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PRESENTED  BY 

RICHARD  HUDSON 

PROFESSOR    OP  HIHTORY 


r 


HINCBXIFF. 


CHARLES     Y. 


Lmt' 


IRAV- 


"4." 


■9^ 


LONDON  : 
HENRY  G.  BOHN,  YORK  STREET,  COVENT  GARDEN. 

MDOCCXLIX. 


,^. 


C  II  ARL  E  S      V. 


HISTORY  OF  GERMANY, 


FROM   THE 


EARLIEST  PERIOD  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 

»  BY 

WOLFGANG  MENZEL. 

TRANSLATED  PROM  THE  FOURTH  GERMAN   EDITION, 

BY 

MRS.  GEORGE  HORROCKS. 

IN  THREE  VOLUMES. 
VOL.  IL 


LONDON : 
HENRY  G.  BOHN,  YORK  STREET,  COVENT  GARDEN. 

MDCCCXLIX. 


^^ 


JOHN    CH1LD6  AMD  SON,    BUM  GAY. 


fi,^Urd  X^^^^^/  -  J3cc/rr/^rz 


HISTORY  OF  GERMANY. 


SECOND  PEEIOD.— CONTINUED. 
THE  MIDDLE  AGES. 


CLX.    Conrad  the  Fourth  and  Conradin, 

The  news  of  the  emperor's  death  was  receiyed  with  exult- 
ation by  the  pontiff:  "Let  the  heavens  rejoice,  and  let  the 
earth  be*  glad."  With  insolent  triumph  he  wrote  to  the  city 
of  Naples,  declaring  that  he  took  her  forthwith  into  his  pos- 
s^ion,  and  that  she  should  never  again  he  under  the  control 
o{  a  temporal  sovereign.  He  also  declared  the  Hohenstaufen 
to  have  forfeited  their  right  upon  Apulia  and  Sicily,  and  even 
Qpon  Swabia.  The  Alemannic  princes  made  a  lavish  use  of 
the  freedom  from  all  restraint  granted  to  them  by  the  pope, 
^e  Alpine  nobles  became  equally  lawless.  Baso,  bishop  of 
^ion,  a  papal  partisan,  whom  William  of  Holland  had  em- 
powered to  confiscate  the  lands  of  the  Ghibellines,  counte- 
nancing the  tyranny  exercised  by  Mangipan,  lord  of  Morill, 
over  the  Yalais  peasantry,  they  applied  for  aid  to  Peter,  earl 
of  Savoy,  by  whom  he  was  humbled  [a.  d.  1251].  In  1255, 
^^e  Ghibelline  bishop,  Henry  of  Chur,  took  the  field  against 
the  Rhaetian  dynasts,  who  discovered  equal  insolence,  and  de- 
feated them  and  their  allies,  the  Lombard  Guelphs,  at  Enns. 
J^  imperial  cause  was  sustained  in  Upper  Italy  by  Ezzelino, 
in  Lower  Italy  by  Manfred.  This  prince,  Enzio's  rival  in 
talent,  valour,  and  beauty,  was  a  son  of  the  emperor  by  his 
"■^stress  Blanca  Lancia,  whom  he  afterwards  married.  Bom 
^d  educated  in  Italy,  he  was  the  idol  of  his  countrymen,  and 
^  prince  of  Tarento,  was  by  no  means  a  despicable  antagonist 
^  the  pope. 

VOL  II,  B 

231027 


/ 


^  CONRAD  THE  FOURTH. 

Conrad  IV.,  Frederick's  eldest  son  and  successor,  every- 
where driven  from  the  field  in  Germany,  took  refuge  in  Italy, 
and,  trusting  that  his  father's  death  had  conciliated  the  pope, 
offered  in  his  necessity  to  submit  to  any  conditions  he  might 
impose,  if  he  were  recognised  emperor  by  him.  His  advances 
were  treated  with  silent  contempt.  Manfred,  with  a  truly- 
noble  and  fraternal  spirit,  ceded  the  sovereignty  of  Italy  to  his 
brother,  whom  he  aided  by  both  word  and  deed.  In  1253,  the 
royal  brothers  captured  Capua  and  Naples,  where  Conrad 
placed  a  bridle  in  the  mouth  of  an  antique  colossal  horse's 
head,  the  emblem  of  the  city.  The  terrible  fate  that  pursued 
the  imperial  family  was  not  to  be  averted  by  success.  Their 
younger  brother,  Henry,  the  son  of  Isabella  of  England,  to 
whom  the  throne  of  Sicily  had  been  destined  by  his  father, 
suddenly  expired,  and,  in  1254,  his  fate  was  shared  by  Conrad 
in  his  26th  year.  Their  deaths  were  ascribed  to  poison,  said, 
by  the  Guelphs,  to  have  been  administered  by  Conrad  to 
Henry,  and  by  Manfred  to  Conrad.  The  crime  was,  neverthe- 
less, indubitably  committed  by  the  papal  faction,  the  pope  and 
the  Guelphs  being  solely  interested  in  the  destruction  of  the 
Hohenstaufen.  Manfred's  rule  in  Italy  was  certainly  secured 
to  him  by  the  death  of  his  legitimate  brothers,  but  on  the 
other  hand  it  deprived  him  of  dl  hope  of  aid  from  Germany, 
and  his  total  inability  unaided  to  oppose  the  pope,  was  evident 
immediately  after  Conrad's  death,  when  he  made  terms  with 
the  pontiff,  to  whom  he  ceded  the  whole  of  Lower  Italy,  Ta- 
rento  alone  excepted.  He  was,  nevertheless,  speedily  neces- 
sitated again  to  take  tip  arms  against  the  lieutenant  of  the 
pope,  and  was  driven  by  suspicion  of  a  design  against  his  life 
to  make  a  last  and  desperate  defence.  The  German  merce*- 
naries  at  Nocera  under  the  command  of  the  Margrave  von 
Hochberg,  and  the  Moors  who  had  served  under  the  emperor 
Frederick,  flocked  beneath  his  banner,  and  on  the  death  of  the 
pontiff,  [a.  d.  1154,]  who  expired  on  the  anniversary  of  the 
death  of  Frederick  II.,  affairs  suddenly  changed.  The  car- 
dinals elected  Alexander  IV.,  who  was  powerless  against  Man- 
fred's party  ;  and  the  son  of  Conrad  IV.,  the  young  Duke 
Conradin  of  Swabia,  whose  minority  was  passed  in  obscurity 
at  the  court  of  his  uncle  of  Bavaria,  being  unable  to  assert  his 
claim  to  the  crown  of  Apulia,  the  hopes  of  the  Ghibellines  of 
Lower  Italy  naturally  centred  in  Manfred,  who  was  unani- 


CONKAD  THE  FOUKTH.  3 

mously  proclaimed  king  by  his  faithful  vassals,  and  crowned  at 
Palermo,  A.  i>.  1258. 

In  Upper  Italy  the  affairs  of  the  Ghibellines  wore  a  con- 
trary aspect.  E^zelino,  af^r  making  a  desperate  defence  at 
Cassano,  was  defeated,  wounded,  and  taken  prisoner.  He  died 
of  his  wounds,  [a.  i>.  1259,]  scornfully  r^ecting  to  the  last  ill 
spiritoal  aid.  His  more  gentle  brother,  Alberich,  after  seeing 
bis  wife  and  children  cruelly  butchered,  was  dragged  to  death 
at  a  horse's  taiL  The  rest  of  the  Ghibelline  chiefs  met  with 
an  equafly  wretched  fate.  These  horrible  scenes  of  bloodshed 
worked  so  forcibly  upon  the  feelings  of  even  the  hardened  Ital- 
ians, that  numbers  arrayed  themselves  *in  sackcloth,  and  did 
penance  at  the  grave  of  Alberich :  this  circumstance  gave  rise  to 
the  sect  of  the  Flagellants,  who  ran  lamenting,  praying,  preach- 
ing repentance,  and  wounding  themselves  and  others  with 
bloody  stripes,  through  the  streets,  in  order  to  atone  for  the 
sins  of  the  world. 

It  was  in  the  course  of  this  year  that  Manfred  solemnixed 
^8  second  nuptials  with  Helena,  the  daughter  of  Michael  of 
-^tolia  and  Cyprus,  who  was  then  in  her  seventeenth  year, 
and  famed  for  her  extraordinary  loveliness.  The  uncommon 
beauty  of  the  bridal  pair,  and  the  charms  of  their  court,  which, 
as  in  Frederick's  time,  was  composed  of  the  most  distinguished 
bards  and  the  most  beautiful  women,  were  such  as  to  justify 
the  expression  used  by  a  poet  of  the  times,  **  Paradise  had  once 
^OTQ  appeared  upon  earth.''  Manfred,  like  his  father  and  his 
brother  Enzio,  was  himself  a  Minnesinger.  His  marriage  with 
Helena  bad  gained  for  him  the  alliance  of  Greece,  and  the  union 
of  Constance,  his  daughter  by  a  former  marriage,  with  Peter 
of  Arragon,  confirmed  his  amity  with  Spain.  He  was  now  en- 
abled to  send  aid  to  the  distressed  Ghibellines  in  Lombardy ; 
A.  D.  1260.  They  were  again  victorious  at  Montaperto,  and 
the  gallant  Pallavicini  became  his  lieutenant  in  Upper  Italy. 
The  pope  was  compelled  to  flee  from  Rome  to  Viterbo.  The 
oity  of  Manfredonia,  so  named  after  its  founder,  Manfred,  was 
built  at  this  period. 

The  Guelphs,  alarmed  at  Manfred's  increasing  power,  now 
sought  for  foreign  aid,  and  raised  a  Frenchman,  Urban  IV., 
to  the  pontifical  throne.  This  pope  induced  Charles  of  Anjou, 
tbe  brother  of  the  French  monarch,  who  had  already  "  fished 
in  troubled  waters"  in  Flanders,  to  grasp  at  the  crown  of 

B  2 


4  CONRAD  THE  FOURTH. 

Apulia.  On  the  death  of  Urban,  [a.  d.  1265,]  another  French- 
man, Clement  V.,  succeeded  to  the  chair  of  St.  Peter,  and 
greatly  contributed  to  hasten  the  projected  invasion.  Charles 
was  gloomy  and  priest-ridden ;  extremely  unprepossessing  in 
his  person,  and  of  an  olive  complexion ;  invariably  cold,  silent, 
and  reserved  in  manner,  impatient  of  gaiety  or  cheerfulness, 
and  so  cold-blooded  and  cruel  as  to  be  viewed  with  horror 
even  by  his  bigoted  brother,  St.  Louis.  This  ill-omened 
prince  at  first  fixed  his  residence  in  the  Arelat,  where  the 
emperor's  rights  were  without  a  champion,  and  then  sailed 
with  a  powerful  fieet  to  Naples,  a.  d.  1266.  France,  until 
now  a  listless  spectator,  for  the  first  time  opposed  her  influence 
to  that  of  Germany  in  Italy,  and  henceforward  pursued  the 
policy  of  taking  advantage  of  the  disunited  state  of  the  Ger- 
man empire  in  order  to  seize  one  province  after  another. 

Manfred  collected  his  whole  sti*ength  to  oppose  the  French 
invader,  but  the  clergy  tampered  with  his  soldiery  and  sowed 
treason  in  his  camp.  Charles  no  sooner  landed  than  Riccardo 
di  Caseta  abandoned  the  mountain  pass  intrusted  to  his  de- 
fence, and  allowed  the  French  to  advance  unmolested  as  far  as 
Benevento,  where,  on  the  26th  of  February,  1266,  a  decisive 
battle  was  fought,  in  which  Manfred,  notwithstanding  his'  gal- 
lant efibrts,  being  worsted,  threw  himself  in  despair  in  the 
thickest  of  the  fight,  where  he  fell,  covered  with  wounds. 
Charles,  on  the  score  of  heresy,  refused  him  honourable  burial, 
but  the  French  soldiery,  touched  by  his  beauty  and  gallantry, 
cast  each  of  them  a  stone  upon  his  body,  which  was  by  this 
means  buried  beneath  a  hillock-  still  known  by  the  natives  as 
the  rock  of  roses.* 

Helena,  accompanied  by  her  daughter  Beatrice  and  her 
three  infant  sons,  Henry,  Frederick,  and  Anselino,  sought 
safety  in  flight,  but  was  betrayed  to  Charles,  who  threw  her 
and  her  children  into  a  dungeon,  where  she  shortly  languished 
and  died.  Beatrice  was  saved  from  a  similar  fate  by  Peter  of 
Arragon,  to  whom  she  was  delivered  in  exchange  for  a  son  of 
Charles  d'Anjou,  who  had  fallen  into  his  hands.  The  three 
boys  were  consigned  to  a  narrow  dungeon,  where,  loaded  with 

*  L'ossa  del  corpo  mio  sarieno  ancora 
In  CO  del  ponte,  presso  a  Benevento, 
Sotto  la  guardia  della  grave  mora. 

Dante,  Canto  III.  del  Purgatorio. 


COKBAD  THE  FOimXH.  o 

(ibuns,  baLf-naked,  ill-fed,  and  nntanght,  tbej  remained  in 
perfeet  seclusion  for  the  space  of  thiitj-one  years:  in  1297, 
tiiey  were  released  from  their  chains,  and  allowed  to  be  yisited 
by  a  priest  and  a  physician.  The  eldest,  Henry,  died  in  1309. 
With  fanatical  rage,  Charles  destroyed  every  yestige  of  the 
reign  of  the  Hohenstaufen  in  Lower  Italy. 

Italy  was  for  ever  torn  from  the  empire,  from  which  Bar- 
gundy,  too  long  neglected  for  the  sake  of  her  classic  sister, 
was  also  seyered.  Her  soathem  provinces,  Provence,  Yienne, 
and  Toulouse  were  annexed  to  France,  whilst  her  more 
northern  ones,  the  earldoms  of  Burgundy  and  Savoy,  became 
an  almost  independent  state. 

Whilst  the  name  and  power  of  the  Hohenstaufen  family 
was  being  thus  annihilated  in  Italy,  Germany  seemed  to  have 
forgotten  her  ancient  fame.  The  princes  and  vassals  who 
mainly  owed  their  influence  to  the  Staufen,  had  ungratefully 
deprived  the  orphaned  Conradin  of  his  inheritance.  Swabia 
was  his  merely  in  name,  and  he  would  in  all  probability  have 
shared  the  fate  of  his  Italian  relatives  had  he  not  found  an 
asylum  in  the  court  of  Louis  of  Bavaria. 

William  of  Holland,  with  a  view  of  increasing  his  popularity 
by  an  alliance  with  the  Welfs,  espoused  Elisabeth,  the  daughter 
of  Otto  of  Brunswick.  The  faction  of  the  Welfs  had,  however, 
been  too  long  broken  ever  to  regain  strength,  and  the  circum- 
stance of  the  destruction  of  his  false  crown  (the  genuine  one 
being  still  in  Italy)  during  a  conflagration  which  burst  out 
on  the  night  of  the  nuptials,  and  almost  proved  fatal  to 
him  and  his  bride,  rendered  him  an  object  of  fresh  ridicule. 
He  disgraced  the  dignity  he  had  assumed  by  his  lavish  sale 
or  gift  of  the  imperial  prerogatives  and  lands  to  his  adhe- 
rents, whom  he  by  these  means  bribed  to  uphold  his  cause, 
and  by  bis  complete  subserviency  to  the  pope.  His  des- 
picable conduct  received  its  fitting  reward:  no  city,  none 
of  the  temporal  nor  even  of  the  spiritual  lords  throughout  the 
empire,  tolerated  his  residence  within  their  demesnes.  Conrad, 
archbishop  of  Cologne,  ordered  the  roof  of  the  house  in  which 
he  resided  at  Nuys,  to  be  set  on  fire,  in  order  to  enforce  his 
departure.  At  Utrecht,  a  stone  was  cast  at  him  in  the  church. 
His  wife  was  seduced  by  a  Count  von  Waldeck.  This  wretch- 
ed emperor  was  at  length  compelled  to  retire  into  Holland, 
where  he  employed  himself  in  attempting  to  reduce  a  petty 


6  CONRAD  THE  FOURTH. 

nation,  the  West  Friscians,  beneath  his  joke.  This  expedition 
terminated  fatally  to  himself  alone ;  when  crossing  a  frozen 
morass  on  horseback,  armed  cap-a-pie,  the  ice  gave  way  be- 
neath the  weight,  and  whilst  in  this  helpless  situation,  unable 
either  to  extricate  or  defend  himself,  he  was  attacked  and 
slain  by  some  Friscian  boors,  to  whom  he  was  personally  un- 
known. On  discovering  his  rank,  they  were  filled  with  terror 
at  their  own  daring,  and  buried  him  with  the  utmost  secrecy. 
The  regency  of  Holland  was  committed  to  Adelheid,  the  wife 
of  John  d'Avesnes,  during  the  minority  of  her  nephew,  Flo- 
rens  V.,  the  son  of  William.  She  was  expelled  by  the  Dutch, 
who  disdained  a  woman's  control.  Florens  succeeded  to  the 
government  on  attaining  his  majority.  On  the  death  of  the 
emperor,  John  d' Avesnes  was  induced  by  a  political  motive  to 
conciliate  his  mother  and  step-brothers,  who  were  supported 
by  France.  The  departure  of  Charles  d'Anjou  was  purchased 
with  large  sums  of  money.  Guy  de  Dampierre  obtained 
Flanders :  John  d' Avesnes,  merely  the  Hennegau.  Namur 
passed  from  the  hands  of  Philip,  the  brother  of  Baldwin  of 
Constantinople,  by  intermarriage,  into  those  of  the  French 
monarch,  but  was  sold  by  Louis  to  Guy  de  Dampierre,  who 
bestowed  it  on  one  of  his  sons.  Artois  remained  annexed  to 
France. 

The  northern  Friscians  greatly  distinguished  themselves 
at  this  period  by  their  spirited  contest  with  the  Danes.  Wal- 
demar  had  left  several  sons,  Erich,  Abel,  Christoph,  etc. 
Erich,  on  mounting  the  throne,  [a.  d.  1241,]  attempted  to 
reconquer  Holstein  and  Liibeck,  in  which  he  signally  failed, 
and  his  metropolis,  Copenhagen,  was  burnt  to  the  ground 
[a.  d.  1248]  by  a  Liibeck  fleet.  Erich  was  basely  slain  by 
his  brother  Abel,  who  cast  his  corpse,  laden  with  chains,  into 
the  water,  and  seized  the  sovereignty,  a.  d.  1250 :  and  this 
monster  of  infamy  was  offered  the  imperial  throne  by  Innocent 
IV.,  when  that  pontiff  was  seeking  for  a  fitting  tool  to  set  up 
in  opposition  to  the  Hohenstaufen.  Abel  was  a  t3rrant.  The 
heavy  taxes  imposed  by  him  on  the  northern  Friscians,  in  the 
west  of  Schleswig,  inducing  a  rebellion,  he  invaded  their 
country,  but  was  defeated  by  the  brave  peasantry,  and  slain 
on  the  Myllerdamm  by  a  wheelwright,  named  Henner.  His 
corpse  was  interred  in  the  cathedral  at  Schleswig,  but  his 
ghost  becoming  restless  and  trotiblesome,  it  was  disinterred. 


CONRAD  THE  FOURTH.  t 

pierced  with  a  stake,  and  sunk  in  a  swamp  at  Gottorp,  a.  d. 
1251.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  more  moderate  brother, 
Christoph,  who  was  poisoned  in  1259,  by  the  canon  Amefast. 
The  pope  was  implicated  in  the  commission  of  this  crime, 
Christoph  having  refused  to  submit  to  the  authority  assumed 
by  the  clergy  ;  his  son  was  consequently  rejected  by  the  Dan* 
ish  bishops,  who  raised  Erich,  the  son  of  Abel,  to  the  throne. 
The  pope,  the  former  friend  of  the  lawless  Abel,  raised 
Christoph's  assassin  to  the  bishopric  of  Aarhus.  Margaretha, 
Christoph's  widow,  and  her  infant  son,  Erich  Glipping,  the 
blinkard,  maintained  their  station  for  a  while,  but  the  op- 
posing faction  being  succoured  by  the  Earls  Grerhard  and 
John  of  Holstein,  they  were  defeated  and  taken  prisoners  on 
the  Lohaide  near  Schleswig,  A.  D.  1291.  Albrecht  of  Bruns- 
wick, their  most  active  supporter,  governed  Denmark  in 
Margaretha's  name.  Margaretha  also  succeeded  in  obtaining 
pardon  from  the  pope,  by  a  pilgrimage  undertaken  by  her  for 
that  purpose  to  Rome.  Her  son  Erich  became  king  of  Den- 
mark, and  Erich,  the  son  of  Abel,  duke  of  Schleswig.  Erich 
Glipping  was  despotic,  dissolute,  and  lawless ;  he  was  mur- 
dered in  his  sleep,  [a.  d.  1286,]  in  revenge  for  having  violated 
the  wife  of  Stigo,  the  marshal  of  his  empire.  By  the  noto- 
rious  Birka  Rett,  a  new  code  of  laws  compiled  by  this  mon- 
arch, he  had  completely  deprived  the  Danes  of  their  ancestral 
rights  and  liberties,  and  reduced  the  peasantry  to  servitude  ; 
a  measure  that  gained  for  him  the  favour  of  the  clergy  and 
nobility.     He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Erich  Menved. 

On  the  death  of  Conrad  IV.  and  of  William  of  Holland, 
fresh  competitors  for  the  crown  appeared,  although  undemand- 
ed  by  the  German  princes,  each  of  whom  strove  to  protract 
the  confusion  that  reigned  throughout  the  empire,  and  utterly 
to  annihilate  the  imperial  power,  in  order  to  increase  their  own. 
The  crown  was,  in  consequence,  only  claimed  by  two  foreign 
princes,  who  rivalled  each  other  in  wealth,  and  the  world  be- 
held the  extraordinary  spectacle  of  the  sale  of  the  shadow 
crown  of  Germany  to  the  highest  bidder.  The  electoral  princes 
were  even  base  enough  to  work  upon  the  vanity  of  the  wealthy 
Count  Hermann  von  Henneberg,  who  coveted  the  imperial 
title,  in  order  to  extract  from  him  large  sums  of  money,  with- 
out having  the  slightest  intention  to  perform  their  promises. 
Alfonso  of  Castille  sent  twenty  thousand  silver  marks  from 


8  CONRADIN. 

Spain,  and  was  in  return  elected  emperor  by  Treves,  Bohemia, 
Saxony,  and  Brandenburg.  Richard,  duke  of  Cornwall,  how- 
ever, sent  thirty-two  tons  of  gold  from  England,  which  pur- 
chased for  him  the  votes  of  Cologne,  Mayence,  and  Bavaria  ; 
and,  to  the  scandal  of  all  true  Germans,  both  competitors, 
neither  of  whom  were  present,  were  simultaneously  elected 
emperor,  Alfonso  in  Frankfurt  on  the  Maine,  and  Richard 
outside  the  walls  of  the  same  city,  A.  d.  1257.  Alfonso,  buried 
in  the  study  of  astronomy,  never  visited  Grermany.  Richard 
claimed  the  throne,  without  regarding  the  superior  rights  of 
Conradin,*  in  right  of  his  wife,  the  sister  of  Frederick  IL,  as 
the  heir  of  the  Hohenstaufen,  a  claim  which  drew  upon  him 
the  suspicions  of  the  pontiff,  who,  notwithstanding  Richard's 
apparent  humility,  delayed  his  recognition  of  him  as  emperor. 
In  Germany,  where  he  made  his  first  appearance  on  the  defeat 
of  the  citizens  of  Treves  at  Boppart  by  his  rival  Conrad  of 
Cologne,  he  was  merely  held  in  consideration  as  long  as  his 
treasury  was  full.  Necessity  ere  long  compelled  him  to  return 
to  England.  In  1286  he  revisited  Germany,  where,  during 
his  short  stay,  he  attempted  to  abolish  the  customs  levied  on 
the  Rhine. f  It  was  during  this  visit  that  he  became  enamoured 
of  Gode  von  Falkenstein,  the  most  beautiful  woman  of  the  day, 
whom  he  persuaded  to  accompany  him  to  England. 

Conradin,  the  last  of  the  Hohenstaufen,  resided  sometimes 
in  the  court  of  Louis  of  Bavaria,  at  other  times  under  his  pro- 
tection at  the  castle  of  Ravensburg  on  the  Bodensee,  an  an- 
cient allod  of  the  Welfs,  which  had  formerly  been  bequeathed 
by  Welf  the  elder  to  Barbarossa.  In  this  retreat  he  asso- 
ciated with  a  young  man  of  his  own  age,  Frederick,  the  son  of 
Hermann,  Margrave  of  Baden.  Frederick  assumed  the  sur- 
name "  of  Austria,"  on  account  of  his  mother,  who  was  a  de- 
scendant of  the  house  of  Babenberg ;  .he  cherished,  moreover, 

♦  He  released  Ziirich  from  her  allegiance  to  Conradin,  and  bribed 
Count  Ulrich  (with  the  thumb)  of  Wurtemberg,  who  had  just  inherited 
the  rich  county  of  Urach,  with  one  thousand  silver  marks. 

t  The  Englishman,  Thomas  Wikes,  even  at  that  fieriod  termed  the 
Rhenish  customs  "  furiosam  Teutonicorum  insanlam."  The  name  of 
the  city  of  Antwerp  is  allied  with  the  idea  of  customs.  A  giant  named 
Duion  is  said  to  have  formerly  levied  a  toll  upon  passengers  on  the  spot 
where  the  city  now  stands,  and  to  have  cut  off  one  of  the  smugglers' 
hands,  which  he  threw  into  the  water; — Whence,  Hand  Werf  (throw 
hand) — Antwerp. 


I 


CONRADIN.  9 

a  hope  of  gaining  possession  of  that  duchj,  on  the  restoration 
of  the  Hobenstaufen.     Conradin  and  Frederick  became  inse- 
parable companions ;   equally  enthusiastic  and    imaginative^ 
thar  ambitions  aspirations  found  vent  in  song,  and  sportive 
fancy  embellished  the  stern  features  of  reality.     One  of  Con- 
nd's  baUads  is  still  extant.     His  mother,  Elisabeth,  who,  on 
the  death  of  Conrad  lY.,  had  carried  him  for  protection  to 
the  court  of  her  brother,  Louis  of  Bavaria,  had  wedded  Mein- 
hard.  Count  von  Gortz,  the  possessor  of  the  Tyrol.    In  1255, 
Mumch  became  the  ducal  residence,  and  the  metropolis  of 
Bavaria.     (In  1248,  the  dukes  of  Meran-Andechs  becoming 
extinct  on  the  death  of  Otto,  their  possessions  fell  to  his  cousin, 
Albrecht,  Count  of  Tyrol,  whose  daughter,  Adelheid,  brought 
them  in  dower  to  her  -husband,  Meinhard  I.,  Count  von 
Gortz.     Meinhard  left  two  sons,  Meinhard  II.,  who  wedded 
Elisabeth,  and  obtained  the  Tyrol,  and  Albrecht,  who  suc- 
ceeded to  Gortz.)   Bavaria  was  now  the  sole  supporter  of  the 
faUen  imperial  dynasty.  Gratitude  towards  the  Hohenstaufen, 
however,  was  far  from  being  the  guiding  motive  of  this  selfish 
prince,  who  solely  aimed  at  turning  his  guardianship  to  ad- 
vantage, by  laying  Conrad  under  an  obligation  which  he  was 
bound  to  repay  if  restored  to  his  dignity,  or  in  case  of  his  de- 
struction, by  seizing  all  that  remained  of  the  Hohenstaufen 
inheritance.     Cruel  and  choleric,  he  was  one  day  seized  with 
jealousy  on  perusing  a  letter  innocently  penned  by  his  con- 
sort, Maria  of  Brabant,  and  in  a  fit  of  sudden  fury  stabbed  the 
bearer  of  the  letter,  the  castellain,  and  a  waiting- woman,  threw 
the  chief  lady  in  attendance  out  of  the  window,  and  ordered 
his  unoffending  wife  to  execution,  a.  d.  1256.  When  too  late, 
he  became  convinced  of*  her  innocence,  and  was  seized  with 
such  terrible  despair,  that  his  hair  turned  white  in  one  night; 
in  order  to  propitiate  Heaven,  he  founded  the  wealthy  abbey 
of  Eiirstenfeld. 

The  seclusion  of  Conrad's  life  and  the  neglect  with  which 
he  was  treated  became  daily  more  harassing  to  him  as  he 
grew  up,  and  he  gladly  accepted  a  propose^  on  the  part  of  the 
'  Italian  Ghibellines,  inviting  him  to  place  himself  at  their  head. 
He  was,  moreover,  confirmed  in  his  resolution  by  Louis  of 
Bavaria  and  Meinhard  von  Gortz,  who  even  accompanied  him 
into  Italy,  but  merely  for  the  purpose  of  watching  over  their 
own  interests,  by  persuading  the  unsuspecting  youth,  in  return 


10  CONRADIN. 

for  their  pretended  support,  either  to  sell  or  mortgage  to  them 
the  possessions  and  rights  of  his  family.  Conrad  was  still 
duke  of  Swabia,*  and  held  the  ancient  Franconian  possessions 
of  the  Salic  emperors.  The  private  possessions  of  the  Hohen- 
staufen  having  been  declared  crown  property  by  Frederick 
IL,  the  majority  of  the  petty  lords  in  Franconia,f  unawed 
either  by  the  power  of  the  emperor  or  by  that  of  the  duke, 
had  asserted  their  independence  as  immediate  subjects  of  the 
empire.  In  Swabia,  Conrad's  dignity  was  merely  upheld  for 
the  purpose  of  legitimating  robbery  and  fraud,  and  his  last 
official  act  as  duke  was  the  signature  of  a  document  which 
deprived  him  of  his  lawful  rights.}  His  conviction  of  their 
eventual  loss  inclined  him  to  cede  them  voluntarily,  particu- 
larly as  the  sale  furnished  him  with  funds  for  raising  troops. 
In  the  autumn  of  1267,  he  crossed  the  Alps  at  the  head  of 
ten  thousand  men,  and  was  welcomed  at  Verona  by  the  Scala, 
the  chiefs  of  the  Ghibelline  faction.  The  meanness  of  his 
German  relatives  and  friends  was  here  undisguisedly  displayed. 
Louis,  after  persuading  him  to  part  with  his  remaining  pos- 
sessions at  a  low  price,  quitted  him,  and  was  followed  by  Mein- 
hard,  and  by  the  greater  number  of  the  Germans.  This  de- 
sertion reduced  his  army  to  three  thousand  men. 

The  Italian  Ghibellines  remained  true  to  their  word.  Verona 
raised  an  array  in  Lombardy,  Pisa  equipped  a  large  fleet,  the 
Moors  of  Luceria  took  up  arms,  and  Rome  welcomed  the . 
youthful  heir  of  the  Hohenstaufen  by  forcing  the  pope  once 
more  to  retreat  to  Viterbo.  He  was  also  joined  by  two  bro- 
thers of  Alfonso,  the  phantom  monarch,  Henry  and  Frederick, 
and  marched  unopposed  to  Rome,  at  whose  gates  he  was  met, 
and  conducted  to  the  capitol  by  a  procession  of  beautiful  girls 

*  According  to  a  curious  document  in  the  AUegranza  opuscoli  eruditi 
latini  et  italiani,  at  Cremona  in  1781,  the  emperor,  Frederick  II.,  con- 
finned  the  annexation  of  Chiavenna  to  the  dfichy  of  Swabia,  to  which  the 
whole  of  Switzerland  and  Alsace  belonged.  On  the  fall  of  the  Hohenstau- 
fen this  duchy  was  divided  into  innumerable  petty  counties,  bishoprics, 
townships,  independent  societies  of  knights,  and  free  cantons  of  peasantry. 

t  It  was  in  this  manner  and  at  this  time  that  the  great  forest  of  Drei- 
eich,  which  belonged  to  the  crown,  came  into  the  hands  of  the  lords  of 
Falkenstein,  Hanau,  and  Isenburg. 

J  Ulrich,  count  of  Wiirtemberg,  received  the  office  of  Marshal  of  Swa- 
bia and  that  of  imperial  governor  in  Ulm  and  in  the  Pyrss  (the  free  pea- 
santry' of  the  Leutkirche  heath).  He  nevertheless  remained  inactive  in 
Conradin*s  cause.  ' 


^ 


CONEADIN.  1 1 

bearing  mtisical    instruments  and  flowers.     The  Pisanesey 
meanwhile,  gained  a  signal  victoiy  off  Messina  over  the  French 
fieet,  and  burnt  a  great  number  of  the  enemj's  ships.     Con- 
ladin  entered  LiOTv^er  Italy  and  encountered  the  French  army 
tnder  Charles,  at  Scurcola,  where  his  Germans,  after  beating 
the  enemy  back,   deeming  the  victory  their  own,  carelessly 
dispersed  to  seek  for  booty,  some  among  them  even  refreshed 
themselves  by  batbing :  in  this  condition  they  were  suddenly 
attacked  by  tbe  French,  who  had  watched  their  movements, 
and  were  completely  put  to  the  rout,  August  23rd,  1268.  Con- 
radin  and  Frederick  owed  their  escape  to  the  fleetness  of  their 
steeds,  but  were  basely  betrayed  into   Charles's  hands  at 
Astura,  when  crossing  the  sea  to  Pisa,  by  John  Frangipani, 
whose  family  bad  been  laden  with  benefits  by  the  Hohen- 
staufen.     Conradin,  whilst  playing  at  chess  with  his  friend 
in  prison,  calmly  listened  to  the  sentence  of  death  pronounced 
upon  him.     On  the  22nd  October,  A.  D.  1268,  he  was  con- 
ducted, with  Frederick  and  his  other  companions,  to  the 
scaflfbld  erected  in  the  market-place  at  Naples.     The  French 
were  even  roused  to  indignation  at  this  spectacle,  and  Charles's 
son-in-law,  Robert,  earl  of  Flanders,  drawing  his  sword,  cut 
down  the  officer  commissioned  to  read  the  sentence  of  death 
in  public,  saying,  as  he  dealt  the  blow,  "  Wretch  I  how  darest 
thou  condemn  such  a  great  and  excellent  knight  ?**  Conradin, 
in  bis  address  to  the  people,  said,  "  I  cite  my  judge  before  the 
higbest  tribunal.     My  blood,  shed  on  this  spot,  shall  cry  to 
Heaven  for  vengeance.     Nor  do  I  esteem  my  Swabians  and 
Bavarians,  my  Germans,  so  low,  as  not  to  trust  that  this  stain 
on  the  honour  of  the  German  nation  will  be  washed  out  by 
them  in  French  blood."     He  then  threw  his  glove  on  the 
ground,  charging  him  who  raised  it  to  bear  it  to  Peter,  king 
of  Arragon,  to  whom,  as  bis  nearest  relative,  he  bequeathed  all 
his  claims.     The  glove  was  raised  by  Henry,  Truchsess  von 
Waldburg,  who  found  within  it  the  seal  ring  of  the  unfor- 
tunate prince,  and  henceforth  bare  in  his  arms  the  three  black 
lions  of  the  Staufen.     His  last  bequests  thus  made,  Conradin 
knelt  fearlessly  before  the  block,  and  the  head  of  the  last  of 
the  Hohenstaufen  rolled  on  the  scaffold.*     A  cry  of  agony 

*  Malaspina,  although  a  Guelph  and  a  papal  writer,  sublimely  de- 
scribes Conrad's  wretched  fate,  his  courage,  and  his  beauty.  "  Non  voce 
querula,  sed  ad  coelum  jungebat  palmas.     Suum  Domino  spiritum  com- 


12  CONRADIN. 

burst  from  the  heart  of  his  friend,  whose  head  also  fell ;  nor 
was  Charles's  revenge  satiated  until  almost  every  Ghibelline 
had  fallen  by  the  hand  of  the  executioner.*  Conradin's  un- 
happy mother,  who  had  vainly  offered  a  large  ransom  for  his 
life,  devoted  the  money  to  the  erection  of  the  monastery  of 
Stams,  in  a  wild  valley  of  the  Tyrol.  Charles's  next  work  Avas 
the  destruction  of  Luceria,  where  every  Moor  twas  put  to  the 
sword.  Conrad,  a  son  of  Frederick  of  Antioch,|  a  natural 
descendant  of  Frederick  IL,  alone  escaped  death.  A  contrary 
fate  awaited  Henry,  the  youthful  son  of  the  emperor  Richard, 
the  kinsman  and  heir  of  the  Hohenstaufen,  who,  when  tarry- 
ing by  chance  at  Viterbo  on  his  way  to  the  Holy  Land,  was, 
by  Charles's  command,  assassinated,  a.  d.  1274.$  The  unfor- 
tunate king  Enzio  was  also  implicated  in  Conradin's  fate.  On 
learning  his  nephew's  arrival  in  Italy,  he  was  seized  with  the 
greatest  anxiety  to  escape  from  Bologna,  where  he  was  im- 
prisoned, and  concealing  himself  in  a  cask,  was  carried  by  his 
fri^ids  out  of  his  prison,  but  being  discovered  by  one  of  his 

mendabat,  nee  divertebat  Qaput  sed  exhibebat  se  quasi  victimam  et  cae- 
soris  truces  ictus  in  patientia  exspectabat.  Madet  terra  pulchro  cniore 
diffuso,  tabetque  juvenlli  sanguine  cruentata.  Jacet  veluti  flos  pur- 
pureus  improvida  falce  succisus."  ^ 

*  The  Germans,  nevertheless,  looked  on  with  indifference,  and  shortly 
afterwards  elected  an  emperor,  Rudolf  von  Habsburg,  who  married  his 
daughter  to  the  son  of  Charles  d*Anjou,  and  who  was  the  tool  of  the  pope 
and  of  the  French  monarch.  The  German  muse -alone  mourned  the  fall 
of  the  great  Swabian  dynasty.  Conradin  and  Frederick  were  buried  side 
by  side  to  the  right  of  the  altar,  beneath  the  marble  pavement  of  the  church 
of  Santa  Maria  del  Carmme,  in  the  market-place  of  Naples,  where  the 
execution  took  place.  About  a  century  and  a  half  ago  the  pavement  of 
the  church  was  renewed,  and  Conradin  was  found  with  his  head  resting 
on  his  folded  hands.  The  remains  were  left  in  their  original  state.  The 
(modem)  inscription  on  the  tomb  runs  t}ius  ;  Qui  giacciono  Corradino 
di  Stooffen,  ultimo  de*  duchi  dell'  imperiale  casa  di  Suevia,  e  Federico 
d^Aslmrghf  uUimo  de*  Duchi  d^ Austria,  Anno  1269.  The  raiser  of  this 
monument  must  have  possessed  more  piety  than  knowledge  when  he 
made  the  luckless  Frederick  the  last  of  the  Hahsburffs, 

t  A  daughter  of  this  prince,  Isolda,  married  Berthold  von  Hohenburg, 
probably  the  Minnesinger,  who  comes  directly  after  the  princes  in 
Maness's  collection. 

J  His  sorrowing  &ther  exposed  his  heart  to  public  view  on  the  Thames 
bridge  in  London. — Dante  mentions  this  circumstance  in  the  twelfth 
canto  of  the  Inferno : — 

Mostrocci  un'  ombra  dall*  un  canto  sola, 
Dicendo  :  Colui  fesse  in  grembo  a  Dio 
Lo  cuor  che*n  su  Tamigi  ancor  si  cola. 


CONRADIN.  13 

long  fadr  locks  ^v^liich  fell  out  of  the  month  of  the  cask,  he  was 
strictly  con&ned,  some  saj,  in  an  iron  cage,  until  his  death, 
wbich  happened  A.  i>.  1272.  During  the  earlier  part  of  his 
imprisoument,  when  less  strictly  treated,  his  seclusion,  embel- 
lished by  poetry  and  art,  had  been  cheered  by  the  society  of 
Ms  beautiful  mistress,  Lucia  Yiadagola.  From  these  lovers 
descended  the  family  of  the  Bentivoglio,  who  deriyed  their 
name  from  Lucia's  tender  expression ;  *'  Enzio,  che  ben  ti 
voglio." 

Thus  terminated  the  royal  race  of  the  Hohenstanfen,  in 
which  the  highest  earthly  dignity  and  power,  the  most  bril- 
liant achievements  in  arms,  extraordinary  personal  beauty,  and 
rich  poetical  genius,  were  combined,  and  beneath  whose  rule, 
the  middle  age  and  its  creations,  the  church,  the  empire,  the 
states,  religion,  and  art,  attained  a  height,  whence  they  neces- 
sarily sank  as  the  Hohenstaufen  fell,  like  flowers  that  fade  at 
parting  day. 

Charles  d'Anjou  retained  Apulia,  but  was  deprived  of  Sicily. 
In  the  night  of  the  30th  of  March,  1282,  a  general  conspiracy 
among  the  Ghibellines  in  this  island  broke  out,  and  in  this 
night,  known  as  the  Sicilian  Vespers,  all  the  French  were 
assassinated,  and  Manfred's  daughter,  Constance,  and  her  hus- 
band, Peter  of  Arragon,  were  proclaimed  the  sovereigns  of 
Sicily.  Charles,  the  son  of  Charles  d'Anjou,  was  taken 
.  prisoner,  and  afterwards  exchanged  for  Beatrice,  the  sister  of 
Constance.  Constance  behaved  with  great  generosity  to  the 
captive  prince,  who,  saying  that  he  was  happy  to  die  on  a 
Friday,  the  day  on  which  Christ  suffered,  she  replied, "  For  love 
of  him  who  suffered  on  this  day  will  I  grant  thee  thy  life." 

It  is  remarkable  that  about  this  time  the  crusades  ended,  and 
all  the  European  conquests  in  the  East  were  lost.  Constanti- 
nople was  delivered  in  1621,  by  the  Greeks,  from  th^  bad 
government  of  the  French  Fullanes,  and,  in  1262,  Antioch 
was  retaken  by  the  Turks.  The  last  crusade  was  undertaken 
in  1269,  by  Louis  of  France,  Charles  d'Anjou,  and  Edward, 
Prince  of  Wales,  who  were  joined  by  a  Friscian  fleet,  which 
ought  to  have  been  equipped  instead  in  Conrad's  aid.  After 
beaiegiDg  Tunis  and  enforcing  a  tribute,  the  French  returned 
borne.  The  English  reached  the  Holy  Land,  [a.  d.  1272,]  but 
met  with  such  ill  success,  that  Tripolis  was  lost  in  1288,  and 
AccoD  in  1291.     On  the  reduction  of  these  cities,  the  last 


14  THE  INTERREGNUM. 

strongholds  of  the  Christians,  Tyre  voluntarily  surrendered 
and  Palestine  was  entirely  deserted  by  the  Franks.* 

CLXL   The  Interregnum, 

The  triumph  of  the  pope  over  the  emperor  was  complete  : 
but  the  temporal  power  of  which  the  emperor  had  been  de- 
prived, instead  of  falling  wholly  into  the  hands  of  his  antago- 
nist, was  scattered  among  the  princes  and  cities  of  the  empire, 
and,  although  the  loss  of  the  emperor  had  deprived  the  empire 
of  her  head,  vitality  still  remained  in  her  different  members. 

The  power  of  the  Welfs  had  ceased  a  century  before   the 
fall  of  the  Hohenstaufen.    The  princes  that  remained  possessed 
but  mediocre  authority,  no  ambition  beyond  the  concentration  of 
their  petty  states  and  the  attainment  of  individual  independ- 
ence.    The  limited  nature  of  this  policy  attracted  little  atten- 
tion and  insured  its  success.    Equally  indifferent  to  the  down- 
fal  of  the  Hohenstaufen,  and  to  the  creation  of  the  mock 
sovereigns  placed  over  them  by  the  pope,  they  merely  sought 
the  advancement  of  their  petty  interests  by  the  usurpation  of 
every  prerogative  hitherto  enjoyed  by  the  crown  within  their 
states,  and  thus  transformed  the  empire,  which  had,  up  to  this 
period,  been  an  elective  monarchy,  into  a  ducal  aristocracy. 
Unsatisfied  with  releasing  themselves  from  their  allegiance  to 
their  sovereign,  they  also  strove,  aided  by  their  feudal  vassals 
and  by  the  clergy,  to  crush  civil  liberty  by  carrying  on,  as  will 
hereafter  be  seen,  a  disastrous  warfare  against  the  cities,  in 
which  they  were  warmly  supported  by  the  pope,  whom  they 
had  assisted  in  exterminating  the  imperial  house.     The  power 
they  individually  possessed  was,  moreover,  too  insignificant  to 
rouse  the  jealousy  of  the  pontiff,  whom  they  basely  courted 
and  implicitly  obeyed.    The  people,  meanwhile,  (at  least  those 
among  the  citizens  and  knights  who  still  ventured  freely  to 
express  their  opinions,)  bitterly  lamented  the  dissolution  of  the 
empire,  its  internal  anarchy,  the  arbitrary  rule  of  the  princes, 
their  utter  disregard  of  order,  public  security,  and  national 
right,  and  loudly  demanded  the  election  of  a  successor  to  the 
imperial  throne. f 

*  The  common  denomination  in  the  East  for  all  the  Western  nations, 
t  The  spirit  of  these  times  is  preserved  in  Rudiger  Maness's  collection 
of  the  Minnesingers. 


