more than their original magnificence, especially the church of St. Sophia. Justinian now turned his attention to the strengthening of his frontier provinces. To render the north secure against the attacks of the Bulgares, he erected between the Save and the mouth of the Danube a line of fortifications, embracing more than eighty fortresses, and after a great sacrifice of human life, in consequence of the opposition of the Persians to the Lazic alliance with the Eomans, the war was put an end to by a treaty purchased with gold (506). Entrenchments were also thrown up, and treaties entered into with the various nations of Armenia, etc. It was during the Persian war against the Eomans, that the eunuch Narses, afterwards a celebrated general, passed over to the Eomans, and that Belisarius won his first laurels. Justinian now endeavoured to make Italy and Africa once more Eoman provinces, and thus to effect the restoration of the Eoman empire. The empire of the Vandals in Africa was destroyed by Belisarius (see § 9); and thus, by one of the most rapid conquests ever achieved by disproportionate numbers, was Africa placed again in the hands of the Eomans. The Ostrogoths, who possessed the whole of Italy, were next attacked (see § 8), and after a war carried on by Belisarius for eighteen years, and by the eunuch Narses (who succeeded to the command) for two years, Italy was for a time added to the empire. In 550, the sea coast of Southern Spain was surrendered to Justinian, as the price of his assistance to Athanagild (see § 11). The narrow-minded Justinian, jealous of the success of his general Belisarius, withdrew him from Africa to xe^el the aggressions of Chosroes (or Nurshivan), the Persian monarch, who, pressed upon by the Ostrogoths, broke the treaty which 62 § 15.] COLCHIAN WAR — WARS WITH PERSIA, ETC. [540-87 A.D. he had concluded with Justinian (540), and invaded Syria and Antioch, the latter of which was reduced to ashes. Armenia was devastated, and Palestine was threatened, when the ap- pearance of Belisarius in the east compelled the Persians to withdraw. The Colchian war, however, was disputed with the greatest obstinacy for sixteen years by the two emperors, and it was not without much negotiation that a treaty of peace was concluded (556). The territories of Colchis, on the south- eastern shore of the Euxine, were now free from the payment of the annual tribute to Persia, and formed the boundary of the Koman empire in that direction. After a reign of thirty- eight years, Justinian expired (565), leaving to his successor an exhausted exchequer, which had been expended in the erec- tion of costly buildings, and in the purchasing of treaties of peace. To meet these demands, offices of state were publicly sold, monopolies granted, and burdensome taxes laid upon the people. These things, Justin n., who saw the errors of his uncle's administration, undertook to remedy. II. Decline of the Empire, from 565 to the accession of the Macedonian Emperors, 867. During the reign of Justin n., a mild and benevolent prince, Italy was lost to the Lombards (comp. § 8, iv). The Avars, pressed upon the Turks, founded an empire in the fruitful plains of the Danube, and finally possessed themselves of the Illyrian peninsula. Towards the close of the reign of Justin, Chosroes, the Persian monarch, ravaged Syria; and Apamea was reduced to ashes. In 574, he resigned the crown to Tiberius, the brave captain of his guards, who successfully resisted the Persian arms ; but after a short reign of four years was cut off by a mortal disease. Maurice, a valiant officer, was chosen to succeed him, and during his reign, the Khan of the Avars carried terror to the walls of Constantinople, and even insulted the ambassador of the emperor. Maurice, how- ever, was more successful against the Persians even than Tiberias, and on the rebellion of Bahram (see § 17) assembled an army under Narses (not the conqueror of Italy) and placed Chosroes n. upon the throne. In 602, Maurice attempting to reduce the pay of his soldiers, an insurrection broke out, in which he and his five sons were butchered, and their heads exposed in the Hippodrome at Constantinople. Phocas, a centurion, the leader of the insurrection, assumed the purple for eight years, during which the most opulent cities of the 63 A.D. 726-87]. RELIGIOUS FEUDS THE ICONOCLASTS. [§ 15. — the Jacobites, who fled into Egypt, Arabia, and Persia ; — and the Maronites, of the sect of the Monothelites, who found shelter in the mountains of Lebanon. Among other practices of ancient heathenism, which had crept into the worship of the Christian churches, was that of image worship, and during this period took place the Iconoclastic (image-breaking) controversy, which was continued for upwards of a century. It originated in the decree of the Emperor Leo in. (the Isaurian), 726, which commanded the removal of all pictures and images from the churches, excepting that of our Saviour. This decree, although violently opposed by the monks and priests, who made a scan- dalous traffic of the protection of these household gods, and of the miracles they pretended to perform by their intercession, was notwithstanding carried into effect. The worship of images having been condemned as heretical by the seventh oecumenical (general) council, held at Constantinople (754), the persecution of the worshippers of images was carried on with vigour, and with some degree of cruelty, by Constantine Copronymus. His successor, Leo iv., in consequence of the seditions and revolts fomented by the monks, carried his persecution so far as to punish with death any worshipper of images, and would doubtless have sacrificed even the life of the empress, in whose bed two images were secreted, had not a pretended miracle been wrought, by which the life of Irene was saved, and that of the emperor sacrificed. As the popes had aided Irene with all their power, she called a second council at Nice in 787, when the idolatrous worship was confirmed and carried out by Irene with great pomp. It is remarkable that the churches of the West invariably rejected, with horror, the worship of images, which they considered as idolatrous. Among the Germans relics were regarded, and to worship the bones of a deceased saint accorded more with their barbarism and gloomy imagi- nations. Both were productive of immense wealth to the church, which every year received vast sums from Gaul and Germany in exchange for the relics which had been taken out of the catacombs of Italy. Irene had put aside her husband to reign uncontrolled as regent for her son, but on his attaining his majority he excited her jealousy, and was compelled to banish her to Athens, her birthplace. Subsequently she was recalled, when she excited the people, through the priests and bigots, to sedition. The wretched Constantine, who had interdicted the worship of images, was seized, and had his eyes torn out with such cruelty 63 § 15.] SCHISM IN THE CHURCH THE PAULICIANS. [802-97 A.D. that lie soon afterwards expired. Irene, who was the first woman that had ever sat on the throne of the empire in her own right, now reigned as sole monarch. In 802, her grand treasurer (an Iconoclast) headed a conspiracy, and usurped the throne. Irene was banished to Lesbos, where she supported herself by spinning. At her death she was canonized as a saint. The emperors who followed were Iconoclasts, and as their reigns are chronicled only by the partizans of image worship, they are described as cruel and tyrannical. On the accession of Michael m., Theodora, like Irene, reigned during the minority of the prince, and she effected the restoration of the worship which had for so long a time been prohibited. Michael (sur- named the Sot) was a weak, but cruel, prince. Nevertheless, having associated with him in the government, Basil, the Macedonian, the affairs of the empire were managed with vigour. The cruelties of the emperor and his uncle, Csesar Bardas, at length raised the indignation of Basil, who caused them to be put to death ; an act which throws a stain over his otherwise noble character. The reign of Michael was the era of a schism which for ever divided the Greek and Latin churches. Irritated by the remonstrances of the patriarch Ignatius, Michael degraded him, and placed the learned Photius, captain of the guard, on the chair of Constantinople, and obtained the sanc- tion of a council for the act. The intruder was excommu- nicated by the pope, and afterwards exiled. Ignatius was restored, but on his death (897) Photius again filled the patri- archial chair. On the conversion of the Bulgares to Chris- tianity, a division took place between the patriarch and the pope respecting the supremacy of the Bulgarian church, which was eventually followed by a separation of the Greek and Roman churches (1054). The persecution of the Paulicians, a sect which sprang up about 660, took place during the reign of Michael, in which upwards of 100,000 persons were slaughtered, and their property confiscated. Carbeas, whose father had perished, formed a band of Paulicians, and solicited the assistance of the Arabians, who penetrated into the heart of Asia, and desolated the fairest provinces of Greece. In the issue, the Paulicians were compelled to retreat, and take refuge in the mountains. The comtitution which the Eoman empire had received from Con- stantine the Great remained unimpaired, and the power of the emperors continued absolute and unrestricted. They were still crowned by the 67 THE ARABIANS. [§16. patriarch of Constantinople, from whom they received the sacred unc- tion, and, like Constantine, retained the Oriental manners. They assumed the title of Eoman Emperors, and endeavoured to conceal their weak- nesses by the assumption of pompous titles, invested with the purple of the Persian monarchs, and wearing a diadem covered with pearls and gems, and gorgeous dresses. A strict court etiquette was also kept up. The senate existed as to its external dignity, but was without influence as a political body, the advisers of the emperor being the consistorium principis, composed of the favourites of the court. In the time of Justinian, the Eoman consulate was discontinued, and the dates employed were no longer calculated by consulships, the era of their public acts, but according to the year of the emperor's reign, and by the Cycle of Indictions, which recurred every fifteen years. The remoter provinces were divided into Curiae, each of which was governed by a duke, appointed by the emperor. The oflice was not unfrequently sold to the highest bidder, and was generally arbitrary and absolute in its administration ; hence the provincials were severely oppressed by the exactions of the dukes or governors, who plundered them to the last extremity. §16. THE ARABIANS. Geography of Arabia. The entire surface of the Arabian peninsula (including its desert of 56,000 square miles of shifting sands) is calculated to be about four times that of Germany or France, and in its physical features would seem to belong rather to Africa than to Asia. It consists of an elevated table land, declining on the north towards the Syrian desert, and encircled along the sea- coast by a belt of flat sandy soil termed Tehama (low land). The mountainous region of the interior is named Nejd (high land). The low land is not entirely destitute of water, for although sometimes for years no rain falls, yet at others, during the months of March and April, slight showers are fre- quent, and the dews at all times are said to be copious. The high land has its regular rainy seasons, while in the lofty mountain ranges springs abound, the waters from which descend into the valleys and fertilize the low land. These temporary streams are termed Wddis, probably the same with the Greek Oasis. The most fertile portion of the Tehama, bordering on the Red Sea, has received from Ptolemy the name of Arabia Felix. The native traditions of the Arabs lay claim to a double origin, and assert that the elder tribes are descended from Kahtan, or Joktan, or Yokthan, the son of Heber; and the junior tribes, or Mostarabi (mixed Arabs), from Ishmael, the 68 § 16.] OCCUPATION AND RELIGION OF THE ARABS. son of Abraham and Hagar. These wanderers are termed Beduins, or Bedouins (from bedowi, a native of the desert). They do not all dwell in tents pitched in the deserts ; some dwell in towns and cities built at remote periods as emporiums of commerce, as Mecca and Medina. The only authority acknowledged by the Arab is that of his chief (Shiekh), whom he looks upon as the father, rather than the ruler, of his tribe : to him he yields a ready submission. In later times, in the Arabian Caliphat, the name of Emir, or commander, was given to the head of every principal tribe. The occupations of the Arabs are those of agriculture, the breeding and tending of cattle, trade and commerce, while at the same time they are habitual plunderers. Their chief city, Mecca, was built at the intersection of two great commercial routes; and as in the East religion and commerce have always gone hand in hand, at every principal mart we find a temple erected. That of Mecca was called Kaaba, and, according to tradition, Ishmael collected the stones, while Abraham con- structed the edifice. The Kaaba, like the temple of Delphi in Greece, was the sanctuary of the whole nation. The sacred stone, in which is the footprint of the patriarch, is still pre- served. The Religion of the Arabs was anciently that of Abraham. Judaism flourished in Arabia more than in any other part of the East. It was professed by many whole tribes, and became the established religion of the powerful kingdom of the Hamya- rites. The Persian faith (fire worship) penetrated only a small part of North-eastern Arabia. Sabianism (tzaba, a host), the worshipping of the host of heaven, prevailed over nearly the whole of the peninsula. According to the Koran, deities of human and animal forms were also worshipped. The pon- tificate of the Kaaba, and the Zemzem (holy spring), which sent forth a fountain of beautiful clear water, to satisfy the thirst of Hagar, on Abraham's stamping the ground with his foot at the command of the angel, was in the hands of the Joshanides, out of whose possession it was wrested by the tribe of Khoza, who held the pontificate and the civil govern- ment of Mecca until 4043 a.m., when it came into the posses- sion of the house of Haschem, whose grandson, Abdallah, was the father of the Arabian impostor Mahommed. History of the Arabians. The inhabitants of Central Arabia, principally those of the A.D. 61.] ARABIANS MOHAMMED. [§ 16. province of H e d j a s, to which the ancestors of Mohammed chiefly belonged, trace their origin to Aderan, a descendant of Ishmael, or Ismael. The Arabians of Yemen (Kahtanides, or Yoktanides) go still further, and trace their descent from Joktan, of the family of Shem. Between the Isma elites and the Yoktanides there had always existed a national hatred and animosity, which led to the banishment of the former from Mecca, where they were the hereditary protectors of the sanctuaries. The Beduins have never been entirely subjugated by foreign conquerors ; no power has been able long to keep them in subjection. Their external history pre- sents a long list of wars carried on by one tribe against another ■ but their conflicts, which arise from very trivial causes, are neither of long duration nor sanguinary. In the sixth century, their political, religious, and moral condition had been brought into a state of ruinous decay. 1) From the time of Mohammed to the Dy- nasty of the Ommaiyades, 622 — 661. Mohammed, or Muhammed (much praised), was born at Mecca (571). His parents died when he was young, and his grandfather, who had been governor of Mecca, undertook the care of the destitute child, and on his deathbed confided him to Aber-Thalib, his uncle, by whom he was educated. Before he reached the age of manhood, Mohammed became celebrated for his commercial skill and enterprize, and at length became the factor and agent of Kadijah, a rich widow, who, pleased with his conduct, gave him her hand in marriage. He now gratified his taste for contemplation, and retired from the world one month in every year, to meditate, in the caverns of Hira. In the fortieth year of his age (609) came the Leilat-al-Kadr (the night of the divine determination), in which it is very possible that he really believed, notwith- standing his subsequent impostures, the angel Gabriel called upon him to become the prophet of God. He first announced his commission to the members of his own family, only intend- ing the establishment of an order or sect. Subsequently, by a train of circumstances, it led to the foundation of an empire. On the public preaching of Mohammed in Mecca, the Koreish, dreading the loss they should experience if idolatry fell into disrepute, and the temple should be forsaken, violently per- secuted the prophet and his followers, who were compelled to seek refuge, first in Abyssinia, then in the city of Tayef, near 70 § 16.] THE HEGIRA DEATH OF MOHAMMED. Mecca, to which latter place he soon retired, and during the second month (Ramadan) preached to the pilgrims, commen- cing, shortly after, such a career of imposture, as to shock his most faithful followers, and to endanger his cause. A revolu- tion breaking out in Mecca, the Mohammedans were compelled to flee. On reaching Yatref they were enthusiastically re- ceived by the people, who also changed the name of the city to Medinet-al-Xabi (the city of the prophet), 622. This event is called the Hegira, or " flight," and has, since the time of Omar, been used as an epoch by the Mohammedans. Moham- med, after the flight, was, with his followers, engaged in plun- dering expeditions, attacking the caravans as they returned from Syria. His wars were chiefly against the Meccans, and the Jewish tribes near Medina ; the latter of whom were soon subdued or massacred. Mohammed at length assumed the authority of a sovereign, and considered himself entitled to hold intercourse with the greatest monarchs of the East. He therefore addressed letters and sent ambassadors to the emperors of Persia and Constantinople, and to the king of Ethiopia, exhorting them to embrace Islamism. When Mecca was conquered, he entered the city as a pilgrim rather than a conqueror, and his first care was to destroy the idols of the Kaaba. Accompanied by a retinue of the faithful, Mohammed laid his hand on each image in succession, and said, " Truth has come, let falsehood disappear;" on which the idol was dashed to pieces. The Arabian tribes subdued, he commenced to spread the Islam over all countries, and to unite into one community, by the sword or by faith, all the nations of the earth. In 632 he made his last pilgrimage to Mecca, with great pomp and outward solemnity, frequently kissing the black stone, which had, ages since, fallen from heaven, and was sup- posed to contain the covenant between God and man. Having' delivered his last revelation, he offered up sacrifices of camels, and liberated a portion of his slaves ; after which he returned to Medina, where he was struck with a mortal disease, which closed his career of imposture, at the age of sixty-three, leav- ing an only daughter (Fatima), the wife of Ali, to survive him. The Religion of the Arabs, or " The Islam " (resignation to the will of God), was set forth by its founder, not as a new creed, but as the restoration of the patriarchal faith of Abra- ham; that faith which, as he affirmed, had been taught by 71 RELIGION OF MOHAMMED. [§16. Moses and the Saviour of mankind, but which had been mu- tilated and misrepresented by their disciples and successors. To restore to its original purity and simplicity this primitive faith, was the appointed work of Mohammed. The great fun- damentals of Islamism are — 1. Faith in one God, and that Mohammed is his delegated prophet. 2. Offering up of prayer at five stated periods during the day, with the face towards the holy Kebla, or temple of Mecca, accompanied by numerous and accurately prescribed forms and ceremonies, that of prayer being announced by the priests from the pulpits, and afterwards from the minarets of the mosques. 3. Alms. 4. Fasting during the month Eamadan. 5. Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during life. The religion of Mohammed consists of two parts, the I man (faith), and the Din (practice). The articles of faith require belief in one God, in angels, in the divine books which he sent down from heaven to his prophet (104 in number), among which are the Pentateuch, or law; the Evangelium, or gospel; the book of Psalms ; and the Koran. Faith in the ambassa- dors of God is also required, as well as in a state of final retribution, and predestination. The second part, Practice, relates to lustrations, or purifications, either by water or sand (by the latter only when the former cannot be obtained), and the various rites of prayer, etc., all of which are to be performed with the face turned towards the holy temple at Mecca. The Sonna, which is rejected by a portion of the faithful, comprehends all the religious traditions of the Mohammedans, and corresponds with the Mishnah of the Jews. Unrestricted polygamy was sanctioned, but the use of wine and all intoxicating drinks, and swine's flesh, were strictly prohibited ; and games of hazard (gambling), music, statues, or carved images were all forbidden. The day set apart for public religious worship was Friday, but the Moslem was not bound to abstain wholly from labour. The sacrifices of animals and the rite of circumcision were kept up, but no distinct order of priesthood was established. With respect to pro- selytes, whoever embraced the Mohammedan faith became a member of the new state, and was no longer regarded as a stranger ; Jews and Christians were tolerated on payment of tribute, but death awaited the followers of all other religions. The Four Caliphs of the tribe of Koreish, 632—661. 1. Abu Bekr (632—634), the father-in-law of the pro- 72 § 16.] ABU BEKR OMAR. [632 42 A.D. phet, was recognised as his successor, and by his promptitude disconcerted the plans of those Arab tribes which had deter- mined to throw off the yoke imposed on them. In the end, under his generals, the whole of Arabia embraced Islamism ; but as in this war a considerable number of the prophet's companions perished, Abu Bekr, fearing that the revelations of Mohammed might be either lost or dispersed, issued an order for their collection into the Koran, an order which was reversed in the time of the Caliph Othman. To give employment to his numerous army, he seized the favour- able period for attacking the neighbouring Byzantine empire, and that of Persia, both weakened by successive revolutions. Khaled, the general of Abu, subdued the provinces of the Irak, and commenced a glorious career in Syria, most of which, in less than two years, he subdued. In the midst of these con- quests Abu Bekr died, having previously transferred the reins of government to Omar. 2. Omar (634 — 644). — Omar may be regarded as the proper founder of the Arabian empire, and his government, the most brilliant period of the caliphat. His generals ob- tained signal victories over the Greeks, near the lake of Tiberias (made more easy by the treachery of the Byzantine commander), and over the Damascenes, when the capital was taken (635). The conquest of Syria was now soon completed, and Palestine fell into the hands of the Arabians. Jeru- salem surrendered in 637, but the patriarch refused to open the gates of the city until the arrival of Omar, who set out from Arabia to receive the precious deposit. On his arrival, he would not enter to settle the terms of capitulation, but had his tent of camel's hair cloth erected outside the walls, and sat upon the bare earth. The terms granted were remarkable for their moderation ; civil and religious liberties were secured to the Syrians on the payment of an annual tribute. The fall of the maritime power of Phoenicia followed, by which the Arabs became possessed of a navy. About the same time the Arabian war was being successfully carried on in Persia, the victory of Cadesia (636) and of Nahavemd (642) hastened the overthrow of the Persian monarchy. Egypt was invaded at the same time by Omar's celebrated general Amru, who being assisted by the Coptic Christians who were oppressed by the Greek emperor on account of their faith, obtained, first, the victory of Pelusium, and afterwards that of Alexandria (640), 73 e A.D. 644 61.] OTHMAN ALL [§ 16. which threw open the whole of Egypt to the Arabians, who had lost during the wars 23,000 of the faithful. The destruc- tion of the library, which, it is said, furnished fuel to heat the 4,000 baths of Alexandria for six months, by order of Omar, is not improbable, although mentioned for the first time by Abulfaraj six centuries later. Omar was assassinated by a slave, whose requests he had denied (644). 3. Oth man (644 — 656). — The successor of Omar was eighty years of age when he was installed third caliph. Under his generals the conquest of Persia was completed, which ex- tended the Saracen sway to the Oxus. Northern Africa, as far as the shores of the Atlantic, was also subdued; the island of Cyprus was rendered tributary; Rhodes was conquered, and the remains of the celebrated Colossus sold. The Arabian arms were also succesfully employed against the Greeks. Cilicia and Asia Minor, as far as the Euxine, were overrun, and Con- stantinople was even menaced. These conquests, however, only served to increase the love of luxury and dissipation. The Arabians now began to rival the monarchs of the East, and to prefer the splendours of a court to the glories of the field. Othman lavished treasures upon his favourites, who were un- worthy, and in the hour of peril deserted him. The Charigites (Kharadjis), a new sect, who declared riches to be the source of crime, openly rebelled, and demanded justice from the caliph, whose guards deserted him. He was assassinated by a son of Abu Bekr (656), and Ali succeeded to the caliphat. 4. Ali (656 — 661). — This individual had no part in the murder of Othman, and was much respected by the Moslems. He, too, was a son-in-law of the prophet (husband of Fatima). The Koreishites declared him caliph, which was also seconded by the majority of the Arabs. Ayesha, one of the numerous wives of the prophet, was, however, his mortal enemy, in con- sequence of his having cast out insinuations against her chas- tity. She therefore stirred up the soldiery to revolt, taking the lead in person; and, assisted by two Arab chiefs, Tahha and Zobeir, made preparations to oppose the caliph. The two armies met near Busra, at Koraiba, and, after a dreadful slaughter, the victory was declared in favour of Ali. Ayesha was taken prisoner, Talha perished on the field of battle, and Zobeir, who endeavoured to escape, was overtaken and be- headed. This first battle between the Moslem troops has received the name of the Battle of the Camel, from the fact 74 §16.] MOAWIYAH I. [661 A.D. that Ayeslia, who headed her own troops, was seated in a palanquin on the back of a camel. About the same time, Moawiyah, the deposed governor of Syria, caused himself to be proclaimed caliph ; and among his most powerful partisans was the celebrated Amru, the conqueror and governor of Egyj)t. Ali marched against them, and the two armies, ac- cording to tradition, remained for a twelvemonth face to face. Ninety battles were fought, and 70,000 Moslems perished. At length the matter was, according to the laws of the Ko- ran, referred to arbitrators, who decided that neither should possess the caliphat, but that a third party should be elected. Abu Musa, one of the arbitrators, declared Ali to be unseated, upon which Amru dexterously proclaimed that Moawiyah must therefore, of necessity, be retained. Hence the schism between the Shiahs* and the Sunnis. At length three Ka- radjis devoted themselves for the destruction of the three men who caused such effusion of blood. The two appointed to assassinate Amru and Moawiyah were arrested. Ali alone perished, in the sixty-third year of his age, in the very year which the prophet had predicted should close the caliphat (661). Hassan, his eldest son, was set up by the Shiahs; but being of a peaceable disposition, he entered into an engage- ment with Moawiyah, and resigned the caliphat, after having held it for six months. He was allowed a pension for life, which was terminated by poison administered by his wife, who acted under the guidance of Yezid, the son of Moawiyah. 2) The Ommaiyad Caliphs, 661—750. Moawiyah i., great grandson of Omaiya, a Koreishite, removed the residence of the caliph from Medina to Damascus. He reigned for twenty years, during which period he turned his arms against the Turks beyond the Oxus, and overran the Greek provinces of Asia Minor and Africa. For seven years he successively attacked Constantinople, while other armies ravaged Libya, where the caliphat of Kairwan, or Cairoan, was founded. He made the caliphat hereditary in his family, by having it secured during his lifetime to Yezid. * The Schiites, or Shiahs, consider the first caliphs to have "been usurpers ; the Sunnis, or Sonnites, declare that they were legitimate monarchs, elected according to the Sonna, or traditional laws. The Turks, Egyptians, and Arabs are of the Sonnite sect ; the Persians, and a great majority of the Tartars, and several Indian principalities, are of the Schiite, or Shiah, sect. 75 e2 A.D. 710 11.] OMMAIYAD CALIPHS. [§ 16. a) Conquests in the West. — Under the thirteen caliphs of this dynasty, the Arabian conquests may be said to have attained their utmost limits. Akbah, the general of Moawi- yah, had already penetrated beyond the Atlas Mountains, and seized a portion of Morocco ; but, by a series of reverses, some of the towns and cities west of Barca were lost. On the arrival, however, of Hassan, Carthage fell, and soon after the whole of Byzantine Africa was subjugated. At first the Berber tribes and the Romans refused to acknowledge the caliphs and embrace Islamism, but at length some took refuge in the mountains, while the majority embraced the Moslem faith. Scarcely had Africa been conquered, when the Arabians were offered an introduction into Spain, and Julian, a Visi- gothic chief of Spain, who considered the assumption of royalty on the part of Roderic an usurpation, offered his assistance. Musa despatched Tarik, his lieutenant, across the strait with 500 Arabs (710). He landed at Gebel-al-Tarik (Gibraltar), where he was joined by a host of disaffected Christian Goths, and in 711 he again landed with reinforcements consisting of 5,000 men, and, after some lesser conflicts, met Roderic him- self with 100,000 troops, near Xeres, on the Guadelete. After seven days' hard fighting, the conflict terminated in favour of the Arabs, who had been materially assisted by the desertion of Opas, the bishop of Seville, and other nobles, including the sons and other relatives and friends of Witiza. King Roderic disappeared. Musa, jealous of the success of his lieutenant, ordered the operations to be suspended ; Tarik, however, pursued his conquests, and on the arrival of Musa, he was thrown into prison. The dissensions between Musa and Tarik led the Caliph Walid to recall both, just as they were about to cross the Pyrenees. The conduct of Tarik was approved, but Musa was fined, and publicly exposed to the heat of the sun, and imprisoned, by Suleiman, who had succeeded Walid in the caliphat. Meanwmile, his two sons, whom he had left in charge of the governments of Africa and Spain, were beheaded by the orders of the caliph, and the head of the elder, Abde- laziz, sent to Damascus, where it was exhibited to the father, who was asked if he recognised the features. The Arabians imposed heavy tributes upon their Christian Spanish subjects, but left them in undisturbed possession of their property, laws, and religion. The new lieutenant of the caliph in Spain, Zama, crossed the Pyrenees, seizing Narbonne and all that 76 §16.] EMPIRE OF THE CALIPHS. part of Gaul which had remained in the hands of the Visi- goths. In 732, Abderrahman made a still further attempt to wrest Gaul from the dominion of the Franks. Charles Martel met the Arabians on the plain of Poictiers, and defeated them. Abderrahman fell, and Europe, probably to this day, owes its religious liberties and freedom to the victor of Poictiers, Charles the Hammerer. (Comp. § 13.) b) Also in the East, Moawiyah had extended his conquests north to Samarkand, and south to the Indus. Taking advan- tage of the disturbed state of the Persian province of Armenia, the Arabians wrested it out of the hands of Sapor, and also a portion of Asia Minor from the Greeks. Constantinople was twice besieged, but in vain ; the Greek fire saved the capital, and burned up the fleets of the Arabians, who also lost upwards of 100,000 men by pestilence, famine, and cold, and an unpre- cedented winter which then prevailed. At the period of its greatest extent, the Empire of the Caliphs contained, a) In Europe, nearly the whole of Spain, with the Narbonne territory in Southern Gaul, the Balearic or Spanish Isles, with Corsica, Sardinia, etc., and no inconsiderable tracts of country in Southern Italy. b) In Africa, the whole northern coast to the desert and Egypt. c) In Asia, South-western Asia, from the Mediterranean Sea, and the Arabian or Persian Gulf, to the Mustag Mountains (Thian Shan), on the Upper Indus, and the territory on the Lower Indus ; north to the Caucasus, the Caspian, or Chazar, and the Aral Seas, the Jihon, or Juxartes. In Asia Minor, the province of Cilicia to Tersoos (Tarsus). During the period of the extension of the empire, the reigning dynasty severely oppressed the provinces by their enormous exactions. They were also engaged in cruel wars against the descendants of Ali, who ruled in Irak, and formed the Fatimide party, whose banners were green. To these were opposed the Ommaiyads, who were distinguished by their white standards. The wars between the rival powers were long and sanguinary. Abbas, the great grandson of Abbas, the uncle of the prophet, whose banner was black, ultimately raised the whole of Asia in favour of the descendants of Ali. Merwan ii., the last of the Ommaiyads, was defeated and killed in Egypt (750), when peace was concluded, and twenty-four 77 A.D. 750.] AUTHORITY OF THE CALIPHS. [§ 16. of the family of Ommaiyad were invited to a banquet of reconciliation at Damascus, when, with the exception of one who contrived to escape, they were cruelly butchered, and the feast immediately took place, amidst the dying groans and agonies of the sufferers. This was only as an introduction to that general massacre in which 600,000 Ommaiyads were murdered in cold blood in Khorassan alone. The throne of the Abassides was now, under the influence of Abu-Moslem, the real chief of the Abassidian party, firmly established. Abderrahman, the Ommaiyad who escaped, after quitting Syria, and traversing Africa as a fugitive, on his arrival in the neighbourhood of Marocco, learned that the white flag was still triumphant in Spain. He therefore crossed the strait, and presented himself to his friends on the coast of Andalos (Andalusia), and was elected to the caliphat of Cor- doba. (Comp. § 11.) Constitution. — The authority of the caliphs was spiritual as well as temporal. The latter might be resigned, but the former, as in the case of Hassan, was held to be inalienable. He remained Imam, although he resigned his dignity as caliph. During the earlier period of the caliphat, the caliphs rendered an account of their administration every week to the people, who assembled for the occasion, as well as to take part in the deliberations. When, under Moawiyah, the caliphat became hereditary, it also ceased to be of a democratic character, and soon became despotic and absolute. The first caliphs were remarkable for the simplicity of their mode of living, especially the stern Omar, who, although the sovereign of nearly the whole of Asia, yet frequently slept upon the steps of the mosque at Medina, and lived upon barley bread and water. At length, the immense ransoms and tributes which they received from their enemies so enriched them, that they began to imitate the voluptuous and luxurious orientals, from whom the greater portion of their wealth had been derived. The governors of the provinces, too, at the same time obtained, in addition to the civil authority, the mili- tary command ; hence, in after times, they ruled as independent princes, and became formidable foes to the caliph. 78 § 17.] NEW PERSIAN EMPIRE. §17. THE NEW PEKSIAN EMPIEE, 226—651. •) The extent of the empire founded by Artaxerxes I. (Ardeschir), the eon of Sassan, varied considerably at different periods. Under Chosroes I. it extended from the Mediterranean to the Indus, and from the Jaxartes as far as Arabia and Egypt. Under Chosroes II. it embraced Yemen in Arabia. The four great provinces into which it was divided were Assyria, Media, Persis or Persia, and Bactriana. The imperial residence was Ctesiphon on the eastern bank of the Tigris, which, with the opposite city of Seleucia, formed Madain, or the double city. The Persians were almost always engaged in warfare, and were as formidable in a retreat, from their peculiar mode of fighting, as when they faced the enemy in order. Their wars were chiefly with the nations on their frontiers — the Greeks and Eomans; and the Turks and the Arabians. (See § 15). Next to the founder (Artaxerxes), who professed to be a lineal descendant of the ancient Persian monarchs, ranked Chosroes I., known in the East under the name of Nurshivan the Just. He was a contemporary of Justinian, and terminated the war commenced by his father Bahrain against the Byzantine em- pire. Instigated, however, by the East Goths he renewed the war, and attacked the Syrian province ; but on the appearance of Belisarius he retired, and employed all his energies for the recovery of the Lazic territories, which had revolted. After a long contest, the Colchians agreed to the payment of an annual tribute, and the war was concluded. The empire, during the forty-eight years of his government, was rather remarkable for its internal prosperity than for the extension of its bounda- ries. The provinces were governed by viziers, whose conduct was so severely scrutinized that there was no room allowed for venality or peculation. Legislation, war, and finance under- went considerable improvements. Agriculture was fostered and protected, while the artificial irrigation of the soil rendered it more productive. Upper and lower schools of learning were established, and the most renowned scholars of Greece and Asia frequented the Persian court, where Chosroes caused the works most celebrated in Greece and India to be translated for the benefit of his subjects. He died at the advanced age of eighty; and left his unworthy and odious son Ormouz or Hormuz to succeed him. — {For the dissolution of the Empire of the Arabs, see § 16.) 79 B.C. 450.] THE SCLAVONIANS. [§ 18. C. The North-east of Europe. §18. THE SCLAYES OR SCLAYONIANS. The earliest historic records represent the Sclaves as having immigrated into Europe from the high lands of Central Asia. On their arrival, they probably mingled with the Thracians, or Pelasgi, the Celts, and the Lithuanians; between the two former of whom and the Sclavi a great similarity existed in religion, language, and manners, etc., which was of a European rather than of an Asiatic character. The primitive, native, and general name of the Sclaves was Sorbi, Sorbes. The earliest name by which they are mentioned by ancient (chiefly G-erman) authors is that of Wends (Yenedi). Sclaves and Antes were the designations applied in more recent times to two of the prin- cipal tribes. On the arrival of the Huns (Avars?) from the remote regions of Asia, some of the Sclavish tribes (as the Alani, etc.) were subdued, and subsequently became amalgamated with them, and wandered along the northern shores of the Euxine until they settled in Dacia and Pannonia. On the dissolution of the Hunnish empire in the middle of the fifth century, partly on account of the great increase of their numbers, and partly because of the advance of the Avars and Bulgares from the north-east into the south-west of Europe, the Sclaves migrated towards the west as far as the Elbe and the Saale, which had been deserted by the German and Suevic tribes which had migrated south into Gaul and Upper Italy, etc. They also spread themselves southward across the Danube into the former Roman province of Dacia, the territory of which they occupied from the Adriatic to theiEgean Sea, where, being an agricultural people, they purposed to remain, rearing their flocks and herds in the fruitful plains of those regions. The Sclaves subse- quently spread themselves over the half of Europe, and are divided, according to language, as follows : — a) South-eastern Sclaves : the three principal nations of which are the Russians, the Bulgarians, and the Illyrians. b) Western Sclaves : to which belong the Letes, or Leches, (Poles), including the Silesians and the Pomeranians, the Czechis (Bohemians), with the Moravians, and the Polabic races between the Saale, the Elbe, and the Oder. 80 § 19.] geographical survey of europe. [752 1000 a.d. Second Period. From the Accession of the Carlovingians and Abassides until the period of the Crusades, 752—1100. §19. GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OP EUROPE AT THE TIME OP CHARLEMAGNE. 1) In Spain: the Emirate of Cordoba, north of the Douro ; the Christian kingdom of Asturias. 2) The Franks had already, under the Merovingians, pos- sessed themselves of all the territories between the Pyrenees in the sonth, and the Ems in the north. Under Charlemagne, the Spanish March ; the kingdom of the Langobardi in Upper and Central Italy; and the territories of the Saxons were added, with a part of the kingdom of the Avars founded by them in the ancient Dacia, and extending over the province of Pannonia, first, as far as the Ems, and subsequently to the Theiss. The empire of Charlemagne embraced — 1. Neustria, or Western France. 2. Aquitania, with Vasconia. 3. Septimania, or Gothia. 4. The Spanish March. 5. Burgundy, with Provence. 6. Austrasia, or Eastern France. 7. Frisia. 8. Alemannia. 9. Boiaria (Bavaria), with its Marches. 10. Saxonia. 11. Carinthia (March of Carantana). 12. The central lands of the Sclavi (Bohemia and Moravia). 13. Lango- bardi. 14. The Duchy of Friuli. 15. The Exarchate (Ravenna), and the Pentapohs (Romania). 16. The Duchy of Tuscia. 17. The Duchy of Rome (Ducatus Romanus, or the Patrimony of St. Peter). 18. The Duchy of Spoleto. 19. Sardinia and Corsica. 3) The Bulgares. A Sclavonic Tartar (Turkish?) tribe originally on the river Kama, where a Bulgarian kingdom was established. Descending the Volga they wandered along the northern shores of the Euxine, and in the seventh century founded an extensive kingdom along the Danube and the Haemus, which was afterwards extended across the Danube to the rise of the Theiss. 4) The empire of the Chazars — an eastern Germanic race strongly mixed with the Turkish — extending from the Volga to the Dniester, and embracing what is now Southern Russia. This tribe maintained themselves against the Persians, the Greeks (Romans), and the Russians, but fell on the inva- sion of Europe by Zinghis Khan. 81 e 3 A.D. 752 1000.] GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF EUROPE. [§ 19. 5) The North of Europe at this period was partly- occupied by the kingdoms of the Normans, the Danes, and the Swedes, united by one common origin, and partly by Finnish or Tschudish tribes. Towards the end of the ninth century, however, five Norman states arose : a) out of the ruins of about thirty petty chieftaincies, which were sub- jected to the sway of and animated by Harald Harfagr, king of Norway, whose government extended to the White Sea; b) Sweden, by the union of the Goths (Gottland) and Swedes under one government ; c) Danemark, when the kings of the Danish Isles and in Juteland recognised Gosun, the elder, as their king ; d) Iceland, discovered and peopled by the Norwegian chiefs, and erected into a republic ; e) the kingdom of Man, founded also by Norwegian adventurers, and embracing the groups of islands off the coast of Scot- land. 6) The British Isles. In Britain seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms or principalities were founded, which were after- wards reduced to three and finally (827) united into one, when they formed the single kingdom of A n g 1 e Land or Englaland. On the western coasts, the native Britons long maintained themselves. The kingdoms of the Picts and Scots were (838) united into one, that of Scotland. Ire- land was divided into five sovereignties — namely, Ulster, Connaught, Meath, Minister, and Leinster. 7) The Byzantine or Greek empire embraced the country south of the Danube, the Venetian States (consisting of the islands of the Lagunes and the territory in Upper Italy), Istria, the Duchy of Naples, and Southern Calabria. (Comp. § 8.) While the Roman provinces on the Danube had to con- tend with the Sclavish tribes, which were continually advanc- ing towards the left bank of that river, single branches of which continued to locate themselves here and there over the whole western portion of the empire. The Asiatic provinces were assailed by the Arabians. In Lower Italy, the several Langobardian principalities still maintained themselves against the continued aggressions of the Greeks and Saracens, and afterwards against the Normans ; and existed in a greater or lesser degree of independence until the eleventh century. North-east of the empire of Charlemagne were the W e n d e s (Venedi) and S o r b e s, or Sorabes, the Bohemians (C z e c h i) and Moravians, tributaries ; while further east were numerous Sclavish tribes still ruled over by native princes. 82 § 20.] pepin. [752 — 68 a.d. §20. THE FEANCONIAN EMPIEE UNDEE THE CAELO- VINGTANS, 752—887. 