THE  INTERREGNUM.  15 

Ottocar  of  Bohemia,  who  took  advantage  of  the  univenal 
anarchy  to  extend  the  limits  of  his  Slayonian  state,  was  the  onlj 
one  among  the  princes  who  strove  to  raise  himself  above  the 
rest  of  the  aristocracj.  The  Austrian  nobilitj,  sending  Ulrich 
von  Lichtenstein  to  Henry  von  Meissen,  in  order  to  offer  him 
the  country,  he  was  bribed  when  passing  through  Prague  by 
Ottocar,  who  found  means  to  induce  the  Austrians  to  elect 
him  instead,  and  in  order  to  exclude  all  other  competitors, 
espoused  Margaretha,  the  eldest  and  now  aged  sister  of  Frede- 
rick the  Warlike,  who  left  her  convent  in  Treves  to  perform 
this  sacrifice  for  her  country.  Ottocar  then  marched  in  aid 
of  the  Poles  and  of  the  German  Hospitallers  against  tlvb 
Prussians  and  Lithuanians.  On  his  return  in  1254,  on  ar- 
riving at  Breslau  he  threw  the  flower  of  the  Austrian  nobility, 
whose  allegiance  he  mistrusted,  Ulrich  von  Lichtenstein  not 
excepted,  into  chains,  carried  them  prisoners  into  Bohemia, 
and  confiscated  all  their  lands.  Louis  and  Henry  of  Bavaria, 
whose  father,  Otto,  had  been  formerly  nominated  to  the  go- 
vernment of  Austria  by  the  emperor  Frederick  II.,  influenced 
by  hatred  of  their  dangerous  and  despotic  neighbour,  and 
being,  moreover,  aided  by  the  archbishop  Ulrich  of  Salz- 
burg, raised  a  faction  against  and  fortunately  defeated  him  at 
Muhldorf,  where  a  bridge  gave  way  beneath  the  rush  of  the 
Bohemians,  three  thousand  of  whom  were  drowned,  A.  D. 
1255.  Ottocar,  in  order  to  protect  his  rear,  had  ceded  Styria 
to  Bela,  king  of  Hungary.  Gertrude,  Margaretha's  younger 
sister  and  the  widow  of  Hermann  of  Baden,  had  fled  for  protection 
to  the  Hungarian  monarch,  to  whom  she  had,  in  her  infant  son's 
name,  transferred  her  claim  upon  Austria,  in  return  for  which 
Bela  had  procured  her  a  second  husband,  Roman,  a  Russian 
duke,  by  whom  she  was  speedily  abandoned.  The  Styrians 
vainly  opposed  the  monarch  thus  forced  upon  them  ;  they 
were  overpowered ;  fifteen  hundred  men,  who  had  taken  re- 
fuge within  the  church  at  Modling,  were  burnt  to  death. 
The  cruelty  subsequently  practised  by  the  Hungarian  go- 
vernor, Stephen  von  Agram,  occasioned  a  fresh  insurrection 
in  1254  ;  so  close  was  the  pursuit  of  the  enraged  natives  that 
the  obnoxious  governor  merely  escaped  by  swimming  across 
the  Drave  ;  the  attempt  of  the  gallant  Styrians  to  regain  their 
freedom  proved  vain;  all  aid  was  refused  by  Ottocar,  and 
they  again  fell  beneath  the  Hungarian  yoke  and  the  iron  rod 


16  THE  INTERREGNUM. 

of  their  ferocious  governor.     Four  years  later^  Ottocar  com- 
menced a  brilliant  career.     In  1258,  the  Stjrians  again  re- 
belled, and  in  eleven  dajs  drove  every  Hungarian  out  of  the 
country,*  upon  which  Ottocar  despatched  to  their  aid  Conrad 
von  Hardegg,  an  old  Austrian  noble,  who  fell  valiantly  op- 
posing the  superior  forces  of  the  foe  on  the  river  March,  and, 
in  1259,  took  the  field  in  person  at  the  head  of  his  whole 
forces,  and  entirely  routed  the  Hungarians  in  a  pitched  battle 
at  Croisenbrunn.   Styria  was  replaced  beneath  his  rule,  [a.  i>. 
1260,]  and  in  the  ensuing  year,  peace  was  further  confirmed 
by  his  marriage  with  Cunigunda,  Bela's  wayward '  niece,  for 
whom  he  divorced  the  hapless  Margaretha.  This  divorce  was  no 
sooner  effected  than  the  Austrians,  deeming  his  right  of  inhe- 
ritance annulled,  attempted  to  free  themselves  from  his  tyran- 
ny;  resistance  was,  however,  vain;   the  malcontents  were 
thrown  into  prison,  and,  as  an  example  to  all  future  ofienders. 
Otto  von  Meissen,  the  judge  of  the  country,  was  burnt  alive 
in  a  dungeon  filled  with  straw.    Ottocar's  power  was  still  fur- 
ther increased  by  the  possession  of  Carinthia,  which  was  be- 
queathed to  him  by  Ulrich  von  Ortenburg,  who  expired,  a.  d. 
1263,  leaving  no  issue.     The  opposition  of  Ulrich's  brother, 
Philip,  the  patriarch  of  Aglar,  and  of  Ulrich  of  Salzburg,  was 
unavailing.    They  were  defeated,  and  the  whole  of  the  moun- 
tain country  was  annexed  to  Bohemia. 

Silesia  had  been  partitioned  between  the  sons  of  the  patri- 
otic duke,  Henry,  who  fell  on  the  field  of  Wahlstatt.  A  quarrel 
subsequently  arose  between  them,  and  Boleslaw,  on  attempt- 
ing to  make  himself  sole  master  of  the  country,  was  reduced 
to  submission  by  his  brother,  Henry  of  Breslau,  the  celebrated 
Minnesinger.  Boleslaw  was  also  so  passionately  fond  of  singing 
and  of  music,  that  he  was  always  accompanied  by  Surrian,  his 
fiddler,  who,  during  his  master's  wanderings,  sat  behind  him 
on  horseback.  Silesia,  notwithstanding  the  numerous  German 
colonists  settled  by  Henry  in  the  country  devastated  by  the 
Tartar  war,  was  ruined  by  the  repeated  partitions  between 
the  sons  and  grandsons  of  her  dukes,  and  by  their  consequent 
feuds.     One  instance  will  suffice  to  give  an  idea  of  the  disas- 

♦  The  anns  of  Steyer  or  Styria  are  a  Steer : 
"  Es  gebieret,  wie  der  Stier  Homer  treibt,  ihm  selber  Waffen, 
Steyr  kann  steuem  seinem  Feind  und  den  Zorn  mit  Zome  strafen." 

Fugger. 


THE  INTBSBSONUH.  17 

ca  troos  and  distarbcd  state  of  this  wretched  oonntrj.  Henrj 
Q I  the  Thick,  the  son  of  Boleslaw,  was  imprisoned  bj  his  cousin 
fti  €onrad  von  Glogaa  for  six  months  in  a  narrow  cage,  in 
Dfl  irfaich  he  could  neither  sit  upright  nor  laj  at  full  l^gth. 
oi  Wladislaw  von  Leignitz,  the  son  of  Henrj  the  Thick,  was  a 
m  wild  and  lawless  wretch,  who  led  a  robber's  life  in  his  castle  of 
U  Homsbei^,  near  Waldenburg,  and  was  finallj  taken  captive 
d  hj  the  outraged  peasantry.  The  germanization  of  Branden- 
irarg  advanced.  Since  the  partition  of  the  bishopric  of  Lebns, 
[a.  d.  1262,]  between  Brandenburg  and  Magdeburg,  the  city 
of  Frankfurt  <»i  the  Oder  had  been  made  by  the  former  the 
centre  of  German  civilization,  and  peopled  with  German  set- 
tlers. Whenever  the  G-erman  nobility  took  possession  of  a 
mf  Tillage,  the  Slavonian  peasantry  obstinately  resisted  every  inno« 
n  vation.  Several  vilk^^  were,  in  consequence,  sold  to  Grer- 
man  citizens  and  peasants,  under  condition  of  their  being 
peopled  with  Germans,  in  which  case,  the  purchaser  became 
the  hereditary  mayor  of  the  free  community.*  In  1269,  the 
Margrave,  Otto,  erected  on  the  Polish  frontier  the  wooden 
castle  of  Zielenzig,  exactly  opposite  to  which  Boleslaw  of  Po* 
land  instantly  built  the  fortress  of  Meseritz.  Magdeburg  ceded 
her  part  of  the  bishopric  of  Lebus  to  Brandenburg,  but  merely 
as  a  fief  dependent  on  the  archbishopric. 

Upon  the  death  of  Henry  Baspe  in  Thuringia,  Sophia,  the 
daughter  of  St.  Elisabeth,  and  widow  of  Henry  duke  of  Bra- 
bant, brought  her  infant  son,  Henry,  to  Marburg,  where  fealty 
was  sworn  to  the  "child  of  Brabant,"  the  descendant  of  the 
great  and  beloved  national  saint.  The  Wartburg  and  the 
protection  of  the  country  were  intrusted  by  Sophia  to  her 
neighbour  the  Margrave  Henry,  snmamed  the  Illustrious,  von 
Meissen,  who  proved  faithless  to  his  trust,  and  attempted  to 
make  himself  master  of  the  country,  which  he  also  induced  the 
m^-spirited  emperor,  William,  to  claim  as  a  lapsed  fief.  So- 
phia hastened  into  the  country  on  receiving  information  of  his 
treason  The  gates  of  the  city  of  Eisenach,  which  had  already 
paid  homage  to  Henry  of  Meissen,  being  closed  against  her, 
she  seized  an  axe,  and  with  her  own  hand  dealt  a  vigorous  blow 
upon  the  gate,  which  was  instantly  opened  by  the  astonished 
citizens.  Negotiations  were  opened  between  the  contending 
parties;  Henry  von  Meissen  deceitfully  proposed  that  the 
-       ♦  Wohlbruck*8  History  of  Lebus. 

VOL.  II.  c 


18  THE  INTERREGNUM. 

matter  should  be  left  to  the  decision  of  twenty  Thuringian 
nobles  of  high  standing,  and  that  Sophia  should  promise  to 
cede  Thuringia  to  him,  if  thej  swore  that  his  claim  was  more 
just  than  hers.  Sophia  fell  into  the  snare,  and  the  perjured 
nobles  took  the  oath.  On  hearing  their  decision  the  injured 
duchess  threw  her  glove  into  the  air,  exclaiming,  ^*  O  thou 
enemj  of  all  justice,  thou  devil,  take  the  glove  with  the  false 
counsellors  !"  According  to  Imhof's  chronicle,  the  glove  van- 
ished in  the  air.  Sophia  now  implored  the  aid  of  the  warlike 
duke  of  Brunswick,  Albrecht  the  Fat,  who  invaded  Thuringia, 
[a.  d.  1256,]  and  defeated  Henry  von  Meissen  ;  but  Gerhard, 
archbishop  of  Mayence,  creating  a  diversion  in  Henry's  favour 
by  invading  Brunswick  during  his  absence,  he  was  compelled 
to  retrace  his  steps,  upon  which  Henry  von  Meissen  re-entered 
the  country  and  captured  Eisenach,  where  he  condemned  the 
gallant  counsellor,  Henry  von  Velsbach,  who  had  watched 
over  Sophia's  interests  in  that  city,  to  be  cast  by  an  enormous 
catapult  from  the  top  of  the  Wartburg  into  the  town  below.* 
The  feud  was  meanwhile  vigorously  carried  on.  Albrecht 
returned,  and  conquered  the  whole  of  Thuringia ;  his  horrid 
cruelty  occasioned  an  insurrection,  which  was  headed  by  the 
aged  Rudolf  von  Yargula,  and  Albrecht  was  surprised  when 
intoxicated  on  the  Saal  near  Halle,  and  taken  captive,  A.  d. 
1263.  Peace  ensued ;  Henry  of  Meissen  retained  Thuringia, 
and  Henry  of  Brabant,  the  founder  of  the  still  reigning  house 
of  Hesse,  was  forced  to  content  himself  with  Hesse,  Brabant 
falling  to  his  nephew  John. 

Before  the  commencement  of  this  war,  a  contest  had  arisen 
between  Albrecht  and  his  nobles,  who  were  at  that  period  as 
rebellious  against  their  dukes  as  the  dukes  were  against  the 
emperor.  Busso  von  der  Asseburg,  who  bore  in  his  escutcheon 
a  wolf  with  the  Welfic  lion  in  his  claws,  formed  a  conspiracy 
among  the  nobles  against  the  Welfs,  in  which  Gerhard,  arch- 
bishop of  Mayence,  joined.  Albrecht  was,  however,  victorious, 
Gerhard  was  taken  captive,  and  Conrad  von  Everstein,  one  of 
the  conspirators,  hanged  by  the  feet,  a.  d.  1258.  In  the  bishop- 
ric of  WUrzburg,  the  noble  family  of  Stein  zum  Altenstein 
attained  great  power,  and  excited  the  jealousy  of  the  bishop, 

*  He  is  said  to  have  been  cast  down  three  times ;  twice  he  escaped 
with  his  life — ^but  the  third  time  was  killed,  exclaiming  with  his  last 
breath,  "  Thuringia  belongs  to  the  child  of  Brabant !  " 


THE  INTERREGNUM.  19 

Henning,  who  invited  them  to  a  banquet,  where  they  were  all 
except  one,  who,  drawing  his  sword,  cut  off  tlie  bishop's  nose 
and  escaped,  deprived  of  their  heads.  The  ferocity  of  the 
nobles  manifested  itself  also  in  1257,  during  a  great  tourna- 
ment held  at  Neuss,  where  the  mock  fight  became  earnest, 
and  Count  Adolf  von  Berg,  thirty-six  knights,  and  three  hun- 
dred men  at  arms,  were  slain.  In  1277,  the  robber  knights 
took  the  frontier  count,  Engelbert,  captive,  and  he  pined  to 
death  in  prison.  Berold,  abbot  of  Fulda,  was  also  murdered 
in  1271,  by  his  vassals,  whilst  reading  mass;  thirty  of  the 
conspirators  were,  however,  executed.  The  citizens  of  Erfurt 
endured  several  severe  conflicts  with  Sigmund,  (surnamed  the 
Thuringian  devil,)  Count  von  Gleichen,  the  son  of  the  crusader 
of  that  name  celebrated  for  his  two  wives. 

The  power  of  the  princes  in  Germany  was  counterpoised 
by  that  of  the  cities,  which,  sensible  of  their  inability  indi- 
vidually to  assert  their  liberty,  endangered  by  the  absence  and 
subsequent  ruin  of  the  emperor,  had  mutually  entered  into  an 
offensive  and  defensive  alliance.  The  cities  on  the  Noi*them 
Ocean  and  the  Baltic  vied  with  those  of  Lombardy  in  dense- 
ness  of  population,  and  in  the  assertion  of  their  independence. 
Their  fleet  returned  from  the  East  covered  with  glory.  They 
conquered  Lisbon,  besieged  Accon  and  Damietta,  founded 
the  order  of  German  Hospitallers,  and  gained  great  part  of 
Livonia  and  Prussia.  A  strict  union  existed  among  their 
numerous  merchants.  Every  city  possessed  a  corporation,  or 
guild,  consisting,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  times,  of 
masters,  partners,  and  apprentices.  These  guilds  were  armed, 
and  formed  the  chief  strength  of  the  city.  Ghent  and  Brug- 
ges  were  the  first  cities  in  Flanders  which  became  noted  for 
!  their  civil  privileges,  their  manufactories,  commerce,  and  in- 
dustry.    Li  the  twelfth  century,  they  had  already  formed  a 

*  Hansa,*  or  great  commercial  association,  in  which  seventeen 
\  cities  took  part.  Li  the  thirteenth  century,  their  example 
I  was  followed  by  the  commercial  towns  on  the  Rhine,  the  Elbe, 
i  and  the  Baltic,  but  on  a  larger  scale,  the  new  Hansa  forming 
I  a  political  as  well  as  a  commercial  association,  which  was  com- 
/       menced  by  Liibeck,  between  which  and  Hamburg  a  treaty  was 

*  *  Hansa  signified  every  association,  the  members  of  which  paid  a  con- 
tribution. 

^  c  2 

k 


20  THE  INTERREGNUM. 

made,  [a.  d.  1241,]  in  which  Bremen  and  almost  every  city 
in  the  north  of  Germany  far  inland,  as  far  as  Cologne  and 
Brunswick,  joined.  The  most  distinguished  character  of  these 
times  was  a  citizen  of  LUbeck  named  Alexander  von  Soltwe- 
del,  the  indefatigable  adversary  of  the  Danes,  who,  besides 
assisting  in  gaining  the  victory  near  Bomhovede  in  1227, 
performed  still  more  signal  services  at  sea.  He  several  times 
went  in  pursuit  of  Erich  IV.  of  Denmark,  who  incessantly 
harassed  the  northern  coasts,  with  the  Liibeck  fleet;  plun- 
dered Copenhagen,  or,  as  Ditmar  writes  it,  Copmanhaven  ; 
burnt  Stralsund,  at  that  time  a  Danish  settlement,  to  the  ground, 
and  returned  home  laden  with  immense  booty.  John,  earl  of 
Holstein,  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  citizens  of  Liibeck,  whom 
he  had  provoked,  A.  d.  1261.  The  citizens  of  Bremen  pulled 
down  the  custom-houses  erected  by  the  archbishop  and  as- 
serted their  independence,  a.  d.  1246. 

A  similar  league,  though  more  for  the  purpose  of  mutual 
protection,  was  formed  between  the  cities  of  the  Rhine,  ahnost 
all  of  which  favoured  the  imperial  cause,  and  by  having  on 
more  than  one  occasion  taken  part  with  the  Hohenstaufen 
against  the  bishops  and  the  pretenders  to  the  crown,  had  in- 
curred the  animosity  of  the  great  vassals,  with  whom  they  had 
to  sustain  several  severe  contests.  In  1291,  the  ancient  town 
of  Metz  carried  on  a  spirited  contest  against  the  bishop,  and 
subsequently  united  with  Strassburg  and  other  neighbouring 
cities  against  the  pope's  stanch  adherents,  the  Dukes  Mat- 
thaeus  and  Frederick  of  Lothringia.  In  1263,  the  citizens  of 
Strassburg  expelled  their  despotic  bishop,  Walter  von  Gerold- 
seck,  and  destroyed  all  the  houses  belonging  to  the  clergy  and 
nobility.  Count  Rudolf  von  Habsburg  at  first  aided  the 
bishop,  but  afterwards,  on  the  retention  of  a  bond  by  Walter's 
successor,  Henry,  sided  with  the  citizens,  not  because,  as 
modem  sentimentalists  imagine,  he  was  the  friend  of  popular 
liberty,  but  from  an  entirely  selfish  motive.  Ross^mann, 
mayor  of  Colmar,  whom  the  bishop  had  expelled,  re-entered 
Colmar  in  a  wine  cask,  incited  the  citizens  to  open  sedition, 
and  opened  the  gates  to  the  Habsburg.  The  citizens  after- 
wards gained,  unassisted,  a  complete  victory  over  the  bishop  at 
Eckwersheim.  A  feud  broke  out  subsequently  between  Ru- 
dolf and  the  city  of  Basel  on  occasion  of  a  tournament,  during 
which  the  nobles,  attempting  to  insnare  the  pretty  daughters 


TH£  INTEBREGNUH.  21 

o{  iW  dtizeas,  were  driven  with  broken  heads  oat  of  the  citj, 

^B.  1267. 

Tbe  civil  disturbances  that  took  place  in  Cologne  are  moat 
worthy  of  remark.  The  archbishop,  Conrad  von  Hochstetten, 
(since  1237,)  made  the  dissension  between  the  pope  and  the 
emperor  ccmduce  to  his  own  aggrandizement,  bj  supporting 
himself  on  the  authority  of  the  former.  His  first  great  fend 
with  Simon,  bishop  of  Paderbom  and  Osnabriick,  and  the 
dakes  of  Saxony,  was  chiefly  carried  on  in  his  name  by  the 
frontier  count,  Engelbert,  who  gained  a  signal  victory  on  the 
Wiilfirich  near  Dortmund,  A.  d.  1264.  This  archbishop  after- 
wards attempted  to  deprive  the  cities  of  their  privileges.  His 
first  attack  was  directed  against  Aix-la-Chapelle,  as  the 
weakest  point ;  but  this  city  had  been  placed  by  the  emperor 
under  the  protection  of  GuiUaume,  Comte  de  JuUers,  by  whom 
the  archbishop  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner ;  his  first  act» 
on  r^aining  his  liberty,  was  to  take  advantage  of  the  emperor's 
absence  in  Italy,  in  order  to  encroach  upon  the  privileges  of 
the  citizens  of  Cologne  by  striking  a  new  coinage,  which  the 
citizens  protesting  against,  he  fled  to  Bonn,  where  he  threw 
up  fortifications.  His  siege  of  Cologne,  during  which  he  at- 
tempted to  bombard  the  city  by  casting  immense  stones  across 
the  Rhine  from  Deutz,  was  unsuccessful,  and  a  reconciliation 
took  place.  It  was  in  the  presence  of  the  newly-elected  em- 
peror, William  of  Holland,  that  Conrad  laid  the  foundation- 
stone  to  the  great  cathedral  of  Cologne.  Unable  to  reduce 
the  city  beneath  his  authority  by  force,  Conrad  had  recourse 
to  stratagem,  and  incited  the  guilds  of  mechanics,  particularly 
the  weavers,  (there  were  not  less  than  thirty  thousand  looms  in 
the  city,)  against  the  great  burgher  families,  who  were  ex- 
pelled, A.  D.  1258.  Conrad  shortly  afterwards  died,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Engelbert  von  Falkenberg,  [a.  d.  1261,]  who 
pursued  the  system  of  his  predecessor,  seized  the  city  keys, 
fortified  the  towers  at  Beyen  and  Byle,  and  surrounded  the 
whole  city  with  watch-towers,  which  he  garrisoned  with  his 
mercenaries,  and,  relying  upon  his  power,  began  to  lay  the 
city  under  contribution.  One  of  the  citizens,  Eberhard  von 
Buttermarkt,  roused  to  indignation  by  this  insolence,  exhorted 
the  people  to  conciliate  the  burgher  families,  the  guardians  of 
the  ancient  liberties  of  Cologne  and  the  promoters  of  her 
glory  and  to  unite  against  Uieir  common  enemy,  the  arch- 


22  THE  INTERREGNUM. 

bishop.     The  burgher  families  were  consequently  recalled, 
and  Mathias  Overstolz,  placing  himself  at  their  head,  stormed 
the  archbishop's  watch-towers  and  freed  the  city,  a.  d.  1262. 
Engelbert  made  a  feigned  submission,  but  subsequently  re- 
treated to  Rome,  whence  he  placed  the  city  under  an  interdict. 
On  his  return,  he  was  anticipated  in  an  attempt  to  take  Co- 
logne by  surprise,  by  the  citizens,  who  seized  his  person.     On 
his  restoration  to  liberty,  he  had  recourse  to  his  former  arti- 
fice, and  again  attempted  to  incite  the  weavers  against  the 
burgesses  ;   this  time,  however,  the  latter  were  prepared  for 
the  event,  and  being,  moreover,  favoured  by  the  disinclin- 
ation of  the  rest  of  the  citizens  to  espouse  the  archbishop's 
quarrel,  easily  overcame  their  antagonists.     Engelbert  was 
more  successful  in  his  next  plan,  that  of  creating  dissension 
among  the  burgesses  themselves,  by  exciting  the  jealousy 
of  the  family  of  Weissen  against  the  more  prosperous  and 
superior  one  of  the  Overstolze.      The  heads  of  the  family 
of  Weissen,  Louis  and  Gottschalk,  fell  in  battle,  the  rest  fied ; 
but  a  hole  being  made  in  the  wall  during  the  night  by  one  of 
their  partisans,  named  Habenichts,  (Lackall,)  they  again  pene- 
trated into  the  city.     Old  Mathias  Overstolz  was  killed  in  the 
fight  that  took  place  in  the  streets,  whence  his  party  succeeded 
in  repelling  the  assailants.     After  this  unnecessary  bloodshed, 
the  city  factions  discovered  that  they  were  merely  the  arch- 
bishop's tools,  and  a  reconciliation  took  place.  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
equally  harassed  by  Engelbert,  who  also  possessed  that  bishopric, 
placed  herself  under  the  protection  of  Guillaume,  Comte  de 
Juliers,  and  of  Otto,  Earl  of  Gueldres.     A  bloody  feud  ensued* 
Engelbert  was  taken  prisoner  in  the  battle  of  Lechenich  and 
shut  up  in  an  iron  cage,  and  the  Comte  de  Juliers,  attempting 
to  rule  despotically  over  Aix-la-Chapelle,  fell,  together  with 
his  three  sons,  beneath  the  axes  of  the  butchers,  a.  d.  1267. 
Disturbances  broke  out  in  Liege,  a.  d.  1277.     The  bishop, 
Henry,  erected  a  fortification  in  the  city,  reduced  the  citizens 
to  slavery,  and  led  the  most  profligate  life.      He  was  de- 
posed, but  getting  his  successor,  John,  who  was  a  very  cor- 
pulent man,  into  his  power,  had  him  bound  with  ropes  on  a 
horse,  and  trotted  to  death.  Henry  was  at  length  assassinated 
by  the  citizens.     These  disputes  between  the  citizens  and  the 
bishop  were  of  common  occurrence  in  almost  every  city.    The 
inhabitants  of  Haraeln  were  unsuccessful  in  their  contest  with 


THE  INTEKEEONUM.  23 

the  bishop  of  Minden,  to  whom  [a.  d.  1259]  the  patronage  of 
.the  city  had  been  resigned  by  the  abbot  of  Fulda.  The  Count 
von  Everstein,  the  city  patron,  and  the  citizens  opposed  the 
bishop,  but  were  defeated,  and  several  of  them  taken  prisoners. 
In  1252,  the  citizens  of  Leipsig  destroyed  the  Zwingburg,  the 
fastness  of  the  despotic  abbot  of  St.  Augustin ;  those  of  Halle 
protected  the  Jews  [a.  d.  1261]  against  the  archbishop,  Ru- 
precht  Yon  Mf^deburg,  by  whom  they  were  persecuted ;  those 
of  Wiirzburg  compelled  the  bishop,  Tring,  [a.  d.  1265,]  to 
raise  the  interdict  laid  upon  them,  and  defeated  his  successor, 
Eerthold,  in  a  pitched  battle  at  Kitzingen,  A.  D.  1269.  The 
citizens  of  Augsburg  also  defeated  their  bishop,  Hartmann, 
on  the  Hamelberg. 

These  examples  show  the  spirit  then  reigning  in  the  cities 
which,  more  particularly  in  Swabia  and  Franconia,  were  in- 
cessantly at  open  enmity  with  the  petty  nobility,  (whose  num- 
bers were  greatly  increased  by  the  subdivision  that  took 
place  within  these  two  duchies,)  sometimes  on  account  of  the 
numerous  Pfahlbiirger  or  enfranchised  citizens,  peasants  who 
enrolled  themselves  among  the  citizens  in  order  to  escape  from 
the  tyranny  of  the  petty  lords  ;  sometimes  on  account  of  the 
merchants,  who  were  either  pillaged  by  the  noble  knights, 
or  allowed  a  safe  passage  on  payment  of  a  heavy  toll. 
The  tolls  on  the  Rhine  and  the  Neckar  formed  a  perpetual 
subject  of  dispute.  The  ruins  of  the  fastnesses  with  which 
these  robber  knights  crowned  the  heights  on  the  banks  of 
these  rivers,  and  whence  they  waylaid  the  travelling  mer- 
chants, still  stand,  picturesque  memorials  of  those  wild  and 
lawless  times.  The  cities  of  Swabia,  particularly  Reutlingen 
and  Esslingen,  carried  on  a  lengthy  contest  with  Ulrich,  count 
of  Wurtemberg,  the  bitterest  enemy  and  the  destroyer  of  cities, 
whose  example  on  the  Neckar  was  followed  by  the  nobles  on 
the  Rhine.  The  exaction  of  a  fresh  and  heavy  toll  on  pass- 
ing the  Rheinfels,  by  Count  Diether  von  Katzenellenbogen 
gave  rise  to  the  Rhenish  league,  to  which  the  first  impulse  was 
given  by  Arnold  de  Turri,  (of  the  Thurm^  tower,)  a  citizen  of 
Mayence,  against  the  exactions  and  robberies  of  the  nobles, 
A.  D.  1247.  The  confederation,  which  at  first  solely  consisted 
of  Mayence,  Worms,  Spires,  Basel,  and  Strassburg,  was  re- 
newed after  the  death  of  Conrad  IV.,  [a.  d.  1255,]  and  was 
Arnilj  swelled  by  sixty  of  the  Rhenish  and  Swabian  towns. 


24  THE  HIERARCHY. 

In  1271,  it  had  gained  great  strength,  and  a  considerable 
number  of  the  fastnesses  of  the  robber  knights  were  destroyed, 
but  it  never  attained  the  note  enjoyed  by  the  great  northern 
Hansa. 

The  hopes  of  Germany,  which  lay,  as  it  were,  buried  in  the 
tomb  of  the  last  of  the  Hofaenstaufen,  revived  with  the  main- 
tenance of  civil  right  by  the  cities,  and  a  glorious  prospect  of 
civil  liberty  and  of  common  weal  opened  to  view. 


PART  XIL 

SUMMIT  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES. 


CLXn.   The  Hierarchy. 

The  spirit  of  religion,  originally  mild  and  lowly,  had,  at  the 
period  of  which  we  treat,  gradually  assumed  a  character  of 
fervid  devotion  and  extravagant  enthusiasm.  The  zealots  of 
the  times  sought  to  realize  a  heaven  upon  earth,  where  God 
was  to  be  represented  by  his  vicegerent  the  pope,  the  angels 
by  the  immaculate  priesthood,  and  heaven  itself  by  the  church, 
to  which  those  whose  lives  were  not  entirely  devoted  to  the 
service  of  God,  the  laity,  mere  dwellers  on  the  outskirts  of 
heaven,  were  to  be  subordinate. 

The  layman,  the  emperor,  and  the  empire  were  thus  to  be 
subordinate  to  the  priest,  the  pope,  and  the  church,  and  the 
whole  world  was  to  be  governed  by  a  great  theocracy,  of 
which  the  pope  was  the  head.  The  Sachsenspiegel,  or  Saxon 
code,  says  :  "  God  sent  two  swords  on  earth  for  the  protection 
of  Christendom,  and  gave  to  the  pope  the  spiritual,  to  the  em- 
peror the  temporal  one:"  the  Schwabenspiegel,  that  was 
shortly  afterwards  compiled  in  order  to  suit  the  schemes  of 
the  church  of  Rome,  altered  the  sense  thus  :  "  God,  now  the 
Prince  of  Peace,  left  two  swords  here  upon  earth,  on  his  ascen- 
sion into  heaven,  for  the  protection  of  Christendom,  both  of 


THE  HIERARCHY.  25 

wViich  be  consigned  to  St  Peter,  one  for  temporal,  the  other 
foT  apmtual  rule.  The  temporal  sword  is  leut  by  the  pope 
to  the  emperor.  The  spiritual  sword  is  held  by  the  pope 
himself." 

'  The  subordination  of  all  the  princes  of  the  world  to  a  higher 
power,  and  the  combination  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  into 
one  vast  and  universal  commnnitj,  was  in  truth  a  grand  and 
sublime  idea ;  but  unfortunately  for  its  realization,  the  ecclesi- 
astical shepherds  allowed  too  much  of  earthly  passion  and  of 
sordid  interest  to  cling  to  them  in  their  elevated  and  almost 
superhuman  position,  and  gave  an  undue  preponderance  to 
the  Italians  in  the  universal  community  of  nations,  in  which 
men  were  to  regard  each  other  as  the  children  of  the  God  of 
peace  and  ^love,  in  whose  presence  strife  was  to  cease.  That 
mutual  concord  is  productive  of  mutual  benefit  has  long  been 
a  received  truth.  The  long-lost  vigour  restored  by  the  Ger- 
man conqueror  to  ancient  Rome,  was  repaid  by  the  acquisition 
of  learning,  and  of  the  knowledge  and  love  of  art,  for  which 
Germany  owes,  and  ever  must  owe,  a  heavy  debt  of  gratitude 
to  Italy,  and  especially  to  the  church  of  Rome ;  even  the  de- 
terioration of  German  nationality  by  the  preponderance  of 
that  of  Rome  may  be  viewed  as  the  inevitable  result  of  this 
universal  and  historical  fact.  The  national  rights  of  Germany 
nevertheless  must  not,  as  too  often  has  been  the  case,  be  set 
aside,  nor  their  violation  be  forgotten. 

The  Roman  pontiff  solely  attained  his  gigantic  power  by 
undermining  the  Grerman  empire ;  and  the  success  attending 
his  schemes,  far  from  being  the  result  of  the  power  of  mind 
over  matter,  or  of  the  superiority  of  the  Italian  over  the  Grer- 
man nation,  may  be  chiefly  ascribed  to  the  treason  of  the  great 
vassals  of  the  crown,  who,  at  first  unable  to  assert  their  in- 
dependence, willingly  confederated  with  the  pope,  whom  they 
regarded  as  a  half-independent  sovereign,  whose  power  as  the 
head  of  the  nations  of  Italy  might  serve  to  counterpoise  that 
of  the  emperor,  and  countenanced  the  dismemberment  of  Lom- 
bardy  from  the  empire,  the  seizure  of  Lower  Italy  and  of  the 
Burgundian  Arelat  by  the  French,  and  the  sole  election  of 
French  or  Italian  popes.  Italy  could  never  have  gained  this 
novel  preponderance  without  the  aid  of  the  princes  of  Ger- 
many. The  election  of  German  popes  had  been  upheld  by  the 
emperors.     W  ^^^  ancient  Roman  empire  had  been  overthrown 


26  THE  HIERARCHY. 

by  Germans ;  if  their  victories  over  the  Moors,  the  Hungari- 
ans, and  the  Slavonians  had  saved  Christendom  from  ruin, 
and  the  whole  heart  of  Europe  was  undeniably  their  own, 
why  then  should  not  Germany  also  preponderate  in  the  church, 
and  the  pope  be  a  German  by  birth  ?  The  germanization 
of  the  church  would  have  been  effected  by  the  emperors 
had  they  not  been  abandoned  and  betrayed  by  the  princes  of 
the  empire.  It  has  been  objected,  that  the  sovereignty  and 
tyranny  of  the  emperor  would  have  been  a  worse  evil,  and 
that  the  church  of  Rome  would  have  been  reduced  in  Ger- 
many to  the  state  in  which  she  now  is  in  Russia  ;  a  consola- 
tory  reflection,  founded  upon  an  utter  misapprehension  of  the 
national  feeling  throughout  Germany.  Had  the  unity  of  the 
empire  and  its  external  power  been  preserved  under  the  em- 
peror, civil  and  mental  liberty  would,  in  all  probability,  have 
reached  a  much  higher  pitch  than  they  possibly  could  un- 
der a  polygarchy  influenced  by  the  inimical  and  malicious 
stranger. 

By  the  destruction  of  the  Hohenstaufen,  the  popes,  at  the 
head  of  the  Italians,  gained  a  complete  victory  over  the  em- 
perors, who  until  now  had  been  at  the  head  of  the  nations  of 
Germany,  but  the  means  of  which  they  made  use  in  the  pur- 
suance of  their  schemes  were  exactly  contrary  to  the  tenets  of 
the  religion  they  professed  to  teach,  nor  was  their  vocation  as 
vicegerents  of  Christ  upon  earth  at  all  compatible  with  the 
policy  by  means  of  which,  leagued  with  France,  they  pursued 
their  plans  in  Italy,  and  continually  injured,  harassed,  and 
degraded  the  Germans  as  a  nation.  For  this  purely  political  and 
national  purpose,  means  were  continually  made  use  of  so  glaring- 
ly unjust  and  criminal,  that  the  measure  of  offence  was  at  length 
complete,  and  called  forth  that  fearful  reaction  of  German  na- 
tionality, known  as  the  Reformation.  From  the  eleventh  to 
the  sixteenth  century,  it  was  the  policy  of  Rome,  as,  since  that 
period,  it  has  ever  been  that  of  France,  to  weaken,  to  ^lisunite, 
and  to  subdue  Germany. 

The  remainder  of  the  princes  of  Christendom  were,  after 
the  fall  of  the  German  emperors,  either  too  weak  still  to  oppose 
the  pope,  or  entered  into  alliance  with,  and  supported  him ;  as, 
for  instance,  the  French  monarch,  whom  he  treated  on  that 
account  with  a  condescension  never  practised  by  him  towards 
an  emperor  of  Germany. 


THE  HIERARCHY.  27 

The  power  of  the  pope  over  the  church  was  ahsolute.  His 
aathoritj  over  the  councils,  which  he  convoked  at  pleasure, 
was  uncontrolled.  The  canons,  (canoneSy)  or  public  decrees, 
were  drawn  up  under  his  direction  in  the  general  council,  and 
his  private  decrees,  drawn  up  without  its  assistance,  such 
as  decretalia,  bulke  et  brevia,  were  of  equal  weight.  The 
whole  of  these  laws  formed  the  body  of  the  canon  or  ecclesi- 
astical law  {corpits  juris  canonici  S.  ecclesiastici).  The  first 
collection  of  Gratian,  which,  in  1151,  had  been  opposed  as  the 
new  Roman  law  to  the  resuscitated  old  temporal  Roman  law 
made  use  of  by  the  emperor  Frederick  Barbarossa  for  the 
confirmation  of  his  power,  was,  in  1234,  completed  and  ratified 
by  the  pope,  Gregory  IX.  In  order  to  limit  the  power  of  the 
archbishops,  which  threatened  to  endanger  his  authority,  the 
pope  gradually  withdrew  the  bishops  from  beneath  their  juris- 
diction, and  rendered  them,  as  well  as  the  monkish  orders, 
solely  dependent  upon  the  pontifical  chair.  His  next  step 
was  to  give  unlimited  extension  to  the  right  of  appeal  from 
the  lower  courts  to  Rome,  and,  consequently,  exemption  or 
freedom  from  all  other  jurisdiction  except  that  of  the  pope. 
Multitudes  now  poured  into  Rome  with  demands  for  justice, 
and  the  legates,  for  still  greater  convenience,  travelled  into 
every  country  and  administered  justice  in  the  name  of  the 
pope.  The  appointment  to  ecclesiastical  offices  depended  on 
him  alone.  The  exclusion  of  the  imperial  vote  had  been 
gained  in  the  great  dispute  concerning  right  of  investiture. 
The  power  of  the  chapters  was  limited  by  papal  reservations. 
At  first  the  pope  asserted  his  right  to  induct,  independently 
of  the  episcopal  chapters,  successors  to  those  bishops  who  died 
within  a  circle  of  two  days'  journey  round  Rome,  an  event  of 
very  frequent  occurrence,  Rome,  on  account  of  the  right  of 
appeal,  being  always  filled  with  foreign  clergy,  and  no  bishop 
being  confirmed  in  his  dignity  unless  he  appeared  there  in 
person.  •  Before  long  the  reservation  was  extended,  and  the 
pope  decreed  that  on  him  alone  depended  the  nomination  to 
all  ecclesiastical  dignities  that  fell  vacant  during  certain  months, 
and  finally  asserted  his  right  of  removing  or  deposing  the 
bishops,  and  of  founding  and  of  holding  the  nomination  to  new 
benefices.  The  pope,  moreover,  created,  since  the  crusades, 
titular  or  sufiTragan  bishops,  possessed  of  no  real  bishoprics, 
but  bearing  the  title  of  one  in  the  Holy  Land,  (in  partihus 


28  THE  HIERARCHY. 

infidelium^)  that  had  to  be  conquered  before  they  could  be  in- 
stalled. These  titular  bishops  were  assisted  by  real  bishops, 
who,  in  fact,  acted  as  papal  overseers. The  pope  also  pos- 
sessed the  right,  as  the  monarch  of  the  Christian  world,  of 
taxing  the  whole  of  Christendom.  The  taxes  were  partly  di- 
rect, partly  indirect.  The  former  were  styled  annates  or 
yearly  allowances,  and  were  merely  levied  upon  the  church, 
the  laity  contributing  richly  enough  in  other  ways.  Since  the 
twelfth  century,  it  had  been  the  custom  to  pay  a  portion  of 
the  income  of  each  ecclesiastical  office  to  the  pope,  who,  before 
long,  claimed  the  whole  income  of  the  first  year  of  installation. 
The  indirect  taxes  were  far  more  numerous.  Both  priests  and 
laymen  were  taxed  for  the  crusades  and  other  pious  purposes. 
The  chattels  of  the  bishops  and  abbots,  which,  on  their  de- 
cease, formerly  fell  to  the  emperor,  were  now  inherited  by  the 
pope.  Simony,  so  heavily  visited  upon  laymen  by  the  pontiff, 
was  now  practised  by  himself,  and  the  sale  of  ecclesiastical 
dignities  to  the  highest  bidder,  was  by  no  means  of  rare  oc'- 
eurrence. 

The  most  terrible  weapons  wielded  by  the  pope,  were  the 
ecclesiastical  punishments  in  three  classes ;  excommunication, 
or  simple  exclusion  from  the  church ;  the  bann,  by  which  the 
criminal  was  outlawed  and  his  murder  declared  a  duty ;  and 
the  interdict,  which  prohibited  the  exercise  of  church  service 
in  the  city  or  country  in  which  the  excommunicant  dwelt.— ^ — 
These  spiritual  weapons  were  supported  by  an  unlimited  ter- 
ritorial possession,  feudal  right,  an  armed  force,  and  an  inex- 
haustible source  of  ever-increasing  wealth.  The  pope  was  a 
temporal  prince  in  the  state  of  the  church ;  the  archbishops, 
bishops,  and  abbots  in  the  empire,  were  no  less  temporal 
princes  in  their  dominions.  The  amount  of  the  pontifical 
treasury  was  every  century  sweUed  by  tithes,  indulgences,  and 
fines,  by  offerings  to  the  saints,  by  the  gifts  of  the  pious  or  the 
penitent. 

The  external  power  of  the  church  was,  nevertheless,  sur- 
passed by  its  internal,  moral  power.  Had  this  moral  power 
remained  untinctured  by  the  insolence  resulting  from  unlimited 
rule,  it  would  have  become  a  blessing  to  every  nation.  But 
ordinances  merely  calculated  to  increase  external  authority 
were  added  to  the  simple  tenets  of  the  Christian  religion. 
The  most  important  of  these  new  dogmas  was  the  sanctity  of 


THE  HIERARCHT.  29 

e^bacy,  wliich,  since  the  time  of  Gregory  IV.,  had  been  im- 
posed as  a  duty  npon  the  priesthood,  and  which  at  once  broke 
every  tie  between  them  and  the  rest  of  mankind.  The  prac- 
tice of  celibacy  caused  them  to  be  regarded  in  the  superstition 
of  the  times  as  beings  of  angelic  poritj.  The  ceremony  of 
ordination,  from  which  the  vow  of  eternal  chastity  was  in- 
separable, raised  the  consecrated  priest  above  every  earthly 
passion,  and  bestowed  upon  him  the  power  of  holding  direct 
intercourse  with  the  Deity,  whilst  the  layman  could  only  hold 
indirect  intercourse  with  him  by  means  of  the  priest.  In  order 
to  strengthen  this  belief,  the  mass,  during  which  the  priest 
holds  up  the  Deity  to  the  view  of  the  layman,  and  confession, 
in  which  the  layman  receives  remission  of  his  sins  in  the  name 
of  God  from  the  priest,  were  greatly  increased  in  importance 
and  signification.  During  the  celelmtion  of  the  Lord's  sup- 
per, the  chalice  was  at  first  withdrawn  from  the  lower  and 
plebeian  classes,  and,  before  long,  from  all  laymen,  and  the 
priests  alone  were  declared  worthy  of  partaking  of  it.  Thus 
was  the  equality  of  all  mankind  in  the  sight  of  Grod,  as  an- 
nounced by  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  destroyed.  The  study 
of  the  Bible  was,  for  similar  purposes,  also  prohibited  to  all 
laymen. 

External  worship,  the  Roman  liturgy,  the  solemnization  of 
church  festivals,  were  amplified.  Innumerable  new  saints  ap- 
l  peared,  all  of  whom  required  veneration,  particular  churches, 
chapels,  festivals,  and  prayers.  The  number  of  relics,  to  which 
pilgrimages  were  made,  consequently,  also  incrreased.*  Pe- 
nances multiplied,  among  others,  the  fasts,  at  first  so  simple. 
Then  came  the  ceremonies.  The  poetical  feeling  of  the  age, 
the  idleness  of  the  monks,  and  even  the  jealousy  between  their 
various  orders,  demanded  variety.f  Innumerable  particuUr 
festivals,  processions,  religious  exhibitions,  which  often  de- 

*  One  of  the  most  extraordinary  pilgrimages  was  founded  by  Frederick, 
archbishop  of  Treves,  a.  d.  1*273,  to  the  grave  of  St.  Willibrod  at  Epter- 
nach,  where  a  general  dance  in  her  honour  was  performed  by  the  pil- 
grims, who,  linked  together,  made  two  steps  forward,  one  backward,  and 
then  zigzagged  off  to  the  right  and  left.  This  custom  was  kept  up  until 
yery  lately. 

t  Juliana,  a  nun  at  Liege,  having,  in  1230,  seen  the  full  moon  with  a 
piece  out  of  it  in  a  vision,  and  being  told  by  a  voice  from  heaven,  that 
this  signified  the  want  of  another  great  church  festival,  Urban  IV.  in- 
stituted that  of  Corpus-Christi. 


) 

I 


30  THE  HIERARCHY, 

generated  to  the  most  extravagant  popular  amusements,  were 
instituted  and  varied  according  to  the  customs  of  different 
countries,  or  according  to  the  peculiar  history  of  the  saint. 
Thus,  for  instance,  the  ass  on  which  Christ  entered  Jerusa- 
lem, gave  occasion  to  an  ass's  festival ;  the  long  fast,  com- 
mencing with  Easter,  was  prepared  for  by  the  most  frantic 
gaiety,  the  present  carnival,  as  if  to  wear  out  old  sins  by  giving 
vent  to  them.  Prayer  was,  on  the  other  hand,  as  greatly  sim- 
plified, and  the  rosary,  which  assisted  the  repetition  of  the 
same  prayer  by  counting  with  the  fingers,  was  introduced. 

The  dogma  most  important  in  its  results,  was  the  remis- 
sion of  sins,  or  absolution.  No  one  by  repentance  could  find 
grace  before  God  unless  first  declared  free  from  sin  by  the 
priest,  and  absolution,  at  first  solely  obtained  by  severe  per- 
sonal penance,  was  ere  long  much  oftener  purchased  with 
money ;  and  in  order  to  implant  the  necessity  of  absolution 
more  deeply  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  the  power  of  Satan, 
eternal  torments  in  hell,  and  the  pains  suffered  in  purgatory 
until  absolution  had  been  obtained  from  some  priest  on  earth, 
were  forcibly  depictured. Still,  notwithstanding  the  mis- 
chievous and  bad  tendency  of  these  abuses,  the  enormous  num- 
ber of  pious  institutions  and  donations  by  which  the  church 
was  enriched,  afford  a  touching  proof  of  the  disposition  of  the 
people,  who  disinterestedly  sacrificed  their  worldly  wealth  for 
the  salvation  of  the  dead,  for  parents,  husbands,  wives,  and 
children.  Thus  did  the  church,  for  its  ambitious  purposes, 
abuse  man's  purer  and  gentler  feelings. 

The  childlike  belief  in  the  direct  intercourse  between  the 
visible  and  invisible  world,  and  that  of  men  with  God,  was  the 
source  of  the  deep  poetical  feeling  and  enthusiasm  that  cha- 
racterize these  times ;  and  the  popular  respect  for  all  that  was 
or  seemed  to  be  holy,  is  the  finest  as  well  as  the  most  striking 
trait  of  the  middle  ages.* 

Germany  was,  at  that  period,  divided  into  the  following 
ecclesiastical  provinces : — 1.  The  archbishopric  of  Treves,  with 

♦  In  1465,  the  city  of  Beme,  when  the  pyx  with  the  holy  of  holies 
was  stolen  from  the  high  altar  in  the  cathedral,  went  into  deep  mourning 
on  account  of  this  proof  of  the  anger  of  God.  Gambling  and  luxury 
were  abolished,  splendour  in  apparel  restricted,  swearing  sererely  pun- 
ished, the  morals  of  the  citizens  thoroughly  reformed. — Wirz,  History  of 
Switzerland. 


THE  HIERARCHY.  31 

the  bisboprics  of  Tull,  Yerdan,  Metz.  2.  The  archbishopric 
oiMayence,  tbe  bishoprics  of  Spires,  Strasbourg,  Worms, 
Angsbnrg,  Constance,  Chur,  Wiirzburg,  Eichstadt,  Pader- 
Wn,  HAlberstadt,  Hildesheiro,  Yerden,  Bamberg.  3.  The 
ttcihibishopTic  of  Cologne,  the  bishoprics  of  Liege,  Utrecht, 
Osnabriick,  Miinden,  MUnster.  4.  The  archbishopric  of 
Salzburg,  the  bishoprics  of  Ratisbon,  Freisingen,  Passau, 
Brixen,  Gurck,  Chiemsee,  Seckau,  Lavant,  Olmiitz.  5.  Tbe 
archbishopric  of  Bremen,  the  bishoprics  of  Lubeck,  (Olden- 
barg,)  Schwerin,  (Mecklenburg,)  Ratzeburg,  Camin,  Schles- 
wig.  6.  The  archbishopric  of  Magdeburg,  the  bishoprics  of 
2^z,  (Naumburg,)  Merseburg,  Meissen,  Brandenburg,  Lebus, 
Havelberg.  7.  The  archbishopric  of  B^aii9on,  the  bishoprics 
of  Basle,  Lausanne,  Sion,  Geneva.  8.  The  archbishopric  of 
Prague,  the  bishoprics  of  Leutmeritz,  Konigsgratz.  To  these 
were  added,  9.  The  archbishopric  of  Riga,  with  the  bishoprics 
Ermeland,  Culm,  Fomesania,  Samland,  Rieyal,  Dorpat,  Oesel. 
The  bishopric  of  Breslau  was  independent  In  the  Nether- 
lands, tbe  bishoprics  of  Cammerich,  (Cambraj,)  Doornik, 
(Toumay,)  and  Arras,  were  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  arch- 
bishopric of  Rheims.  The  bishopric  of  Trident  belonged  to 
the  patriarchate  of  Aglar  (Aquileia).  The  archbishoprics 
and  bishoprics  belonging  to  the  empire  in  Italy  and  the  Arelat 
had  long  been  lost. 