1. Pepin the Short, 752—768. In 752, Pepm, the Mayor of the Palace, was raised to the throne of the Franks by the authority of the Pontiff Zachary, and was, therefore, bound in some measure to support the apostolic see. When the Lombards, whose territories surrounded on all sides the Eoman duchy, not only seized a part of its possessions, but compelled the payment of an annual tribute, Stephen n., who had succeeded to Zachary, applied to the Greek emperor for assistance, for Eome was yet a dependency of the eastern empire. The Pope not succeeding, proceeded to France, where the comitia of the Franks assembled by Pepin pledged itself to defend him. Before this, however, Stephen, who took up his abode at St. Denis, crowned Pepin for the second time (754), as well as his queen Bertrada, and his two sons Charles and Carloman. He also conferred upon Pepin the title of Patrician of the Eomans. Pepin marched towards Lombardy, and defeated Astolphus, who promised restoration of all which he had taken from the Eoman duchy. Astolphus, indignant at the conduct of the Eomans and Franks (755), prepared to attack Eome itself with a large army, when the pope again earnestly solicited the help of Pepin, which was promptly rendered. The Lombards were defeated at Pavia, and gladly consented to the terms imposed upon them by Pepin — namely, to restore the towns of the exarchate of Eavenna, and to deliver Pentapolis and the duchy of Eome to the Church of Eome, and not to the Eoman empire. The keys of these cities were laid at the feet of the pope, and thus was laid the foundation of the temporal power of the papal see. In Southern Graul, Pepin, assisted by the Visigoths, attacked the Saracens. Narbonne was besieged, when the Christian population massacred the Mohammedans who guarded the ramparts, and the city fell into the hands of the Franks, which was now for the first time united to the monarchy. The Saxons (753) threw off the yoke, but Pepin crossed the Ehine, and, having defeated them, compelled them to pay a heavier amount of tribute than before. The Aquitanian war lasted nine years (from 760 to 768), and was remarkable for its frightful devastations. Berri and Auvergne were wholly destroyed. Bourges, Thouars, Limousin, and Issaudon were fortified, and counts placed in them to secure the conquered territories, as also were Poictiers, 83 A.D. 768 74.] WARS OF CHARLEMAGNE. [§ 20. Limoges, etc. Subsequently the whole of Aquitania was, on the assassination of Gruaifer, its duke, added to the crown (768). Pepin appointed his two sons as his successors ; and, before all the grandees of the state, including the bishops and prelates of the church, divided the monarchy between them. The West was assigned to Charles, and the East to Carloman; an in- equality of division which afterwards was the cause of centuries of revolutions and civil war. 2. Charlemagne (768 — 814) was born 742, but where is uncertain. The ambition of Charles armed the brothers against each other, and but for the death of Carloman (771) would have ended in a civil war between them. Charles, on the death of his brother, convoked the comitia of that part of France which had been assigned to his brother, which assembly suffered him to seize his dominions without any regard to the sons of Carloman, who, with their mother, fled to Lombardy. Wars of Charlemagne. a) Conquest of Lombardy, 773 — 774. Charles, yielding probably to the wishes of Bertha, his mother, had repudiated his first wife (Himiltrude?), by whom he had no family, to marry Desirea, the daughter of Didier, king of the Lombards ; but a year after, he divorced her, without assign- ing any reason, and conveyed her back to her father. Soon after he married his third wife, Hildegarde, one of the daughters of the Duke of Swabia, 771. The king of the Lombards, exasperated at the conduct of Charlemagne, resolved to sup- port the claims of the sons of Carloman to the throne of their father, and proceeded to Eome to have them consecrated by the newly elected pope (Hadrian I.) The pontiff refusing to grant this request, the Lombards seized upon the Pentapolis, and threatened the capital itself. Hadrian despatched a mes- senger to Charlemagne, who brought the matter before the comitia ; this assembly resolved upon the defence of the Eoman territories. Pavia was besieged, and Charles passed on to Eome, where he was received with great pomp and solemnity. Charlemagne confirmed the act of donation which Pepin, his father, had made to the church ; and which probably included Spoleto and the greater part of the kingdom of Lombardy, which Charlemagne was occupied in conquering. Pavia, on the return of Charles to the army, capitulated, having sus- tained a siege of sis months. Didier, or Desiderius, and his 84 § 20.] WARS OF CHARLEMAGNE. [772 804 A.D. wife, with the widow of Carloman and her two sons, were taken prisoners ; and Charlemagne assumed the title of King of the Lombards (or of Italy) 774. Nearly the whole kingdom of Lombardy became Franconian. The Duchy of Beneventum alone remained free, while the Duchy of Spoletum passed over to the church. The constitutional privileges of the Lombards, however, were secured to them. In 776, Rosgaudes, the governor of Friuli, with the dukes and counts of Lombardy, driven to extremes by the denunciations of the pope, endeavoured to place Adelgise, the son of Desiderius, upon the throne. Charles hastened from the banks of the Rhine, and entered Lombardy by the Tyrol. Rosgaudes was taken prisoner and beheaded. The Lombard counts were changed, and Franks everywhere placed in their stead. b) Wars against the Saxons, 772—804. The Saxons (a German race) differed essentially from the Franks, and were closely connected with the Normans. They were divided into Westphalians (between the Ehine and Ems), Eastphalians (between the Weser and the Elbs), and Nordalbingians (on the other side of the Elbe as far as the Eider, the primitive land of the Saxons). From the earliest periods, the Saxons and the Franks had been hostile to each other ; and ever since the accession of Clotaire i. the Merovingian Franks had been engaged in continual struggles with them, which only ended in the accession of territory, and the imposition of an annual tribute, the payment of which was, after a short time, withheld. The Saxons, with just as much obstinacy, resisted the efforts made to Christianize them ; they massacred the missionaries and their converts at Davenser, and destroyed the churches in which they were assembled. At the diet of Worms (the Field of May) war was declared against the Saxons, and their entire subjection and conversion were resolved upon. The political aim of this was to effect the consolidation of all the Germanic races into one great political power or sovereignty, which could only be secured by the subjection of the Saxons, and the extending of the boundaries of the empire towards the north-east. The religious object of the war was to win over the Saxons to the Christian faith, and thus to secure the same religion for the people of Eastern Franconia and Thuringia. Both these objects the Saxons obstinately and resolutely endeavoured to defeat. In the first nine years of the war, Charles, with his army, penetrated the Saxon territories to the Weser, devastating all 85 A.D. 772 6.] WARS OF CHARLEMAGNE. [§ 20. the country as he passed along: subsequently lie carried his victorious army even to the Elbe, when the fortifications were destroyed, and hostages delivered up by the Saxons as security for the fulfilment of the conditions imposed on them. But no sooner had Charles departed for Italy or Spain, to carry on the war in those quarters, than the Saxons revolted, and even ravaged the frontiers of the Fran- conian empire. They were, however, on the approach of the king, always reduced to submission. First Campaign (772). — Eising from the Field of May, at Worms, Charles crossed the Rhine at Mayence, and took the Saxon fortress of Ehresburg (Stadtbergen on the Diemel), and overthrew the idol Hermansul, the object of veneration at Merseberg, and which seems to have been a column raised in honour of all the Germanic nation (Herman-Saule), probably from Herman, the conqueror of Varus, and the liberator of G-ermany. This campaign was the longest and the most cruel which Charles ever undertook, and was ended by a treaty, for the fulfilment of which twelve hostages were delivered up. Second Campaign (772). — During the absence of Charles in Italy, the Saxons reconquered the fortress of Ehresburg, and, under the command of Witikind, penetrated the Franconian territories on the lower Rhine, overran Hesse, and would have destroyed the temple erected by St. Boniface at Fritzlar, but that they feared the God of the Christians. Charles assembled the Franks, and held the Field of May at Duren ; and finding them ready to second him in taking vengeance on the Saxons, he led Ins army across the Rhine, and took the Saxon mountain fort of Siegeberg, and raised the fortifications of Ehresburg, which the Saxons had destroyed, and garrisoned it. At Brunesberg he defeated them with great slaughter, when he crossed the Weser. He again met them at Buch, where the Westphalian king took the oath of fidelity. The Angarian Saxons soon followed their example, and bound themselves by oaths and hostages to observe fidelity. Charles now returned to his castle of Schelestadt, in Alsatia, to celebrate the festivities of Christmas. Third Campaign (776). — In the spring of 776, during the absence of Charles on his second Italian campaign, the Saxons again surprised the castle of Ehresburg, and attacked that also of Siegeberg ; but they had been, before his arrival, repulsed. Charles therefore recrossed the Julian Alps, and returned in haste to Worms, where he had convoked the assembly. On the breaking up of the diet, Charle- magne advanced rapidly into Saxony, before the country was prepared for defence. On his arrival at the source of the Lippe, the Saxons begged hard for mercy, and swore that they were ready to become Christians. They submitted to be baptized, gave new hostages, and consented to the rebuilding of the fortress of Ehresburg, and the building of another on the Lippe. Charles retired to his palace of Heristal, upon the Meuse. Not feeling himself assured, however, of their submission, he proceeded no further from their frontiers. The 86 § 20.] WARS OF CHARLEMAGNE. [779 82 A.D. Field of May was now convoked at Paderborn, in the midst of the Saxon territory, to which assembly the Saxons were also invited. They took part in the deliberations, and confirmed their preceding engage- ments. Witikind, however, the most powerful among the Westpha- lian sovereigns, was absent. Despairing of being able to resist the Franks, he had passed into Scandinavia to obtain assistance. Not- withstanding, the Saxons, with many of their chief nobility, were baptized. Fourth and Fifth Campaigns (779— 780) .—"Whilst Charles was engaged against the Saracens on the other side of the Pyrenees, Witikind had returned to Saxony, and stirred up his countrymen to rebellion. They ravaged the country of the Kipuarian Franks, from Duisburg as far as the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle, carrying fire and sword into all the palaces as well as into the villages, and de- stroyed the sacred edifices. Charles ordered the Grermans and Austra- sians of his army to defend then* homes against the Saxons, whom they overtook laden with booty at a village in Hesse (Badenfeld or Lihesi?), and annihilated them as they were endeavouring to cross the Adern (778) . In the spring of 779, Charles took the field himself, and crossing the Rhine early, advanced to the Lippe. The Saxons endeavoured to make a stand at Buckholz, but were defeated. Charles penetrated into the country, and compelled one canton after another to sue for peace and embrace Christianity, as a means of escaping massacre. The West- phalians submitted first, then those of Bardengau, and several of the Nordalbingians were baptized. The Angarians and the Eastphalians afterwards came to Charles, at his seat of Medfull, on the Weser, and took the oath of fidelity, and delivered up hostages. During the winter, the king led back his army to the Rhine, and sojourned at Worms ; but on the return of spring, he again entered Saxony at the head of his army. He visited the fortress of Ehresburg, and, ascending the Lippe, turned east, and established himself on the banks of the Obacre at Ohrhehn, where he had appointed to meet the East Saxons, who were baptized. He next halted at the confluence of the Ohre and the Elbe, where he settled the misunderstandings of the Saxons on the left bank of the Rhine with the Yenedi (a Sclavonian race) on the right bank. Charles now marched back to France, and disbanded his army (780). After the lapse of two years, the war was renewed (782). Witikind, as soon as Charles had re-crossed the Rhine, re- turned from his hiding place in some part of Norman Ger- many or Scandinavia, and persuaded the Saxons again to take up arms. Of these movements Charles was ignorant, but he learned that the Sclavonian Sorabes had crossed the Saale, and invaded Thuringia and Saxony. He therefore despatched three of his chief officers with orders to assemble armies com- posed of Saxons and Austrasians, people most interested in resisting the brigandages of the Sclavonians. On learning the defection of the Saxons, the three officers entered Saxony with 87 A.D. 782 — 4.] WARS OF CHARLEMAGNE. [§ 20. Austrasians alone, and were joined by the Ripuarian Franks under Count Thederic, a kinsman of Charles. The armies of the Saxons and the forces of the Franks met north of Mount Sonnethal, near Munder. The Franks under the three lieu- tenants began the attack, and before the arrival of Thederic, who was to have occupied the opposite bank of the Weser, they were surrounded, and almost all massacred. Charles now headed the military operations himself, and entered Saxony ; but the armies which had vanquished his lieu- tenants had dispersed ; Witikind had retired to the Normans. The Franks under Thederic had experienced no resistance, and the Saxon counts obeyed the call of their monarch to assemble with the comitia of the Franks, when Witikind was accused of exciting the Saxons to revolt. Charles, how- ever, demanded the surrender of those who had borne arms in the campaign, a deed which they basely complied with: 4,500 were beheaded in one day, at a place called Verden, on the banks of the Aller ; after which sanguinary execution Charles retired to his palace at Thionville. The Saxons, incensed at this act of savage cruelty, flew to arms on every side, but it was in vain. Charles, who had been informed of their movements, hastily left Thionville at the head of his army, with which he rapidly passed the Rhine, and entered the Saxon territory. The Saxons awaited him at Theutmold (Dethmold), near Mount Osnegg, where they were nearly all cut to pieces; the Franks also sustaining a loss so consi- derable, that Charles was obliged to retire to Paderborn, to await the arrival of reinforcements from France. The Saxons, not expecting any clemency from the conqueror, assembled another army on the banks of the Hase, in Westphalia (near Osnabruck). Here they were conquered a second time : those who did not perish on the field of battle were carried away into captivity. The Frankish army returned loaded with the spoils of the vanquished. Charles retired to his palace at Heristal; and having gained two such victories, resolved not to grant the Saxons any respite until they were entirely sub- jugated ; the greatest difficulty, however, in incorporating them with the Franks, consisted in compelling the adoption of the Christian faith. The campaign of 784 was opened by the destruction of all the Westphalian villages, and those of East Saxony were afterwards devastated. Charlemagne intended to proceed fur- § 20.] WARS OF CHARLEMAGNE. [793 8 A.D. ther north, but was compelled by the inundations, caused by the excessive rains, to take up his abode in the fortress of Ehrenburg, from which, in fine weather, his troops sallied out and ravaged the surrounding territory. Charles summoned the assembly (Field of May) to meet at Paderborn ; after which he advanced to Bardengau, where he was informed that the Saxon chief Witikind and his followers were on the opposite side of the Elbe, and disposed to treat. Witikind and Alboin, his brother, in the name of their countrymen, swore to re- main in peace and obedience, and received baptism. Charles loaded them with presents, and dismissed them; and during eight years Saxony remained at peace. In 793, Count The- deric, being commanded to raise an army in Frisia to assist Charles against the Avars, was proceeding, as he had done before, to cross Saxony into Bohemia, when, on his arrival at Rhiustri (Eustringen) on the "Weser, he was surprised by the Saxons, who had revolted, and with his army cut to pieces. All Saxony had now thrown off the Christian faith, and re- turned to the worship of its national deities. Charles, accom- panied by his son, prepared to chastise the rebellious Saxons. On his appearance at Suitfeloe, they agreed to all the condi- tions proposed, and delivered up hostages. In the following spring, the Saxons did not assemble at the Field of May, over which Charles presided, at his palace of Kuffenstein ; he there- fore resolved to punish their thus neglecting to rally under his banner. Charles ravaged the country, and established himself at Bardengau, where he awaited the Obotrites and the Weltzi, or Weletaibi, whom he had appointed to meet, in concert with him to lay waste the Saxon territory. The Saxons, however, waylaid the Weltzian king and his army, which they cut to pieces. This proceeding so exasperated Charles, that he, with the Obotrites, devastated with fire and sword all which they could reach. After demanding fresh hostages, the king returned to Achen (Aix-la-Chapelle). Every year Charles resolved an expedition into Saxony ; but now he determined to weaken what he could not subdue. He burned the villages and massacred the inhabitants ; and when he accepted hostages, almost every family was required to give up one. These he distributed throughout every village in France and Italy, even to the utmost extremities of his empire. His camp was estab- lished at Herr Stall (quarters of the army — Heristal), which he made the centre of all his future excursions into Saxony. 89 ' a.d. 802; 778.] wars of Charlemagne. [§ 20. In 798, the Saxons surprised the royal lieutenants (MissiDomi- nici), and massacred them; they also murdered Charles' am- bassador to Siegfrid, king of Denmark. These events so irritated Charles, that he ravaged with fire and sword all the territory which extends from the Weser to the Elbe. But the Saxons on the right bank of the Elbe (also called Normans), not having been proceeded against for these massacres, took courage, and attacked the Obotrites, who were the allies of the Franks. Charles despatched his lieutenant Eberion to the assistance of the Sclavonian duke, and defeated the Saxons at Swenden, with great slaughter. In 802, the Obotrites took possession of the Saxon territory on the right bank of the Elbe, which, however, they were compelled to abandon with all their dwellings, and to accept in exchange establishments in the interior of the empire. In 804, the twenty-third and last of the Saxon wars, Charles abandoned to his faithful allies, the Obotrites, the remaining territory of the Norman Saxons. Those who were not carried off by the army into the half-deserted provinces of Gaul and Italy, escaped to the Danish dominions beyond the Eyder, where they commu- nicated to the people of the North that hatred of the Franks which was so fearfully manifested in their inroads upon the coasts of France.* In the extension of the Franconian monarchy, and the distribution of the Saxons, lay the germ of its own dissolution. The latter caused an amalgamation of the Saxon with the other G-ermanic races, and opposed the progress of the Roman ; hence, in after times, arose a nation and people which entirely separated from the Grallican, Fran- conian, and the Itahan-Lombardian parts of the empire. The division of the kingdom by the treaty of Verdun, therefore, produced, in the next generation, a reaction quite opposed to the policy of Charlemagne, who had been straining to merge the different nations into one common mass. For the support of Christianity among the Saxons, eight bishoprics were founded by Charlemagne ; namely, Munster and Osnabruck for the northern half of Westphalia (the southern was in the jurisdiction of the archbishopric of Cologne); Paderborn and Minden for the Engernians ; Bremen, Verden, and Hildesheim for the Eastphalians ; and Halberstadt for the Saxons of ThurinQ-ia. o c) War in Spain, 778. — When Charles summoned * There was no peace formally concluded at Selz, as has been gene- rally supposed by Luden, Schaumann, etc. 90 § 20.] BATTLE OF RONCEVAUX-DUCHY OF BAVARIA. [778-812 A.D. the assembly at Paderborn, during his third expedition against the Saxons, Ibu al Arabi, the Mussulman governor of Sara- gossa, appeared among the Saxon lords, accompanied by some of the Arabian chiefs, to solicit the protection of the monarch against the Emir of Cordoba (Cordova), Abderrahman I. Charles immediately proceeded towards Spain, crossed the Pyrenees by St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, arrived before Pampeluna, and took it; Saragossa fell, and Ibu al Arabi was restored. Barscheluna (Barcelona), Huesca, Jacca, and other cities were compelled to surrender. Charles and his army (probably hearing of the revolt of the Saxons) prepared to re-enter France with his hostages and rich booty. The kings of Asturias and Navarre, stirred up by Abderrahman, and fear- ing that Charles would displace them, and put Frankish nobles over their towns and cities, as he had done in the Spanish March, and in other places, resolved to attack the king and his army as they passed through the narrow denies of the Pyrensean mountains : hence, as the army was winding its way, in a crooked line, through the narrow gorges which it had to pass, the fleet Gascon mountaineers preci- pitated themselves from the heights into the valley beneath, where they attacked the rear of the baggage and the troops intended to protect it, utterly destroying the whole. The enemy having pillaged the baggage, then rapidly dispersed, and could not be traced. In this fray of the valley of Konce- vaux, the prefect Ptoland fell, the hero of the Spanish romances. By this disaster much which had been gained was lost: the fortifications of the Franconian Spanish March, between the Pyrenees and the Ebro, were, however, afterwards regained by Louis i., Charles's son, who, in 812, concluded a peace with Hashem I. d) Dissolution of the Duchy of Bavaria. The duchy of Bavaria was a dependent province of the Fran- conian empire. The dukes, however, possessed their lands by inheritance, and the laws were regulated by the voice of the national assemblies. Like all the vassals of the crown, how- ever, the dukes had to present themselves at the diet, to take the oath of allegiance, and to receive the confirmation of their titles from the king. The line of Agilolfinges was related to the Merovingians ; and the reigning duke, Tassilon, was the nephew of Charles. On the death of his mother, before Tas- silon had attained his majority, Grifon, the brother of Pepin, 91 A.D. 799 805.] WARS OF CHARLEMAGNE. [§ 20. was appointed regent; and while ruling in this capacity, in connection with the Alemanni, rebelled against the king, and attempted to throw off the allegiance. The rebels were sub- dued, and Grifon taken prisoner. Tassilon afterwards espoused the cause of the Duke of Beneventum (his brother-in-law) against Charles, and sought eagerly every opportunity of re- nouncing the authority of the Franks. To promote this object he effected an alliance with the Sclavonians which bordered on his territories, and made preparations for attacking either Italy or Gaul. Charles, while in Some, heard of these sedi- tious proceedings ; but to prevent evil consequences, Tassilon sent an embassy to Rome, offering to resign his duchy, which was returned to him as a common fief. Charles communicated an account of these proceedings to his diet assembling at Worms, which decided upon the invasion of Bavaria, and its annexation to the empire. For that purpose three armies were assembled, which advanced upon the duchy; that led by Charles encamped in the very suburbs of Augsburg. Tassilon, alarmed, threw himself upon the clemency of the king, and implored pardon. Charles, however, sent him to be tried by the comitia of the Franks, before which he was accused by his own subjects, and found guilty of high treason. . Sentence of death was pronounced, but Charles interceded for him, and he was sent to the convent of Goar, where he ended his days; his accomplices were banished. The duchy of Bavaria, which had been in the house of the Agilolfinges for at least two hundred years, now ceased to exist: its national constitution, however, was preserved. e) War with the Avars, 791 — 799. — In order to secure the eastern frontiers of the empire, which, after the subjection of Bavaria, extended to the Ems, Charles invaded the Avaric empire at three points, and advanced victoriously as far as the Raab. Subsequently (in 796) he despatched his son Pepin into Pannonia with an army composed of Lombards and Bavarians. They crossed the Danube, and arrived as far as Ringus, the fortified camj) of the Avars, where the spoils of the East, devastated by them, were piled. The Avars, being vanquished, these spoils were all seized and carried into France, where they were shared among the grandees and courtiers, after a suitable offering had been sent to the pope. In 804, Charles began to employ, with the Avars and the Huns, the same means of conquest, by conversion to Christianity, as 92 § 20.] WARS OF CHARLEMAGNE. [808 11 A.D. had so well succeeded with the Saxons. The mission was intrusted to Arnon, archbishop of Salzburg, and a priest named Ingo, who preached the gospel throughout Carinthia and the Lower Pannonia. The Khan was converted, and baptized by the name of Theodore, while hundreds of his subjects also embraced the Christian faith. In the following year (805), they were permitted to occupy the wastes between the Danube and the Saave, and the conquered territory of the Avars was erected into the Avaric or Eastern March, for the cultivation of which colonies of Germans were intro- duced. During the war Charles made an attempt to unite the Ehine with the Danube, by means of a canal, the vestiges of which still remain. f) Wars of Charlemagne against the Nor- man Danes and the Sclavonian tribes, car- ried on by his son Charles . — For the better secu- rity of the frontier boundaries in the north and east, it was necessary to extend the limits of the empire as far as the territories of the Normans and Sclavonians. This brought them into collision with several Sclavonic races, as the Sorabes, the Wilzes, or Weletaibi, the Wendes, etc., who occupied the territory along the whole eastern coast from the Peninsula of Jutland, on the Baltic, to the Istrian peninsula, on the Adriatic Sea. These had, during the reign of Charles, become, in a measure, dependent upon the empire; but the Danes of the north still remained formidable, and assumed a threatening position. In 808, in connection with the Wilzes, they attacked the Obotrites, the ancient allies of the Franks, murdered their duke, and compelled the payment of a tribute ; burned Port Eerie, and stirred up the Livonians and Smel- dingians to revolt. Charles (son of the king) gained con- siderable reprisals, but could not subdue the hardy Danes: negotiations were entered into, and the fortress of Esselfeldt was built to put a stop to their ravages. In 809, while Charles was preparing to attack the Danes, a fleet of two hundred Norman ships appeared off the coasts of Frisia, which they ravaged, compelling the inhabitants to pay tribute, after having beaten the Frisian counts in three pitched battles. Charles himself resolved to punish this outrage ; but receiving intelligence of the murder of the Danish king (Godfrio), and of the death of his son Pepin, he retired to his palace at Achen. In 811, twelve Danish chieftains, and as many 93 A.D. 800.] RESTORATION OF THE WESTERN EMPIRE. [§ 20. Frankish counts, met upon the Eyder, on the frontiers of the two dominions, and concluded a peace. A peace was also concluded about the same time with the Wilzi, who had, the year before, destroyed Hobhuoki (Hamburg). In the last year of his life, Charles obtained, by treaty, from the Byzantines, Istria, Liburnia, and Dahnatia, with the exception of some ports on the maritime coast. Restoration of the Western Roman Em- pire, 800. When Pope Leo in. had been grossly insulted, during the progress of a public procession by the republican party, got up by the relatives and partisans of the late Pope Adrian I. (now excluded from power), he set out for Germany to seek Charles, the emperor of the Franks, upon whom, as sovereign and Patricius of Rome* and protector of the church, devolved the punishment of the delinquents. Charles received the pontiff at Paderborn, and promised him his presence and assistance for the settlement of the Roman affairs. On the 24th of November, the emperor made his public entry into Rome, where he was met by the pope, accompanied by all the bishops and clergy, etc. After having held an assembly of all the Frankish and Roman lords, which the pope and his accusers attended, the former exculpated himself by the taking of a solemn oath from the charges laid against him, and his enemies were either banished or imprisoned. In return for this assistance, the pope, during the celebration of the fes- tivities of Christmas in the Vatican, while Charles was on his knees at the foot of the altar, advanced towards the monarch, and placed upon his head a crown of gold, when the pope and the clergy proclaimed aloud, " Long life and victory to Charles Augustus, crowned by God, great arid pacific emperor of the Romans." Thus was the Western empire renewed after an interruption of 324 years. The coronation of Charlemagne at Eome changed none of his rights as a sovereign, either as a temporal head over the people, or as a spiritual head over the church, or in his connection with the pope. The relation between the emperor and the pope was not, however, the * Soon after the election of Leo III. to the papal chair, he despatched legates to Charlemagne, with the keys of St. Peter, the standard of the city of Rome, and other presents ; requesting, at the same time, that certain nobles might be sent to Rome as ambassadors from Charles, to administer the oath of allegiance to the faithful to him. — Eghihard. 94 § 20.] ADMINISTRATION OF CHARLEMAGNE. same as that betwixt a vassal and his lord, hut an embodiment of the two extremes of power — temporal and spiritual — or authority. To the pope was left the exercise of the spiritual authority in the church, with the right of crowning the emperor, and administering the oath for the preservation and defence of the church ; but, on the other hand, he was obliged to haTe his election confirmed by the crown. Both powers, however, agreed to act in perfect concert and harmony with each other m any emergency which might arise. Charlemagne's administration. The laws (leges), written in the Latin tongue, consisted partly of the old constitutions, and had long been in use among the various races of the empire. The newly conquered tribes, — the Saxons, the Friezes, and the Thuringians (Saxons), here- tofore governed by hereditary custom — now received written laws; whilst capitularies, or ordinances of the empire, were added to those already existing, for the government of the entire empire. The administration of the empire was entirely founded on its division into districts of gaus (hundreds). In each there was a count (nominated by the king), who pos- sessed civil and military authority ; he was the presiding judge of the district, to whom belonged the convoking of the Mallum, or placita minora, the assembly of justice, and the Heribannium, the meeting at which war was decided upon. It was only in those frontier provinces, which, touching upon the boundaries of an enemy, were exposed to predatory incursions, that mar- graves, or superior nobles, were appointed; they ruled over several counties, termed collectively a March, and were also sometimes distinguished by the name of Land-graves, or frontier counts. In order to obtain an accurate knowledge of the condition of these single provinces, and to produce a system of order and unity in the government of them, there were other officers appointed called Missi Dominici, imperial deputies or messengers. There were generally two sent to each province, one an ecclesiastic, the other a layman, both of great dignity; they received the revenues of the royal cities, the accounts of which were produced before them; and from their reports the royal capitularies were framed. The assem- blies held by these deputies were attended by the bishops, abbots, counts, and vassals, attorneys and the judges, and vidames of the abbeys (spiritual and temporal lords), by all w 7 ho were invested with offices of state, and privileged to represent the people at the national diets (Field of May). 95 ADMINISTRATION OF CHARLEMAGNE. [§ 20. As the principal province of the Prankish empire was con- sidered to be Austrasia, the peculiar country of the Carlovingians, it was within this province, at Achen, that Charles fixed the lasting seat of Ms court and government. Here he built his magnificent palace, which he called Lateran, and a splendid church (Capella), hence termed Aix- la-Chapelle. Besides these sumptuous edifices, there were scattered throughout the province at least a hundred villas, or country residences, of the Carlovingians, most of which were in the possession of Charle- magne; Nymeguen and Ingelhehn, in the Rhenish palatinate, were those most frequently occupied by him. The ecclesiastical division of the empire in the ninth cen- trny into metropolitan districts, consisted of twenty-one : five for Lom- bardy, twelve for Western Franconia, and four for Austrasia. These divisions appear to have received the sanction of the assembly, when meeting at Duren (777). The constitution of war. — Besides the feudatories or bene- ficed, all the proprietors of land were called upon to contribute to the formation of the army. Two hundred and ninety square feet, termed "The Patch," seems to have been the measure of land judged sufficient for the maintenance of a service family; but he who possessed three, and afterwards four and five manses, was compelled to be present in person, to follow the king (by water or on land), armed at his own expense with a lance and shield, or a bow, two slings, and twelve arrows. He was likewise to furnish himself with a stock of provisions sufficient for his support, until he had joined the army, unless under certain conditions, when he was allowed a sufficiency for three months, at the expense of the monarch. Those who possessed but one manse, or even half a manse, were compelled to join others of his equals, and to furnish a soldier from one of their number. The heriban of a province was co mm anded by the chief of the territory, under the name of lord, after- wards changed to that of duke. The clergy were exempted from personal service, and (since 803) from bearing any expenses of the war, but they were obliged to send their vassals into the field, if qualified. He who, after the general summons, did not appear in his place, was fined sixty golden sohcli, and as this generally exceeded his abilities, he was reduced to a state of slavery, until he had discharged it. Desertion from the army was punished by death. To wear arms in the time of peace was for- bidden. As the summoning of the heriban took place frequently, and families, even in easy circumstances, were, in consequence, plunged into misery, many freemen changed the character of their property, and made it feuda oblata, resigning it to some powerful baron, whom they bound themselves to serve, and from whom they in return received protection. In the course of time, the number of smaller proprietors considerably diminished, and the freeman gradually disappeared. C o m m e r c e. — For promoting commerce, which had during the long wars received a severe check, Charlemagne established many commercial emporiums and repositories, annual fans and markets. He also improved the construction of the roads and highways, and diminished the dues payable on the admission of foreign produce, specially that on forage (foderum) . His patronage and love of letters and the sciences are attested bv the numerous schools which he founded. He invited to his court 96 §•20.] louis. [814— -17 a.d. tlie most celebrated learned men from every country in Europe ; hence it became a sort of academy, or literary society, of which he himself was a member. With these he endeavom'ed to improve his vernactilar tongue, and to raise the system of education, both in the youth and the clergy of the realm. In the founding of schools, which he at all times connected with the churches and monasteries, he was guided by the Anglo-Saxon Alcuin, whose school, at Tours, was brought to such a state of excellence that it became the model for all others throughout the empire. His protection of the arts was liberal, especially that of architecture, for which he had imbibed a strong taste while in Italy and Rome. The cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle, tbe palaces (Pfalzen), Aix-la- Chapelle, Ingelheim, Nymwegen, were monuments spoken of with the highest admiration ; they were adorned with mmierous paintings, as well as with marble and mosaic work brought from Home and Ravenna. The succession of the sons to the power of the father had been a long existing cnstom among the Franconians. Since the re-establishment of the Western Roman empire, this law seemed inapplicable; but Charlemagne, who alone had the power to break through the long existing custom, did not make any innovation. After the termination of the Saxon war, he divided his empire amongst his three sons, Charles, Pepin, and Ludvig (Louis), of whom only the youngest sur- vived him ; the latter was declared, at a diet held at Achen, the successor in the royal and imperial dignities. To Pepin's natural son, Bernard, was given the kingdom of Italy,. Subject to the supremacy of his uncle. Charlemagne expired on the 28th of January, 814, at the advanced age of seventy- two years; forty-seven of which he had reigned over the Franks, forty- three over the Lombards, and fourteen over the Western empire. He was buried at Mary's, at Achen, which church he had built. 3. Louis the Pious, 814—840. Louis, as soon as any responsibility could be attached to his actions (as king of Aquitania), had displayed the mildness of his disposition, his love of justice, his beneficence, and, in his zeal for religion, perhaps his weakness. He was, however, more enlightened than any of his predecessors and spent much of his time in reforming the abuses which had crept into the church. His morals were severe and strict, hence his first step was to cleanse the palace of the late monarch of its impurities, by banishing from the court those whose reputation was tainted. In 816, he and his empress, Ermen- garde, were crowned by Stephen iv., at Rheims, and shortly after his coronation he assembled the Comitise at Achen, where 97 * a.d. 819—32.] louis. [§ 20. the king and the nobles occupied themselves for three months with reforming the regulations of the canons and canonesses; these were subsequently changed into laws, and inserted in the capitularies. In the year 817, the king, at the diet held at Achen, broke through the long established custom of patri- monial inheritance, which existed among the Germanic races, and introduced that of the Eoman. With the consent of the Franks, he associated his son, Lothaire, with him in the government of the empire, whilst the younger sons were so restricted in their rights as to be, in comparison with their elder brother, only mere governors of provinces. This ar- rangement, however, though it served in some degree to consolidate the empire, tended, through the contest which arose for supremacy, to sacrifice the sovereign authority to the feudal laws and the papal power, and became a funda- mental law. It was better, however, than the old German law • of division, which was found to be detrimental to the interests of the nation, whilst the Eoman was in perfect accordance with absolute dominion. In "this new arrangement, Pepin received Aquitania, and Louis, Bavaria. Bernhard, who had received Italia, at the instigation of Ermengarde was cruelly deprived of his sight, for conspiring against his uncle Louis, and died three days after, when Lothaire was pro- claimed king of Italy. On the death of Ermengarde, in 819, Louis married Judith, the beautiful daughter of Count Guelph, of Bavaria, by whom he had Charles the Bald, and upon whom he settled the pro- vinces of Allemania, Alsatia, and a portion of Burgundy, which was in direct opposition to that division which had been made and sworn to at the diet of Nymwegen. This excited the indignation of the two younger sons of Louis, who rebelled against their father. The elder son, Lothaire, had sworn to defend young Charles, and to maintain him in the portion assigned to him. The rebellion was first commenced by Pepin, king of Aquitania, who was afterwards joined by Louis, the king of Bavaria. The emperor and the empress were seized, but, on the arrival of Lothaire from Italy, an arrangement was entered into, and each retired to his re- spective kingdom. In 832, the three sons of Louis once more armed against their father, who was ruled solely by the will of the Empress Judith. The armies met, not to fight, but to negociate, at Kothfeld, near Colmar, in Alsatia. 98 § 20.] LOTHAIRE. [832—41 A.D. The incapacity of Louis at length became so evident, that his nobles and his battalions nearly all deserted him. So universal was the defection that the place received the name of Lngenfeld (lying field). The emperor was treated with every respect by his sons, but his queen, Judith, was sent to the fortress of Tortona, in Italy. The former division of the monarchy, in 817, was confirmed, and the princes sepa- rated; Pepin returned to Aquitania, and Louis to Bavaria; while Lothaire ruled as emperor and guardian of his father, whom he placed in a convent ■ at Soissons. The bishops, who had assisted in the dethronement of Louis, compelled the aged monarch to do public penance, and thus rendered him incapable of re-ascending the throne. After this cere- mony, Lothaire conveyed his father to Achen. At length the conduct of Lothaire became so offensive, that the younger sons of Louis took measures to procure his liberty, in which they were seconded by many of the nobility. On warlike preparations being made, in order to compel the surrender of the monarch's j)erson, he suddenly fled from Paris to Vienne, in Dauphiny; when Louis, being left at liberty, received at St. Denis, through the bishops in his interest, the reconci- liation of the church. Being joined by his two sons, Pepin and Louis, he endeavoured to effect a reconciliation also with Lothaire, who, 'however, rejected all the overtures of his father, and had recourse to arms, which were at first suc- cessful (at Chalons). Afterwards (at Orleans) the two op- posing armies met again, when, at the close of four days' negotiation, the soldiers of Lothaire deserted in considerable numbers, and joined the ranks of the emperor. At length, Lothaire threw himself at the feet of the aged monarch, who freely forgave him. The intrigues of the Empress Judith, who had been rescued from the fortress of Tortona, con- tinued, however, to distract the peace of the empire, and the closing days of Louis were occupied in fighting against his son and grandson. He died, 20th June, 840, at the palace of Ingelheim, on an island of the Rhine, aged sixty- two, having reigned twenty-seven years. 4. The successors of Louis the Meek (Pious), until the final division of the Empire. Lothaire, on the death of his father, regardless of the latter division of the empire, which had been effected through the intrigues of the Empress Judith, laid claim to the imperial 99 p 2 A.D. 843.] DIVISION OF THE EMPIRE. [§ 20. dignity and to the supremacy over the whole empire. This brought against him his two brothers, who defeated him in the great battle of Fontenay, in Burgundy, in which 40,000 fell (841). From this period, the two people (Germans and Franks), whom Charlemagne had united, were filled with mutual hatred. At the death of Louis, the frontier, which divided both the people and their languages, was the same ; the Latin, or the Eomance, as it now began to be called, was spoken in the south, whilst the Teutonic was the language of those who resided beyond the province of Aquitania. Being thus conso- lidated, the Koman population had an opportunity of resisting the Germans, their masters, whom they held to be barbarians, while both nations profited by the occasion. From this, time, small independent states were formed, the lords of which only gave the monarch that support which tended to bring about a just and systematic division of the empire. This pre- vented the two younger brothers from taking those advantages of the victory gained over Lothaire, by which he would have been ruined. The people were tired of the war, and the nobles and bishops demanded that all the provinces should be sub- mitted to a regular examination. Commissioners were appointed, upon whose report the final division of the empire was made. The three kings were now compelled to agree to this arrange- ment, and accordingly signed the celebrated treaty of Verdun (843). a) Lothaire received — 1. Franconian Italy: Upper Italy, from the maritime Alps, Tuscia, the former Exarchate (Ra- venna), the Pentapolis, with the duchies of Rome and Spo- letum. 2. Central Franconia: The territory lying between the two kingdoms of his brothers, extending north to the North Sea; south, to the Mediterranean; and bounded on the west by the Scheldt, the Meuse, the Saone, and the Rhone; east, it was bounded by the Rhine and the Alps. Besides these there were — 1, on the eastern side of the Rhine, in Friezland, the tract lying upon the left bank of the Rhine between the Meuse and the Ems, including a portion of Ripuarian Franconia; and 2, on the western side of the Rhone, three counties which belonged to it, while Mayence, Worms, and Speyer (Spires), on the left bank of the Rhine, were excepted, agreeably to the ecclesiastical division of Germany by Boniface. The southern portion of Lothaire's empire, as far as the sources of the Meuse and the 100 § 20.] LOTHAIEE LOUIS CHARLES. Moselle, was called Burgundia ; the northern (after Lothaire), Lotharingia, now called Lorraine. b) Louis the German had — 1. Eastern Franconia: All the German territories east of the Rhine (excepting Friezland and the Ripuarian lands belonging to Lothaire), and those also upon the western banks of the Rhine, and the districts of Mayence, Worms, and Speyer (Spires). 2. The Sclavonian territory on the Elbe and Saale, including the Bohemian forest, which latter, however, stood in very doubtful dependence upon the empire. c) Charles the Bal d. — West Franconia : All the ter- ritory of the Franks, situated west of Lothaire's empire, as far as the Pyrenees, and on the other side of Aquitania, the Spanish March. Thus Lothaire, in addition to the title of emperor, retained also the ecclesiastical and political capitals of the kingdom (Rome and Achen), which formed a sort of artificial union between the original seat of the Franks and Italy, in which there was not anything firm or solid, there was nothing dis- tinctive or national. Louis and Charles, on the other hand, ruled over kingdoms more compact, and people who were bound together by a common origin, whose interests were identical with the soil upon which they lived. Hence they soon re- ceived names which were derived from the people themselves. Lothaire's had become the kingdom of the Germans, and that of Charles (the Bald) the kingdom of the Franks (French). These kingdoms did not long remain in a quiet state. The three sovereigns were continually at war, endeavouring to crush each other. Meanwhile the independence of the nobles increased, they submitted to no law, and the power of the sovereign was so diminished, that armies could scarcely be raised. Profiting by the intestine commotions between the several princes, and the opposition of their powerful vassals, the Scandinavian pirates (Danes and Normans, or Northmen) invaded the whole line of the western coast, from Frisia to Bordeaux, in Aquitania, which they pillaged and destroyed. Encouraged probably by the kings of Lotharingia and Aqui- tania, who sought the destruction of each others' territories, the Normans ascended the Rhine, the Loire, and the Garonne, in their light vessels, and plundered and destroyed the cities of Paris, Rouen, Tours, Amboise, etc. They also made a descent upon the northern frontiers, with 600 armed vessels ; 101 A.D. 855-63.] LOTHAIRE-LOUIS II.-CHARLES THE BALD. [§ 20. and, entering the Elbe, plundered and razed the city of Haman- burg (Hamburg). Wliile the Northmen were devastating the Franconian empire, the Arabs and Moors were invading the kingdom of Italy. Kome was sacked, and the Vatican, with the church of St. Peter, stripped of their valuables. Louis, the son of Lothaire, pursued the invader, but was defeated near Gaeta, and compelled to make his escape. In Eastern Fran- conia, the Sclavonians made continual incursions into the German territories, and the Danes again ravaged Frisia. At length, the three brothers were driven, by the distressed con- dition of the empire, to make peace with each other, that they might combine against the common enemy. The king of the Danes was threatened with war, but he, knowing the weakness of the Franconian princes, ravaged the provinces still more. Bordeaux was again plundered, and Marseille was sacked and partially destroyed by the Greeks and Normans, the latter of whom pillaged Angers and burned Perigueux. Such was the state of the empire during this period, that there was not a city or town within the three Franconian kingdoms secure from the attacks of brigands and pirates. In 855, a civil war again arose between the princes, and was continued until Lothaire vacated the throne. Feeling his end approaching, and wishing to share in the indulgences which the church granted to religious orders, he took the habit of a monk, shortly after which he died, in his sixtieth year (855). The kingdom of Lothaire was divided between his three sons, who, not contented with their respective portions, engaged in a war, in which they were pursued by their avaricious uncles, who endeavoured to seize their inheritance. The youngest of the three sons of Lothaire (Charles) dying (863), his kingdom was divided between his two surviving brothers. Louis n. received the imperial title with Italy, and Lothaire in. the country between the Scheldt and the Saone, the Meuse and the Rhine, called from him Lotharii Regnum, afterwards corrupted into Lotharingia, Lorraine. Lothaire dying without issue, his kingdom, which belonged of right to the emperor, was seized by Charles the Bald. It was subsequently, however, by the treaty of Mersen, divided between the two ; Charles receiving Dauphiny, Lyonnais, and the greater part of Burgundy, while to Louis, king of Italy, were assigned the Germanic provinces in Alsatia, Lorraine, and on the Rhine. By this division, so suitable to the claims of the people, a union of language and 102 § 20.] CHARLES THE FAT. [876—85 A.D. races was effected. The French and German races were not mixed in the same province as before. The principalities were now wholly either of a French or Germanic character. By this settlement, Germany gained an accession of two arch- bishoprics (Cologne and Treves), and three bishoprics (Utrecht, Strasbourg, and Basel). The frontiers were also confined by their proper natural or physical boundaries, and the Rhine became again a German river, from its source to its delta. On the death of the Emperor Louis 11. of Italy the Lotha- ringian line ceased, and the Italian kingdom belonged by right to Louis the German, as the elder of the Carlovingian race, but Charles the Bald supplanted his brother, and by rapid marches into Italy (where almost without drawing a sword the army of Louis was dispersed), he obtained the consent of the pope, and was crowned emperor of the West. He had, however, to make large concessions to the church, and to pre- pare for the attack of Louis, who had devastated the Fran- conian provinces, and was hastening towards Italy. Before any serious conflict took place, the emperor died (876), and his kingdom of Germany was divided between his three sons, Carloman of Bavaria, Louis of Saxony, and Charles the Fat. Louis, however, soon died (879), and the whole kingdom devolved upon the younger brother, Charles in., who received the imperial dignity. On the death of the elder sons of Louis the Stammerer (second son and successor to Charles the Bald), and during the minority of Louis the Simple, he became king of France, and the whole Franconian monarchy was thus once more united under one head, with the excep- tion of Burgundy, or Provence, which was held as a fief by Boson, who had married the daughter of Louis H. (879). d) Charles the Fat, imprudent and cowardly, proved naturally unfit to resist the invasions of the Normans, who ravaged the whole of the Franconian empire almost without opposition. Cologne, Bonn, and Triers (Treves), and all the large towns of Lotharingia, were burned and destroyed. Frisia was given up to them, and Charles by a stratagem procured the assassination of their kings and nobles, which served only to increase their fury, for, in 885, the Norman vessels ascended the Seine, and destroyed the great city of Rouen, in sight of an immense army, which took to flight immediately on seeing their enemy on the bank of the river. Soon after, they appeared before Paris, when the Parisians supplicated the 103 A.D. 887-8.] DIFFERENT SOVEREIGNTIES. [§ 20. assistance of the Duke of Saxony, who, on arriving, ravaged the territory, but did not dare to attack the Normans, who enjoyed the pleasures of the chase in France and Lower Bur- gundy, as if they were living in peace in their own country. After many earnest appeals for assistance, Charles advanced with his army to the succour of the Parisians, but to negotiate, not to fight. The Normans received a large sum of money to quit the environs of Paris, and to return to Germany. This shameful conduct so lowered him in the estimation of the em- pire, that he was treated with the greatest scorn, and looked upon by the nobles with contempt. At length, the monarch was seized with illness, and became so imbecile, that the grandees, at a diet held at the castle of Tribur, on the Ehine, felt it to be their duty to depose him (887). He soon after died in a state of indigence, at the castle of Indinga, in Allemania (Suabia), 888. At the same diet at which Charles was deposed, Arnulph, or Arnolphus, grandson of Louis the German, was elected to the German throne, and took the imperial dignity. Charles the Stammerer was set aside on account of his youth. In Francia, Count Otho of Paris, the Duke of Francia, and the brave defender of the imperial city when attacked by the Nor- mans, usurped the royal dignity ; and thus a second kingdom was formed by the side of the kingdom of Lower Burgundy, or Provence. A fourth sovereignty arose — namely, that of Upper or Transjuran Burgundy, founded by Count Rudolf; it extended from the Jura, in Sabaudia (Savoy), and Sweitz (Switzerland), as far as the Aar. Italy was disputed between Guido and Berenger, the margraves of Spoleto and Friuli, who both caused themselves to be proclaimed kings. The great Car- lovingian empire was therefore now divided into five separate kingdoms; not, however, entirely independent, for the newly formed states were compelled to acknowledge the supremacy of Arnulph. Internal or Domestic Ilistor y. — Under the weak and im- potent successors of Charlemagne, the power of the aristocracy, which that monarch had considerably humbled, again arose, and, in spite of the feeble attempts of the sovereigns to prevent it, became dominant. This the occurrence of repeated divisions of the various kingdoms tended to promote ; and Charles the Bald, to insure the assistance of the powerful vassals of the crown, granted them two important privileges, which proved highly detrimental to the interests of royalty — namely, the right of electing the sovereign, and the hereditary descent of the great fiefs. In less than eleven years after the death of Charles, the 104 § 21.] ARNULPH. [887—91 A.D. great barons put their privilege of the right of election into force against his descendants. In the frontier provinces, as Saxonia and Bavaria, the dignity of dux or duke, abolished by Charlemagne, was renewed, and the margraves now united the military with the civil authority, and took the command of the armies on the frontiers, and led them forth to battle. Their power and title at length became hereditary in their families. The ducal dignity seems to have originated first in the provinces of Franconia, Allemania, and Lotharingia. §21. THE EASTERN ERANCONIAN EMPIRE UNDER, THE LAST TWO CARLOYINGIANS, 887—911. 