Monasteries  and  nunneries  rapidly  increased  in  number. 
The  oldest  and  richest  were  canonries  or  prebends,  (similar 
to  the  episcopal  chapters,)  generally  sinecures  for  the  nobility. 
Even  in  the  common  monasteries  the  harder  work  was  commit- 
ted to  the  lay-brothers,  (JratreSy)  whilst  the  actual  monks 
(patres)  merely  prayed  and  sang.*  A  reaction  in  the  pride 
and  laziness  of  monastic  life  was,  however,  produced  by  some 
pious  men  who  reformed  the  Benedictine  orders,  and  reintro- 
duced the  severest  discipline  and  complete  renunciation  of  the 
world,  as  the  Carthusians,  the  Fremonstratenses,  the  Eis- 
terzienses,  etc.,f  and  finally,  the  great  begging  orders,  the 

*  In  some  of  the  largest  and  richest  monasteries,  which  contained 
seyeral  hundred  monks,  the  choir  service  was  carried  on  for  centuries 
incessantly  by  day  and  by  night,  the  monks  relieving  each  other  by  turns. 
This  was  the  case  at  Corbey,  in  Westphalia,  and  at  St.  Maurice,  in  the 
Canton  Vaud. 

f  The  order  of  the  Carmelites  was  founded  during  the  crusades  on 
Mount  Cannel,  where  the  prophet  Elias  formerly  dwelt  in  seclusion. 


32  THE  HIERARCHY. 

Franciscans  and  Dominicans,  of  whom  mention  has  alreadjr 
been  made  as  the  pope's  most  devoted  servants,  his  spiritu&l 
mercenaries  or  church  police,  who  watched  over  his  interest 
in  different  conntries.     Before  long  a  jealousy  arose  betweeim 
these  two  numerous  orders,  and  a  dispute  broke  out  among^ 
the  Franciscans,  some  of  whom  wished  to  modify  the  severity 
of  the  rules  of  their  order,  and  to  alter  the  vow  of  poverty  so 
as  to  enable  them  to  become,  not  the  possessors,  but  the  man- 
agers of  property,  whilst  others  resolved  to  persevere  in  the 
practice  of  the  most  abject  poverty,  humility,  and  penance. 
The  latter,  thoroughly  animated  with  the  spirit  of  the  first 
teachers  of  Christianity,  endangered  the  pope,  by  openly 
and  zealously  preaching  against  the  worldliness  and  luxury 
of  the  church,  in  consequence  of  which  Innocent  IV.  decided 
against  them  and  countenanced  the  opposite  party,  A.  D.  1245, 
The  Franciscans  refused  to  obey,  and  became  martjrrs  in  the 
cause.    The  contest  was  of  long  duration.    They  wrote  openly 
against  the  pope,  often  supported  the  emperor  against   the 
church,  and  although  delivered  up  to  their  bitterest  enemies, 
the  Dominicans,  by  whom  they  were  burnt  as  heretics,  their 
tenets  continued  to  be  upheld  by  some  of  the  monks,  and  even 
influenced  the  universities. 

At  this  period,  German  mysticism  had  already  ceded  to 
Italian  scholasticism.  The  founder  of  this  mysticism  was,  as 
has  already  been  mentioned,  the  count  and  abbot,  Hugh  de 
St.  Victoire.  His  Gothic  system  was  grounded  on  the  three 
original  powers  of  the  Deity,  and  their  effect  on  the  universe. 
The  Godhead  is  triple,  as  Power,  Wisdom,  and  Goodness ; 
the  universe  is  triple,  as  heaven,  earth,  and  hell ;  the  human 
soul  is  triple,  in  so  far  as  it  can  freely  revert  to  each  of  these 
three.  In  the  chevaleresque  spirit  of  the  times,  Hugh  ad- 
monished men  to  bid  defiance  to  the  double  spells  of  sense, 
(heU,)  and  of  reason,  (earth,)  with  eyes  fixed  in  constant 
adoration  on  heaven ;  like  the  knight,  who,  intent  upon  freeing 
his  beloved,  fights  his  way  through  enchanted  forests  guarded 
by  monsters.  The  power  by  which  he  is  enabled  to  defy 
danger  and  to  rise  superior  to  temptation  being  pure,  spotless 

love. Incited  by  this   example,   Honorius,   (Augustodu- 

nensis,  of  Augst,  near  Basle,)  set  up  another  mystical  system, 
in  which  he  represented  the  struggle  of  the  soul,  not  like 
Hugo,  as  a  courageous  rejection  of  the  world,  but  as  a  thorough 


r 


THE  HIEBABCHT.  33 


compreliensioa  of  the  umverse.  He  compared  the  world  to  a 
luffp,  whose  discords  were  all  redacible  to  harmony ;  and  main- 
tsdned  that,  although  God  might  have  departed  from  his  ori- 
^al  unity  in  the  hostile  contrasts  in  the  world,  man,  like  a 
little  god,  possessed  the  power  of  regaining  the  sense  of  di- 
i  vine  unity  by  a  knowledge  of  the  harmony  of  the  universe. — 
Bapert  von  Duiz,  on  the  other  hand,  sought  for  manifestations 
of  the  Divine  essence  not  so  much  in  nature  as  in  time,  in 
history.  He  beheld  God  the  Father  manifested  in  the  ancient 
pagan  times  until  the  birth  of  Christ,  God  the  Son  in  the 
Christian  and  present  times,  and  believed  that  Grod  the  Holy 
Ghost  would  be  manifested  at  a  third  and  future  period.  Thus, 
Hugh  imaged  Divine  power,  Honorius  Divine  beauty,  and 
Rupert  applied  both  to  daily  life,  drew  heaven  down  to  the 
earth,  the  eternal  into  the  finite.  The  idea  of  Hugh  coincided 
with  Christian  knighthood,  that  of  Honorius  with  Christian 
art,  that  of  Rupert  with  great  historical  advance  in  civiliza- 
tion by  a  transmutation  of  forms.  The  thoughts  of  these 
three  naen  portray  the  spirit  of  their  times. 

These  mystic  philosophers  flourished  during  the  reign  of 
Barbarossa,  and  were  succeeded  by  another,  Albert  the  Great, 
a  Swahian  nobleman  of  the  house  of  BoUstadt,  bishop  of  Ra- 
tisbon,  (1280,)  whose  name  shone  brightly  as  the  star  of  the 
Staufen  fell.  His  mind,  although  enriched  with  all  the  learn- 
ing of  the  age,  (by  the  ignorant  he  was  suspected  of  magic,) 
I  was  deeply  imbued  with  Italian  scholasticism.  Still,  although 
he  joined  the  Italian  philosophers,  and  became  a  thorough 
papist,  he  was  distinguished  from  the  rest  of  the  scholastics 
by  being  the  first  who  again  made  nature  his  study.  He  also 
sought  to  explain  the  idea  of  God.  theoretically,  without  re- 
ference to  the  ordinances  of  the  church,  but  was  weak  enough 
to  exercise  his  wit  on  this  apparently  open  way  of  research  for 
the  mere  purpose  of  attempting  to  prove  that  every  papist 

dogma  was  both  natural  and  necessary. ^Among  the  papist 

zealots  in  the  twelfth  century  was  the  oracle  of  the  Guelpbs, 
Geroch,  provost  at  Reichersperg,  the  founder  of  Ultra- 
montanism  in  Bavaria.  He  preached  the  destruction  of  all 
temporal  kingdoms  and  the  supremacy  of  the  pope.  The  lux- 
ury of  the  ecclesiastics  and  the  stupidity  and  licence  of  the 
monks,  so  glaringly  opposed  to  the  doctrines  they  professed, 
were,  nev^theless,  unsparingly  ridiculed  by  the  pen  and 

TOl.  II.  D 


34  THE  HIERARCHY. 

pencil.  Nigellus  Wireker  wrote,  at  the  close  of  the  twelfth 
century,  a  bitmg  satire  {BruneUus^  seu  spectdum  stuUarum) 
against  the  monks.  At  a  later  period,  the  spirit  of  ridicule 
gained  increased  force,  being  not  only  tolerated  but  fostered 
in  the  court  of  the  emperor  Frederick  II.,  and  characterizes 
the  songs  of  the  Minnesingers.* 

The  visions  {visiones^  revdationes)  of  ecstatic  seers,  dreamy 
images  supposed  to  reveal  the  profoundest  secrets  of  hea- 
venly wisdom,  formed  the  transition  from  mysticism  to  poetry. 
The  first  and  most  remarkable  of  these  seers  are  St.  Hilde- 
garde  of  Bingen,  and  her  sister  Elisabeth,  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury ;  who  were  followed,  in  the  thirteenth  century,  by  St. 
Gertrude,  and  her  sister  Matilda,  in  Mansfeld ;  and  in  the 
Netherlands,  by  Maria  von  Ognis  and  Lydtwit.  Caesar  von 
Heisterbach  and  Jordan  wrote  in  general  upon  the  visions  of 
their  times ;  and  Henry  von  Klingenberg,  a  work  upon  the 
angels.  The  late  discoveries  in  magnetism  confirm  the  fact 
of  these  celebrated  seers  having  been  somnambulists.  Highly- 
wrought  poetical  imagery  pre-eminently  distinguishes  the 
visions  of  St.  Hildegarde. 

The  Virgin  Mary,  the  ideal  of  chastity  and  beauty,  the 
model  of  piety  for  the  women  and  the  object  of  the  ecstatic 
devotion  of  the  men,  formed  the  chief  subject  of  the  poetry  of 
the  times.  The  Latin  work  of  the  monk  Potho  glows  with  love 
and  adoration ;  but  the  most  valuable  works  of  the  age  are,  the 
Life  of  Mary,  and  hymns  in  her  praise,  written  in  German  in 
the  twelfth  century,  by  Wemher,  Philip  the  Carthusian, 
Conrad  von  Wurzburg,  Conrad  von  Hennesfurt,  and  by  several 
anonymous  authors ;  besides  innumerable  legends.  Unlike 
the  later  legends  distinguished  for  their  wonders,  repetitions, 
bad  taste,  boasting  and  flattery  of  many  an  ecclesiastical  ty- 
rant, of  many  a  rich  princess,  who  bequeathed  their  wealth  to 
the  church  and  were  consequently  canonized,  those  of  this  period 
are  remarkable  for  their  excellence,  especially  those  in  which  a 
moral  precept  or  a  Christian  tenet  was  artfully  wound  up  with 
the  history  of  a  saint. j*     Most  of  the  legends  are  written 

*  Art  also  exercised  its  wit.  In  the  Strasburg  cathedral  there  -was 
a  group  in  stone  representing  a  boar  cari3ring  the  holy  water-pot  and 
sprinkling  brush,  a  wolf  the  cross,  a  hare  the  taper,  a  pig  and  a  goat  a 
box  of  relics,  in  which  lay  a  sleeping  fox,  and  an  ass  reading  mass,  whilst 
a  cat  acted  as  reading  desk. 

t  Those  legends,  for  instance,  are  extremely  beauti&il  in  which  th« 


GOTHIC  AECHITECTURE.  35 

in  lAlin.  Several  of  the  German  ones  are  in  verse,  that  of 
St  Gregory  by  the  celebrated  poet  Hartmann  von  Aae,  that 
of  St.  George  by  Beinbot  von  Doren,  that  of  St.  Alexius  by 
Conrad  von  Wiirzburg,  that  of  St.  Elisabeth  by  Conrad  von 
Marbnrg  and  John  Rote,  Barlaam  and  Josaphat  by  Rudolf 
von  Hohenems,  and  several  others.  Among  the  German 
poems  on  the  life  of  Christ,  "  The  Crucified,"  by  John 
von  Falkenstein,  is  pre-eminent.  Besides  these  there  are  a 
multitude  of  parables,  prayers,  hymns,  and  pious  effusions  by 
the  Swabian  Minnesingers,  whose  heroic  poetry  and  amorous 
ditties  are  also  pervaded  by  the  fear  and  reverence  of  God 
distinctive  of  their  times.  Several  excellent  sermons  written 
in  the  thirteenth  century  in  the  Swabian  dialect,  by  Berthold 
von  Regensburg,  (Ratisbon,)  are  still  extant  Rudolf  von 
Hohenems  translated  the  Bible,  up  to  the  death  of  Solomon, 
in  verse,  for  Henry  Raspe  the  Bad,  and  intermixed  it  with 
legends  and  historical  accounts.  The  celebrated  Chronicle  <^ 
the  Emperors  is  also  similarly  interwoven  with  numerous  and 
extremdy  fine  legends ;  also  Enikel's  Universal  Chronicle. 


CLXIIL    Gothic  architecture. 

Eccx<£8iASTiOAL  architecture  took  its  rise  from  the  Romans 
and  Byzantines.     After  the  crusades,  and  under  the  Hohen- 
staufen,  a  new  style  of  architecture  arose  in  Germany,  far 
superior  to  the  Byzantine  in  sublimity  and  beauty;  the., 
churches  were  built  of  a  greater  size,  the  towers  became  more 

f        lo£ty,  lightness  and  beauty  of  form  was  studied,  the  pointed 
arch  replaced  the  rounded  one,  and  architecture  was  render- 

^        ed   altogether  more  symbolic^  in  design.     This  new  and 

divme  power  of  umocence  is  set  forth,  such  as  those  of  the  childhood  of 
Christ.  Innocence  struggling  against  and  overcoming  every  earthly  sor- 
row, as  in  the  legend  of  the  emperor  Octaviaans ;  its  victory  over  earthly 
desires,  as  in  that  of  St  Genoveva.  The  trinmph  of  Christianity  over 
paganism,  of  faith  over  worldly  wisdom,  is  often  the  favourite  subject,  and 
is  well  described  in  the  legend  of  St.  Faustinianus.  The  fidelity  with 
which  the  knight,  consdous  of  his  want  of  spiritual  wisdom,  serves  the 
siiint,  is  praised  in  that  of  St.  Christopher.  Faith  and  the  foisce  of  will 
X  triumph  over  the  temptations  of  the  world  in  the  legend  of  St.  Antony. 
f  Faith  and  rep^itance  snatch  the  sioner  from  the  path  of  vice  in  that  of 
St.  Magdalene.  And  the  victory  of  patient  hope  and  faith  over  torture 
and  death  is  recorded  with  boundless  triumph  in  that  of  all  the  martjrrs. 

D  2 


36  GOTHIC  ARCHITECTURE. 

thoroughly  Grerman  style  was  denominated  the  Glothic.*  This 
art  was  cultivated  and  exercised  by  a  large  civil  corporation. 
At  an  earlier  period  every  monastery  had  its  working-monks, 
(aperarii,)  architect,  sculptor,  painter,  musician ;  but,  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  the  great  guild  of  masons  and  stonemasons 
was  formed  in  the  cities,  who  adopted  in  the  service  of  the 
church  its  mystical  ideas,  and  eternalized  them  in  their  gigantic 
labours.  Their  secret  was  preserved  in  the  guild  as  the  heri- 
tage of  its  members,  who  enjoyed  great  privileges  and  were 
termed  Free-masons,  their  art  the  royal  one.  In  Upper  Ger- 
many, for  instance,  at  Ulm,  this  guild  even  ruled  the  city  for 
some  time,  a  circumstance  that  explains  the  existence  of  so 
many  fine  churches  in  that  city,  in  all  of  which  the  same  idea, 
the  same  rules  may  be  traced. 

The  churches  were  skilfully  adorned  with  carved  work, 
rich  ornaments,  pillars,  and  pictures,  and  built  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  echo  and  give  the  finest  tone  to  music.  At  length 
the  Germans  acquired  the  grand  idea  of  expressing  the  sub- 
limity of  the  Deity  by  means  of  architectural  designs ;  and 
whilst  the  churches  still  served  their  former  purpose,  the 
rough  masses  of  stone  became  fraught  with  meaning.  The 
majestic  edifices  still  stand  to  bear  witness  to  the  spirit  to 
*  which  they  owed  their  rise.  The  buildings  were  to  be  lofty 
and  large,  striking  the  eye  with  wonder  and  filling  the  heart 
with  the  feeling  of  immensity,  for  the  God  to  whom  the  tem- 
ple is  raised  is  great  and  sublime.  The  appearance  of  heavi- 
ness was  to  be  carefully  avoided,  art  was  to  be  hidden  and  its 
creations  to  spring  forth  with  the  apparent  ease  of  a  plant 
from  the  soil,  for  faith  in  God  is  neither  forced  nor  oppressive, 
but  free,  natural,  and  sublime.  The  building  must  be  lofty, 
the  columns  and  the  pillars  shoot  like  plants  and  trees  up- 
wards towards  the  light,  and  terminate  in  high  and  pointed 
towers,  for  faith  aspu*es  to  heaven.  The  altar  must  stand  to- 
wards the  East,  whence  came  the  Saviour.  The  chancel,  the 
holy  of  holies,  only  trodden  by  the  priest,  must  be  separated 

*  The  Tford  Grothic  has  no  reference  either  to  the  ancient  Goths,  Go- 
thic architecture  having  taken  its  rise  under  the  Hohenstaufen,  or  to 
the  Spaniards,  it  having  been  first  introduced  into  Spain  by  the  masters 
Jphn  and  Simon  of  Cologne,  by  whom  the  cathedral  at  Burgos  was 
erected.  The  term  "  Gothic"  has  a  later  and  an  Italian  origin,  the- 
Italians  applying  it  to  German  architecture  to  denote  its  barbarity. 


GOTHIC  ABCHITECTURB.  37 

from  the  aisle,  where  stood  the  people,  for  the  priesthood  is 
nearer  than  the  people  to  the  Deitj.  Finallj,  tiie  suhlimitj 
of  the  whole  edifice  was  to  he  veiled  hj  rich  and  heauteous 
ornaments,  the  straight  and  ahmpt  lines  were  to  be  bent  into  a 
thousand  elegant  carves  and  degrees,  manifold  as  the  colours  of 
the  prism,  whilst  the  massive  edifice  rose  as  if  from  blocks  of 
living  stone,  for  God  is  hidden  in  the  universe,  in  nature  and 
in  endless  variety.  All  these  ornaments  had  idso  one  princi* 
pal  form,  as  if  the  idea  of  the  whole  pervaded  each  minute 
particle.  This  form  is  the  rose  in  the  windows,  doors,  arches, 
pillar  ornaments ;  and  borne  by  it,  or  blossoming  out  of  it,  the 
cross.  By  the  rose  is  signified  the  world,  life ;  by  the  cross, 
faith  and  the  Deity.  A  cross  within  the  rose  was  in  the 
middle  ages  the  general  symbol  of  the  Deity.* 

The  building  was  the  work  of  centuries.  The  plan  devised 
by  the  bold  genius  of  one  man  required  unborn  generations  to 
complete,  for  the  live-long  toil  of  thousands  and  thousands  of 
skilful  hands  was  necessary  to -impress  the  hard  stone  with  the 
master's  thought.  With  genuine  self-denial  and  freedom  from 
a  mania  for  improvement,  artists  of  equal  skill  followed  in 
spirit  and  in  thought  the  first  laid-down  plan,  and  each  in 
turn,  ambitious  for  his  work  and  not  for  a  name,  have,  almost 
all,  the  inventor  and  the  perfecter,  remained  utterly  unknown. 
The  cathedral  of  Cologne  is,  both  in  size  and  in  idea,  the 
greatest  of  these  works  of  wonder.  It  was  commenced  in  1248 ; 
the  chancel  was  finished  in  1320.  It  is  still  in  an  unfinished 
state,  none  of  its  towers  are  completed,  and  yet  it  is  the  loftiest 
building  in  the  world,  and  surpasses  all  as  a  work  of  art 
Ranking  next  to  it  stands  the  Strasbourg  cathedral,  begun  in 
1015,  the  plan  of  its  celebrated  tower  was  designed  in  1276, 

*  The  sublimity  of  Gothic  architecture  was  regulated  by  a  scale  ac- 
eording  to  law.  All  the  archiepiscopal  cathedrals  had  three  towers,  two 
in  front  and  one  oyer  the  high  altar.  All  episcopal  ones  had  two  on  the 
western  side.  All  parish  churches  one  in  front,  or  where  the  aisle  joins 
the  chancel.  All  chapels  of  ease,  merely  a  belfry.  Among  the  monastic 
churches,  those  of  the  Benedictines  had  two  towers,  between  the  chancel 
and  the  aisle  ;  those  of  the  Cistercians,  one  over  the  high  altar ;  Uiose  of 
the  Carthusians,  a  very  high  tower  on  the  western  side ;  those  of  the 
begging  orders,  merely  a  belfry,  that  of  the  Franciscans  before,  and  that 
of  the  CapucMns  oyer  the  door.  The  position  of  the  altar  to  the  east, 
was  the  same  in  all  churches.  The  Jesuit  and  Protestant  churches,  at  a 
later  period,  aped  the  old  Roman  architecture,  and  introduced  tasteless 
ornaments  and  irregularity. 


38  GOTHIC  ABCHITECTURB. 

by  Erwin  von  Steinbach,  and  the  tower  itself  at  length  com- 
pleted in  1439,  by  John  Hlitz  of  Cologne.  The  other  tow^r 
is  still  wanting.  Among  the  other  great  works  of  this  pe- 
riody  may  be  enumerated  the  splendid  churches  of  Freiburg  in 
Breis^aUy  Ulm,  Erfurt,  Marburg,  Wiirzburg,  Nuremberg, 
Ratisbon,  Oppenheim,  Esslingen,  Wimpfen,  Zanten,  Metz, 
Frankfurt,  Tann,  Naumburg,  Halberstadt,  Meissen,  the  St. 
Stephen's  church  at  Vienna ;  at  a  later  date,  the  stately  edi- 
fices at  Prague,  and  numerous  fine  churches  in  the  Nether-* 
lands.  The  palaces  of  Barbarossa  at  Hagenan  and  Grelnhan* 
sen  have  long  been  destroyed,  besides  many  churches,  for 
instance,  at  Paulinzelle,  etc.  Many  of  the  town-council 
houses,  as  well  as  many  of  the  cathedrals,  still  retain  their  an- 
cient beauty. 

Among  the  other  arts  in  the  service  of  religion,  those  of  the 
sculptor,  the  founder,  and  the  carver,  were  early  put  into  re- 
quisition in  Germany  for  the  adornment  of  the  churches. 
Fine  statues  existed  as  early  as  the  age  of  the  Ottos,  for  in- 
stance, that  of  Otto  I.  at  Magdeburg,  and  that  in  the  church 
at  Naumburg  of  the  time  of  Otto  III.  In  Grermany  sculpture 
never  rose  essentially  above  architecture  in  merit.  The  secret 
of  the  great  effect  produced  by  art  in  the  middle  ages,  was  the 
accordance  of  every  separate  part  with  the  whole,  like  the  dif- 
ferent organs  of  life,  which;  when  united,  expressed  the  idea 
no  single  part  could  represent,  and  produced  a  joint  effect  in 
which  each  art  assisted  the  other.  As  the  wondrous  pile 
wholly  consisted  of  sculptured  materials,  sculpture  merely  ex- 
erted its  skill  in  shafts  and  decorations,  whilst  painted  win- 
dows and  frescoes  gave  light  and  colouring  to  each  object,  and 
the  subject  of  each  picture  accorded  with  all  around.  Then 
the  pile  resounded  and  spoke  like  God  from  the  clouds,  from 
its  lofty  tower,  or  alternately  sorrowed  and  rejoiced  like  man 
in  the  deep-swelling  organ.  The  art  of  the  founder  and  of  the 
musician  was  devoted  solely  to  the  service  of  the  church. 

The  worship  of  the  saints  encouraged  that  of  images  and 
pictures,  which  was  at  first  violently  opposed  as  heathenish 
and  idolatrous :  thus  the  people's  natural  sense  of  beauty  saved 
art.  The  painting  of  profane  subjects  was  also  encouraged, 
as  the  picture  of  the  battle  of  Merseburg,  celebrated  by  con- 
temporaries, proves.  Painting  also  rose  to  greater  perfection 
as  architecture  advanced.    The  fine  old  German  paintings  ap- 


GOTHIC  AECHITECTURE.  39 

peared  after  the  crusades.     The  picture  of  the  Saviour,  or  of 
the  Virgin,  or  of  a  saint,  ever  adorned  the  high  altar.     All 
the  subordinate  pictures  were  to  correspond  with  and  refer  to 
that  over  the  altar,  and  to  represent  the  actions,  the  miracles^ 
or  the  symbols  of  the  patron  Deity  of  the  church.     All  repre- 
sented sacred  objects,  or  what  was  holj  by  profane  ones.    For 
this  reason  they  were,  until  the  fifteenth  century,  always 
psunted  ux>on  a  golden  ground,  which  signified  the  glory  and 
brightness  of  religion.     Their  subjects,  whether  landscapes  or 
figures,  bear  a  character  of  repose,  for  the  essence  of  holiness 
is  cahn,  childlike  simplicity,  and  the  truth  of  nature.     The 
first  great  school  of  painting  appeared  in  the  twelfth  and  thir- 
teenth centuries  at  Cologne,  and  probably  resulted  from  the 
connexion  between  the  Netherlands  and  Greece.     Its  most 
celebrated  master,  in  the  fourteenth  century,  was  William  of 
Cologne.     A  celebrated  painter,  Henry  of  Bavaria,  flourished 
as  early  as  the  twelfth  century ;  in  the  thirteenth,  appeared 
Jacob  Kern  of  Nuremberg ;  in  the  fourteenth,  a  society  of 
painters  formed  at  Prague,  having  at  its  head,  Nicolas  Wurm- 
ser,  court  painter  to  the  emperor  Charles  IV.     Painting  on 
glass  was  afterwards  brought  to  great  perfection.     Oil  paint- 
ing was  first  introduced  about  this  period.     This  art  ap- 
pears to  have  been  principally  practised  in  the  Netherlands, 
and  more  particularly  in  the  city  of  Cologne,  or,  as  it  was 
called  during  the  middle  ages,  the  Holy  City.    The  excellence 
and  fame  of  the  Colognese  school  remained  unrivalled,  and 
the  works  of  William  unsurpassed,  until  the  commencement  of 
the  fifteenth  century,  when  painting  in  oils  was  invented  by  a 
Dutchman,  John  van  Eyk,  the  first  master  of  the  pure  German 
school.     A  peculiar  style  of  painting  on  parchment  was  prac- 
tised in  manuscripts.    Charlemagne  possessed  devotional  books 
ornamented  with  pictures,  and  almost  all  the  manuscripts,  un- 
til quite  the  latter  part  of  the  middle  ages,  are  filled  with  them. 
The  churches  were  rendered  still  more  imposing  in  various 
other  ways,  by  the  management  of  the  light,  the  fumes  of  in- 
cense, the  measured  movements  of  the  priests,  the  splendour 
of  their  attire,  the  sumptuous  plate,  etc.     The  solemn  tones  of 
the  organ  accompanied  Latin  h3rmns  of  deep  and  stirring  im- 
port.    Under  the  last  of  the  Saliers,  Guido  d'Arezzo  had  in- 
trodaeed  harmony  into  music  in  Italy.     During  the  reign  of 
fiarbarossa,  Franco  of  Cologne  improved  the  writing  and  the 
measure  of  music. 


40        THE  EMPEROR  AND  THE  EMPIRE. 


CLXIV.   The  Emperor  and  the  Empire. 

According  to  the  idea  of  Charlemagne,  the  German  empe- 
ror was  to  be  the  chief  shepherd  of  the  nations  of  Christen- 
dom, and  to  unite  the  separate  races.  The  supremacy  had, 
however,  been  usurped  by  the  pope,  to  whom  the  emperor  and 
the  rest  of  the  sovereigns  and  princes  of  Europe  were  declared 
subordinate.  In  the  empire  itself  the  officers  of  the  crown 
had  become  hereditary  princes,  and  their  support  of  the  em- 
peror depended  entirely  on  their  private  inclination.  The 
emperor  grasped  but  a  shadowy  sceptre,  and  the  imperial  dig- 
nity now  solely  owed  its  preservation  to  the  ancestral  power 
of  .the  princely  families  to  whom  the  crown  had  fallen.  The 
choice  of  the  powerful  princes  of  the  empire  therefore  fell 
purposely  upon  petty  nobles,  from  whom  they  had  nothing  to 
fear ;  and  even  when  the  crown,  by  bribery  and  cunning,  came 
into  the  possession  of  a  great  and  princely  house,  the  jealousy 
of  the  rest  of  the  nobility  had  to  be  appeased  by  immense 
concessions,  and  thus,  under  every  circumstance,  the  princes 
increased  in  wealth  and  power,  whilst  the  emperor  was  gradu- 
ally impoverished.  Imperial  investiture  had  become  a  mere 
form,  which  could  not  be  refused  except  on  certain  occasions. 
The  Pfalzgraves,  formerly  intrusted  with  the  management  of 
the  imperial  allods,  had  seized  them  as  hereditary  fiefs.  The 
customs,  mines,  and  other  royal  dues  had  been  mortgaged  to 
the  church,  the  princes,  and  the  cities ;  the  cities  had  made 
themselves  independent  of  the  imperial  governor,  and  the  free 
peasantry,  at  length,  also  lost  the  protection  of  the  crown,  and 
fell  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  bishops  and  princes,  who 
again  strove  to  enslave  them. 

The  most  productive  sources  of  the  imperial  revenue  were 
presents  in  return  for  grants  of  privileges,  for  exemptions  from 
certain  duties,  and  the  legitimation  of  bastards,  or  for  the  set- 
tlement of  disputed  inheritances,  with  which  a  disgraceful 
traffic  was  often  made.  Thus  the  dukes  of  Austria  paid  a 
certain  sum  of  money  to  the  emperor  for  investing  them  with 
their  dignity  in  their  own  territory,  instead  of  in  the  diet 
The  taxes  paid  by  the  Jews  for  toleration  within  the  empire 
also  poured  a  considerable  sum  into  the  imperial  treasury. 
They  were  on  this  account  termed  the  lacqueys  of  the  holy 
Roman  empire.     As  the  universities  increased  in  importance 


TWR  SMPEROBfAND  THE  EMPIRE.  41 

tWy  were  granted  imperial  privil^es,  and  the  emperor  held 
the  preferment  to  the  professorships,  etc.,  in  his  gift,  which 
was  managed  in  his  name  by  a  Pfalzgrave  nominated  for  that 
purpose ;  but,  as  the  dignities  bestowed  upon  poor  professors 
were  not  very  profitable,  the  emperors  carried  on  a  more  lu- 
crative traffic  in  titles,  which  they  bestowed  upon  the  nobilitj, 
raising  counts  to  the  dignity  of  princes,  lords  to  that  of  counts, 
and  citizens  to  the  knighthood.  By  this  means  there  existed 
before  long  numbers  of  petty  princes,  haying  the  title  of  duke, 
(duxj)  who  possessed  a  mere  shadow  of  an  army ;  counts,  who 
were  neither  provincial  nor  popular  judges ;  and  all  the  doctors 
in  the  universities,  although  they  might  never  have  bestrode  a 
horse,  were  enrolled  as  chevaliers  or  knights.  These  follies 
commenced  in  the  fourteenth  century. 

According  to  the  mystical  fashion  of  the  times,  the  different 
grades  in  the  empire  were  illustrated  by  the  number  of  the 
planets.  The  empire  was  represented  as  a  great  camp  with 
seven  gradations  and  seven  shields,  the  first  of  which  was 
borne  bj  the  emperor,  the  second  by  the  spiritual  lords,  the 
third  by  the  temporal  princes,  the  fourth  by  the  counts  of  the 
empire,  the  fifth  by  the  knights  of  the  empire,  the  sixth  bj 
the  country  nobility,  the  v^als  of  the  princes,  the  seventh  by 
the  free  citizens  and  peasantry ;  the  serfs,  who  were  incapable 
of  bearing  arms,  being  excluded. 

The  ancient  distinction  between  the  feudal  vassals  and  the 
freehold  proprietors  still  existed.  Every  knight  who  possess* 
ed  an  ancient  allod,  however  small  in  extent,  considered  him- 
self equal  in  birth  to  the  most  powerful  counts  and  dukes. 
These  nobles,  originally  nobles  of  the  empire,  were  generaUy 
termed  the  Semperfreieny  ever  free.  Their  privilege  consisted 
in  their  freedom  from  any  bounden  duty  save  to  the  emperor, 
whilst  they  could  be  feudal  lieges  over  other  freemen  ;  a  pri- 
vil^e  so  much  the  more  pertinaciously  insisted  on  by  the 
weaker  among  them,  who  possessed  rank  without  the  ability 
to  maintain  it.  Hence  arose  the  importance  attached  to  the 
ancient  allod,  to  ancestral  castles,  to  ancient  names  and  arms, 
in  short,  to  birth,  and  the  haughty  contempt  with  which  the 
barons  o£  the  empire  looked  down  upon  the  feudal  nobility. 
Tbere  was,  in  refdity,  a  great  difference  between  the  Semper- 
fmen  themselves,  and  the  powerful  dukes  might  often  smile 


42  THE  EMPEROR  AIO  THE  EMPIRE. 

at  the  impoverished  counts  and  barons,  (Freiherren,)  who  set 
themselves  up  as  their  equals  in  rank. 

The  three  spiritual  princes,  the  archbishops  of  Mayence, 
Cologne,  and  Treves,  had  anciently  precedence  in  the  election 
of  the  emperor,  and  in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the 
empire.  In  the  fourteenth  century,  four  temporal  princes 
associated  themselves  with  them,  and  seized  the  exclusive  right 
of  electing  the  emperor  and  the  exercise  of  the  imperial  offices 
as  their  hereditary  right.  Seven  electors,  or  Churfursten^  were 
added  to  them  on  account  of  the  mystic  idea  represented  by  the 
number.  They  were,  the  archbishop  of  Mayence,  as  arch- 
chancellor  of  the  German  empire ;  the  archbishop  of  Treves, 
as  chancellor  of  Burgundy;  the  archbishop  of  Cologne,  as 
chancellor  of  Italy ;  the  Rhenish  Pfalzgrave,  as  imperial  Truch- 
sess,  (dapifer,)  seneschal,  who  at  the  coronation  bore  the  im- 
perial bfdl  in  the  procession,  and  at  the  banquet  placed  the 
silver  dishes  on  the  table ;  the  duke  of  Saxon- Wittenberg,  as 
marshal  of  the  empire,  who  bore  the  sword  before  the  em- 
peror, and  acted  as  master  of  the  horse;  the  Margrave  of 
Brandenburg,  as  imperial  chamberlain,  who  bore  the  sceptre 
before  the  emperor,  held  the  ewer  and  basin,  and  managed  the 
imperial  household;  the  king  of  Bohemia,  as  imperial  cup- 
bearer. These  Churfursten  elected  the  emperor  according  to 
custom  at  Frankfurt  on  the  Maine,  and  crowned  him  at  Aix- 
la-Chapelle.  The  first  diet  was  always  opened  by  the  emperor 
in  person  at  Nuremberg. 

This  princely  aristocracy,  however,  could  not  succeed  in 
totally  excluding  the  rest  of  the  spiritual  lords  of  the  Grerman 
church,  the  jealous  nobles  of  the  empire,  and  the  powerful 
cities,  from  the  government  of  the  empire,  and  they  were  be- 
fore long  compelled  to  concede  seats  and  votes  in  the  diet  to 
the  bishops,  abbots,  petty  princes,  counts,  knights,  and  bur- 


After  the  fall  of  the  Hohenstanfen  and  the  Babenbergs,  the 
following  princely  houses  or  races  come  chiefly  into  notice ; 
the  ancient  race  of  the  Welfs  in  Brunswick,  that  of  Wittels- 
bach  in  Bavaria,  that  of  Ballenstadt  or  Ascanien  in  Branden- 
burg and  Anhalt,  the  Zahringer  in  Baden,  that  of  Wettin  in 
Meissen,  that  of  Lowen  in  Brabant  and  Hesse,  then  those  of 
the  counts  of  Habsburg,  Luxemburg,  Wiirtemberg,  those  of 


f 


TH£  CMPEROB  AND  THE  EMPIBE.  48 

the  Truchaesaes  of  Waldburg,  HohenzoUern,  Nasran,  Olden- 
barg,  alk  of  wMcli  acquired  great  fame  at  a  later  period.  The 
Teigning  families  of  Holland,  Flanders,  Gueldres,  Juliers, 
H<^tein,  and  Meran  became  extinct,  and  only  the  modem 
bouses  of  Borgnndj  and  Lothringia  became  celebrated  in  the 
west  of  iJie  empire.  To  the  south  of  the  Alps,  the  Earl  of 
Saroj,  the  Yisconti  in  Milan,  the  Margraves  d*£8te  in  Fer- 
rara,  gained  great  power.  In  Hungary,  the  ancient  royal 
house  of  Arpad  reigned  for  a  short  period  longer,  and  the  old 
Slavonian  races  also  in  Bohemia,  Pomerania,  Mecklenburg,  (the 
descendants  of  Niclot,)  and  Silesia  (the  ancient  house  of  Piast). 
The  prince  onlj  ruled  as  liege  lord  over  his  vassals,  among 
whom  s^  the  clergy,  all  the  counts  and  knights  of  the  empire, 
the  imperial  cities,  and  free  peasantry  were  not  included,  al^* 
though  within  his  demesnes.  In  his  quality  as  duke,  the 
prince  had  the  banner,  and  a  right  to  summon  to  the  field ; 
but  the  ancient  duchies  had  been  dismembered  and  divided 
into  several  fiefs,  and  the  nobles  of  the  empire  marched  under 
the  imperial  banner,  so  that  the  prince  merely  took  the  field 
at  the  head  of  his  immediate  vassals.  In  his  quality  as  count, 
he  had  the  right  of  jurisdiction,  but  merely  over  his  vassals, 
the  clergy  and  all  the  vassals  of  the  empire  being  free  from 
it  The  highest  officer  who  acted  in  the  name  of  the  prince, 
was  the  Vizdam  or  deputy,  (vice-domus,)  also  termed  the  cap« 
tain  of  the  country.  The  sheriff  of  the  country,  who  repre- 
sented the  prince  in  feudal  matters,  and  the  judge  of  the  court, 
who  superintended  the  private  possessions  of  the  prince,  held 
sometimes  separate  offices.  Many  of  the  princes  gained  the 
privilege  of  no  appeal  being  permitted  from  their  tribunal  to 
the  emperor  (privilegium  de  non  appeUando).  The  emperor, 
nevertheless,  always  remained  the  sole  source  of  legislative 
and  executive  power,  so  that  a  privilege  of  this  description 
can  merely  be  counted  as  an  exception,  md  the  emperor  had 
the  right  of  bestowing  new  privileges,  according  to  his  will, 
throughout  the  whole  empire,  even  on  the  princes  his  subjects; 
Below  the  upper  provincial  courts  of  justice,  were  especial 
provincial  courts,  answering  to  the  ancient  Gau  or  provincial 
courts,  (Judicia  provincialia,)  over  which  a  sheriff  presided ; 
and  below  these  again  the  old  hundred  courts,  the  bailiwicks 
with  bailiffs  and  domain  judges.  The  lower  courts  judged 
petty  ounces ;  the  provincial  courts  of  justice,  capital  crimes. 


44        THE  EMPEBOB  AND  THE  EMPIBE. 

The  power  of  the  princes  was  also  considerably  increased 
hj  the  royal  dues,  such  as  costoms,  mines,  etc.,  conceded  to 
them  by  the  emperor. 

The  rule  of  the  princes  was  most  despotic  in  the  Slavonian 
frontier  provinces,  where  the  feeling  of  personal  independence 
was  not  so  deeply  rooted  among  the  people ;  the  princes  of 
Brandenburg,  Bohemia,  and  Austria,  consequently,  ere  long 
surpassed  the  rest  in  power.  In  the  western  countries  of  Ger- 
many there  were  a  greater  number  of  petty  princes.  After 
rendering  the  emperor  dependent  upon  themselves,  the  princes 
had  to  carry  on  a  lengthy  contest  with  the  lower  classes,  the 
result  of  which  was  the  institution  of  the  provincial  estates. 
The  example  of  the  princes,  who  had  made  their  great  pos- 
sessions independent  of  the  emperor  and  hereditary,  was  fol- 
lowed in  turn  by  their  vassals,  the  feudal  nobility,  who  en- 
deavoured to  secure  to  themselves  the  free  possession  of  their 
estates  ;  whilst  a  fixed  station,  similar  to  that  gained  in  the 
empire  by  the  imperial  towns  and  free  peasantry,  was  also 
aspired  to  by  the  provincial  towns  and  serfs.  The  tyranny  of 
some  of  the  princes,  like  Frederick  the  Quarrelsome  and  Henry 
Raspe,  occasioned  confederacies  to  be  set  on  foot  between  the 
provincial  nobility,  the  cities,  and  the  peasantry,  against  the 
princes.  In  other  places,  the  necessities  of  the  princes  caused 
the  imposition  of  taxes,  which,  being  at  that  period  unheard 
of,  were  laid  before  the  people  in  the  form  of  requests  {Beden^ 
precaria).  Hostile  attacks,  the  encroachments  of  neighbour- 
ing powers,  disputed  claims,  often  rendered  it  necessary  for 
the  princes  to  turn  to  their  subjects,  and  to  purchase  their  aid 
with  grants  and  privileges.  It  was  in  this  manner  that  the  pro- 
vincial estates,  which  stood  in  the  same  relation  to  the  prince  as 
the  imperial  estates  did  to  the  emperor,  and  that  provincial 
diets,  which  represented  the  imperial  diet  on  a  small  scale, 
arose.  At  first,  separate  agreements  were  made  for  certain 
purposes.  Thus,  in  1302,  the  barons  and  knights  of  Upper 
Bavaria  granted  a  tax  to  their  duke  ;  in  1307,  the  clergy  and 
the  cities  did  the  same ;  but  each  estate  separately,  and  it  was 
not  until  1396,  that  the  three  estates  met  in  a  general  diet. 
The  fourth  or  peasant  class  was  only  free,  and  therefore  pos- 
sessed of  a  right  to  sit  in  the  diet,  in  the  Tyrol,  Wurtemberg, 

Kempten,  Hadeln,  Hoja,  Baireuth. The  provincial  diets 

secured  the  privileges  of  the  princes  and  the  estates,  and  bound 


\ 


THS  SMPEBOB  AND  THE  EMFI&E.  45 

them.  tx>getlier  by  the  ties  of  mntaal  interest  and  mutual  pro- 
tecdon.  The  maxim  of  the  estates  was,  "Where  we  do  not 
coxmael,  we  will  not  act.** 

The  policy  pursued  hy  some  of  the  princely  houses  is  re- 
markable. Pnmogenitnre  (the  right  of  the  first-bom  to  the 
whole  of  the  inheritance,  by  which  subdivision,  so  prejudicial 
to  funilj  power  and  influence,  was  avoided)  was,  notwith- 
standing  the  evident  advantage,  introduced  at  a  later  period, 
and  became  by  no  means  general  The  Zahringer  and  the 
Welfs  at  first  attempted  to  strengthen  themselves  by  means  of 
the  cities,  in  which  they  were  unsuccessful,  the  cities  of  Zurich 
and  Berne  on  the  one  hand,  and  that  of  Ltibeck  on  the  other, 
making  themselves  independent.  The  Wittelsbacher  were 
more  successful,  and  increased  their  authority  by  favouring 
the  institution  of  the  provincial  estates.  At  a  later  period, 
the  Habsburgs  chiefly  supported  themselves  upon  the  pro- 
vincial nobility,  the  Luxemburgs  on  the  citizen  class,  on  art 
and  science,  and  raised  Bohemia  to  a  high  degree  of  civiliza- 
tion ;  whilst  the  Wurtembergs  raised  themselves  imperceptibly 
to  greater  power,  by  purging  their  demesnes  as  much  as  pos- 
sible of  the  ecclesiastical  and  lay  lords  and  of  the  cities,  and  by 
solely  favouring  the  peasantry. 

The  laws  wholly  consisted  of  treaties  and  privileges.  The 
former  were,  1st,  Concordates  between  the  emperor  and  the 
pope,  in  which  the  emperor  always  made  concessions  to  the 
church,  and  by  which  the  canon  law  was  essentially  increased. 
2nd,  Laws  of  the  empire  concluded  in  the  diet  between  the 
emperor  and  the  assembled  states,  and  answering  to  the  capi- 
tularies of  former  times,  but  now  chiefly  consisting  of  resolu- 
tions for  the  maintenance  of  public  tranquillity,  decrees  of  the 
states  for  the  regulation  of  the  empire.  The  independent 
spirit  of  the  estates  opposed  a  more  comprehensive  mode  of 
legislation,  as  had  been,  for  instance,  attempted  to  be  intro- 
duced by  Frederick  II.  3rd,  Capitulations,  grants,  charters, 
negociations  concerning  inheritances  and  divisions,  concluded 
between  the  emperor  and  the  powerful  princes.  4th,  Feudal 
laws  agreed  to  by  the  feofier  and  the  feodary.  5th,  Provin- 
cial laws  settled  between  the  princes  and  the  provincial 
estates.  6th,  Federative  laws  of  the  federated  knights,  cities, 
and  peasants.  7th,  Commercial  privileges  of  the  citizens  and 
peasantry.     8th,  Privileges  of  corporations  and  guilds,  some 


46        THE  EMPEROR  AND  THE  EMPIRE. 

for  the  single  towns,  others  for  the  members  of  a  corporation 
spread  throughout  the  empire.*  Every  trade  imposed  its  parti* 
cular  regulations  upon  itself ;  the  customs  of  the  craft  -were 
everywhere  similar,  and  merely  the  political  privileges  of  the 
corporation  differed  in  different  towns. 

Privileges  were  conferred  by  the  emperor,  and  also  by  the 
princes,  and  always  merely  related  to  single  prerogatives. 