1) Arnulph (887 — 899), whom the Germans elected, at Ghent, as emperor, had distinguished himself against the Sclavonians, and proved a more formidable foe to the Nor- mans than any of his predecessors, utterly defeating them in Lotharingia, when thousands were drowned in endeavouring to escape, and two of their sovereigns perished on the field (891). Subsequently, however, Arnulph was himself vanquished, and his army scattered, by another body of Normans, who surprised him in the Vermandois. Soon after, in consequence of the shortness of provisions, the Normans for a while left France, and threw themselves upon the eastern coast of England. The war against the King of Moravia and Bavaria proved more hazardous and destructive to Arnulph than that of the Nor- mans. To protect the empire from the incursions of the bar- barians, and, by the union of Bohemia with Moravia, to form a rampart against their invasions, he had conferred that duchy upon the Slavonic king of Moravia. This proceeding, however, only served to inflate with pride, and increase the importance of the pagan sovereign. Zventibold soon refused to carry out any of the stipulated conditions with Arnulph, and actually invaded the German dominions. Arnulph, too weak to compel his withdrawal (according to some), invited the aid of the fierce and warlike Huns, who had come down from the banks of the Wolga, and settled in the plains of Transylvania and Moldavia. Zventibold was speedily compelled to acknowledge the supremacy of Arnulph. Moravia was dismembered ; Silesia, 105 p 3 a.d. 899—911.] louis iv. [§ 21. and the territory formerly occupied by the Bulgares (part of modern Austria), were detached from it, and added to a portion of the Thracian territory, thus forming the kingdom of Hungary. Arnulph made two campaigns into Italy : the first was undertaken in favour of Berenger, the king of Italy, whose cause was espoused by Arnulph against Guido, the duke of Spoleto, who also contended for the sovereignty. Arnulph, to the surprise of both, seized the kingdom for himself. During his second campaign, he procured from the pope (Formosus) the imperial crown, and was acknowledged emperor. He also made a fruitless attempt to secure the crown of Lombardy for one of his sons. On the death of Arnulph (899), the great vassals of the empire endeavoured to divide the kingdom into a number of petty independent states, and thus to augment their own power and greatness. To this, however, the ecclesi- astical nobility were opposed, as, by such an arrangement, they would be placed in a condition inferior to the temporal nobility. A union Avas therefore effected, and Louis, the son of Arnulph, now only seven years of age, was chosen, under the guardianship of two nobles, one belonging to each order. 2) L o u i s the Child (900 — 9 11). Under the regency of the Archbishop of Mentz and the Duke of Saxony the power of the nobles became consolidated, and rose superior to that of the monarch. The anarchy and confusion which ensued (chiefly through the quarrels between the Count of Bamberg and the Bishop of Wtirtzburg) proved more detrimental to the empire than the foreign invasions of the savage Hungarians, who, after having completed the subjugation of the Moravian kingdom (the bulwark of Germany towards the east), invaded Carinthia, wasted Bavaria, and even penetrated (through Bohemia) into Saxony, where they utterly vanquished the army of Louis, on the Ems (907). The Hungarians next plundered all the provinces, until they arrived in Allemania (Suabia) (910), which they overran, as likewise Franconia (910), even to the shores of the Baltic, where they laid the city of Bremen in ashes. On their return to their own country, they themselves became the prey of the restless pagan Poles, who penetrated Moravia, even to the Ehine. The royal domains received during this reign a vast accession in the confiscated lands of the Count of Bamberg, who not only refused to attend the diet, when summoned to appear, but openly defied the monarch himself. Louis rv. died, 911. 106 4 r ■£„!- C J r rH .O •4- fi « o o £ O f .3 cog g A CO O J J3 S M CO CI m OS ^° a a CQ Jt> co -4— > . 08 pq ^oo -s- ■SjfCfcJ to r -Si> CO to -5- a f'fi Q 00 ■4- 2 ^ O 0Q -°.fl§ ^ Hi o3 03 6 S oo vgCTS co S d? O "3 ~ *& ^'-r 1 *3 em a ^ $ 1 J> o ^ 1 02 ^i Sfx< GO sS co 00 !_!* ^ oQ «-] fl O h -4- ft eg LhI ^ 00 -ij c3 ,<— N-* 4 « CO co co H O ^-g 00 fr-i l> 1 o +- ■4- ■4- 13 O Hi 2f oi '3 oo r o CO .5^ 13 1- 05 J2 02 < CO — ' ST o Hi Is r o,4- 6,H CO ^H ^ OS 1 CO o3 -4- r^ ■B 16 Ph Q " - . « • 1 ^ o t> is -88 ^ <* aToO f 03 CO ■4- HH-4- L_r p s H ; CO . co o 00 2& .£ OS 1 Q ■4- 1 00 ^ o3 CD , r£ CO r o +- ion r 2 "» t ST ^ J 6 r-H CO i^. "g 00 O -4- fccog 1 o CO iH H 00 j4- o in 1 O c3 5^ /.■ami it) f Hlf Q o 107 A.D. 911—19.] CONRAD I. [§ 22. §22. EMPIRE OF THE EASTERN FRANKS UNDER CONRAD I., OF FRANCONIA, 911—918. At the period of the extinction of the Carlovingian race in Germany, on the death of Louis, the authority of the dukes, within their respective territories, was perfectly sovereign. There were the nations of the Franks, the Saxons, the Bava- rians, the Allernanians (Suabians), and the Lotharingians, each of which probably had its duke. From one or other of these powerful nobles the sovereign was to be elected, and as the Franks were first in dignity, and their ancestors had founded the empire, the place of election was fixed within their terri- tories, the Archbishop of Mentz regulating the proceedings. At the present election there were two who stood forth more prominently than the rest — namely, Otho, the illustrious, but aged, duke of the Saxons, and Conrad, count (duke?) of the Saxons, the grandson of Arnulph, and nephew of Louis. The suffrages fell on Otho, but he generously declined the dignity, and voted for Conrad, who proved worthy of the elevation to which he was raised. In less than a year after his election, Otho of Saxony died, and Conrad endeavoured to reduce the possessions of that vast duchy. This pro- ceeding led to a war, and Henry, the son and successor of Otho, defied the imperial forces, and retained his fiefs. Against the representatives (intendants) of the duchy of Allemania, Bavaria, Lotharingia, Conrad was more successful. The activity, energy, and bravery of the king compelled to a great extent the submission of the German feudatories (princes); but no sooner had he withdrawn with his army from their territories than they revolted, and threw off the allegiance again. During these internal dissensions, the Huns again invaded the kingdom, and overran Allemania (Suabia), Lotharingia, and Saxony. Conrad had several times opposed the savage Hungarians with success, but at length was mor- tally wounded in attempting to drive them out of Bavaria (919), where they had leagued with Arnulph against him. Before his death, he entreated his friends and relatives to waive their own personal interests, and elect the powerful Duke Henry of Saxony, who received from Eberhard, the brother and successor (to the dukedom) of Conrad, the ensigns of 108 § 23.] GERMAN EMPIRE HENRY I. [919 26 A.D. royalty. The election of Henry was sanctioned by the Franks and the Saxons. § 23. THE GERMAN EMPIRE UNDER THE KINGS OF THE HOUSE OF SAXONY, 919—1024. 1. Henry i. (the Fowler), 919—936. The efforts of Henry were first directed to the more per- manent establishment of the royal power, by effecting a nnion with the Germanic princes. For this purpose he demanded a meeting with Arnulph, who, after mnch opposition, consented to hold the powerful duchy of Bavaria as a fief. For this he was rewarded with the government of Nordgau and Eastern Franconia. The next object to attain was the restoration of Lotharingia, and the security of the northern and eastern frontiers of the empire against the incursions of their for- midable enemies, the Normans, Sclavonians, and Hungarians. By the subjection of the dukes of Allemania and Bavaria, all the Germans on the eastern bank of the Rhine were consolidated into one common empire or elective monarchy; and by the grant of certain privileges to Giselbert, duke of Lotharingia, that province was also added, and constituted a fifth duchy of the empire, with which it remained incor- porated until the eighteenth century. In 926, the Hun- garians again invaded the empire, and ravaged a portion of Saxony, when one of their mightiest chiefs fell into the hands of Henry, the Saxon duke. A truce of nine years was made the condition of his liberation, and probably the payment of the same amount of tribute as the predecessors of Henry had formerly paid to them as the price of their forbearance. The interval was employed in improving the military discipline of the people, the erection of fortresses, or castles, and fortified towns, granting extensive privileges to the inhabitants, for whose sustenance immense magazines were founded, in which was preserved one-third of the produce of the rural population around them. These were first erected in the territory immediately subject to Henry, but afterwards considerably extended. Among the first in Saxony and Thu- ringia were Mersebm-g, Quedlingberg, Goslar, etc. Henry also partially restored the heerban by the establishment of a sort of standing army, or militia, composed of the eldest sons of fami- 109 A.D. 936.] HENRY I. — OTEO I. [§ 23. lies, who were supported out of the patrimonial inheritance. A light cavalry was also instituted for resisting the aggressions of the mounted Hungarians. These troops he led against the Sclavish tribes, who had formerly been tributary to the empire, but had since joined the Hunnish confederation. The Havel- lians, or the Havel, were first subdued ; and their capital, Braniber (Brandenberg), being taken, the Altemark was founded (margraviate of Misnia). Henry next penetrated into Bohemia, where he subdued the Wendes, and compelled their duke to revive the homage which had ceased since the days of Arnulph. The German frontiers were extended to the coun- tries watered by the Oder ; further victories led to the founda- tion of the Saxon March. At the expiration of the nine years' truce, elevated by his successes against the Sclaves, Henry determined to resist the payment of the Hunnish tribute; in revenge for which they penetrated into the very heart of the empire, through the territories of the Wendes, and devastated the frontiers of Saxony and of Thuringia. They were, at length, however, signally defeated at Merseburg, and afterwards pursued to the very confines of their own land, where, they were henceforth compelled to remain. Austria, which had been in their hands since the time of the Carlovingian princes, was re-erected into a inarch (the margraviate of Austria), to serve as a protection against their future invasions. Henry, having subdued the Huns, proceeded to chastise the Norman Danes, who occupied the present duchy of Schleswig and the country on the Eyder. The Danish king was defeated, and compelled to submit to the evacuation of the territories which had constituted the old Carlovingian mark (Danawirk) which was between the Eyder and the Schlee, now erected into the margraviate of Schleswig. All the enemies of the empire being subdued, Henry seems to have contemplated the reunion of Italy with Grermany, and thus of re-estab- lishing the empire, and receiving the imperial diadem. His death, however, which occurred in 936, prevented its accomplishment. 2. Otho i. (the Great), 936—973. Otho was the eldest son of Henry the Fowler, and had been nominated by his father as his successor. This, nomination, however, unless confirmed by a majority of the five elective princes of the empire, assembled for the purpose, was by no means conclusive. On this occasion, the dignity, which had 110 § 28.] WARS OF OTHO I. [951 A.D. before been only partially elective, was made so in the strictest possible sense, and was exercised with great pomp and solem- nity. Formerly the place of election had been Mentz ; it was now, however, changed to Achen, the former residence of Charlemagne. The three sons of Henry were competitors for the sovereignty ; but the choice fell upon Otho, who was crowned, after much contention for the privilege, by the Arch- bishop of Mentz. Otho was scarcely crowned, when the Danes, Sclavonians, and Hungarians rose in rebellion, and endeavoured to regain their lost territories; but the most formidable difficulties of the emperor arose from the turbulence of his great feudatories, who endeavoured to render their duchies hereditary, that they might not any longer depend on the installation of the sove- reign. Some of the principal rebels met with a premature death. To strengthen his interests he continued to draw the fiefs of Suabia, Bavaria, and Lotharingia into the possession of his own family; Saxony and Thuringia he retained for himself, and did not appoint a successor to his own duchy (which no sovereign on his election was allowed to maintain, neither to add to) until his second Italian campaign. After Otho had triumphed over his rebellious nobles, he turned his arms against his foreign enemies (the Danes and Sclavonians), in the subjection of whom he was equally successful, and for whose conversion he made ample provision, by the foundation of the bishoprics of Havelberg and Brandenburg, Schleswig and Holstein. Foreign Wars of Otho i. 1) The Danes, who had invaded the margraviate of Schleswig (restored by Henry I.), and had killed the mar- grave and dispersed the Saxon colonists, were repulsed by Otho, who advanced into Jutland, and compelled its king to acknowledge the German supremacy. For their conversion to Christianity, the bishoprics of Schleswig, Eipe, and Aarhus were established, and placed under the jurisdiction of the archbishop of Hamanberg (Hamburg). 2) First Italian Campaign (951). — Italy, since the death of Arnulph, had been separated from the empire, the sovereignty of which was contended for by the dukes of Friuli, Spoleto, and Upper Burgundy (comp. § 25). On the sudden death of Lothaire, probably by the instrumentality of Berenger of Ivrea, he seized the dignity, and, to unite all 111 A.D. 951 61.] WARS OF OTHO I. [§ 23. parties, endeavoured to compel the queen to marry his son Adelbert. In her distress she applied to the Emperor Otho for assistance, which was promptly afforded. Otho advanced into Italy with an army (951), seized Pavia, and several other cities. Having released the queen from her imprisonment, and driven Berenger out of Italy and Lombardy, he married his protegee, the queen, and caused himself to be crowned king of Italy. In the following year, after considerable nego- tiation, Berenger obtained from Otho the kingdom of Italy, as a vassalage of the German empire, with the exception of the marches of Aquileia, Verona, etc., which were bestowed upon the Duke of Bavaria. The reunion of Italy and Germany was fatal for the latter, in con- sequence of the wars which afterwards took place, by which the flower of the G-erman soldiery was cut off either by famine or pestilential fevers. It also brought the emperors into frequent collisions with the popes, which were too often settled by an appeal to arms ; while the climate destroyed the successions of many noble G-erman families, and led also to the premature death of some of the emperors. This gave rise to regencies (Otho n. and Henry VI.), and tended to the extinction of the reigning dynasty (Otho III. and Lothaire). 3) Hungarian War.— In 955, the Hungarians ad- vanced into the provinces of Bavaria and Allemania (Suabia), with one of the largest armies which ever invaded the German states, consisting of 100,000 men. Otho met them near Augsburg, in the Lechfeld (plain of the Lech), the scene of their former triumph, and totally vanquished them. By this conquest, France, Germany, and Italy, were ever after preserved from their formidable incursions. In the -same year, a decisive blow was struck against the Sclavonians, the prin- cipal races of whom had combined to throw off their allegiance to the empire. Otho also subdued the Sclavish barbarians to the east as far as the Vistula (965); and the first duke of the Poles, Mieczislaus I., nominally acknowledged the supremacy of the emperor, who founded for their instruction in the doctrines of Christianity the first Polish bishopric, that of Posen. 4) Otho's Roman Expedition (961 — 965). — Incon- sequence of the complaints which pope John xn., and some of the Italian nobility, had made to Otho against Berenger and his son, he proceeded with his army into Italy. Berenger, too feeble to offer resistance in the open field, shut himself up in the fortresses of the great cities. Pavia and Milan, however, 112 § 23.] WARS OF OTHO I. [961 8. A.D. fell into the emperor's hands, when he caused himself to be crowned king of Italy, and pursued his journey until he made his public entry into Rome itself, where the pope gave him a brilliant reception, and invested him with the imperial dignity, which had lain dormant for upwards of thirty-eight years. This revived title of Emperor of the West continued to be borne by the German sovereigns until the dissolution of the empire in 1806. In the following year (962), Otho besieged St. Leon, where Berenger and his queen had taken refuge. While carrying on the siege, Otho, informed of the immoralities of the pope, remonstrated with the pontiff, who broke off his union with the emperor, and joined Adelbert, the son of Berenger, against him. Otho, however, proved too powerful, and marched to- wards Rome with his victorious army, when the pope, with Adelbert, fled from the city. Otho, having assembled the clergy and the people, exacted from them an oath that, hence- forward, they would elect no pope without his consent, and that of the emperors, his successors. Pope John xn. was then deposed, and Leo vm. elected in his stead. The former, with the rebellious vassal Berenger, long endeavoured to re- gain the papal seat ; but Leo was maintained in it in spite of all his opponents. In 964, Berenger, after the fall of St. Leon, fell into the hands of the conqueror, who exiled him to Bam- berg, where he died; Adelbert took refuge in the court of Constantinople. 5) His Third Italian Campaign (966— 972) was undertaken for the purpose of confirming pope John xin. in the papacy, against the efforts of the deposed pope John xn. and his party, which was yet very powerful. John was assas- sinated by an Italian, whose wife he had dishonoured ; while a famine breaking out at the same time, compelled an uncondi- tional surrender on the part of the Romans. John xru., who had returned to Italy, was reinstated by Otho, who also pro- cured the coronation of his son Otho (n.) as his imperial successor. The sovereignty of the Western Empire being thus secured to his family, Otho sought to strengthen his influence by an alliance with the Greek emperor, in con- nection with whom he made war against the Saracens of Sicily, the last and most formidable enemies of Christendom. But the designs of Otho on Lower Italy severed the con- nection between them, and it was not until after a war of two 113 a.d. 973—79.] otho n. [§ 23. years in Apuleia and Calabria, that a treaty of peace, the terms of which are not known, was entered into, and the son of Otho received the hand of Theophania, daughter of Nice- phorus, in marriage, who also made over to the emperor the imperial rights of the whole of Lower Italy, with the excep- tion of Benevento and Capua. From this period the kings elected by the Germans became kings of Italy and emperors, and received the triple crown of Germany, Italy, and Rome. The title of emperor, however, was not assumed until after a formal coronation had taken place at Rome, when the pope placed the imperial diadem on the head of the German sove- reign. Otho i. died 973, bequeathing his extensive empire to his son. It consisted of Germany ; Lotharingia, which was divided into two duchies, namely, the Upper and Lower Lorraines; Upper and Central Italy, which was immediately dependent upon the empire ; the great duchy of Bohemia ; Poland (nominally de- pendent) ; and the Lombardian duchies of Lower Italy, as well as the princes of the Sclavonians on the shores of the Baltic. 3. Otho ii., 973—983. War with France . — The reign of Otho was trouble- some ; his first campaign was directed against the Danes and the Sclavonian tribes of Bohemia and Poland. After many sanguinary engagements, he succeeded in securing the peace of the northern and eastern boundaries of the empire. Otho next subdued his vassal cousin Henry, duke of Bavaria, whom he imprisoned, and whose fief he conferred on his kinsman, the Duke of Suabia. In 978, Lothaire iv., the cousin of Otho, surprised him in the midst of peace, at his palace of Achen, and nearly made him a prisoner. He, however, with the Em- press Theophania, escaped to Cologne, and Lothaire, after ravaging the surrounding country for three days, retired. Otho determined to revenge the insult, and assembling an army of 60,000 men, he devastated the dioceses of Rheims, Laon, and Soissons, and afterwards proceeded to Paris, without en- countering any opposition. On his return to Germany, he was attacked by Lothaire at the passage of the Aisne, where a por- tion of his army was cut off ere it could ford the river. In the following year, Lothaire met Otho with considerable pre- sents, and signed with him a treaty of peace, which regulated the boundaries of the two dominions, and settled their respec- tive rights over Lorraine, 114 § 23.] otho in. [980 a.d. War i 11 Lower Italy . — The provinces on the western frontiers being secured, and the peace of the empire having for some time been settled, Otho, in 980, entered Italy for the purpose of strengthening his hereditary possessions in Cala- bria, and of extending his dominion over the whole of the Peninsula. He invaded Apulia, took possession of Bari and Tarentum, and pursued his conquests in Calabria. The Greeks in their distress applied to the Saracens (Arabians) for assist- ance, which they obtained. By the victory of Squillace (Basantello), the emperor lost nearly all that he had gained, and narrowly escaped with his life. On his return to Lombardy, his infant son (Otho in.) was elected to the imperial dignity, and afterwards conveyed to Acken, that he might receive the crown of Germany. The rejoicings which took place, how- ever, were summarily terminated by the intelligence that all the Scla- vonian tribes had revolted, and returned to their pagan superstitions. At the same time, Saxony was overrun by the Danes, who, however, were reduced by the German princes. Otho sunk under the weight of these accumulated evils, and died at Rome, while fresh preparations were being made for another campaign against the Greeks and Saracens. 4. Otho in., 983—1002. Otho in. was but three years old when his father died, and the empire was in a state of disorder. As soon as the death of Otho ii. was known, the dethroned Duke of Bavaria (Henry ii., surnamed the Quarrelsome) broke from his confinement; and having seized the prince, who was under the guardian- ship of the Empress Theophania, demanded the regency for himself. Being his cousin, Henry received the support of the Dukes of Bohemia and Poland, whom he persuaded to pro- claim him king. He was afterwards joined by Lothaire, the king of France, and the Sclavonians : hence a complete dis- solution of the empire seemed about to take place. At length a diet was held at Rohrheim, to settle the guardianship, when the defenders of the house of Saxony compelled Henry to restore the young prince to his mother, who was appointed regent; and in the event of her death, the regency was to pass, first into the hands of his grandmother, Adelheid (Adelaide), and then to his aunt, the Abbess Matilda. Henry recovering the duchy of Bavaria (without Carinthia), now became one of his cousin's most zealous defenders ; while Lothaire, to preserve peace, surrendered Verden, which he had seized, and set God- frid, the count of that city, whom he had imprisoned, at liberty. The internal peace of the empire being restored, and the 115 A.D. 100.] HENRY H. [§ 23. wars against the Sclavonians (which had been renewed every year) being determined by a great victory over the Obohites, when a treaty of peace was signed, Otho passed over into Italy, and received the imperial crown of Rome. Soon after, the Romans, headed by the Consul Crescentius, revolted, and en- deavoured to throw off the German supremacy, which led Otho back to Rome, when the consul was defeated and hanged. Tranquillity was now soon restored. In 1000, he made a pil- grimage to the shrine of the Bishop Adelbert of Gnesna, who had suffered as a martyr on the shores of the Baltic, whilst preaching the gospel to the pagans of Pomerania. On this occasion, the chapter of Gnesna was erected into an arch- bishopric, and the duchy of Poland into a kingdom. The dislike of Otho for the manners and customs of his native country (Germany) led him a third time into Italy, where it was probably his intention to transfer the capital of the empire from Achen to Rome. The Romans, however, who detested the German yoke, again revolted, and besieged the emperor in his palace, whence he narrowly escaped with his life. He died while preparing to revenge himself upon the rebels, in 1002, leaving the crown to Henry, the third duke of Bavaria, son of Henry the Quarrelsome, and grandson of the Emperor Henry I. of Germany. 5. Henry n. (the Saint), 1002—1024. Henry, on his accession to the imperial dignity, began to make the tour of the empire, for the purpose of receiving the homage of his vassals, but had scarcely commenced his journey when he received intelligence that Harduin, the margrave of Ivrea, had been elected king of Italy, on the death of Otho. At the same period Boleslaus of Poland overran Bohemia, the duke of which struggled to grasp the province of Silesia, and to throw off the Polish vassalage, which Boleslaus, the Bohemian duke, had acknowledged. The Bohemians and Germans were repulsed, and the king and his son were made prisoners. Henry was engaged in Italy, during this time, against the usurper (Har- duin of Ivrea), whom he defeated. On his return, he received the iron crown of Lombardy; and during his stay, the great city of Pavia was laid in ashes, in consequence of a quarrel between the Pavians and his troops. Henry, and the German princes who had not joined the Polish king, alarmed at the progress of his arms, formed a confederacy to drive him out of Bohemia, and restore the lawful king. This, after some years, 116 § 24.] CONRAD II. [1024 A.D. was effected; and Boleslaus was compelled to restore Bohemia, but allowed to retain Silesia as a fief of the empire. The boundaries of the empire on the east were now, for a time, secured. Italy being in a state of anarchy, in consequence of the revolt of Harduin, Benedict induced Henry, who had de- termined never again to visit Italy, to come to his aid. On his arrival, having settled the affairs of the country, and driven Harduin to take refuge in a monastery, the pope conferred upon him and his empress, Cunegund, the imperial crown. After the death of Harduin, no native prince ever attempted to contend with the German kings for the freedom of Italy. The third campaign of Henry, who first entered Italy on a pilgrimage to the cavern on Mount Gorgona, was carried on in Southern Italy, against the Saracens and Greeks. Having received considerable assistance from the Normans of Apulia, he gained the victory of Basantello, after which he assigned them more extensive territories and greater immunities, as a reward or payment. » §24. THE GERMAN EMPIRE UNDER THE ERANCONIAN EMPERORS, 1024—1125. 1) Conrad n. (the Salic), 1024—1039. On the extinction of the Saxon line of emperors, a diet of election was convoked by the archbishop of Mentz, to take place in the vast plains on both banks of the Rhine, between Worms and Mayence (Mentz). The nations or tribes of the empire (each under its own duke) appeared in military array, under their respective banners. The Lorrainers and the Rhenish Franks were on the left bank of the Rhine; the Saxon, Suabian, Bohemian, Carinthian, and the Sclavish tribes were on the right. The choice of the chiefs, or great feuda- tories or dukes, with the higher clergy, who met on an island of the Rhine to deliberate, fell on two cousins — Conrad, duke of Franconia, and Conrad, duke of Carinthia. The former was voted for by the Archbishop of Mentz, and was immediately acknowledged by the rest of the clergy, the younger one also confirming the choice. The oath of allegiance was then admi- nistered to the people as they advanced, according to their respective ranks, of which there were six termed bucklers or shields (see § 14, ii.), when they dispersed. Conrad — having 117 A.D. 1037.] CONRAD H. [§ 24. passed, like his predecessor, through the various provinces of his empire, and received from the princes, who had not presented themselves at the diet, the oath of allegiance — was crowned at Milan king of Italy, with great pomp and external magnificence; Euclolph, the king of Burgundy, and Knut, the great monarch of Danemark and England, being present at the solemnity. For the former, Conrad obtained the promise of the throne of Burgundy, which had been guaranteed by his predecessor to Henry n. ; and from the latter (Knut), he obtained the hand of his daughter for his son, in consideration of which, the march of Schleswig, now no longer required as barrier against the incursions of the Normans, was ceded to Canute, so that the Eyder again became the northern boundary of the German empire. On the death of Rudolph of Burgundy, Count Eudes of Champagne claimed heirship to the states, and took possession of several fortresses; but when Conrad appeared, the Burgundian assembly elected him without opposition, and he was saluted under the title of king. Conrad pursued the count, and laid siege to St. Michel, on the Meuse (probably taken?), when the count renounced all claims to Burgundy, and acknowledged the right of Conrad. In 1034, Eudes again disturbed the peace of the empire, having been joined by Burchard of Lyons, and some other powerful, but disaffected, lords, who refused to submit to the empire. Conrad on his arrival held his court at Geneva, and was assisted by the Archbishop of Milan, who headed the Italian army. Count Eudes was again defeated, and Burchard was banished the empire. In uniting the kingdom of Burgundy to that of Lotharingia (Lorraine), already acquired, Conrad was not only master of all Germany and Italy, but obtained a preponderance of France itself. In 1037, Italy was nearly lost to the empire, in consequence of the insolent and haughty conduct of the Archbishop of Milan, whom Conrad had arrested and impri- soned; having escaped, that prelate sought an alliance with Eudes, to whom the crown of Lombardy was offered. The Milanese now armed in defence of their primate. Eudes, how- ever, was surprised on his road to Champagne to raise a more numerous army, and after a terrible conflict with the Duke of 1 Lower Lorraine (vassal to Conrad), near Bar-le-duc, the : Champagnese army was cut to pieces. He was found dead on the field by his wife, Ermengarde. Milan, however, yet stood out. Conrad, who was in Apulia, whither he had been invited 118 § 24.] HENRY III. to cleanse the papal court, now under pope Benedict ix., a boy of ten years of age, who neither commanded respect nor obedience, determined to advance into Burgundy itself. His army perished by disease in the Apulian plains, where he had unhappily tarried too long. He, therefore, accompanied by a few, entered Transjuran Burgundy, where he held an assem- bly of the states of the kingdom, and occupied three days in passing laws for the regulation of the kingdom. It was here probably that Conrad adopted the new regulations with respect to fiefs, which passed over into Italy, and extended ultimately into Germany and France. By these laws, the independence of the vavassors was secured, so that not only was the fief of the great feudatory, or vassal, held immediately from the king hereditary, but that of the vavassor — the man who held a smaller fief from some intermediate lord, or subordinate free- holder, under him. This system of hereditary feudalism, to a considerable extent, broke the power of the nobles, and served to strengthen that of royalty. Conrad, after witnessing with joy the coronation of his son in the church of St. Stephen of Saleur (the chapel of the Burgundian kings), departed for the purpose of surveying his provinces in the low countries, where he died, at Utrecht, 1039. 2) Henry in., 1039—1056. Henry, in all things, endeavoured to follow in the footsteps of the late emperor, his father. His first efforts were directed to the consolidation of the family influence, and to bring the whole of the duchies under the immediate control of the crown. The ducal fiefs of Bavaria and Suabia had been* presented to him by his father. Franconia he regarded as his patrimonial inheritance, and the Duchy of Carinthia he left for a long time vacant ; so that he ruled immediately over the whole of the south of Germany. Besides these, there were the two kingdoms of Burgundy and Italy. Only Saxony and Lotharingia, and the two Sclavonic duchies of Bohemia and Poland, were ruled by dukes of their own. On the expulsion of Peter, king of Hungary, from his dominions, by the usurper, Samuel (Aba), Henry embraced his cause, and having subdued Samuel, secured the possession of parts of Pannonia and Noricum (formerly belong- ing to the empire), and placed Peter, the rightful owner, on the throne, who acknowledged the emperor as his feudal lord. The empire had now attained its utmost limits. It reached from the Rhone and Saone to the Aleuta and the Bug, and embraced 119 HENRY in. [§ 24. three kingdoms, six German duchies, and three Sclavonic. During the reign of Henry, The Truce of God was introduced into Germany, first preached under the title of the "Peace of God" (treuga Dei) in Aquitania. Its object, was to put an end to the private wars of the feudal nobility, whether carried on for the purposes of defence or revenge. It enjoined the suspension of hostilities from the setting of the sun on Wednesday night until its rise on the Monday morning. All fast days and days of religious solemnities, were included, while during the long fasts of Advent and of Lent, no work was allowed to be done towards the erection of new fortifica- tions, or the repairs of old ones, unless begun fourteen days before the commencement of the fast. Churches and ceme- teries were placed under the perpetual safeguard of the Truce, as well as implements of labour, the stacks of grain, and the cattle. For the further maintenance of peace, Henry conferred the southern duchies upon three of the most powerful feuda- tories, by which they became virtually sovereigns, and com- paratively independent of the crown. Having settled the peace of the empire on a firm basis, he made his entry into Italy, to correct the disorders of the church, arising out of the disgraceful lives of the popes and the inferior clergy, and the open and scandalous sale of the benefices (simony). Henry began with the head of the church : depos- ing three popes for simony who had been elected by rival parties, placed a German prelate (Clement n.) on the papal throne, by whom (after he had set aside a period for prayers and repentance) he was publicly crowned emperor. Henry on this occasion took from the people the right of elect- ing the popes, which they had shamefully abused, and enacted that henceforward no election of a pope should be considered valid until confirmed by the emperors. The laws made by Henry for the regulation of the clergy whom he himself appointed were, however, only carried out during his reign. Hildebrand (the son of a carpenter, but a man of distinguished talents) effectually neutralized the efforts of the emperor, and, as chancellor of the papal see, used all his influence to wrest the church from the grasp of the secular power. Henry died at the early age of thirty-nine, having gained the respect of all Europe for his zeal for justice, his valour, and his piety. Before his death, he named his son (Henry iv.) as his suc- cessor, who was recognised without opposition. 120 § 24.] HENRY IV. [1056—1106 A.D. 3) Henry iv. 1056—1106. a) Government under his guardians. The administration of the empire, and the education of the youthful monarch, now only six years of age, were assigned to his mother, Agnes, and the German crown seemed destined speedily to become hereditary rather than elective ; nor were the people altogether enamoured of the prospect. That the descent of the dignity to the sons of the two last and most powerful monarchs of the house of Saxony had not been opposed, was owing to their personal character, not to any change in the princijDles of the constitution. But now that the sovereign was a minor, and the regency in the hands of a woman, dissatisfaction, which had long been suppressed, broke out with considerable fury. The Saxons, who detested the house of Franconia, and considered that the sovereign should again be elected from themselves, espoused the cause of a rival candidate. They were, however, for a time subdued ; and fortresses, strongly garrisoned, were erected among them to keep them in check ; while to secure the favour of their duke (Otho of Nordheim), the duchy of Bavaria was presented to him as a fief. To insure the support of the Dukes of Carinthia and Alemannia (Suabia), in the south, those fiefs were made hereditary ; but these concessions would not suffice. The con- duct of Henry's ministers excited the utmost contempt, and at length a formidable conspiracy was organized, headed by the Archbishop of Cologne (Hanno), who decoyed the young prince from his mother, at Kaiserswuth, and bore him off to Cologne, usurping the regency for himself. Shortly after Hanno was compelled to admit the Archbishop of Bremen to share the authority with him; and eventually the influence of the latter triumphed over that of Hanno : and he caused the king to be armed, and declared of full age, so that nominally the guar- dianship ceased. Adelbert, however, continued to retain the administration in his own hands, while he allowed the youthful king to indulge unrestrained in all the excesses and follies of the age. At length the envy of the Archbishop of Cologne, the rival of Adelbert, and that of the Archbishop of Mentz, was excited, and, supported by Otho of Bavaria and the Saxons, a diet was convoked at Tribut, when they demanded from Henry, either the dismissal of his minister, or the resig- nation of his crown. Adelbert was dismissed and banished, 121 a A.D. 1073 5.] HENBY IV. [§ 24. and his cathedral of Bremen was openly plundered by the Saxons, who exultingly stripped it of all its valuables. Within three years, Adelbert again appeared at court, and eventually regained his wonted ascendency over his enemies. Henry's conduct towards Saxony at length aroused the indig- nation of Otho of Bavaria, the former duke of that people, and the standard of revolt was again raised. Otho, at last, was deposed and imprisoned, and his dukedom given to his son-in-law, Guelph, or Welf, the ancestor of the still remaining branch of that house. Magnus, the son of the Duke of Saxony, and the brother of Otho, was also in prison, and should have succeeded his father in the duchy of Saxony, but Henry wished to retain it as a fief of the empire; Magnus, however, would not resign his claims; while to secure it, a number of fortified castles were again erected to keep the Saxons in check. b) War with the Saxons, 1073—1075. Henry had married an Italian princess, and to obtain a divorce from her, he offered the tithes of Thuringia to the Archbishop of Mentz to plead his cause. Hanno consented, but the Thuringians refused to yield, never having yet paid them. About the same time the Saxon territories were overrun by the freebooters placed by the king in the Saxon' fortresses, who committed the most disgraceful excesses, both upon persons and property. Remonstrances had proved fruit- less, and an appeal to arms was resolved upon, in which they were seconded by the Thuringians, and also by Otho, the Bavarian duke, whom Henry had deposed. Sixty thousand Saxons approached Goslar towards the Harzburg, and the result was that Henry was compelled to enter into a treaty of peace (at Gerstungen, on the Werra), to abandon the Thuringian tithe, to demolish the Saxon fortresses, to restore Duke Otho to his duchy, and to set at liberty Magnus, the son of the Duke of Saxony, whom he had imprisoned. These advantages served only to increase the insolence of the Saxons, who destroyed the Harzburg. This roused the indignation of the princes of Upper Germany and the provinces on the Rhine, who leagued with the king against them, and totally broke their power by the victory of Hohenburga, on the Hunshutt. The Saxon nobles submitted to the king on condition that their titles and possessions should be reserved to them; but Henry, whose 122 § 24] GREGORY VII. [1073 — 5 A.D. vengeance was not yet satisfied, imprisoned them, and ordered the fortresses which had been destroyed to be rebuilt. The Saxons in their distress appealed to the pope. c) Conflict between Gregory vn. and the German Princes, 1073—1085. Hildebrand (of Soana, in Tuscany), during the period he filled the offices, first, of subdeacon, then of archdeacon, to five successive popes, had been gradually paving the way for the advancement of the ecclesiastical over the secular power. In 1059, he obtained of the council held in the church of St. John Lateran the passing of the following resolutions : — That the election of the popes should be vested in the cardinals ; and the nomination of all prelates in the chapters jointly with the popes. To separate the clergy from society at large, he for- bade the marriage of priests, which, till then, had been per- mitted, and even sanctioned by some of the provincial councils, especially those of Lombardy. All power was, he said, vested in the poj^e, who, as an unerring man by virtue of his election, could alone make and depose bishops, convoke and dissolve councils. He was above all secular power, not amenable even to princes, whom he could depose at will, and whose subjects he could at any time release from their allegiance. To carry out this immense revolution, Hildebrand saw the necessity, at least for a while, of obtaining the assistance of the secular power, and therefore engaged the valiant Normans on his side. Henry was forced to retreat, and the pope, from motives of gratitude, conferred the title of duke on Kobert Guiscard, the Norman adventurer, who had succeeded his brother in the counties of Apulia and Calabria, held as fiefs, and, under certain conditions, the island of Sicily was also awarded to him on its being subjected. In return for these splendid gifts, the Normans were to afford protection to the pope and the cardinals against any power that might be brought against them. In 1073, Hildebrand became pope, under the name of Gregory vn., when he completely emanci- pated the church from the power of the state. In a council held at Eome (1074), laws interdicting the marriage of the priests and against simony, carried on to an enormous extent by the sovereign as well as the feudal nobility, were passed ; and, in 1075, another council was held, when a law pro- hibiting bishops and abbots from receiving investiture (investing with the ring and staff) from the hands of the 123 g 2 A.D. 1076—80.] HENRY IV. GREGORY VII. [§ 24. temporal sovereign was passed, and enforced by the excom- munication of some of the ministers of Henry for simony; but Henry took no notice of these proceedings, and con- tinued to bestow bishoprics and abbacies as before. This, and the complaints of the Saxons, with whom he had violated his oath and imprisoned their nobles, led to his being sum- moned to defend himself before a synod at Eome (1076). The emperor, enraged at their proceedings, instantly convoked a diet at Worms, which was attended by upwards of twenty- six bishops, besides the nobles. At this assembly, Gregory vii. was deposed, and the fact made known to him at Rome. On its receipt, the pope issued a sentence of excommunication against the emperor, and absolved his subjects from their allegiance. This bold step of the pope produced its desired effect; the disaffected nobles were glad to be released from their obligations and their duty. At the earnest entreaty of Henry, the election was deferred for twelve months, on con- dition of his procuring absolution. Henry crossed the Alps, and hastened to the pope, who then resided with the famous Countess Matilda, whose husband had separated from her to follow the emperor against the pope. On his arrival at her castle at Canopa, he was compelled to do penance in one of the outer courts, for three days and nights, in the depth of winter, clad only in a woollen shirt and barefooted. Henry agreed to submit himself to a tribunal composed of the Ger- man nobility, and to exercise none of the functions of royalty until re-elected by the diet of the empire : but he soon regretted the steps he had taken, by which he had disgusted his friends and rendered himself despicable in the eyes of all the sove- reigns of Europe; he therefore resolved to take up arms. During his absence, the nobles, under the superintendence of the papal legate, had chosen his brother-in-law, Rudolph, duke of Suabia, in his room; who, in accordance with the wishes of the legate, had engaged to resign the right of presentation to the vacant bishoprics, and, to gratify the nobles, that of the hereditary descent of the crown. Between Rudolph and Henry, the latter of whom was supported by the nobles and clergy of Lombardy, there were two undecisive engagements fought, the successes of both being equal. Rudolph's election was con- firmed by the pope, and Henry was again excommunicated. He, in his turn, deposed the pope, and elected the Archbishop of Ravenna (Clement in.) to the papal chair. The war now 124 § 24.] HENRY IV. REBELLION OF HIS SONS. [1080 1101. raged throughout the empire; and in a third engagement, at Walkshein, in Thuringia (1080), Eudolph was slain by the renowned Godfrey (of Bouillon?) Precisely on the same day the troops of the Countess Matilda were defeated in Mantua by the generals of the emperor. Henry conferred the fief of Eudolph (Suabia) upon Frederic, the founder of the cele- brated house of HohenstaufFen, and committed to him the conduct of affairs in Germany, while he passed over into Italy, there to decide by force of arms the dispute between him and the pope. The talent and courage of Eobert Guiscard were exercised in favour of the latter, but the Normans could not successfully resist the heroic bravery of Henry, who penetrated as far as Eome, and compelled the Eomans to accept his anti- pope, Clement in., who placed the imperial diadem on the head of the emperor on the 31st of March, 1085. On the approach of Henry, Gregory had fled in despair to the castle of St. Angelo; from which place, Eobert the Norman (who set fire to the city, reducing more than half of it to ashes) conveyed him to Salerno, where he died, 1085. Before his death, Gregory had again fulminated another sentence of ex- communication against Henry, during whose absence from Germany, the Saxons and Suabians had elected Count Her- mann of Luxemburg emperor, who acknowledged himself a vassal of the pope, and took the oath accordingly. After a turbulent and unquiet reign of seven years, during which he obtained one victory over Henry, at the Bleichfeld, near Wurtzbug (1086), he resigned the crown. d) The Eebellion of the sons of Henry IV. against their father. Intolerant as was the conduct of Gregory, it led him no farther than to set up rival emperors, and to excite intestine wars against his opponents ; but the policy of his successors went so far as to arm sons against their own father. Instigated by Pope Urban h. and his adherents, Conrad, the eldest son of Henry (invested with royal dignity in 1087), assumed the crown of Italy, in which country his father had left him as his representative. A diet of German princes, assembled at Cologne, declared him in consequence ineligible to the crown of Germany, which was secured to his younger brother, Henry v., who engaged at his coronation not to usurp the government during the lifetime of his father. This promise was, however, soon broken. Conrad, the king of Italy, died 125 A.D. 1101—1111.]' HENRY V. [§ 24. 