The  canon  law,  clear  and  comprehensive,  as  greatly  con- 
trasted with  the  confused  state  of  the  temporal  legislature,  as 
did  the  church  with  the  empire.     It  was  on  this  account  that 
the  Hohenstaufen  endeavoured  to  introduce  the  Roman  lai^, 
and,  at  all  events,  favoured  the  study  of  this  law,  which  was 
introduced  into  the  university  of  Bologna  by  the  great  lawyer 
Irnerus  (Werner).     Besides  which,  the  Germans  themselves 
endeavoured  to  compile  general  codes  of  law  out  of  the  numer- 
ous single  laws.     Eike  (Ecco,  Echard)  von  Repcow  was  the 
first  who,  by  command  of  Count  Hoier  von  Falkenstein,  (the 
picturesque  ruins  of  whose  castle  are  still  to  be  seen  on  the 
Harz,)  collected  all  the  Saxon  laws,  and  formed  them  into  a 
compilation  Called  the  Saxonspiegel,  or  Saxonlage,  written  in 
Latin  and  low  German,  A.  d.  1215.     It  contained  the  im- 
perial prerogatives,  feudal  laws,  provincial  laws,  and  ancient 
usages  in  law  matters,  and  every  Saxon  could  refer  to  it  for 
information  in  every  legal  case.     Whenever   the   ancient 
Saxon  law  opposed  the  new  papal  ordinances,  it  was  defended 
and  maintained,  on  account  of  which  the  pope  rejected  many 
of  the  rights  insisted  on  in  this  code.     Although  the  Saxon- 
spiegel  was  simply  a  private  collection,  (first  ratified  by  Fre- 
derick 11.,)  and  was  not  only  far  from  containing  alt  the  Ger- 
man laws,  but  was  also  compiled  without  reference  to  order, 
the  want  of  a  general  code  of  laws  was  so  deeply  felt,  that  this 
code  shortly  became  extremely  celebrated,  was  continually 
copied,  and  finally  completed  by  the  addition  of  local  laws  and 
regulations.  In  1282,  it  appeared  in  a  new  form  as  the  Schwa- 
benspiegel,  or  code  of  Swabian  laws,  and,  as  was  natural  on 

*  For  instance,  the  pipers  and  musicians,  who  had  a  distinct  court  of 
justice,  as  also  had  the  singers  at  a  later  period.  The  bee-masters'  court 
in  Nuremberg,  an  imperial  court  of  justice  for  the  free  corporation  of  be»- 
masters»  who,  during  war-time,  sent  a  contingence  of  six  arquebusiers  to 
serve  the  empire,  and  whose  honey  furnished  the  celebrated  Nuremberg 
gingerbread,  was  peculiar  of  its  kind. 


TH£  BMPEBOB  AND  THE  EHFIBB.  47 

the  fall  of  the  Hohenstaufen,  with  a  much  more  decided  papist 
tendency ;  also  with  new  additions,  as  the  standard  hiw-book 
and  imperial  law,,  to  all  of  which  the  Sachsenspiegel  served  as 
a  foundation. — Among  the  especial  laws,  the  feudal  laws  of 
Lomhardy  of  1235,  and  the  Austrian  provincial  laws  of  1250, 
the  municipal  laws  of  Soest  and  Liibeck,  and  the  Frisciao  pea^ 
saut  laws,  were  the  most  celehrated. 

The  feudal  system  gradually  gained  ground.  So  little  was 
it  deemed  disgraceful  to  he  a  feodary,  that  it  often  happened 
that  the  feudal  lord  was  at  the  same  time  vassal  to  his  vassals.* 
Hence  arose  the  strange  and  scarcely  accountable  symbols  of 
enfeoffinent.  When  a  wealthy  man  of  rank  held  a  property 
or  a  privilege  in  fee  of  an  inferior,  he  humbled  himself  merely 
in  a  laughable  manner  before  him.  The  same  took  place  be- 
tween equals,  and,  in  this  manner,  a  number  of  feudal  tenures 
became  associated  with  ridiculous  customs  suggested  by  chance 
and  by  good  humour.f  The  feoffee  of  a  church  was  invested 
by  touching  the  bell-rope. 

In  the  administration  of  justice,  the  right  of  every  criminal 
to  choose  his  own  judges  was  still  preserved.  Thus,  the  Schwa- 
hempiegel  says,  *'  Every  temporal  tribunal  is  raised  by  elec- 
tion, in  order  that  no  lord  may  impose  a  judge  upon  the  people 
except  the  one  whom  they  choose  themselves."  In  the  same 
manner,  the  proceedings  were  held  in  public,  and  conducted 
by  word  of  mouth,  both  in  the  imperial  courts  of  justice  and 
aU  others,  down  to  those  of  the  peasantry.  Even  evidence  by 
averment^  single  combat,^  and  ordeals  was  still  retained  in  the 
law,  and  single  combat  came  into  still  greater  practice  on  ac- 
count of  the  customs  of  chivalry.} 

♦  The  emperor  Henry  VI.  was  invested  by  the  bishop  of  Basle,  a.  d. 
1185,  with  the  city  of  Breisach.    Och*a  History  of  Basle, 

f  Diimge  has  given  several  examples.  A  monastery  had,  when  first 
invested,  presented  the  feudal  liege  with  a  pair  of  boots,  which  he  pro- 
bably needed  at  the  moment,  and  was  consequently  obliged  to  present 
him  annually  with  a  pair.  The  emperor  Sigmund,  when  on  a  journey 
being  once  well  entertained,  invested  his  host  with  a  meadow ;  the  host 
in  return  engaging  to  meet  every  emperor  who  might  visit  that  part  of  the 
country  with  a  waggon-load  of  cooked  meats  served  in  dishes.  The  city 
of  Nimwegen  sent  a  glove  full  of  pepper  as  an  annual  offering  to  the  city 
of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  in  return  for  the  decision  of  their  law  cases  by  the 
tribunal  of  the  latter  city.     Birkenmeyer*s  Antiquarian  Curiosities. 

t  Eren  among  the  lower  classes  and  among  women.  In  the  thirteenth 
ceutuiy  it  was  the  custom  when  a  complaint  was  brought  before  the 


48  THE  EMPEROR  AND  THE  EMPIRE. 

The  influence  of  the  Roman  and  Mosaic  notions,  however, 
introduced  a  fresh  barharitj  into  criminal  law,  unknown    in 
Germany,  even  during  the  earliest  ages.  All  the  lower  courts^ 
were  not  only  empowered,  as  formerly,  to  fix  the  Wergeldt  or 
fine  at  a  certain  amount,  but  also  to  pronounce  over  "  liide 
and  hair,"  that  is,  to  adjudge  the  criminal  to  be  flogged, 
beaten,  or  shorn ;  whilst  all  the  upper  courts  were  empowered 
to  pronounce  over  "head  and  hand,"  over  life  and  death. 
The  gallows  and  the  rack  were  ever  at  work.     Chopping  off 
the  hands,  putting  out  the  eyes,  etc.,  became  the  order  of  the 
day.     It  is  remarkable  in  the  transition  from  the  ancient 
Germanic  to  the  Roman-Mosaic  administration  of  justice,  that 
the  office  of  headsman,  which,  in  ancient  pagan  times,  was  a 
priestly  function  in  the  name  of  the  Divinity,  was  long  deemed 
sacred  and  honourable,  and  was,  consequently,  performed  bjr 
the  youngest  counsellors;  and  it  was  not  until  Roman  tortures 
and  numerous  and  cruel  bodily  punishments  and  modes   of 
death  were  introduced  together  with  the  Doctors  of  the  Ro- 
man law,  that  the  people  attached  the  idea  of  disgrace  and 
infamy  to  the  headsman's  office,  now  become  both  hateful  and 
difficult  to  perform,  and  it  was  for  the  future  committed  to  a 
newly-formed  corporation  or  society  of  headsmen,  who  were 
lionised  to  follow  that  bloody  aud  disgusting  profession,  but 
were,  on  that  account,  deprived  of  all  honourable  privileges  in 
social  life. — The  mode  of  crime  often  furnished  the  mode  of 
punishment.  Thus,  for  instance,  coiners  were  boiled  in  kettles. 
Heretics  were  burnt  alive.     The  aristocracy,  like  the  clergy, 
enjoyed  privileges.     For  a  high  dignitary  of  the  church  to  be 
convicted  of  misdemeanour,  a  greater  number  of  witnesses 
were  requisite  than  could  by  any  possibility  be  present.     It 
gradually  became  a  settled  custom,  that  equals  in  birth  alone 
could  prefer  a  complaint  against  one  another.     The  emperor 
himself  conferred  the  right  upon  certain  knights  of  being 
solely  amenable  to  accusations  laid  to  their  charge  by  another 
knight.     The  same  difference  was  made  in  punishments  ;  the 
hanging  of  a  knight  has  always  been  cited  by  historians 
as  an  exception,  and  that  of  the  lower  classes  as  a  general 

court  of  the  violation  of  female  chastity,  and  the  matter  could  not  be  proved, 
for  the  defendant  to  be  buried  in  the  ground  up  to  Ms  middle,  and,  armed 
-with  a  stick  an  ell  in  length,  to  fight  with  the  complainant,  who  struck  at 
him  with  a  stone  tied  up  in  her  veil.     Gataer,  Chronicle  of  Augsburg, 


THE  EMPEROR  AND  THE  EMPIRE.        49 

rale. The  Koman  law  also  introduced  the  use  of  the  most 

horrid  modes  of  tortare  into  the  German  administration  of  jus- 
tice ;  and  also  in  law-suits,  written  and  secret  proceedings  gra- 
or  dually  gained  ground  by  means  of  secret  examinations,  written 
^  decisions,  and  reports  to  higher  courts. 
d,  In  Westphalia,  as  in  Friesland,  the  ancient  mode  of  ad- 
j(j  ministering  justice  was  longest  preserved.  There  the  pro- 
i  vindal  Grafs  still  held  their  tribunal  in  the  open  air,  with 
I  the  elected  justices  or  sheriffs,  in  the  presence  of  the  free  pea- 
le  santry.  This  tribunal  was  denominated  a  free  court  of  jus- 
it  tice ;  the  seat  of  justice,  the  free  seat ;  the  Graf,  the  free  Graf ; 
^  the  sheriffs,  the  free  sheriffs.  In  each  district,  Gau^  or  pro- 
i  vince,  were  several  seats  of  justice,  answering  to  the  ancient 
d  \  hundred  courts*  These  courts  were  afterwards  replaced  by 
V  •  the  Femgerichty  superior  or  high  court  of  judicature,  the  secret 
g  tribunal  {secreta  jtidida)  formed  under  the  great  regent  of 
,f  the  empire,  Engelbert,  archbishop  of  Cologne,  and  duke  of 
,  Westphalia,  who  federated  with  a  number  of  honourable  men 
I  of  every  class  for  the  purpose  of  secretly  judging  and  punish- 
l  ing  all  evil-doers.  Secrecy  was,  at  that  time,  highly  neces- 
]  sary,  each  of  the  judges,  in  case  his  name  was  discovered, 
>  being  exposed  to  the  vengeance  of  the  innumerable  turbulent 
t  spirits.  The  utility  of  this  tribunal  was  ere  long  so  generally 
,  recognised,  that  in  the  fourteenth  century  it  already  counted 
100,000  members.  These  members  were  bound  by  a  solemn 
oath.  A  traitor  was  hanged  seven  feet  higher  than  other  cri- 
minals. The  chief  judge  presided  over  the  whole  of  the 
members.  Next  in  order  were  the  free  Grafs,  who  elected  the 
chief  judge ;  then  the  free  sheriffs,  who  elected  the  free  Graf ; 
and  fourthly  and  lastly,  the  messengers  who  summoned  the 
court  and  the  accused,  and  executed  the  sentence.  All  the 
members  recognised  each  other  by  a  secret  sign.  No  eccle- 
siastic, except  the  spiritual  lord,  no  Jew,  woman,  or  servant, 
were  permitted  among  the  members,  nor  were  they  amenable 
to  the  court.  Freeborn  lajmen  alone  were,  in  this  manner, 
judged  by  their  peers.  Such  accusations  were  also  alone 
brought  before  this  court  that  either  had  not  been,  or  could 
not  be,  brought  before  any  other.  The  tribunal  assembled 
in  secret.  A  member  came  forward  as  accuser.  The  ac- 
cused was  summoned  three  times.  There  was  no  appeal 
except  in  cases  of  indecision,  and  then  only  to  the  emperor 


50  THE  ABISTOCBACT 

or  to  the  pope«  If  the  accused  n^lected  to  appear,  the  oath . 
of  the  accuser  was  declared  sufficient  proof  of  his  guilt.  Chi 
the  other  hand,  every  member  accused  by  another  could 
dear  himself  by  oath.  The  condemned  criminal  was  secretly 
and  mysteriously  deprived  of  life.  His  body  was  always 
found  with  a  dagger  marked  with  the  letters  S  S  G  6  (stick, 
stone,  grass,  grein)  plunged  into  it. 


CLXY.    The  aristocracy  and  the  knighthood. 

The  lower  nobility  were  of  three  kinds.  The  old  and 
proud  families,  who  still  retained  their  allods  and  despised 
feudality,  were  the  sworn  enetnies  of  the  princes,  the  bishops, 
the  abbeys,  and  the  cities.  Within  the  walls  of  their  an- 
cestral castles  they  bade  defiance  to  all,  and  acknowledged  no 
superior  except  the  emperor.  The  more  powerful  families 
strove  to  place  themselves  on  an  equal  footing  with  the 
princes,  and  took  advantage  of  the  disturbances  of  the  times 
to  extend  their  authority,  more  especially  since  the  fall  of 
the  duchies  of  Franconia,  Saxony,  and  Swabia.  In  this 
manner,  noble  families,  such  as  those  of  Habsburg,  Luxem- 
burg, Wurtemberg,  HohenzoUem,  Nassau,  Mansfeld,  Schwarz- 
burg,  etc.,  which,  at  first,  merely  possessed  some  small  castle, 
gradually  rose.  The  weaker  families  were  partly  ruined  by 
their  more  powerful  neighbours,  who  attacked  and  reduced 
them  to  submission,  and  partly  maintained  their  independ- 
ence by  entering  into  a  mutual  league  after  the  example  of 
the  cities.  The  mode  in  which  these  bold  knights  existed 
was  very  romantic*    Whenever  the  labour  of  their  en- 

*  The  memory  of  the  wild  knights  still  lives  in  numerous  legends. 
The  four  robber-nests  of  the  notorious  knight  Landschaden  von  Neckar- 
Steinach  still  stand  on  the  Neckar.  This  knight  was  put  out  of  fiie  l>ann 
of  the  empire,  but  disguising  himself  in  black  armour,  and  wearing  his 
yizor  always  closed,  accompanied  a  crusade  to  the  Holy  Land,  where  he 
distinguished  himself  by  performing  prodigies  of  ralour,  and  at  length, 
when  the  emperor,  struck  with  his  bravery,  offered  him  a  reward  in  the 
presence  of  his  other  knights,  lifted  his  vizor  and  discovered  the  well- 
known  features  of  the  old  robber.**- Who  is  there  throughout  Bavaria 
imacquainted  with  grim  Heinz  von  Stein  ?  And  stories,  like  the  fol- 
lowing, are  to  be  met  with  in  all  the  old  chronicles.  A  troop  of  Hes- 
sian robber-knights,  headed  by  the  lords  of  Bibra,  Ebersberg,  Thiingen, 
and  Steinau,  entered  the  little  town  of  Briickenau  concealed  in  wine-casks, 


f 


AKB  THE  KNIGHTHOOD.  51 

shiTed  serfs  was  insufficient  for  their  maintenance  and  for  that 
of  their  men-at-anns,  they  robbed  the  monasteries,  and  way- 
laid the  merchants  travelling  with  their  goods  from  one  city 
to  another.  The  eitisens  often  marched  against  them,  and 
sometimes  the  emperor  in  person ;  manj  of  their  castles  were 
destroyed,  and  themselyes,  whenever  they  could  be  caught, 

hanged  on  the  nearest  tree,  booted  and  sparred. ^It  often 

happened  that  several  poor  neighbouring  knights  would  buUd 
a  castle  at  their  common  expense,  in  which  they  dwelt  toge- 
ther, and  which  formed  the  common  inheritance  of  their  cMl- 
dren.  These  were  termed  co-proprietors.  In  the  songs  of 
the  Ifinnesingers,  the  bitter  complaints  of  the  poor  knights, 
that  although  equal  in  birth  to  the  princes,  they  were  so  far 
inferior  to  them  in  power,  are  of  frequent  recurrence. 

The  nobles  bebnging  to  the  different  orders  of  knighthood 
formed  a  second  and  distinct  class.  They  also  still  breathed 
the  spirit  of  ancient  freedom  and  proud  independence,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  acquired  an  aristocratic  influence,  equalling 
that  of  the  princes.  The  first  of  these  orders,  the  Templars, 
became  so  powerful  in  Italy,  that  the  French  monarch  made 
use  of  his  influence  over  the  pope,  in  order  to  annihilate  them. 
Had  the  German  order  of  knighthood  settled  in  the  heart  of 
Germany,  a  coalition  between  it  and  the  whole  of  the  dis- 
contented nobles  of  the  empire  would  have  resulted,  and  a 
strong  opposition  have  thus  been  raised  against  the  princes  ; 
but  by  migrating  to  the  utmost  limits  of  the  empire,  to  Prus- 
sia, it  ever  remained  a  stranger  to  the  internal  affairs  of 
Grernuiny,  merely  recruiting  its  numbers  from  the  Grerman 
aristocracy. 

out  of  which  they  crept  during  the  night,  and  pillaged  the  place,  but,  be- 
ing delayed  by  packing  the  booty,  were  attacked  by  the  citizens,  and, 
a&r  losing  all  their  ill-gotten  gain,  were  chased  from  the  town.  The 
independent  spirit  of  the  knights,  however,  was  sometimes  shown  in  a 
more  worthy  manner.  The  legend  of  the  knight  Thedel  Unverferden 
Ton  Wallmoden,  who  was  said  to  use  the  devil  as  his  steed,  and  was 
ISuned  for  his  fearlessness,  is  perfectly  in  accordance  with  the  age.  Henry 
the  Lion  once  attempting  to  startle  him  by  suddenly  biting  his  finger,  he 
gave  him  in  return  a  hearty  box  on  the  ear,  angrily  exclaiming,  *'  Have 
you  become  a  dog  ? "  The  conduct  of  the  Freiherr  von  Krenkingen  was 
idill  more  independent ;  when  visited  by  the  emperor  Barbarossa  at  his 
estate  at  Tengen  near  Constance,  he  received  him  sitting,  because  he 
held  his  lands  in  fee  of  no  one  but  of  the  sun,  and  although  he  personally 
honoured  the  emperor,  did  not  own  him  as  his  liege  lord. 

E  2 


52  THE  ARISTOCRACY 

The  feudal  aristocracy  formed  a  third  class  as  court  no- 
bility, and  filled  all  the  chief  offices  of  state.  This  class  con- 
sisted of  the  ancient  ministeriales,  who  actually  served  at 
court,*  and  of  the  vassals,  the  feudal  nobles,  who  either  held 
lands  in  fee  of  the  clergy  and  of  the  temporal  princes  for  services 
rendered,  or  who  had  changed  their  originally  free  allods  into 
afeudum  ohlatum.  These  nobles,  although  raised  by  their 
own  services,  still  maintained  an  aristocratic  power,  opposed 
to  that  of  the  princes.  The  vassals  often  rose  in  arms  against 
their  liege,  as  was  the  case  in  Thuringia,  Austria,  Bavaria, 
etc.,  and  at  length  gained  new  political  rights  as  provincial 
estates,  and  yet  these  nobles  were  bound  both  by  their  feudal 
oath,  by  habit,  and  by  interest,  to  the  court  of  the  prince. 
Many  fiefs  were  inseparable  from  court  offices,  and  those 
knights  who  could  neither  live  by  robbery,  support  the  soli- 
tude of  their  rocky  fastnesses,  nor  enter  the  church,  were  alone 
able  (no  value  being  at  that  period  attached  to  agriculture  and 
industry)  to  satisfy  their  ambition,  their  love  of  splendour, 
and  their  romantic  love  of  adventure,  at  court. 

The  institution  of  knighthood  {ordo  militaris)  was  founded 
during  the  crusades,  and  formed  an  exclusive  society,  in  which 
novices  (noble  youths,  pages,  gtiarguncy  armour-bearers)  and 
companions  (squires,  men-at-arms)  learnt  the  art  of  arms  un- 
der the  master,  (a  knight,)  and  followed  him  to  the  field,  until 
they  had  rendered  themselves  worthy  of  the  honour  of  knight- 
hood. The  ceremony  consisted  of  being  invested  with  the 
weapons  sacred  to  knighthood,  and  receiving  a  stroke  with  the 
fiat  of  the  sword, f  which  was  deemed  the  highest  honour  that 
even  a  sovereign  could  attain.  The  youthful  knight,  in  sign 
of  devoting  himself  to  the  service  of  God,  prepared  himself 
like  a  priest  by  fasting  and  watching  (over  his  arms  at  night) 
for  the  solemnity,  and,  robed  in  white,  swore,  before  the  altar, 

*  It  often  happened  that  their  original  vassalage  was  not  removed, 
even  when  a  family  was  already  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  other  privi- 
leges of  the  ministerial  nobles,  but  it  was  only  in  law  questions  that  the 
real  rank  of  these  aristocrats  was  brought  into  notice.  Hiillmano  has 
collected  several  cases  of  this  kind, 
t  With  the  words : 

"  In  honour  of  God  and  the  Virgin  pure, 

This  receive  and  nothing  more, 

Be  hones^  true,  and  brave. 

Better  knight  than  slave." 


AND  THE  KNIGHTHOOD.  53 

ever  to  speak  the  truth,  to  defend  right,  religion,  and  her  senr- 
ants,  to  protect  widows,  orphans,  and  innocence,  and  to  fight 
against  the  infidels.  Besides  these  general  daties,  each  knight 
imposed  upon  himself  the  private  one  of  fighting  in  honour  of 
his  mistress  or  his  wife,  bore  her  favourite  colour  and  her 
token,  and  used  her  name  as  his  war-cry. 

The  institution  of  knighthood  was  the  result  of  the  ancient 
heroic  spirit  of  our  pagan  forefathers,  sanctified  bj  that  of 
Christianity.  The  chivalric  school  of  arms  was  an  imitation 
of  the  ancient  warlike  fraternities,  in  which  personal  bravery 
and  unflinching  courage  were,  as  in  chivalry,  necessary  in  the 
warrior.  The  ancient  spirit  of  the  people  might  be  traced 
even  in  the  lawless  insolence  of  the  wild  robber-knights  and 
rufiians.  It  was  this  spirit  that  inspired  these  bold  and  ven- 
turesome knights  with  such  profound  contempt  for  all  law 
save  sword-law,  according  to  the  motto  of  that  wildest  of 
knights.  Count  Eberhard  von  Wurtemberg  ;  "  The  friend  of 
*  God  and  foe  of  all  mankind  !  **  Like  to  a  race  of  royal  eagles, 
they  built  their  eyries  on  the  summits  of  the  rocks,  and  looked 
down  with  proud  contempt  on  the  laborious  dwellers  in  the 
vale.  It  was  the  same  spirit  that  drove  them  to  the  mountain 
tops,  there  to  erect  their  lordly  castles,  and  thence  to  rule  the 
plain,  that  in  olden  time  caused  mountains  to  be  selected  for 
the  abode  of  kings  and  the  seat  of  gods.  The  hardy  habits  of 
these  mountain  knights,  life  and  continual  exercise  in  the 
open  air,  the  objects  by  which  they  were  surrounded,  the 
sunny  height,  the  forest  shade,  the  rushing  stream,  the  flowery 
mead,  also  fostered  in  their  bosoms  that  love  of  nature,  with 
which  the  German  in  days  of  yore  was  so  strongly  imbued, 
and  tuned  the  poet's  soul. 

The  courts  of  the  emperor  and  of  the  princes  naturally  be- 
came the  centres  of  chivalry.  It  was  in  these  courts,  to  which 
the  assemblage  of  knights  lent  splendour,  that  they  sought  to 
earn  distinction  by  deeds  of  prowess  in  honour  of  their  dames, 
and  acquired  all  the  accomplishments  of  the  day.  Wherever 
a  prince  proclaimed  a  tournament  the  knights  poured  in  crowds 
to  the  spot  A  herald  or  king-at-arms  examined  their  gene- 
alogies and  right  of  admission  to  the  noble  pastime.  After  the 
usual  forms,  the  tournament  began  in  the  presence  of  the 
princes,  of  the  ladies,  by  whom  the  prize  was  bestowed,  and 
of  an  innumerable  crowd  composed  of  every  class.      The 


54  THE  ARISTOCRACY 

advantage  of  ground,  light,  and  sun  was  rendered  as  equal  as 
possible.  The  weapons  also  were  alike.  A  tournament  ge- 
nerally signified  a  mimic  fight,  of  which  there  were  several 
kinds,  on  foot  and  on  horseback,  merely  with  the  sword 
and  the  lance.  The  principal  part  of  the  tournament  was 
the  tilting  or  breaking  of  lances,  by  which  the  prowess  of 
the  knights  was  proved.  The  knights  and  their  horses  were 
clothed  cap-^-pie  in  mail,  and  ran  against  each  other  with  long 
heavy  lances.  The  one  who  bore  the  fearful  blow  without 
being  unseated,  and  cast  his  opponent  to  the  ground,  was  de- 
clared victor.*  This  dangerous  sport  often  proved  fatal.f 
Each  knight  bore  his  arms.  Each  of  the  nations  of  Germany- 
had  originally  two  colours,  into  which  the  shield  was  divided, 
or  one  was  the  ground-colour  and  the  other  that  of  the  figure 
represented  upon  it.  These  colours  were  the  same  in  every 
family  belonging  to  the  same  nation,  the  figures  alone  varying. 
The  French  shields  were  white  and  red,  those  of  the  Swabi- 
ans  red  and  yellow,  those  of  Bavaria  white  and  blue,  those  of* 
Saxony  black  and  white.  The  hereditary  offices  of  the  em- 
pire and  the  free  imperial  towns  assumed  the  colours  of  the 
reigning  dynasty.:^  The  rapid  succession  of  different  reign- 
ing families,  the  intermixture  and  exchange  of  feudal  posses- 
sions, had,  it  is  true,  been  productive  of  great  con^sion  in  the 
ancient  colours  of  the  four  principal  nations  of  Germany. 

*  The  old  German  custom  was  to  tilt  freely  at  each  other ;  the  Italian 
custom  was  to  place  a  barrier  between  the  knights,  alpng  which  they 
rode,  each  on  the  opposite  side,  against  the  other,  so  that  the  men  and 
not  tiie  horses  received  the  blow.  As  the  spirit  of  chiralry  declined,  the 
apnour.  became  less  ponderous — this  was  termed  the  modem  mode. 
There  were  four  distinctive  modes  of  tilting,  the  old  German,  the  modem 
German,  the  Italian,  and  the  modem  Italian.  There  were  also  numer- 
ous varieties  of  tilting,  differing  from  the  real  fight,  that  is,  from  the  vari- 
ous modes  of  fighting  on  foot  with  long  or  short  swords,  daggers,  clubs, 
battle-axes.  The  best  accounts  are  to  be  found  in  Schemel's  Book  of  the 
Tournament,  in  manuscript,  with  coloured  designs,  (the  only  one  of  its 
kind,)  in  the  Ambraser  collection  at  Vienna. 

t  At  a  tournament  held  at  Magdeburg  in  1175,  sixteen  knights  were 
slain ;  at  one  at  Neuss  in  1256,  thirty-six ;  in  1394,  at  Liegnitz,  the  duke^ 
Boleslaw,  lost  his  life ;  and  in  1496,  twenty-six  knights  fell. 

X  The  Imperial  colours  took  firom  the  Saxon  d3masty  black,  from  the 
Franconian  red,  and  firom  the  Swabian  gold  colour.  Under  the  Carlo- 
vingians  they  were  simply  Franconian,  white  and  red.  Those  of  France 
were,  for  the  same  reason,  originally  white  and  red,  the  blue  afterwards 
added  was  the  colour  of  the  Valois. 


AND  THE  KNIGHTHOOD.  65 

Tbe  greatest  variety  reigned  in  the  symbols,  each  family  haT- 
ing  its  own  peculiar  sign ;  and  some  individuals  again  made 
i      choice  of  particular  ones,  as,  for  instance,  Henry  the  Welf, 
I      the  lion,  Albrecht  of  Brandenburg,  the  bear.     It  must  far- 
ther be  remarked,  that  the  names  of  fitmilies  with  the  addi- 
I'      tion  "von,"  was  originally  no  sign  of  nobility  of  birth,  every 
peasant  having  a  right  to  add  to  his  name  that  of  his  birth* 
place  or  place  of  abode. 
It  was  at  the  courts  that  the  knights  also  learnt  to  carry 
*      the  feding  of  honour  to  a  high  degree  of  refinement,  and  to 
practise  the  customs  of  chivalry.     There  it  was  that  they 
^        smoothed  down  the  rough,  coarse  manners  that  had  accom- 
\       pamed  them  from  their  villages,  that  blood-thirsty  cruelty 
i      wa9  checked,  and  the  difficult  art  of  honour  fostered  and  cul- 
tivated to  an  incredible  excess,  with  the  same  assiduous  en- 
thusiasm  with  which  the  Grermans,  at  that  period,  pursued 
[       eveiy  object  regarded  by  them  as  sacred.    When  at  length 
'       the  spirit  had  vanished  that  once  animated  the  noble  to  deeds 
of  chivalry,  the  dead  form  of  honour  alone  remained  in  the 
corrupt  system  of  duelling,  and  in  the  foolish  prejudices  allied 
with  birth  and  station. 

The  service  of  the  fair  formed  an  essential  part  of  courtly 
and  knightly  customs.  It  originated  in  the  reverence  paid 
during  pagan  times  to  women,  was  ennobled  by  Christianity, 
and,  in  conformity  with  the  rules  of  art  and  manners,  prac- 
tised in  the  courtly  circle,  and  admitted  into  the  code  of  hon- 
our. To  insult  or  injure  a  woman  was  against  the  laws  of 
chivalry,  for  honour  imposed  upon  the  strong  the  defence  and 
care  of  the  weak.  Woman,  the  ideal  of  beauty,  gentleness, 
and  love,  inflamed  each  knightly  bosom  with  a  desire  to  serve 
her,  to  perform  great  deeds  at  her  bidding  or  in  her  name,  to 
worship  her  as  a  protecting  divinity  or  a  saint,  to  conquer  or 
to  die  under  her  colours ;  and  this  submission  to  the  gentle 
yoke  of  women,  bred  in  humility  and  religion,  chiefly  contri- 
buted to  civilize  and  humanize  the  manners  of  the  age.  The 
knight  of  renowned  courage  and  an  adept  in  the  rules  of  hon- 
our was  likewise  required  to  understand  the  rules  of  female 
society,  the  service  of  the  fair,  courtship  or  the  service  of  love, 
before  he  could  secure  the  reward  of  love,  the  heart  and  hand 
of  his  beloved.  Love  became  an  art,  a  knightly  study.  The 
rules  of  love  were  recorded  in  verse  and  in  song,  and  applied 


56  THE  CHIVALRIC  POETRY  OF  SWABIA. 

with  the  greatest  minuteness  to  every  case.  There  were  also 
courts  of  love  composed  of  select  women  and  knightly  poets, 
who  gave  their  judgment  with  extraordinary  sagacity  on  every 
question  of  love.  This  art  was  in  romantic  countries  termed 
gallantry,  a  term  now  merely  indicative  of  the  empty,  vain 
shadow  of  the  ancient  reality.  The  difference  is  so  great,  that 
the  term  gallantry,  which  at  that  period  signified  modesty 
and  virtue,  now  signifies  immodesty  and  vice.  Fidelity  was 
the  very  essence  of  true  love.  And  the  practice  of  chastity 
and  continence  bestowed  those  blessings  of  health  and  strength 
on  the  generations  of  that  period,  which  the  licence  of  later 
ages,  like  rust  upon  iron,  could  alone  destroy. 


CLXVI.   The  chivalric  poetry  of  SwcUna, 

The  chivalric  poetry  of  Swabia  flourished  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  twelfth  until  that  of  tho  fourteenth  century. 
The  poets  sang  to  the  harp,  the  favourite  instrument  during 
the  middle  ages.  The  violin  or  fiddle  appears  to  have  also 
come  into  use  at  an  early  period,  the  singers  being  termed 
harpers  or  fiddlers.  Poetry,  of  whatever  description,  was 
generally  in  rhythm,  an  ancient  German  invention,  and  pecu- 
Har  to  the  German  language,  it  having  been  unknown  to  the 
more  ancient  nations,  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans,  and  being 
adopted  from  the  German  by  the  Italians  of  more  modern 
date.  By  the  metre  the  shortness  or  length  of  the  vowel  was 
merely  marked  ;  rhythm,  on  the  contrary,  marked  the  differ- 
ence between  the  vowels,  and  added  the  charm  of  harmony, 
thus  converting  the  monotonous  rise  and  fall  of  one  tone  into 
a  language  varied  as  the  tones  of  music.  Rhythm  introduced 
a  higher  species  of  poetry,  and  added  richness  and  expression 
to  language. 

MinneUedeVy  or  love  songs,  were  of  high  antiquity  in  Ger- 
many. We  find,  in  the  time  of  Louis  the  Pious,  that  the  Ger- 
man nuns  sang  WinHedeVy  (  Wiuy  friend,)  which  were  forbidden 
as  too  worldly  by  that  pious  emperor.  In  the  days  of  chivalry 
the  sun  of  love  once  more  rose  upon  Swabia,  and  awoke  thou- 
sands of  flowers,  a  world  full  of  songs  of  love,  which  have 
been  handed  down  to  us  by  hundreds  of  poets.  The  joy  of 
the  heart  is  in  these  songs  compared  to  spring ;  pain,  to  winter. 


THE  CHIVALEIC  POBTEY  OF  8WABIA.  57 

They  are  faU  of  beautiful  comparisons.    Thej  are  themsdves 
lowers,  ih^  roots  the  heart,  their  sun  love,  their  atmosphere 
1       iale.    The  preservation  of  the  most  heautiful  of  the  Mume^ 
Ueder  is  due  to  the  nohle  knight,  Rudiger  Maness  von  Mandc, 
a  citizen  of  Zurich,  who,  about  the  year  1300,  assiduously  od- 
'^       lected  them  into  a  manuscript  enriched  with  pictures.     This 
collection  was  left  at  Paris  by  mistake  in  1815.     Another 
valuable  collection  of  MinneUeder  is  to  be  seen  at  Jena,  a 
smaller  one  at  Heidelberg.     Among  the  Minnesingers  were 
I        several  princes,  among  whom  the  Hohenstaufen  chiefly  distin- 
guished themselves;   the  emperor  Frederick  IL,  Manfred, 
and  Enzio  always  used  the  Italian  language ;  MinneUeder^  in 
the  German  tongue,  of  the  emperors  Henry  VI.  and  Conrad 
I         of  Swabia,  are  still  extant,  besides  some  composed  by  Wenzel, 
king  of  Bohemia,  Henry,  duke  of  Breslau,  Henry,  duke  of 
Anhalt,  John,  duke  of  Brabant,  Henry,  Maq^ve  of  Meissen, 
Otto,  Margrave  of  Brandenburg,  etc     The  finest  and  great- 
'        est  number  of  MinneUeder  were  the  work  of  Swabian  nobles  of 
lesser   degree,   the   most  distinguished    among  whom  was 
Walther  von  der  Vogelweide,  who  sang  not  only  of  love,  but 
of  national  glory,  and  of  the  corruption  that  began  to  prevail  in 
r         the  church  and  state.     Next  to  him  came  Beinmar  von  Zwe- 
l        ter.     The  most  ardent  admirers  of  the  sex  were  Ulrich  von 
I         Ldchtenstein,  (who,  attired  as  '*  Dame  Venus,"  travelled  from 
I         Venice  into  Bohemia,  challenging  every  knight  to  single  com- 
bat,) and  Henry  Frauenlob  of  Mayence,  who  was  borne  to 
I        his  grave  by  the  most  beautiful  of  the  women  of  that  city, 
f        and  wine  was  poured  over  his  tomb.     Hartmann  von  Owe 
was  the  finest  of  the  pastoral  poets. 

An  anonymous  poet  of  the  twelfth  century  blended  the  finest 
of  the  old  ancestral  legends  of  the  Franconians,  Burgundians, 
and  Groths,  bearing  reference  to  Saxony,  Swabia,  and  Bavaria, 
into  one  great  epic  poem,  that  carries  us  back  to  the  time  of 
Attila,  (Etzel,)  and  in  the  description  of  the  different  races 
I  and  of  their  heroes  borrows  many  traits  from  later  history, 
and  softens  the  gloom  and  cruelty  of  pagan  times  by  tinging 
the  whole  with  the  brighter  spirit  of  chivalry  and  Christianity. 
This  most  extraordinary  of  all  German  poems  is  the  song  of 
the  Nibelungen,  which  has  been  with  justice  said  to  figure  in 
Gorman  poetry  as  the  epic  poem  of  Homer  does  in  that  of 
Greece.     The  general  idea  of  the  Mbelungenlied  is  similar 


58  THE  CHIVALRIC  POETRY  OF  SWABIA. 

with  that  of  the  Edda,  nor  is  the  resemblance  fortuitous.  The 
fate  of  the  ancient  heroic  age  was  fixed  beforehand ;  it  was  to 
be  fulfilled  by  the  universal  struggle  caused  by  the  migrations^ 
and  the  new  and  milder  age  promised  in  the  Edda  after  the 
conflagration  of  the  world,  was  to  commence  with  the  Chris- 
tian era,  and  under  the  wise  legislation  of  Theodoric  the  Great. 
The  composer  of  the  Nibelungenlied  took  a  similar  view  of 
ancient  times.  He  assembles  all  the  German  heroes  at  Etzel's 
court,  and  destroys  them  all,  together  with  the  empire  of  the 
Huns,  in  one  immense  conflict,  whence  Dietrich  von  Bemf 
(Verona)  alone  issues  victorious  and  becomes  the  founder  of  a 
new  era. 

The  histories  of  Henry  IV.,  of  the  Saxon  war,,  and  of  -Fre- 
derick Barbarossa,  (Giinther  Ligurinus,)  written  in  Latin 
verse,  are  imitations  of  the  ancient  Roman  poets.  The  follow- 
ing heroic  legends,  written  in  German  rhythm,  bear  more 
resemblance  in  their  tone  and  spirit  to  the  ancient  book  of 
heroes ;  the  legend  of  Duke  Ernst  of  Swabia,  written  by 
Henry  von  Veldek  and  others,  the  wondrous  histories  of  Henry 
the  Lion,  Louis  of  Thuringia,  Frederick  of  Swabia,  Frederick 
the  Quarrelsome,  Grodfred  ojp  Bouillon,  etc.,  and  many  other 
ancestral  legends  of  both  the  princes  and  lower  aristocracy. 

To  these  may  be  added  the  chronicles  written  in  rhythm  of 
the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  in  which  historical 
facts  intermingle  with  legendary  tales. 

The  poetry  of  Germany  became  gradually  influenced  by  the 
taste  prevalent  throughout  Europe.  The  orders  of  knight- 
hood embraced  the  whole  of  the  Christian  aristocracy  of  Eu- 
rope, without  distinction  of  nation  or  of  language,  and  the 
conquest  of  the  holy  sepulchre  united  them  in  one  common 
object,  and  brought  them  into  contact.  They  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  East,  studied 
the  poets  of  Greece  and  Rome,  and  the  fantastic  magic  tales 
of  Araby.  A  new  species  of  poetry,  full  of  warmth  and  life, 
replaced  the  old  popular  legends  ;  a  similar  spirit  animated 
the  poets  of  Germany  and  Italy,  who  mutually  borrowed 
from  each  other.  German  romance,  however,  bore  away  the 
palm,  and  surpassed  that  of  rival  nations  both  in  compass  and 
depth. 

In  the  twelfth  century,  the  legends  of  Greece  and  Rome 
began  to  be  interwoven  with  those  of  Germany,  and  gave 


THE  CBCrVALRIC  POETRY  OF  SWABIA.  59 

\>itth  to  the  chronicle  of  the  emperors,  which  was  written  in 
'veree.    This  and  other  chronicles  of  the  same  period  are  a 
complete  medley  of  ancient  legends  and  cksrical  stones.  Lam- 
precbt's  Xiife  of  Alexander  the  Great  is,  on  the  other  hand,  re- 
markable for  beauty  and  simplicity,  hut  the  tone  was  first 
given  to  German  romance  by  Henry  von  Yeldek,  in  the  reign 
of  Barbaroeaa,  the  splendour  of  whose  court  he  has  described 
in  hifl  free  translation  of  the  ^neid.     He  was  followed  bj 
several  others  of  the  same  school.     The  foreign  legends  of 
King  Arthur  of  the  round  table,  etc.,  were  also  borrowed  and 
jsnccessfully  imitated.     These  poems,  still  breathing  the  spirit 
of  those  chivalric  times,  are  in  themselves  a  golden  key  to  the 
middle  ages. 

In  the  thirteenth  century,  Reinecke  Fuchs,  a  satire  written 
by  Willem  de  Matoc  in  the  Netherlands,  offered  a  strong  con- 
trast with  this  chivalric  poetry,  and  ridiculed  the  policy  of  the 
courts  and  of  the  great  with  surpassing  wit.  The  materials 
£rom  which  this  fable  was  composed,  belong  to  a  still  earlier 
date,  and  appear  to  have  formerly  served  as  satires  upon  po- 
litical life. 

The  knights,  assembled  at  the  different  courts,  emulated 
each  other  in  feats  of  arms  or  in  song.     The  German  legend- 
ary bards,  in  particular,  opposed,  as  national  poets,  those  of  the 
holy  ^^Graal,"  or  universal  ones.     Hermann,  Landgrave  of 
Thuringia,  assembled  the  most  renowned  poets  of  the  age  of 
either  party  in  the  Wartburg,  where  a  prize  was  to  be  con- 
tested.    Among  the  number  were  Henry  von  Veldeck,  Wal- 
ther  von  der  Vogelweide,  Wolfram  von  Eschenbach,  Bitterolf^ 
Beinhard  von  Zwetzen,  Henry  von  Ofterdingen.     They  first 
tried  each  other's  wit,  by  proposing  enigmas  and  ingenious 
questions.     Henry  von  Ofterdingen  sang  in  praise  of  Leo- 
1         pold,  duke  of  Austria,  and  Wolfram  von  Eschenbach  in  that 
of  the  Landgrave  Hermann.     The  contest,  without  doubt, 
I         aroused  bitter  feelings ;  these  two  bards  had  been  the  most  re- 
I         doubtable  champions  of  German  legendary  poetry  and  of  that 
'         of  the  holy  Graal,  and  the  feud  carried  on  during  those  times 
^         between  the  Guelphs  and  the  Ghibellines  is  visible  even  in 
their  songs.    This  is  seen  in  the  names  of  the  German-Rhen- 
ish Nibelungen,  and  of  the  Italian-Gothic  fFolfinger,  Welfs ; 
and  a  poem  of  Henry  von  Ofterdingen,  the  Little  Rose-garden, 
I        clearly  favours  the  Wolfinger  (Welfs  or  Guelphs).     Accord- 


60  THE  CITIES. 

ing  to  the  story,  the  contest  between  Wolfram  and  Henry  be- 
came at  length  one  of  life  and  death,  and  the  headsman  stood 
in  readiness  to  decapitate  the  discomfited  singer.  Eschen- 
bach's  metallic  notes  were  victorious,  and  Henry  von  Ofter- 
dingen  fled  for  protection  to  the  Landgravine  Sophia,  who 
covered  him  with  her  mantle  and  saved  his  life.  He  received 
permission  to  visit  Hungary  and  bring  thence  to  his  assist- 
ance the  celebrated  bard  and  magician,  Clingsor,  to  whose 
art  and  influence  at  court  he  afterwards  owed  his  life.  This 
scene  took  place  in  the  great  hall  in  the  Wartburg,  which  is 
still  standing,  A.  D.  1207. 
.  The  pipers  and  musicians  were  distinct  from  the  knightly 
bards,  and  exercised  their  art  merely  at  festivals  and  dances. 
They  travelled  about  in  small  bands.  They  also  formed  a 
particular  guild  or  society,  that  spread  throughout  the  whole 
empire ;  the  counts  of  Rappoltstein  in  Alsace,  who  were  their 
hereditary  governors,  were  termed  the  piper-kings,  and, 
adorned  with  a  golden  crown,  annually  held  a  great  court  of 
justice,  the  pipers'  court,  to  which  all  the  musicians  in  Eu- 
rope brought  their  complaints. 


CLXVIL   The  cities. 

The  cities  had,  from  an  insignificant  origin,  risen  to  a  height 
of  power  that  enabled  them  to  defy  the  authority  of  the  so- 
vereign, and  to  become  the  most  powerful  support  of  the 
empire.  Increasing  civilization  had  produced  numerous  wants, 
which  commerce  and  industry  could  alone  supply.  The  peo- 
ple, moreover,  oppressed  by  the  feudal  system  in  the  country, 
sheltered  themselves  beneath  the  -^gis  of  the  city  corporations. 
The  artisans,  although  orginally  serfs,  were  always  free.  In 
many  cities  the  air  bestowed  freedom ;  whoever  dwelt  within 
their  walls  could  not  be  reduced  to  a  state  of  vassalage,  and 
was  instantly  aflranchised,  although  formerly  a  serf  when 
dwelling  beyond  the  walls.  In  the  thirteenth  century,  every 
town  throughout  Flanders  enjoyed  this  privilege.  It  was  only 
in  the  villages  that  fell,  at  a  later  period,  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  towns  that  the  peasants  still  remained  in  a  state  of 
vassalage.  The  emperors,  who  beheld  in  the  independence 
and  power  of  the  cities  a  defence  against  the  princes  and  the 


I  THB  crriBS.  61 

\  yy^A^  really  bestowed  great  privileges  upon  them,  and  re- 
^  leased  them  from  the  jurisdiction  of  &e  lords  of  the  oonntij, 
\  tVie  bishops  and  the  imperial  governors.  The  cities  often 
asserted  their  own  independence,  the  power  of  a  bishop  being 
unable  to  cope  with  that  of  a  numerous'and  high-spirited  bodj 
I  of  citizens.  Thej  also  increased  their  extent  at  the  expense 
f  of  the  provincial  nobility,  by  throwing  down  their  castles,  by 
I  taking  their  serfs  as  Pfahlbiirger,  (suburbans,)  or  by  purchas- 

ing their  lands. 
f  The  imperial  free  cities  had  the  right  of  prescribing  their 

own  laws,  which  were  merely  ratified  by  the  emperor.  The 
I  sovereign  princes  of  the  countiy  at  first  projected  laws  in 
favour  of  the  citizens,  as,  for  instance,  the  Zahringer,  the 
town-laws  of  Freibui^  in  the  eleventh  century,  and  Henry  the 
Lion,  those  of  Liibeck.  The  celebrated  town-laws  of  Soest 
date  from  the  twelfth  century.  These  were  followed  by  those 
of  Stade,  earlier  than  1204  ;  those  of  Schwerin,  in  1222  ;  of 
^  Brunswick,  in  1282 ;  and  by  those  of  Miihlhausen,  Hamburg, 

Augsburg,  Celle,  Erfurt,  Batisbon,  etc.  To  the  right  of 
l^islation  was  added  that  of  independent  jurisdiction,  which 
was  denoted  by  the  pillars,  known  as  Roland's  pillars,  and  by 
the  red  towers.  The  red  fiag  was  the  sign  of  penal  judica- 
ture, and  red  towers  were  used  as  prisons  for  criminals,  and 
as  the  practice  of  torture  became  more  general  in  criminal 
cases,  torture,  famine,  witch,  and  heretic  towers  were  erected 
in  almost  every  town.  The  management  of  the  town  affairs 
was  at  length  entirely  intrusted  to  the  council,  which  origin- 
ally consisted  of  the  sheriffs  headed  by  a  mayor,  but  was 
afterwards  chiefly  composed  of  members  elected  from  the  dif- 
ferent parishes,  and  was  at  length  compelled  to  admit  among 
its  number  the  presidents  of  the  various  guilds;  and  the 
mayor,  the  president  of  the  ancient  burgesses,  was,  conse- 
quently, replaced  by  the  burgomaster,  or  president  of  the 
guilds.  The  right  of  self-government  was  denoted  by  the 
bell  on  the  town  or  council  house,  in  the  middle  ages  the 
greatest  pride  of  the  provincial  cities,  which  had  gain^  inde- 
pendence. 

The  annual  election  of  all  the  city  officers  was  an  almost 
general  regulation,  and  by  this  means  the  communes,  at  first 
the  aristocratic  burgesses,  and  afterwards  the  democratic  guilds, 
always  controlled  the  affairs  of  the  town.     At  a  later  period. 


62  THB  CITIES. 

the  most  powerful  party  attempted  to  render  their  dignities 
hereditary,  and  revolutions  repeatedly  ensued  in  consequence. 
All  the  citizens  were  freemen,  bore  arms,  and  could  attain 
knighthood.  The  burgesses  formed  chivalric  guilds  accord- 
ing to  families,  as  the  Overstolzen  at  Cologne,  the  Zoren  and 
Muhlheimer  at  Strassburg ;  or  free  associations,  as,  for  in- 
stance, the  Lilien-Vente,  in  Brunswick,  which  numbered  four 
hundred  and  two  knights. 

Many  of  the  cities  were  invested  with  royal  privileges,  such 
as  minting  and  levying  customs.  AU  possessed  the  right  of 
holding  large  markets,  which  the  country  people  were  obliged 
to  attend.  On  this  account,  artisans  were  not  permitted  to  reside 
in  the  villages,  but  were  compelled  to  take  up  their  abode  ac- 
cording to  their  craft  in  the  cities.  Several  of  the  towns  had 
also  staple  laws,  that  is,  ail  merchants  passing  through  them  or 
along  the  river  on  which  they  were  built,  were  compelled  to 
stop  and  to  expose  their  goods  for  sale  for  some  time  within 
their  walls.  It  was  also  settled  that  all  great  festivals  and 
assemblies  should  be  held  in  the  cities. 

The  great  burgesses  in  the  cities  were  on  an  equality  with 
the  provincial  nobility,  with  whom  they  continually  intermar- 
ried ;  consequently,  many  of  the  citizens  possessed  castles  in 
the  province,  or  the  knights,  who  inhabited  the  castles,  had  a 
right  of  citizenship.  The  interest  of  the  nobility  was,  how- 
ever, opposed  to  that  of  the  cities,  which  they  molested  either 
in  order  to  serve  the  prince,  or  on  their  own  account,  and  the 
great  burgesses  were  compelled  to  declare  for  one  party.  In 
the  cities  of  Southern  Germany,  their  inclination  in  favour  of 
the  aristocracy  and  of  the  princes  generally  terminated  in 
their  expulsion  from  the  city.  In  the  North  of  Germany, 
they  were  animated  with  a  more  civic  spirit,  placed  themselves 
at  the  head  of  the  populace,  and  in  strong  opposition  to  the 
nobility,  by  which  means  they  more  firmly  secured  their  au- 
thority. As  time  passed  on,  the  number  of  the  artisans,  di- 
vided into  guilds  according  to  the  craft  they  followed,  increased 
to  an  enormous  extent,  whilst  that  of  the  great  burgess  fami- 
lies gradually  diminished,  numbers  of  them  becoming  extinct. 
As  the  aid  of  the  artisans  was  indispensable  for  carrying  on 
the  feuds  between  the  burgher  families  of  different  cities,  they 
were  compelled  to  grant  them  a  part  of  the  profit  gained  in 
trade,  hence  it  naturally  followed  that  the  guilds  ere  long 


TH£  CITIES.  63 

g^fi)^  at  greater  privileges,  and  fonned  a  democratic  partj, 
^\ack  aimed  at  w^resting  the  management  of  the  town  busineia 
oat  oi  tYie  bands  of  the  aristocratic  burghers. 

The  corpoTatioiis  corresponded  with  the  ancient  Grerman 
gmlds.  The  artisan  entered  as  an  apprentice,  became  partner, 
;  and  finally  master.  The  apprentice,  like  the  knightly  squire, 
]  was  obliged  to  trayel.  The  completion  of  a  master-piece  was 
required  before  he  could  become  a  master.  Illegitimate  birth 
and  immorality  excluded  the  artisan  from  the  guild.  £ach 
[  guild  was  strictly  superintended  by  a  tribune.  Every  mem- 
^  her  of  a  guild  was  assisted  when  in  need  by  the  society. 
^  £yery  disagreement  between  the  members  was  put  a  stop  to, 
as  injurious  to  the  whole  body.  The  members  of  one  cor- 
poration generally  dwelt  in  one  particular  street,  had  their 
common  station  in  the  market,  their  distinguishing  colours, 
and  a  part  assigned  to  them  in  guarding  the  city,  etc.  These 
guilds  chiefly  conduced  to  bring  art  and  handicraft  to  perfec- 
tiicm.  The  apprentice  returned  from  his  travels  with  a  stock 
of  experience  and  knowledge  he  could  not  have  acquired  at 
home.  The  guilds  of  different  cities  had  little  connexion  with 
each  other  beyond  housing  their  brother  craftsmen  on  their 
arrival  in  a  strange  City,  and  by  the  general  similarity  in  their 
rules  of  art  and  in  their  corporative  regulations.  The  mer- 
cantile guilds  were  an  exception,  and  formed  the  great  Hansa 
league  in  which  several  cities  were  included.  The  society  of 
free-masons,  whose  art  called  them  to  different  parts  of  the 
world,  were  also  closely  united.  They  were  divided,  accord- 
ing to  the  four  quarters  of  the  heavens,  into  four  classes,  each 
of  which  had  a  particular  place  of  assembly,  symbolically 

!  termed  a  lodge,  where  the  masters  met,  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
liberating over  the  mode  in  which  any  great  architectural  de- 
sign was  to  be  executed,  of  la3ring  down  rules,  and  of  giving 
directions  in  matters  relating  to  art  or  to  the  corporation,  of 
nominating  new  masters,  etc.     The  four  great  lodges  were  at 

\       Cologne,  Strassburg,  Vienna,  and  Zurich. 

^  The  princes,  bishops,  and  aristocracy,  as  well  as,  generally 

speaking,  the  great  burgher  families,  dreaded  the  rising  power 
of  the  guilds,  and  sought  to  annihilate  it  by  violence.  The 
emperor,  on  the  contrary,  favoured  them  from  prudential  mo- 
tives. Favour  and  disgrace  were  equally  ineffectual ;  the 
powCT  possessed  by  the  guilds  made  its  own  way.     The 


64  THE  CITIES. 

burghers,  few  in  number,  and  disdaining  the  co-operation  of 
the  other  ancient  burgesses  of  ignoble  descent,  could  not  with- 
stand the  immense  numerical  strength  of  the  artisans.      Co- 
logne, Aix-la-Chapelle,  Strassburg,  could  each  raise  a  body  of 
twenty  thousand  able-bodied  citizens  and  suburbans.     At  IL«y- 
ons,  the  weavers'  guild  alone  numbered  four  thousand  masters 
and  fifteen  thousand  apprentices.     Revolts  before  long  broke 
out  in  all  the  cities.     The  guilds  were  sometimes  victorious, 
and  drove  the  burghers  from  the  towns,,  or  incorporated  them 
with  their  guilds ;  sometimes  the  burghers  succeeded  in  de- 
fending themselves  for  some  time,  with  the  aid  of  their  parti- 
sans and  of  the  neighbouring  nobility.     The  emperor  some- 
times attempted  to  arbitrate  between  the  contending  parties,  or 
peace  was  brought  about  by  the  neighbouring  cities.     These 
events  gave  rise  to  constitutions  varying  from  each  other  in 
the  different  cities,  in  some  of  which  the  burghers  retained 
the  shadow  of  their  former  authority,  and  in  others  were  ut- 
terly pushed  aside  and  a  new  council  was  formed,  consisting 
of  the  heads  of  each  corporation.     The  whole  of  the  citizens 
were,  consequently,  divided  into  corporations,  and  the  lesser 
and  less  numerous  craftsmen  of  different  kinds  united  into  one 
body.     But,  as  the  son  generally  followed  his  father's  busi- 
ness, and,  consequently,  succeeded  him  in  his  guild,  particular 
families  retained  possession  of  the  presidency  of  the  guild,  and 
often  formed  a  new  order  of  patricians,  which,  whenever  it 
seemed  likely  to  endanger  the  liberties  of  the  citizens,  was 
associated  with  a  civic  committee.     The  former,  in  that  case, 
was  termed  the  little  council,  and  exercised  the  executive 
power  according  to  prescribed  rules ;  the  latter,  the  great  coun- 
cil, which  had  the  legislative  power,  and  called  the  little  one 
to  account. 

The  guilds  first  rose  to  power  in  the  cities  of  Southern 
Germany ;  at  Basle  and  Ulm,  in  the  thirteenth  century.  In 
Northern  Germany,  the  burghers  maintained  their  power  by 
means  of  the  commercial  league,  which  was  chiefly  between 
themselves.  The  democratic  reaction  in  the  North  took  place 
as  the  power  of  the  Hansa  declined,  and  during  the  general 
struggle  for  liberty  at  the  time  of  the  first  reformation. 

German  commerce  flourished  in  the  Northern  Ocean  earlier 
than  in  the  Baltic,  which,  until  the  twelfth  century,  was  in- 
fested by  Scandinavian  and  Slavonian  pirates.     Flanders  far 


r 

n 
m 


el 
1 


THE  CITIES.  65 

t  I  surpassed  the  other  oonntries  of  Germany  in  her  municipal 
^-  I  pnvileges,  art,  and  industry,  possessed  the  first  great  com- 
V  t  mercisl  navy,  and  founded  the  first  great  commercial  league 
or  Hansa,  in  the  twelfth  century. 

This  example,  the  final  subjection  of  the  Wends  on  the 
Baltic,  and  the  crusades,  greatly  increased  the  activity  of  com- 
merce in  the  thirteenth  century,  on  the  Rhine,  the  Elbe,  and 
the  Baltic  The  crusades  were  undertaken  in  a  mercantile  as 
well  as  a  religious  point  of  view.  In  the  East,  the  merchant 
pilgrims  formed  themselves  into  the  German  orders  of  knight- 
hood, and,  on  their  return  to  their  native  country,  leagued  to- 
gether [a.  p.  1241]  for  the  purpose  of  defending  their  rights 
against  the  native  princes,  and  their  commerce  against  the 
Attacks  of  the  foreigner. 

This  Hansa  league  extended  to  such  a  degree  in  the  thirteenth 
and  fourteenth  century,  as  sometimes  to  include  upwards  of 
seventy  cities ;  its  fleets  ruled  the  Northern  Ocean,  conquered 
entire  countries,  and  reduced  powerful  sovereigns  to  submission. 
The  union  that  existed  between  the  cities  was,  nevertheless, 
far  from  firmly  cemented,  and  the  whole  of  its  immense  force 
was,  from  want  of  unanimity,  seldom  brought  to  bear  at  once 
upon  its  enemies.  A  single  attempt  would  have  placed  the 
whole  of  Northern  Germany  within  its  power,  had  the  policy 
of  the  citizens  been  other  than  mercantile,  and  had  they  not 
been  merely  intent  upon  forcing  the  temporal  and  spiritual 
lords  to  trade  with  them  upon  the  most  favourable  conditions. 
■  All  the  cities  included  in  the  league  sent  their  representa- 

!  tives  to  the  Hanse  diet  at  Liibeck,  where  the  archive  was  kept. 
The  leagued  cities  were,  at  a  later  period,  divided  into  three 
and  afterwards  into  four  quarters  or  circles,  each  of  which 
had  its  particular  metropolis,  and  specially  elected  aldermen. 
In  the  fifteenth  century  they  stood  as  follows  :  1st,  The  Wen- 
dian  cities,  Liibeck,  (the  metropolis  of  the  whole  league,  where 
the  directory  of  the  Hansa,  the  general  archive  and  treasury, 
were  kept,  where  the  great  Hanse  diets  were  held  by  the  de- 
puties from  all  the  Hanse  towns,  in  which  they  took  into 
deliberation  commercial  speculations,  the  arming  of  fleets, 
peace  and  war,)  Hamburg,  Bremen,  Wismar,  Rostock,  Kiel, 
Greifswald,  Stralsund,  Liineberg,  Stettin,  Colberg,  Wisby 
(celebrated  for  giving  the  maritime  laws,  the."  Wishyska  wat- 
per-rechty^^  to  the  Hansa)  in  Gothland,  etc,   2nd,  The  Western 


66  THE  CITIES. 

cities,  Cologne,  with  the  Dutch  towns  of  Nimwegen,  Sta- 
vern,  Groningen,  Dortrecht,  Amsterdam,  Utrecht,  Maestricht, 
Emden,  Ziitphen,  etc.,  with  Westphalian  Soest,  Osnabruck, 
Dortmund,  Duisburg,  Miinster,  Wedel,  Minden,  Paderborn,  etc. 
3dl)r,  The  Saxon  cities,  Brunswick,  Magdeburg,  Halle,  Hil- 
desheim,  Groslar,  Gottingen,  Eimbeck,  Hanover,  Hameln, 
Stade,  Halbenstadt,  Quedlinburg,  Aschersleben,  Erfurt,  Nord- 
hausen,  Muhlhausen,  Zerbst,  Stendal,  Brandenburg,  Frank- 
furt on  the  Oder,  Breslau,  etc.  4thly,  The  Eastern  cities, 
Dantzig,  (from  Danske-wik,  Danish  place,  having  been  first 
founded  by  the  Danes,)  Thorn,  Elbing,  Konigsberg,  Culm, 
Landsberg,  Riga,  Reval,  Pernau,  etc.  The  German  order 
of  Hospitallers  also  sent  its  representatives  to  the  diet :  its 
close  connexion  with  the  Hanse  towns  was  partly  due  to  its 
origin  and  partly  to  the  position  of  Prussia,  to  which  those  towns 
sent  German  colonists  and  aid  of  every  description,  a  union 
between  that  country  and  the  Germanized  mere  of  Branden- 
burg being  still  hindered  by  Wendian  Pomerania  and  Poland. 
Firmly  as  the  Hospitallers  and  the  Hansa  were  allied,  the 
interests  of  the  two  parties  were,  nevertheless,  totally  at  va- 
riance, that  of  the  former  being  conquest,  that  of  the  latter 
commerce.  The  cities  on  the  Elbe  and  Rhine  required  protec- 
tion against  the  German  princes ;  the  maritime  cities  merely- 
applied  themselves  to  commerce.  Those  on  the  Baltic  were 
continually  engaged  in  disputes  with  the  Flemish,  who  sup- 
ported themselves  by  their  manufactures  and  their  alliance 
with  Italy,  whilst  the  more  distant  towns  on  the  coast  of  the 
Baltic  refused  to  interfere.  At  Brugge,  the  Hansa  merely 
possessed  a  dep6t  for  their  goods,  which  passed  thence  into  the 
hands  of  the  Italians.  The  Colognese  merchants  possessed  a 
second  great  dep6t  as  early  as  1203,  in  London,  stiU  known  as 
Guildhall,  the  hall  of  the  merchants'  guild  of  Cologne.  At 
a  later  period,  the  Hansa  monopolized  the  whole  commerce  of 
England.  At  Bergen,  in  Norway,  the  Hansa  possessed  a  third 
and  extremely  remarkable  colony,  three  thousand  Hanseatic 
merchants,  masters,  and  apprentices,  living  there  like  monks 
without  any  women.  The  Hanseatic  colonists  were  gener- 
ally forbidden  to  marry,  lest  they  should  take  possession  of  the 
country  in  which  they  lived  and  deprive  the  league  of  it.  The 
fourth  great  dep6t  was  founded  at  Novogrod  in  the  north  of 
Russia,  A.  D.  1277.     By  it  the  ancient  commercial  relations 


THE  CITIBS.  67 

between  ibe  coasts  of  the  Baltic  and  Asia  were  preaenred,  and 
tbeHansa  traded  \>j  land  with  Asia  at  first  throogh  Riga, 
'      bat  on  the  expdlsion  of  the  Tartars  from  Russia  and  die 
subjugation  of  !Novogrod  hj  the  Czars,  through  Breskra,  Er- 
furt, Magdeburg,  and  Leipzig.     Grennanj  and  Eorope  were 
[     thus  supplied  with  spices,  silks,  jewels,  etc.  from  Asia,  with 
I     furs,  iron,  and  immense  quantities  of  herrings  from  the  North. 
I      France  principally  traded  in  salt,  whilst  Grermanj  exported 
beer  and  wine,  com,  linen,  and  arms ;  Bohemia,  metals  and 
I      precious  stones ;  and  Flanders,  fine  linen,  and  cloths  of  every 

description. 
^         The  ferocity  of  the  Hungarians,  Sernans,  and  Wallachians, 
j      and  the  enmity  of  the  Greeks,  effectuaUy  closed  the  Danube, 
I      the  natural  outlet  for  the  produce  of  the  interior  of  Germany 
towards  Asia.     The  traffic  on  this  stream  during  the  crusades 
raised  Ulm,  and,  at  a  later  period,  Augsburg,  to  considerable 
importance.     The  traffic  on  the  Rhine  was  far  more  consider- 
able, notwithstanding  the  heavy  customs  levied  by  the  barbar- 
I       ous  princes  and  knights  which  the  Rhenish  league  was  annually 
I       compelled  to  oppose  and  put  down  by  force.     Cologne  was  the 
I       grand  dep6t  for  the  whole  of  the  inland  commerce.     Goods 
were  brought  here  from  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  and,  ac- 
cording to  an  Hanseatic  law,  no  merchant  coming  from  the 
West,  from  France,  Flanders,  or  Spain,  was  allowed  to  pass 
with  his  goods  further  than  Cologne ;  none  coming  from  the 
East,  not  even  the  Dutch,  could  mount,  and  none  from  the 

j        upper  country  descend  the  Rhine  beyond  that  city. The 

f  high  roads  were  naturally  in  a  bad  state,  and  infested  with 
r  toll-gatherers  and  robbers.  The  merchants  were  compelled 
to  purchase  a  safe-conduct  along  the  worst  roads,  or  to  clear 
them  by  force  of  arms.  Most  of  the  roads  were  laid  by  the 
merchants  with  the  permission  of  well-disposed  princes.  Thus, 
I  for  instance,  the  rich  burgher,  Henry  Cunter  of  Botzen,  laid 
the  road  across  the  rocks,  until  then  impassable,  on  the  Eisack, 
between  Botzen  and  Brixen,  a.  d.  1304 ;  travellers,  up  to  that 
period,  having  been  compeUed  to  make  a  wearisome  detour 
through  Meran  and  Jauffen. 

The  lace  and  cloth  manufactures  of  the  Flemish,  which 

lent  increased  splendour  to  the  courts,  the  wealthy,  and  the 

1       high-born,  were  the  first  that  rose  into  note,  the  Hansa  being 

I      merely  occupied  with  trade  and  commercial  monopoly.     Ulm 


68  THE  PEASANTRY. 

afterwards  attempted  to  compete  with  the  Italian  manufac- 
turers ;  but  Nuremberg,  on  account  of  her  central  position,  less 
attracted  by  foreign  commerce,  became  the  first  town  of  ma- 
nufacturing repute  in  Germany. 

The  trade  with  the  rich  East,  and  the  silver  mines  discover- 
ed in  the  tenth  century  in  the  Harz,  in  the  twelfth,  in  the  Erz 
mountains  in  Bohemia,  brought  more  money  into  circulation. 
The  ancient  HohlpfennigSy  (solidi,  shillings,)  of  which  there 
were  twenty-two  to  a  pound,  (and  twelve  denarii  to  a  shilling,) 
were  replaced  by  the  heavy  Groschen^  {soUdi  grossi,)  of  which 
there  were  sixty  to  a  silver  mark,  and  by  the  allms  or  white 
pennies,  which  varied  in  value.  The  working  of  the  Bohe- 
mian mines  in  the  fourteenth  century,  brought  the  broad  Prague 
Groschen  into  note ;  they  were  reckoned  by  scores,  always 
by  sixties,  the  cardinal  number  in  Bohemia.  The  smaller 
copper  coins,  or  Heller,  (from  hohl,  hollow,  halb,  half,  or  from 
the  imperial  free  town.  Hall,)  were  weighed  by  the  pound,  the 
value  of  which  was  two  giUden,  which  at  a  later  period,  when 
silver  became  more  common,  rose  to  three. 

The  Jews  were  greatly  oppressed  during  this  period.  In 
the  cities  they  were  forced  to  dwell  in  certain  narrow  streets 
that  were  closed  with  iron  gates  at  night.  They  were  forbid- 
den to  purchase  land,  or  to  belong  to  any  corporation.  They 
were  chiefly  pawnbrokers  and  usurers.  Christians  being  strictly 
prohibited  by  the  church  from  taking  interest  on  money  lent. 

CLXVin.     The  peasantry. 

In  Swabia  and  Saxony  the  free  communes  of  peasantry,  in 
the  Alps,  the  Tyrol,  Wurtemberg,  Friesland,  Ditmarsch,  and 
some  of  less  importance  in  the  country  around  Hadel,  Baireuth, 
and  Hall,  retained  their  liberties  for  the  longest  period.  These 
communes  had  been  originally  either  Gaue,  districts,  or  hun- 
dreds under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  counts  and  centners,  and 
now  resembled  oases  varying  in  extent,  whither  liberty  had 
fled  from  the  barren  waste  of  vassalage.  The  peasants  of 
Friesland  and  Switzerland,  whose  power  equalled  their  love 
of  liberty,  gained  the  upper  hand  in  those  countries,  whilst,  in 
other  countries,  where  their  power  was. less,  they  remained 
unnoted  and  in  obscurity. 

Friesland  was  divided  by  the  Fly  (Zudyer  See)  into  Western 


THE  PEASANTET.  69 

w\  Eastern  'Friesland.  The  former  fell  [▲.  d.  1005]  under 
tbe  co\int8  of  Solland,  and  the  attempt  to  suppress  the  liber- 
lies  still  proudly  upheld  by  the  peasantry,  proved  fatal  to 
more  than  one  of  &eir  rulers.  The  latter  enjoyed  greater 
freedom  under  the  bishops  of  Utrecht,  Bremen,  and  Miinster, 
whose  spiritual  autboritjr  they  recognised,  but  administered 
thdr  temporal  affairs  themselves,  the  interference  of  the  clergy 
in  temporal  matters  being  prohibited  by  law.  The  Fried- 
landers,  moreover,  disregarded  the  decree  of  Gregory  VII. 
ooncerning  the  celibacy  of  the  cleigy,  and  compelled  their 
priests  to  marry,  for  the  better  maintenance  of  morality.  The 
ancient  and  stiU  pagan  popular  assembly  was  maintained  even 
in  Christian  times,  or,  at  all  events,  was  renewed.  The  dif- 
ferent tribes  assembled  during  Whitsuntide,  at  a  place  near 
Aurich,  sanctified  by  three  old  oaks,  (the  ancient  Upstales- 
boom,  tree  of  high  justice,)  for  the  purpose  of  voting  laws  and 
of  deliberating  over  the  affairs  of  the  country.  During  war- 
time, and  more  especially  whenever  strange  fleets  and  pirates 
landed,  barrels  of  pitch  were  set  on  fire,  the  alarm  spread 
rapidly  from  village  to  village,  and  the  people  rose  en  masse 
to  defend  the  coasts.  It  appears  that  the  Marcellus  flood,  as 
it  was  termed,  which  laid  Friesland  waste  in  1219,  and  swal- 
lowed up  whole  villages,  occasioned  the  reinstitution  of  the 
ancient  meeting  at  the  Upstales-boom,  in  1224.  The  numer- 
ous crusades  undertaken  by  the  Friscians  at  this  period,  were 
partly  occasioned  by  this  flood,  as  the  crusaders  were  accom- 
panied by  their  wives  and  children,  and  were,  in  reality,  emi- 
grants. In  1287,  a  second  and  still  more  destructive  flood 
overwhelmed  Friesland,  and  fifty  thousand  men,  with  their  vil- 
lages and  a  large  portion  of  the  country,  sank  into  the  sea,  on 
the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  bay  of  Dollart.  A  fresh  meet- 
ing at  the  Upstales-boom  followed  in  1323,  in  which  the  older 
laws  of  the  country  were  formed  into  a  general  code.  The 
separate  tribes  among  the  Friscians  were  independent,  free- 
men, as  in  the  ancient  days  of  Germany.  They  annually 
elected  a  judge,  (Rediewa^)  and  a  Talemann,  whose  office  it  was 
to  restrain  the  power  of  the  former.  Each  of  these  tribes  had 
its  own  laws,  which  were  perfectly  similar  to  those  of  ancient 
Grermany.  The  most  important  of  these  are  the  Hun^ingoe^ 
provincial  law,  the  Rvistringer  Asega-book,  and  the  Brokmer 
Briefs.     The  whole  of  the  laws  were  popular  resolutions ;  "  so 


76  THE  PEASANTEY. 

will  the  Brockmen,  so  have  the  people  decided,"  were  the  sim- 
ple words  annexed  to  them.  The  common  salutation  between 
the  people  was,  ^^Ectlafria  Fresena  /*'  "  Hail,  free  Friscian  !  ** 
Kobilitj  and  stone  houses  came  into  vogue  among  them  at  a 
very  late  period. 

In  the  rest  of  the  countries  of  Germany,  the  peasantry  were 
cliiefly  in  a  state  of  servitude.  In  the  ancient  Gaue,  the  Graf 
no  longer  stood  at  the  head  of  free-bom  men  and  equal.  He 
still  exercised  the  penal  judicature,  the  highest  office  of  a 
judge,  and  bore  the  banner,  the  highest  command  during  war ; 
but  these  offices  had  become  hereditary  in  hia  family.  He 
wa3,  moreover,  lord  over  his  ministerialeSj  who  rendered  him 
personal  service ;  the  protector  of  the  few  free  and  independent 
inhabitants  of  the  Gau,  who  paid  a  tribute  for  the  protection 
granted ;  the  manorial  and  feudal  lord  of  the  vassals,  (peasants 
who  kept  horses,  and  instead  of  paying  ground-rent  to  th^ 
lord  rendered  him  average  service,)  and  proprietor  of  tiie  serfe. 
A  governor  or  mayor  was  placed  over  the  peasantry  in  the 
separate  villages.  Their  local  customs  were,  at  a  later  period, 
sometimes  termed  village  regulations,  village  rights,  and  were 
laid  down  by  the  peasantry  themselves.  In  criminal  matters, 
the  punbhments  for  the  serfs  were  of  a  more  disgraceful  na- 
ture than  those  for  the  free-bom.  The  ringleaders  of  mobs 
were  so  called,  owing  to  their  being  condemned  to  carry  a 
ring  or  wheel  into  the  neighbouring  country,  where  they  were 
put  to  death.*  The  German,  generally  speaking,  preserved, 
even  in  servitude,  more  person^  honour  than  the  Slavonian ; 
the  peasants  in  Western  Germany  were  in  consequence  more 
harassed  with  dues,  while  those  in  the  Eastern  provinces  suf- 
fered a  greater  degree  of  personal  ill-treatment.  The  former 
consequently  possessed  a  certain  degree  of  mental  cultivation, 
nay,  literature.  The  finest  of  the  popular  ballads  were  trans- 
lated into  the  country  dialect,  and  well  known  by  every  pea- 
sant, and  numbers  of  legends  and  songs  forgotten  by  the  upper 

classes,  became  traditional  among  the  peasantry. Heavy 

imposts  and  dues  were  levied  at  an  early  period.  The  nobles, 
more  particularly  since  the  crusades,  appear  to  have  become 
more  luxurious,  and,  naturally,  more  needy.  Several  extra- 
ordinary customs,  among  others  the  jits  prima  noctiSy  from 

•  This  was  probably  the  remains  of  the  heathen  custom  of  crushing 
malefactors  beneath  the  wheels  of  the  sacred  car. 


THE  LIBERAL  SCIENCES.  71 

wMch  a  conclusion  bas  been  drawn  of  the  degraded  Btate  of 
the  peasantry,  bave  been,  greatlj  misanderstood ;  the  honour 
of  die  female  serfs  was  guarded  bj  the  laws^  and,  in  Lom- 
bardy,  a  woman  whose  chastity  was  violated  by  the  lord  of  the 
demesne,  was  instantly  affranchked  together  with  her  husband, 
who  tbus  acquired  a  right  to  revenge  his  iigured  honour.  The 
misery  <^  the  peasantry  was  by  no  means  so  great  during  the 
middle  ages  as  it  became  after  the  great  peasant  war  in  1525. 
The  division  of  the  ancient  free  nation  into  different  classes 
with  opposite  views  and  interests,  and  particularly  the  subor- 
dination of  the  peasantry  to  petty  village  proprietors,  had  in 
general  a  most  pernicious  effect^  and  chiefly  contributed,  since 
the  fall  of  the  Hohenstaufen,  to  lower  the  high  spirit  and  na*. 
tional  pride  of  the  German.     The  parish  priest  belonged  to 
the  universal  Christian  church,  the  knight  to  the  universal 
European  aristocracy,  the  citizen  was  solely  intent  on  his 
mercantile   affairs,  and  the   cities  were,   like  islets  on  the 
deep,  distinct  spots  on  the  surface  of  the  land ;  these  upper 
classes  as  ill  replaced  the  ancient  and  great  order  of  free  pea- 
santry, as  did  their  energy  and  civilization  the  national  vigour 
they  had  lost ;  and  to  this  may  justly  be  ascribed  the  misfor- 
tunes  and  disgrace  with  which  the  empire  was  subsequently 
overwhelmed. 

CLXJX.—The  liberal  sciences. 

The  emancipation  of  the  sciences  was  fast  approaching. 
The  knowledge  spread  by  the  crusades  had  given  rise  to  a 
general  spirit  of  investigation  and  research.  The  monastic 
academies  were  placed  on  a  more  extensive  footing,  and  trans* 
formed  into  universities.  In  Paris,  independent  of  Rome, 
theology  was  particularly  studied.  Hence  spread  the  Italian 
beresy  of  the  pupils  of  Abelard,  of  Arnold  of  Brescia,  and 
here  was  the  birth*place  of  German  mysticism,  Hugh  von 
Blankenburg  being  a  professor  in  the  Paris  university,  and 
abbot  of  the  French  monastery  of  St.  Victoire.  At  Bologna,  a 
school  of  law  for  the  study  of  the  resuscitated  Boman  law 
was  formed,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Hohenstaufen,  by  the 
great  law  professor,  Irnerius,  and  thus  was  laid  the  founda- 
tion to  all  the  jurisprudence  of  later  ages.  At  Salerno,  the 
first  celebrated  school  of  medicine  was  founded.    The  medical 


72  THE  LIBERAL  SCIENCES: 

science  of  the  Arabs  and  Greeks  was,  after  the  crusades,  also 
adopted  by  this  schooL 

The  study  of  the  sciences  and  the  university  system  was 
first  introduced  into  Germany  during  the  fourteenth  century* 
Until  then,  Virgilius,  bishop  of  Salzburg,  and  Albertus  Mag-* 
nus,  formed  the  ideal  of  German  erudition. 

The  historiographers,  chiefly  clergy,  by  whom  the  ancient 
Latin  chronicles  were  continued,  were  extremely  numerous. 
Besides  Wippo,  who  wrote  a  biography  of  Conrad  IL,  the 
most  celebrated  among  them  were,  Hermannus  Contractus, 
[a.  d.  1054,]  who  was  a  lame  Swabian  count,  and  afterwards 
a  monk  at  Reichenau;  Marianus  Seotus,  a  Scotchman  by 
birth,  and  monk  at  Fulda,  who,  the  legend  relates,  read  and 
wrote  by  the  light  of  hb  own  finger;  Adelbold,  bishop  of 
Utrecht,  the  author  of  the  biography  of  Henry  III.  Henry 
IV.  and  his  times  have  found  many  commentators,  who  ge- 
nerally wrote  in  a  party  spirit.  The  historians  who  favoured 
the  emperor,  were  Wsdtram,  Conrad  of  Utrecht,  Benno  von 
Meissen  ;  those  in  favour  of  the  pope,  Hugo  Blank  and  Deo- 
datus,  two  German  cardinals,  Berthold  of  Constance,  and  the 
monk  Bruno.  The  most  veracious  history  of  Gregory  VII. 
was  written  by  Paul  Bemried.  Some  of  the  universal  histo- 
rians of  this  time  acquired  greater  fame.  Lambert  of  Aschaf^ 
fenburg  wrote  an  excellent  German  history  in  Latin,  the  style 
of  which  is  superior  to  that  of  his  predecessors.  Sigebert  de 
Gemblours,  [a.  d.  1112,]  besides  a  violent  attack  upon  the 
emperor,  Henry  IV.,  wrote  an  Universal  Chronicle.  Hepi- 
danus  wrote  the  Alemannic  Annals ;  Eckhart,  a  History  of  St. 
Gall.  Numerous  chronicles  of  Quedlinburg,  Hamersleben, 
Hildesheim,  also  belong  to  this  period.  The  celebrated  Adam 
von  Bremen  [a.  d.  1076]  is  the  most  valuable  writer  of  that 
age  in  reference  to  the  histories  of  the  northern  archbishop- 
rics, and  of  the  pagan  North.'  To  him  succeeded  Wibald,  chan- 
cellor to  the  emperor  Lothar,  and  Frederick  Barbarossa's  am- 
bassador at  Constantinople.  He  was  poisoned  in  Paphlagonia, 
[a.  d.  1158,]  and  left  four  hundred  letters.  Otto,  bishop  of 
Freysingen,  the  son  of  Leopold,  Margrave  of  Austria,  and 
step-brother  to  the  emperor,  Conrad  III.,  died  in  the  same 
year  after  gaining  great  fame,  and  left,  besides  an  Universal 
Chronicle,  a  Biography  of  Barbarossa,  and  a  History,  since 
lost,  of  the  House  of  Sabenberg.    Giinther,  an  Alsacian  monk, 


\ 


THE  LIBERAL  SCIENCES.  73 

VrcQ\.e,  inXiOtin  verse,  the  exploits  of  Barbarossa  in  Upper  Italy, 
^i^Tia,)  li^bence  he  received  the  suniame  of  Ligurinus. 
Barbarossa's  deeds  were  also  celebrated  by  Radewich,  a  canon 
of  Freysingen.  Godfired  di  Viterbo,  who  liyed  during  his  youth 
at  Bamberg,  and  was  probably  a  German,  wrote  an  Universal 
Chronicle,  up  to  the  year  1 186 ;  another  was  written,  as  far  as 
the  reign  of  Conrad  III.,  by  Honorius  von  Augst ;  a  third 
excellent  Chronicle  (Chronica  regia  S.  Pantaleonis)  was 
written  by  some  monks  at  Cologne ;  a  fourth,  that  of  Magde- 
burg, by  the  "  Chronographus  Saxo;"  and  another  by  the 
monk  Ekkehart  at  Bamberg,  or  Fnlda.  The  best  national  and 
provincial  historians  were  Cosmas,  a  deacon  at  Prague,  who 
wrote  a  History  of  Bohemia,  prior  to  1 126 ;  Helmold,  a  priest 
at  Bosow,  near  Lubeck,  a  celebrated  Chronicle  of  the  Slavo- 
nians, prior  to  1170 ;  an  anonymous  monk  at  Weingarten,  the 
Chronicle  of  the  Welfs;  Conrad,  abbot  of  Moelk,  a  Chronicle  of 
Austria ;  there  were  besides  chronicles  of  the  monastery  of 
Mnri  in  Switzerland,  of  Pegau  in  the  Lausitz,  of  Liege,  the 
Annals  of  Hildesheim,  and  other  monastic  chronicles  of  lesser 
importance. 

In  the  thirteenth  century,  Oliverius,  canon  of  Paderbom, 
who  undertook  a  crusade  against  the  Albigenses,  accompanied 
another  to  Jerusalem,  and,  in  1227,  died  a  cardinal,  wrote  a 
history  of  the  Holy  Land,  and  an  accx)unt  of  the  siege  of  Da- 
mietta.  In  1226,  Burchard  of  Biberach  added  a  continuation 
to  Ekkehart's  Chronicle.  Conrad  von  Lichtenau,  abbot  of 
Ursperg,  A.  d.  1240,  wrote  a  great  Universal  Chronicle,  the 
celebrated  Chronicon  Urspergense ;  another  was  written  about 
the  same  time  by  a  monk  of  Neumunster  near  Liege ;  a  third 
by  Albrecht  von  Stade,  abbot  of  the  same  monastery  prior  to 
1260.  A  celebrated  Chronicle  of  the  Popes  and  Emperors 
was  written  by  Martinus  Polonus,  of  Troppau  in  Silesia,  a.  d. 
1278.  The  Letters,  Conversations,  and  Controversial  Writ- 
ings of  Frederick  IL,  and  his  Chancellor,  Peter  de  Vineis,  and 
the  History  of  the  Englishman,  Matthssus  Paris,  particularly 
concerning  Frederick  IL,  are  of  great  historical  value.  An 
ancient  Erfurt  Chronicle,  the  Chronicon  Schirense,  of  the  prior 
Conrad  von  Scheyern,  contains  much  interesting  matter,  be- 
sides several  other  lesser  chronicles,  those  of  Halberstadt, 
Lorch  and  Fassau,  St:  Gall,  Mayence,  the  Friscian  Chro- 
nica, b.  Emmonis  et  Manconis,  etc. 


74  THE  LIBERAL  SCIENCES. 

The  historians  of  the  fourteenth  century  partly  wrote 
chronicles  in  the  spirit  of  the  past  age,  as,  for  instance,  Henry, 
(Stero,)  a  monk  of  Altaicb,  Sigfried,  presbyter  of  Meissen, 
Matthias  von  Neuenburg,  and  Albert  of  Strassburg,  partly 
learned  collections,  such  as  the  Cosmodromium  of  Gobelinus 
Persona,  deacon  of  Birkenfeld  in  Paderborn,  [a.  d.  1420,] 
and  the  work  de  Temporibus  Memorabilibus,  of  Henry  of 
Herford,  who  became  a  professor  at  Erfurt.  Besides  the  Annals 
of  Colmar,  and  those  of  H^enry  von  Rebdorf,  as  well  as  the 
Ecclesiastical  History  of  Henry  von  Diessenhofen,  some  of  the 
city  and  provincial  chronicles  are  in  part  excellent  These 
chronicles,  as  soon  as  the  citizens  took  up  the  pen,  were  writ- 
ten in  Grerman  ;  those  written  by  the  clergy  are,  without  ex- 
ception, in  Latin.  The  most  celebrated  of  the  German  writers 
were,  Ottocar  von  Horneck,  who  composed  a  History  of  Aus- 
tria in  verse,  which  reached  as  far  as  1309 ;  Peter  Suchen- 
wirth  of  Austria,  the  author  of  ballads,  in  which  he  hands 
down  to  posterity  the  exploits  of  the  heroes  of  his  time ;  Ernst 
von  Kirchberg,  author  of  the  Mecklenburg  Chronicle,  written 
in  verse;  Albrecht  von  Bardewich,  of  the  Lubeck  Stades 
Chronicle ;  Closener,  of  that  of  Strassburg ;  Koenigshoven,  of 
that  of  Alsace  up  to  1386  ;  Biedesel,  of  that  of  Hesse;  and 
Gensbein,  of  that  of  Limburg,  finally  the  Chronicle  of  the 
sheriffs  of  Magdeburg.  In  1326,  Peter  von  Duisburg  penned, 
in  Latin,  the  first  History  of  Prussia,  and  Liebhold  von  Nor- 
tha  one  of  the  frontier  counts,  and  a  catalogue  of  the  arch- 
bishops of  Cologne. 

The  knowledge  of  geography  was  greatly  increased  by  the 
crusades.  Some  bold  adventurers  penetrated,  even  at  that 
period,  into  the  heart  of  Asia.  The  most  celebrated  travels 
are  those  of  Marco  Polo,  the  Venetian ;  but  eighteen  years 
earlier,  in  1253,  a  German  monk,  named  Buisbrock,  frater 
Willielmus  of  the  Netherlands,  travelled  through  Great  Tar- 
tary  as  far  as  China,  confirmed  for  the  first  time  the  account 
given  by  the  ancients  of  the  position  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  and 
brought  the  first  news  of  the  existence  of  a  native  Asiatic 
people  with  whom  the  Germans  were  related  by  descent.  See 
the  works  of  Roger  Bacon,  Bergeron,  and  Humboldt.  Wil- 
liam von  Baldensleven,  a  German  nobleman  and  monk,  tra- 
velled [a.  i>.  1315]  into  the  Holy  Land,  and  thence  into 
Tartary. 


PART  xm. 

SUPREMACY  OF  THE  POPE. 


CLXX.   RudoifvanHoMurg. 

The  trinmph  of  the  pope  over  the  emperor  entirely  changed 
the  aspect  of  af&irs.  The  emperors  hecame  the  mere  tools  of 
a  princely  aristocracy  under  the  JE^  of  the  pope.  Weak- 
ness  and  treason  overwhelmed  the  ancient  empire  with  dis- 
grace. Bat,  whilst  the  princes  were  engaged  in  appropriating 
to  themselves  the  fragments  of  the  shattered  diadem,  the 
people  gradually  acquired  greater  independence,  formed  them- 
selves into  federations  without  the  aid  of  the  princes,  or  into 
estates  under  them,  and  finally  hroke  the  papal  yoke  by  the 
great  Reformation. 

Tears  had  elapsed  since  the  death  of  Frederick  IL ;  his 
unfortunate  son,  Conrad,  had  been,  like  William,  Richard, 
and  Alfonso,  a  mere  puppet  on  the  throne.  Alfonso  was  still 
living  in  Spain,  completely  absorbed  in  the  study  of  astronomy. 
The  people,  unforgetful  of  their  ancient  glory,  again  desired 
an  emperor,  and  the  legendary  superstition  concerning  the 
return  of  Barbarossa  once  more  revived.  The  lower  and 
weaker  classes  throughout  the  empire  were  bitterly  sensible 
of  the  want  of  the  protection  of  the  crown,  but  the  election  of 
a  successor  to  the  throne  would  have  been  still  longer  neg- 
lected by  the  princes,  had  they  not  felt  the  necessity  of  setting 
a  limit  to  the  ambitious  designs  of  Ottocar  of  Bohemia.  A 
conference  accordingly  took  place  between  them  and  the  pope, 
and  the  election  was  not  proceeded  with  until  a  fitting  tool 
for  their  purposes  had  been  discovered,  and  their  prerogatives 
guarded  by  conditions  and  stipulations.  The  qualities  required 
in  the  new  emperor  were  courage  and  warlike  habits,  in  order 
to  insure  a  triumph  over  Ottocar ;  a  certain  degree  of  popu- 
larity, for  the  purpose  of  cajoling  the  people ;  and  the  blindest 
snbmission  to  the  authority  of  the  pope  and  princes. 

This  political  tool  was  found  in  Rudolf,  Count  von  Habs- 


76  RUDOLF  VON  HABSBURG. 

burg,  who  had  been  held  at  the  font  by  Frederick  11.,  a  mark 
of  distinction  bestowed  by  that  monarch  fot  his  father's  faithful 
services.     Rudolf  had  fought  in  Prussia,  (whither  he  had  un- 
dertaken a  crusade  in  expiation  of  the  crime  of  burning  down 
a  convent  during  a  feud  with  Basle,)  for  Ottocar,  by  whom 
he  had  been  knighted,  and  had,  since  that  period,  fought  with 
equal  bravery  and  skill  for  every  party  that  chanced  to  suit 
his  interests,  at  one  moment  aiding  the  nobles  in  their  innu- 
merable petty  feuds  against  the  cities  of  Strassburg  and  Basle, 
at  another  fighting  under  the  banner  of  Strassburg,  against  the 
bishop  and  the  nobility,  or  making  head  in  his  own  cause 
against  the  abbot  of  St.  Gall,  and  his  own  uncle,  the  Count 
von  Kyburg,  on  account  of  a  disputed  inheritance,  etc.    Wer- 
ner, archbishop  of  Mayence,  whom  Rudolf  had  escorted  across 
the  Alps,  mediated  in  his  favour  with  the  pope.     He  had 
also  personally  recommended  himself,  as  a  zealous  Guelph,  to 
the  pope,  Gregory  X.,  at  Mugello  in  the  Apennines,  and, 
notwithstanding  the  feuds  he  had  formerly  carried  on  with  the 
bishops  and  abbots,  now  played  the  part  of  a  most  humble 
servant  of  the  church ;  he  gained  great  fame,  on  one  occasion, 
by  leaping  from  his  saddle  and  presenting  his  horse  to  a  priest 
who  was  carrying  the  pyx.     He  agreed,  if  elected,  to  yield 
unconditional  obedience  to  the  pope,  to  renounce  all  claim 
upon  or  interference  with  Italy,  and  to  enter  into  alliance 
with  the  House  of  Anjou.      Frederick   von   HohenzoUern, 
Burggrave  of  Nuremberg,  (the  ancestor  of  the  Electors  of 
Brandenburg  and  of  the  royal  line  of  Prussia,)  acted  as  his 
mediator  with  the  princes,  to  three  of  the  most  powerful  among 
whom  he  offered  his  daughters  in  marriage,  to  Louis  of  Pfalz- 
Bavaria,  (the  cruel  murderer  of  his  first  wife,)  Mechtilda,  to 
Otto  of  Brandenburg,  Hedwig,  and  to  Albert  of  Saxony, 
Agnes.     He  moreover  promised  never  to  act,  when  emperor, 
without  the  consent  of  the  princes,  on  every  important  occa- 
sion to  obtain  their  sanction  in  writing,  and  confirmed  them 
all,  Ottocar  of  Bohemia  excepted,  in  the  possession  of  the 
territory  belonging  to  the  empire,  and  of  the  hereditary  lands 
of  the  Staufen  illegally  seized  by  them.     That  the  election  of 
a  new  emperor  by  the  pope  and  the  princes  merely  hinged 
upon  these  conditions  was  perfectly  natural,  the  whole  power 
lying  in  their  hands.     This  was  the  simple  result  of  the 
downfal  of  the  Staufen,  and  of  the  defeat  of  the  Ghibellines. 


RUDOLF  VON  HABSBURO.  77 

E^odolT ,  wbo  was  engaged  in  a  feud  with  the  city  of  Baale 
wlien  Yrederick  von  Zollern  arrived  with  the  news  of  his  elec- 
tioD,  instantly  conclnded  peace  with  that  city,  marched  down 
the  Rhine,  and  was  crowned  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  A.  D.  1273. 
The  real  imperial  crown  and  the  sceptre  were  still  in  Italy  ; 
the  latter  was  supplied,  by  way  of  flattery  to  the  church,  by  a 
crucifix.  The  ceremony  of  coronation  was  enhanced  by  that 
of  the  marriage  of  his  three  daughters.  Henry  of  Bavaria, 
the  brother  of  Louis,  was,  after  some  opposition,  also  won 
over,  and  his  son  Otto  wedded  to  his  fourth  daughter,  Cathe- 
rina.  The  lower  classes  in  the  empire  were,  nevertheless, 
filled  with  discontent.  The  coalition  between  the  great  vas- 
sals inspired  them  with  the  deepest  apprehension.  They 
were,  however,  pacified.  The  lower  nobility,  who  had  ren- 
dered themselves  hated  by  their  rapine  and  insolence,  were 
at  strife  with  the  towns.  Rudolf,  who  had,  up  to  this  period, 
been  a  mere  military  adventurer,  a  robber-knight,  now  headed 
the  great  princes  against  his  former  associates,  and  reduced 
them  all,  even  the  wild  Count  Eberhard  of  Wiirtemberg,  to 
submission.  This  policy  flattered  the  cities,  which  Rudolf  also 
sought  to  win  by  aflabihty ;  he  bestowed  the  dignity  of  knight- 
hood with  great  solemnity  on  Jacob  Muller  of  Zurich,  in  order 
to  gain  for  his  Swiss  possessions  the  protection  of  the  neigh- 
bouring towns ;  he  was,  nevertheless,  viewed  with  great  mis- 
trust by  many  of  the  cities. 