1101, when the new pope, Pascal n., entered into negotiations with the second son of Henry to incite him to revolt, as his predecessor had done with Conrad. The pope having absolved him from the oath taken at his coronation, and pronounced a blessing on his arms, he made his father prisoner, and, at an assembly held at Ingelheim, threatened him with instant death if he refused to abdicate the throne. Henry, after some time, contrived to escape from the grasp of his son, and fled to Lor- raine, where, at Louvaine, he was surrounded by a few faithful adherents; new troubles, however, burst upon him, and he died broken hearted at Liege, 1106. Three years after (the sentence of excommunication having been reversed) he was disinterred, and conveyed with great pomp to the cathedral church of Spires, 1111. 4) Henry v., 1106—1125. Henry, on his accession to power, endeavoured to restore the royal authority to its former greatness, and for this purpose assumed the supremacy over the Bohe- mian kingdom, which had been long neglected. His next object was to bring to a close the disputes between him- self and the pope respecting investiture. In a council, however, held at Troyes, Pope Pascal u. renewed the declarations, and prohibited ecclesiastics, of whatever grade, to perform any homage to a layman. Henry's repre- sentatives appealed to a general council, but their appeal was disregarded; and Henry crossed the Alps with a large army, to obtain by force, what could not be gained by argument. Pascal, however, ere Henry reached Rome, sent a deputation with proposals to resign the temporal dignities with which the church had been invested by successive monarchs, and to be content with the tithes and donations derived from private bounty. " Only," said he, " let Henry renounce the right of investiture by the emperor (the right of filling up the vacancies), and the church will restore all that it has received from secular princes since the time of Charlemagne." * This was opposed by the German bishops, and on the Romans taking up arms, the pope was seized and treated with great * "Whether these arrangements were entered into or ratified is uncer- tain. According to some, Henry agreed to renounce the right of inves- titure, provided Pascal compelled the ecclesiastics to surrender the feudal possessions, jurisdictions, and honours which they had at any time received from the crown. 126 § 24.] HENRY V. [1118—22 A.D. indignity, and acting under the influence of fear, lie gave up the point, and yielded the right to Henry, whom he crowned emperor, and swore never to excommunicate. Henry returned to Germany in triumph, but the struggle was, as yet, only begun. The cardinals and bishops remonstrated against the proceedings, and held a council, at which Pascal explained the transactions which had taken place between him and the emperor, and offered to resign the popedom. The council, how- ever, reversed the papal bull, and solemnly excommunicated the emperor, a sentence which was confirmed by many of the clergy of Germany and France. At this period, the Saxons, and some of the German princes, rose up against Henry, prompted by the German prelates in the interest of the popes. The Count Palatine of the Rhine and the Duke of Suabia, however, remained faithful to him, as likewise did his nephew Conrad (just created duke of Franconia). With these, Henry sustained the conflict against his superior vassals, and after- wards crossed the Alps into Italy, once more to wreak his vengeance on the pope, who fled at his approach, and died shortly after (1118). He was succeeded by Gelasius n., who was obliged to take refuge in the Campagna, whilst Henry endeavoured to seat a Spanish prelate (Burdino, archbishop of Braga) upon the papal throne, who took the name of Gregory vm. Gelasius died in exile, 1119. The cardinals who had accompanied the late pope, elected Guido, bishop of Vienna, as his successor, under the name of Calixtus n. Henry, during this period, reigned dominant over Italy, with the anti-pope Gregory vni. ; but in the spring of 1120, Calixtus advanced into Italy from Gaul, and was received with acclama- tions by the Romans. Gregory fled to Sutri, where he was pursued by Calixtus, into whose hands he fell. After being exposed to the outrages of the Eomans, he was consigned to a dungeon. At length, however, fatigued and worn out by the continual revolts of the great feudatories in Germany, Henry sought an accommodation. A compromise was effected at Worms, in September, 1122, and ratified soon after at Rome by the pope himself, who anew admitted Henry and his adherents to the communion, and removed all anathemas pronounced against them. By this concordat, Henry renounced the right of investiture with the ring and staff, and agreed to restore the ecclesiastical property which he had sequestrated, and re- tained the sceptre, or the right of investing the person 127 CHANGES IN THE CONSTITUTION. [§ 24. chosen with the temporal power attached to the church, while the election of bishops and abbots was to take place i n h i s presence. In the event of a dispute, the question was to be decided by the emperor, the archbishops and bishops Changes in the Constitution during the reigns of the Saxon and Franconian Em- perors. 1) The Monarchy. — With the extinction of the Carlovingian line, the division of the empire equally among the sons disappears, and the states become partly of an hereditary, and partly of an elective character. Until the reign of Henry iv., the heir was always selected from the reigning family while one remained, and this selection was approved and confirmed by the feudatories of the empire. Subsequently, this election, and oftentimes also the coronation, took place during the lifetime of the reigning monarch : hence there was a danger of the mon- archy becoming altogether hereditary in one family. The extinction of a dynasty, however, prevented this. In such cases, elections were solemnly resorted to ; and during the reign of Henry iv., the elective principle was visibly manifested by the great feudatories. The limits of the royal power do not seem to have been fixed by any law, but rather to have been greater or less in its amount according to the wealth and dignity of the family, or, as in the cases of Conrad n. and Henry ill., the personal character of the sovereign. 2) The Dukes, under Charlemagne, were restricted to the duty of commanding the army, or leading the people out to war (anciently their sole prerogative). This authority was augmented under his successors, who united with the military command the civil jurisdiction, and became the ministers of the legislative powers, which they were bound to administer according to the strict letter of the law ; and when, under the successors of Charlemagne, the missi dominici were not sent, they exercised the functions of that office also ; while at the same time they sat as the representatives of the king in the legal courts and in the public assemblies. This so increased their power, that at length it be- came dangerous to the monarchy, while its influence in the election of the sovereign was all but paramount. This was, however, somewhat compensated for by the liberties granted to the inhabitants of towns and cities, in which were erected communities, or corporate bodies, which, as they were indebted to the crown for their privileges, were naturally inclined to the sovereign, from whom alone then* powers were obtained : hence they served not only as a counterpoise in the general assemblies to the power of the secular and ecclesiastical nobles, but were also the medium of furnishing supplies to meet the exigencies of the state. The ducal dignity was, in some of the provinces, elective, as in Aleman- nia and Lotharingia, but not in Franconia (nor in Saxony, since the time of Charlemagne) ; it was, however, generally allowed to remain in the family. 3) The dignity of Royal or Palatine Count (Comitatus 128 § 25.] BERENGER I. [887 91 A.D. terrce), which, during the Merovingian and Carlovingian periods, was one of great importance. To the count belonged the exercise of the supreme authority, either in the smaller districts, or over entire pro- vinces. Before them appeared the appellants from the ducal courts, and their decision was final. In matters of great importance, there was, however, the right of appeal to the emperor. This office or dignity dis- appeared during the Carlovingian period, but was revived in the tenth century {Comitates fisci), when it appears divested of its high judicial character, and is almost restricted to the protecting of the revenues or regalias of the sovereign, and the oversight of the (fiscus) collectors of the royal dues or taxes ; the supplies of the exchequer. This dignity, in many instances, was in the gift of the sovereign ; in others it was hereditary. 4) The Counts (Comites), under the Franconian emperors, were made hereditary ; they exercised judicial power over their own vassals, but not, by any means, to the same extent as the counts royal or pala- tine, or the counts fiscal; neither had they any seats in the general diets (excepting that of election), only in the provincial states. § 25. ITALY, 887—1125. A. The Kingdom of Italy, Which embraced Upper and Central Italy, was ruled 1) by kings of its own until 961. For during the reign of Arnulf, when the disputes between the dukes of Friuli and Spoleto broke out, his authority over Italy lasted only so long as he remained with his army in the kingdom ; and this was the case with all the foreign kings of Italy, until the reign of Otho i., who, in 961, reunited it with Germany. At the same time, Upper Italy was wasted by the Hungarians — sometimes tlie allies of the Franks, at others, of the Italians ; while Lower Italy, and portions of Central Italy, fell a prey to the Arabians and the Normans, etc. Berenger I. (887 — 924), Duke of Friuli, was proclaimed king of Italy, 887, and emperor, in 915. The reign of Berenger was disturbed by no less than four anti-kings. Gruido of Spoleto, and his son, were both crowned by Pope Stephen v., 891. On their death, Louis, son of Boson, king of Provence, entered Italy with a large army, and ad- vanced as far as Borne, where he was crowned by Pope Benedict iv. Berenger, however, compelled him to evacuate Italy ; and afterwards, on his making a second invasion, seized his person, and put out his eyes. After he had reigned well for sixteen years, the turbulent and fickle nobles of Italy, headed by the Archbishop of Milan, offered the crown to Rudolph II., the fourth rival of Berenger, who, aware of the treason, engaged the Hungarians as his allies, and attacked them in the moun- tains of Brescia. They, however, proceeded until they arrived at Pavia, 129 a 3 924 — 61.] GERMAN KINGS OF ITALY. [§ 25. where Rudolph, received the iron crown of Lombardy. Berenger assem- bled his army in the duchy of Friuli and Verona, but the final battle was fought at Firenzuola, where Rudolph was defeated. Boniface, the brother-in-law of Rudolph, however, meethig the fatigued conquerors on then* return, fell upon them by surprise, and entirely routed them. Berenger fled, and soon after fell by the hand of an assassin, whom he had loaded with favours. Rudolph now united the two crowns of Lom- bardy and Italy. In 924, Italy became a prey to the Huns ; Pavia, the capital, was reduced to ashes. They were, at length, while suffering from pestilence and famine, vanquished by the united efforts of Rudolph and Hugues, or Eudes, the Count of Provence. After this, Eudes be- came the rival of Rudolph, and was urged on in his ambitious designs by the Archbishop of Milan. He entered Pavia, and was crowned (927 ?) king of Lombardy. No general action, however, took place, but a compromise was entered into. Eudes resigned his ancient heritage (Burgundy) to receive Italy, and divided it into two counties, Yienne and Aries. The former he bestowed on Boson, the third brother of Rudolph ; while Aries, or Transjuran Burgundy, was presented to Rudolph in exchange for Italy. To induce Rudolph not to obey the call of the Italians, who again called upon him to be their king, Pro- vence was ceded to him : thus the new kingdom of Aries was founded (930). In 937 Rudolph died, deeply regretted by his subjects, after a short reign of seven years. Eudes associated with him in the government his son Lothaire, and had much difficulty in retaining it against the con- tinual revolts of the powerful nobles. At length, a powerful party was raised against him by the Margrave of Ivrea, who espoused the cause of Berenger n., grandson of Berenger I. Eudes was driven to his county of Provence, and Lothaire soon after died from poison (?). Adelaide, the widow of Lothaire, appealed to Otho, the king of Ger- many, who married the widowed queen, and allowed Berenger to hold Italy as a fief. In 961, Otho seized the crown for himself, and placed Berenger in a fortress in Germany, where he died. 2) Italy was also ruled by German kings (subse- quently to 961), who remained in undisturbed possession, with the exception of the futile attempt of Henry n., the Margrave of Ivrea, to regain the crown (see § 23, 5). Since the time of Otho I., Italy appears to have been split into a number of ecclesiastical and secular, or spiritual and temporal fiefs- duchies, marquisates, viscounties, etc. In order to check the growing power of the great feudatories, the Emperor Conrad, in the new consti- tution which he propounded on the plains of Roncaglia (1038), made the lesser, or inferior fiefs, hereditary, and determined that, henceforward, every man should enjoy the privilege of being tried by his equals (peers). On the decline of the imperial authority, during the disputes between the emperors Henry iv. and v. and the pontifical authorities, the Lombardian cities threw off the jurisdiction of 130 § 25.] VENICE PAPAL ITALY. |_452 1115 A.D. the imperial governors (lieutenants), and formed themselves into republics, under consuls and magistrates of their own. The emperor, however, still retained the title of king of Italy. B. Venice. From the invasion of Attila, in 452, the marshes (Lagunes) at the extremity of the Adriatic had been the refuge of all the rich inhabitants of Padua, Vicenza, Verona, and other great cities of Venetia; so that, at length, a numerous population was gathered there. They were, at first, governed by tribunes under the Roman empire ; afterwards they fell under the power of the Eastern, or Ostrogoths; and, lastly, became the subjects of the Eastern Roman Empire. In 697, the citizens of the various small republics which had arisen amongst them, met together in one great assembly at Heraclea, and elected a chief, whom they called Doge, or duke, who acted as lieutenant under the emperor of Constantinople, still regarding themselves as members of the Eastern empire. During the war against Pepin, they made choice of the island Rialto, upon which they built the city of Venice, the capital of their republic. Being connected by bridges with the other islands, it became the centre of a mighty maritime republic, which, by its conquests in Dalmatia about the year 1000, considerably extended its dominions, while by means of its extensive commerce, favoured by its position betAveen the two most powerful states of Europe, it soon rose to be one of the most important of the Italian states, and eventually the greatest maritime power of the world. C. Papal Italy, or the Ecclesiastical States. The foundation of the temporal power of the pope was laid by Pepin (see § 20), who compelled Astolphus of Lombardy to restore the exarchate of Ravenna (the provinces of Romagna and Urbino), not to the Greek empire (to which they belonged), but to the pope. These possessions, which were also increased by grants of territory hi Tuscia and on the other side of the Tiber, resigned by the Duke of Benevento, were subsequently confirmed to the pope by Charlemagne. To these were after- wards granted by Henry ni. to Leo rx., in lieu of the revenues of several of the Franconian churches, the city of Benevento, with the surrounding lands. A still more important accession, however, was obtained (in 1115), when the margravine, Ma- 131 A.D. 1000 1090.] LOWER ITALY NORMANS. [§ 25. tilda of Tuscany, the friend of Hildebrand (Gregory vii.), gave to the church all her allodes, embracing one-half of the pro- vince of Tuscia. Apulia and Calabria were held as fiefs from the pope by the Normans, who also paid a large yearly tribute for the Island of Sicily. D. Lower Italy. In the eleventh century, the whole of Lower Italy fell into the hands of the Normans, who, at first, visited the Italian peninsula as pilgrims to the cave on Mount Gorgona. In return for some military service they rendered to the Romans against the Greeks, they received payment in lands on the western coast, which they colonised. The Duke of Naples erected for them the town of Aversa. Here they were after- wards joined by the twelve sons of Tancred de Hauteville of Normandy, and other adventurers, who were employed by the Greeks against the Saracens of Sicily. Dissatisfied with the division of the spoils, they resolved to indemnify themselves by making reprisals in the Italian territories. They therefore invaded Apulia, and in three years wrested nearly the whole of it from the Greek empire, and divided it into twelve counties, which were placed under the control of the Count of Apulia, who held his court at Melfi. After several contests with the Romans, in 1053, the papal troops were vanquished, and Pope Nicholas n. was taken prisoner; his release was only obtained by bestowing on them their present and future conquests in Apulia and Calabria, as a fief of the papal see (a relation still retained by the kingdom of Naples). In 1060, on the death of Humphrey, the last count of Apulia, the title of duke was conferred upon Robert Guiscard by the pope, and Sicily (to be hereafter subdued) was also included in the dignity. Twenty years, however, were spent in warfare before the whole of Apulia and Calabria were in his possession ; and thirty years were actively occupied against the Saracens of Sicily, by Roger, the last of the twelve bro- thers, before that island was subdued. This was accomplished in 1090, when he ruled over it under the title of great count, and allowed the Saracens to retain their religion and their property, unmolested. The ambition of Guiscard, and the restless character of his soldiers, led him to seek further conquests ; and under the pretext of re-establishing Michael, the Greek emperor (whose son had married the daughter 132 § 25.] the islands. [1084—1139, 850 a.d. of Robert), on his throne, assembled a large army, and laid siege to Durazzo, which was taken by treachery after a valiant defence. Guiscard advanced into Thessaly; but on hearing that the cities of Apulia were in revolt, and that the German emperor (Henry v.) was advancing into Lower Italy, he left the command of the army to Bohemund, and passed over to Apulia. Bohemund being betrayed and forsaken by the counts, was forced to return to his father. Meanwhile Henry v. had entered Rome, and Gregory was besieged in the Vatican. Guiscard hasted to assist the pontiff in his distress, and compelled the Germans to retire, when Gregory was liberated. In 1084, Guiscard again prepared to attack the Eastern empire; and, by evading the combined fleets of the Greeks and Venetians sailing off the coast of Greece, landed his army safely in Epirus. Two naval engagements took place between the Normans and the Greek and Venetian fleets, to the advantage of the latter ; but in the third the Normans triumphed, and gained a complete victory. Guiscard died of an epidemic disease in Cephalenia, in his seventieth year, while making preparations for a renewal of the war in the ensuing spring. He was succeeded by his second son, Roger Bohemund, 1085, who dying without issue, the duchy passed over to the great Count of Sicily, Roger n., the nephew of Robert Guis- card, who attached himself to the interests of the anti-pope Anacletus n., by whom he was invested with the royal dignity, and crowned at Palermo. On the death of the Emperor Lo- thaire, he dispossessed the Prince of Capua of his possessions, and subdued the duchy of Naples, 1139; thus completing the conquest of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. E. The Islands. Sicily was wrested from the Byzantine Greeks by the Arabians, or Saracens, who, in turn, were conquered by the Normans. Sardinia and Corsica fell into the hands of the Arabs, in 850, when the Greeks were driven out of pos- session. After the expulsion of the Arabs, they were possessed by the Genoese and Pisans, and became the cause of a fierce and sanguinary war between these two republics for upwards of two centuries. They were ruled over by a number of petty feudal lords, and were considered to belong to Italy, and con- sequently were deemed a portion of the Roman German empire. 133 [a.d. 887 — 98. chaeles iv. [§ 26. § M. France, under the last of the Carlovin- gians, 887—987. As at the last division of the Franconian empire, the only .survivor of the Carlovingian races, Charles the Simple, was still a child, the nobles of the empire, sorely pressed upon by the piratical Normans, elected Count Eudes, or Otho, of Paris. 1. Otho, Count of Paris (888 — 898), was not acknow- ledged by the Duke of Aquitania (Rainulf il), although he was crowned at Compiegne, and much esteemed for his per- sonal bravery; while his possessions, extending from the Meuse to the Loire, were great. He could not, however, resist the inroads of the Normans, who took possession of Meux, and descended the Loire, on the way to Paris. 2. Charles iv. , usually called the Simple (896 — 923). — Otho had subdued the Aquitanian duke, Gauzbert, and taken possession of the country south of the Loire, but during his absence on this expedition, Charles was presented to the Neustrians by the powerful Archbishop of Rheims, as their rightful sovereign (893). After the ceremony of consecra- tion, the partisans of the youthful monarch (fourteen years of age) put themselves in motion to contest the crown with Otho. No battle, however, took place ; an appeal was made to the German emperor, when Charles timidly absented himself, and Otho was confirmed in the kingdom. In 896, Otho granted to Charles the appanage of Neustria (?); but the former dying in 898, the grandees of Neustria offered the crown to Charles, then at Rheims, where he was a second time crowned. The complaints of the people against the Normans, who had devas- tated the country on the Seine, besieged Paris and Chartres, and massacred the inhabitants of numerous other towns, at length aroused Charles, who, however, did nothing to defend his people. Charles sent the Archbishop of Rouen to Rolla, the most formidable chief among the Normans, offering him a vast province of France as the price of peace, provided he embraced the Christian faith. Rolla (Robert), with many of his chiefs, and a large portion of his army, were baptized, lands were set apart for the church, and the whole of maritime Neustria and Brittany were divided among his officers and troops, and erected into counties. Thus was put to an end a war of devastation and brigandage, which had wasted the 134 § 26.] ROBERT RUDOLPH LOUIS IV. [912 36 A.D. western coasts of France for upwards of a century. In 912, the Lorrainers, dissatisfied with being united to Germany, offered their crown to Charles, who accepted it, and so became opposed to Conrad I., king of Germany, his rival. From 913, Charles entirely abandoned himself to the counsels of a favourite of low birth, Haganon, whose conduct at length so disgusted the nobles of the kingdom, that they took up arms against him. Charles fled to Lorraine, being deserted by his partisans ; and Eobert, considering that the king had virtually abdicated, caused himself to be crowned in his stead, at St. Eemi (922). Robert, Count of Paris, and Duke of Francia, was the brother of the great Count Eudes, or Otho. On his accession to the crown, he sent an army in pursuit of Charles, who had taken refuge in Lorraine, when an armistice was agreed upon. Charles, however, soon violated it, and came suddenly upon Robert at Soissons, where he was slain (923), and was succeeded by his son-in-law. 3. Rudolph (Raoul), Duke of Burgundy, after the defeat of Charles on the Oise, was placed on the throne by the interest of Hugues, the master of all the territory lying between the Seine and the Loire (duchy of France). After his coronation, the civil wars were put an end to by Heribert, the count of Vermandois, who got possession of the dethroned king, and imprisoned him at Chateau Thierri. Rudolph, however, subsequently procured his liberty, and gave him the palace of Attigny: he died twelvemonths after, at Peronne, 929. The reign of Rudolph was marked by the civil wars which were maintained between the great feudatories; the inroads and aggressions of the Normans, which he frequently repulsed with loss; and the ravages of the Hungarians, in the king's duchy of Burgundy, against whom he was advancing when he died at Autun, 936. 4. Louis iv. (beyond the sea, or the stranger — Outre Mer). — On the captivity of Charles the Simple, by the treachery of the Count of Vermandois, Odgiva, the queen, and daughter of Edward the Elder of England, fled to the latter country with her son Louis, then three years of age. On the death of Rudolph, Hugues, the most powerful lord of France, and who had also placed the crown on the head of the last monarch, caused Louis (now sixteen years of age) to return to France, when, with the assistance of William, the Duke of Normandy, and other lords, he was acknowledged king, and 135 937 — 87 a.d.] louis iv. — lothaire — louis v. [§ 26. crowned at Laon (Iris own domain), by the Archbishop of Rheims (937). Louis determined not to be the puppet of the Count Hugues: hence the latter conspired with Heribert, the Count of Vermandois, against him. After some inconsiderable engagements, the refractory nobles were compelled, for the present, to retire. In 939, the Lorrainers offered their crown to the young prince, who accepted it, and entered Alsatia. Otho, however, soon wrested it out of his hands, being assisted by the rebel counts of Paris and Vermandois. Louis was now hemmed in on all sides by his enemies ; and in the following year Otho the Great appeared in Lorraine, where he was acknowledged king of Komance France. At length a truce was agreed to between Otho and Louis, when the latter re- tired into Burgundy, where he was afterwards defeated by the Count of Vermandois and Hugues ; and Otho, desirous of re-establishing peace in the West, seconded the efforts of the papal legate, who had been despatched to France, by Stephen viii., for the purpose of excommunicating the rebel lords, unless they gave up the contest. Hugues and Heribert did homage to Charles for their counties, and peace was restored. Subse- quently Charles and Hugues endeavoured to recover Normandy, which they agreed to divide between them ; but were unsuc- cessful. The civil wars, which had so long desolated France, however, soon broke out again, and continued to trouble the remaining years of the reign of Louis, who was killed by his horse falling upon him, on his way to Eheims from Laon, 954. Lothaire (954), son of Louis, and nephew of Otho of Germany, a minor, succeeded to the crown under the auspices of the great Count of Paris, Hugues, who gained by his adhe- sion to the cause of the youthful monarch the duchy of Aquitania, in 956 died, and his county was inherited by Hugues, surnamed Capet. In 986 Lothaire died, and Louis V. (le Faineant — nihil fecit — the Idler), who had been asso- ciated with him in the government since 979, was crowned at Compiegne ; his uncle Charles, who had accepted of the duchy of Lorraine as a German fief, was excluded. After a reign of fourteen months (according to some), he was poisoned by his wife, Blanche, in the interest of the great Count of Paris, Hugues (Hugh Capet), and died 987. Charles, duke of Lor- raine, made an attempt to obtain the crown ; but Hugues had been already consecrated at Rheims. Louis v. was the last of the Carlovingian race. 136 § 27.] THE FOUR CAPETIANS HUGH CAPET. [987 A.D. France, for a long time, had ceased to be a kingdom ; it was rather an assemblage of states of different sizes. The great lords were the only real sovereigns of France ; the whole territory was split into a number of countless fiefs, the larger of which were governed by dukes, marquises, and counts ; the smaller, by viscounts and lords. These were all more or less independent, and assumed the right of waging war either against the sovereign, or separately against each other, for the purposes of pri- vate interests. Even the domains of the crown were at length so usurped or detached from the possession of the sovereign, that during the period of the last Carlovingians the kings were reduced to great distress. Soissons, Laon, and a few petty domains, constituted all that the sovereign could properly be said to hold. The immediate fiefs of the crown, the possessors of which shared equally with the sovereign the authority or power of royalty, were the duchies of Francia (between the Seine and the Loire), Normandy, with Bretagne (Brittany), Aquitania, or Gruienne (with which subsequently the duchy of Grascogne (Gascony) was united) , and Bur- gundy; to these may be added the counties of Toulouse, Flanders, and the Vermandois (capital, St. Quentin). Independently of the territorial division of France during this period, there was another division founded on language. The inhabitants north of the Loire, the Grermans, preserved the ancient Teutonic, the lingua Franca, which was the.language of the court and government, while the Roman, or Romance, was spoken by the people south of the Loire : this, when polished by the refinements of the court, assumed, at length, a new and purer form, and, in process of time, became the parent of the modern French. The language north of the Loire was termed langue d'oil; that of the south, langue d'oc. The national character of the two people widely differed. The Frenchman of the north was daring and reckless, characterized by a fondness of display, pomp, and outward show ; while the southern Frenchman was more wily and cunning, but yet active and industrious, and more moderate in his desires. In the north, the territorial or feudal laws formed the basis of the constitution, ■ — and in the south, the Roinan laws. § 27. FRANCE, UNDER THE FIRST FOUR CAPETIANS. Hugh, Robert, Henry, and Philip, 987—1108. Hugh (Hugues) Capet (987) was duke of France, count of Paris and Orleans, and abbot of many rich abbeys; his brother was Duke of Burgundy, and his brother-in-law held the duchy of Normandy. On the rebellious conduct of Hugh Capet, in causing himself to be elected king, Charles of Lor- raine seized Laon and Rheims, from which Hugh could not by force of arms displace him. A conspiracy, headed by the Bishop of Laon, however, placed Charles and his nephew, the Archbishop of Rheims, in the king's hands, by whom they were imprisoned. Charles soon after died ; and the archbishop 137 A.D. 996 1080.] THE CAPETTAN MONARCHS. [§ 27. was restored, after a while, by command of the pope, to all his dignities. Hugh was engaged during nearly the whole of his reign in struggles with the church, while civil wars between the great feudatories raged throughout the kingdom. He died, probably at Paris, 996 (?), and was succeeded by his only son, Robert u., who, for the last eight years, had shared the government with his father, and been crowned as his suc- cessor. He was engaged in disputes with the church, in con- sequence of his marriage with Bertha, but after five years was compelled to yield and to marry another. In 1002, on the death of his uncle Henry, the duchy of Burgundy was nomi- nally added to the royal domains; but the feudal lords re- fused to acknowledge the authority of the king, until 1016, when they agreed to submit to his second son, Henry, who was acknowledged Duke of Burgundy, while his brother was elected count. Robert was almost an imbecile, without vigour and capacity, and chiefly employed himself in the composition and singing of psalms at St. Denis. He died 1035, and his son Henry was crowned at Eheims. To secure peace between him and his brother Eobert, he. conferred upon the latter the duchy of Burgundy, as a fief, while to the Duke of Normandy the territory of the Vexin was ceded. To allow the pope no cause of spiritual war against him, Henry mar- ried a Russian princess (Anna). He was, notwithstanding, sufficiently engaged against the greater vassals, the Count of Champagne and the Duke of Normandy. During this reign the Treve de Dieu, or Truce of God, was established by the priesthood, by which a check was put to the unceasing warfare of the nobles. Henry died, 1060, and was succeeded by Philip i., who was only seven years of age when he commenced his reign. During his minority, he was placed under the guardianship of Baldwin, count of Flandria. The most memorable event of the reign of Philip is the conquest of Anglia (Engla-land) by the Duke of Normandy. During the reign of the first four Capetian nionarchs may be ob- served the revival of the monarchic principle ; at present, indeed, with- out authority or influence, which was in the hands of the vassals, but yet inspiring a deep reverence and respect. The greater feudatories, even when contending with the sovereign, considered it not only im- politic, but impious, to attack his suzerain, or liege lord ; and it not unfrequently happened that the wing or body of an army led by the sovereign was allowed to escape, unattacked and uninjured, when all the rest were either cut off or vanquished. 138 § 28.] ALFRED THE GREAT. [827 871 A.D. § 28. ENGLAND (ANGLE-LAND), UNDER THE WEST SAXON KINGS, 827—1016. All Britain was now subjected to the kings of Wessex and Mercia, between whom a fierce rivalry prevailed. Under Egbert of Wessex, Mercia was soon subdued ; the terrible battle of Ellandune (Wilton) decided the fate of the kingdom; Kent, Surrey, and Sussex soon acknowledged the authority of Egbert. In 823, East Anglia submitted. Egbert was now lord of all the states south of the Humber. He next proceeded against the Angles of Northumbria, who became his tribu- taries, as also did the Britons north of the Severn (the Welsh). Hence he now nominally united under one crown the whole of Britain. The government was, as yet, not concentrated; there was no common legislature ; each state and people remained as independent and as distinct as before. In 787, the Danes be- came the incessant and inveterate foes of the Britons; and during the last eleven years of Egbert's reign, attacked the western districts, where they gained a footing, and joined the Welsh of Cornwall. They were defeated by Egbert, who died 886, and was succeeded by Ethelwulf, the king of Kent, who for fifteen years was just able to keep the Danes in check. For the purpose of securing the crown to his son Alfred, he was sent to Rome, to which place, also, Ethelwulf soon after proceeded with presents. Alfred was anointed king by Pope Leo, 853 ; and Ethelwulf, on his return, married Judith, the daughter of Charles the Bald, king of the Franks, and died four years after. He was succeeded by Ethelbald, in. whose reign the Danes, or Northmen, attacked the kingdom of Northumbria, and seized the greater part of it, and penetrated into Mercia, and took the town of Snottingahame (Nottingham). The wars were continued with ruinous success until the acces- sion of the youngest son of Ethelwulf. Alfred the Great, 871—901. A 1 f r e d (probably king of the Britons in Wales ?) unwil- lingly accepted the royal dignity. At this period, the cormtry was in a state of extreme misery and devastation. The whole of England, as far as Wessex, and afterwards as far as Somerset, was in the hands of the Danes. Nine pitched battles were fought in one year. Mercia was entirely in their power, and a sort of predatory warfare was carried on in every part of the 139 A.D. 887 93.] ALFRED THE GREAT. [§ 28. island by the Northmen, or Danes, who, at length, under Hrolf, or Rollo, took their departure for France, where they were more successful even than in England, Rollo becoming the first duke of Normandy. In 887, the Danes made a sudden irruption into Wilts and the adjoining shires. Alfred, with his aged mother, sought shelter in the Isle of Athelney , a secluded spot, environed by marshes and moors : here he spent the winter in solitude. While Alfred was thus secluded, the men of Wessex gained a signal victory over the Danes, who attempted a landing on the Somerset coast ; the leaders were slain, and their followers routed. When the news of this victory reached Alfred in his retirement, he determined to profit by it ; and leaving his place of concealment, he disguised himself as a wandering minstrel, and stole into the Danish camp, thereby ascertaining its strength, and the position and number of its army, etc. Accompanied by the men of Somerset, he raised his standard on the borders of Selwood Forest, where he was joined by the inhabitants of Somerset, Dorset, and Hants. He met the Danes at Ethandune (near Westbury, Wilts ?). The Danes were completely vanquished, and compelled to flee to their entrench- ments, in which they were blockaded for fourteen days, and at length submitted to Alfred's terms. Guthrum, the king, embraced Christianity, and the Danes followed his example. Alfred ceded to them the territory known as the Danelagh, or Danelaw, embracing East Anglia, and a few cities of Mercia and Northumbria. Comparative peace being restored (for rebellions were fre- quent), Alfred employed himself in restoring and fortifying the dilapidated towns and cities, Lunduneberg (London) among the number, and the fortresses and castles, 883. In 893, a Danish squadron, consisting of 250 ships, appeared off the coast of Kent, while 80 more entered the Thames at Rother, where the troops were landed, and entrenchments erected for their protection. The Danes of North Umbria and East Anglia violated their oaths, and joined their kinsmen, who overran the country, and everywhere spread devastation. Alfred pur- sued them into Mercia, but the Danes completely distanced the armies of Alfred, and, after they had ravaged Wales, crossed the country again into Essex, and sailed round to the southern coasts, where Alfred, with his long ships, which he had built and officered by Frieslanders, pursued the Danish fleet, which was met cruising off the coast of Devonshire, and soon after 140 § 29.] SUCCESSORS OF ALFRED CANUTE. [901 1016 A.D. dispersed. Two of the vessels being cast on shore, the crews were seized, and taken before the king, who ordered them all to be hanged, as a terror to the remainder. Alfred died on All Hallows Day, October 28th, 901. During the reign of Alfred, the building of vessels was much im- proved ; they were longer, steadier, and swifter than those of the enemy. He was, likewise, the founder of the naval force of Britain ; and under his direction, the cities and towns were much better fortified than before. The royal revenue was more exactly portioned, and at least one half distributed in acts of charity. The administration of justice was facili- tated by the adoption of a new code of laws founded upon the dooms, or judgments, of his predecessors. England was, during his reign, divided into counties, or shires, and hundreds ; trial by jury was intro- duced ; learned men were invited over into England ; schools were founded (probably the University of Oxford) in all parts of the country; education was forced, by the refusal of the king to promote the unedu- cated and ignorant ; while the king himself was also employed in the translation of Latin works into the vernacular tongue of his English subjects. The enterprises of the Normans were, for a time, directed against the kingdom of the Franks; but, in the meanwhile, the Danes left in England revolted, and were joined by fresh arrivals of their countrymen. The feeble successors of Alfred proved unable to resist their attacks. Three times was Ethelred compelled to purchase peace by the payment of an annual tribute of ten, sixteen, and twenty-four thousand pounds. This tax was termed Danegeld: the impost, however, only served to incite the Danes and Normans to the committal of fresh depredations. In 1002, the pope interposed, and pro- cured a pacification, and Ethelred married Emma, the sister of the Duke of Normandy, out of which circumstance subse- quently arose the Norman claims upon England. On the evening of the day following his marriage, Ethelred issued a cruel order for the massacre of the Danes throughout the island, November 13, 1002. This proceeding led to the com- plete conquest of the island by Sweyn, and his successor, Knut, or Canute. § 29. ENGLAND, UNDEE DANISH KINGS, 1016—1042. Canute (Knut, 101G — 1035) was the most powerful monarch of his time. He was king of Denmark and England, and afterwards of Norway and Sweden, as also of part of 141 A.D. 1016 42.] DANISH KINGS-EDWARD THE CONFESSOE. [§.' 30. Scotland, and the kingdom of Cumbria and the Isles. On the death of Ethelred (1016), the citizens and Wiian elected Ed- mund Ironsides king in the place of his father, while Canute was elected by the Danes. After a short but sanguinary war, decided at Assingdune, Edmund challenged the Danish mon- arch to settle the dispute by single combat, when Canute declined, and agreed that they should divide the realm be- tween them. On the death of Edmund, Canute became sole monarch. In the government of th I fr „ O i o a W3 2 r* -15 -3 OH o CM ^3 9 *eS .£ r'B s3 B ,3 pq _ J pq - a o 05 O a a o fn a .„ PH c3o5 CD c3 CO a q °c7Q £ 8 0) 187 3 hJO cd o Hi += a ^ o R*h Spql qs a^ a -a -pq a.d. 1257-73, 1130-94.] the two Sicilies. [§§ 37, 38. §37. THE INTEKREGNUM IN GERMANY, 1257—1273. The jealousy of the princes was too great to allow of the crown being worn by one of their own body, and the pope, Alexander iv., had threatened to excommunicate any prince who should attempt the election of Conradin. Consequently, the electoral princes resolved to bestow the dignity upon some foreign prince, who, having wealth sufficient to support the splendour of the sovereignty, and not possessing any territories within the empire, should be without inducement to curtail their liberties. The ecclesiastical party elected the Earl of Cornwall, while the opposite faction elected Alphonso, the king of Castile, both of whom distributed large sums of money among the venal ecclesiastical and temporal nobility, in order to secure their election. This double election protracted the civil wars of the empire, for although Richard was crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle, and afterwards acknowledged by the pope, yet the partisans of Alphonso con- tinued to oppose him so long as the latter had funds to re- pay them for their services. Richard resided in Germany four separate times during his reign of fifteen years (1257), but the greater portion of his time was spent in England, where he assisted his brother, Henry in., in resisting the encroachments of the barons. In 1272, Richard died, and in the following year the Diet of Election was assembled at Frankfort, when, among other candidates, Alphonso, who had never set foot upon the German territories, preferred his claim to the throne. To the astonishment of Europe, Rodolph, the count of Hapsburg, was chosen, through the interests of the three electoral prelates of the empire, and the dukes of Bavaria, Saxony, etc., to whom he promised his daughters in marriage. §38. THE KINGDOM OF THE TWO SICILIES, 1130—1282. a) Under the Normans (1130 — 1194). Roger n., founder of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies (see § 25, d), was succeeded by William n., the supporter of pope Alex- ander in. against the emperor Frederick Barbarossa. On the death of William, the kingdom passed to the house of Ho- 188 § 38.] THE TWO SICILIES. [1194-1264 A.D. henstanfen, by the marriage of Henry vi. with the daughter of Eoger n., the aunt of William n. Upon his death, the throne was usurped for five years by an illegitimate son of Eoger il, named Tancred, and his son and successor, William in. b) Under the Hohenstaufens (1194—1266). Henry I. (vi.) was succeeded by his son, Frederick I. (il), a child of three years old, whom the pope took under his guardianship, and set up in opposition to his father, in Germany. During the reign of Frederick, the royal residence was removed from Palermo to Naples, where the Italian language was spoken at his court. He also erected a university, founded schools, built splendid palaces, and en- couraged commerce and manufactures. He also . issued, for the benefit of his Italian subjects, a new code of laws (like those promulgated by Justinian), formed from the laws and customs of the ancient Normans, which however were not abolished on the introduction of the new code, but to continue in force as before. By this code the royal power was rendered more secure, by the limitation of that which was exercised in the courts of justice held by the feudal nobles in their respective territories. Frederick was succeeded by Conrad iv., who died • suddenly, probably from poison, leaving behind him an infant son, Conradin, who was placed under the guardianship of his uncle, Manfred. In 1258, Manfred, determined no longer to be the tool of the pope as the guardian of Conradin, wrested the throne out of the hands of the young prince, and took upon himself the royal dignity; he was crowned at Palermo, in 1258. The pope, who had wrested the crown of the Two Sicilies from Frederick il, used every effort to render it a temporal fief; he was therefore amazed when he saw the hero Manfred firmly established in the sovereignty, and gaining also a considerable footing in the Italian peninsula. Unable to resist his victorious career, Urban iv. armed the French against him, and Alexander iv., his successor, even offered the crown to Edmund, the son of Henry in. of England, but he refused to lend his assistance; he also endeavoured to persuade Lords of France to aid him in his designs, but to no purpose. The more powerful Count of Anjou, and his ambitious consort, however, agreed at once to the terms offered by the pope, and invaded Sicily with an army of 30,000 men, and 1,000 knights, who marched 189 A.D. 1265-85.] THE TWO SICILIES. [§ 38. under the banners of the cross, and of Charles. Clement, who had succeeded to the papal chair, invested him with the sovereignty, on condition that the crown should never be united to that of the empire, or to the kingdoms of Lombardy and Tuscany. 