Gregory  X.  hastened  to  bestow  his  benediction  on  his  new 
creatore,  and,  in  order  to  deprive  him  at  once  of  any  pretext 
for  a  visit  to  Rome,  and  of  effectually  closing  Italy  against 
the  Germans,  came  in  person  to  Lausanne.  Rudolf  knelt 
humbly  at  the  pontifi^'s  feet  and  vowed  unconditional  obe- 
dience, an  action  he  afterwards  attempted  to  palliate  by  a  jest, 
saying  that  ^*  Rome  was  the  lion's  den,  into  which  all  the  foot- 
steps entered,  but  whence  none  returned.  He  therefore  pre- 
ferred serving  to  fighting  with  the  lion  of  the  church." 

The  subjection  of  Ottocar  had  been  one  of  the  conditions 
annexed  to  the  possession  of  the  crown.  The  vote  of  the 
king  of  Bohemia,  although  that  of  the  most  powerful  vassal  of 
the  empire,  had  therefore  been  omitted  in  the  election,  or 
rather,  the  whole  scheme  of  Rudolf's  accession  had  been  man- 
aged too  secretly  and  rapidly  for  interference  on  his  part.  Ot- 
tocar having  rendered  himself  hateful  by  his  severity,  Stephen 


78  RUDOLF  VON  HABSBURG. 

of  Hungary,  the  son  of  Bela,  made  a  &esh  attempt  [a.  d.  1270] 
to  gain  possession  of  Styria.  The  Styrians,  however,  hated 
the  Hungarian  even  more  than  the  Bohemian  yoke,  and  he 
was  repulsed.  Whilst  pursuing  the  fugitives  across  the  Neu- 
siedler  lake,  the  ice  gave  way,  and  numbers  of  the  Styrians 
were  drowned.  The  Hungarians  made  fresh  inroads,  and  Otto- 
car  redoubled  his  tyranny.  Among  other  acts  of  cruelty,  he 
ordered  the  Styrian  knight  Seyfried  von  Moehrenberg,  whom 
sickness  had  hindered  from  coming  to  his  rencontre,  to  be 
dragged  at  a  horse's  tail,  and  then  hanged  by  the  feet  He 
also  continued  to  seize  the  castles  of  the  nobiHty,  and  threat- 
ened to  cast  the  children  of  the  expelled  lords,  whom  he  re- 
tained as  hostages,  from  the  roofs.  The  Austrians  and  Sty- 
rians were,  consequently,  fully  justified  in  laying  a  solemn 
accusation  against  their  blood-thirsty  tyrant  before  the  diet  at 
Wurzburg,  A.  d.  1275.  Bemhard  von  Wolkersdorf  and  Hart- 
nid  von  Wildon  spoke  in  their  name.  Rudolf,  after  sealing  a 
compact  with  Henry  of  Bavaria  and  with  Stephen  of  Hun- 
gary, took  the  field  at  the  head  of  a  numerous  army,  and  Ot- 
tocar,  conscious  of  guilt  and  surrounded  by  foes,  yielded, 
again  ceded  Austria,  Styria,  Carinthia,  and  Camiola  to  the 
empire,  and  was  merely  allowed  to  hold  Bohemia  and  Mora- 
via in  fee  of  the  emperor.  In  1276,  he  came,  attired  in  the 
royal  robes  of  Bohemia,  to  an  island  on  the  Danube,  where 
Rudolf,  meanly  clad  as  a  horse-soldier,  received  him  under  a 
tent,  which,  whilst  the  king  was  kneeling  at  his  feet,  and 
taking  the  oath  of  fealty,  was  raised  at  a  given  signal,  in  order 
to  degrade  the  monarch  in  the  eyes  of  the  people ;  a  mean  and 
dastardly  action  ;  and  the  reproach  of  vanity  can  alone  be  cast 
upon  the  emperor,  the  king  of  Bohemia  having  merely  ap- 
peared in  a  garb  suited  to  his  dignity,  on  an  occasion  which, 
far  from  elevating  his  pride,  deeply  wounded  it ;  nor  can  his 
high-spirited  queen  be  blamed  for  inciting  him  to  revenge  the 
insult.  Rudolf,  meanwhile,  sought  to  secure  his  footing  in 
Austria.  Unable  openly  to  appropriate  that  country  as  family 
property,  he  gradually  and  separately  won  the  nobility,  cities, 
and  bishops  over  to  his  interest,  and  induced  the  spiritual 
lords  more  especially  to  bestow  a  number  of  single  fiefs  on  his 
sons,  whom  he  by  this  means  firmly  settled  in  the  country. 
Ottocar,  instigated  by  his  queen,  Cunigunda,  at  length  de- 
clared war,  and  marched  at  the  head  of  his  entire  force  against 


RTJDOLF  VON  HABSBTTBO.  79 

I  Eudolf.  His  plan  of  battle  was  betrajed  to  Rudolf  by  his  best 
I  geQcaral,  Milota  von  Diedicz,  who  thus  revenged  the  exeention 
I  of  bis  brother.  The  Hangarians  also  came  to  Rudolf's  assist- 
j  aaoe,  and  Ottocar,  defeated  on  the  Marchfeld  near  Vienna, 
I  [a.  d.  1278,3  by  treachay  and  superior  numbers,  feU  by  the 
I  hands  of  the  two  young  Mcehrenborgs,  who  sought  him  in  the 
'       tiiickest  of  the  fight 

Rudolf  held  a  triumphal  festival  at  Vienna,  where  the  cen* 
tagenarian  knight,  Otto  von  Haslau,  broke  a  lanoe  with  <me 
of  his  own  great-grandsons.     The  greatest  hilarity  prevailed. 
Rndolf,  meanwlnle,  cautiously  made  use  of  passing  events  in 
i      order  to  enrich  his  family.     His  son  Rudolf  was  elevated  to 
I       the  dukedom  of  Swabia,  and  his  hand  forced  upon  Agnes,  the 
daughter  of  Ottocar.     Bohemia's  rightful  heir,  Wenzel,  the 
infant  son  of  Ottocar,  was  given  up  to  Otto  of  Brandenburg, 
'       the  emperoT^s  son-in-law,  by  whom  he  was  utterly  neglected, 
!       whilst,  under  the  title  of  his  guardian,  the  duke  plundered  Bo- 
hemia and  carried  off  waggon  loads  of  silver  and  gold.  Rudolf's 
I       second  son,  Albert,  received  the  duchy  of  Austria  and  the 
hand  of  £lisabeth,  daughter  of  Meinhard,  count  of  Tyrol,  who 
was  created  duke  of  Carinthia.     Rudolf  also  gave  his  fifth 
daughter,  Clementia,  in  marriage  to  Charles  Kartell,  the  son 
of  Charles  d'Anjou,  by  whom  the  last  of  the  Hohenstaufen 
had  been  put  to  death  at  Naples.     This  marriage  was  a  sa- 
crifice made  to  the  pope,  whose  jealousy  of  the  increasing 
power  of  his  house  he  thus  sought  to  appease.     In  1280,  a 
Frenchman  was  raised,  under  the  name  of  Martin  IV.,  to  the 
pontifical  chair.     The  hatred  borne  by  this  pope  to  the  Ger- 
mans was  such,  that  he  openly  said  that  "  he  wished  Germany 
was  a  pond  full  of  fish,  and  he  a  pike,  that  he  might  swallow 
them  idl."    Rudolf,  nevertheless,  deeply  humbled  himself  be- 
fore him. The  hand  of  Gutta,  Rudolf's  sixth  daughter, 

was  forced  upon  the  youthful  heir  to  Bohemia,  who  was  ran- 
somed at  a  heavy  price  by  his  subjects.  His  mother,  Cunigun- 
da,  had,  meanwhile,  married  a  Minnesinger,  named  Zawitch, 
whom,  on  his  release,  he  instantly  ordered  to  execution,  as  a 
slight  reparation  for  the  injured  honour  of  his  father. 

The  emperor  continued,  henceforward,  to  suppress  petty 
feuds  in  person,  and  travelled  from  one  diet  to  another  for  the 
purpose  of  passing  resolutions  for  the  peace  of  the  country, 
and  from  one  province  to  another  for  that  of  enforcing  peace. 


80  RUDOLF  VON  HABSBURG. 

He  was  surnamed  the  living  or  wandeFing  law,  {lex  animata,) 
and  numbers  of  his  magnanimous  and  just  actions  and  sayings 
became  proverbial.  The  people,  ever  inclined  to  judge  hy 
single  actions,  and  equally  blind  to  their  motive  and  their 
tendency,  valued  a  quaint  anecdote  concerning  the  emperor 
Rudolf  far  more  highly  than  a  great  institution  founded  by 
his  predecessors,  and  the  popular  admiration  of  this  chivalric 
emperor  has  been  handed  down  from  one  generation  to  another. 
The  empire,  nevertheless,  remained  in  a  state  bordering  on 
anarchy,  might  was  right,  and  Rudolf,  notwithstanding  his 
efforts,  merely  succeeded  in  re-establishing  peace  during  short 
and  broken  intervals. 

At  Neuss  on  the  Rhine,  [▲.  d.  1285,]  appeared  a  certain 
Thile  Coluf,  or  Frederick  Holzschuh,  (wooden-shoe,)  who  gave 
himself  out  as  Frederick  IE.,  declaring  that  he  had  risen  from 
the  dead.     He  held  a  court  for  a  short  time  at  Wetzlar.     In 
Swabia,  Eberhard  of  Wiirtemberg,  Rudolf  of  Baden,  and  six- 
teen other  counts  renewed  their  predatory  attacks  upon  the 
cities.   They  were  reduced  to  submission  [a.  d.  1286]  by  the 
emperor,  who  burnt  the  castle  of  Stuttgart  to  the  ground.    He 
also  made  a  successful  inroad  into  Burgundy,  less  for  the  pur- 
pose of  connecting  that  country  more  closely  with  the  empire 
than  for  that  of  extending,  or  at  all  events  of  protecting,  his 
Swiss  possessions  on  that  side.     In  his  old  age,  he  married 
Agnes  of  Burgundy,  {Franche  comte,)  who  was  then  in  her 
fourteenth  year,*  and  reduced  his  rivals,  the  Pfalzgrave  Otto, 
(a  descendant  of  another  branch  of  the  same  family,)  and  the 
Count  Reginald  von  Miimpelgard,  to  submission.     The  latter 
had  attacked  the  people  of  Basle,  and  taken  their  bishop 
prisoner  in  a  bloody  battle,  in  which  a  fourth  of  the  citizens 
were  slain.     The  partition  among  the  counts,  however,  con- 
tinued to  exist,  and  the  eastern  side  of  ancient  Burgundy  was 
seized  by  Savoy,  the  Swiss  confederation,  and,  above  all,  by 
Berne,  which,  even  at  that  period,  refused  to  furnish  the 
imperial  contingency,  and  made  such  a  valiant  defence  that 
Rudolf  was  compelled  to  retire  from  before  the  walls.    The 
bears  in  the  cily  arms  were  placed  in  a  bloody  field  in  memory 

*  The  bishop  of  Spires,  by  whom  she  was  conducted  after  the  cere- 
mony to  the  carriage,  was  so  enchanted  with  her  beauty  that  he  kissed 
her,  upon  which  the  emperor  said  that  it  was  the  Agnus  Dei,  not  Agnes, 
that  he  ought  to  kisst 


RUDOLF  VON  HABSBURO.  81 

of  the  blood  shed  on  this  occasion.  Bndolf  merelj  advanced 
northwards  as  far  as  Thuringia,  where  he  destroyed  sixty-six 
robber  castles,  and,  in  1290,  condemned  twenty-nine  of  the 
robber  knights  to  be  hanged  at  Ilmenaa. 

The  efforts  of  the  emperor  were  confined  to  this  narrow 
circle,  whilst  bloody  feuds,  with  which  he  did  not  interfere, 
were  carried  on  in  every  quarter  of  the  empire.  His  chief 
object  was  the  confirmation  of  the  Austrian  possessions  to  his 
family.  He  was  also  desirous  of  making  the  imperial  crown 
hereditary,  and  of  naming  his  son,  Albert,  his  successor  to 
the  throne.  The  chagrin  produced  by  the  refusal  of  the 
princes  hastened  his  death,  which  took  place  ▲.  D.  1291. 
Eudolf  was  tall  and  thin,  had  a  hooked  nose,  which  occasioned 
popular  jokes  at  his  expense,  and  a  bald  head. 

The  greatest  anarchy  and  want  of  union  prevailed  through- 
out the  other  provinces  of  the  empire,  which  had  completely 
fallen  a  prey  to  petty  interests  and  petty  feuds.  The  Hansa 
alone  sustained  the  dignity  of  the  Grerman  name  both  at  home 
and  abroad,  but  merely  in  pursuance  of  its  own  interests,  with- 
out reference  to  the  weak  and  mean-spirited  emperor.  The 
Hanseatic  flag  ruled  the  Northern  Ocean.  Its  fleets  captured 
every  vessel  belonging  to  Erich,  king  of  Norway,  and  blocked 
«P  the  Scandinavian  harbours.  The  treaty  of  Colmar,  a.  d. 
1285,  confirmed  its  commercial  monopoly.  The  whole  of 
Northern  Germany,  meanwhile,  senselessly  wasted  its  strength 
in  intestine  strife.  The  counts  of  Holstein  again  attempted 
^  subjugate  the  free  Ditmarses,  and  suffered  a  shameful  de- 
feat, a.  D.  1289.  Florens  V.  of  Holland  revenged  the  death 
of  his  father  on  the  Western  Friscians,  over  whom  he  gained 
a  signal  victory  at  Alkmaar,  when  the  secret  of  his  father's 
burial-place  was  discovered  to  him.  His  firm  support  of  the 
citizens  and  peasantry  rendered  him  the  darling  of  the  )^ople, 
*nd  roused  the  hatred  of  the  nobles,  who  conspired  against 
and  murdered  him,  A.  d.  1296. 

A  violent  feud  was  at  that  time  also  carried  on  on  the  Rhine. 
Siegfried  von  Westerburg,  who  had  succeeded  Engelbert  in 
the  archbishopric  of  Cologne,  opposed  the  Count  Adolf  VII. 
von  Berg,  who  coveted  the  archbishopric  for  his  brother  Con- 
rad, and  was,  moreover,  supported  by  the  citizens.  About 
this  time,  Adolf  took  possession  of  the  duchy  of  Limburg  in 
bi8  right  as  grandson  to  Henry,  duke  of  Limburg,  who  had 

VOL.  II.  G 


82  KUDOLF  VON  HABSBUEG. 

inherited  Berg  ;  Count  Eeinold  of  Gueldres  also  claimed  the 
duchy  in  right  of  his  wife,  another  grandchild  of  the  duke, 
Henry,  and  the  archbishop,  confederating  with  him,  exert- 
ed his  influence  in  his  favour  with  the  Netherland  nobility, 
more  particularly  with  Henry  von  Luxemburg,  and  Adolf  von 
Nassau,  the  future  emperor.  Adolf  von  Berg,  unable  to  meet 
the  rising  storm,  ceded  his  claims  upon  Limburg  to  the  brave 
duke,  John  of  Brabant,  and,  aided  by  him  and  by  the  valiant 
citizens  of  Cologne,  gave  battle  to  the  archbishop  at  Wae- 
ringen  near  that  city,  where  Henry  lY.  of  Luxemburg  and 
his  three  brethren  were  slain,  and  the  archbishop,  Beinhold,  of 
Gueldres,  and  Adolf  von  Nassau  were  taken  prisoners,  A.  i>. 
1288.  John  retained  possession  of  Limburg.  Siegfried,  the 
fomentor  of  the  broil,  was  imprisoned,  armed  cap-^-pie,  in  a 
cage,  where  he  remained  in  that  state  for  seven  years.  On 
regaining  his  liberty,  he  feigned  a  reconciliation  with  Adolf 
von  Berg,  whom,  in  an  unguarded  moment,  he  suddenly  cap- 
tured, and  sentenced  to  be  stripped  naked,  smeared  from  head 
to  foot  with  honey,  and  exposed  in  an  iron  cage  to  the  stings 
of  insects  and  to  the  open  sky.  After  enduring  this  martyrdom 
for  thirteen  months,  the  wretched  count  was  released,  but 
shortly  afterwards  died  of  the  consequences.  His  sufferings 
were  avenged  by  his  brother  and  successor,  William,  who 
was  victorious  over  the  archbishop  of  Cologne,  near  Bonn, 

[a.  d.  1296,]  and  peace  was  finally  made. Feuds  of  a  similar 

description,  in  which  bishops  played  the  chief  part,  were  com- 
mon throughout  the  empire. 

In  Meissen  and  Thuringia,  Albert  the  Degenerate  persecuted 
his  wife,  Margaretha,  of  the  noble  house  of  Hohenstaufen,  and 
his  children,  with  the  most  rancorous  hatred,  on  account  of 
the  disappointment  of  the  hopes  of  aggrandizement  which  had 
formed  the  sole  motive  of  his  alliance  with  that  family.  He 
even  despatched  one  of  his  servants  to  the  Wartburg  for  the 
purpose  of  assassinating  her ;  but  the  countess,  warned  by  him 
of  his  lord's  intention,  fled  secretly  (after  biting  her  eldest 
son,  Frederick,  in  the  cheek,  in  token  of  the  vengeance  she 
intended  to  take)  to  Frankfurt,  where  she  shortly  afterwards 
died  of  grief.  Albert  persecuted  his  brother  Dietrich  with 
equal  enmity.  Their  father,  Henry,  (who  fought  so  long  with 
Magdeburg  against  the  Brandenburgs,)  had  £vided  his  pos- 
sessions between  the  two  brothers,  giving  Meissen  and  Thu- 


B,TJI>OLF  VON  HABSBURO.  83 

nngia  to  Albert,  X^leissner  with  the  margraviates  of  Lands- 
krg  and  XAuaitz  to  Dietrich.  Albert,  when  attempting  to 
expel  his  brother,  was  defeated  near  Tennstedt,  [a.  d.  1 275,]  bj 
him  and  bis  ally,  Ck>nrad,  archbishop  of  Magdeburg.  Dietrich 
was  samamed  the  Thick,  and  was  a  Minnesinger.  Conrad 
died  A.  D.  1276 ;  his  successor,  Gunther,  was  attacked  by  Otto, 
margrave  of  Brandenburg,  whose  brother,  £rich,  coveted  the 
mitre.  Otto  was  defeated  at  Aken,  and  subsequently  taken 
prisoner,  (]a.  d.  1278,]  in  an  engagement  on  the  Siik.  He  was 
imprisoned  in  a  narrow  chest.  On  being  ransomed  for  an  in- 
significant amount,  he  haughtily  observed,  **  Had  ye  placed 
me  armed  cap-^-pie  on  horseback,  and  buried  me  in  gold  and 
silver  coin  to  my  lance's  pbint,  ye  would  have  had  a  ransom 
worthy  of  me."  He  spe^ly  infringed  the  treaty,  and  again 
took  up  arms.  He  was  sumamed  Otto  with  the  Arrow,  on  ac- 
count of  a  wound  he  had  received  in  his  head,  whence  the 
arrow-point  could  not  be  extracted,  during  the  siege  of  Mag- 
deburg. Bemhard,  who  succeeded  Gunther  in  the  archiepis- 
copal  dignity,  quarrelled  with  Dietrich  the  Thick,  who  at- 
tempting to  seize  his  person  by  stratagem,  he  withdrew  to  the 
castle  of  Werfen,  which  he  fortified,  A.  D.  1282.  Dietrich  ex- 
pired shortly  afterwards  without  issue,  and  his  possessions  fell 
to  Albert  the  Degenerate.  Bemhard,  however,  avoided  an- 
other bloody  feud  with  Brandenburg  by  voluntarily  resigning 
I  his  dignity  in  Erich's  favour.  Erich  had  long  been  an  object 
of  hatred  to  the  citizens,  whose  hearts  he,  nevertheless,  after- 
wards so  completely  gained,  that  being  taken  prisoner  by 
Henry  the  Whimsical  of  Brunswick  in  a  feud  concerning  the 
possession  of  a  castle,  they  voluntarily  ransomed  him,  in  re- 
turn for  which  he  bestowed  upon  them  great  privileges.     He 

died  in  peace  and  honour. Otto  the  Severe,  of  Brunswick- 

Luneburg,  (the  Welfs  were  much  weakened  by  sub-division,) 

'  carried  on  a  feud  with  the  city  of  Hanover,  a.  d.  1292. 
Saxon-Lauenburg  was  governed  during  the  repeated  absence 
of  its  duke,  Albert,  by  the  knight,  Hermann  Riebe,  who  prac- 
tised common  highway  robbery,  and  whose  castles  were  de- 
stroyed by  the  citizens  of  Liibeck,  a.  d.  1291.  In  Nurem- 
berg, two  of  the  Burggrave's  sons,  who  had  hunted  a  child  to 

\       death  with  their  hounds,  were  killed  by  the  scythe-smiths, 

i      a.  d.  1298. 

In   Mecklenburg,  the  princes  were  divided  into  several 

I  o  2 


84  ADOLF  OF  NASSAU. 

branches,  and  were  at  feud  not  only  with  the  cities  of  Rostock 
and  Wismar,  but  also  with  each  other.  The  aged  prince, 
Henry  von  Giistrow,  was  murdered  at  Ribnitz,  [a.  d.  1291,]  by 
his  sons,  when  hunting.  Henry  the  Pilgrim,  of  Mecklenburg, 
accompanied  Louis  IX.  of  France  [a.  d.  1276]  to  the  Holy- 
Land,  where  he  was  taken  prisoner.  During  his  prolonged 
absence,  his  wife,  Anastasia,  was  ill-treated  by  her  brother- 
in-law,  John  von  Gadebusch,  and  saved  the  lives  of  her  infant 
sons  (the  eldest  of  whom,  Henry,  was  afterwards  surnamed 
the  Lion)  by  concealing  them  beneath  the  gowns  of  her 
female  attendants.  These  sons  afterwards  avenged  their 
mother's  sufferings  on  their  wicked  uncle,  whom  they  defeated, 
together  with  his  allies,  the  princes  of  Brandenburg,  Lauen- 
burg,  and  Luneburg,  on  the  Rambeeler  heath,  A.  D.  1283.  The 
Pilgrim,  after  remaining  for  twenty-six  years  in  slavery,  was 
released  [a.  d.  1302]  by  a  miller's  son  from  Gadebusch,  who 
had  once  served  under  him  as  an  arquebusier,  and  who,  on 
being  captured  by  the  Turks,  had  embraced  Mahommedanism, 
and  been  created  sultan  of  Egypt.  On  the  Pilgrim's  return, 
no  one  recognised  him.  Two  impostors,  who  had  attempted 
to  personate  him,  had  been  executed,  one  by  fire,  the  other  by 
water.  His  wild  spirit,  unbroken  by  long  slavery,  however, 
ere  long  proved  his  identity.  Finding  his  son,  the  Lion,  en- 
gaged in  the  siege  of  the  castle  of  Glessen,  he  instantly  ad- 
vised the  erection  of  a  high  gallows  at  its  foot,  in  sign  of  the 
disgraceful  death  that  awaited  its  defenders.  He  also  be- 
sieged the  castle  of  Wismar ;  his  efforts,  however,  proved  un- 
successful, and  he  expired  during  the  same  year,  a.  d.  1302. 
During  his  absence,  his  daughter,  Luitgarde,  had  wedded 
Pribizlaw,  duke  of  Poland,  by  whom  she  was  condemned  to 

be  hanged  on  a  bare  suspicion  of  infidelity. ^In  Pomerania, 

the  duke,  Barnim  IV.,  was  stabbed  by  a  certain  Muckewitz, 
whose  wife  he  had  dishonoured,  a.  d.  1295.  The  whole  of 
Europe's  chivalry  protected  the  assassin. 


CLXXL  Adolf  of  Nassau. 

Rudolf  of  Swabia,  the  eldest  son  of  the  deceased  emperor, 
died  early,  leaving  an  infant,  Johannes,  who  was  utterly  neg- 
lected.   The  second  son,  Albert,  inherited  the  Habsburg  pos- 


ADOLF  OF  NASSAU.  85 

aega&oiia;  the  third,  Hartmann,  was  drowned  in  the  Bhine 
near  lAuffen. 

Mhertfs  conduct,  even  during  his  father's  life-time,  made 
ihe  Austrians  and  Stjrians  hitterlj  repent  their  acceptation 
of  him  as  duke.     In  1287,  the  citizens  of  Vienna  revolting 
against  his  tyranny,  he  hesieged  them  from  the  Calenherg, 
and  when  famine  at  length  forced  them  to  capitulate,  depriy^ 
them  of  all  their  privileges,  and  condemned  numhers  of  them 
to  have  their  eyes  and  tongues  torn  out,  and  their  fingers 
chopped  oiF.     Iban,  Count  von  Giinz,  his  equal  in  crudty, 
who  was  supported  by  Hungary,  alone  ventured  to  set  him  at 
defiance.    Liulislaw,  king  of  Hungary,  died,  A.  D.  1290.    Al- 
bert had  been  invested  at  a  venture  by  his  father  with  that 
crown,  but  the  Hungarians,  headed  by  their  new  king,  An- 
dreas, invaded  Austria,  and  compelled  him  to  purchase  a  dis- 
graceful peace  by  the  cession  of  Pressburg  and  Timau.*  The 
brave  Styrians  stood  by  him  in  this  emergency,  nor  was  it 
until  peace  had  been  concluded  that  they  brought  forward 
their  grievances,  and  accused  him  of  issuing  base  coin,  of  rob- 
bing private  individuals,  and  of  countenancing  the  licentious 
practices  of  his  stadtholder,  Henry,  abbot  of  Admont.  Albert, 
no  longer  in  awe  of  the  Hungarians,  treated  the  complainants 
with  contempt,  upon  which  Frederick  von  Stubenberg  ex- 
claimed, that  "  they  had  done  wrong  in  expelling  Ottocar, 
having  merely  exchanged  pnetyrant  for  another.''  Hartnid  von 
Wildon,  who  had  at  first  sued  the  Habsburgs  for  protection, 
now  again  took  up  arms  against  them.     Admont  was  taken  by 
I        storm,  and  the  abbot  expelled.  Rudolf,  archbishop  of  Salzburg, 
protecting  the  mountaineers,  Albert  invited  him  insidiously  to 
I        Vienna,  where  he  caused  him  to  be  poisoned.     His  successor, 
\        Conrad,  and  Otto  of  Bavaria,  Albert's  son-in-law,  from  whom 
I       he  had  withheld  the  dowry,  promised  their  aid  to  the  Styrians. 
Albert,  however,  obviated  their  plans,  by  causing  the  Alpine 
I       passes  to  be  cleared  of  the  snow  during  the  winter,  and  sud- 
I       denly  attacked  the  rebellious  nobles :  Stubenberg  was  taken 
prisoner.     The  nobles  were,  for  the  most  part,  compelled  to 
'       surrender  their  castles  to  the  duke,  who,  on  this  occasion, 
I        acted  with  unwonted  lenity,  his  object  being  to  conciliate  the 

I  •  The  Chron.  Leobiense  bitterly  reproaches  Albert  with  the  devasta- 

t        tion  caused  by  the  Hungarians :  "  Talis  pestilentia  sex  septimanis  in 
terra  ista  duravit.     Dum  superbit  impius,  incenditur  pauper." 


86  ADOLF  OF  NASSAU. 

people,  and  to  guard  his  rear  whilst  attemptiDg  to  gain  possea* 
sion  of  the  imperial  throne. 

The  helm  of  the  state  had  fallen  into  the  most  worthless 
hands.  The  creatures  of  the  pope  and  of  France,  who  had 
risen  to  power  since  the  fall  of  the  Hohenstaufen,  emulated 
each  other  in  baseness  and  servility.  Gerhard,  archbishop  of 
Majence,  the  arch-chancellor  of  the  empire  in  the  name  of  the 
pope,  craftily  managed  the  election  of  a  successor  to  the  late 
emperor,  by  inducing  the  electors,  who  were  divided  in  their 
choice,  to  commit  it  to  him  alone,  and  deceived  them  all  by  . 
placing  his  own  cousin,  Adolf,  count  of  Nassau,  whom  none 
had  thought  of  as  emperor,  on  the  throne,  a.  d.  1291.  Albert 
was  the  most  deeply  deceived,  Gerhard  having  spared  no  flat- 
tery, and  even  invited  him,  as  he  believed,  to  his  own  corona-* 
tion.  On  learning,  midway,  the  election  of  Adolf,  he  pru- 
dently yielded  to  circumstances,  and  took  the  oath  of  fealty  to 
the  new  emperor  at  Oppenheim,  but  refused  the  propossd  of 
affiancing  their  children.  An  open  contest  for  the  possession 
of  the  throne  would  have  raised  too  many  and  too  powerful 
foes,  he  therefore  patiently  waited  until,  as  he  hoped,  Adolf 
might  create  enemies  against  himself,  and  commit  errors  capa- 
ble of  being  turned  to  advantage. 

The  emperor  Adolf  was  a  poor  count,  brave,  but  a  slave 
to  the  lowest  debauchery,  and  misguided  by  his  intriguing 
cousin  of  Mayence,  whose  chief  oi;)ject  in  electing  him  was 
the  aggrandizement  of  the  house  of  Nassau,  by  the  increase  of 
its  territorial  possessions,  the  first  step  to  which  was  the  pro- 
motion of  intermarriages  with  the  great  families.  Rudolf,  the 
son  of  Adolf,  consequently,  wedded  Jutta  of  Bohemia,  and  his 
daughter,  Mechthilda,  the  youthful  Ffalzgrave,  Rudolf  the 
Stammerer.  England  offered  money  for  the  purpose  of  en- 
gaging the  emperor  on  her  side  against  France.  Adolf,  how- 
ever, had  the  meanness  to  accept  it,  and  instead  of  forwarding 
the  interests  of  England,  purchased  with  it  Meissen  and  Thu- 
ringia  from  Albert  the  Degenerate.  This  duke  viewed  his 
own  offspring  with  the  deadliest  hatred.  His  unfortunate 
children,  Frederick  with  the  bitten  check,  and  Diezmann,  fled 
from  their  cruel  parent,  who  craftily  regained  possession  of 
them,  and  would  have  starved  them  to  death  had  not  his  own 
servants  taken  compassion  upon  them,  and  saved  their  lives. 
On  attaining  manhood,  they  took  up  arms  against  their  un- 


iLDOLF  OF  NASSAU.  S7 

nntanl  fatber,  and,  supported  bj  the  enraged  people,  took  him 
prisoner.      By  the  persuasions  of  Gonna  von  Isenburg,  his 
mistress,  he  was  induced  to  offer  his  possessions  for  sale  to  the 
emperor,  for  the  sake  of  disinheriting  his  sons,  a  proposal 
greedOj  accepted  by  Adolf,  who  also  aided  him  with  troops 
against  his  children.     The  greatest  cruelties  were  practised 
1^  the  imperial  forces.     On  one  occasion,  they  pitdied  and 
feathered  two  inromen,  and  drove  them  through  their  camp. 
The  complaints  of  the  Ck>unt  Ton  Hohenstein  were  unheeded 
bj  the  emperor,  by  whom  licence  was  encouraged  to  such  a 
^^ree,  that  the  Thuringians,  excited  to  frenzy,  exercised  the 
most  horrid  barbarities  on  every  imperialist  who  chanced  to 
fall  into  their  hands.     In  Miihlhausen,  where  the  emperor 
was  peaceably  receiTcd,  he  behayed  with  such  brutality,  that 
the  citizens  expelled  him  the  city.     After  a  long  struggle, 
Frederick  and  Diezmann  were  cc»npelled  to  seek  safety  in  flight 
Albert's  apparent  disgrace  by  the  election  of  Adolf,  raised 
a  party  against  him  in  his  oldest  hereditary  possessions.     The 
p^isants  of  Uri,  Schwyz,  and  Unterwalden,  formed  a  defen- 
8ive  alliance,  in  1291 ;  whilst  William,  abbot  of  St.  Gall,  an 
ancient  foe  to  the  house  of  Habsburg,  the  bishop  of  Constance, 
the  counts  of  Savoy,  Montfort,  Nelknburg,  and  the  city  of 
Zurich,  in  the  hope  of  freeing  themselves  from  their  encroach* 
ing  neighbour,  by  placing  themselves  under  the  protection  of 
the  emperor,  attacked  Albert's  town,  Winterthur ;  Count  Hugh 
von  Werdenberg,  the  one-eyed,  armed  the  Habsburg  vassals 
in  defence,  and  Albert,  speedily  appearing  in  person,  laid  siege 
to  Zurich,  but  as  quickly  retreated  in  order  to  quell  a  rev^t 
to  his  rear  among  the  Styrians,  on  whom  he  took  a  fearful  re- 
venge, but  was  compelled  to  make  peace,  his  son-in-law,  Louis 
of  Carinthia,  being  taken  prisoner  by  the  rebels.    Louis  was 
exchanged  for  Stnbenberg.    Salzburg  and  Bavaria  again  took 
part  with  Stjrria,  and  a  diet  was  held  at  Trubensee,  A.  d.  1292. 
The  nobles  demanded  the  dismissal  of  his  governors,  von 
Landenberg  and  Waldsee,  who  harassed  the  country.     Albert 
refused,  and  bade  them  defiance ;  Adolf  remained  an  indiffer- 
I       ent  spectator ;   Salzburg  and  Bavaria  were  lukewarm ;  the 

I        citizens  of  Vienna  also  refused  to  aid  the  nobility,  by  whom 
they  bad  formerly  been  deserted,  and  Albert  again  succeeded 
in  quelling  the  insurrection. 
[  Adolf,  roused  either  by  the  derision  with  which  he  was 


88  ADOLF  OF  NASSAU. 

treated  by  his  subjects,  by  whom  he  was  nick-named  the 
Priest-king,  or  weary  of  his  fetters,  imprudently  quarrelled 
with  his  cousin  Gerhard,  and  with  Wenzel  of  Bohemia,  who 
claimed  Fleissen  as  his  share  of  the  Meissen  booty.  Albert 
had  no  sooner  quelled  the  sedition  in  his  hereditary  lands,  and 
entered  into  amicable  relations  with  Bohemia  and  Hungary, 
than  Gerhard,  fearing  lest  he  might  share  the  fate  with  which 
the  universally  and  justly  detested  emperor  was  threatened, 
resolved  to  abandon  him,  and  to  be  the  first  to  lay  the  crown 
of  Germany  at  his  rival's  feet.  Under  pretext  of  solemnizing 
the  coronation  of  the  youthful  king  of  Bohemia,  he  visited 
Prague  with  the  whole  of  his  retinue,  and  there  devised  mea- 
sures with  Albert,  who  also  arrived  with  a  crowd  of  adhe- 
rents. The  duke  even  threw  himself  on  his  knees  before 
Wenzel,  in  order  to  sue  for  his  vote.  His  party  was  very 
numerous;  there  were  190,000  horses  in  the  city.  Every 
street  was  hung  with  purple;  in  the  new  market-place  the 
wine  flowed  from  a  fountain.  Albert  thence  visited  Press" 
burg,  [a.  d.  1297,]  for  the  purpose  of  wedding  his  daughter, 
Agnes,  to  his  ancient  enemy,  Andreas  of  Hungary.  Thus 
secure  to  the  rear,  and  followed  by  numerous  and  powerful 
adherents,  he  advanced  to  the  Rhine;  Salzburg  joined  his 
party,  Bavaria  remained  tranquil,  Wurtemberg  and  numbers 
of  the  Swabian  nobility  ranged  themselves  beneath  his  stand- 
ard. Adolf,  although  merely  aided  by  the  PfaJzgrave  Rudolf 
and  by  the  cities,  marched  boldly  against  his  antagonist,  whom 
he  compelled  to  retreat  up  the  Rhine,  upon  which  Otto  of 
Bavaria  declared  in  his  favour,  and  defeated  Albert's  party  in 
a  nocturnal  engagement  near  Obemdorf,  in  which  Albert's 
uncle  and  trusty  counsellor,  the  aged  Count  von  Heigerloch, 
was  slain.  Notwithstanding  this  disaster,  Gerhard  convoked 
the  electors  or  their  deputies  to  Mayence,  deposed  his  cousin, 
and  proclaimed  Albert  emperor.  Adolf's  unworthy  conduct 
served  as  an  excellent  pretext  for  that  of  the  electors  whose 
votes  had  been  bought.  The  two  armies  watched  each  other 
for  some  time  on  the  Upper  Rhine;  Albert  threw  himself 
into  Strassburg,  whose  gates  were  opened  to  him  by  the 
bishop,  and  then  into  the  Pfalz,  whither  he  was  followed  by 
Adolf,  who  came  up  with  him  at  the  foot  of  the  Donnerberg, 
at  a  spot  known  as  the  Hasenbiihel,  upon  which  Albert  spread 
a  report  that  he  and  Gerhard  had  been  slain,  and  making  a 


ALBEAT  THE  FIBST.  89 

feigned  retreat,  Adolf  hastily  pursued  with  his  cavalry,  and 
was  no  sooner  separated  from  his  infantry,  than  Albert  sud- 
denly turned  and  fell  upon  him.  According  to  his  orders  his 
soldieiy  stabbed  the  horses  of  the  enemy,  so  that  most  of  the 
cavalry  was  speedily  dismounted  and  compelled  to  fight  in 
their  heavy  armour  on  foot.  Adolf,  whose  horse  had  been 
tiHed  under  him,  and  who  had  lost  his  helmet,  searched  unre- 
mittingly for  his  rival,  and  after  attacking  several  knights 
disguised  in  Albert's  armour,  was  slain,  when  faint  and 
weary,  as  Albert  himself  confessed,  not  by  his  hand,  as  has 
often  been  believed,  but  by  that  of  the  Baugraf,*  a.  d.  1298. 


CLXXIL  Albert  the  Firtt. 

Tms  monster  had  at  length,  when  hoary  with  age,  attained 
his  joyless  aim.  A  life  of  intrigue,  danger,  and  crime  had 
lent  an  expression  of  gloom  and  severity  to  his  countenance, 
which  even  the  brilliance  and  splendour  of  his  coronation  at 
Nuremberg  could  not  dispel,  and  he  cruelly  repulsed  AdolPs 
unhappy  mdow,  who  fell  at  his  feet  to  beg  the  life  of  her  son 
Huprecht,  who  had  been  taken  prisoner  in  the  battle.  Agnes 
of  Burgundy,  his  stepmother,  was  reduced  by  him  to  poverty, 
and  at  length  found  a  refuge  among  her  i^ations  at  Dijon. 
His  first  act  on  mounting  the  throne  was  directed  against  the 
youthful  king  of  Bohemia,  whose  pride  he  sought  to  humble. 
During  the  coronation,  Wenzel  had  performed  the  office  of 
onp-bearer,  mounted  on  horseback,  his  crown  upon  his  head, 
in  order  to  preserve  his  dignity  while  performing  that  menial 
office.  The  emperor  also  levied  a  large  sum  upon  the  cities  of 
Franconia  on  account  of  the  murder  of  the  Jews,  caused  by 
the  desecration  of  the  holy  wafer  by  one  of  their  nation. 

An  opportunity  at  this  time  offered  for  intermeddling  with 
the  foreign  policy  of  the  empire,  so  long  and  so  shamefully 
neglected.  The  pope,  Boniface  VIII.,  had  quarrelled  with 
Philip  the  Handsome  of  France,  who  had  attempted  to  use  him 
as  his  tool.  This  pope  was  also  highly  displeased  with  Albert 
for  having  accepted  the  crown  without  paying  homage  to  him 
as  to  his  Bege.     "  I  am  the  emperor,"  wrote  the  pope  to  him. 

*  A  title  borne  by  one  of  the  Rhenish  Grafs  or  Counts. — Translator. 


90  ALBERT  THE  FIRST. 

Upon  this  Albert  confederated  with  Philip  against  the  pope, 
met  his  new  ally  at  Tours,  where  he  affianced  his  son,  Rudolf, 
with  the  Princess  Blanca,  Philip's  daughter,  and  solemnly  in- 
vested Philip  himself  with  the  Arelat,  which  had  in  fact  been 
long  severed  from  the  empire.*     This  alliance  with  France 
greatly  diminished  the  influence  and  roused  the  anger  of 
Glerhard  of  Mayence ;  Albert,  however,  acted  with  extreme 
prudence  by  reconciliating  the  cities,  until  now  inimical  to 
him,  by  the  abolition  of  the  Rhenish  customs,  whence  the 
ecclesiastical  princes,  and,  more  particularly,  Gerhard,  had 
derived  great  wealth.     Gerhard  formed  a  papal  party  against 
him  by  confederating  with  his  neighbours  of  Cologne  and 
Treves,  and  with  the  Pfalzgrave  Rudolf,  Adoirs  ancient  ally  ; 
but  Albert  was  supported  by  the  cities,  by  Reinhold  the  War- 
like, count  of  Gueldres,  whose  daughter  he  wedded  to  his  son 
Frederick,  and  by  French  troops,  who  laid  waste  the  beautiful 
Rhenish  provinces.     The  archbishops,   last  of  all  that   of 
Treves,  which  endured  a  hard  siege,  were  compelled  to  yield. 
Fresh  intrigues  were  meanwhile  carried  on  in  the  Nether- 
lands.    John,  the  last  count  of  Holland,  and  his  wife  were 
poisoned,  [a.  d.  1299,]  and  John  d'Avesnes,  count  in  the  Hen- 
negau,  the  son  of  a  sister  of  the  emperor  William,  backed  by 
France,  laid  claim  to  the  inheritance,  whilst  Albert,  on  the 
other  hand,  attempted  to  seize  the  fiefs  of  the  empire  for  the 
purpose  of  bestowing  them  on  his  sons.     When  on  a  visit, 
with  this  view,  to  Reinhold  of  Gueldres  at  Nimwegen,  he  ran 
the  greatest  danger  of  being  seized  by  John  d*Avesnes,  who, 
in  concert  with  France,  intended  to  force  him  to  concede  to 
his  desires,  or,  it  is  even  probable,  to  remove  him,  from  Philip's 
path,  that  monarch  cherishing  the  hope  of  procuring  the 
crown  of  Germany  for  his  own  brother,  Charles,  the  electors 
being  base  enough  to  encourage  the  project.     Reinhold  was 
also  on  his  part  deeply  offended  on  account  of  Albert's  refusal 
to  wed  his  son  Frederick,  who  afterwards  mounted  the  im« 
perial  throne,  with  his  daughter,  by  whom  the  emperor  was 
generously  saved.      He  escaped    by  her    assistance    £rom 

*  Caesar  Gallo  remisit,  quicquid  Imperio  Oennaiiico  majoris  illius  in 
regno  Arelatensl  eripuisse  Oermani  agre  ferebatU, — Peiri  Saxii  ponUf. 
Arelatenset  ad  an.  1294.  Albert  was  also  reproached  for  being  in  Uie  pay 
of  France,  to  which  he  replied,  *'  That  is  no  disgrace,  for  was  not  Adolf  in 
that  of  England!" 


ALBS&T  THS  FIBST.  91 

l^imwegen,  bat  was  compelled  to  cede  Holland  to  John 
d'Avesnes. 

Albert,  thus  deceived  by  France,  now  turned  to  the  pope, 
who  had  just  proclaimed  the  great  jubilee.  Borne  was  throng- 
ed with  pilgrims,  and  the  weidth  poured  on  the  altars  was  so 
enormous  that  the  gold  was  absolutelj  collected  thence  with 
nkes.  By  a  disgraceful  formula,  Albert  recognised  the  pope's 
supremacy,  and  vowed  to  procure  the  crown  of  Hungary,  va- 
cant since  the  death  of  Andreas  in  1301,  for  the  French 
house  of  Anjou  in  Naples,  which  was  more  submissive  to  the 
pontiff  than  Philip  the  Handsome.  Although  Albert's  real 
object  had  been  to  place  the  crown  of  Hungary  on  his  own 
head,  he  sacrificed  his  own  hopes  for  the  sake  of  gaining  the 
favour  of  the  mighty  pontiff,  and  from  the  dread  of  being 
overjpowered  by  his  numerous  enemies,  for  Wenzel  of  Bo- 
hemia also  claimed  Hungary,  and  at  length  openly  vented  his 
long-concealed  wrath  upon  him.  The  houses  of  Habsburg 
ftod  of  Anjou,  united  beneath  the  pope,  invaded  Bohemia  with 
an  immense  army  of  half-pagan  Cumans,  who  devastated  not 
only  Bohemia  but  Austria.  They  were  defeated  by  Wenzel 
^ore  Kuttenberg,  and  in  Austria  the  Count  von  Ortenburg 
nosed  the  country  and  deprived  the  plunderers  of  their  booty. 
Wenzel  died  suddenly,  bequeathing,  with  his  last  breath,  his 
^ms  upon  Hungary  to  Otto  of  Bavaria,  who  rode  alone  and 
^  disguise,  with  the  sacred  crown  and  sceptre  of  Hungary  in 
^  pocket,  through  Austria  to  that  country,  where  he  found 
Charles  Robert  of  Naples  already  firmly  seated  on  the  throne. 
He  gained  but  few  adherents,  and  was  taken  prisoner.  It  is  a 
^^DMffkable  fact,  that  the  Saxons  of  Siebenburg  twice  revolted 
against  the  new  French  dynasty  on  the  throne  of  Hungary ; 
iQ  1325,  under  their  count,  Henning  von  Petersdorf,  who  was 
defeated  and  murdered  by  the  wild  Cumans,  and  in  1342, 
when  the  king,  Louis,  entered  their  country  at  the  head  of  a 
^arge  army  and  succeeded  in  conciliating  them. 