8,000 ounces of gold, and a white palfrey, were to be the annual tribute. In 1265, Charles met Manfred on the plain of Grandella, near Beneventum, where, after a long and sanguinary contest, Manfred perished, and Charles and the Guelphs obtained the ascendency in Italy. c) Under the House of Anjou (1266—1282). After the conflict at Grandella, the German garrison was driven out of Italy, and its place occupied by the French. In 1267, on the invitation of the Ghibeline nobles, the young Conradin appeared in Upper Italy, with an army of 10,000 cavalry, which was joined by the militias of the Ghibeline republics; he encountered Charles in the plain of Tagli- acozzo, where a desperate battle ensued, which terminated in the defeat and capture of Conradin, who was beheaded, by the order of his ruthless conqueror, in the market place at Naples, with several of the German and Italian nobility. On the scaffold he nominated Peter in. of Arragon, the son-in-law of Manfred, to the vacant crown. Charles proceeded to abolish the assemblies of the states, and distributed among the French, his followers, all the great fiefs of the kingdom, while he ruled the Italians and the Sicilians as with a rod of iron, oppressed them with intolerable burdens, in which he was aided by a pope of his own creating, Martin iv. (1281), who expelled all the Ghibelines from the cities, and conferred the govern- ment of the papal states upon French officers. A sudden explosion of popular feeling, however, delivered the kingdom from the tyranny of Charles, and the lieutenants of the pope. A French soldier having rudely insulted a young bride as she was on her way to the church of Montreal to receive the nup- tial blessing, the news of the outrage spread throughout the city of Palermo, just as the bells of the various churches were ringing for vespers. The people ran through the streets, shouting, "To arms — death to the French;" and in a few hours, upwards of 4,000 were massacred in the city of Palermo alone, while other cities following the example thus set them, delivered the kingdom from the insolence and tyranny of Charles, who survived the catastrophe only three years. He expired on 7th January, 1285, leaving his son, Charles n., a 190 § 39.] louis vi., vn., vni., ix. — philip n. [1108-1288 a.d. prisoner in the hands of the Sicilians. In 1288, Naples and Sicily were formed into two distinct kingdoms. Charles n., the first king of Naples, was liberated, and Peter of Arragon received the crown of Sicily, agreeably to the bequest of Con- radin. §39. FKANCE, 1108—1270. Louis vi. and vn. Philip n. Louis vni. and ix. (the Saint). I. Territorial States (Notice of). The whole of western France, from the coasts washed by the channel (English Channel) in the north, to the Pyrenees in the south, during the reign of Louis vn., came under the dominion of the English kings of the house of Plantagenet, to which house belonged, as hereditary domains, Anjou, Touraine, and Maine; also, as heirs of the Norman kings of England, the duchy of Normandy, and Bretagne (as a feudal fief); by marriage, Aquitaine and Gascogne also belonged to the English. The kings of Arragon took possession of the extreme southern portion of France ; while the counts of Champagne and Flanders, and the dukes of Burgundy maintained them- selves as petty sovereigns in their respective territories. The immediate royal domains of the Capetians were very inconsiderable, and consisted only of the Franconian duchy, anciently possessed by the Carlovingians, and extending along the Oise and central Seine as far as the Loire. The French kings, therefore, endeavoured to reduce the power of the great feudatories, who had possessed themselves of the finest pro- vinces of the kingdom, and to re-unite the former crown lands. Philip il, surnamed Augustus, was the great restorer of the lost glory of the French monarchy. He humbled all the greater vassals, and by seduction and artifice, rather than by valour in the field, contrived to wrest all the French lands from the English, with the exception of Guienne. Louis vni., by his wars against the Albigenses, added con- siderably to the royal domains, while Louis ix., by the mar- riage of his brother to the daughter of the Count of Toulouse, brought the whole of the territorial possessions of the count eventually to the crown. Louis, first called the Wakeful, and afterwards, the Fat (vi.), was the first monarch of France to re- 191 a.d. 1109-37.] louis vi., vh. [§ 39. duce government to a system, or to act upon any settled rules of policy. On his accession France was in the hands of feudal chiefs, constantly engaged in war one with the other, and committing the most atrocious robberies upon the church, while even merchants and travellers were not safe in passing along the borders of their domains. Against such lawless nobles Louis successfully contended ; and the barons of Montlheri, Couci, and Montmorency, nearest to the capital, and probably the most rapacious of the whole, were subdued. Hence the royal domains were freed from spoliation, and the roads to Paris and Orleans laid open to the free exercise of trade and commerce. The name of Louis is however also con- nected with the liberty of the subject. It was in his reign that the abolition of serfdom, or the enfranchisement % of the communes (municipal corporations, guilds, or fraternities), took place. He also granted extensive privileges by charters to the various towns and cities ; this tended to the elevation of the tiers etat, or third estate, and served considerably to strengthen the royal authority. In 1109, on the refusal of Henry I. of England to destroy the castle of Gisors, the frontier port of France and Normandy, which had been mutually agreed upon, whenever the neutral baron should resign it, a war broke out, marked by the most cruel atrocities. Louis was not, however, able to obtain possession of the duchy, which, on the death of Henry I., was contended for by Maude, the sister of Henry, and Stephen, the usurper of the English throne. In 1137, Louis vr. died, and was succeeded by his son, Louis vn., who had just married the daughter of the Count of Poitou, whose dowry embraced all the lands lying between the Adour and the Loire. Louis vil, during the first years of his reign, was engaged in disputing with the pope, who laid France under an interdict. These disputes were further widened by his base conduct towards the Count of Champagne, whose daughter he caused to be repudiated, in order that her husband, a kinsman of Louis, might marry the sister of Eleanor, the queen, and so prevent the division of their landed inheritance. During the war, a church in which hundreds of the inhabitants sought refuge, was set fire to, when they all perished. The heart of the king was now seized with remorse, and he sought the absolution of the church, to which he now humbly resigned himself. Urged by the Abbot Bernard, of Clairvaux, to undertake the 192 § 39.] philip (the august.) [1180-1206 a.d. cross, he at once agreed to take part in the second crusade, the money for which was chiefly obtained by the sale of privileges to the communes (burghers), and by subsidies levied upon the convents. During his absence, the affairs of his kingdom were placed • in the hands of the Abbot Jager, of St. Denis. On the return of Louis to his discontented people, after the birth of a second princess, the queen Eleanor was di- vorced, and subsequently united to Henry Plantagenet, who by the alliance added Aquitaine and Poitou to his paternal inheri- tance of Normandy. From hence dates the rivalry between the kings of France and England. Louis died 1180, and was suc- ceeded by his son Philip, styled Dieu donne (the August), who shortly after his accession, entered upon the crusades, in company with Richard Coeur de Lion. The two mo- narchs passed the winter in Sicily, where the beginning of their future jealousy took place. Philip, on his rettrrn to France, attacked the English provinces, and Richard, after his escape from captivity, entered France to defend them. He was however pierced by an arrow as he entered the dominions, and left the defence of the provinces to his base successor, King John (surnamed Lackland). In the beginning of the war, the nephew of John, Arthur of Brittany, whom Philip stirred up to lay claim to the greater portion of the English territories, fell into the hands of his uncle, and was cruelly murdered by him; for this and other cruel acts, he was cited before the chamber of peers at Paris, but John, although he allowed the jurisdiction of the court, refused to appear; he was therefore stripped of all his French possessions, excepting the duchy of Guienne. In 1203, Touraine, Maine, and Anjou, were annexed to the crown; the duchy of Normandy in 1205, and the county of Poitou in 1206. About this period, the aristocracy was divided into the higher and lower nobility, and petty lords no longer ranked as the great dukes and counts : hence the order of the "pairs de Franc e," of which six were laics and six clerics. The six temporal, or laics, were the dukes of Normandy, Aquitaine, and Burgundy, the counts of Toulouse, Flanders, and Champagne; the clerics, or spiritual peers, were to consist of the Archbishop of Rheims, and five bishops. John next quarrelled with the pope, who claimed the nomination of the archbishopric of Canterbury, when England was placed under an interdict, and two years after John himself was excommunicated. The pope, to humble the 193 k A.D. 1206-14.] PHILIP WARS WITH ENGLAND. [§ 39. power of the king, who still retained his firmness, proposed to Philip of France the absolution of his sins, and the kingdom of England, provided he would rid the church of such an oppressor. Philip, therefore, leagued with the disaffected barons, and assembled a large army for the purpose of invasion. John now implored the protection of Rome, when the papal legate, under the plausible pretext of seeming England from the attacks of France, persuaded John to sur- render the kingdom into the hands of the pope, to swear allegiance to him as lord paramount, and afterwards to receive it back as a fief of the holy see, paying an annual tribute of 1,000 silver marks for the same. Philip was now forbidden to attack a kingdom which had been made a part of the patrimony of St. Peter, and therefore turned his arms against the Flemings. Otho, the German emperor, and the nephew of John, in alliance with him, resisted the invasion of Philip, whose fleet of 1,700 ships was surprised by the English fleet, consisting of 500 sail, and completely routed; 100 were burnt, and upwards of 300 captured, with the whole ammunition and provisions of the French army. This, the first great naval battle between the two nations, for a while compelled Philip to abandon the enterprise. In 1214, the rival armies met at Bouvines, when Philip, by the valour of his infantry, obtained a complete victory; Otho and Philip, however, narrowly escaped with their lives. In 1215, on the invitation of the barons, disgusted with the conduct of John, the crown of England was offered to the son of Louis, who for a short time was acknowledged as king of England. He however obtained possession of a very small portion of the country, and in less than a year after his arrival, was, on the death of John, deserted by the barons, and compelled to depart. Philip n. died 1223, and was succeeded by the feeble Louis vin., who however took Niort, and La Rochelle, with Poitou, from the English, who now only retained Gascony. He died, while carrying on the war of extermination against the Albigenses, in 1226, and was succeeded by Louis ix., under the regency of his mother, Blanche, of Castile ; which was chiefly employed in resisting the powerful barons of Brittany and Champagne, and carrying on the war against the Albigenses, terminated" by the acquisition of Languedoc. In 1259, a treaty was con- cluded by Louis with Henry in. of England, which confirmed the latter in the possession of the four provinces of Perigord, 194. § 39.] CRUSADES AGAINST THE ALBIGENSES. [1216 A.D. the Limousin, the Agenois, and a part of Saintonges, as fiefs. In return, Henry abandoned Normandy and PoitoU, and did homage as a peer of France, under the title of the duke of Guienne. The latter portion of the reign of Louis was employed in ameliorating the condition of his subjects, and in framing laws to repress the private wars of the feudal nobility. Duels or judicial combats were forbidden; and appeals from the local courts of the barons were encouraged, by which the lower and middling classes were protected from the injustice and oppression of the nobles. In 1268, the edict, termed the pragmatic section, was issued, which laid the foundation of the liberties of the Gallican church, and gave to the churches the right of electing their superiors, independently of the pope, and allowed church preferment and promotion to be carried on as formerly, without regard to any edict which might be issued from the papal see. The Crusades against the Albigenses in Southern France. The inhabitants of Southern France were greatly in advance of their countrymen in the north. They were foremost in civilization ; probably the result of their thriving commerce, and the superior municipal liber- ties which they enjoyed. The feudal barons of the south mingled more with the burgesses, than those of the north, and hence communicated to the middle classes not a little of the chivalrous spirit of the nobles. To this may be attributed their abhorrence of the dogmas and corruptions of the church of Rome. They were named Yaldenses or Albi- genses, and some sects were distinguished by the names Catharins, JPatarins, and Pauvres de Lyons. The chief counts of the Languedoc territory, or Southern France, were Raymond, count of Toulouse, and Raymond Roger, viscount of Beziers and Carcasonne. These nobles at least countenanced the Albigenses, being witnesses of their purity in morals, and their sincerity in devotion. The Count of Toulouse was reproached by the bishop of the diocese, and the papal legate, for not exterminating the heretics by fire and sword. The legate even excom- municated Raymond, and grossly insulted him in his own court, which led (as in the case of a, Becket) to the assassination of the legate, and so enraged the unscrupulous pontiff, Innocent in., that he issued a cru- sade against the count, and called upon the king, and all the nobility and prelates of France, to join in the Tioly war, promising them, at the same time, large privileges and indulgences, spoil, riches, and honours in this world, and final and certain salvation in heaven. At the same time, to arrest the heresy, a new order was instituted, that of St. Do- minic (friars inquisitors), who went about in pairs, first to seek out their prey, and then to destroy it. The army of 300,000 fanatics which invaded Languedoc, overcame the feeble courage of the count, who passed over to the crusaders, delivered up his fortresses, and underwent a public scourging in the church of St. Gillies. Count Roger also 195 k 2 A.D. 1216-26.] CRUSADES AGAINST THE ALBIGENSES. [§ 39. offered to make submission, but as this would probably hare ended the affair, by leaving the Albigenses wholly unprotected, and so prevented the punishment of the heretics, it was declined. Eoger now prepared to defend Beziers and Carcasonne. The former was first attacked ; but as the population was mixed, the Abbot of Citeaux (legate commander) was appealed to, to determine how the innocent were to be distinguished, from the guilty. "Kill them all," replied the christian (!) legate, "the Lord will easily know his own." Acting upon this advice, the crusaders, on entering the town, massacred the entire population, sparing neither woman nor infant. Upwards of 20,000 human beings were the first- fruits of this European crusade. On the fall of Beziers, the crusaders proceeded to attack the city of Carcasonne, to which place Roger had contrived to escape. Two attacks upon the city were bravely repulsed, when the legate, fearing the consequences of prolonging the war to a great extent, had recourse to trickery and perfidy. He offered the count and the barons of his army a safe conduct, on the surrender of the city, which was accepted. Eoger, with 300 of his retinue, presented them- selves before the legate, when he exclaimed, " Faith is not to be kept with those who are without faith," and ordered them all to be put in chains. The inhabitants of the city, forsaken by then' leaders, fled. A general assembly was now summoned by the legate, at which it was de- cided that Beziers and Carcasonne should be the reward of Simon de Montfort (earl of Liecester), the most forward and valiant of the cru- saders. To him also was committed the custody of Roger, by whom he was poisoned a short time after. Numberless executions, at the stake and on the scaffold, succeeded, the principal victims for which were supplied by the zeal of the Dominican friars. The repeated cruelty and barbarity practised upon the unoffending Albigenses, at length led the whole body of the Toulousans to revolt, and Peter of Arragon, the uncle of Roger, took the command. He, however, proved to be no match for Montfort, by whom he was defeated and slain at Muret. Montfort was now lord of all the county of Tou- louse, the city of which he seized for himself, with the whole of the territory, under the sanction of the Council of Lateran, 1216. He was acknowledged by Philip n., who received his homage as Duke of ]S"ar- bonne, Count of Toulouse, and Viscount of Beziers and Carcasonne. In 1217, the cruelty and violence of the unrelenting Montfort, produced another revolt of the Toulousans, who were headed by a son of the former count, young Raymond, who had, to the dismay of the papal see, considerably broken the power of Montfort, whose career was now cut short by death. A huge stone discharged from a mangonel on the walls of a town he was besieging, terminated his fanatical and guilty career. Montfort was succeeded by his son Amanry, who, being unable to defend himself against the house of Toulouse, was at last driven to offer the whole of Languedoc to Philip, which his age and declining strength alone compelled him to resign. In 1226, Amanry being signally defeated by Raymond, fled to Paris, and laid his posses- sions at the feet of Louis, who had succeeded Philip. They were accepted, and the office of constable promised him. The expulsion of Amanry also quickened the expiring zeal of the pope, who had a new crusade preached up against the Albigenses. Louis entered Languedoc 196 § 40.] ENGLAND UNDER THE NORMANS. [1066 A.D. at the head of a numerous army, and arrived at Avignon, the citizens of which refused to admit so vast an assemblage within her walls. Louis indignantly commanded the siege of the town to be formed, determined to be revenged. After a lapse of three months, during which he lost upwards of 20,000 men, either by disease and famine, or by the attacks of the Avignonais, the city capitulated, but on honourable terms. Lan- guedoc now became an easy conquest, but proved fatal to Philip, who died of an epidemy peculiar to the conquered regions. During the minority of Louis, under the regency of his mother, Blanche, the war again broke out, marked by atrocious cruelty on both sides. In 1229, Raymond was reduced to make an almost unconditional surrender of the whole of his territories : those situated in France devolved upon Louis IX., while those in Aries were claimed by the papal legate. A small fief allowed to be retained by the count for his support, was, at his death, to pass to his daughter, .whom he engaged should be allied to the brother of the French monarch. Thus the whole fell into the hands of the crown. III. For the Crusades of Louis v 1 1 . , Philip 1 1 . , and Louis ix. (the Saint), see § 34. §40. ENGLAND, 1066—1272. a. Under Norman Kings, 1066 — 1154. 1. William i. f 1057. r ; n Robert, 2. William II., 3. Henry I., Adelaide, duke of Normandy. f 1100. f 1135. married to Stephen, Matilda, count of Blois. married to || Godfrey Plautagenet, 4. Stephen, count of Anjou. King, f 1154. II 1. Henry II., f 1189. / ^ 2. Richard I., Godfrey. 3. John (Lackland), Cceur de Lion, f 1199. || t 1216. Arthur, || duke of Bretagne 4. Henry ill., 1272. (Brittany). 1. William the Conqueror (i., 1066—1087) was the fifth duke of Normandy in lineal descent from . Rolla. After the defeat of Harold at Semlac (Battle), he took Dofre (Dover) Castle, to secure a free communication with Nor- mandy, and gradually drew his troops round London, build- 197 1066-87 A.D.] ENGLAND WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. [§ 40. ing a place near the Thames for the shelter of his army (the Tower of London). In 1066 he was crowned at West Mynster, and was proclaimed rightful King of England. Seven years of active warfare, however, were required to subdue the oppo- sition of the Anglo-Saxons, and to place William in full pos- session of his kingdom, when the valiant Hereward made peace with the king, who soon after connived at his assassination. Sixteen Normans, however, fell by the single arm of Hereward before he expired. To secure himself in his new dominions, fortresses and castles were constructed throughout the country, and garrisoned by Normans ; and the lands and offices of trust, of which he deprived the Anglo-Saxons, were distributed among his followers. The land, which was confiscated on being subdued, was divided into 60,215 portions. To the clergy one-third was given, and to the barons one-half. Mili- tary service, however, was required of the ecclesiastics, no less than of the temporal barons. The remainder of the land was retained by the crown. To render the spoliation more com- plete, the Anglo-Saxon bishops were deposed on various pre- texts, and their revenues devoted to the rewarding of the Norman adventurers. William having settled the territorial divisions of the land, provided for the better administration of justice. He separated the ecclesiastical from the temporal courts, and freed the civil judge from the power and dominion of the ecclesiastical, making the compulsory operations of the latter to depend on appeals to the secular power. He enforced the laws against simony and the loose, immoral lives of the Soman clergy; and although grateful to the pope for the favours which were granted to him, yet he refused to acknow- ledge his supremacy, and maintained his independence, re- fusing even Hildebrancl the homage he demanded. In the reign of the Conqueror, the feudal system was at least com- pleted, if not first introduced into England. William became chief lord, but his authority only extended over his own domains. The lord who alone had any claim to the military service of the people of a district, was the only person who exercised any authority in it ; he could lead his vassals against his weaker neighbours, and was the guardian of his subordi- nate tenants : hence the disposal of his wards, male as well as female, in marriage, devolved upon him. The greater portion of the people was therefore in a state of abject dependence, if not of personal slavery. In 1087, William hastened to Nor- 198 § 40.] ENGLAND WILLIAM II., HENRY I. [1089-1106 A.D. mandy, to suppress the revolt of his son Robert, to whom he had promised the duchy, but had refused to surrender it. His horse having rushed into the burning ruins of the town of Mantes, he plunged so violently as to injure the king to such an extent, that, on his being carried to the abbey of St. Gervas, he died. 2. William n., surnamed the Red (Eufus), left Rouen immediately on the death of his father, and was pro- claimed king of England at West Mynster, by Lanfranc, who advised him to distribute the immense riches of his father, so as to repair, in some degree, the effect of his crimes. Shortly after his accession, a rebellion broke out among the new nobility of England, fostered by Robert, the brother of William, who had been excluded from the throne of England, and made duke of Normandy. William, alarmed, appealed to the English, who, having assisted him in quelling it, were rewarded with considerable concessions, and from this period began to make some progress towards their former position, as possessors of the soil. After an inglorious reign, marked by plunder and extortion, to support his sensual pleasures, and to enrich his favourites, he met with death accidentally, while hunting in the new forest. An arrow from the bow of Sir Walter Tyrrell pierced his breast, and killed him, 1100. 3. The younger son of the Conqueror, Henry I , surnamed Beauclerk, succeeded to the throne. Like his predecessors, he did not wait until the funeral obsequies had been performed, but hastened first to Winchester, to seize the yet unappropriated riches of the king, and then to London, to crush at once the few adherents of his elder brother, Robert, on a crusade in Palestine. Five days after the death of William, Henry was crowned, and on the following day issued a charter in favour of the Anglo-Saxons, declaring that "he would govern by the laws of King Edward, as altered of his father." To his feudal vassals he promised considerable relief; the cele- brated Anselm was restored to his primacy, and the church was again to possess its rights, while the wards within his jurisdiction were to be dealt with justly, and with equity. In 1106, Robert returned from the crusades, and being invited by some powerful barons, made a descent upon England, to wrest the crown from the hands of the usurper. A treaty, however, was signed, by which Robert was to receive Nor- mandy, and Henry to retain England. On the return of the 199 A.D. 1106-50.] ENGLAND STEPHEN, HENKY II. [§ 40. former to Normandy, he regretted his agreement, and gave utterance to some expressions which excited the anger of Henry, who invaded Normandy, and after defeating Robert at Tenchebrai, sent him a prisoner to England. He attempted to escape, when his eyes were put out by the command of Henry: he expired at Cardiff Castle, at the age of eighty years. Henry, to secure the succession to the throne in his family, procured the right of succession to the female branch of the royal house, and caused his daughter Maud, to whom he had given in marriage Geoffrey Plantagenet, to be acknowledged by the nobles and prelates of England, the king of the Scots, and Stephen, the earl of Boulogne, who took the oath of fealty at Northampton, and, on the birth of a prince, again at Oxford, 1133. Two years after, the king died in Normandy, of a surfeit, and thus concluded an unquiet reign of thirty- six years (1135). Stephen of Blois and Earl of Boulogne, although he had not the least title to the throne, hastened to London, and procured his coronation at West Mynster. He was, however, opposed by the Earl of Exeter, and King David of Scotland, on the part of Maud ; but vanquished both ; the latter, for the second time, at the battle of the Standard, at North Allertune (Northallerton). In 1139, a more formidable attempt was made on behalf of the queen, headed by the Earl of Gloucester, a natural son of the late king, whose army at length defeated Stephen at Lincoln, in 1141, and took him prisoner. Maud was then declared queen, but the triumph was short. Civil wars continued to rage, marked by rapine, murder, and sacrilege, until 1153, when, at a council held at Winchester, it was agreed that Stephen should retain the crown during his life, and that Henry, the son of Matilda, should be adopted as his successor. He survived this treaty only twelve months, and closed his tumultuous life in 1154. Under the four first Kings of the House of Anjou and Plantagenet. Henry Plantagenet, besides the throne of England, which he ascended without opposition, as the heir of his mother, pos- sessed Normandy, and held a feudal right over Brittany, and, by the death of his father, he succeeded to the territories of Anjou. In 1150, by his marriage with the divorced wife of the younger Louis (Eleanora), he became lord of Western France, from Flanders to the Pyrenees. Thus Henry pos- 200 § 40.] ENGLAND — HENRY II., BECEET. [1150-66 A.D. sessed far greater territories than his liege lord, who scarcely ruled, except nominally, over a tenth part of France. The first steps of Henry were those of a reformer ; he com- pelled the nobles created by Stephen, to restore to him the possession of the royal castles, and commanded the Flemings who had assisted that monarch, to leave the kingdom; and also restored the adulterated coin to its true value. The most memorable transaction of Henry's reign was the invasion of Ireland, for which he obtained the sanction of Pope Adrian, on condition of his collecting the Peter-pence for the papal see. In 1172, the provinces of Leinster and Munster were subdued, and fortresses and castles erected over the entire territory, which were garrisoned by Norman soldiers. A large portion of the land was presented by the king to Eobert Fitz Stephen, as a reward for his services, while Henry himself took the title of Lord of all Hibernia. In 1162, Thomas a. Becket was promoted to the archbishopric of Canterbury, when England was called upon to participate in that con- test between the papal church and the state, which had, for upwards of a century, destroyed the peace of central Europe. The clergy were independent of the secular arm of the law : their scandalous and atro- cious crimes, therefore, passed unpunished. Henry endeavoured to reform this state of things, and, after much litigation, procured the consent of the bishops, including a, Becket hi in self, to the effect that any clerk guilty of crimes shoidd be degraded, and handed over to the secular officers for punishment. To give the form of law to this agree- ment, a general council was held at Clarendon (1164), to confirm it in the shape of sixteen articles, known afterwards as "The Constitu- tion of Clarendon." A Becket soon after repented of this con- cession of the church, and did penance for it. Having been commanded to render an account of the rents and profits arising from the royal domains of Eye and Berkhamstead, he attempted to leave England, but was arrested, and afterwards arraigned before the barons, for offending against the laws of Clarendon. On sentence being pronoiinced, he at once quitted the council-chamber, and finally escaped to France, where the pope then was, at Seuz. After considerable litigation and violent proceedings on both sides, a pacification was entered into : a, Becket was to be restored to his see, and the statutes of Clarendon were passed over in silence. Thomas a Becket, however, did not as he was bound to do, remove the ecclesiastical censure from the prelates, which had been inflicted upon them for their adherence to their sove- reign. The Archbishop of York, and the bishops of London and Salis- bury, therefore went to France, to make complaints to the king. In the meanwhile, a Becket had excommunicated another servant of the king, for having formerly been opposed to him. On this reaching the ears of Henry, he exclaimed, " is there no one to deliver me out of my troubles !" This and similar expressions were construed into a com- 201 k3 A.D. 1166-99.] ENGLAND — HENRY II., RICHARD I. [§ 40. mand to rid him of the haughty prelate. Four knights repaired at once to Canterbury, in the cathedral church of which, while engaged in the evening vespers, he perished, before the altar of St. Bennet, uttering, as his last words, " To God and St. Mary I commend my soul and the church." The murderers fled to Knaresborough Castle, and afterwards did penance, by a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where they died, and were buried before the temple gate. Henry, who had not meditated the death of this extraordinary but unamiable man, sent an embassy to Rome, by whom he was compelled to swear allegiance to the holy see, and to promise restoration of all goods, and freely to pardon all the companions of the archbishop. These terms, and some others, having been agreed upon, the two nuncios appointed by the pope, absolved the king, and restored the country once more to peace. In the follow- ing year, a Becket was canonized as a saint, and Henry, to gratify the people, made a most humiliating pilgrimage to Ins tomb. In 1169 commenced a series of civil wars, consequent on the rebellion of the young princes, fostered by the incensed Queen Eleanor. At one time they were in a state of combina- tion, fighting against the king, their father, who had gene- rously raised them to the ranks of kings and princes ; and at another, maintaining a deadly conflict against each other. At length, on the final rebellion of his sons Eichard and John, aided by the French king and Eleanor, who, in male attire, headed her own army, the strength of the king gave way, and he died at Chinon castle, 1189. During the reign of Henry, England was divided into six circuits, which were to be visited by three itinerant justices, so as to render the distribution of the law easy to the appellant. The grand assize was also established, and the ordeal by fire, etc., abandoned. The trial by single combat, however, remained. Eichard (i.) Cceur de Lion (1189—1199) was rather a crusader than a sovereign, and his exploits are to be sought for, not in the history of his own country, but in that of Asia. He spent three years in the third crusade, and was two years confined a prisoner in Austria. In 1194, after a mock trial, the only object of which was to extort a heavy ransom, the Emperor Henry VI. released his prisoner, who landed in England, to the great joy of all his subjects. Eichard, on his liberation, found that his brother John, sup- ported by Philip of France, had filled England and Normandy with commotion : hence Eichard was immediately plunged into a war for the recovery of Normandy, of which province one town (Eouen) at least remained. The faithless John sheltered himself in Ervreux. Eichard fought with his usual bravery and success against his enemies; but at length fell by the 202 § 40.] ENGLAND — JOHN — MAGNA CHAETA. [1199-1215 A.D. arrow of Bertrand de Gourdon, before the castle of Clialuz Chabrol, the feudal residence of one of his rebellious vassals, in the Limousin, 1199. John (Lack-land) ; 1199— 1216.— On the death of Richard, there were two rivals for the English crown: John, the eldest brother of the late king, and Arthur, the son of Geoffrey (deceased), the elder brother of John. The English provinces in France, excepting Normandy and Guienne, were in favour of Arthur, who was compelled to take refuge at the court of Philip, by his uncle John, who possessed himself of the royal treasures, and despatched the primate Herbert to England, to obtain for him the support of the barons. He was crowned at West Mynster, having been, according to the words of the primate, elected by the nation. (For John's disputes with the pope, see § 39.) In 1213, in consequence of the attempts of John to crush the liberties of his sub- jects, which he had himself granted at the council of St. Albans, agreeably to the charter of Henry i., a confederacy was formed among the barons, headed by the Archbishop Langton. They met at St. Edmund's Bury, where they swore to withdraw their fealty, and to wage war against him, until their requests were granted. A petition was drawn up and presented to the king, who solicited time for consideration. Both parties, however, meanwhile prepared vigorously for war. After a short time, the city of London joined the con- federacy, and opened their gates to the followers of the barons. The pope interfered on his behalf, and issued his bull, which was, however, treated with contempt by the whole nation. John, at last, was deserted by all the nobility, and retired to Odiham, with only seven attendants. Under a promise of safe custody from the king, deputies from the barons were received at Staines, who agreed to meet at Runny Meide on the Trinity Monday following, where the armies of both parties encamped, and the conferences commenced. On the Friday following, the articles were drawn up, and reduced to the form of a charter, in which state it was issued as a royal grant (Magna Charta libertatum), 1215. To keep the faithless king in check, the city and fortress of London was to be retained by the barons, until all things were finally arranged ; and twenty-five barons were appointed as guardians of the liber- ties embodied and expressed in the charter, with full powers to make war on the king, upon the breach of any one of the 203 A.D. 1216-27.] ENGLAND HENRY HI. [§ 40. articles contained therein. John felt indignant at being com- pelled to submit to such humiliating conditions, and obtained the help of the pope, who absolved him from his oaths, and excommunicated the barons, whom, in the bull, were declared to be worse than the infidel Turks. John, having obtained a large army of German mercenaries, overran the country. The barons, in their distress, sought aid from France, and offered the crown to Louis, the son of the French king. The death of John at Newark, however, closed the troublous scene, and put an end to the opposition of the barons, and the hopes of the French monarch, whose son was soon after completely deserted, and took his departure from the English shores. 4. Henry in. (1216 — 1272) ascended the throne, and was crowned at Gloucester, in the tenth year of his age, the Earl of Pembroke taking the government of the kingdom. Louis, the son of the French monarch, kept the field against Pembroke for some months. Eobert Fitzwalter, and other barons, considered themselves bound to assist the French prince ; and it was not until after a terrible conflict in the streets of Lincoln, between the troops of the regent, and those of Louis and the confederate barons, that he took his departure. Peace being restored, the great Pembroke attended to the civil welfare of the kingdom, and extended the provisions of the charter to Ireland, and enforced its observance in every county of England. He died 1220, and was succeeded in the regency by Hugh cle Burgh, a cruel baron of the then old court fac- tion, or favourers of the late King John. In 1223, a bull from the pope was obtained, declaring the young prince competent to exercise the royal authority; and about the same time the confirmation of the great charter was demanded: it was, how- ever, opposed. In the year 1225, on the final loss of Port Eochelle, a council was held at West Mynster, to decide upon the raising of a subsidy to defray the expenses of an expedi- tion into France, that the patrimonial possessions of the pre- lates and barons might, if possible, be regained. The barons, who had demanded the renewal of the charter, resolutely re- fused, until the grievance was redressed. Hence, soon after, the great charter was re-established by the council, and the subsidy was collected throughout the kingdom. Eochelle, however, was not retaken. In 1227, the parliament (and the pope, for the second time) declared the young king eligible to reign. De Burgh had become unpopular, and Henry, who 204 § 40.] ENGLAND HENRY HI. [1230-65 A.D. endeavoured, on the accession of Louis ix., to regain the French possessions, returned, in 1230, disgraced and van- quished. On his applying to the council for another subsidy, necessary, as he alleged, in consequence of the expenses of the war, but really occasioned by his extravagance and prodi- gality, the assembly refused, declaring, through the Earl of Chester, that the barons were suffering from the same causes as himself. De Burgh was succeeded by Peter, the bishop of Winchester, a bold, intrepid prelate, who, on his elevation, promoted his countrymen of Poitou, and so offended the nobles, that they refused to attend the council when sum- moned. He soon lost the royal favour ; and his fellow-country- men were commanded to leave the kingdom. In 1236, Henry was married to Eleanor of Provence, and foreign favourites again occupied the higher offices of the state. His exactions from the parliament became more frequent; the towns and cities were taxed contrary to the provisions of the charter ; and the oppressed Jews were occasionally massacred, and fre- quently imprisoned, to furnish supplies of money for the sup- port of the extravagancies of the king. These, and other iniquitous proceedings, were, at length, put an end to by the parliament holden at Oxford, 1258, when twenty-four barons were appointed to redress grievances, and reform the state. Knights were also elected to inform the parliament of the breaches of the law committed in their respective counties. This government existed many years. In 1262, Henry en- deavoured to release himself from its obligations, but was pre- vented by the young Prince Edward, who was determined to act with integrity. The collision between the king and the barons, who were headed by Simon de Montfort, led to an appeal to Louis of France, who pronounced for the liberties of the charter, and the restoration of all royal rights and posses- sions to the king. The barons were not satisfied with a deci- sion which provided only a temporary, not a substantial, relief, and therefore again armed against the sovereign (1265). The military genius of Edward now appeared, and brought two successive victories to the royalists. London was taken, and the inhabitants slaughtered. At Lewes, however, Leicester triumphed, and the king and his valiant son were taken pri- soners, and compelled to transfer the government of the king- dom upon Leicester and Gloucester. Edward, however, con- trived to escape, and again joined the royalist army. In 1265, 205 A.D. 1265-72.] ENGLAND — HENRY HI. [§ 40. the baronial army, and that of the royalists, met at Evesham, when the great Leicester was surrounded and slain, in the vain endeavour to rouse the valour of his army, the lines of which had given way. They were defeated with great slaughter, and the power of the barons completely destroyed. The followers of the illustrious Leicester were proscribed, and their lands confiscated. The Earl of Gloucester soon after laid down his arms, and Edward entered the Isle of Ely as a conqueror. On the peace of the kingdom being restored, Edward engaged in the crusades, and the remaining years of Henry were spent in acts of little importance: he died, 1272. On the loss of the English possessions in France, the national hatred between the Saxons of England and the Normans of France, gradually disappeared, and those foreign elements with which the minds both of the nobility and the people had been imbued, began to subside, and slowly to manifest itself in efforts on behalf of constitutional freedom, or the true development of the national English character. The great charter wrung from the faithless King John, checked, at the same time, the arbitrary rule of the sovereign, and the imperious rule of the feudal nobility, while it at the same time secured great immunities to all tho burghs and cities throughout the kingdom. Aids and subsidies could not be raised but by the consent of the council, which was, however, not a representative body, but an assembly of the prelates aud greater barons, assisted by the immediate tenants, or fiefholders, of the crown. No freeman could now be imprisoned, or otherwise punished, without a trial by his peers. During the troublous but eventful reign of the third Henry, the charter proved an invaluable shield against the unjust demands of that prodigal sovereign. On several occasions did the par- liament refuse to accede to his requests, until the king had promised to be bound by the great charter. At length, on the frequent breaches of the king, four barons were elected by the assembly to watch over the judicial affairs of the land, and the expenditure of the revenue. Two judges and two barons of the exchequer were appointed, beside others, and these were also to be independent of the crown. Thus early was a parliamentary control over the supplies exercised, and the appoint- ment of advisers, or ministers, of the crown established. In 1258, a still more important step was taken, when twenty-four barons were elected to watch over the affairs of the kingdom, and to reform the state, under the parliament, which was to consist of four elective knights from each county. Thus a nearer approach to that popular a dmi nistration which followed, in 1265, was effected, when writs were issued requiring the sheriffs of counties to elect and return two knights for each county, two citizens for each city, and two burgesses for every burgh in the county. Thus a permanent assembly was established, capable of checking, at the same time, the unjust tyranny both of tho sovereign and the nobility. This new constitution of the assembly by Simon de Montfort, is supposed, by some, but without sufficient reason, to have been made for the purpose of ingratiating liimself with the 206 § 41.] MOHAMMEDAN SPAIN. [1140-1212 A.D. lower orders. But, be this as it may, he has immortalized his name by the constitution of an assembly which has ever since been found the best for the government of a free country, and made the model of all the rest which have been established. It was the first exhibition in recent times of the fusion of monarchy, nobility, and democracy. § 41. SPAIN. Arabian or Mohammedan Spain. J u s e f , the Arabian prince of the Mohammedan states of Spam, continued to reign, in comparative tranquillity, until his death, at the advanced age of 100 years, when he left his kingdom to A 1 y, his son, who almost immediately com- menced a war against the Christian states. His authority was not, however, firmly established, and on the rebellion of the Meliedi in Africa, he had to retire from the invasion of Castile, and to make peace with the insurgents of Cordova, who had revolted during his absence. On passing over into Africa, he was unsuccessful. His armies were constantly de- feated by the generals of the Almohade caliph, whose emis- saries also overrun the Mohammedan possessions in Spain, ex- cepting Granada. At length, Aly died of vexation, and his son Taxfin, after a gallant resistance, was compelled to fly (1146). Abdelmumen, the princeof the Almohades, of Marocco, put all the royal family to death, and the Almoravides were compelled to take shelter in the Balearic Isles. Arabian Spain was now united with Marocco. In 1163, Abdelmumen died. Abdelmumen was the reviver of science and literature : he was a proficient in jurisprudence, mathematics, and medicine. He was, how- ever, greater still as a philosopher ; he translated Aristotle, and was a voluminous writer on the peripatetic philosophy : hence his surname of commentator. J u s e f succeeded his father, Abdelmumen, and was slain while before Seville, which was besieged by mistake, in lieu of Lisbon. Jacob, his son, who was in Africa, in 1195, entered Spain, and conquered Alfonso at Alarcos. Abdallah followed, and began his reign brilliantly. He subdued the Almoravides in the Balearic Isles, but was signally defeated by the com- bined armies of the kings of Castile, Arragon, and Navarre, in the plains of Tolosa, near Ubeda. Sixty thousand Moors were taken prisoners, while 100,000 were left dead on the field of battle. Mohammed Abdallah fled to Marocco, where he died, 1212. His successors, a feeble race, allowed the 207 A.D. 1230-1302.] MOHAMMEDAN AND CHRISTIAN SPAIN. [§41. Christian kings of Castile and Navarre to wrest from them nearly all their possessions. The little kingdom of Granada remained yet in the hands of the Almohadites. Waits t or kings, as numerous as the chief cities, had established them- selves over the whole of the remaining Mohammedan do- minions. In 1230, the last Almohade candidate for sove- reignty died, and left his dominions to the Prince of Jaen, who founded the kingdom of Granada, the last bright relic of Mohammedan Spain: he died, 1248. To Mohammed, Granada was indebted for great prosperity ; he pa- tronised the arts and sciences, adorned the cities with baths, fountains, and palaces, the most splendid of which, the Alhambra, was left unfi- nished at his death. The schools and hospitals he visited personally, and gave audience to all classes of persons indiscriminately. He caused the land to be artificially irrigated, and thus extended the science of agriculture, while the labours of the loom surpassed those of Asia. Gold and silver mines were opened, and extensively worked, so that the people of Granada during his reign, Christians no less than Moslems, were the most numerous and prosperous of the whole of the peninsula, if not of Europe. Mohammed ii. was a feeble prince. Civil wars engrossed the whole period of his reign; the Christians of Castile, and the Moors of Granada, being engaged in a conflict against the Christians of Portugal and Arragon, and the Moors of Marocco, who supported the aged Alfonzo against his son, the usurper Sancho the Brave. In 1282, Mohammed broke off his alliance with Sancho, who soon after turned his arms successfully against his late ally. On his sudden death, 1295, Mohammed recovered his losses, and concluded a peace. In 1302, he died, and was succeeded by his son, Mohammed in. 2. Christian Spain (see § 33). During the period in which the above events took place in Arabian Spain, Christian Spain, which embraced the kingdoms of Navarre, Arragon, Leon, and Castile, were constantly engaged in warfare, either against each other, or against the Moham- medans, from whom several fine provinces were wrested ; as Cordova, Murcia, and Seville. To these wars against the Moslems is to be attributed the formation of the several religious and military orders, which were distributed over the whole of the Christian portion of the peninsula. The most ancient was that of Alcantara (1158), the offshoot of the order of Calatrava (1156). The order of St. Jago de Compostella (1161) was composed of a number of dissolute prodigals, who had dissipated their hereditary fortunes in profligacy, and turned robbers ; to expiate their crimes, they dedicated the rest of their lives to the service of the church, against the unbelievers. They 208 § 42.] GREEK EMPIRE UNDER THE COMNENI. [1057-81 A.D. wore a decoration, consisting of a red cross in the form of a sword, while the former order wore a red cross also, in the form of the lily. The orderof Montesa (1317) took the place of the Templars (see p. 163) in the kingdom of Arragon. The kingdoms benefited by the exertions of the chivalrous knights of these orders were Castile and Leon, which were united into one for seventy-three years, from 1157 to 1230, and considerably enlarged by the conquest of nearly all the Moorish provinces. Navarre was in 1284 added to France, and Valencia, the Balearic Isles, and the county of Barcelona were annexed to Arragon, the former by conquest, the latter by the marriage of Count Berenger with the heiress of the sovereign of Arragon, his former ally against the Mohammedans. The new kingdom of Portugal, in 1253, wrested from the Moors the valuable province of Algarbe. §42. THE BYZANTINE (G-EEEK) EMPIRE. 1. Under the Comneni and Ducas (1057 — 1185). The Byzantine empire still formed the chief bulwark of the Christian world in the East. It stood firm against the attacks of the Arabs, and resisted the aggressions of the power- ful Seldjukian Turks, who were established in the very heart of the Minor Asia. The Macedonian line of regents having occupied the throne two centuries, the soldiers raised one of their companions in arms to the throne, in opposition to Michael vi., — Isaac Comnenus, a man belonging to one of the most noble families in the empire. Michael soon after resigned, and Isaac, having ruled for two years, justly and vigorously, retired to a convent, oppressed with bodily infirmities. His successor, Constantine Ducas, a friend of the house of Comneni, next assumed the purple, but although an upright monarch, was no warrior, and therefore not able to compete with the Turks, now ravaging the empire. At his death Constantine left the empire to his wife (Eudocia), in trust for his three sons, on condition that she remained unmarried. In less than seven months, however, she married and raised to the throne Eomanus Diogenes, a man of noble mind, and great military talents. In a war against the Seldjukian Turks, being betrayed by the nobles, he was defeated, and taken prisoner by the sultan, who treated him with the greatest respect, and soon after restored him to liberty. On his return, he found the empress imprisoned in a convent, and the usurper, Michael vn., seated upon the throne. On endeavouring to regain the sovereignty, he was treacherously betrayed into the hands of Michael, who had his eyes put out, and afterwards threw him into a prison. 209 A.D. 1081-1204.] BYZANTINE, OR GREEK EMPIRE. [§ 42. During the period of the above transactions, the greater portion of Asia Minor had been seized by the Seldjukian Turks, under Sulliman, who erected the sultanate of Eum, or Iconiuru, and Lower Italy also had fallen into the hands of the Normans. On the re-accession of the house of Conineni, a new order of things commenced. The three emperors of this dynasty, Alexius C o m n e n u s , his son, Kalo Johannes, and grandson, Manuel I., occupied the throne for 100 years (1081 — 1180). The first mentioned considerably en- riched himself by the passing over into Asia of the numerous crusading armies, and each in turn bravely defending the frontiers of the empire against the Seldjuks in the east, the Normans in Lower Italy and Illyrium, and the Petchenejuns and Cumans in the north, besides the intestine struggles, and numerous conspiracies, which took place with the em- pire itself. Manuel n. handed down the empire in an unimpaired state to his son, Alexius n., a minor, who, after reigning two years, was dethroned, and cruelly put to death by his treacherous guardian and relative, Andro- nicus, who, in his turn, after a cruel reign of two years, was put to death, in an insurrection raised against him by Isaac Angelus, a collateral relative of the Comneni, who had once been given over into the hands of the executioner, to suffer a violent death, in opposition to the united voice of the populace. 2. Under the House of Angelus, 1185—1204. The weak Isaac Angelus was unable to quell the insurrection of the Bulgares, or to prevent their assuming an independence of the empire; he also lost the important island of Cyprus. In 1194, he was dethroned and blinded, by his brother, Alexius in., and afterwards thrown into prison. His son Alexius, sought the aid of the Venetian and French crusaders, who engaged, under certain considerations, to restore the throne to his father. Constantinople fell; Isaac was taken from prison, and his son, Alexius iv., seated on the throne (see page 156). Isaac and Alexius were soon after murdered by the adverse party, and, under the pretext of avenging their deaths, the crusaders, under Count Baldwin, took the capital, and divided the empire among themselves, and thus established the Latin Empire (1204 — 1261), which proved an abor- tive attempt to transfer the learning and rude manners of the 210 §§ 43, 44.] ARABIANS — MONGOLS. [1258-69 A.D. West to the then more civilized and cultivated countries of the East. For an account of the foundation and extinction of the kingdoms and states erected by the Latins, and the empire of Nicasa and Trapezunt established by the princes of the house of Paleologus (see page 157). §43. THE ARABIANS. The caliphat of the Abbasides was put an end to in 1258 by the Mongols, who besieged Baghdat, the only city remain- ing in the possession of the caliphs. The "city of peace" was taken by treachery, and after being plundered for forty days, during which 200,000 princes were slaughtered, the fifty- sixth successor of Mohammed was sewn up in a cow's hide, and dragged by the barbarous conquerors through the streets of the city. All their forts were seized, and the sect of the Assassins destroyed. Hakim, one of the princes of the house of Abbas, however, contrived to escape to Egypt, where he was kindly received by the Sultan Bibers, who appointed him a residence at Cairo (Cayhir), where he exercised spiritual supremacy only. Here his descendants were sup- ported by the bounty of the Mameluke sultans, until the conquest of that country by the Turks, 1517. Of the African Dynasties, the Aglabides and Edrisides during the preceding period had become extinct, and the Eatimides in Egypt were overthrown by Noureddin (comp. page 154). The Marabethes, who had founded the caliphat and city of Marocco, and conquered southern Spain, were expelled by the Almohades, whose supremacy also ceased, 1269, when the whole of Africa fell into the pos- session of the three dynasties of the Abu Hassians, the Merenides, and the Lianides. §44. THE MONGOLS. The Mongols, or Moguls (a nomade race), closely connected with the Huns, inhabited the great steppes and plains lying between the south of Siberia and the desert of Gobi, as far as the greater Bucharia, or the country between Eastern Turkey and Bucharia. They are generally confounded with the Tartars, but they differ so widely from the Tartar race, both in their appearance and manners, as well as in their religion, and political institutions, that there is every reason to 211 A.D. 1206-37.] MONGOLS, GHENGHIS KHAN. [§ 44. conclude that they form two distinct nations. The Mongols owe their elevation to their first Khan, Ghenghis, whose exploits were against the chiefs of other hordes. Emboldened by success, he undertook to conquer the world, and at an assembly of the chiefs, whose government was absolute and hereditary (1206), he was elected Tschinghis, or Ghenghis Khan (most great emperor, or khan of khans). The mongols raised their hands, and swore to follow their leader, even to the end of the earth. Ghenghis broke up the encampments on the banks of the Onon and Kerlon (the scene of the election), and first subdued the two empires of the Tartars, that of the Kin in Eastern Tartary, and in Northern China, and that of the Kara Kitai in Western Tartary, whose capital was Kasehgar. He next proceeded against the powerful monarchy ruled over by Mohammed, the sultan of the Chowarezmians, whose dominions extended over nearly the whole of Persia (to the Caspian) and Hindostan, or India. The army of 400,000 brought into the field by the sultan was defeated, and Ms country, after six campaigns, completely subdued. The country adjacent to the Caspian being already conquered, the territories of the Russians were invaded. The Grand Prince of Kiov, and other princes, combined, and met the Mongols on the banks of the Kalka, when they were signally defeated, and put to flight (1224). In 1227, after having subdued the whole of Tangut, Ghenghis died, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, not however before he had given the Mongol nation laws and regu- lations, by which they were to be governed by his successors. The sons and grandsons of Ghenghis, followed him in his career of victory. The armies of Octai were despatched from central China, in which country three of the sons of Ghenghis had fixed themselves, into the Corea, and the countries north of the Caspian. The khans of Khaptchak, or Kiptschak, were con- quered, and the celebrated Grand Duke Nevski, the conqueror of Livonia, was vanquished, and compelled to escape to Poland (1237); Moscow and Vladimer were razed to the ground, and the whole territory resembled a vast desert. Batu and Gayuk (the grandsons of Ghenghis) pursued their conquests. The battle of Sehiedlow was fought, and Krakow was burned; Silesia and Moravia overrun and devastated ; Hungary, after a brave resistance on the part of Bela, was wholly subdued, and Breslau was committed to the flames. The whole of Europe trembled at the approach of the barbarians, who 212 § 44.] Mongols. [1237-58 a.d. seemed just on the eve of accomplishing the designs of their great predecessor, Ghenghis. The German emperor and the pope summoned all Europe to combine against the barbarians ; hence a large army assembled, under the command of the Silesian duke, who met the Mongols near Lignitz. The battle was lost, and the duke was found among the slain. This, the most sanguinary battle ever fought in Europe against the Orientals, is named the Wahlstatt (battle field), 1242. The Mongols who had been engaged in the battle now directed their steps towards the south. They were met by the Bohemians, on their way through Moravia, at 1 m u t z, and defeated with considerable loss. Batu escaped with the remnant of his horde to Hungary, and being joined by the other hordes, from which he had been separated, once more attacked the Austrian dominions. A numerous Christian army, under Wenzel of Bohemia, and the dukes of Austria and Carinthia, however, opposed and defeated them. The intelligence of the death of Octai, khan of China, whose son had ascended the throne, induced them to abandon their conquests, and to return to the East, laden with an immense amount of spoil. Poland, Hungary, and the western countries of Europe, were thus saved, but the grand duchy of Vladimer, embracing northern and eastern Russia, was tributary for upwards of two centuries. The Khan Hoolugoo, undertook the conquest of Baghdat (see § 43). The native country of this people is found to be nearly the same as that occupied by them at the present day. They were ruled over by a great khan, resident at Pekin, who was elected by the inferior khans. The most powerful were the khans of Khaptchak, on the Wolga, and the Jagatai, or Dschagatai, in Turkestan. 213 A.D. 1273.] GERMAN EMPIRE RUDOLPH OF HAPSBURG. [§ 45, Fourth Period. From the termination of the Crusades to the discovery of America, 1273—1492. A. The West. §45, THE GERMAN EMPIRE. 8. Kings of different Houses, 1273—1347. 1. Rudolph of Plapsburg, 1273—1291. Germany, from a mighty empire, giving laws to the other countries of the West, had at last sunk into contempt. Its crown, so far from being an object of ambition to the great feudal nobility of its own soil, could scarcely find a wearer, even among the princes of foreign lands. The internal wars which existed during the whole of the twenty years interregnum, which followed the death of Frederick II., had entirely weaned the princes of foreign lands from coveting the crown of the empire, while they on the other hand, had created a general feeling in the minds of the electoral princes, no less than in the people at large, in favour of a native prince. Formerly, at the election of emperor, the question was, on which of the great houses shall the royal dignity be conferred ; but now, since the overthrow of the house of Hohen- staufen, the question at issue was, on whom shall the dignity rest ; the person, and not the house, was the consideration : hence the dignity was now sought after by the electoral princes themselves. The emperor elected did not, however, assume that commanding position, with respect to the other princes, which former emperors had considered themselves entitled to, from their hereditary rank ; for since the conces- sions made to them by Frederick II., which invested them with almost imperial dignities within their respective provinces, the royal dignity was deprived of a large amount of its revenues ; the feudal lands no longer depended upon the emperor, and dignities had become hereditary: feudal rights and obligations towards the sovereign, therefore, had to a great extent ceased. The relative position of the emperor, with respect to the churc h, too, was also considerably altered. The church, formerly, sought the interest of the emperor, as its defender and protector ; now the church had triumphed over the secular power, and wrested from it one of the chief means of its aggrandizement, which it retained for itself, in the disposing of preferments, and ecclesiastical dignities. The next year after the death of Richard (of Cornwall), in 1273, the diet of election was assembled at Frankfort, for the purpose of choosing an emperor. On the recommendation of Werner, the archbishop of Maynz, Rudolph, the count of Hapsburg and Kyburg, was elected, by the votes of all the elective princes, excepting that of the Duke of Bavaria, and the powerful Duke of Bohemia, who refused to attend personally, 214 § 45.] GERMAN EMPIRE — RUDOLPH OF HAPSBURGH. [1273-91 A.D. and whose representatives, not being allowed to take part in the election, remonstrated against the decision of the electors. On the unexpected news reaching Eudolph, he was engaged in besieging the town of Basel, the bishop of which had massacred some of the nobles of his family. Rudolph proceeded without delay to Aix-la-Chapelle, where he was crowned King of the Romans, 1273. Ottocar, the Bohemian duke, and Henry, the duke of Lower Bavaria, refusing to do homage for their fiefs held from the empire, were cited be- fore the assembly; neglecting to appear, their estates were declared confiscated. Henry soon after submitted ; but Ottocar still defied the emperor, summoned the vassals of the crown, and those of his own house, and invaded the Austrian dominions, which were soon reduced, while Carinthia, Carniola, and Styria, were subdued by the Count of the Tyrol, whose daughter had married Albert, the son of .Rudolph. The stronghold of Ottocar now was the firmly fortified city of Vienna, on the one side of the Danube, while the river itself was conceived to be a defence for him on the opposite bank, where his army was assembled. Rudolph, however, threw a bridge of boats across the river, to the utter dismay of the Bohemian king, who now submitted, and was compelled to give up the Austrian duchy, with all its dependencies. His possessions of Bohemia and Moravia were confirmed to him, and, to ensure peace and amity, intermar- riages took place between the sons and daughters of the emperor, and the Bohemian duke. The emperor, suspicious of his rival, remained in Austria, and was not long before he discovered the treasonable designs of Ottocar, who, after a short struggle, fell on the field of battle (Marchfield). Rudolph now possessed the opportunity of enriching his house, by the three duchies at his command, viz., Austria, Styria, and Carniola. Rudolph was too wise further to strengthen the princes of the empire, by dividing among them the vacant duchies; he therefore sought to aggrandize his own family, and to raise them to a rank in the empire equal to that of the other princes. Having obtained the consent of the diet, the emperor distributed the vacant duchies and lordships between his sons and his son-in-law, the Count Meinham, of Tyrol, who had Carinthia. The son of Ottocar, who had married Rudolph's daughter, had Bohemia, with the privilege of pretaxation, or rights of an electoral prince, which were now 215 A.D. 1291-98.] GERMAN EMPIRE ADOLPH. [§ 45. removed from Bavaria. The remaining years of the reign of Eudolph were occupied in subduing the predatory plun- dering of the barons, — a species of brigandage which was as destructive to the rights of commerce, as injurious to individual interests. He executed a great number of the noble plunderers, and demolished hundreds of their castles or strongholds, in which they sheltered themselves. In 1291, this vigorous and active monarch breathed his last, after a reign of eighteen years. Eudolph, the noble founder of the present house of Austria, was probably a descendant of the ancient dukes of Alemannia ; bis patrimo- nial estates were very limited, and bis revenues scanty, yet be did not, Hke most of the nobility of bis time, head a banditti, to rob and plunder the unprotected merchant or citizen. Rudolph's valour was displayed in con- tests with the barons, bis equals, whom be made to contribute to his wealth and greatness ; but chiefly in the wars against the Sclaves and Hungarians, in wbicb be hired himself and his little band of faithful fol- lowers to Ottocar, the Bohemian duke. He owed his elevation, how- ever, chiefly to the accidental circumstance of furnishing a military escort to the Archbishop of Maynz, whom he conducted to and fro from that city to Eome, a passage then highly dangerous ; the manners and con- duct of Rudolph, so won upon the mind of the prelate, that he deter- mined to advance his interests, and became his sincere friend. On the election, the archbishop procured the consent of his two spiritual colleagues of Cologne and Treves, and by promises of marriage with the daughters of Rudolph, the dukes of Saxony and Bavaria, and the Mar- grave of Brandenburg, were brought over ; hence the election of Rudolph of Hapsburg was secured, and that of the great and powerful Ottocar defeated. Rudolph, however, had to make large concessions to the church ; he resigned all feudal supremacy over the estates in Tuscany (Matilda's), the march of Ancona, the duchy of Spoletum, the kingdom of Naples, and the Roman duchy. He agreed never to interfere in ecclesiastical elections, and the appointment of bishops, and to allow the pope to settle the disputes of the church within the empire, if appealed to. These great concessions were a costly sacrifice of the interests of the empire for that of the individual, who sought to ag- grandize his house, and to enrich his family. From the condition of a poor baron, he rose to be one of the greatest emperors since the days of Charlemagne, and at his death, left has family in a condition not inferior to the greatest princes of the empire. The nobility, who were not ignorant of Rudolph's designs, refused to elect his son as his successor ; they thought the crown might even yet become hereditary, and this they were determined to oppose and to prevent, as they had done in the case of Ottocar, the Bohemian duke. 2. Adolph of Nassau (1292—1298). The Archbishop of Maynz having been entrusted with the votes of the electoral princes, to their great dismay, proclaimed a cousin of his own, 216 § 45.] ADOLPH, ALBERT I. [1298-1308 A.D. Adolph, who, by his concessions to the church, may be said to have purchased the dignity. In order to strengthen the interests of his house, he reclaimed the lordships of Idstein and Weilburg, and the estates attached to them ; the vacant mar- graviate of Meissen, with the East Mark, and Thuringia, he purchased of the landgrave, Albrecht the Degenerate, but his sons (Frederick with the Bitten Cheek, and Diezman) refused to ratify the agreement of their father, and kept pos- session of the territories. Adolph, incensed, placed the two brothers under the ban of the empire, by which measure they were excluded from the right of succession to the Thuringian provinces, which were afterwards claimed by the empire. To obtain forcible possession, Adolph invaded Thuringia on two occasions ; Meissen was overrun and subdued, and such were the atrocious cruelties committed by the emperor, that he became odious, even in the eyes of his followers. Albert of Austria, the son of Rudolph, and the expectant of the vacant throne, availed himself of the general disaffection, and as the emperor was now pressed for the fulfilment of the promises made on his election, and refused to fulfil them, the Primate of Maynz, his kinsman, joined the other electors in the interests of Albert, and summoned the emperor to appear before the diet: this he refused to do, and was condemned for contempt, and deposed; when Albert was elected. The rival emperors flew to arms ; but on coming to an engagement, at the battle of the knights, at Gelheirn, near Vv^orms, the feeble and sordid Adolph was slain. The Emperor Adolph was of a remarkably covetous disposition ; he had engaged at his election to surrender the Ehine dues of Boppard to the archbishopric of Maynz, and always evaded fulfilling the compact. He also received a large sum of money from Edward I. of England, to defray the expenses of an aggressive war upon the French territories of Philip, but he neither invaded France, nor returned the money which he had received. It is said by some, that he owed the loss of his throne to the indulgence of avarice, and that Pope Boniface viii. would not authorise a new election, until he had received a large sum of money, as a present, from Albert, the new candidate. 3. Albert i. of Austria, 1298—1308. The former election of Albert, during the lifetime of Adolph, had been opposed by the Primate of Treves, and the Count Palatine ; hence Albert, on the death of his rival, submitted to a re-election by the six electoral princes, which took place at Frankfort. Albert, like his predecessor, made large concessions to the 217 l A.D. 1298-1307.] GERMAN EMPIRE ALBERT I. [§ 45. church, chiefly to the dioceses of Maynz, Cologne, and Treves; but he proceeded much further, by granting such immunities and exemptions to the electoral and the great princes of the empire, that they were virtually independent princes, or sovereigns ; they were neither bound to obey the citation of the emperor, and, in some cases, not even compelled to assist him in time of war with an army. Albert, however, never intended to fulfil them, but to exert all his energies in the aggrandizement of his house, and, if possible, to render the German crown hereditary in his family; he was, however, unsuccessful. The first attempt of Albert was on the county of Holland, formerly possessed by William, the rival sovereign of Frederick n., whose grandson being now dead, the county was claimed by the Count of Henegau, a relative on the female side ; this claim Albert endeavoured to set aside, and placed the count under the ban of the empire. The expedition of Albert to the Netherlands, for the purpose of obtaining forcible pos- session of it, does not appear to have been successful. The emperor next revived the claims of the empire on Thuringia and Meissen, but his attempts to wrest it out of the hands of Frederick and Diezman were fruitless. Having refused to make the surrender of the domains and privileges solemnly promised by him at his election, the electors felt insulted, and indignant, and Albert was cited to appear before the Count Palatine, while the pope commanded his presence at Eome, to answer the charge of treason. Albert neither regarded the secular nor the spiritual power, but resorted to arms. In a short time he defeated the three ecclesiastical princes, and the Palatine count. Soon after, Boniface (who had excommunicated Philip of France), recognised Albert as king, and sought an alliance with him, promising him the throne of France, on condition that he conquered it from Philip, the enemy of the church. Albert refused to interfere ; and Boniface was soon after put to death by the hired assassins of Philip. The arms of Albert were now directed against Wenceslas, the duke of Bohemia, who died, 1305, and was succeeded by his son, Wenceslas v., who expired after a reign of only one year : the male • line of the Sclavonic princes in Bohemia was now extinct. The emperor accordingly bestowed the kingdom upon his son, Albert, as a royal fief. Albert soon after dying, Frederick, another son of the emperor, aspired to the dignity, and was partially acknowledged by the Bohe- 218 § 45.] ALBERT I., HENRY VII* [1307-8 A.D. mians themselves. The partizans of the Duke of Carinthia, however, opposed his election, and, on recourse to arms, the Duke of Austria was defeated, and Henrich of Carinthia was proclaimed king. Albert, disappointed in his endeavours to gain possession of Misnia and Thuringia, sought to erect another principality out of his great possessions in Suabia, Alsace, and Switzerland ; but the imperious conduct of the lieu- tenants, G e s s 1 e r and Beringer, whom he had placed over the three forest towns of Schwyz, Uri, and Unter- walden, induced the citizens to resist the annexation of their cities to the contemplated principality: hence they formed themselves into a confederacy, under Werner Stauffacher, of Schwyz, Walter F ii r s t, of Ottinghausen in Uri, and Arnold Melchthal, of Unterwalden, and thirty other confederates, including the celebrated William Tell.* The governors were surprised and banished, while their castles were razed to the ground. The deputies then entered into a league for the maintenance of their liberties for ten years, reserving, however, to the empire its proper rights. Thus was laid the foundation of the Swiss confederacy, which, as it was confirmed by an oath, was termed the Eidgenossen. Gessler, one of the bailiffs or cantons of the emperor, was shot dead by an arrow from the bow of Tell, while Laudenberg was seized by strategy in his castle of Sarnen, and expelled the country. Albert prepared for war, but whether to attack the Bohemians, on behalf of his son, Frederick of Austria, or to punish the free mountaineers of the three rebel cantons, is not certain. Duke John of Kyburg (Par- ricida), whom Albert had refused to invest with the dignities of his house, conceived the latter to be the case, and, to prevent the emperor from carrying out his iniquitous design, he resolved to be revenged. Accordingly he, with four other conspirators, met the emperor near the castle of Hapsburg ; they seized the reins of his horse, when his nephew exclaimed, " Will you now restore my inheritance," and immediately wounded him ; two * According to Kopp, there was no bailiff of the name, of Gressler oyer any of the cities of the Kreustnacht, and the historical tale of William Tell he considered a fiction, alleging that the Danes and Icelanders have a story or myth respecting the shooting of an apple from off the head of a child. L. Hausser, however, conceives that the historical existence of Tell can be fully proved, but thinks the patriotic deed consisted in his being the first to refuse to perform the act of obeisance to the hat erected by the bailiff. 219 l 2 A.D. 1308-13.] GERMAN EMPIRE HENRY VH. [§ 45. of the other conspirators joined in the nrarderons attack, and left the king weltering in his blood. The traitors fled, and 'with the exception of one (Wart), who was seized and broken on the wheel, died in obscurity and wretchedness. 4. Henry vn. of Luxembourg, 1308 — 1313. To prevent the hereditary succession of the crown, the electors refused to choose the Duke Frederick of Austria. While, to frustrate the election of Charles de Valois, the brother of Philip of France, the pope prevailed upon the Archbishop of Maynz, and the other princes of the empire, not to delay the election, but to proceed at once in their choice of a successor. Under the influence of the primate, their votes were given in favour of the Count of Luxembourg, the brother of the Primate of Treves, Henry viil, who signed a capitulation, by which the archbishopric of Maynz became an independent principality ; and Henry bound himself to consult the will of the pope in every important transaction. An opportunity of extending the influence of his house, in which he was more successful than his predecessors, soon presented itself. The Bohemians, disgusted with Henrich, the duke of Carinthia, whom they had chosen as their prince to the exclusion of Frederick of Austria, resolved upon his deposition. The sister of Wenceslas v. (Elizabeth), was taken from the convent in which she resided, and affianced to the young Prince John, the son of the emperor, who now made the duchy a fief of his house. Henry unwisely resolved to restore the supremacy of the empire over Lornbardy and Tuscany. He acted impartially between the Guelphs and the Ghibelines, and endeavoured to reconcile their differences; this, however, he found impracticable. The Guelphs were still the violent opponents of the German emperors; and on the departure of Henry from Lombardy, where he received the crown in the church of St. Ambrose (a new crown having been provided for the occasion, in the absence of the old one, which had been pledged), the Milanese and others began to prepare for war. Henry was glad to depart from Geneva, on board a Pisan fleet, with his soldiers. Robert of Naples opposed the citizens of Florence, who took up arms' to resist him. The Pisans, on the contrary, assisted him, and furnished him with galleys and crossbow-men, who accom- . panied him to Rome, where he was crowned, 1312. The city being in the possession of the Neapolitans, none of the soldiers 220 § 45.] LOUIS Vn. AND FREDERICK OF AUSTRIA. [1313-29 A.D. of Henry were allowed to enter, and the gates were closed during the whole of the ceremony. After his coronation, his German army grew weary of the campaign, and, for the most part, retired homeward across the Alps. Henry, however, nothing daunted, with an Italian army proceeded to Florence, but after a while retired without obtaining any advantage. He next appeared before Lucca, but retired towards Borne after leaving received reinforcements from his brother, the Primate of Treves, having heard that the Neapolitans were going to join the Florentines, and then to attack him. On his arrival at Buon-Convento, he was, after having received the commu- nion, suddenly seized with sickness, and expired, probably the victim of poison mingled in the consecrated cup. On the demise of Henry vn. of the house of Luxembourg, there occurred a clashing of rival interests. The Austrian house sought the elevation of Frederick, the son of Albert I. ; and Duke John of Bohemia, son of the late emperor, although he could not oppose the secular electoral princes, in seeking his own elevation, from their jealousy of an hereditary suc- cession, yet he, with the Primate of Maynz, and other princes, resolved to support a prince hostile to the house of Austria, and favourable to that of Luxembourg. Hence, on the diet assembling at Frankfort, two princes were elected: the Duke of Bavaria, Louis vn. (1313 — 1347), a supporter of the Luxembourg faction ; and the Duke Frederick of Aus- tria (1313 — 1330). Both were crowned kings of the Bo- mans; the former at Aix-la-Chapelle, by the Archbishop of Mentz; the latter at Bonn, by the Primate of Cologne. A civil war was the result. The Swiss, not having forgotten the insolence of the First Albert's lieutenants, and his own im- perious rule over them, resolved to oppose the Austrian interests. This drew down upon them the anger of Frederick, who hastened to be revenged. He was, however, signally de- feated at Montgarten (1315), as was also his brother, the warlike Leopold of Austria. He next advanced against his rival, Louis, whom he met between Muhldorf and Ettingen, in the Bavarian duchy. He was defeated, and, with Henry of Austria, taken prisoner by the great commander Schwepper- mann, who led the army of Ludovic. Frederick was confined in the castle of Fraunitz, where he was kindly treated. Louis having assisted the Ghibelines of Lombardy, which compelled the Guelphs to raise the siege of Milan, the pope excommuni- 221 A.D. 1330-46.] GERMAN EMPIRE LOUIS VII. [§ 45. cated and deposed him ; and the ecclesiastical electors endea- voured to set Charles of Valois upon the throne. This event, and the disaffection of John of Bohemia, who transferred his support to the Austrian house, led Louis at once to seek a reconciliation. Frederick was liberated on renouncing his claim to the empire. The princes and the pope opposing this arrangement, Frederick again surrendered himself, an act which Louis rewarded by engaging with Frederick to rule conjointly. This agreement was also objected to, when Louis suggested that he should make Italy the seat of his govern- ment, while Frederick should remain in Germany. Meanwhile the support of the Austrian house, Leopold, died, and not very long after, the death of Frederick took place, 1330. Thus Louis was left in full possession of the empire. The vindic- tive pope, however, resolved, if possible, to dispossess him, and placed it under an interdict. Louis, on the other hand, granted immense privileges to the house of Austria, conferring upon it also the duchy of Carinthia, and the county of the Tyrol. Louis next marched into Lombardy, in open defiance of the pope, and received the Langobardian crown. Proceed- ing thence to Rome, where he was crowned King of the Romans, he gave directions for the choice of an anti-pope (Nicholas v.). An imperial diet at Frankfort (1338) had declared that the pope held no temporal power ivithin the empire, and that the sovereign chosen by the electoral princes, became the legitimate sovereign without the confirmation of the pope ; and that all persons who supported the contrary opinion should be guilty of high treason. The emperor was authorised to remove the interdict which had been laid upon the empire by the pope. This resolution had been preceded by a league ratified at Rense, termed " The General Union of the Electors" which added, that on the refusal of the pope to crown, the ceremony might be performed by any of the bishops of the empire. The pontiff, Clement vi., however, disregarded these proceedings, and renewed the sentence which deposed the emperor, and exhorted the electors to proceed to a new election. Louis, who in some degree feared the curse of the church, became a humble suppliant for absolution, but it was refused; and the pope's ally, the Duke of Bohemia, now openly arrayed himself against him. This prince had been his silent enemy from the day that Louis presented the duchy of Carinthia and the county of the Tyrol to the mem- 222 § 45.] CHAELES IV. GOLDEN BULL. [1347-56 A.D. bers of the Austrian house. Under the auspices of the pope and the French king, the Duke of Bohemia was raised to the throne, 1346; and Louis expired in the midst of the troublous scenes which followed (1347). During his reign, Loui3 enriched his house by many valuable pos- sessions. 1st. On the extinction of the Ascanian house, he presented the mark of Brandenburg, as a fief, to his son Louis, to the exclusion of the collateral branches of Saxony and Anhalt. It was surrendered in 1373. 2nd. He added the Tyrol to his possessions by divorcing the Countess Margaret Maultash of Tyrol, from her husband (John of Bohemia), and uniting her in marriage with his son Louis, the mar- grave of Brandenburg, granting him a dispensation, because of the too close relationship of the parties. He also, 3rd, confiscated the counties of Holland, Zealand, Friesland, and Hennegau, as vacant or lapsed fiefs of the empire. The French interest, which was dominant in the empire at this period, was chiefly owing to the fact that the popes, who, with the car- dinals, were French, resided at Avignon, and were the tools of the French monarch : hence the hostility of the papal church to the pro- gress of constitutional freedom in Germany, and the treacherous con- duct displayed in their Italian politics. At length the pontiffs of Avignon, by their gross immoralities, dark intrigues, and boundless ambition, disgusted even the most zealous and faithful adherents of the papal church. Hence, to be further removed from French domination, Clement VI. exerted himself to fix the seat of the popedom again at Rome, and so terminate the " Captivity." Avignon, and the surround- ing country, was, however, first purchased, and secured to the holy see as a part of its patrimony. b) Kings of the House of Bohemia — Luxem- bourg. 1. Charles iv., 1347—1378. Charles of Bohemia had been elected king of the Romans twelve months before the death of Louis, and as he had obtained the dignity chiefly through the instrumentality of the church, he had been called upon at his election to sign a capitulation, alike disgraceful to himself and those electors by whom he was supported. Hence many of the princes now hesitated to confirm his election, and sought a rival in Gonther, the count of Schwartzenburg, who, however, was soon removed from the contest by death, — according to some, by poison, at the instigation of Charles, who now was firmly seated on the throne. The efforts of Charles were now directed to the internal administra- tion, in which he effected some remarkable and important changes. To remedy the disputes attendant upon the undetermined and ill-defined form of election to the imperial dignity which had hitherto been 223 A.D. 1356-77.] GERMAN EMPIRE CHARLES IV. [§ 45. adopted by the diets, lie issued, at the diets of Nurembiirg and Metz, held 1356, an imperial edict, termed the G-olden Bxxll (from the. golden seal appended to it). By this famous document — 1st, the num- ber of the electors was fixed, agreeably to ancient custom, at seven. Three of these were to be ecclesiastical princes — the archbishops of Mentz, Treves, and Cologne, and four secular princes — the duke of Saxony (who was, with the count palatine, to rule the empire during the absence of the monarch, or between the death of one and the elec- tion of another to the throne), the king or duke of Bohemia, the mar- grave of Brandenburg, and the comit palatine (of the Shine). 2nd. The right was to be exercised by those princes who held the high offices of the state, with which it was to remain inseparable. Thence, 3rdly, these dignities were made hereditary in certain families ; the duke of Bohemia was to remain grand cup bearer, the palatine count of the Shine grand seneschal, the duke of Saxony grand marshall, and the margrave of Brandenburg grand chamberlain. These again, 4thly, had their hereditary deputies, namely ; count of Limburg, the lord of Fiir- stemburg, the baron of Pappenheim, and the count of Falkenstein. 5th. One month after the death of any sovereign, the primate of Maynz was to summon the electors to meet at Frankfort, within three months, either personally, or by an accredited representative. The election was to be determined by the number of votes, and the consecration to take place at Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), by the archbishop of Cologne. 6th. The division of the glebe to which the electoral title was affixed, could neither be partitioned or alienated. The order of succession called agnate, was introduced with respect to these principalities : hence they, with the right of voting, passed from the father to the eldest son, or in default of male issue, to the nearest heir male of the family. 7th. The electoral princes ranked above all other princes of the empire, and crimes committed against them constituted high treason. 8th. They exercised in their respective principalities unlimited power, and neither in civil or ecclesiastical matters was there any appeal from then* deci- sions. 9th. The first diet of the sovereign was always to be held at Nwemburg. The energies of Charles were restricted to the aggrandize- ment of his hereditary kingdom, Bohemia : of the interests of the empire lie was totally regardless. By a series of iniqui- tous treaties, or family compacts, lie contrived to bring Bran- denburg, Silesia, Lusatia, and a portion of the Upper Palati- nate, into the possession of his family. In furtherance of his designs, lie laid the foundation of the first German university, that of Prague (1348), which soon numbered from 7,000 to 8,000 students. He cultivated the acquaintance of men of learning and genius, whom he invited to his kingdom. Legis- lation was improved, and the laws better administered; com- merce was extended, and the industry and prosperity of Bohemia promoted to the utmost extent of his power. In 224 § 45.] CONFEDERATIONS OF THE TOWNS, ETC. [1247-1388 A.D. 1377, Charles procured the election of his son Wenceslas, as king of the Romans, which was the height of his ambition. It was, however, dearly bought; 100,000 florins are said to have been paid for each vote, raised from the sale of the royal domains and revenues of the crown, and the granting of more extensive privileges to the imperial cities. Charles twice passed over into Italy; on the first occasion to be crowned, and on the second to maintain the supremacy of the empire. He also, through the interest of the Archbishop of Maynz, received the crown of Aries, but totally neglected the interests of his subjects, who were made the victims of his rapacity. Charles was succeeded by Wenzel, or Wenceslas, his eldest son. During the reign of Charles rv., the towns and cities rose into considerable importance, and obtained greater privileges and immunities than before. Large sums of money were indeed paid as the price of them, but then the grants or ad- vantages received were fully equivalent in value to the con- tribution. These free or imperial cities were exempted from all control from without; they were self-governed, and were perfectly free to form alliances, declare war, and make peace; while the right of settling their own amount of taxation was vested in them. From the imperial towns, which by their guilds and. corporations secured that protection which was necessary for the unrestricted progress of their commerce, sprung those confederacies and leagues for common protection which, during this period, were so augmented, and which had their model in that of Lombardy. a) Confederacies of Towns. — At the close of Charles's reign, the number had increased to five. 1. The German Hansa, now at the zenith of its greatness (comp. § 58). 2. The confederacy of the seven Frisian maritime districts, for the defence of their liberties against the attacks of the neighbouring princes. • 3. The Rhenish confederacy (of towns on the Rhine) against the oppres- sions arising out of the Rhine dues (1247), to which not only the towns on the Rhine, from Basel to Cologne, belonged, but also several important ones in other parts of the empire, as Nuremburg, Ratisbon, &c. 4. The Swiss confederacy, which was augmented by the addition of the towns of Lucerne, Zurich, Zug, Berne, and the canton of Glarus. 5. The Sua- bian confederacy, raised against the rapacity of Charles 225 i3 A.D. 1378-85.] GERMAN EMPIRE WENZEL. [§ 45. rv., who attempted to pawn or to sell their revenues, and Count Eberhard of Wirtemberg, who oppressed them. b) The Confederacies oftheNobilitv, formed to protect themselves from the attacks of the cities of the league, the inhabitants of which, after a while, became aggres- sors, and sallied forth from their walled towns, to demolish indiscriminately the castles and strongholds of the nobility, and to overrun their domains ; while they also encouraged the slaves to forsake their feudal masters, and take shelter in their towns. These leagues had their rise in Suabia and the Rhenish provinces, and soon extended to Saxony and Bavaria. Among them were the league of the Order of St. George (Suabia), and those of the Martin, the Lion, and the Falcon, &c. The nobles who formed those leagues against the towns and cities, endeavoured to maintain their feudal supremacy, and even to subdue the imperial cities : hence the empire was never at peace; and subsequently arose another confederation, which consisted alike of princes and cities. 2. Wenzel, or Wenceslas, 1378—1400 (1410). Wenceslas, by the will of his father, had Bohemia and Silesia, with the Upper Palatinate; and on the death of his uncle Wenzel, who died childless, he received Luxembourg. His brother Sigismund had the mark of Brandenburg assigned to him, to prevent the holding of two votes in the election by one prince. The third brother, John, became duke of Lusatia, and his two sons, Jodacus (John) and Procopius, had Moravia. The first ten years of the reign of Wenceslas were spent in endeavours to restore the peace of the empire and the church. For this purpose he made repeated attempts to unite the whole of the confederacies into one, that a general peace might follow throughout the empire ; and at a diet held in the im- perial city of Nuremburg (1385), he issued an edict com- manding a peace of twelve years. Twelve months, however, had scarcely elapsed, when the tranquillity of the empire was broken by the Austrian duke Leopold. He had purchased of the emperor, for 40,000 golden florins, the baillages of Feld- kirch and Fluding, with Augsburg, a proceeding which, as it brought the possessions of the Austrian house nearer to their frontiers, naturally created suspicions in the minds of the Swiss. Leopold having placed bailiffs in the cities, who severely oppressed them by their haughty demeanor and un- just exactions, an insurrection was the consequence. The 226 § 45.] WENZEL, OR WENCESLAS. [1386-1400 A.D. Swiss marched to Bothenburg, and destroyed several of the strongholds of the Austrians, and also admitted into its com- munity the Austrian districts of Entlibuch, Sempach, and Richensee. At length, Leopold himself arrived in Switzer- land, with 4,000 picked men, and resolved to crush the liber- ties of the rising cities. On approaching Sempach, the battle began, but the Swiss could not, at first, make any impression upon the close armed ranks of the Austrians. The heroism and self-devotion of Arnold of Winkelried, an Un- terwalden knight, however, opened a way for his countrymen, who rushed into the gap, and created a general panic in the Austrian army, which was totally routed. Leopold, and more than six hundred titled nobles, fell in the battle, besides up- wards of 1,500 men at arms. The loss of the Swiss was only 200 men (1386). The sons of Leopold continued the war, but they were defeated at Naefels, when the liberties of the Helvetic confederacy were secured (1388). Meanwhile, many of the inferior nobles joined the cities and towns, to preserve their domains from being despoiled ; while, on the other hand, the nobility formed counter leagues, and strengthened those which were already established. In 1388, the war between the nobles and cities again broke out. The Duke of Bohemia had wantonly attacked the imperial city of Salzburg, and seized the archbishop. South-western Germany was ravaged by the Suabian and Ehenish confederacies, who, however, proved too weak to withstand the powerful Count Eberhard of Wirtemberg, who defeated them at Dofimgen, and at Worms, with great slaughter. Wenzel now called a diet at Egerand, and induced the princes and towns to consent to a truce for six years, which he ratified. An imperial edict was also issued, which declared the recently-formed confederation dissolved. Four deputies from the nobles, and four from the cities, were now appointed to decide any disputes which might arise be- tween them, whose decision was to be final. The settlement of these measures again relieved Wenceslas from the cares of the state, and he retired to his kingdom of Bohemia, again to resume his accustomed habits of cruelty and debauchery. At length he became so odious to the Bohemians, that they rose against him, and confined him in a prison at Prague, from which he, however, escaped. On being again taken, through the influence of his youngest brother, John, he was once more restored to liberty. 227 A.D. 1400-1.] GERMAN EMPIRE RUPERT, OR ROBERT. [§ 45. That Wenzel cared little about the interests of the empire, was apparent from his conduct. He, however, did not neglect to withdraw large sums of money from its treasury, for the gratification of his passions ; and when these did not suffice, he pawned or sold the revenues of the imperial cities and towns, while he also received large sums from the sale of titles, and portions of the royal domains. The grievances of the nobility were therefore great. Wenceslas cared as little for his Italian as for his German subjects, and disgusted them also by his rapacious conduct. He, 1st, gave umbrage to the Germans no less than to the Lombardians, by the sale of the duchy of Milan, to Gian Galeazzo, of the house of the Visconti, for 100,000 florins. 2. He entered into an agreement with the French monarch, to effect the downfall of the Eoman pon- tiff, Boniface ix., the rival of the Avignon pontiff, Benedict xin. This excited against Wenceslas the revenge of the Arch- bishop of Mentz, who had obtained his dignity through Benedict; and he, with the two other ecclesiastical prelates, and the Count Palatine, assembled a diet of the princes at Oberlahnstein, who cited the emperor to appear before them, to explain the charges brought against him: on his neglecting so to do, the throne was declared vacant (1400). Rupert, or Robert, 1400 — 1410. On the deposition of Wenceslas, there were difficulties as to the appointment of a successor, not easy of removal. Wen- ceslas, the duke of Bohemia, and Sigismund, margrave of Brandenburg, the sons of the deposed emperor, jealous of each other, would not sanction their own degradation by the elec- tion of a prince not of their own house. The Duke of Saxony, perceiving that the electors were about to choose a prince obnoxious to him, refused to take any part in the proceedings. To prevent his manifesting active opposition by an appeal to arms, he was arrested. The choice of the electors fell on the feeble Count Palatine, Robert: thus, at this period, there were two popes and two German emperors. Robert's adminis- tration, notwithstanding his many good qualities, was unfor- tunate. He was neither able to secure the tranquillity of Germany, nor to restore peace in Lombardy, now virtually cut off from the empire by the iniquitous and unjust sale of the duchy of Milan to the Yiscontis. Robert, who had failed in an expedition against Bohemia, undertaken with the view of compelling Wenceslas to renounce his claims upon the empire, 228 § 45.] JOBST, SIGISMUND. [1401-14 A.D. passed tlie Alps, that he might receive the crown at Roine, and so render his position more secure. He also demanded of the Duke of Milan the renunciation of the title and the do- mains, and, with an army; endeavoured to compel him; but on his arrival, he found the cavalry of Milan more than a match for the heavy-armed German troops, and was forced to a hasty and disgraceful retreat, without being able to proceed to Rome (1401). In endeavouring to restore the prerogatives of the crown in Germany, he was opposed by the greater majority of the princes, who leagued against his encroach- ments, and were, in fact, the real sovereigns of the state. Robert was not more successful against the leagued cities and towns, which refused the subsidies required of them, and bid the armies of the emperor open defiance. At length the leagued princes, dissatisfied with Robert's government, met at Marbach, and openly declared for the Bohemian king, Wen- ceslas ; but his sudden and unexpected death averted the catastrophe of a civil war. On the demise of Robert, the electors were divided into three parties; one seemed to favour the cause of Wenceslas (who was at their head), alleging that there was a king already elected ; and the two other parties were for the legal deposition of Wenceslas, but disagreed as to whom they should elect, some being in favour of his brother, Sigismund, margrave of Brandenburg and king of Hungary, and others choosing rather to elect his cousin-german, J o b s t (Jodocus), mar- grave of Moravia. Thus there were for a time, three kings of the Romans. The death of the margrave, before his coro- nation, however, saved the empire from the horrors of civil war, and the party of Sigismund, being strengthened by the adherents of the margrave, the former was duly elected, and Unanimously acknowledged King of the Romans, Wenceslas, himself, also abdicating in favour of his brother. Sigismund, 1410—1437. The reign of Sigismund was marked by the beginning of several important affairs. 1. The wars between the heathen Poles and the knights of the German order, against the Venetians. 2. The Hungarian war, on the death of Wenceslas, against the emperor, whom that people refused to acknowledge. 