'I'he  example  of  the  French  monarch  inspired  Albert  with  a 
desire  for  absolute  sovereignty,  at  all  events,  in  his  hereditary 
^ds,  and  with  a  determination  to  break  the  power  of  the 
bishops,  the  nobility,  and  the  cities.  With  this  intent,  he 
purchased  a  countless  number  of  small  estates,  fiefs,  privileges, 
^om  the  other  princes,  bishops,  and  even  from  knights ;  the 
tallest  portion  of  land,  the  meanest  prerogative  that  could 


92  ALBERT  THE  FIRST. 

in  any  way  increase  his  territory  or  his  sovereign  rule,  was 
not  overlooked.     He  drew  the  nobles  from  their  castles,  and 
formed  them  into  a  brilliant  cortege  around  his  person.      He 
also  introduced  uniforms,  and  formed  five  hundred  knights, 
who  were  distinguished  by  a  particular  dress,  into  a  sort  of 
body-guard.     He  placed  governors  over  the  lands,  towns, 
and  castles  he  had  either  purchased  or  which  had  been  ceded 
to  him,  and  also  carefully  guarded  against  the  division  of  the 
Habsburg  possessions   among  the  various  members   of  the 
family,  withholding,  for  that  purpose,  from  his  youthful  ne- 
phew, Johannes,  the  allods  to  which  he  had  a  right  in  Zwit- 
zerland.     His  encroachments  brought  him  in  collision  with 
Eberhard  of  Wurtemberg,  who  was  also  engaged,  although  on 
a  smaller  scale,  in  increasing  his  family  possessions.     Albert, 
however,  seduced  by  the  prospect  of  greater  gain,  quickly  ter- 
minated this  feud,  in  order  to  turn  his  undivided  attention 
upon  Thuringia  and  Meissen,  where  he  hoped  to  reinstate  him- 
self, and  which  he  intended,  together  with  Bohemia,  to  annex  to 
his  hereditary  estates.     Wenzel's  son,  the  last  of  the  ancient 
race  of  Przmizl,  was  murdered  by  the  magnates  of  the  king- 
dom at  Olmutz,  A.  D.  1305.    He  had  amused  himself  by  break- 
ing pots,  to  each  of  which  he  gave  the  name  of  a  Bohemian 
noble,  and  had,  by  these  means,  incurred  their  suspicions. 
Albert's  son,  Rudolf,  whose  wife,  Bianca,  was  dead,  was  in- 
stantly compelled  to  espouse  Elisabeth,  the  widow  of  Wenzel, 
who  died  shortly  afterwards,  and  Henry  of  Carinthia,  who  had 
married  one  of  Wenzel's  sisters,  laid  claim  to  the  throne. 
Frederick  of  Thuringia  also  valiantly  defended  his  inheritance. 
Frederick  with  the  bitten  cheek,  whose  gigantic  iron  ar- 
mour is  still  preserved  in  the  Wartburg,  the  descendant,  on 
the  female  line,  by  his  mother,  Margaretha,  from  the  Hohen- 
staufen,  had,  after  a  brave  resistance,  been  deprived  of  Meis- 
sen and  Thuringia.     He  took  refuge  in  Italy,  the  country  of 
his  great  ancestors,  where  he  was  received  by  the  Ghibellines 
with  open  arms ;  the  example  of  Conradin,  however,  deterred 
them  from  opposing  a  foe  their  superior  in  power.     Frederick 
returned  to  Germany,  and,  on   the  death  of  the  emperor 
Adolf,  again  fixed  himself  in  Thuringia.     His  now  aged  father 
had,  on  the  death  of  his  mistress,  Cunna,  married  the  wealthy 
widow  of  the  Count  von  Arnshove,  whose  daughter,  Elisa- 
beth, a  young  woman  of  surpassing  beauty,  was  loved  and 


AUSEET  THE  FIBST.  93 

carried  off  by  Frederick.  His  marriage  with  his  step-sister 
now  served  as  a  pretext  to  the  emperor  for  renewing  his 
claims,  as  AdolTs  saccessor,  on  Thuringia,  and  Frederick  was 
once  more  expelled  from  the  Wartburg.*  The  Tharingians, 
neTertheless,  crowded  beneath  the  standard«of  their  former 
darling,  and  Albert  was  defeated  at  Lucca,  a.  d.  1307,  and  a 
second  time  at  Boma,  A.  d.  1309.  The  people,  whose  rights 
were  no  longer  protected  against  the  usurpations  of  the  princes 
by  the  emperor,  who,  moreover,  abused  the  authority  of  the 
crown  in  order  to  t3rrannize  over  them,  now  aided  the  princes 
against  their  sovereign.  Frederick  reconquered  the  whole  of 
luis  inheritance,  with  the  exception  of  the  Lausitz,  which  his 
brother,  Diezmann,  had  ceded  to  Brandenburg. 

The  pretensions  of  the  Habsburgs  to  Bohemia  sank  on  the 
death  of  Rudolf,  Albert  having  rendered  himself  so  universally 
hated,  that  the  Bohemian  estates  unanimously  refused  to  ac- 
knowledge one  of  that  obnoxious  family  as  their  sovereign, 
and  on  Tobias  von  Bechin  venturing  to  speak  in  Albert's  fa- 
vour, XJlrich  von  Lichtenstein  ran  him  through  the  body  with 
his  sword.  The  crown  was  bestowed  upon  Henry  of  Carin- 
thia.  Albert  marched  against  Prague,  and  revenged  himself 
by  laying  the  land  waste,  but  was  compelled  to  retreat.  Dis- 
appointed in  his  hopes  in  this  quarter,  he  repaired  to  Upper 
Swabia,  where  the  greatest  danger  threatened.  His  former 
expedition  against  Zurich  was  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  the 
people ;  his  neighbours,  jealous  of  his  power,  and  the  people, 
harassed  by  his  provincial  governors,  viewed  him  with  the 
deadliest  hatred.  His  nephew,  Johannes,  imbittered  against 
him  by  his  unjust  deprivation  of  the  ancient  ancestral  property 
in  Switzerland,  which  he  claimed  as  son  of  the  eldest  brother, 
conspired  against  him  with  some  Swabian  knights,  separated 
him,  when  crossing  the  Reuss  not  far  from  the  ancient  castle 
of  Habsburg,  from  his  retinue,  and  gave  the  signal  for  the 
bloody  deed.  "How  long  is  this  corpse  still  to  ride?"  in- 
quired von  Wart.     "  Do  your  purpose  I"  shouted  Johannes  in 

*  With  his  new-bom  daughter,  who  cried  incessantly  during  their 
flight :  although  the  enemy  was  close  at  hand,  he  stopped  and  asked  the 
nurse  what  ailed  the  babe.  The  nurse  replied,  "  My  lord,  she  will  not  be 
quiet  until  she  is  suckled : "  so  he  ordered  his  men  to  halt,  saying,  "  My 
child  shall  have  her  desire  though  it  cost  me  all  Thuringia ; "  and,  draw- 
ing his  men  up  in  front,  remained  by  his  babe's  side  until  she  had  been 
suckled. — RoMe. 


94        THE  ENCROACHMENTS  OF  FKANCE. 

reply ;  and  in  an  instant  von  Eschenbach  had  seized  the  em- 
peror's bridle,  whilst  Ton  Palm  on  one  side,  and  von  Wart 
on  the  other,  simultaneously  dealt  him  a  blow  on  the  head. 
The  aged  emperor  cried  out  for  assistance  to  his  nephew,  who 
ran  his  sword  through  his  back,  and  he  expired  on  the  road- 
side, in  the  arms  of  an  old  woman,  before  his  warlike  son, 
Leopold,  who  was  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Reuss,  could 
cross  the  stream,  ▲.  d.  1308.  This  emperor  had  six  sons, 
Rudolf,  Frederick  the  Handsome,  Leopold  the  Glorious,  Al- 
bert the  Lame,  Henry  the  Amiable,  Otto  the  Joyous  ;  and  five 
daughters. 


CLXXin.    The  encroachments  of  France,     The  Battle 
of  Spurs. 

In  France,  Philip  the  Handsome  realized  the  projects  vainly 
attempted  by  the  Hohenstaufen  in  Germany ;  he  suppressed^ 
in  the  interior,  the  independence  of  the  great  vassals,  gave  to 
his  kingdom  union  and  peace,  and  extended  his  influence 
abroad.  The  popes,  who  had  formerly  cast  themselves  into 
the  arms  of  the  French  monarchs,  were  now  unable  to  escape 
from  their  toils.  It  was  now  in  vain  that  Boniface  VIII.  de- 
clared himself,  in  the  Bull  unam  sanctam,  lord  over  every 
human  creature,  '^  subesse  Pontifici  RonuSy  omnem  creaturam 
humanam,'*  etc. ;  the  proud  pontiff,  then  in  his  eightieth  year, 
was,  at  Philip's  command,  seized  in  Rome  herself  by  some 
French  knights,  assisted  by  Romans,  and  so  ill-treated  that  he 
died  mad,  a.  d.  1303.  His  successor,  Benedict  XL,  bent  be- 
fore Philip,  but  afterwards  attempting  to  shake  oif  his  fetters, 
was  removed  by  poison.  The  next  pope,  Clement  V.,  was  a 
Frenchman  by  birth,  and  so  completely  Philip's  tool,  that  he 
removed  his  seat  of  government  from  Rome  to  Avignon,  which 
belonged  to  Arelat,  and  appertained  to  the  house  of  Anjou ; 
in  1348  the  city  and  territory  of  Avignon  were  sold  by  John 
of  Naples  for  ever  to  the  pope.  Philip,  at  that  period,  abol- 
ished the  rich  and  powerful  order  of  Templars,  and  caused  the 
grandmaster,  Molay,  and  several  knights,  whom  he  had  insidi- 
ously induced  to  visit  France,  to  be  burnt  alive.  This  order 
had  greatly  supported  the  aristocracy  against  the  throne,  and 
was,  consequently,  dangerous  to  monarchical  power ;  and  the 


THS  BNCBOACHMENTS  OF  FBANCE.  96 

l^pe,  to  ^hom  it  was  aseful  as  a  connterpoiae  against  the 
axiihoTity  of  the  soTereigns,  weaklj  allowed  it  to  be  annihilated. 
The  lialf  Mahomedan  or  Gneco-gnostic  heresy  of  the  Templars 
served  as  an  excuse  for  their  destrnction.  The  principal  part 
of  their  possessions  were  inherited  by  the  knights  of  St.  John, 
who  fixed  themselves  in  the  island  of  Rhodes. 

Philip  also  revived  his  former  prqject  of  annexing  Flanders, 
which  at  that  time  had  been  raised  by  German  industry,  and 
by  the  national  spirit  of  its  rolers,  above  every  other  country 
in  the  world  in  prosperity  and  civilization,  immediately  to 
France,  its  mere  feudal  dependence  on  that  kingdom  and  its 
independent  government  (by  its  own  counts  and  its  own  laws) 
patting  it  out  of  his  power  to  drain  it  as  he  desired  by  means 
of  governors  and  tax-gatherers. 

GuiUaume  de  Dampierre  bequeathed  Flanders  to  his  son. 
Guide  the  Incapable,  who  attempted  to  place  the  wealthy 
towns  under  contribution,  which  gave  rise  to  the  revolt  at 
Brugge,  the  great  Moorlemaey,  a.  d.  1282.  He  also  refused 
to  take  the  oath  of  fealty  for  Imperial  Flanders  to  the  em- 
peror Rudolf,  and  was  on  that  account  placed  under  the 
interdict  by  the  pope,  Rudolf's  patron.  This  event  was  turn- 
ed to  advantage  by  Philip,  who  raised  a  party  in  his  favour  in 
that  country.  Guide  sought  the  protection  of  England,  and 
offered  his  daughter,  PhUippa,  in  marriage  to  the  English 
prince,  Edward,  but,  blinded  by  Philip's  dexterous  flat- 
tery, was  persuaded  to  visit  Paris,  accompanied  by  his 
daughter  and  the  flower  of  the  Flemish  nobility,  a.  d.  1296, 
where  they  were  all  retained  prisoners.  Guide,  by  dint  of 
great  promises,  regained  his  liberty ;  Edward  I.  of  England 
offered  to  negotiate  terms  for  him,  and,  in  order  to  gain  the 
emperor  Adolf  over  to  his  interest,  gave  him  a  large  sum  of 
money,  of  which,  as  has  already  been  seen,  he  made  such  a 
bad  us^.  It  was  in  vain  that  the  princes  of  Brabant,  Juliers, 
and  Holland  took  up  arms ;  the  emperor,  whom  they  expected 
to  join  them,  never  appeared.  Every  thing  went  wrong  $ 
Edward  marched  singly  in  advance  with  his  English  troops 
and  was  defeated ;  the  Dutch  followed  and  suffered  the  same 
fate  at  Fumes,  where  William,  count  of  Juliers,  was  taken 
prisoner,  a.  p.  1297.  The  defeated  English,  reduced  to  ex- 
treme want,  plundered  the  country,  and  three  hundred  Eng- 
tish  knights  were  slain  by  the  enraged  citizens  of  Ghent. 


96        THE  ENCROACHMENTS  OP  FRANCE. 

Guido  again  submitted  to  the  French  king,  who,  contrary  to 
his  plighted  word,  threw  him  into  close  imprisonment. 

Philip  now  hastened  to  gain  over  by  flattery  the  clergy 
and  the  great  burgher  families  in  the  Flemish  towns,  whona 
the  papal  interdict  and  the  imposition  of  taxes  had  rendered 
inimical  to  Guido,  in  the  hope  of  inducing  the  whole  of  Flanders 
by  their  aid  to  acknowledge  him  as  their  sovereign  prince,  and 
of  thus  setting  aside  the  ruling  families.  The  adherents  to  the 
royal  party  in  Flanders  were  denominated  Liliards,  from  the 
lily  in  the  arms  of  France.  The  scheme  proved  successful, 
and  Philip,  entering  Flanders  at  the  head  of  a  large  arnaiy, 
received  the  oath  of  fealty  from  the  different  towns  on  his 
route.  The  queen,  on  reaching  Briigge,  was  welcomed  by 
six  hundred  of  the  wives  of  the  citizens,  all  of  whom  equalling 
or  surpassing  her  in  the  richness  of  their  apparel,  she  angrily 
exclaimed,  "  I  expected  to  see  but  one  queen,  and  here  are 
six  hundred  ! "  The  Liliards  found  their  expectations  de- 
ceived, Philip  depriving  them  of  the  power  they  enjoyed,  and 
attempting  not  only  to  drain  the  rich  country  of  its  wealth, 
but  also  to  place  the  Flemish,  habituated  to  liberty  and  self- 
government,  under  the  yoke  of  a  despotic  French  stadtholder, 
Jacques  de  Chatillon.  His  treatment  of  Philippa,  Guide's 
daughter,  whom  he  dishonoured  in  order  to  compel  her  father 
to  cede  Flanders,  chiefly  contributed  to  imbitter  the  minds  of 
the  people  against  him,  and  they  rose  to  a  man,  resolved  to 
avenge  their  disgrace  and  to  cast  off  the  yoke  of  the  foreigner. 
Peter  de  Konink,  the  head  of  the  corporation  of  clothiers  at 
Briigge,  being  arrested,  together  with  twenty-five  of  his 
fellows,  for  refusing  to  contribute  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
French,  the  people  set  him  free,  and,  placing  him  at  their  head,  ^ 
expelled  the  traitorous  town-council,  the  stadtholder  Chatil- 
lon, and  all  the  French,  from  the  city.  Chatillon,  however, 
quickly  assembled  a  larger  force,  and  again  forced  his  way 
into  the  city,  whence  Peter  de  Konink  was  compelled  to  re- 
treat. The  people  of  Ghent  had,  meanwhile,  followed  the 
example  of  the  citizens  of  Brugge,  and  expelled  their  town- 
council  and  all  the  French.  The  news  of  this  proceeding 
no  sooner  reached  Briigge  than  a  fresh  tumult  ensued. 
One  Breyel,  a  butcher,  having  killed  a  servant  of  Mons. 
d'Epinoi,  the  French  commandant  at  Male,  not  far  from 
Briigge,  the  commandant  attempted  to  seize  him,  but  Breyel 


THE  BATTLfi  OF  8PTJB8.  97 

defended  himself  with  the  greatest  farj,  and  the  citixens 
I  rushing  to  his  assistance,  Mons.  d'Epinoi  and  every  French- 
man in  Male  were  murdered.     Chatillon,  in  the  mean  time» 
negotiated  matters  with  the  citizens  of  Ghent,  whom  he  in- 
duced bj  promises  to  oppose  the  people  of  Brtigge.     In  oon- 
I  sequence  of  this,  on  the  arrival  of  Peter  de  Konink  at  the 
!  head  of  a  mob  before  Ghent,  the  gates  were  closed  against 
bim,  and  he  returned  to  Briigge,  where,  finding  the  gates  also 
closed,  he  forced  his  way  into  the  city,  and  sl^oating  "  Strike 
the  false  foreigners  down ! "  murdered  every  Frenchman  whom 
he  encountered  in  the  streets,  and  stationed  his  men  at  every 
gate  and  oorner  with  the  watch-word,  ^*  Schild  en  Vriend,** 
which  no  Frenchman  could  pronounce,  so  that  all  who  had 
concealed  themselves  and  attempted  to  get  away  secretly  were 
by  that  means  discovered  and  killed.     This  massacre  took 
place  the  14th  of  May,  1302.    Chatillon  escaped  by  swimming 
through  the  city  moat.    Ghent,  where  the  LUiards  triumphed, 
remained  true  to  the  treaty.     The  citizens  and  peasantry, 
however,  flocked  from  every  quarter  to.  Peter  de  Konink. 
Guido,  a  son  of  the  captive  count,  also  arrived,  and  William 
of  Juliers,  the  younger  brother  of  the  William  of  Juliers 
taken  prisoner  at  Furnes,  and  canon  at  Maastricht,  abandoned 
his  church  in  order  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  the  citi- 
zens.    The  Flemish  nobility,  (with  the  exception  of  those 
'   who  were  imprisoned  at  Paris,)  and  Gottfried  of  Brabant, 
I   were,  however,  induced,  by  their  hatred  of  the  citizens,  to 
adewith  France.     Philip,  impatient  to  revenge  the  insults 
!    heaped  upon  bis  stadtholder,  despatched  forty-seven  thousand 
(   men,  the  flower  of  the  French  chivalry,  under  the  command 
of  Robert  d'Artois,  against  the  little  army  of  undisciplined 
citizens  and  peasants,  led  by  a  priest.  At  Kortryk,  on  the  1 1th 
of  July,  1302,  William  of  Juliers,  guarded  by  a  deep  fosse, 
awaited  the  onset  of  the  enemy.     Guido,  too  young  to  take 
the  command  in  person,  had  delegated  it  to  William,  who,  as 
commander-in-ohief,  had,  on  the  rise  of  that  bloody  day,  so- 
lemnly bestowed  the  honour  of  knighthood  on  Peter,  the 
weaver,  and  Breyel,  the  butcher.     Robert  d'Artois,  at  sight 
of  this  undisciplined  mob,  treated  the  advice  of  the  constable 
of  Nesle,  who  attempted  to  dissuade  him  from  making  too 
I'ash  an  onset,  with  contempt,  and  hinted  that  his  connexion 
hy  marriage  with  Guido  cooled  his  zeal  in  the  French  cause. 

"VOL.   II.  H 


98  THE  BATTLE  OF  SPURS, 

The  constable,  touched  to  the  quick  by  this  insult,  angrily  ex^ 
claimed,  "  Well  I  I  will  lead  you  further  than  you  will  evei* 
return  I"  and  dashing  furiously  forwards  at  the  head  of  the 
knights,  plunged  headlong  into  the  muddy  fosse,  which  was 
quickly  filled  with  the  dead  bodies  of  men  and  horses,  those 
in  advance  being  pushed  by  those  behind,  who,  blinded  by  the 
dust,  could  not  see  what  took  place  in  front.  At  this  mo- 
ment, the  Flemish  infantry  advanced  and  bore  down  all  be- 
fore them.  No  quarter  was  given.  The  noble  constable  felL 
Artois  begged  for  his  life,  but  his  antagonists  replied  to  bis 
entreaties,  **  There  is  no  nobleman  here  to  understand  your 
gibberish  ! "  and  struck  him  down.  With  him  fell  the  bravest 
and  best  of  France's  chivalry,  and  twenty  thousand  men. 
Two  German  princes,  Gottfried  of  Brabant  and  Theobald  of 
Lothringia,  who  fought  under  French  colours,  found  here  a 
dishonourable  death.  The  Brabant  knights,  in  the  hope  of 
saving  their  lives,  flung  themselves  from  horseback,  and  joined 
in  the  Flemish  war-cry,  "  Vlaendren  ende  Leu  !"  The  Flem- 
ish, among  whom  there  were  no  knights,  quickly  discovered 
the  stratagem,  and  instantly  shouted,  "Down  with  all  who 
wear  spurs ! "  The  victors  collected  five  thousand  golden  spurs 
belonging  to  the  princes  and  knights  who  had  fallen  on  this 
occasion,  and  hung  them  as  trophies  in  the  church  of  Kortryk. 
This  dreadful  day  was  thence  called  "  The  battle  of  spurs." 

William  of  Juliers,  who  had  fought  until  forced,  from  very 
weariness,  to  be  carried  from  the  field,  returned  to  his  solitary 
cell.  Philip,  deeply  humbled,  sent  his  prisoner.  Count  Guido, 
to  negotiate  terms,  but  the  proud  victor  refused  to  listen,  and 
Guido  nobly  returned  to  his  prison,  where  he  died,  at  a  great 
age,  not  long  after.  John  II.,  the  new  duke  of  Brabant,  and 
William,  bishop  of  Utrecht,  meanwhile,  joined  the  Flemish, 
and  the  German  party  became  so  powerful,  that  it  was  re- 
solved to  take  vengeance  on  John  d'Avesnes,  who  had  until 
now  been  intriguing  in  favour  of  France  against  the  emperor, 
Albert,  and  had  taken  possession  of  Holland.  John  lay,  at 
that  time,  sick.  His  son,  William  III.,  was  defeated  near  the 
Ziriksee,  a.  d.  1304 ;  the  whole  of  Holland  was  conquered. 
The  cruelty  of  the  Flemish,  however,  roused  the  people  to 
rebellion.  Witte  von  Hamsteede,  a  natural  son  of  the  old 
Count  Floris,  and  who  shared  his  father's  popularity,  raised 
the  standard  of  revolt ;  the  women  even  fought  in  defence  of 


WILLIAM  TELL  AND  THB  SWISS.  99 

tbeir  ooontrf ,  and  the  FlemiBh  suffered  a  complete  defeat  near 
flarlenL  Philip  of  France,  who  had  ahortlj  before  bribed 
the  emperor,  to  whose  son,  Rudolf,  he  had  given  his  daughter, 
Blanche,  in  marriage,  despatched  a  great  fleet  under  Grimaldi, 
a  Genoese,  and  a  large  land-armj,  against  the  Flemish,  for 
the  purpose  of  reducing  them  to  subjection,  and  of  revenging 
the  disaster  at  Kortrjk.  Grimaldi  was  victorious,  and  took 
Guide  the  younger  prisoner.  Upon  this,  William  of  Juliers 
again  quitted  his  cloister,  replaced  himself  at  the  head  of 
the  Flemish,  fought  with  unexampled  bravery  at  Mons-en- 
pnelle,  captured  the  Oriflamme,  and  almost  succeeded  in  taking 
the  king,  who  was  wounded  and  fled.  At  this  moment  he 
was  himself  deprived  of  Hfe.  Philip,  who  had  retreated, 
quickly  returned  to  the  charge,  but,  on  beholding  the  immense 
maltitude  confronting  him,  exclaimed,  "Do  the  skies  rain 
with  Flemish!"  and  refused  to  hasard  another  engagement 
Peace  was  negotiated  by  John  of  Brabant  Robert,  (sumamed 
de  Bethune,)  the  eldest  son  of  Guido  the  elder,  was  reinstated 
in  Flanders,  but  ceded  Ryssel,  Douai,  and  Lille  to  Philip. 

John  of  Brabant,  the  negotiator  of  the  peace,  had  to  quell 
disturbances  in  his  own  country.  The  cities  of  Brabant  ri* 
vailed  those  of  Flanders  in  industry  and  wealth,  and  rose  be- 
fore long  against  the  nobility,  who,  with  natural  jealousy, 
sought  to  diminish  their  privileges.  Mechlin,  Louvain,  and 
Brussels  expelled  the  nobles  from  their  walls,  destroyed  their 
houses,  and  even  closed  the  gates  against  the  duke,  who  took 
part  with  the  nobility.  The  contest  began  a.  d.  1303,  and, 
after  long  negotiation,  was  terminated,  a.  d.  1312,  by  th# 
Uws  of  Kortenberg,  by  which  great  privileges  were  secured 
to  the  cities. 


CLXXIV.  miUam  Tett  and  the  Swiss. 

TfiE  Alpine  peasantry  also  rose  in  defence  of  their  liber- 
ies, not  as  the  citizens  in  Flanders,  (gainst  the  foreign  in- 
vader, but  against  their  domestic  tyrants.  These  simultaneous 
events  sprang  from  a  similar  origin,  being  produced  by  the 
'Action  of  the  popular  spirit  in  Germany  against  the  misery 
and  disgrace  that  had  fallen  like  a  curse  upon  the  empire 
since  the  fall  of  the  Hohenstaufen.    The  peasantry,  no  longer 

H  2 


100  WILLIAM  TELL  AND  THE  SWISS. 

protected  and  counselled  by  a  wise  and  magnanimous  em- 
peror, betrayed  and  sold  to  the  foreigner,  and  oppressed  by 
internal  tyranny,  were  compelled  to  seek  for  aid  in  their  own 
resources,  but  their  efforts,  like  those  of  unconscious  instinct, 
were  solitary  and  uncombined,  and  consequently  without  mate- 
rial result  As  a  whole,  the  German  nation  was  animated  by 
no  national  spirit  pervading  and  combining  each  kindred  race, 
but  was  so  completely  absorbed  in  local  and  provincial  inter- 
ests, that  the.  inhabitant  of  one  part  of  the  empire  remained 
Ignorant  and  indifferent  to  the  events  that  took  place  among 
his  brethren  in  another. 

Around  the  beautiful  lake  formed  by  the  Reuss,  on  its  de- 
scent from  the  St.  Gothard,  lie  the  four  forest  towns,  as  they 
are  called,  and  from  which  this  lake  takes  its  name — vier 
WaldsUBtter  See — ^the  lake  of  the  four  cantons — Uri,  Schwyz, 
Unterwalden,  and  Lucerne.  The  shepherds  in  the  valley  of 
Uri  were  originally  free-bom  Alemanni,  who  held  their  lands 
in  fee  of  the  nunnery  at  Zurich,  and  the  monastery  of  Wet- 
tingen  in  the  Aargau,  but  preserved  their  ancient  communal 
right  of  self-government,  a  situation  corresponding  with  that 
of  the  free  Friscians  and  Ditmarses,  who  were  subordinate  to 
the  bishops  of  Utrecht  and  Bremen.  The  shepherds  of  Schwyz 
and  Unterwalden  were  claimed  as  serfs  by  the  counts  of 
Habsburg,  a  claim  they  stoutly  opposed,  appealing  to  their 
ancient  liberties,  and  to  a  document  drawn  up  in  confirmation 
thereof  by  the  emperor,  Frederick  II.,  and  ratified  by  the  em- 
peror Adolf.  They  consequently  held  with  the  free  peasants 
of  Uri,  with  whom  they  had  formerly  been  aUied.  (Lucerne 
was  incontestably  Habsburgian.)  The  counts  of  Habsburg 
exercised  at  this  time,  in  the  name  of  the  emperor  and  of  the 
empire,  the  right  of  penal  judicature  (the  provincial  govern- 
ment) throughout  the  whole  district  of  the  Aar,  as  far  as  the 
St.  Gothard,  consequently  also  over  Uri,  over  which  they 
formerly  possessed  no  right.  '  On  the  accession  of  the  Habs- 
burgs  to  the  throne,  they  placed  deputy  governors  over  the 
country,  who  bore  the  double  o£5[ce  of  crown-officers,  by  their 
exercise  of  the  right  of  penal  judicature,  and  of  administrators 
of  the  possessions  of  the  Habsburg ;  between  which,  as  may 
easily  be  understood,  they  did  not  always  draw  a  broad  enough 
line  of  distinction.  The  peasant  was  to  them  merely  a  pea- 
«an1^  whether  a  freeman  of  Uri  or  a  serf  of  Lucerne.    It  is 


WILLIAM  TELL  AND  THS  SWISS.  101 

veil  known,  that  the  ohject  of  the  emperor  Alhert  was  the 
abolition  of  local  differences  and  priyil^es,  and  the  subjection 
of  the  free  communes  to  his  rule ;  and  the  governors,  as  the  free 
peasants  of  Uri  were  doomed  to  experience,  were  neither  un- 
willing to  obey  nor  tardy  in  executing  the  will  of  their  sovereign. 

The  events  that  ensued  we  give  in  the  words  of  the  naive 
chronicle  of  Tschudi :  '<  In  the  year  of  our  Lord  1307,  there 
dwelt  a  pious  countryman  in  Unterwald  beyond  the  Kemwald, 
whose  name  was  Henry  of  Melchthal,  a  wise,  prudent,  honest 
Bum,  well  to  do  and  in  good  esteem  among  his  country-folk, 
moreover,  a  firm  supporter  of  the  liberties  of  his  country,  and 
of  its  adhesion  to  the  Roman  empire,  on  which  account 
Beringer  von  Landenberg,  the  governor  over  the  whole  of 
Unterwald,  was  his  enemy.  This  Melchtaler  had  some  very 
fine  oxen,  and,  on  account  of  some  trifling  misdemeanour  com- 
mitted by  his  son,  Arnold  of  Melchthal,  the  governor  sent  his 
servant  to  seize  the  finest  pair  of  oxen  by  way  of  punishment, 
and  in  case  old  Henry  of  Melchthal  said  any  thing  against  it, 
he  was  to  say,  that  it  was  the  governor's  opinion  that  the  pea- 
sants should  draw  the  plough  themselves.  The  servant  ful- 
filled his  lord's  commands.  But,  as  he  unharnessed  the  oxen, 
■^old,  the  son  of  the  countryman,  fell  into  a  rage,  and, 
striking  him  with  a  stick  on  the  hand,  broke  one  of  his  fingers. 
Upon  this  Arnold  fied,  for  fear  of  his  life,  up  the  country  to- 
wards Uri,  where  he  kept  himself  long  secret  in  the  country 
where  Conrad  of  Baumgarten  from  Altzelen  lay  hid  for 
^ving  killed  the  governor  of  Wolfenschiess,  who  had  insulted 
^  wife,  with  a  blow  of  his  axe.  The  servant,  meanwhile, 
complained  to  his  lord,  by  whose  order  old  Melchthal's  eyes 
^ere  torn  out.  This  tyrannical  action  rendered  the  governor 
highly  unpopular,  and  Arnold,  on  learning  how  his  good  father 
}»ad  been  treated,  laid  his  wrongs  secretly  before  trusty  people 
^  Uri,  and  awaited  a  fit  opportunity  for  avenging  his  father's 
Bttsfortune. 

"At  the  same  time,  Gessler,*  the  governor  of  Uri  and 
&hwyz,  treated  the  people  with  almost  equal  cruelty,  and 
^I'ected  a  fortress  in  Uri,  as  a  place  of  security  for  himself  and 
other  governors  after  him,  in  case  of  revolt,  and  as  a  means  of 
keeping  the  country  in  greater  awe  and  submission.  His  reply, 

*  Etterlyn  names  him  Grissler ;  Schilling,  a  Count  von  Seedorf.  No 
contemporary  document,  containing  his  name,  has  yet  been  discorered. 


102  WILLIAM  TELL  AND  THE  SWISS. 

on  being  asked,  'what  the  name  of  the  fortress  was  to  be  ?* 
'  Zwing  Uri,'  (Uri's  prison,)  greatly  offended  the  people  of 
Uri ;  on  perceiving  which,  he  resolved  to  degrade  them  still 
further,  and,  on  St.  Jacob's  day,  caused  a  pole  to  be  fixed  in 
the  market-place,  which  was  the  common  thoroughfare,  bj^he 
lime-trees,  at  Altdorff,  and  a  hat  to  be  placed  at  the  top,  to 
which  every  one  who  passed  was  commanded,  on  pain  of  con- 
fiscation of  his  property  and  of  corporal  punishment,  to  bow- 
lowly  and  to  bend  the  knee  as  if  to  the  king  himself,  and 
placed  by  it  a  guard  whose  duty  it  was  to  mark  those  who 
refused  obedience,  thinking  to  gain  great  fame,  if  by  this 
means  he  should  succeed  in  degrading  this  brave  and  un- 
oonquered  nation  to  the  basest  slavery.  It  so  chanced  that 
when  the  governor,  Gressler,  rode  through  the  country  to 
Schwitz,  over  which  he  also  ruled,  there  lived  at  Steinen  in 
Schwitz,  a  wise  and  honourable  man  of  an  ancient  family, 
named  Wernherr  von  Staufiach,  who  had  built  a  handsome 
house  near  the  bridge  at  Steinen.  On  the  governor's  arrival, 
the  Staufiacher,  who  was  standing  before  the  door,  gave  him 
a  friendly  welcome,  and  was  asked  by  the  governor  to  whom 
the  house  belonged?  The  Stauffacher,  suspecting  that  the 
question  boded  nothing  good,  cautiously  replied,  <  My  lord, 
the  house  belongs  to  my  sovereign  lord  the  king,  and  is  your 
and  my  fief.'  Upon  this,  the  governor  said,  <  I  will  not  allow 
peasants  to  build  houses  without  my  consent,  or  to  live  in 
freedom  as  if  they  were  their  own  masters.  I  will  teach  you 
to  resist ! '  and,  so  saying,  rode  on  his  journey.  These  words 
greatly  disturbed  the  Staufiacher,  who  was  a  sensible,  intelli- 
gent man,  and  had  moreover  a  wise  and  prudent  wife,  who, 
quickly  perceiving  that  something  lay  heavy  on  his  mind,  did 
not  rest  until  she  had  found  out  what  the  governor  had  said. 
When  she  heard  it,  she  said,  *  My  dear  Ee-Wirt,  you  know 
that  many  of  the  good  country-folk  also  complain  of  the  go- 
vernor's tyranny,  it  would  therefore  be  well  for  some  of  you, 
who  can  trust  one  another,  to  meet  secretly,  and  take  counsel 
together  how  you  may  throw  off  his  wanton  power.'  Stauf- 
facher  agreed  to  this  and  went  to  Uri,  where,  perceiving  that 
all  the  people  were  impatient  of  the  hateful  yoke  of  the  go- 
vernor, he  trusted  his  secret  to  a  wise  and  honourable  man  of 
Uri,  named  Walter  Furst,  who  mentioned  to  him  their  coun- 
tiyman  of  Unterwald,  Arnold  of  Melchthal,  who  had  taken 


WIUX^^C  TSLL  AND  THE  SWISS.  lOS 

Tdage  in  TJri,  but  bad  often  gone  secretlj  back  to  Unterwald 
to  Bee  bis  family,  as  one  who  might  be  trusted.  He  was 
therefore  called  in,  and  these  three  men  agreed  that  each  of 
them  should  secretly  assemble  all  the  trust-worthy  people  in 
their  own  country,  in  order  to  take  measures  for  regaining 
their  ancient  liberties  and  expelling  the  tyrannical  govemor* 
It  was  also  agreed  that  they  should  meet  at  night  by  the 
Mytenstein,  that  stands  in  the  lake  beneath  SewUsberg,  at  a 
place  called  *  in  the  Boedlin.'  Thus  the  ground-work  to  the 
famous  Swiss  confederation  was  laid  in  the  country  of  Uri,  by 
these  three  brave  men.* 

^^  On  the  foUowing  Sunday,  the  18th  of  the  winter-month 
after  Othmari,  1307,  an  honest  peasant  of  Uri,  William  Tell 
by  name,  who  was  also  in  the  secret  confederacy,  passed 
several  times  before  the  hat,  hung  up  in  the  market-place  at 
Altdorff,  without  pa3ring  it  due  homage.  This  was  told  to 
the  governor,  who,  on  the  following  morning,  sunmioned  Tell 
to  Mb  presence,  and  asked  him  haughtily,  why  he  disobeyed 
bis  commands  ?  Tell  replied,  ^  My  dear  lord,  it  happened  un- 
knowingly and  not  out  of  contempt,  pardon  me ;  if  I  were 
clever,  I  should  not  be  called  Tell,t  I  beg  for  mercy,  it  shall 
not  happen  again.'  Now  Tell  was  a  good  marksman,  and 
bad  not  his  equal  in  the  whole  country ;  he  had  also  beautiful 
children,  of  whom  he  was  very  fond :  the  governor  sent  for 
them,  and  said,  '  Tell,  which  of  your  children  do  you  love  the 
best?'    Tell  answered,  *My  lord,  they  are  all  alike  dear  to 

♦  Hence  the  old  rhyme, 

"  When  the  lowly  wept  and  tyrants  stormed, 
The  Swiss  confederacy  was  formed." 

f  Tell  (toll,  dull,  stupid,  Tolpel)  Eas  a  similar  signification  with  the 
Northern  Toko,  (Docke,  sly  fellow,  or  dissembler,  in  the  Swiss  dialect, 
Tbckeli — ^a  silly  butterfly,)  a  simpleton  or  fool.  Both  the  name  and  the 
story  of  Tell  agree  so  precisely  with  those  of  the  Danish  Palnotocke,  the 
assassin  of  King  Harald,  that  Tell's  history  has  been  sometimes  deemed 
a  mere  fabulous  imitation  of  the  Danish  one.  Both  stories  are,  accord- 
ing to  Ideler,  founded  on  one  of  still  higher  antiquity.  Tell's  history  has 
been,  undeniably,  adorned  with  much  poetical  fiction,  but  its  principal 
features  are,  nevertheless,  true.  The  |>ersonal  description  of  Tell  ap* 
pears  to  be  perfectly  genuine,  for  (as  Munnich,  in  his  treatise  conbeming 
Tell,  Nuremberg,  1841,  remarks)  his  peasant-like  manners,  his  perplex- 
ity and  timidity  at  the  first  moment,  his  ignoble  and  unideal  character, 
prore  TschudL's  historical  accuracy.  A  fictitious  hero  would  have  been 
more  ideally  portrayed. 


104  WILLIAM  TELL  AKD  THE  SWISS. 

me.'  Upon  this,  fbe  governor  said,  *  Well  I  Tell,  you  are  a 
good  and  true  marksman,  bs  I  hear,  and  shall  prove  your 
skill  in  my  presence,  by  shooting  an  apple  off  the  head  of  one 
of  your  children,  but  take  care  that  you  strike  the  apple,'  for 
should  the  first  shot  miss,  it  shall  cost  you  your  life,'  Tell, 
filled  with  horror,  begged  the  governor  for  God's  sake  to  dis- 
pense with  the  trial,  *for  it  would  be  unnatural  for  him  to 
shoot  at  his  own  dear  child.  He  would  sooner  die.'  But  the 
governor  merely  replied,  *  Unless  you  do  it,  you  or  your  child 
shall  die.'  Tell  now  perceived  that  the  trial  must  be  made, 
and  inwardly  praying  God  to  shield  him  and  his  dear  child, 
took  up  his  cross-bow,  set  it,  placed  the  arrow  in  it,  and  stuck 
another  behind  in  his  collar,  whilst  the  governor  placed  the 
apple  with  his  own  hand  on  the  head  of  the  child,  who  was 
not  more  than  six  years  old.  Tell  then  aimed  at  the  apple, 
and  shot  it  off  the  crown  of  the  child's  head  without  inflicting 
the  slightest  injury.  The  governor  was  greatly  astonished  at 
his  wonderful  skill,  and  praised  him,  but  asked,  *  what  he  in- 
tended by  sticking  another  arrow  behind  in  his  collar  ?'  Tell 
was  afraid,  and  said,  *  it  was  the  custom  among  marksmen.' 
The  governor,  however,  perceived  that  Tell  avoided  his  ques- 
tion, and  said, '  Tell,  speak  the  truth  openly  and  without  fear, 
your  life  is  safe,  but  I  am  not  satisfied  with  your  answer.' 
Then  William  Tell  took  courage,  and  replied,  *Well,  my 
lord,  I  wiU  tell  you  the  whole  truth ;  if  I  had  struck  my  child, 
I  would  have  shot  at  you  with  the  other  arrow,  which  would 
certainly  not  have  missed  its  mark.' 

"  When  the  governor  heard  this,  he  said,  *  Very  well.  Tell ; 
I  have  promised  you  your  life,  and  vrill  keep  my  word,  but 
now  that  I  know  your  evil  intentions  against  me,  I  will  have^ 
you  taken  to  a  place  where  you  shall  never  again  behold 
either  sun  or  moon ;'  and  commanded  his  servants  to  take  him 
bound  to  Fluellen.  He  also  went  with  them ;  and,  with  his 
servants,  and  Tell  with  his  hands  bound,  got  into  a  boat,  in- 
tending to  go  to  Brunnen,  and  thence  to  carry  Tell  across  the 
country  through  Schwitz  to  his  castle  at  KUssnach,  (accord- 
ing to  Kopp,  KUssnacht  never  belonged  to  a  Gessler ;  the  go- 
vernor, nevertheless,  might  have  the  right  of  entry  into  the 
castle,)  where  he  was  to  remain  for  the  rest  of  his  life  in  a 
dark  dungeon.  Tell's  cross-bow  lay  in  the  boat  by  the  side 
of  the  steersman.     When  they  had  got  well  into  the  lake^ 


WILLIAM  TELL  AND  THE  SWISS.  105 

Bad  bad  reached  the  corner  at  Achsen,  it  pleased  God  to  raiae 
BQch  a  fearful  and  violent  storm,  that  they  all  despaired  of 
safety,  and  expected  to  drown  miserably.  Upon  this,  one  of 
the  servants  said  to  the  governor,  *  My  lord,  you  see  your  and 
our  need,  and  the  danger  of  our  lives ;  now  Tell  is  a  strong 
man,  and  can  manage  a  boat  well,  let  us  make  use  of  him  in 
oar  necessity/  The  governor,  who  was  in  mortal  dread  of  a 
watery  grave,  then  said  to  TeU,  *  If  you  truly  bring  us  out  of 
this  danger,  I  will  release  you  from  your  bonds.'  To  which 
Tell  replied,  *  Yes,  my  lord,  I  trust,  with  God's  aid,  to  bring 
you  safely  out  of  this  peril.'  Thereupon  he  was  unbound, 
and,  standing  at  the  helm,  guided  the  boat  well,  but  watched, 
meanwhile,  for  an  opportunity  to  seize  his  cross-bow,  which 
lay  near  him,  and  to  jump  out ;  as  he  approached  a  rock, 
(since  known  as  Toll's  rock,  on  which  a  small  chapel  has  been 
^ted,)  he  called  to  the  servants,  that  they  must  go  carefully 
until  they  came  to  this  rock,  when  the  worst  danger  would  be 
past,  and,  on  reaching  the  rock,  drove  the  boat,  for  he  was 
very  strong,  violently  against  it,  snatched  up  his  cross-bow, 
and  springing  upon  the  rocky  shelf,  pushed  the  boat  back 
again  into  the  lake,  where  it  lay  tossing  about,  whilst  he  ran 
through  Schwitz  to  a  hollow  way  between  Art  and  Kussnach, 
^th  a  high  bank  above  where  he  lay  hid,  and  awaited  the 
coming  of  the  governor,  who,  he  well  knew,  must  take  that 
road  to  his  castle.  The  governor  and  his  servants,  after  great 
^ger  and  trouble  in  crossing  the  lake,  reached  Brunnen ; 
and  riding  thence  through  Schwitz,  entered  the  hollow  way, 
plotting  as  they  went  along  all  sorts  of  designs  against  Tell, 
who,  nothing  heeding,  drew  his  cross-bow  and  shot  the  go- 
vernor through  the  heart  with  an  arrow,  so  that  he  fell  heavily 
from  his  horse,  and  from  that  hour  never  breathed  more.  On 
the  spot  where  William  Tell  shot  the  governor,  a  holy  chapel, 
that  is  standing  at  this  day,  was  built." 

Tschudi  further  relates,  that  on  new-year's  day,  1308,  the 
peasantry  got  possession  of  the  fortresses  of  Samen  and  Rotz- 
^i*g  in  Unterwald  by  stratagem,  and  that  those  of  Uri  de- 
stroyed the  new  fortress  of  Zwing-Uri,  and  those  of  Schwitz 
the  castle  of  Lowers.  Afler  which  it  is  said  they  formed  at 
^ninnen  on  the  lake,  on  the  6th  of  January,  1308,  the  first 
Swiss  confederation,  for  the  period  of  ten  years,  and  with 


106  HENRY  THE  SEVENTH  OF  LUXEMBURG. 

the  reservation  of  their  allegiance  to  the  emperor  and  the 
empire.* 

The  peasantry  in  the  Tyrol  also  tried  their  strength  at  this 
period.  The  Italians  at  Feltre  attempting  to  deprive  the 
Germans  at  Fleims  of  some  Alps  in  Southern  Tyrol,  the 
Fieimsers  attacked  Feltre,  took  it  by  storm,  and  burned  the 
town  to  the  ground,  A.  d.  1300.  These  peasants  form  the 
most  Southern  German  outpost  on  the  Italian  side,  and  dis- 
tinguished themselves  in  all  the  wars,  up  to  1809. 


CLXXV.  Henry  ike  Seventh  of  Luxemburg. 

On  the  death  of  Albert,  the  crown  of  Germany  was  claimed 
by  Philip  the  Handsome  of  France,  for  his  brother  Charles  ; 
the  princes,  however,  dreaded  his  power,  and  refused  to  elect 
him.  The  Habsburgs  were  as  little  favoured,  the  late  em- 
peror's authority  appearing  to  his  jealous  subjects  to  have 
acquired  too  great  weight.  They  consequently  resolved  to 
place  another  petty  count  upon  the  throne,  and,  in  order  to 
flatter  the  church,  to  recognise  him  as  emperor,  to  whom  the 
ecclesiastical  electors  gave  the  majority  of  votes. 

The  city  and  archbishopric  of  Treves  was,  at  that  time,  on 
a  good  footing  with  the  neighbouring  count,  Henry  of  Lux- 
emburg. Henry  was  known  to  fame  as  the  best  knight  of  the 
day  in  the  lists.  His  alliance  vnth  Treves  was  necessitated  by 
the  attacks  of  his  neighbour  of  Brabant.  The  city  of  Treves 
bestowed  upon  him  the  rights  of  citizenship,  and  his  brother 
Baldwin  gained  the  mitre  by  means  of  his  former  medical 

*  This  history  is  not  confirmed  by  any  contemporary  writer,  neither 
has  it  been  disproved.  Henry  von  Hiinenberg  alone  mentions  it  in  an 
epigram,  the  authenticity  of  which  we  cannot  vouch. 

"  Dum  pater  in  puerum  telum  crudele  coruscat 

Tellius,  ex  jussu,  ssBve  tyranne,  tuo 

Pomum,  non  natum  figit  fatalis  arundo 

Altera  mox,  ultrix,  te  periture  petet.'* 

In  1388,  in  Uie  provincial  assembly  at  Uri,  one  hundred  and  fourteen 
of  tie  country  people  declared  that  they  had  known  Tell  personally,  and 
that  in  1354  he  was  drowned  at  Biirglen  during  a  flood,  whilst  attempt- 
ing to  save  some  persons.  This  declaration  ^was  even  then  necessary,  in 
order  to  confirm  the  authenticity  of  Tell's  history. 


HEN&Y  THE  6EYEKTH  OF  LUXEMBURQ.  107 

attendant,  Peter  Aichspalter,  a  Treyian  bj  birth,  his  prede- 
eeflSQT  on  the  archiepiscopal  throne.  Baldwin  consequently 
recommended  his  brother,  who,  being  favoured  by  Mayence» 
the  archbishop  of  Cologne,  who  sided  with  France,  was  lef^ 
in  the  minority,  and  the  princes,  faithful  to  their  plighted 
word,  accepted  Henry  for  their  emperor. 