3. The Lombardian struggle for independence, under their duke, Yisconti, and the Venetians, which occupied Sigismund until his coronation at Aix-la-Chapelle, 1414, and 229 A.D. 1409-10.] GERMAN EMPIRE SIGISMUND. [§ 45. terminated unsuccessfully. Aiter his coronation, lie proceeded to hold the council of Constance, called by him, and which was a sort of European congress, having for its object, 1st, The entire suppression of the Papal schism (the existence of three rival popes), and 2nd, The extirpation of heresy (the Hussites of Bohemia, Wycliffites). a) The entire suppression of the Papal schism. For upwards of seventy years the popes had resided in the city of Avignon, on the Rhone, and for the last forty years the cardinals, both of France and Italy, had each elected a pope. This schism, the council of Pisa (1409), was summoned to suppress. Gregory xii. and Benedict xni. were deposed, and Alexander i. elected in their stead, as the legitimate head of the papal church. After his death, John xxiii. was appointed as his successor, but as the two formerly deposed popes refused to resign, the evil was increased. There were now three rival popes, neither of whom, profiting by the existence of the schism, was anxious to give way. In the following year (1410), Sigismund convoked a general council, to be held at Constance, which the popes strenuously endeavoured to avert, but in vain. The council, in order to counteract the prepon- derance of the numerous Italian prelates, divided itself into four sections, according to the nations of which it was composed, namely, the Italian, French, German, and English, to which was afterwards added a fifth vote, that of the Spaniards; hence, each nation deliberated separately, and gave their votes in common, so that the general decision was taken, agreeably to the votes of the different nations, and not individually. This new system of voting sealed the fate of the Roman pope, John xxih., who was at once deposed. The two others being compelled to abdicate, Martin v. was elected as sole pope in their room, but as the Roman states were not yet subjected to the papal see, the residence of Martin was fixed at Florence. b) The extirpation of heresy. The writings of Wycliffe (the Oxford theologian), were directed against the monks and their establishments (Monachism), the supremacy of the pope, and transubstantiation, with other doctrines, levelled against the corrupt dogmas of the Roman Catholic church. These writings had been carried into Bohemia, by Jerome of Prague (Hierosnymus Faulfisch), and having been translated, were distributed, and created a great impression on the minds of several professors in the university of that city, 230 § 45.] PERSECUTION OF THE HUSSITES. [1414-15 A.D. among whom was the celebrated John Huss, confessor to the Queen of Bohemia. At this period, the Bohemian church was divided into two classes of theologians, the realists and the nominalists, which sects pervaded the whole of Germany, and whose'principal point of contention was the existence, or non- existence of abstract, or universal ideas. Besides this abstruse philosophical difference, the realists, who were Bohemians, had also a national antipathy to the German nominalists, who far out-numbered them, and possessed the dignities and revenues of the church. John Huss identified himself with his countrymen, and in spite of all the prohibitions of the Archbishop of Prague, who pronounced his sermons and discourses as pernicious and heretical, continued to inveigh against the errors of the papal church, especially against indulgences, purgatory, and prayers for the dead, devised only to enrich the dignitaries of the church. In 1414, Huss was cited to appear before the council, now assembled at Constance; and to secure himself against the malice of his enemies, procured a safe conduct from the Emperor Sigismund. On his arrival at Constance, the cardinals imprisoned him, nor was he released, even on the application of Sigismund, who complained of this violation of the imperial passport. On the arrival of the emperor to preside at the council, the hopes of Huss, who expected to have been liberated, were blighted; the emperor refused to interfere, and abandoned him to the will of the council. On the 5th January, 1415, Huss appeared before the council, but he had been condemned before he could be heard. Every art was tried in order to procure his recantation, but in vain; he was delivered over to the secular arm of the Elector Palatine, and condemned to be burned, without delay. He sung psalms amidst the flames, the smoke from which suffocated him, before the fire reached his body. The disturbances created in Bohemia by the death of Huss, did not deter the council from proceeding against his disciple, Jerome, who on the departure of the former from Prague, engaged to follow him to Constance, where he arrived (1415) shortly before he suffered martyrdom. A few days after the murder of Huss, Jerome was had before the council, and, previous to his second examination, was induced to retract his sentiments ; he was, however, unjustly detained in a loathsome prison. A few months after his recantation, he demanded a public audience of the council, when, with 231 A3), 1419-36.] GERMAN EMPIRE HUSSITE WAR. [§ 45. masterly eloquence, he denounced the act which had in his weakness been wrung from him, and declared his willingness to die in the defence of the doctrines of Wycliffe and Huss, the latter of whom he now regarded as a martyr and a saint.- On being brought to the stake, he was engaged, like Huss, in the chaunting of psalms and hymns, until the fire terminated his sufferings. c) Ee formation of the Church (in the head, and in the body). From the middle of the thirteenth century, the reform of the church had been loudly demanded by the laity; and at the close of the fourteenth, and the commence- ment of the fifteenth centuries, many of the cardinals, with a large number of ecclesiastical dignitaries, openly proclaimed that the reformation of the church' was necessary for its salvation. The council of Constance, not being satisfied with the measures of reform suggested by the Pope Martin v., separated, without effecting the desired changes. The pope, in order to meet the more pressing calls upon him, from the five nations, for reform, dealt with each separately, (with the exception of Italy), and granted concordats, which were to remain in force for five years; these concessions, however, were ineffectual, and did not obtain the general sanction of the church. On the appeal of the five nations to Sigismund, to compel the pope to hasten the work of reformation, the emperor severely replied, " I urged you, before the election took place, to procure a reformation: I have no power now." At this council, the solemn enfeoffment of the Burgrave Frederick vi. of Nuremburg, of the house of Hoken- z oil en, took place (1417), who had purchased of Sigismund the margraviate of Brandenburg, for 400,000 ducats, or Hun- garian florins (1415). The Hussite War, 1419—1436. Nicholas Hussinatz, the proprietor of the domains in which the martyr, Huss, had been born, resolved to avenge the fate of his vassal, and was appointed to be the leader of the Hussites. Accompanied by his followers, he demanded of Wenceslas, the Bohemian king, permission to seize some of the churches out of the hands of the Romanists, in which to celebrate Divine service according to the reformed church. The em- peror refused; and they assembled upon a mountain, where they built a town and fortress, to which they gave the name of Tabor: hence they were called Taborites. These, the 232 § 45.] WARS AGAINST TEE HUSSITES. [1436-7 A.D. most upright of the followers of Huss, elected as their military commander a valiant knight, John Zisca, and soon after, in consequence of a gross insult, they entered the council hall of Prague, and threw thirteen of the chief magistrates out of the windows upon the spears of the troops, and kept possession of the city, the fortress alone holding out against them. These acts of the Hussites so enraged the emperor that he soon after died of an apoplectic fit. Sigismund, who suc- ceeded to the crowns of Germany and Bohemia, carried on the war against the Hussites, especially in Silesia, where it was most sanguinary; and at last the emperor, with the flower of his nobility, and a vast army (160,000), appeared before Prague, resolving to extirpate them, but 12,000 of his troops having fallen in one engagement, a truce was ne- gotiated. The demands of the Hussites were reluctantly com- plied with, and Sigismund was crowned in the fortress of the city, which he soon after left* with his army, to resist the ag- gressions of the Turks. The suspension of arms, on account of the treaty, was short. The Hussites, however, were generally victorious, and the cruelties and excesses committed on both sides were incredible. Papal legates and German armies were alike vanquished. The battle of Deutschbrod proved more sanguinary than the assault before Prague. At last, worn out and mortified by his repeated failures, Sigismund resigned the Bohemian territory to Zisca, on condition of his holding it as a vassal. Zisca, now upwards of seventy years old, blind with both eyes, having lost them in battle, lived just long enough to receive the proposals from the emperor, when he died, 1424. On the death of Zisca, which was a source of grief to the whole body of the Hussites, there arose a party who, counting Zisca as their parental leader, formed the sect of the Orphans, and did not select another military leader. The majority, how- ever, termed from Calix (a cup), Calixtenes, chose as their chief, Procopius Easo, or the Great, who eventually included within his sphere of government the Orphans also. The wars of the Hussites began to assume an aggressive form. They made incursions into Hungary, Austria, Bavaria, and Saxony ; even Vienna was threatened with a siege. The emperor, and his ablest generals, were always beaten, although superior in numbers; and all attempts at negotiation failed. Their deci- sive victory over the Cardinal Julia, and 100,000 German troops, however, compelled the Komanists to be more yielding. 233 A.D. 1433-9.] GERMAN EMPIRE — -ALBERT II. [§45. The council of Basel, by its deputies, who met at Prague, was compelled to yield to their permission to receive the cup, under certain restrictions, and to celebrate Divine worship in the language of the people (1433). These concessions, however, were made only to serve the interests of the papal church, which now, by bribes and promises, fostered the divisions which had sprung up among the reformers, and which ultimately led to their ruin. Prague was recovered, and the brave Procopius fell in the action. The Calixtenes, who had now joined the Romanists, with their armies pursued the Taborites, and again defeated them at Lisan. The emperor now once more renewed his negotiations, and the papal legates sanctioned the unrestricted use of the cup: thus peace was for a while again restored. Sigismund, however, with his usual duplicity, performed none of his promises, but filled the churches with Bomanists, and banished the Hussites from his court. He died on the eve of another outbreak (1437), without male issue. The followers of Huss were first of all split into two sects : the Cali& tenes, who insisted upon the restitution of the cup to the laity, or communion in both kinds, the wine, as well as the wafer or bread ; and the Taborites, or Hot elites, the least wealthy and dignified of the reformers, who demanded the abolition of all popish errors and ceremonies, and very nearly resembled the Waldenses. The Calixtenes, who only differed from the Romanists on the subject of communion in both kinds, were subsequently induced to form a Catholic league, and to join the Romanists against the Taborites and the Orphans, who combined for their mutual defence. In 1453, a large body of the Hussites, under Michael Bradazius, formed the society of " The United Brethren." Idolatrous rites were forbidden, as well as abstinence from carnal or warlike weapons for the defence of religion. The Adamites were a body of fanatics, who were commanded to appear always in a state of nudity ; their disgusting and savage conduct at length led to their utter extermination by the Hussite leader, Zisca. c) Kings of the house of Austria, since 1439. 1. Albert u. of Austria (1437 — 1439), was the son-in- law of Sigismund, and already king of Hungary and Bohemia. He was unanimously elected emperor by the princes, at Frankfort, and does not appear to have entered into any compact with the electoral princes, as the price of the dignity. He expelled the Polish king, Casimer, from Bohemia, and caused himself to be recognised as king, introducing many sound regulations for the peace and safety of that distracted 234 § 45.] FREDERICK HI. [1440-58 A.D. country. He died, after a short reign of two years, while defending his Hungarian frontiers from the attacks of the Turks, under Amurath, who had entered Transylvania. 2. Frederick in. (1440—1493), duke of Styria, and cousin of Albert n., was the last of the German emperors crowned at Rome. His reign was long (fifty-three years), but troublesome. Soon after the death of Albert n., his wife, the queen, gave birth to a son, Ladislas the Posthumous, who was by inheritance duke of Austria, and king of Hungary and Bohemia: Frederick n., as the. next in succession, was his legitimate guardian. Uladislas, the king of Poland, being invited by the Hungarians to accept the crown, a civil war broke out, and the empress was compelled to fly with her son into Austria. Frederick armed in defence of his nephew, but was compelled to sign a truce, by which the crown of Hungary was lost to Poland. In Bohemia, Frederick was also unsuc- cessful; the Romanists and Calixtenes agreed to acknowledge Ladislas, on condition that the internal government should be vested in the hands of native regents. The Romanists and Hussites chose each their chief, and both endeavoured to obtain the ascendancy; Podeibrad, the Hussite regent, however, drove Count Meinhard from the seat of power, and exercised the supreme authority alone. In 1444, Uladislas, the Pole, fell in the battle of Varna, against the Turks, and the throne of Hungary was again vacant. The Hungarians now demanded, as their legitimate sovereign, the youthful prince, Ladislas, in which they were also joined by the Bohemians, and seconded by the Austrians. Frederick, however, would not yield up the prince, and the Hungarians, under their celebrated regent, John Hunniades, with their confederates, besieged the emperor, in Neustadt. Frederick was compelled to yield, and Ladislas was conveyed in triumph to Hungary, where he confirmed Hunniades in his regency, and, on his return through Bohemia, confirmed Podeibrad, also, in the regency of that kingdom. Hunniades expired, soon after his splendid victory over the Turks before Belgrade, and Ladislas himself, hated by his sub- jects for his bigotry and cruel conduct, died prematurely, hi Prague, to which place he had escaped, to avoid the effects of their revenge, 1458. Frederick was now undisputed heir to the crowns of Bohemia and Hungary, but could obtain neither. The former was placed on the head of Podeibrad, the regent (1459), the latter was conferred upon Matthias Corvinus 235 A.D. 1459-77.] GERMAN EMPIRE FREDERICK III. [§45. (1460), by whom it was subequently purchased for 60,000 ducats. Austria was nearly wrested from him by his brother, Albert, but through the interposition of Podeibrad, he secured the upper territories, and an annual tribute from Albert, of 4,000 ducats. In 1490, twenty-seven years after the death of Albert, it was annexed to the crown of Hungary. Frederick, by his neglect of the imperial revenues, and of the frontier provinces, and his unqualified submission to the court of Rome, failed to procure the attachment of the German princes, who considered him incapable of defending either the interests of the empire, or his own hereditary states. Even when the Turks, after the Dissolution of the Byzantine Empire, by the Conquest of Constantinople, 1453, assumed a position dangerous to the. empire, Frederick contented himself with the calling of diets, which he neglected to meet. In 1442, Zurich, which had detached itself from the Swiss confederacy (the Eidgenosse n), in consequence of disputes respecting the domains of Count Toggenburg, formed an alliance with Frederick, who, with his army, marched to Zurich, thinking that he might be able to recover the lost possessions of the Hapsburg house. The Zurichers and Frederick were vanquished, when the latter engaged the (Filii Belial) Armagnacs against the Swiss, to the amount of 30,000 men ; these were met at Brattelen by a small body of Swiss soldiers, consisting of not more than 1,200 men,"'l,190 of whom were left dead on the field of battle, ten only remaining, while thousands of men and horses belonging to the Armagnacs also strewed the field. In 1446, a peace was concluded, and Zurich was compelled to break off its connection with Austria, and to join the confederacy. In 1460, the Archduke (since 1453) Sigismund of Austria, cousin of Frederick, having offended the pope, the latter called upon the Swiss to seize his domains, a call which they were not slow in obeying. Thus, the Hapsburg possessions in Helvetia were wholly lost to the house of Austria, until the end of the eighteenth century. In Italy, Frederick's authority, as in Grerniany, was merely nominal, for on the seizm-e of the Milan Duchy by the cruel and crafty Francesco Sforza, on the extinction of the house of Visconti (147 7,) he merely contented himself with withholding the enfeoffment, which Sforza did not care to purchase ; he even avoided an entrance into the duchy to receive the crown of Lombardy : hence, he went through the ceremony of a double coronation in Home (1452). In 1466, after a long and sanguinary contest, in which Frederick took no part, the territories of Culm, Michelau, and Dantzig, were obtained by Poland from the Teutonic knights (see § 56) . Frederick, notwithstanding his unfortunate efforts with respect to the empire, was more successful in the aggrandize- ment of his house. 236 § 45.] FREDERICK III., CHARLES OF BURGUNDY. [14.67-77 A.D. Towards the end of the fourteenth century (1384), the duchy of Burgundy (Bourgogne), and the free country of Burgundy (Franche Comte), had become independent of the kingdom of Burgundy, or Aries, and united to the empire, the supremacy of which was acknow- ledged. By the middle of the fifteenth century, the posses- sions of the house of Burgundy had received vast accessions, either by intermarriages, purchase, or inheritance. By the marriage of Philip to the heiress of the Count of Flanders, nearly all the most flourishing provinces of the Netherlands were brought into the Burgundian family. The last duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold (1467 — 1477). In 1473, the duke, after considerable ma- noeuvring with the French monarch, whose supremacy he was tired of, hoped that by extending his duchy on the side of Germany, he might be able to induce the Emperor Frederick to acknowledge him as an independent sovereign, and thus place him in a condition to renounce his subjection to Louis, who took every opportunity to thwart and encroach upon his too powerful vassal. To obtain his object, Charles offered the hand of his daughter and heiress, Mary, who, if married to Maximilian, the son of Frederick, would convey over to the house of Austria the extensive territories of Burgundy. An interview was appointed between them at Treves, but Charles, by his ostentatious demands, defeated his own purpose. He required the coronation to be performed prior to the marriage of his daughter ; this the emperor refused until after the nup- tials had been celebrated, which not being agreed to, he abruptly departed, under the pretext of settling the dispute between Robert, archbishop of Cologne, and the chapter which had elected him. Charles warmly espoused the cause of the primate, while the emperor declared for the people, who had applied to him for succour. Charles was compelled, after his failure before the little town of Neuss (besieged for eleven months), to sue for peace, in order to chastise the Lorrainers and Swiss. At the head of 40,000 men, he subdued Lor- raine, but proved no match for the mountaineers of Helvetia (Switzerland). Charles resolved, for the mere sake of glory, like the Carthaginian general, to surmount the Alps. The Swiss met him on the plains at G r a n s o n, and at Morat, near the Lake, and both times defeated him with great slaughter; at Granson, the Swiss fell in with the abandoned 237 A.D. 1477-82.] CHARLES OF BURGUNDY. [§ 45. camp of the enemy, containing valuables which far outshone the ancient camp of Xerxes, including two fine diamonds, one of which at the present day adorns the tiara of the pope, the other the Austrian crown. On the return of Charles from Granson, his jester observed, " Ha 1 my Lord, are we not finely Hannibalised ? " After a third battle, at Nancy, lost through treachery and intrigue, the duke was found, naked and dead, half immersed in a frozen pool, to the great joy of his enemy, the French monarch, Louis xi., who now sought the hand of the heiress of Bur- gundy for his son, the dauphin, only eight years of age. Louis seized Burgundy and Artois by force (as lapsed fiefs) ; Boulogne, Arras, and Tournay surrendered to him. Ghent, at which town the heiress resided with her step-mother the duchess, held out against Louis, to whom Mary wrote clandestinely, intimating that she had no objection to the mar- riage with the dauphin; this letter being shown to the people of Ghent, justly excited her hatred of the French, and after many intrigues she became the wife of Maximilian of Austria, the son of Frederick. War was the consequence. Burgundy revolted, headed by the treacherous Prince of Orange, long since in the French interests ; but Artois was bravely defended by the Flemings, who, under Maximilian, defeated the French at Guinegate, and completely crippled the king, who was com- pelled to a treaty, at Arras, 1482, by which the dauphin was to be united to the daughter of Maximilian (Margaret), and receive Artois and Burgundy (Franche Comte) as a dowry. The marriage, however, never took place, and the dauphin (when Charles vhi.) resigned the provinces. On the subjection of the Tyrol by Maximilian, the remnant of the Hapsburgian possessions in Switzerland were sold to that prince by the wretched Duke Sigismund, who was universally hated by his subjects for his cruel and rapacious conduct. The Austrian possessions were therefore, on the demise of Frederick, concentrated under one head. 238 § 46.] ITALIAN STATES. [1256-1479 A.D. §46. THE ITALIAN STATES. A. Upper Italy. 1. Venice, during the period of the crusades, had been raised to the rank of a first-rate commercial and maritime power, and possessed most of the islands and maritime cities on the coasts of the Byzantine empire, which were freely distributed among the nobility, who ruled over them under the titles of dukes or counts. To this power the rupublic of Genoa was opposed, and a rivalry between them for the commerce of the East, embroiled the two powers in a war, which lasted for upwards of 125 years (1256 — 1381), when Venice, after the battle of Chiozza, compelled the Genoese to surrender their fleet (1280), and in 1381, concluded a peace, which left things in much the same state as before the com- mencement of the war. Venice was, about the middle of the fifteenth century, at the zenith of its power. The whole of the Indian trade, by the way of Egypt, was secured to it by a treaty with the Sultan of" Egypt, who opened to them the port of Alexandria, while, partly by conquest and partly by .treaty, its possessions in Upper Italy extended over the whole eastern portion of Lombardy, as far as Bergamo and Brescia, and in Dalmatia, nearly the whole of the sea coast. In 1387, it had acquired the island of Corfu, and in 1489, that of Cyprus. The advance of the Osman Turks into Europe, however, gradually deprived them of their possessions in the East. In 1460, Mahomet n. seized the duchy of Athens, and in 1479, the Venetians were glad to conclude a peace with the sultan, who had cut off their commerce with the East, by resigning all their possessions in Illyria and the Morea. When Venice had succeeded in establishing itself as a republic, it was at first governed by an elective Doge, or duke, whose power was vested in the assemblies of the people. In 1032, these assemblies were superseded by a council, chosen from among the most illustrious citizens, and termed Pregadi (invited), but in 1172, the sovereign authority was vested in the hands of the Grand Council, composed of 480 members. To them belonged the filling up of all the offices of state. To concentrate the government, the grand council appointed from among themselves, six councillors of the red robe, who, with the doge, formed the Signoria, and without them the doge could not perform any public act. In 1297, a great change was effected ; the grand council was 239 A.D. 1355-95.] ITALIAN STATES — MILAN, [§ 46. no longer to be elected by the people, but as they had always consisted of the same persons or families, the election was to be abolished, and their fitness for office was to be determined by the forty criminal judges of the republic, who refused the re-election of any of the members against whom any charges of delinquency could be proved. Thus, an hereditary aristocracy was formed, whose government was equitable and impartial. In 1311, the creation of the Council of Ten (sixteen?) took place, who wore black robes, in contrast to the red of the Signoria. Their office was supplied from the members of the great council, who changed every ftmr months. A register, called The Grolclen Book, was kept of the names of ah the members who had sat in the council, the number of which, at length (1319), became unlimited ; the male descendant of any counsellor, of the age of twenty-five years, being entitled to a seat in the senate. Among the most remarkable conspiracies for the overthrow of the nobles, was that which was led by the newly elected doge, Marino Ealiero (1355), who planned their assassination ; it was betrayed to the council of ten by some of the conspirators, and the doge expiated his crime with his life. In consequence of this discovery, the council, under the pretext of exercising more watchful- ness over the affairs of the republic, assumed an arbitrary course of conduct, and instituted the odious office of State Inquisitors (1454), in whom was vested unlimited powers, and who conducted their proceed- ings in secrecy ; their mode of government, like their barbarous and cruel deeds, was shrouded in a mysterious darkness. 2. Milan. In 1302, the Guelphs forced the Ghibeline Viscontis to fly from Milan, and installed the Delia Torres in their place. Henry invited them to return, and soon after they were restored to the sovereign power again, and the Guelphs, in their turn, were driven from the duchy. Henry, however, determined to extirpate the Ghibelines, upon whom he at last inflicted a severe blow ; he dispatched his nephew, the papal legate, Bertrand, from Provence into Lombardy, with a large army, there to oppose Matteo Visconti, the reigning duke, who, however, triumphed over all the power brought against him for upwards of twenty years ; at length superstitious fears possessed him, and fearing the excommuni- cation of the papal legate, he resigned his duchy to his son, Galeazzo, and soon after died (1322). After the death of Matteo, and of Henry, the Guelphs were again successful, and Galeazzo was compelled to flee. In 1328, the duchy reverted again to the house of the Viscontis, by purchase from Louis of Bavaria, the emperor, and in 1353, the republic of Genoa sub- mitted itself to them. In 1366, however, they freed themselves from their dominion. The Viscontis , however, still triumphed over the cities of Lombardy, of which they possessed the most considerable. In 1395, for 100,000 florins, a diploma from 240 § 46.] ITALIAN STATES. [1257 A.D. the Emperor Wenceslas, installed Gian Galeazzo, the son of Galeazzo, duke of Milan, and count of Pavia, into the pos- sessions which embraced also twenty-six cities, with their territories, as far as the Lagunes of Venice. On the death of the last male of the house of Visconti (1447), the Con- dottiere, Francesco Sforza, after acting as the captain- general of the Milanese, assumed the title and took possession of the dukedom, by the surrender of the city of Milan (1449). This great man soon after subdued the republic of Genoa, and made his possessions hereditary in his family. 3. Genoa, after the expulsion of the counts by whom the cities were governed, was raised into a republic, and ruled at first by a foreign P o d e s t a, and subsequently by a Captain-general, subject to a Captain of the People (1257). Like Venice, Genoa owed her rise to the commercial transactions entered into during the crusades. The succour afforded to the Greeks, as well as to the cru- saders, procured them great commercial advantages, and the possession of many valuable sea ports, and islands in the Morea, and the Archipelago, as well as Caff a, on the Black Sea, Smyrna, in Asia Minor, and the Constantinopolitan suburbs, Per a, and Gal at a. Genoa, however, had a formidable rival in Pisa, which was also a flourishing commercial republic, and contended with her for the supre- macy of the Middle or Mediterranean Sea, and the possession of the islands Corsica and Sardinia. After a sanguinary war of two hundred years, Genoa effected the ruin of the Pisan republic, and the conquest of Elba (1290), Sardinia (1299), and Corsica (1326). Genoa, however, itself was doomed to fall. A protracted war with the Venetians and Milanese, combined with internal factions, so weakened her government, that the Genoese republic at length became a part of the duchy of Milan (1458). It subsequently (1396) became for a while subject to France, and in 1499 was again in the hands of the French, until 1522. B. Central Italy. 1. Florence had early risen to be the chief city of the Tuscan League, and in 1250, freed itself from the Ghibeline nobles, and was ruled by the captains of the fifty groups, or sections, into which the government had been divided, who composed their council, at the head of which was a podesta. This magistrate afterwards, with another, termed captain, gave 241 m A.D. 1343-1469.] ITALIAN STATES FLORENCE. [§ 46. way to the signoria, a supreme magistracy, under which they acted. In 1254, the two cities of Pistoia and Volterra were captured, and the fortress of Pietra Santa erected. Towards the close of the thirteenth century, the trade corporations, called arti, were constituted (major and minor arti) (higher and lower guilds); the members of the major arti were admitted to a share in the government. At first, the number admitted was confined to three, but it was afterwards increased to six. Those who composed the populo g rosso, or commonalty, did not belong to any guild. The members of the major arti were chiefly merchants, dealers in gold, and other precious metals (bankers), stuffs, silks, &c, the produce of the East. At length they became the governors of the state, until, in 1342, they were compelled by the people to delegate their authority to the son of the Duke of Athens, whom they named Captain of Justice, and entrusted with the command of their army. He soon, by intrigue, was proclaimed Lord of Florence for life, but the Florentines were speedily disgusted by his proceedings, and conspired against him, when he fled to Naples, with upwards of 400,000 golden florins (1343). The republic was again established, and, with the rest of Italy, was con- stantly engaged in resisting the ambitious projects of the Viscontis. About the middle of the fifteenth century, the family of the Medici began to obtain the ascendancy in Flo- rence. They had always (from 1378) maintained friendship with the minor arti, and, from their immense wealth, became objects of envy to the princes and nobles. In 1416, Cosmo de Medici, who had counting-houses in all the chief cities of Europe, and oriental marts, was elected one of the priori, and endeavoured to obtain for the middle class the privilege of entering the magistracy, and also of taking a part in the government. This effort drew upon him the vengeance of his rivals, who procured his banishment. In the following year (1434), Cosmo, with his friends, was recalled, and his enemies, driven from Florence, took refuge in Milan. Cosmo, in possession of the government, made Florence the seat of the arts and sciences ; artists, poets, and learned men, resorted to his palace, the most sumptuous in the republic, and partook of his generosity and opulence, while his purse was open to almost every citizen who sought his aid. Nor was his pa- tronage of the arts confined to Florence, but extended through- 242 § 46.] ITALIAN STATES. [1305-1468 A.D. out the Tuscan territory, Umbria, and Venice, and even to the holy city of Jerusalem. Cosmo, after governing Florence for thirty years, died greatly lamented, and was honoured in the following year by having inscribed on his tomb the title of Father of his Country. Pietro (Peter) his son, succeeded, and having crippled the commerce of Florence by withdrawing the loans of his father from the merchants, and others, with whom he was in partnership, made many enemies. Unable, from hereditary gout, which disabled him from walking or riding, he committed the government to six of his friends, who enriched themselves at the expense of the republic. In 1469, he died, and was followed by the celebrated Lorenzo de Medici, against whom the- great conspiracy of the Pazzi, under papal influence, was directed. On its failure, Lorenzo assumed the title of Prince, and ruled with absolute power over the citizens. In 1492, he breathed his last, in his forty-fourth year, after a reign marked by serious calamities and reverses. Like Cosmo, his grandfather, he was a passion- ate lover of the fine arts, and helped to raise Florence to the rank of a second Athens. 2. States of the Church, or Patrimony of St. Peter. These consisted of several great and small principalities, duchies, etc., which, although nominally subject to the pope, were more frequently not only in a state of alienation from, but of open hostility to, the papal see. The more important were the duchy of Rome, and the ancient republic of Bologna, the principalities of Benevento, Ravenna, Rimini, Urbino, and Camerino. During the residence of the popes at Avignon (the captivity), a period of seventy years (1305 — 1376), several cities and towns, under the control of their tyrants or governors, threw off the papal yoke, and Rome itself was shaken to its very foundation by the repeated insurrections which occurred within its walls, especially during the tribunate of Cola, Rienzi, and the deadly feuds which raged between the families of the Colonna (Ghibelines), and Orsini (Guelphs). Nor was it until the end of this period, that the reunion of the ecclesiastical states was effected, and the legitimate pope took up his residence at Rome. Avignon was purchased (1348), and added to the papal see, which was still further enriched by the territories of the Venascin, left to the pope by Philip in. of France. 213 m 2 A.D. 1270-1301.] FRANCE PHILIP HI., PHILIP THE FAIR. [§ 47. C. In Lower Italy. In Naples, the scene of sanguinary wars between the houses of Anjou and Arragon, the former held possession until 1442, when Alfonso v., king of Sicily, subdued the King of Naples, and received the investiture of the kingdom from Pope Eugenius iv. ; thus, the two kingdoms, which had been long separated, were once more united. On the death of Alfonso (1468), however, they were again separated. Naples he left to his brother John, now king of Arragon, and Sicily to his natural son, Ferdinand, by Margaret de Hijar, whose issue occupied the throne until 1504. §47. FRANCE. A. Under the last of the Capetian Kings (Capets), 1270—1328. Philip in., or the Hardy (1270—1285), continued the war against the Arabs of Tunis, after the death of his father (Louis). At length, however, hostilities were terminated by a treaty effected by Charles of Anjou, on whom the command of the French army had devolved. After the expulsion of the French from Sicily, at the Sicilian Vespers, Philip espoused the cause of his uncle, Charles, and entered Spain with a numerous army, to crush the power of Arragon, whose king had now taken the Angevine kingdom of Sicily. Charles, king of Naples and Anjou, who had arrived at Naples from Africa, endeavoured to reach Sicily with his fleet, to drive out the Spaniards, but a terrible storm dispersed his ships, and rendered it impossible. Philip, with his army, intended to have taken forcible possession of Arragon, as a reprisal for the loss of Sicily, he however proceeded no farther than Gerona, which he took, and died of a fever at Perpignan, in 1285. Peter in. of Arragon having taken possession of Sicily, the pope pre- sented Philip in. with Peter's kingdom of Arragon, and the county of Barcelona for his second son, Charles ; but on the French king attempt- ing to take possession, he met with his death (as above). Philip the Fair (le Bel, 1285— 1311), in his father's lifetime, had married Joanna, the queen of Navarre, and was therefore king of that country in right of his wife. On his succession to the French crown, he still carried on the war against the Arragonese, which was not terminated until 1295, when Sicily was nominally restored to the house of Anjou. 244 § 47.] FRANCE PHILIP THE FAIR. [1300-1 A.D. Philip, wlio resembled his ancestor in character, cheated the more powerful by artifice and falsehood, and by craft and violence overwhelmed inferiors. Jealous of the English mon- arch, Edward I., he intrigued with the subjects of the latter in Guienne, the duchy of which he was determined to wrest out of his hands. Philip, feigning a series of insults from the people of Guienne, and demanding satisfaction for an attack upon the French ships, by some sailors of England, sum- moned Edward to appear before the parliament of Paris, to answer for them. The latter sent his brother Edmund to Paris, to satisfy the crafty Philip, who demanded that one or two of his officers should be admitted, with nominal authority, into the duchy; which, with other stipulations being agreed to, the officers of Philip possessed themselves of the chief towns of the duchy, and eventually became masters of the whole of Guienne. Edward, engaged at home with Baliol and Bruce, could afford no real assistance to his French subjects, but succeeded in engaging the Flemings in a war against Philip, who, at first, was victorious, and obtained, for a while, the duchy of Flanders ; but in consequence of the rapacity of his lieutenants, it was soon lost, and on the rebellion of Bor- deaux, Guienne was restored to the English. Philip, mean- while, quarrelled with the pope, the haughty Cajetan, Boniface vhi. Philip taxed the ecclesiastical revenues one-tenth, and the pope threatened excommunication against any that should pay the tax. Philip, although excommunicated, continued his proceedings; and after imprisoning the papal legate, entered Italy with an army, and seized the pope, who soon after died from the effects of the indignities heaped upon him. Benedict ix. (archbishop of Bordeaux) was elected as the successor of Boniface, and agreeably to the wishes of Philip, resided at Avignon. He commenced by taking proceedings against those who had attacked Boniface at Anagni, but was soon poisoned. Through the intrigues of Philip, Bertrand de Goth (archbishop of Bordeaux) was, after the lapse of some months, elected, and became the creature of the French monarch, even condemning the memory of Boniface, and exculpating his accusers. To be near his patron, the pontifical court was fixed first at Poictiers, then at Avignon, which continued to be the papal residence from 1305 to 1376.* * For the persecution of the Templars, and the dissolution of their order, see page 164. 245 A.D. 1313 28.] FRANCE HOUSE OF VALOIS. [§ 47. The events of Philip's reign were a series of acts of injustice : he was named the Faux Monnoyeur, or falsifier of coin. He was continually altering the standard, and not unfrequently ordered the coin and plate of his subjects to be brought to his mint, when he paid for it in coin of an inferior value. This created an insurrection, which the officers of Philip, however, soon put down. During his reign, the parliament was fixed at Paris, and personal service, or serfdom, was abolished by a decree. He was also, probably, the founder of the Stats generaux^ or States-general ; and favoured the burgesses of towns ; while he also frequently summoned the deputies of the towns, whom he enrolled as a separate order, and thus established a third estate (Tiers Etat). Philip left three sons, eacli of whom reigned in succession. Adultery and murders marked the two years' reign of Louis Hu t i n x . (1314—1316). Philip v. followed, but for a while only, as regent for the infant son of Louis Hutin (born after his death). The infant John i. soon died, and Philip was crowned king, to the exclusion of the daughter of Louis x., whose rights were unjustly passed over. Philip died, 1322. The first instance of the crown descending, to the exclusion of females, took place during the reign of Philip v., who, with the aid of the great Duke of Burgundy, seized the French crown, to the injury of the daughter of Louis ; and that this Salic law or custom might be con- firmed, Philip caused it to be sanctioned by the States-general. This, at his death, operated against the succession of his own daughters (he had no male issue) : hence the Count of Yalois, third son of Philip the Pair, succeeded to the throne. Charles iv., the next male claimant to the crown, took the place of Philip v., but only reigned six years, and died without leaving any offspring. The male line of the Capetians was therefore extinct, and Philip, the count of Valois, ascended to the throne of France. On the accession of the Count of Valois, the little kingdom of Navarre passed over to Joanna, the daughter of Louis x., probably the more easily to prevent her laying any claims to that of France ; and Navarre was detached from that kingdom until re-united to France, under the Bourbons, in 1589. B. Under Kings of the House of Valois, 1328 —1589. Philip of Valois vi., 1328—1350. This period of history is marked by the rivalry that sprung up be- tween France and England, and became national. It was no longer carried on by men speaking the same language, and actuated merely by provincial interests, but a strife of bitterness and inveteracy seems to have been felt by the warriors of both countries, in the midst of which, however, many generous deeds of chivalry were exhibited, and out of which arose future advantages to both nations. Edward in. disputed 246 § 47.] FRANCE WARS WITH THE ENGLISH. [1328-46 A.D. with Philip the Trench crown. He was the son of Isabella, the daugh- ter of Philip the Fair, and was hence, as his grandson, considered by many of the legal doctors of France, to have a just and valid claim to the sovereignty. The Count of Ervreux, who had married the daughter of Louis Hutin, also made out a claim : the kingdom of Navarre, as an apanage, however, pacified him. Louis is. r \ Philip in. Robert, count of Clermont ; founder of the Bourbons. ( 7^ Philip rv. ; Charles of Valois. king of France, 1285 ; j| of Navarre, 1275. Philip VI. Louis x. Philip y. Charles iv. Isabella ; married Joanna. Louis, f 1317. Edward II. of England, II II Charles the Bad. Edward in. Notwithstanding the valid claims of Edward to the crown of France, he was unwilling to enforce them by an appeal to arms. Philip, however, a little elevated by his success against the Flemings, whose army he had routed and dispersed at Cassel, summoned Edward, as his vassal, to pay homage for Guienne. This order the English monarch obeyed, and but for the persuasions of Count Eobert of Artois, would not have engaged in the war which followed between the French and English, and which extended over a period of upwards of 100 years. Eobert, who had forged certain documents to establish his claim to the county of Artois, on being banished, took refuge in England ; and Philip, in revenge, supported the Scotch in their wars against Ed- ward, who now assumed the title of King of France, and formed an alliance with the Flemish citizens, especially with Artaveldt, the brewer of Gaunt, or Ghent. The only engagement which took place in this war, was off the coast of Sluys, where Edward, with his few ships, found the French fleet close to the shore. He hooked vessel to vessel, and thus made one level platform, upon which he not only attacked and defeated the French, but also totally destroyed their fleet (1340). In 1345, the war again broke out, but was confined to Brittany, under the Earl of Derby. In 1346, Edward, with the Prince of Wales, and the flower of his nobility, resolved to 217 A.D. 1346-64.] FEANCE WARS WITH THE ENGLISH. [§ 47. strike, if possible, a final blow ; and after leaving the coast of Flanders, lie landed at La Hogue, took Caen, and marched on to Paris, burning all the towns in the vicinity of the capital. He now retreated northwards, forcing the passage of the Somme, until, on the following day, he pitched his camp at Crecy, waiting the arrival of Philip from Abbeville. The French, despite their immense numbers, were defeated. Eleven princes fell, together with 100 nobles having banners, 1,200 chevaliers, and 30,000 soldiers. The loss of the Eng- lish was 2,588. Philip took to flight, and the victorious Edward next laid siege to Calais : it fell ; its distress had been great; but the devotedness of its six burgesses, who delivered themselves up to the mercy of Edward, was only equalled by the sympathies of the queen, whose tears and entreaties alone saved them from the anger of Edward, who remained inex- orable. Edward removed the inhabitants, and endeavoured to colonize the city with his English subjects. The scheme, however, failed, and it became a sort of asylum for outcasts. Among the first to return was St. Pierre, one of the six bur- gesses, whom Edward had been led to pardon. Calais re- mained in the hands of the English for upwards of two hundred years, and became the favourite continental possession of the crown to England. A truce was now concluded, and Edward returned to England. France now became the scene of a pes- tilence termed the Black Plague, which carried off one-third of its population, and ravaged the whole of Europe. In 1349, the Dauphine came into possession of the king by purchase from the extravagant and dissolute Count of Vermandois. Champagne and Brie were surrendered for Angouleme and Mortagnes, by the King of Navarre. These provinces, how- ever, had the right of taxation secured to them. Philip died, 1350, and was succeeded by his son. John the Good, 1350—1364. On his accession, John endeavoured to convert the truce between France and England into a settled peace, but was not successful. His early efforts, like those of his father, were directed to the adulteration of the coin, and a pernicious levy- ing of taxes on every sale that took place. In 1355, the States-general appointed receivers, and directed the collection of it from the nobles and the prelates, as well as from the burgesses, and agreed that they should meet again in the fol- lowing year, to make fresh taxes. This threw the kingdom 248 § 47.] FRANCE BATTLE OF POICTIERS. [1356 A.D. into a ferment, which the turbulent King of Navarre, and many of the nobility, used every effort to increase. A short period after, the King of Navarre and Count of Harcourt were seized while at dinner with the king's son, and murdered, by order of the king. This proceeding excited the people, and caused many of the nobles to renounce their allegiance. At this juncture, Edward of England arrived, expecting to be joined by the discontented barons and sovereign of Navarre, with whom he had, sometime before, allied: he was, however, joined by their followers. After ravaging Auvergne, Limousin, Edward entered Berri, but having only 6,000 archers and. infantry, and 2,000 men-at-arms, he thought it prudent to retreat before the larger army of John, which was 60,000 strong, and was endeavouring to blockade his retreat. The line of battle was drawn up at Maupertuis, near Poictiers ; and after another vain attempt at reconciliation by the papal legates, the action commenced, and Edward was again vic- torious. John, and his younger son, Philip, were amongst the prisoners, who were taken to London, and kindly treated by the conqueror. The government of France was now carried on by Charles, the dauphin, who had escaped, and a truce for two years was entered into. The loss of the French was 11,000; that of the English, 2,400; and the prisoners taken, twice the number of themselves, besides vast spoils in gold and silver plate, jewels, furred mantles, &c. (1356). The first act of Charles was to summons the States-general, those of the south (Langue d' Oc) meeting at Toulouse, and those of the north (Langue d' Oil) at Paris ; the latter imposing conditions upon Charles, by which his authority was limited, the former granting him levies of men and money. The dauphin, however, dissolved the states, and resorted to the oft-repeated experiment of debasing the coin. An insurrection followed, which was headed by the favourite deputies, Marcel and Le Cocq, who placed on the head of the dauphin a Chaperon, or cap, then, as now, the symbol of revolution. The King of Navarre was released, and headed the disaffected; but the dauphin prevailed, when the former was banished the capital, and Marcel was slain in a tumult. The mutual hatred between the nobles and the peasants, however, did not end here; the latter, since the defeats of Poictiers and Crecy, looked upon the discomfited knights and barons with contempt, and felt their own position, in 249 m 3 A.D. 1356 66."] FRANCE — JOHN, CHARLES V. [§ 47. not being allowed to wield a sword, to be degrading. This discontent, too, was much augmented by the necessary in- crease of taxes upon the tenantry for the redemption of their masters : hence the rebellion of the Jaquerie or Villains (Peasants or Labourers), which had for its object the destruction of all the nobility and gentry of the kingdom. Happily such a diabolical movement was soon crushed, their last resort, Meaux, was reduced to ashes, with all the villains that were shut up in it. In the midst of these calamities, Edward hi., whose overtures had been rejected by France, prepared for an invasion. He entered Champagne (1358), and besieged Eheims ; rising from this city, he marched to Paris, and challenged the dauphin, who was too cautious, and evaded an engagement, and proceeded to destroy the towns and villages in the vicinity: hence, Edward was compelled, by want of provisions, to depart. In 1360, a peace was signed at Bretigny, when Edward gave up his pretensions to the crown of France, as well as to Normandy. All Aquitaine, and the provinces south-west of the Loire, and the sea coast from Calais to the Somme, were ceded to England, in full sovereignty. Three millions of crowns were to be given as the ransom of the French king, who was to reside at Calais until the payment of the first instalment. John was liberated, 1361, and reigned three years after, when he returned to London, to negotiate with Edward respecting the escape of one of his hostages from Calais, Louis of Anjou. He died at the Savoy palace, in London, 1364. In 1363, the duchy of Burgundy, having become extinct, reverted to the crown. John presented it as an apanage to his son Philip (duke of Touraine), who, subsequently, marrying the heiress of the Count of Flanders, obtained those extensive territories also. Charles v., the Sage (1364—1380), had long reigned as dauphin, and acquired much experience. He first directed his efforts against the treacherous and intriguing King of Na- varre, who laid claim to the duchy of Burgundy ; but the general of Charles, Bertrand du Guesclin, a young knight who had sig- nalized himself in the wars of Brittany, defeated and took de Grailli prisoner at Cocherel, when the King of Navarre, for the present, gave up the contest. The succession to Brittany was, however, still undecided; du Guesclin and Charles of Blois were sent into Brittany, to enforce the claims of Charles v., 250 § 47.] FRANCE WARS WITH THE ENGLISH. [1366-75 A.D. where they were opposed by Sir John Chandos and John de Montfort. Guesclin was defeated, and taken prisoner, and Philip was slain: 5,000 of the vanquished perished on the field. De Montfort, the ally of Edward, was now recognised as duke, and the wars of Brittany were closed, after having lasted upwards of twenty-five years. In 1366, Guesclin was ransomed from Sir John Chandos, to head an expedition against Navarre, accompanied by bands of mercenary soldiers, who, left without employment or pay, ravaged the country in every direction. The pope endeavoured to preserve his do- mains by granting them absolution, which they readily accepted, but immediately began to contract fresh guilt, by not sparing even the papal domains. Guesclin, with his mer- cenaries, drove the intruder, Peter, from Castile ; but on Edward espousing the cause of Peter, who had fled to Bor- deaux, to seek his assistance, the fortunes of the latter changed. Du Guesclin was defeated by Edward at Nojera, with great slaughter, and taken prisoner, and Peter was placed upon the throne of Leon and Castile. Edward, however, returned sick to Bordeaux, and being in want of funds to defray the ex- pense of his expeditions, he levied a tax upon his subjects, which led to resistance, and an appeal from ,the Aquitanians to Charles, who summoned his vassal to appear and answer the charges. The reply was characteristic of the hero — to obey " at the head of 60,000 men." War was declared on both sides. The Black Prince, enfeebled by dropsy, was car- ried on a litter to Limoges, which had been treacherously- given up to the Duke of Berri. Edward invested the city, and Guesclin did all he could to relieve it, but in vain : it fell, and Edward had all the inhabitants put to the sword. The trai- torous bishop who had given up the city to the duke was par- doned. The malady of Edward increasing, he was compelled to return to England, and died at Canterbury, 1370. On the return of Edward to England, Guesclin had been appointed constable of France, and now took the command against the English under Lancaster, changing entirely the former mode of warfare. Guesclin's orders were rigorously obeyed ; no fighting took place in the open plains, and the troops main- tained themselves in walled towns : hence the strength of the English was completely wasted ; the French were nowhere to be found, and famine destroyed more of the English men-at- arms than French discipline and valour. Poictiers revolted, 231 A.D. 1375 — 90.] FRANCE — CHARLES VI. [§ 47. and Eoclielle followed its example : thus the fruits of Edward's victories were gone. The last engagement was before Chizai, when the little English army was well nigh butchered by Guesclin, who hated them. A truce for one year was con- cluded at Bruges, and subsequently extended, with a view to the establishment of a final peace, to which the possession of Calais became the grand obstacle (1375). Charles once more endeavoured to add Brittany to the French crown, but even Guesclin opposed this attempt to destroy the independence of the nobility, and on his loyalty being called in question, re- signed his office of constable. Soon after, this consummate warrior died while rescuing a castle in Languedoc (Chateau- neuf de Randau). The Duke of Brittany, after a few skir- mishes, regained his dukedom. Charles died at Beaute Castle, 1380, having survived his rival, Edward in., only three years. Charles vi. (1380 — 1422) succeeded his father at the age of twelve years, and being a minor, his tutelage was con- tended for by his four uncles, — the dukes of Anjou, Berri, Burgundy, and Bourbon. The Duke of Anjou pillaged the royal treasures, and left the coffers empty. The regent (Duke of Anjou) having declared the monarch fit to assume the crown, a council was appointed, and the coronation of the youthful monarch took place. His first feat in arms was before Rosebecque, near Upres, where the Flemings and Ghentois, under the son of Artaveldt, the brewer, were de- feated, with a dreadful slaughter, and the cause of the com- mons against the aristocracy weakened. Full enjoyment of privileges were, however, ensured to the vanquished citizens. The battle of Rosebecque proved most unfortunate for the communes of France, who were everywhere resisting the op- pressive power of the aristocracy, now ruling with absolute sway, in the name of the young king, who in vain endeavoured to release himself from the tutelage of his uncles. The citi- zens of Paris were sent by hundreds to the scaffold, as a terror to all the other cities and towns, where similar executions took place on resisting the royal ordinances. In 1382, the king emancipated himself from his uncles' control, and chose de Clisson as his constable, who was murderously attacked by de Craon. The king, on proceeding into Brittany, whither de Craon had fled, to revenge the injuries of his constable, was seized with insanity, when the government was again in the hands of the Duke of Burgundy. 252 § 47.] BURGUNDIANS AND ORLEANISTS. [1390-1420 A.D. It was just at the close of the fourteenth century, that the breaking forth of the differences between the dukes of Bur- gundy and Orleans took place, who had disputed with each other about the regency. Civil wars raged throughout the kingdom, the good of the public was entirely neglected, and both uncle and nephew pillaged the treasury whenever an opportunity occurred, and then threw the blame upon his rival. Both had their armies in Paris, but on the absence of Burgundy to settle the affairs of his duchy, Orleans forged a public ordinance in his name, which, on the return of the duke, being protested against, the Parisians rose against him, and Burgundy possessed the city, which he kept until the murder of the Duke of Orleans by the hired assassins of Bur- gundy. By the marriage of the young Duke of Orleans with the daughter of Armagnac, a Gascon nobleman, the Orleans party revived, and the war became marked with inhuman ferocity on both sides. In the midst of these dissensions, the youthful Henry v. mounted the English throne, and prompted to emulate the heroic valour of the Black Prince, he raised an army, and embarked for France. Harfleur, after a short siege, fell into his hands, when he marched towards Calais, and met the French, by their own appointment, near the village of Agincourt : 10,000 of the French were slain, including a large number of the nobility (1415). Burgundy, by the cap- tivity of the Duke of Orleans, and the death of the constable, and other leaders of the Orleans faction, was at once in the ascendancy, and took possession of Paris with 10,000 horse. The Orleanists were inhumanly massacred by the Butchers and the Burgundian rabble, who even forced the prisons, and mur- dered the wretched victims singly, as they issued forth. Henry meanwhile pursued his triumphs, and possessed himself of Normandy. Rouen surrendered, 1419. Paris was next the object of his ambition. The onward march of the conqueror tended to bring about a union between the contending parties, and a meeting was appointed for the purpose. The Armag- nacs (Orleanists), however, resolved to make it the occasion of avenging the assassination of Orleans ; hence when the dauphin and Burgundy met on the bridge of Montereau, to arrange the prehminaries of a common peace, the more successfully to resist the English, the duke was struck down with a battle- axe, in the very presence of the dauphin, who did not deny his approval of the deed. Paris became enraged against the 253 A.D. 1420-37.] FRANCE CHARLES VII. [§ 47. dauphin, and the young Duke of Burgundy, yet in the posses- sion of the capital, hastened to lay the crown of France at the feet of the English monarch. The treaty of Troyes was soon after concluded, when Isabel, the queen, signed for the imbe- cile king, her husband. By this treaty, Henry was united to the king's sister Catharine, and to succeed to the throne of France, which, until the recovery or death of the king, he was to rule as regent. Burgundy, and the other nobles, did homage to Henry for their fiefs, and the Parisians, with the States- general, rejoiced at the conclusion which had been come to. The dauphin had recourse to arms, and the Duke of Clarence, who led the English, was killed, with 3,000 men-at-arms, at Bauge. Henry, who had withdrawn to London with his bride, hastened to Paris, to repair the disaster. Henry besieged Meux, which surrendered; and the commander was hanged. The dauphin, who had been joined by the Scottish nobility, having besieged Cone, Henry hastened to relieve it, but was seized with dysentery, and expired, in 1422, at Vincennes. The afflicted Charles vi. died two months afterwards, when France was, by the consent of the council of state, ruled over by the Duke of Bedford, as regent for the infant prince of Catharine and Henry. Charles vn. (1422-1461). — France was now divided between rival monarchs. Henry VI., the infant son of Henry V. of England (and France), was proclaimed at Paris, and the northern parts of the kingdom acknowledged the Duke of Bedford as regent. The counties south of the Loire were in favour of the dauphin, Charles vn., who resided at Bourges, and was supported by the Scots under the Earl of Buchan, who was created constable of France. At an engagement which took place at Vermenil, the French and Scots were de- feated, and the earls of Buchan and Douglas were slain. Charles now fell back upon Orleans, which was besieged by the English, when, just as the city was about to surrender, the celebrated Joan of Arc appeared, reviving the courage of the besieged. She affirmed that her mission was to deliver her country from the English, to raise the siege of Orleans, and bring the dauphin Charles to be crowned as king at Eheims. Superstition seemed to deprive the stout-hearted besiegers of their courage, and to elevate the besieged beyond measure. Joan soon sallied forth from the city walls against the English, and compelled them to raise the siege (1429). Soon after 254 § 47.] FRANCE — LOUIS XI. [1449-61 A.D. Troyes surrendered-, and Eheims fell. Thus the maid ap- peared to have fulfilled her promise, and Charles vn. was crowned. Paris was next attacked, but proved too powerful. Joan was wounded, and with the French retreated to Com- peigne, where she fell into the hands of the English, by whom she was burned in the market place of Eouen (1431). The Duke of Burgundy now joined Charles, who soon ob- tained by treachery the city of Paris (1437). A truce was concluded at Arras, on the death of the regent Bedford, when the struggle between the two nations was confined to a few sieges, mostly to the disadvantage of the English, who were at that time too much occupied in the wars of the Roses. In 1449, on the expiration of the truce, Rouen was captured; and after the battle of Fourmigny, Normandy was for ever lost to the English. In the next year, Guienne was invaded ; but Talbot, now eighty years of age, was unable, with his 5,000 men, to oppose the countless numbers of Charles, who attacked him near Bordeaux. The veteran and his son perished, and the province of Guienne, as well as Normandy, was totally lost. Calais was now the only remaining possession of the English in France. Charles reigned ten years after having completed the conquest of his kingdom, and was chiefly occupied with the turbulence of the dauphin, who was compelled to take flight into Burgundy. Charles closed his active reign in 1461, when he died at the village of Meung sur Yevre. The reforms of Charles were the principal ground of disaffection between him and the nobles, who were aided by the dauphin, his eldest son. Charles resolved to imitate the English, and trained the country population to arms, dispensing with the feudal method of raising armies, and estabhshing a standing army of his own, to be ready on any occasion. In addition, he formed companies of cavalry, and ordered that each village should supply an expert archer, who in time of war should receive pay, and in peace be exempt from tattle, or tax. These were named franc archers, or free sharp shooters, and were only called forth at the king's bidding. The cavalry were paid by a tax levied on the towns, which yielded a revenue independent of the States-general, which were therefore useless, and never summoned. The French nobles consented to this illegal impost, for the sake of pensions granted to them out of the sums levied in their several domains, and were the first to assert that the right of taxation belonged to the king, without the consent of the subject, a conclusion quite opposed to that spirit of constitu- tional freedom which had been so long developing itself in England. Louis xi. (1461 — 1483), on his accession, expressed his indignation against the counsellors of his father, whom he 255 A.D. 1461-91.] FRANCE LOUIS XI. [§ 47. banished from the court, choosing in lieu of them men of low birth, who displayed talent, and who could be attached to his person, and submissive. By perfidy, cunning, and fraud, he contrived to humble the power of the greater nobility, whom he had stripped of their offices, deprived of their pensions, and in many cases imprisoned ; hence a league was formed against him, termed (le bien public), the league of the public good, and a civil war broke out between the king and his nobility. The Burgundians, under Count Charlerois, were partially defeated, but Louis, hearing that the dukes of Brittany and Berri were also in arms, proposed a peace, by which Burgundy had the towns on the Somme restored, which Louis had paid for dearly. Normandy was given to the Duke of Berri, while the other princes obtained all that they demanded. Louis, as soon as the league was dissolved, however, commenced recovering all that he had yielded ; Normandy and Brittany were seized ; but the young Duke of Burgundy, who had succeeded his father, resisted. Louis, who hoped by persuasion to bend the inflexible duke, visited his head quarters at Peronne, where he was confined, until he had agreed to chastise the Liegeois, whom he had induced to overrun the territories of the duke ; after witnessing the destruction of his allies, Louis was allowed to depart. The Duke of Berri, in lieu of Normandy, finally received Guienne; soon after he leagued with the king, his brother, against Burgundy, whose daughter, after a series of infamous intrigues, he insisted upon marrying. His early death, however (by poison ?), prevented the continuance of civil war, and a treaty was negotiated, 1472. The Duke of Burgundy, to release himself from the vassalage of Louis, endeavoured to procure the election of his duchy into a kingdom, from the German emperor (see page 237). On the death of the duke, Louis seized Burgundy and Artois, as a lapsed fief, together with the towns on the Somme ; Boulogne, Arras, and Tournay. His efforts to secure the Burgundian territories in Flanders failed, and a war between the Duke of Austria and the French king was the result (see page 238). Louis was signally defeated before Guinegate, the battle of which determined him to re-organize his army. The franc archers were abolished, and paid Swiss soldiers, armed with pikes, halberds, and two-handed swords, introduced into their place. The arquebuss superseded the bow and arrow. The treaty of Arras, after the death of Mary, the Burgundian 256 § 47.] FKANCE — CHARLES VIII. [1401-5 A.D, heiress, terminated the conflict. Burgundy proper, and Picardy, were secured to Louis, as his share of the spoil, and in a short time after, on the death of Rene, he seized Provence and Anjou, which Rene n. endeavoured in vain to acquire. On the extinction of the house of Anjou (originating with John the Good), Louis also came into the possession of Provence, Anjou, and Maine, together with the claims of that house to the crown of Naples. Thus Louis had completed all his great schemes; the greater nobility had been humbled, Burgundy was virtually destroyed, and nearly all the great fiefs had been added to the royal domains ; Brittany, not yet added, was about to be annexed, by the marriage of Charles the dauphin with the heiress of that duchy (1491). Louis, anxious to prolong his existence, of which he dreaded the termination, drank blood drawn from the veins of infants ; but his efforts to evade the dart of the dreaded enemy were of no avail: he died at Plessis, 1483. Charles v 1 1 1. (1483 — 1498), was only thirteen years of age when he succeeded to the throne. Agreeably to the wishes of Louis, the assembly conferred upon Anne, the sister of the king, the custody of the young monarch, who had been denied by his father the privilege of education. The Orleans party remonstrated, but in vain. On an appeal to arms, he was driven by La Tremouille into Italy (Asti). He soon after escaped into Brittany, where he leagued with the duke (whose daughter he sought in marriage), and others, against the regent, Anne. The Bretons, although they had clothed themselves as Englishmen, to intimidate the French, were worsted at Nantes and Orleans, and the Prince of Orange was taken prisoner. The Duke of Brittany soon after died, and his daughter and heiress, Anne, was affianced to the King of the Romans, Maximilian. This was, however, set aside by the intrigues of the court, and the good offices of Orleans, who was released from prison, and ended in the marriage of the heiress with the young king, who now added Brittany to the crown. In 1494, the intriguing Ludovico Sforza, the enemy of the reigning sovereign of Naples, urged Charles to press his claims upon that kingdom, and promised to render him as- sistance ; accordingly, the latter entered Lombardy with a large army, but did not meet with the promised help from Sforza. Florence, however, under the Medici, gave up some fortresses, and Charles entered Lucca and Pisa, and subsequently, the 257 A.D. 1498.] FRANCE CHAKLES XI. [§ 47. city of Florence, when the traitor Medici was put to flight. Charles also captured the city of Rome ; and the pope took refuge in the castle of St. Angelo. On his arriving before Naples, Ferdinand, the king, escaped to Ischia, and Charles entered in triumph (1495).* He could not, however, retain his conquests. His friend, Sforza, fearing the domination of the French in Italy, leagued with Venice, and the King of Arragon, for their expulsion. Warned by his envoy at Venice, Charles hastened to return, and after garrisoning the chief towns, took his departure from Naples, leaving Gilbert de Bourbon as governor. After some defeats, and with much difficulty, and a treaty being concluded with Sforza, Charles reached France in safety. In 1498, the French, who had been left in possession of the newly ac- quired kingdom, were driven out, and Ferdinand was again restored. At the early age of twenty-seven, Charles died of apoplexy, and with him ended the elder branch of the house of Valois. During this period, the fourth of the middle ages, the French nobility were divided into the greater and the less, the greater possessing all but independent sovereignty, and hence scarcely be- longing to the aristocratic order. They held extensive territories and apanages, and within their respective domains exercised independent authority ; they opposed their liege lord, the king, as an equal, with armed forces, and, retreating to their fortified castles, defied the armies of the sovereign. In process of time, the greater nobility of France perished, either in war, or by treachery, from natural causes, or by the hand of the executioner ; hence their domahis were seized, or reverted to the crown, as lapsed fiefs. To the possessions of these extensive domains the princes of the blood succeeded ; hence a distinct order of princely or higher nobility arose, whose interests were not at all identical with the lower. The royal authority now became more settled, and the nobility no longer strove to confine it, but rather to extend it, and to share in its administration. This gave rise to jealous rivalry, but not to civil wars, as formerly. The officers of the state were paid in money ; offices and pensions took the place of provinces (as apa- nages), and the taxes imposed were shared in by the monarch and the greater nobility, while the lesser were exempted from contributing, thus, those of noble birth were attached to a despotic royalty, from motives of self interest, and opposed to the rise of democracy. 558 § 48.] ENGLAND HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET. [1272-1307 A.D. § 48. ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. A. Kings of the House of Plantagenet. 5. Edward I. (1272—1307). During the earlier invasion of the Anglo-Saxons, the west coast of Britain, from the Land's End to the Clyde, was occupied by six different native principalities of the Cambro-Britis h race, known afterwards by the name ofWallenses, or Welsh- men. In or about the year 876, they were chiefly located in what is now called the principality of Wales, which was then divided into North and South Wales, and Powis, each division being governed by native prhices. In 933, the Welsh principalities became tributary to Athelstan, the conqueror of Edwall Yocl, the king of Engynnedd (South Wales). On the arrival of the Normans in the eleventh century, the southern portion of Wales was subdued, and Fitz-ham- mond, a relative of the Duke of Normandy, parcelled it out among his followers. At the commencement of the twelfth century, on the occasion of a terrible inundation of the Flemish coast, some hundreds of the inhabitants arrived in Britain, and intreated Henry I. to allow them settlements in the depopulated portions of it, when he assigned to them the province of Dyrfed (West Wales), since called Pem- brokeshire. North Wales, or the principality of Aberfraw, or S n o w d o n, was comparatively indejDendent, and had not been subju- gated up to the accession of Edward I, Edward, on his accession, made preparations for the subjugation of Wales, and demanded the recognition of his authority, as liege lord ; but nothing decisive took place, till 1277, when he advanced into Snowdon, and fortified the castles of Khuddland and Flint. Soon after, he received the submission of Llewellyn, who resigned his principality into the hands of. Edward as a conquest. Angiesea, the retreat of the Welsh bards and the princes, was ransomed for 50,000Z. sterling. Llewellyn repented of the treaty, and rebelled, but was soon treacherously taken prisoner, and assassinated. In 1283, Prince David, the brother of Llewellyn, was made prisoner, and after a mock trial at Shropsbury (Shrewsbury), was drawn and quartered. After the victory, Edward, whose queen had given birth to a prince at Caernarvon, gave him to the Welsh as a chief, born in their own country, and named him Edward of Caernarvon, and at a parliament assembled at Shropsbury, in 1307, conferred upon him the dignity of Prince of Wales, which title has ever since been borne by the eldest sons of the kings of England. On the conquest of Angiesea, the cruel Massacre of the 259 A.D. 1292-1313.] ENGLAND EDWARD L, II. [§ 48. Bards took place, and hundreds of the nobility and others went over to France. On the death of Alexander in. of Scotland, the crown had devolved upon his daughter, Margaret, who was affianced to Edward of Caernarvon (afterwards Prince of Y/ales), she died, however, in the fifth year of her reign, and the sixth of her age, when many competitors for the Scottish crown appeared, among whom were the Lord of Galloweida, John Baliol, and Robert Bruce, the lord of Annandale. This led to a civil and foreign war of twenty years' duration, in which the English bore a prominent part. Edward inter- fered, as uncle of the deceased Margaret, who had been espoused to the Prince of Wales, and as feudal sovereign of Scotland (to which, however, he had no clear title), and decided in favour of Baliol, who swore fealty to Edward, as liege lord, and was crowned at Scone (1292). The Scottish king, despised by his subjects for his submission, threw off his allegiance, and formed an alliance with France to resist the arms of Edward, who was, however, successful at Berwick and Dunbar, when Baliol was led from the castle in which the nobility had confined him, and brought before the English monarch, at the castle of Brechin, where he was deposed, and the Earl of Surrey appointed Guardian of Scotland. In 1297, the illustrious Wallace appeared, as the deliverer of his country, but was at length betrayed into the hands of Edward, by whom he was tried, at West Mynster, as a traitor to the King of England, and being found guilty, was drawn and quartered (1298). On his death, another patriotic hero, roused by the sense of national wrongs, appeared in the person of the Earl of Carrick (Robert the Bruce). He was crowned at Scone, 1306, but in consequence of ill success, was compelled to lurk as an outlaw in the Islands of the Hebrides, while Edward visited with the sternest cruelty his friends and associates. In 1307, Bruce returned to his dominions, and vanquished the English in several engagements. After the battle of Loudon Hill, where the Earl of Pembroke was defeated, Edward advanced towards the Scottish borders, but died at Burgh on the Sands, 1307. 6. Edward n. (1307 — 1327), an imbecile prince, suc- ceeded his ambitious father, and after having lost Galloway, and many fortresses, withdrew his troops from Scotland, to yield 260 § 48.] ENGLAND EDWARD II. [1314-21 A.D. himself up to his pleasures and favourites, the chief of whom was Gaveston, appointed Warden of England during the absence of the king in France, where he married the beautiful daughter of Philip iv. (Isabella). At length, the insolence of Gaveston, who had been raised to the dignity of Earl of Cornwall, and married to the king's niece, led to the formation of a league against him, composed of the greater barons, who, when assembled in Parliament, demanded a reformation of abuses from the infatuated monarch, and the banishment of Gaveston, which Edward was compelled to concede. Gaveston soon after venturing to return, was taken prisoner by the barons, who executed him, at Blacklow Hill, near Warwick. In 1314, on a treaty of peace being concluded with the barons, Edward invaded Scotland, which had been placed in the hands of the Earl of Richmond, who had driven Bruce into the northern parts of the kingdom; but before the invasion of Edward u., Bruce had been acknowledged by nearly the whole of Scotland, and appeared at the head of a large army, to defend the freedom of his country. The two kings met at Bannock- burn, near Stirling, where Edward, neglecting the sage advice of Umfraville, commenced the attack, and was defeated with dreadful slaughter; 30,000 men were left dead upon the field, exclusive of upwards of 250 of noble blood. Edward was reluctantly compelled to fly, and after many hair-breadth escapes, arrived in a skiff at Berwick, almost alone. About the same period, Edward Bruce, brother of the Scottish king, made a descent upon Ireland, and after vanquishing the Anglo- Irish armies, possessed himself of the throne, but was at length slain by the English champion, John Maupas, and the Scots were driven out of the island (1317). The war between Scotland and England was now feebly carried on, and consisted chiefly in aggressions upon the frontier provinces of either kingdom. On the loss of Berwick, Edward determined upon another expedition; he besieged the town, and after being frequently repulsed, was compelled to raise the siege (1319). He now advanced into Yorkshire, which was overrun by the Scots, as likewise were Cumberland and Westmorland. At last a treaty was entered into for two years, which paved the way for a peace, when Robert was acknowledged King of the Scots, without subjection or service. In 1321, de Spencer, who had succeeded Gaveston, excited the indignation of the barons, which was further heightened 261 .] ENGLAND EDWARD II., III. [§ 48. by the queen, who felt insulted by the overruling power of the favourite, who was banished. The barons appealed to arms, and under their leaders, the Earl of Lancaster, and Roger Mortimer, the chief of the Welsh marches, was signally de- feated at Boroughb ridge, when Lancaster, and numbers of the nobility, were taken prisoners, and beheaded at Pomfret Castle, in revenge for the execution of Gaveston. Mortimer and others were imprisoned, while several knights were hanged, drawn, and quartered. Eoger Mortimer, and several of the English nobility, contrived to break from their confinement, and escape to France, where they joined the malcontents. On the occasion of a rupture with that country, the king was per- suaded by his ministers to send the queen to negotiate the terms of a peace, which subsequently led to the renunciation of the French dominions in favour of the Prince of Wales, who was to do homage for them. Isabella, having affianced her son to the daughter of the Count of Hainault, with Mortimer, and several of the banished English nobility, arrived on the English coast, at Orwell, where she was joined by the more powerful barons, who, disgusted with the conduct of the king and his fa- vourite, de Spencer, at length deserted him. The king, with his minions, de Spencer and Baldock, with their followers, at length fled to Bristol, which the queen's army, now joined by the king's brother, the Earl of Kent, reduced, when the elder Spencer, then ninety years of age, and governor of that city, was hanged within sight of the king and the younger Spencer, who refuged in the castle. Edward, attended only by his two favourites, contrived to escape to Glamorganshire, when the prelates and barons in the queen's interest met at Bristol, and chose Edward of Aquitaine governor of the king- dom, on his father's behalf. At the beginning of the year 1327, Edward. n., who had reached Kenilworth, was deposed by the parliament, which also resolved that his son should be crowned in his stead. The king was finally imprisoned in Berkeley Castle, where he was murdered by his keepers, and afterwards buried in Gloucester Abbey. 7. Edward in. (1327 — 1377), was only fourteen on his accession : hence the queen and Mortimer ruled in his name ; but the latter, by an assumption of regal honour, offended the barons, while the licentiousness of the queen excited disgust in the minds of her subjects. The Earl of Kent, one of the members of the regency, was tried and executed; but the 262 § 48.] ENGLAND — EDWARD Bff. [1331-69 A.D. daring and cruel deed was visited upon Mortimer (now Earl of March), who was seized by night, in the castle of Nottingham, brought to London, and, after being tried by the parliament, was executed. The queen was deprived of her lands, and, for the last twenty-seven years of her life, was compelled to live in a state of limited confinement at Risings. Edward now prepared for an attack upon Scotland, but the Scottish army having decamped, the English returned to Durham. In 1328, a peace was concluded at Edinburgh, when all claims of dominion and supremacy over Scotland were given up. On the death of* Robert Bruce, Lord Randolph was appointed regent, on behalf of the youthful David, who was crowned at Scone, 1331. On an insurrection of the disinherited nobility of Scotland, to recover their lands, the new regent (the Earl of March) was defeated, and John Baliol, one of the most powerful, usurped the Scottish throne, and, to secure its pos- session, met Edward, who was on his advance into the north, and renewed, in all its forms, the subjugation of the kingdom. Berwick Castle was ceded to the English, and landed posses- sions to the yearly amount of two thousand pounds. Baliol was soon dethroned, and compelled to flee into England, when Edward made preparations to assist his vassal. The battle of Halidon Hill, decided in favour of the English, placed Baliol on the throne, and Berwickshire, Roxburghshire, Selkirkshire, Peeblesshire, and Dumfries shire, with Lothian, were ceded to the English monarch (1334). The Scottish nobility again drove Edward's vassal from the throne. The king twice in- vaded Scotland before the rightful sovereign, David Bruce, arrived, and assumed the reins of government (1341 ). For the -R-ars in France, consequent npon the claims of Edward in. to the French crown, see page 247. The Scots, taking advantage of Edward's absence in France, attacked the frontiers, and violated the truces which had been entered into, but suffered a dreadful defeat at Xeville's Cross, their king, David Bruce, being taken prisoner, with many of the chief nobility* Scotland was now ruled in the north by a regency, or steward, appointed fey the nobility who had escaped from the battle of Neville's Cross, while the country south of the Forth was in the hands of the lieutenant of the marches. Assisted by France, the Scottish nobles made another effort to shake off the yoke of the English monarch, and defeated his 263 A.D. 1369-86.] ENGLAND PJCHARD II. [§ 48. generals at Nesbit, and then attacked Berwick, the castle of which they failed to reduce. Edward, on his return from France, determined to put a final end to the invading of the Scots, and advanced with his victorious army to Berwick, when the enemy vacated the town, and retreated into their glens, dingles, and forests. Edward pursued, but found no provisions for his army, and was compelled to retreat, while the Scots, issuing from their recesses, harassed the English, and cut off vast numbers of them. Negotiations were now entered into; David was to be restored on the payment of 100,000 marks, and hostages for the observance of the treaty to be delivered into the hands of the English. In 1369, a truce was entered into for fourteen years, and in 1370, the Scottish monarch died, when Robert n. succeeded to the crown. Ed- ward died at Canterbury, 1376. During the long reign of Edward, no less than seventy parliaments were assembled, and the assembly or parliament of the nation, was divided into the upper and lower houses ; the first consisting of barons and prelates, the latter of inferior barons and burgesses, or representa- tives of cities. 8. Ei chard n. (1377—1399), of Bordeaux, the son of the Black Prince, succeeded, amidst the acclamations of his sub- jects. A regency, consisting of nine counsellors, was appointed, among whom was the Earl of Lancaster, John of Gaunt. In the year 1381, the revolt of the lower classes took place, who began to emancipate themselves from that oppression under which they had for so long a period laboured. Accident occasioned the outbreak. A collector of the Poll Tax having acted insultingly towards the daughter of Wat Tyler, a tiler of Dartmouth, the father of the maiden struck the collector to the earth. The men of Kent were aroused, and declared that there should be no slaves; and soon after the men of the eastern counties followed their example. Sixty thousand of the rebels met on Blackheath, and proceeded to attack London, of which they possessed themselves, and put the chancellor and the primate to death. Soon after, an inter- view took place in Smithfield, between Wat Tyler, the leader of the rebels, and the youthful king, attended by his coun- sellors and the lord mayor. The latter, judging from the conduct of the rebel chief that the king's life was endangered, plunged a poignard into the throat of Tyler, whose death was completed by one of the king's esquires, as he fell from 264 § 48.] ENGLAND-HENRY OF LANCASTER-WYCLIFFE. [1398-9 A.D. his horse. The leader being slain, the revolt was soon crushed, but not until after 1,500 were hanged, and many others imprisoned. The king, although now in full age to exercise the prerogatives of the crown, yet intrusted the government to his two favourites, De Vere and De la Pole, the latter of whom, having been created Duke of Suffolk, was, through the influence of the Duke of Gloucester, tried before the commons, nor could the king wholly save him: his life was preserved, but he was severely fined. Gloucester was now placed at the head of affairs, when Richard, finding that the court of the regent was frequented rather than his own, procured from the judges, and his favourites, an opinion that the government of Gloucester was illegal. The latter at once took up arms, and many of his adherents were executed, while others took to flight or were banished. The king now threw off his fetters, and notified, by a public proclamation, that he had taken the whole government of the kingdom into his own hands. Soon after, he visited his Irish dominions, and, to secure peace with France, espoused the Princess Isabella. On his return, he began to wreak his vengeance on the nobles, who had so long ruled with a high hand, both over the nation and himself. Gloucester, Warwick, and Arundel were tried for treason, when the former was banished, and the two latter imprisoned in the Tower. On the meeting of parliament (1398), the acts of Gloucester were annulled, and the opinions of the judges confirmed, while the favourite De la Pole was recalled. Richard now ruled more tyrannically, and that alienated his subjects from his government. On his expedition to Ireland, remark- able for the splendour of the king's retinue, Henry, duke of Lancaster, urged by the discontented barons, left Paris for England, and raised the standard of rebellion. In a few days he was joined by 60,000 men, and on marching to London, compelled the regent (Duke of York) to abandon the capital. Bristol, the refuge of the partisans of Richard, sur- rendered, and lords Scroop, Bussy, and Green were tried and executed. Richard arrived soon after from Ireland, and took refuge in Conway Castle, from which place, under a solemn assurance of safety, he was induced to withdraw, and was seized as a prisoner by Northumberland, and conveyed into the presence of Henry, by whom he was committed to Chester Castle, and from thence to the Tower. In 1399, his abdica- tion, ratified by the lords and commons, took place, and 265 n A.D. 1399-1413.] ENGLAND-HENRY OF LANCASTER. [§ 48. Henry, duke of Lancaster, was acknowledged king, amidst the applause of the multitude. In 1382 commenced the persecution of WyclifFe, one of the most famous doctors of the English church, who was arraigned before a national synod, under Archbishop Courtenay, and bis works con- demned. The doctrines propounded by this early English reformer correspond, in most instances, with those of the Church of England in the present day.* In conseqiience of the persecution raised against him , and the publicity thus given to his doctrines, nearly one half of England embraced the so called heretical opinions, and were termed, by way of reproach, Lollards (Wycliffites) . In 1396, the members of the University of Oxford became so tinged with the doctrines of Wycliffe, that it was subjected to visitation, on which occasion many of the conclusions of the reformer were condemned ; yet, in 1406, the univer- sity seal was affixed to testimonials of good character and propriety of behaviour on his behalf. Subsequently, however, the followers of Wycliffe were persecuted, and many of them sealed the truth with their blood. The first martyr was William Sawtrey, of London, clergyman, brought to the stake by Archbishop Arundel, because he refused to worship the cross, and denied the doctrine of transubstantia- tion. Wycliffe died in his parish of Lutterworth, being struck with palsy while performing divine service in the church. B. Three Kings of the House of Lancaster (a collateral line of the House of Plant agenet), 1399—1461. Henry iv. (1399 — 1413), of capacity and vigour, was the idol of the populace, and the chief of the baronial party ; an unresisted army was at his command, and the parliament was ready to obey his mandates. ' The house of York there- fore was not in a condition to contest the crown with him. Richard, the late king, was still a prisoner ; but on the unsuc- cessful rebellion of the barons in his favour, to release him, and then to restore him to his titles, he was starved to death (?), while many of his followers were beheaded. The truce with Scotland being ended, the Scots began again to make inroads into the border counties. Henry marched against them, and advanced to Edinburgh. The Scots retired, and Henry, after besieging the city, was compelled to return to England. In 1403, the Welsh northern chiefs rose in re- bellion, assisted by the Percies of Scotland. Earl Douglas, with a Scotch army, met the king at Shrewsbury, when they were defeated with great slaughter. Percy, with 200 knights, and 5,000 men, being left dead on the field. Soon * Short's " History of the Church of England," page 62. 266 § 48.] ENGLAND HENRY V., VI. [1413-53 A.D. after, another rising took place, under the valiant chieftain Owen Glendower. This was settled by an amnesty, and Henry of Monmouth, the king's son, was made lord-lieutenant of Wales, when he marched against Owen's son, and gained the victory of Grosmont. This, for a while, crippled the Welch, but war was, however, maintained at intervals down to 1418. In 1402, the Scottish irruptions were again com- menced, but Sir Henry Percy (Hotspur), and his father, the Earl of Northumberland, defeated the Scots at Halidon Hill, with great slaughter, when Sir Henry Percy was created earl of Douglas by the king, who evinced great pleasure at the success of his vassal's arms. Henry, who had long been sub- ject to epilepsy, died at Westminster, 1413, in the fourteenth year of his reign, and the forty-seventh of his age, leaving his crown to his brave son. Henry v. (1413 — 1422), who, on his accession, restored the Percies to their possessions in Scotland, and released his cousin, the Earl of March, from his imprisonment. (For the wars in France, see page 253.) On the absence of Henry in France, the Scots took the opportunity of again invading the borders, but were defeated by the dukes of Exeter and Bed- ford, who compelled them to raise the sieges of Roxburgh and Berwick. Henry, the victor of Agincourt, died in France, at Vincennes, 1422, leaving the Duke of Bedford, regent of France, and the Duke of Gloucester, protector of England, during the minority of Henry vi. (1422 — 1461), who was proclaimed King of France as well as of England. After the death of the regent Bedford (1435), the French possessions were, with the exception of Maine and Anjou, Calais and the Channel Islands, entirely lost. On the marriage of Henry with the imperious Margaret, Maine and Anjou were bestowed upon Rene, the bride's father, and titular king of Sicily and Jerusalem. On the union of the Duke of Burgundy with the French king, the war against the English was prosecuted with renewed vigour. In 1449 Rouen capitulated; Cherbourg in 1450; and on the surrender of Bor- deaux, in 1453, Calais and the Channel Islands alone remained to the English. The giving away of the French provinces of Maine and Anjou, and the loss of Rouen and Bordeaux, etc., excited general discontent, while the factions of Beaufort and Gloucester agitated the country from one end of it to another. On the elevation of Margaret by her marriage with Henry, at 267 n2 A.D. 1453-61.] ENGLAND WARS OF THE ROSES. [§ 48. the instigation of the Beaufort faction, the Gloucester party soon experienced the weight of her vindictive power: the Duke was arraigned before the parliament (1447), and soon after murdered in prison (?). The head of the Lancas- trian party being now removed, the downfall of that house soon followed. On the death of her favourite minister, the Duke of Suffolk, a rebellion broke out in Kent, headed by John Cade. The court was compelled to remove to Kenil- worth, but the citizens of the metropolis armed, and van- quished the rebels, many of whose chiefs they hanged, while a great number of their deluded followers was slaughtered. On the death of Humphrey of Gloucester, Richard stood next in succession to the throne, and had a title to it even superior to that of the reigning monarch (see genealogical table) : and on the birth of a prince, 1453 (the illfated Prince Edward), the Yorkists, during the imbecility of the king, endeavoured to place Richard at the head of the administration, and im- peached the queen's favourite, Somerset, whom they committed to the Tower, and nominated Richard of Gloucester pro- tector of the kingdom. On the partial restoration of the king, the queen assumed the government in his name, and released Suffolk, when the opposition between the reigning house of Lancaster, and the Yorkists, broke out into an open warfare (theWars of the Roses), which desolated the kingdom for upwards of thirty years, during which twelve pitched bat- tles were fought, many of the princes of the blood perished, and one half of the nobility of the kingdom, with nearly all the principal gentry, fell in the unhappy contest. The first battle was that of St. Albans, when Somerset was slain, and the king taken prisoner. The latter was, hoAvever, treated kindly and with courtesy by Richard, who was now a second time proclaimed protector. The intrigues of the queen, however, deprived Richard once more of his protectorate, and he retired from court. On occasion of hostile demonstrations on the part of the Lancastrians, fostered by the queen, the Yorkists again took up arms, and defeated the Royalists at Blore Heath (1459). At the battle of Northampton, the queen and prince were compelled to flee for their lives, while the imbecile and inoffensive monarch again fell into the hands of the Yorkists, who still treated him with great kindness. In the parliament held at York, 1461, Richard made a formal demand of the crown, founded on his descent from Lionel, duke of Clarence, 268 § 48.] ENGLAND EDWARD IV. [1461-83 A.D. third son of Edward in. Counsel were heard by the lords, who decided that Richard should hold the protectorate, and that on the death of Henry the crown should devolve to the house of York, its right being certain and indefeasible. The queen could not endure the disinheriting of her son, and hence the Lancastrians made another effort in support of their party. The opposing armies met at Wakefield, when the Duke of York fell in the engagement, and his son, a boy of twelve years of age, was cruelly butchered by the Lord Clifford. Edward, earl of March, learning the fate of his father and brother, soon mustered his troops, and advanced to meet the Lancastrians at Mortimer's Cross, near Hereford, where he defeated them with great slaughter, and cruelly put to death many of his noble prisoners, in revenge for the death of his father. At St. Albans, the queen was, however, once more triumphant ; Warwick was defeated, and the king released from his cus- tody. Warwick, having joined Edward, the queen's party was compelled to retire before them. Edward entered London with acclamations, and was soon after proclaimed king, by the title of Edward iv. C. Three Kings of the House of York, 1461-1485. 1. Edward iv. (1461—1483), the rose of Rouen, had still to contend with the Lancastrians, who, with their army of 60,000 men, were concentrated at York, to maintain their cause. The opposing forces met at Towton, when 20,000 of the Lancaster forces were left dead on the field of battle, after which Edward entered York in triumph. Margaret, the queen, now sought assistance from France, and landed in Northumberland, where she was opposed by Warwick, and compelled again to seek safety in flight. On the breaking out of differences between Warwick and the king, the former, being obliged, as an outlaw, to retire to France, espoused the cause of Margaret, and the Prince Edward, her son, whom he engaged to seat on the throne of England, in the place of their mutual enemy, Edward iv. Warwick landed at Ply- mouth, when the partisans of his house flocked to his stan- dard in such numbers, that the king, seeing resistance to be hopeless, embarked for Holland. Warwick, however, instead of seating Prince Edward on the throne, caused the imprisoned king, Henry vl, to be brought from the Tower, and placed him upon the throne. Edward, who had not been inactive in 269 A.D. 1483-85.] ENGLAND-EDWARD V.-RICHARD IE. [§ 48. his exile, on obtaining the support of his brother, Charles, duke of Burgundy, resolved to prosecute his claims to the English throne, and for that purpose effected a landing at Ravenspur, 1471. Multitudes flocked to his banners, and after a short time, he proceeded triumphantly towards the south, where he engaged the forces of Warwick at Barnet, and utterly defeated them. Warwick fell in the engage- ment. Edward again gave battle to the Lancastrians (now joined by Margaret and her son) at Tewkesbury, when he was again victorious, the queen and her son falling into his hands as prisoners. The young Prince Henry was barba- rously murdered, and the queen was committed to prison, until her ransom by the French monarch, when she returned to France, and died in seclusion. Henry vi. was found dead in the Tower (probably by the dagger of Richard of Glou- cester). The noble house of Lancaster was now extinct, with the exception of Henry Tudor, who fled to Bretagne (Brit- tany). The remaining years of Edward's reign was a calm : he caused his infant son to be created prince of Wales, and declared his successor, and, in 1483, closed his anxious career. 2. Edward v. (1483) reigned only nominally for the short space of eleven weeks, when he was set aside by his ambitious guardian and uncle, Richard, duke of Gloucester, who, having imprisoned his nephews in the Tower, ascended the throne. 3. Richard m. (1483 — 1485), in order to the security of his throne, commanded the murder of his two nephews. A conspiracy was organized in their favour, when their death, hitherto kept a profound secret, was made known, without any allusion to the circumstances under which it took place. This served to strengthen the conspiracy. At length, the Lancas- trians, under Henry Tudor, who had arrived from France, coalesced with the discontented Yorkists, and prepared to de- throne the cruel and ambitious Richard, whom they engaged at Bosworth Field, where he fell, covered with wounds. The Plantagenet line now ended, and that of the Tudors com- menced, with Henry vn., who, by his marriage with the Prin- cess Elizabeth, united the two houses of Lancaster and York. 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