Henry  YIJ.  was  proclaimed  emperor  at  Rense,  [▲.  d.  1308,] 
Dear  Braubach,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine,  and  the  royal 
erown  was  placed  upon  his  brows.  The  two  other  crowns, 
the  iron  one  of  Liombardy  and  the  imperial  crown,  were  still  in 
Italy.  Henry  was  one  of  the  noblest  monarchs  who  sat  on 
the  throne  of  Germany.  Deeply  conscious  of  the  duties  im- 
posed upon  him  by  his  station,  he  followed  in  the  steps  of 
Charlems^ne  and  Barbarossa,  and  worthily  upheld  the  dig- 
nity and  honour  of  the  empire,  ever  remaining  a  stranger  to  the 
petty  policy  of  his  late  predecessors,  who  sacrificed  the  state 
for  the  sake  of  increasing  the  wealth  and  influence  of  their 
own  houses.  Sensible  of  his  inability  to  cope  with  his  jealous 
vtssals  at  home,  he  sought  to  extend  his  authority  abroad,  and 
to  cover  himself  with  the  glory  of  the  ancient  emperors  by  re- 
pelling the  assumptions  of  France,  and  repairing  the  losses 
sustained  by  the  empire  since  the  fall  of  the  Hohenstaufen,  in 
order  to  acquire  the  power  necessary  for  restoring  and  main- 
taining order  in  the  interior  of  the  empire.  The  Italians 
were  weary  of  French  usurpation  and  intrigue ;  the  pope  even 
sighed  for  release  from  French  bondage ;  the  times  seemed 
niore  than  ever  propitious  for  the  restoration  of  Italy  to  the 
empire,  and  the  emperor  would  have  neglected  his  duty  had  he 
not  created  this  diversion  against  the  plotting  king  of  France. 
Henry  acted  both  as  a  wise  statesman  and  a  great  sovereign, 
*nd  shame  upon  the  princes  of  Germany  who  withheld 
their  aid. 

Before  setting  out  for  Italy  he  did  his  utmost  to  restore 
peace  and  tranquillity  to  the  empire.  Bohemia  was  in  a  state 
of  complete  anarchy.  Henry  of  Carinthia  filled  every  office 
in  that  kingdom  with  Carinthians,  drained  the  country  of 
nioney,  took  the  heads  of  the  Bohemian  aristocracy  prisoners 
at  a  hanquet,  and  threw  Elisabeth,  Wenzel's  second  sister,  into 
^  ^ungeon,  [a.  d.  1308,]  in  order  to  force  her  into  a  marriage 
^ith  alow-born  knight,  and  thus  exclude  her  from  the  succes- 
^on.    Aided  by  Berengar,  an  old  and  faithful  chaplain,  this 


iOS  HENRY  THE  SEVENTH  OF  LUXEMBURG. 

princess  contrived  to  escape,  and  roused  the  people  to  rebellion* 
Henry  of  Luxemburg  was,  at  this  conjuncture,  raised  to  the 
Imperial  throne,  and  the  Bohemians,  resting  their  hope>s  on 
him  for  aid,  sent  ambassadors,  bearing  with  them  the  Princess 
Elisabeth,  then  in  her  eighteenth  year,  to  him,  in  order  to  ofTer 
her  in  marriage  to  his  son,  John,  a  boy  of  fourteen.  The 
princess  made  the  offer  in  person  ;  the  emperor,  struck  with 
the  indecency  of  the  demand,  at  first  tauntingly  rejected  the 
proposal,  but  afterwards,  won  by  her  spirit  and  innocence,  con- 
sented to  the  marriage,  and  despatched  his  son,  John,  a  hoy 
of  uncommon  bravery  and  promise,  at  the  head  of  a  body  of 
troops,  to  Bohemia,  where  he  was  joyfully  welcomed.  The 
Carinthians  wqre  expelled. 

The  position  of  the  emperor  in  respect  to  the  house  of 
Habsburg,  at  the  head  of  which  stood  Albert's  elder  sons^ 
Frederick  the  Handsome,  and  Leopold,  besides  a  daughter^ 
Agnes,  the  widow  of  the  last  of  the  Hungarian  dynasty  of 
Arpad,  was  replete  with  difficulty.  The  Austrians  had  not 
yet  become  habituated  to  their  yoke.  In  Vienna,  Albert's 
death  was  the  signal  for  an  insurrection,  which  Frederick  was 
merely  enabled  to  quell  by  the  infliction  of  the  most  horrid 
punishments;  numbers  of  the  citizens  were  executed,  de- 
prived of  sight,  and  mutilated.  Otto  of  Bavaria,  whom  Al- 
bert had  formerly  expelled  from  Hungary,  now  revenged 
himself  upon  Frederick  by  invading  Austria,  where  he  car- 
ried all  before  him  and  laid  the  country  waste.  Stjo-ia  was, 
meanwhile,  restored  to  tranquillity  by  the  governor,  Ulric 
von  Waldsee.  The  Habsburgs  had  also  numerous  enemies 
in  the  Alps.  The  emperor,  Henry,  solemnly  released  the 
peasants  of  Uri,  Unterwald,  and  Schwitz,  from  the  Habsburg 
rule,  and  placed  them  under  the  immediate  jurisdiction  of  the 
crown ;  an  act  completely  contrary  to  the  policy  of  the  Habs- 
burgs, but  strictly  just  and  in  accordance  with  the  prerogative 
and  duty  of  the  sovereign,  who  alone  possessed  the  right  of 
nominating  the  governors,  and  was  in  duty  bound  to  remove 
those  who  gave  just  cause  of  cx)mplaint  to  the  people.  The 
Habsburgs  exercised  hereditary  jurisdiction  over  their  vassals 
and  serfs,  but  not  over  free  subjects  of  the  empire,  whom 
they  merely  governed  in  the  name  and  at  the  pleasure  of  the 
emperor.  Henry,  with  equal  justice,  put  the  murderers  of 
the  late  emperor  out  of  the  bann  of  the  empire,  and  offered 


flENRT  THE  SEVENTH  OF  LUXEMBURG.  109 

peace  and  friendship  to  his  sons.  A  great  and  solemn  funeral 
service  was  performed  at  Henry's  conunand  at  Spires,  where 
the  remains  of  the  emperors,  Adolf  of  Nassau,  and  Albert  of 
fiabsbai^  were  deposited  in  the  old  imperial  vault.  Both  of 
their  widows  and  Albert's  daughter  were  present,  a.  d«  1309  ; 
Elisabeth  of  Nassau,  who  had  once  vainly  pleaded  on  her 
imees  to  Albert  for  her  son ;  Elisabeth  of  Habsburg,  who 
sat  weeping  at  the  foot  of  the  same  Albert's  coffin.  The 
empress,  Margaretha,  sought  to  comfort  the  widowed  mourn- 
ers, and,  with  a  misgiving  heart,  entreated  Heaven  to  guard 
her  from  a  similar  calamity.  Frederick  the  Handsome  was 
also  in  Spires  with  a  numerous  retinue,  and  a  reconciliation 
was  assiduously  attempted  between  the  houses  of  Luxemburg 
and  Habsburg,  After  a  long  dispute,  the  two  parties  agreed 
to  certain  terms,  and  reciprocally  guaranteed  to  each  other  the 
quiet  possession  of  their  several  territories. 

Elisabeth  fearfully  revenged  the  murder  of  her  husband. 
Johannes  had  fled  to  Italy ;  his  accomplices,  Ulric  von  Palm, 
and  Walter  von  Escbilbacb,  secreted  themselves,  one  in  a 
penitentiary  at  Basle,  the  other  for  several  years  as  a  cowherd 
in  Swabia ;  Rudolf  von  Wart  fell  into  the  hands  of  his  pur- 
suers, and  was  condemned  by  Agnes  to  be  bound  alive  to  the 
wheel.  He  lived  in  this  state  for  three  days,  during  which 
his  faithful  wife,  Gertrude,  sat  at  his  feet  weeping  and  praying 
until  he  expired.  Elisabeth's  vengeance  even  overtook  the 
innocent ;  all  the  relations  and  vassals  of  the  murderers  were 
tilled,  to  the  number  of  a  thousand  men,  and  with  their  con- 
fiscated property  she  built  the  convent  of  Koenigsfelden,  (now 
ft  mad-house,)  in  which  her  daughter  Agnes  took  the  veil,  in 
order  to  pass  the  remainder  of  her  days  in  mourning  for  her 
father. 

The  emperor  also  attempted  to  persuade  Count  Eberhard* 
of  Wurtemberg  to  desist  from  further  violence,  and  repre- 
sented to  him  at  the  diet  at  Spires  the  ruinous  consequences 
of  internal  feuds.     "  Enemies  multiply  abroad,  when  those 

*  This  Eberhard  was  ugnally  sumamed  **  the  Enlightened."    Peter 
▼on  Koenigssaal  (cron.  aulae  regie)  terms  him  more  properly  **  fomes 
perfidlse,  ras  perditionis,  pacis  destructor."    This  wild  knight  had  an 
extremely  beautiful  daughter,  who  lies  buried  at  Rottenburg : 
"  Hie  jacet  ecce  Rosa  quondam  nimium  speciosa, 
Irmengard  grata  de  Wirtemberg  generata." 


110  HENRY  THE  SEVENTH  OF  LUXEMBURG. 

before  whom  they  were  wont  to  tremble  are  engaged  in  dis- 
sension at  home,  and  the  bitter  feelings  roused  by  feuds  be- 
tween the  different  races  in  Germany,  will,  ere  many  years 
elapse,  become  deeply  and  ineradicably  rooted."  Eber- 
hard,  who  had  been  escorted  to  the  diet  by  two  hundred 
knights,  unmoved  by  the  emperor's  persuasions,  openly  set 
him  at  defiance,  and,  saying  that  he  owned  no  master,  rode 
away.  Henry  instantly  put  him  out  of  the  bann  of  the  em- 
pire, and  carried  the  sentence  into  effect  with  the  aid  of  tbe 
Count  Conrad  von  Weinsperg,  a.  d.  1311,  and  of  the  Swabian 
cities,  Which,  since  1307,  had  entered  into  an  offensive  and  de- 
fensive alliance  against  Eberharji.  Esslingen,  the  most  pow- 
erful of  the  allied  cities,  had  the  insolence  to  receive  the 
homage  of  the  whole  county  of  Wurtemberg.  The  ancient 
castle  of  Wurtemberg  was  destroyed,  Stuttgard  taken,  and 
Eberhard,  chased  from  one  robber  castle  to  another,  was  at 
length  compelled  to  lie  concealed  in  the  castle  of  Besigheim 
until  the  death  of  the  emperor. 

The  Ghibellines  earnestly  desired  the  emperor's  arrival  in 
Italy,*  and  assembled  under  Yisconti,  the  Milan  exile,  in 
order  to  bid  him  welcome.  The  majority  among  them,  never- 
theless, were  simply  desirous  of  making  use  of  the  emperor, 
for  the  purpose  of  lowering  the  power  of  the  Guelphs ;  very 

*  Dante  places  the  emperor  Albert  in  purgatory,  and  thus  reproaches 
him : 

**  AM  senra  Italia,  di  dolore  ostello. 
Nave  senza  noccMero  in  gran  tempesta ; 
Non  donna  di  provincie,  ma  bordello ! 

Ahi  gente  che  doTresti  esser  devota, 
E  lasciar  seder  Cesar  ne  la  sella, 
Be  bene  intendi  ci5  che  Dio  ti  nota ! 

Guarda  com'  esta  fiera  ^  fatta  fella, 
Per  non  esser  corretta  dagli  sproni, 
Poich^  ponestl  mano  a  la  predella. 

O  Alberto  Tedesco,  c'  abbandonl 
Ck>stei  ch'  e  fatta  indomita  e  selvaggia, 
E  dovresti  inforcar  11  suoi  arcioni  ^ 

Giusto  giudicio  da  le  stelle  caggia 
Sovra  '1  tuo  sangue,  e  sia  nuovo  e  aperto, 
Tal  che  '1  tuo  successor  temenza  n'  aggla : 

C*  ayete,  tu  e  '1  tuo  padre,  sofferto. 
Per  cupidigia  di  costtL  distretti, 
Che  '1  giar£n  dello  'mperio  sia  diserto. 

Del  Purgatorio,  Canto  vi. 


HENBY  THE  SBVEITrH  OF  LUXEMBUBG.  HI 

few  among  them  stin  cherished  a  wish  for  the  restoration  of 
the  ancient  empire.  Among  the  latter  was  Dante,  who  im* 
mortalized  Arrigo  (Henrj)  the  Pious  as  the  shepherd  of  his 
people,  as  the  restorer  of  justice,  and  in  his  work  **  de  Mon- 
archia,"  i^ain  exhausts  all  the  arguments  with  which  Fre- 
derick n.  had  defended  his  temporal  dominions  against  papal 

tyranny. ^When  [▲.  D.  1310]  Henrj,  at  the  head  of  a 

petty  German  force,  and  soleljiUMX>mpanied  hj  Duke  Leopold 
of  Austria  and  Count  Amadeus  of  SaToy,  crossed  the  Alps, 
die  GhibeUines  flocked  heneath  his  standard.  The  Milanese 
Gnelphs,  panic-struck,  opened  the  city  gates,  and  the  emperor, 
entering  the  ancient  capital  of  Lombardy,  caused  the  lost  iron 
crown  to  be  replaced  by  a  new  one,  which  he  placed  upon  his 
head,  and  marched  in  triumph  through  the  streets  with  his 
empress  Margaretha,  on  whose  long  flowing  golden  locks  a 
diadem  also  shone,  on  an  ambling  palfrey  at  his  side.  The 
Guelphic  chiefs  della  Torre,  meanwhile,  encouraged  by  the 
discontent  raised  in  Milan  by  the  promulgation  of  the  strict 
imperial  edicts,  the  imposition  of  a  tax  and  the  expense  caused 
by  the  emperor's  prolonged  stay,  set  a  conspiracy  on  foot, 
which  was,  however,  discovered,  and  the  Germans,  under 
Leopold  of  Habsburg,  drove  the  Torres  from  the  city.  Guide 
della  Torre  fled  to  Cremona,  whither  he  was  pursued  by  the 
emperor,  who  took  the  city  and  levelled  it  with  the  ground, 
A.  D.  1311. 

Dante  complained  in  a  public  letter  of  the  emperor's  trifling 
in  Upper  Italy,  instead  of  hastening  to  Rome  to  crush  his 
enemies  at  a  blow.  Henry,  by  his  over-cautious  and  tem- 
porizing policy,  merely  allowed  the  Guelphs  time  to  recover 
from  their  flrst  surprise.  Tibaldo  de  Brussati,  whom  he 
had  greatly  favoured,  faithlessly  deserted  him,  and  armed 
the  city  of  Brescia  against  him.  Enraged  at  this  act  of  treach- 
ery, the  emperor  resolved  to  make  of  him  a  fearful  example, 
and,  on  taking  him  prisoner  during  a  sally,  sentenced  him  to 
be  dragged  to  death  round  the  walls.  The  death  of  Henry's 
brother.  Count  Walram,  who  fell  Uefore  this  city,  roused  his 
vengeance,  and  he  vowed  to  deprive  every  inhabitant  of  Bres- 
cia of  his  nose ;  his  camp  was,  however,  devastated  by  a  pesti- 
lence, and  Brescia  yielded  on  condition  that  the  noses  of  the 
statues  with  which  the  city  was  adorned  should  be  sacrificed, 
instead  of  those  of  the  inhabitants,  to  the  emperor's  revenge. 


112  HENRY  THE  SEVENTH  OF  LUXEMBURG. 

His  stay  in  Upper  Italj  was  lengthened  for  the  sake  of  re- 
ducing the  whole  country  to  subjection.  The  citizens  of  Pa- 
via  came  to  meet  him,  and  delivered  to  him  the  golden  imperial 
crown,  lost  there  by  Frederick  11.  In  the  winter  he  visited 
Genoa,  which  still  remained  true  to  her  allegiance.  During 
his  stay  in  this  city,  he  lost  his  empress,  Margaretha.  It  was 
either  here  or  at  Pavia  that  Johannes,  the  murderer  of  the 
emperor  Albert,  presented  himself  in  the  garb  of  a  monk  be- 
fore him  when  sitting  at  table,  and  fell  at  his  feet  to  beg  for 
pardon,  but  was  angrily  repulsed  and  thrown  into  prison, 
where  he  shortly  afterwards  expired,  [a.  d.  1313,]  and  was 
buried  in  the  Augustin  monastery  at  Pisa. 

Robert,  king  of  Naples,  favoured  by  the  delay  on  the  part 
of  the  emperor,  despatched  his  brother,  John  of  Achaja,  with 
a  body  of  picked  troops  to  Eome,  for  the  purpose  of  defending 
that  city  in  the  name  of  France  and  of  the  pope  against  the 
German  invader.  He  was  also  strongly  upheld  by  the  power- 
ful Guelphic  faction  of  the  Orsini.  Henry,  leaving  the  gal- 
lant knight  and  Minnesinger,  Count  Werner  von  Homburg, 
governor  over  Lombardy  with  Philip,  the  nephew  of  the  earl 
of  Savoy,  whose  alliance  he  sought  to  fortify,  as  a  'colleague, 
set  off  instantly,  at  the  head  of  merely  two  thousand  men,  for 
Rome,  A.  D.  1312.  The  Roman  nobility  came,  with  feigned 
professions  of  friendship,  to  meet  him,  but,  already  fully  ac- 
quainted with  Italian  perfidy,  he  ordered  them,  with  a  con- 
tempt unusual  to  him,  to  be  thrown  into  chains,  forced  his  way 
into  the  city  and  stormed  the  Capitol,  whence  he  was  repulsed 
with  serious  loss.  St.  Peter's  church  also  proving  impregna- 
ble, he  was  compelled  to  solemnize  his  coronation  in  the  La- 
teran.  The  ceremony  was  disturbed  by  the  arrows  and  shouts 
of  the  Guelphs. 

The  abandonment  of  Rome  was  now  his  only  alternative. 
With  unshaken  spirit  he,  nevertheless,  repulsed  the  Tuscans, 
who  attempted  to  cut  off  his  retreat  n^ar  Ancisa,  laid  waste 
their  beautiful  country,  which  refused  to  own  his  sway,  and 
at  length  fixed  his  camp- in  a  lonely  spot,  near  Poggibonzi, 
which  he  named  the  Kaisersberg,  where  he  wished  to  found  a 
city.  Whilst  here,  he  put  Robert,  king  of  Naples,  out  of  the 
bann  of  the  empire  as  a  faithless  vassal,  and  sentenced  him  to 
death.  The  pope,  Clement  V.,  however,  imposed  his  com- 
mands upon  him  from  France  to  keep  peace  with  Robert, 


HBNKY  THE  SEVENTH  OF  LUXEMBURG.  113 

irhom  the  Tuscan  league,  on  perceiving  the  weakness  of  the 
emperor,  proclaimed  their  protector.  Henry  also  divided,  as 
ri  in  peace  and  security,  the  Italian  imperial  offices  and  pos- 
Kssions  among  the  faithful  Ghibellines,  sued  for  the  hand  of 
the  beautiful  Catherine  Ton  Habeburg,  a  daughter  of  the  em* 
peror  Albert,  and  made  great  preparations  in  Sicilj,  Genoa, 
and  Germany,  for  the  renewal  of  the  war  on  all  sides.  His 
son  John,  king  of  Bohemia,  was  on  the  point  of  escorting  his 
bther's  bride,  and  of  conducting  a  fresh  body  of  German 
troops  across  the  Alps,  and  Henry's  hopes  seemed  on  the  point 
of  being  fulfilled,  when,  after  an  unsuccessful  attack  upon 
Siena,  he  was  poisoned  at  Buonconvento  during  supper  by  a 
monk,  August  24th,  1313.  With  his  expiring  breath  he  said 
to  his  murderer,  **  You  have  given  me  death  in  the  cup  of  life, 
bat  fly,  ere  my  followers  seize  you  I"  At  Pisa,  Catherine 
received  a  corpse  instead  of  an  imperial  brid^room. 

Philip  pla3dDg  the  traitor  in  Lombardy  was  seized  by 
the  throat  by  Werner  von  Homburg,  who  was  wounded  in 
the  scuffle  by  Philip's  attendants.  The  Ghibelline  Yisconti, 
nevertheless,  maintained  their  authority  in  Milan,  and  that 
faction  gained  the  upper  hand  in  Tuscany.  Robert  of  Naples, 
on  the  other  hand,  retained  possession  of  Naples,  and  even 
succeeded  in  winning  the  favour  of  the  Habsburgs,  and  Henry's 
luckless  bride,  Catherine,  again  crossed  the  Alps  in  order  to 
'  wed  Charles,  the  son  of  Robert.  She  died  a  few  years  aflter 
of  sorrow  and  disappointment,  leaving  no  issue. 

Whilst  these  events  were  passing  in  the  South,  Waldemar, 
Margrave  of  Brandenburg,  vied  with  the  Hansa  in  sulijugating 
the  North.  The  noble  Ascanian  family  had  merged  in  the 
lines  of  Stendal  and  Salzwedel,  and  been  greatly  weakened  by 
the  powerful  archbishops  of  Magdeburg.  Otto  with  the  Ar- 
row, the  Minnesinger,  died  childless,  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  nephew,  Waldemar  the  Bold,  [a.  n.  1308,]  who  also  plac^ 
himself  at  the  head  of  the  Stendal  family,  by  poisoning  his 
youthful  rdative,  John,  the  rightful  heir.  Sole  master  over 
the  mere,  he  speedily  gftined  great  power,  and  pursued  the 
plan  of  conquering  the  whole  of  the  coast  of  the  Baltic.  In 
1309,  he  had  already  gained  possession  of  Pomerelia,  Dantzig, 
and  the  mouths  of  the  Vistula,  which  he  made  over  provision'- 
ally  to  the  German  order,  in  order  to  gain  them  on  his  side 
against  the  Hansa,  against  which  he  instantly  turned  bis  arms. 


114  HENRY  THE  SEVENTH  OF  LUXEMBURG. 

Under  pretext  of  solemnizing  his  nuptials  at  Rostock  with 
his  cousin,  Agnes,  he  perfidiously  attempted  to  take  that  city 
by  surprise ;  but  the  wary  citizens  closed  the  gates  against 
him,  and  he  and  his  ally,  Eric  Menved  of  Denmark,  with 
some  petty  princes  and  bishops,  hostile  to  the  Hansa,  vainly 
sought  to  reduce  it  to  submission,  a.  d.  1310.  The  dty  com- 
munes, suE^ecting  the  lower  council  of  treasonable  correspond- 
ence with  the  enemy,  revolted  under  Henry  Runge,  and  de- 
posed the  members  of  the  council,  of  whom  they  murdered 
several ;  but,  being  unexpectedly  attacked  by  Henry  of  Meck- 
lenburg, a  Uoody  skirmish  took  place  in  the  streets,  and  their 
leader  was  taken  and  beheaded,  ▲.  d.  1314.  During  this  year, 
the  citizens  of  Magdeburg  revolted  against  their  tyrannical 
archbishop,  Burkhard.  The  allied  princes  of  Northern  Grer- 
many  seized  this  as  a  pretext  for  attacking  the  city,  but  the 
citizens  made  such  a  brave  defence,  so  warmly  pressed  the 
hungry  princes  to  leave  their  camp  and  partake  of  their  ban- 
quets, and  received  the  Margrave,  Frederick  with  the  bitten 
cheek,  who  ventured  to  accept  their  invitation,  so  graciously, 
that  the  siege  was  discontinued.  A  reconciliation  took  place  ; 
but  the  archbishop  becoming  still  more  despotic,  confiscating 
all  heritages  in  the  name  of  St.  Maurice,  the  city  patron,  he 
was  finally  [a.  d.  1329]  taken  prisoner  by  the  citizens,  and 
put  to  death  by  four  men  selected  for  that  purpose  from  the 
cities  of  Magdeburg,  Halle,  Calbe,  and  Burg. 

Frederick  'the  Bitten,  taking  advantage  of  Waldemar's  ab- 
sence in  the  North,  invaded  his  territory  from  the  South  in 
the  hope  of  regaining  possession  of  the  Lausitz,  but  was  de- 
feated by  Waldemar  at  Grossenhayn  and  taken  prisoner. 
Waldemar  then  [a.  d.  1312]  attacked  Witzlav,  the  Wendian 
duke  of  Fomerania,  who  attempted  to  seize  Stralsnnd,  and, 
assisted  by  the  dukes  of  Mecklenburg,  Brunswick,  and 
Saxon-Lauenburg,  by  the  counts  of  Schwerin,  and  by  the 
united  Foles,  Swedes,  Danes,  and  Norwegians,  resolved  to 
humble  the  proud  Margrave  of  Brandenburg,  A.  d.  1316. 
Waldemar,  unable  to  cope  with  this  overwhelming  force,  was 
defeated  in  Mecklenburg,  and  solely  enabled  to  save  himself 
from  utter  destruction  by  raising  a  rebellion  in  Denmark,  and 
entreating  the  aid  of  the  Hansa.  The  allied  princes  attacked 
Stralsund,  but  were  repulsed  by  the  brave  citizens,  who  took 
Eric,  duke  of  Saxony,  captive  in  a  sally,  and  raised  their  fine 


HENHY  TH£  SEYEITrH  OP  LUXEMBURG.  1 1^ 

town-house  with  his  ransom.  The  league  was  hroken  up, 
[a.  d.  1318,]  and  Waldemar  died  suddenlj,  leaving  no  issue. 
Frederick  with  the  hitten  cheek  also  expired,  [a.  i>.  1319,] 
worn  out  with  toil  and  laden  with  years,  after  having  suc- 
ceeded in  restoring  his  familj  to  their  rights.  He  was  snc- 
oeeded  in  Meissen  hj  his  son,  Frederick  the  Stem.  Bran- 
denburg, now  a  vacant  fief,  became  an  apple  of  discord  between 
the  facti(»is  contending  for  the  imperial  throne.  A  side- 
branch  of  the  Ascanian  family  still  reigned  in  Anhalt  The 
Lausitz  submitted  to  John  of  Bohemia. 

About  this  time  the  free  Ditmarses  were  at  violent  feud 
with  the  counts  of  Holstein,  who  incessantly  sought  to  reduce 
them  to  submission.  The  peasants  insolently  invaded  Holstein, 
revelled  in  plunder,  and  bathed  in  the  immense  beer  vats. 
Count  Gerhard  defeated  them  by  stratagem ;  his  soldiers  were 
cnrdered  to  break  off  the  boughs  of  trees,  under  cover  of  which 
they  surprised  the  enemy,  who  mistook  them  for  a  wood. 
Emboldened  by  this  success,  Gerhard  invaded  their  country, 
and  again  taking  them  by  surprise  by  the  rapidity  of  Ms 
movements,  once  more  defeated  them.  A  small  number  of 
men  still  defending  themselves  in  the  church  of  Oldenwaerden, 
he  ordered  the  building  to  be  set  on  fire,  but  the  melted  lead 
no  sooner  b^an  to  pour  upon  the  heads  of  the  besieged  pea- 
sants, than,  making  a  furious  sally,  they  repulsed  the  superior 
forces  of  the  enemy,  and,  rallying  their  scattered  countrymen, 
feU  upon  the  Hobtoiners,  who  suffered  a  defeat  as  shameful 
as  it  was  unexpected,  and  long  afterwards  left  them  unmo- 
lested [▲.  D.  1319].  On  the  nomination  of  the  Dane,  John 
Fursat,  to  the  archbishopric  of  Bremen  by  the  pope,  he  was 
mocked  by  the  Ditmarses,  beaten  with  sticks  by  the  £a8t  Fris- 
dans,  and  compelled  to  flee  to  Avignon.  The  East  Friscians 
were  nominally  given  by  Budolf  of  Habsburg,  the  hereditary 
foe  to  liberty,  to  Beinhold  the  Warlike  of  Gueldres,  but  that 
count  never  ventured  to  demand  their  homage.  His  son, 
Beinhold  the  Black,  who  had  the  temerity  to  make  the  at- 
tempt, was  signally  defeated  in  the  battle  of  Yollenhoven, 
A.  D.  1323. 


I  2 


116  LOUIS  THE  BAVARIAN, 


CLXXYI.  Louis  the  Bavariatiy  and  Frederick  of  Austria. 

On  the  death  of  the  noble-hearted  emperor,  the  empire 
again  fell  a  prey  to  the  adverse  factions  of  the  Guelphs  and 
Ghibellines.  The  rancour  of  the  Papal-French  party  had 
been  again  excited  by  Henry's  expedition  to  Borne,  and  the 
Habsburgs  once  more  appeared  on  the  scene  as  its  supporters 
and  tools.  Frederick  the  Handsome  was,  consequently, 
zealously  recommended  by  the  pope  as  the  successor  to  the 
crown,  for  which  a  competitor  also  appeared  in  the  person  of 
John  of  Bohemia,  the  son  of  the  late  emperor,  whose  preten- 
sions were  warmly  upheld  by  his  uncles,  Baldwin  of  Treves 
and  Peter  of  Mayence ;  his  youth,  however,  proved  the  chief 
obstacle,  and,  after  some  consideration,  he  ceded  his  rights  in 

favour  of  Louis  of  Bavaria. ^Frederick  was  remarkable  for 

the  beauty  of  his  person,  but  was  inferior  in  mental  energy  to 
his  brother,  Leopold,  whose  diminutive  person  enclosed  a  bold 
and  hardy  spirit.  Fate  had,  at  an  early  age,  brought  Louis  of 
Bavaria  and  Frederick  together.  Their  childhood  had  been 
spent  together,  and  a  strong  affection  had  subsisted  between 
them.  Political  events  produced  a  separation.  The  posses-^ 
sions  of  the  house  of  Wittelsbach,  united  under  Otto,  the  friend 
of  the  last  of  the  Hohenstaufen,  had  been  divided  between  his 
sons  Louis  and  Henry,  the  former  of  whom  succeeded  to  the 
Rhenish  Pfalz  and  Upper  Bavaria,  the  latter  to  Lower  Ba^ 
varia.  A  fresh  subdivision  took  place  between  the  sons  of 
Louis,  Rudolf  receiving  the  Pfalz,  and  Louis,  who  mounted 
the  imperial  throne,  Upper  Bavaria.  Otto,  the  son  of  Henry, 
the  ex-king  of  Hungary,  died  in  Lower  Bavaria,  leaving 
several  children  still  minors.  Otto,  who  had  been  reduced  to 
poverty  by  the  Hungarian  war,  had  replenished  his  treasury 
by  the  grant  [a.  d.  1311]  of  great  privileges  to  his  Estates, 
which  now  interfered,  the  cities  demanding  Louis,  the  no-' 
bility,  Frederick,  as  guardian  over  the  children.  Both  the 
guardians  met  at  Landau  as  early  friends.  Louis  maintained 
his  right,  but  Frederick  refused  to  let  the  opportunity  for 
extending  his  sway  over  Bavaria  slip,  and  the  conference 
terminated  by  their  drawing  their  swords  upon  each  other, 
and  being  forcibly  separated  to  meet  again  on  the  battle-field. 
Louis,  favoured  by  the  justice  of  his  cause  and  the  bravery  of 


AND  FBEDEBICK  OF  AU8TBIA.  117 

the  dtueens,  guned  a  complete  victory  at  Gramelsdorf  over 
the  Bavarian  nobility  and  the  arrier-bann  of  Aastria,  led  by 
Ulric  of  Wallsee,  beneath  whom  the  bridge  over  the  Isar 
gave  way,  and  thousands  were  drowned,  a.  d.  1313.  This 
victory  rendered  Louis  highly  popular  amoug  the  people,  and 
particularly  among  the  citizens.  He,  nevertheless,  brought 
about  a  reconciliation  with  Frederick,  their  ancient  friendship 
revived,  and  at  Sakburg  they  shared  the  same  bed. 

The  election  of  an  emperor  was  canvassed.  Louis,  unsus- 
picious of  his  own  elevation,  promised  his  vote  to  Frederick, 
but,  when  unexpectedly  elected  by  the  Luxemburg  party 
instead  of  John,  forgot  his  promise,  and  allowed  himsdf  to  be 
elected  emperor  by  the  majority  of  the  princes  in  Francfurt 
on  the  Maine,  whilst  Frederick  was  merely  proclaimed  em- 
peror outside  of  the  city  gates  by  the  archbishop  of  Cologne, 
a  papal  partisan,  by  Henry  of  Carinthia,  who  was  jealous  of 
John  on  account  of  Bohemia,  by  the  Pfalzgrave,  Rudolf,  who 
was  also  jealous  of  his  brother,  and  by  the  Saxons.  Walde- 
mar  of  Brandenburg  favoured  Frederick.  His  ambassador, 
Nicolas  Bock,  however,  voted  for  Louis,  and  was  sentenced 
on  his  return  to  be  chained  fasting  to  the  wall  of  his  master's 
banquetting-room,  and  compelled  to  look  on  whilst  he  feasted. 
Every  other  vote  was  in  favour  of  Louis,  whose  coronation 
was  solemnized  with  ancient  splendour  at  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
whilst  Frederick  was  crowned  at  Bonn  by  the  archbishop  of 
Cologne,  Henry  von  Vimeburg.  The  Colognese,  who  favoured 
Louis,  expelled  their  archbishop  from  the  city,  to  which  he 
was  permitted  to  return  in  1321,  for  the  purpose  of  reading 
the  first  mass  in  the  chancel  (then  first  completed)  of  the 
cathedral.  Louis  was  compelled  to  reward  the  services  of 
John  of  Bohemia  by  the  cession  of  the  imperial  free  town  of 
£ger,  and  to  bestow  Boppard  Alzey,  (the  knight,  Henry  von 
Akey,  had  attempted  Louis's  life  and  been  put  to  the  rack,)  etc. 
in  pledge  on  Baldwin. 

The  long  war  that  ensued  between  the  emperors  is  remark- 
able for  procrastination  and  indecision,  the  consequence  of 
their  want  of  confidence  in  their  allies.  Leopold  opened  the 
first  campaign,  in  the  summer  of  1315,  by  surprising  Louis 
in  Augsburg,  and  compelling  him  to  fiee  by  night  from  the 
dty.  In  bis  anger  at  the  escape  of  his  antagonist  he  fired 
all  the  neighbouring  villages,  and  then  proceeded  to  Basle  in 


118  LOUIS  THE  BAVABIAN, 

order  to  celebrate  the  nuptials  of  his  brother  Frederick  with 
Elisabeth  of  Arragon,  and  his  own  with  a  countess  of  Savoj. 
In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  he  led  his  troops  against  the 
Swiss,  who  favoured  Louis. 

War  had  long  been  fomenting  in  the  mountains.  As  earlj 
as  1313,  the  Habsburg  vassals  of  Lucerne  had  undertaken  an 
unsuccessful  expedition  against  Uri,  Schwjtz,  and  Unter- 
walden,  and  the  peasants  of  Schwytz  had  attacked  the  monas- 
tery of  Einsiedeln  and  taken  the  monks  captive.  The  mur- 
dered and  disconcerted  governors  were  still  unrevenged,  and 
the  confederates,  confident  of  imperial  favour,  and  proud  of 
the  success  of  their  first  attempts,  openly  stood  up  in  defence 
of  their  liberties.  Leopold,  resolved  to  quell  their  insolence, 
assembled  his  troops  in  the  Argau  and  cadled  a  council  of  war 
to  deliberate  on  the  mode  of  crossing  the  Alps.  His  court 
fool,  Jenni  von  Stocken,  gravely  remarked  on  this  occasion, 
''It  is  more  advisable  to  deliberate  upon  the  means  of  getting 
out  of  them  again."  On  reaching  the  Engpass,  Leopold  was 
opposed  by  fifty  men  of  Schwytz,  who  had  been  banished  their 
country  for  debt,  and  who,  rolling  stones  down  the  mountain 
sides,  crushed  both  men  and  horses ;  they  were  speedily  re- 
inforced ^y  thirteen  hundred  of  their  countrymen,  a  dreadful 
slaughter  ensued,  and  Leopold  was  compelled  to  seek  safety 
in  flight.  This  success  was  followed  by  another  on  the  same 
day  over  the  count  of  Strassburg,  who  had  crossed  the  Brunig 
and  entered  Unterwald.  The  confederates  afterwards  entered 
into  an  eternal  league,  [a.  d.  1315,]  and  nominated  a  Landam* 
man  or  chief  magistrate. 

Louis,  meanwhile,  remained  undisturbed,  and  succeeded  in 
overcoming  his  brother  Rudolf,  and  other  malcontents.  In 
1317,  a  skirmish  took  place  between  Frederick,  Leopold,  and 
Eberhard  of  Wurtemberg,  who  had  ventured  firom  retirem«:it^ 
on  one  side,  and  Louis  and  John  on  the  other,  in  which  the 
victory  remained  undecided.  John  was  caUed  into  Bohemia^ 
where  the  nobles  were  in  full  revolt,  but  were  pacified  by  the 
mediation  of  the  emperor,  1318.  Disturbances  continued  rife 
in  Switzerland.  The  power  of  the  Habsburgs,  meanwhile^ 
increased.  The  Yisconti,  the  emperor's  Italian  partisans,  were 
hard  pushed  by  the  pope,  John  XXII.,  and  by  Henry  of 
Habsburg.  In  1321,  Frederick,  aided  by  the  wild  Hungari- 
ans and  Cumans,  laid  the  whole  of  Bavaria  waste ;  and  John 


AND  FBEDSBICK  OF  AUSTRIA.  119 

of  Bohemia,  ever  fickle  and  reBtleaSy  was  at  length  indnoed  to 
join  his  forces  with  those  of  Lonis.  The  cities  also  oontri- 
bQted  both  money  and  troops,  and  [a.  d.  1322]  Frederick  was 
OTertaken  at  Miihldorf  in  Lower  Bavaria,  hefore  Leopold  was 
able  to  join  him  with  a  body  of  firesh  troops.  The  battle  was 
nshlj  commenced  by  Frederick,  who,  at  the  onset,  drove  back 
the  Bohemians,  bnt  was  qnickly  sarroanded  and  taken  pri- 
soner. The  flower  of  the  Austrian  nobili^,  among  others 
three-and-twenty  of  the  famOy  of  Trautmannsdorf,  strewed 
tbe  field.  After  the  battle,  Louis  gratefully  acknowledged  the 
services  of  his  conunander-in-chie^  Schweppermann,  to  whose 
skill  he  entirely  owed  his  success.  A  basketful  of  eggs  being 
all  that  could  be  found  for  the  imperial  table,  the  emper<v  dis- 
tributed them  among  his  officers,  saying,  **  To  each  of  you  one 
egg,  to  our  gallant  Schweppermann  two ! "  Schweppermann 
was  of  diminutive  stature,  old  and  lame,  but  skilled  in  the 
tactics  of  the  day.  The  emperor's  words  on  this  occasion  may 
still  be  read  on  this  officer's  tombstone  at  Castel,  near  Am- 
^*  Frederick  was  imprisoned  in  the  castle  of  Trausnita, 
near  Londshut. 

Thas  freed  from  his  most  dangerous  opponent,  and  victori- 
ous in  Switzerland,  Louis  was  enabled  to  despatch  eight  hun- 
dred lances  to  the  aid  of  the  Visconti,  now  sorely  pressed  by 
the  Guelphs.  Eberhard  of  Wurtemberg  also  declfured  in  his 
favour,  and  was  rewarded  with  the  government  of  Swabia  and 
Alsace.  The  investment  of  the  young  prince,  Louis,  with  the 
vacant  electorate  of  Brandenburg,  suddenly  changed  the  aspect 
of  affairs.  John  of  Bohemia,  roused  to  jealousy,  entered  into 
a  treasonable  correspondence  with  the  Habsburgs,  and  set 
Henry  the  Amiable,  Frederick's  younger  brother,  who  had 
fallen  into  his  hands  at  Miihldorf,  at  liberty.  France,  Naples, 
Hungary,  and  the  Guelphic  factioir  implored  the  pope  to  shat- 
ter the  power  of  an  emperor  inclined  to  pursue  the  dreaded 
policy  of  the  Hohenstaufen ;  and,  in  1323,  John  XXIL  inso- 
lently summoned  the  emperor  to  appear  before  him  at  Avig- 
^n,  the  focus  of  French  intrigue,  and  on  being  disobey^ 
aolemnly  placed  him  under  an  interdict,  ▲.  d.  1324.  The 
^sm  between  the  Franciscans,  part  of  whom  opposed  the 
luxury  and  vices  of  the  clergy,  nevertheless,  raised  friends  for 
the  emperor  even  in  the  church,  who  defended  him  in  their 
sermons  and. writings,  and,  in  open  defiance  of  the  papal  in- 


120  LOUIS  THE  BAVARIAN, 

terdict,  performed  the  church  service  for  him  and  his  adhe- 
rents. Among  others,  Occam,  an  Englishman,  the  greatest 
scholar  of  the  age,  demanded  Louis's  protection,  exclaiming^ 
**  Defend  me  with  the  sword,  and  I  will  defend  you  with  m j 
words  P  The  Dominicans,  the  pope's  faithful  servants,  were, 
consequently,  persecuted  throughout  Germany. 

The  pope,  maddened  with  rage,  incited  the  Poles  [a.  d« 
1325]  and  the  pagan  Lithuanians  to  invade  Brandenburg, 
where  they  burnt  one  hundred  and  fifty  villages,  and  prac- 
tised the  most  horrid  atrocities.  The  pope,  at  this .  time  at 
the  summit  of  his  power,  asserted  in  his  extravagant  bulls  his 
supremacy  in  the  empire.  Bamim  of  Pomerania  acknow- 
ledged him  as  his  liege.  The  pope  again  acted  in  unison  with 
Charles  lY.  of  France,  whose  hopes  of  gaining  the  crown  of 
Germany  once  more  revived  on  the  imprisonment  of  Frederick 
and  the  interdiction  of  Louis.  Leopold,  who  gave  his  brother 
up  as  lost,  held  a  conference  with  Charles  at  Bar-sur-Aube, 
in  which  he  assured  to  him  the  imperial  crown,  on  condition 
of  his  aiding  the  emperor's  overthrow.  An  alliance  was  also 
formed  between  John  of  Bohemia,  France,  and  Naples,  on 
whose  sovereigns  he  bestowed  his  sisters  in  marriage.  His 
intention,  however,  was,  not  to  sell  himself  to,  but  to  make 
use  of  Charles  in  case  of  a  fresh  election.  The  princes  of  the 
empire  were  also  induced  to  listen  to  the  proposals  of  the  pope 
and  his  allies,  and  the  election  of  Charles  by  the  diet  held  at 
Reuse,  was  solely  controverted  by  the  representations  of  Count 
Berthold  von  Bucheck.  The  majority  of  the  nation,  in  fact, 
favoured  Louis,  and  compelled  the  priests  to  perform  service 
in  the  churches. 

Louis,  convinced  that  a  reconciliation  with  Frederick  offered 
the  only  means  of  salvation  for  Germany,  visited  him  in  his 
prison  in  the  Trausuitz,  and  sued  for  reconciliation  in  the 
name  of  their  youthful  affection  and  the  weal  of  the  empire ; 
and  Frederick,  swearing  on  the  holy  wafer  to  own  him  as  his 
sovereign,  and  to  bring  his  brother  Leopold  to  his  feet,  re- 
turned to  his  own  castle,  where  his  wife,  Elizabeth,  had  wept 
herself  blind  during  his  absence,  and,  cutting  off  his  beard, . 
which  had  grown  an  immense  length  during  his  captivity,  sent 
it  by  way  of  memorial  to  John  of  Bohemia.  Leopold,  insti- 
gated by  the  pope,  refused  to  do  homage  to  Louis,  and  Fre- 
derick, although  publicly  released  from  his  oath  by  the  pontiff 


AND  FBEDERICk  OF  AUSTRIA.  121 

remained  true  to  his  plighted  faith,  and  yoluotarilj  presented 
himself  as  a  prisoner  before  Louis ;  the  two  friends,  now  rivals 
alone  in  generosity,  secretly  agreed  to  share  the  imperial 
throne.  Louis,  once  more  fre^  from  difficulty,  nominated 
the  Margrave,  Frederick  of  Meissen,  to  whom  he  had  given 
his  daughter,  Matilda,  in  marriage,  governor  of  Brandenburg, 
in  the  name  of  his  son  Louis,  for  the  purpose  of  freeing  that 
onfortunate   country  from  the  depredations  of  the    Poles, 

whose  deeds  of  cruelty  were  countenanced  by  the  pope. 

In  the  ensuing  year,  Leopold  died  mad,  and  was  shortly  after 
followed  by  his  brother,  Henry  the  Amiable.  The  fourth 
brother,  Otto  the  Joyous,  accompanied  Frederick  to  Munich, 
[a.  D.  1326,]  and  wedded  the  princess  Elisabeth  of  Bavaria, 
whilst  Henry  of  Lower  Bavaria,  then  a  youth,  married  one 
of  Frederick's  daughters.  John  of  Bohemia  was  appeased 
hy  the  possession  of  Silesia. 

Tranquillity  being  thus  secured  in  Grermany,  Louis  ventured 
to  undertake  an  expedition  to  Rome  for  the  purpose  of  receiv- 
ing the  imperial  crown  from  the  hands  of  a  pope  elected  by 
him  in  opposition  to  the  pontiff  at  Avignon.  The  first  op- 
position he  encountered  was  at  Milan,  where  he  seized  and 
imprisoned  the  Yisconti  whose  fidelity  he  suspected.  He  was 
also  compelled  to  carry  Pisa,  where  the  gates  were  closed 
against  Mm,  by  storm.  After  declaring  Robert  of  Naples  out 
of  the  bann  of  the  empire,  and  creating  Castruccio,  the  gallant 
Ohibelline  leader,  duke  of  Lucca,  he  proceeded  to  Rome, 
caused  himself  to  be  proclaimed  in  the  capitol  lord  of  the 
Vernal  city,  to  be  crowned  with  his  wife  Margaretha  of  Hol- 
land in  St.  Peter's  by  two  bishops,  deposed  the  pope,  John 
XXn.  of  Avignon,  who  was  burnt  in  effigy,  and  placed  a 
loyal  Franciscan,  under  the  name  of  Martin  V.,  on  the  pon- 
tifical throne.  Margaretha  shortly  afterwards  gave  birth  to 
a  son,  Louis,  sumamed  the  Roman.  Robert,  meanwhile,  pre- 
pared for  war ;  Castruccio  died,  and  the  Germans  became  so 
unpopular  on  account  of  the  expense  of  their  maintenance, 
that  Louis  was  compelled  to  retrace  his  steps.  Milan  closed 
her  gates  against  him,  and  he  was  constrained  to  restore  the 
Visconti  to  liberty  in  order  to  procure  money  for  the  payment 
of  his  troops.  Martin  Y.  was  deposed  and  carried  to  Avignon, 
where  he  was,  with  feigned  compassion,  pardoned  by  the  pope, 
who  thus  sought  to  evince  his  superiority  over  the  emperor. 


122  THE  ELECTORAL  DIET  AT  RBNSE. 

Louis  the  elder  was,  meanwhile,  defeated  on  the  Cremmer 
Damm  in  Brandenburg  by  the  papal  partisan  Bamim  of 
Pomerania.  John  of  Bohemia  had  al^o  been  engaged  in 
Lithuania  with  his  allies,  the  German  Hospitallers.  Frederick 
the  Handsome,  deeply  wounded  by  the  refusal  of  the  princes 
to  recognise  him  as  the  emperor's  colleague  on  the  throne, 
expired  four  weeks  before  Louis's  arrival  in  Munich  from  his 

Italian  expedition. About  the  same  time,  [a.  d.  1328,]] 

Charles  lY.  of  France,  the  last  of  the  Capetian  dynasty,  also 
expired,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  relative,  Philip  of  Valois, 
who  pursued  a  similar  policy  in  regard  to  Grermany,  and 
entered  into  a  close  alliance  with  the  pope. 


CLXXVn.   The  electoral  diet  at  Rense. 

Difficulties  seemed  to  gather  around  the  path  of  Louis, 
now  sole  emperor,  and  he  again  found  it  necessary  to  renew  his 
alliance  with  John  of  Bohemia,  to  whom  he  craftily  offered  the 
vice-regency  of  Italy,  which  was  greedily  accepted,  and  John, 
ever  enamoured  of  adventure,  instantly  crossed  the  Alps. 
Otto  the  Joyous,  on  the  other  hand,  jealous  of  the  emperor's 
popularity  in  Switzerland  and  in  the  cities,  renewed  the 
Habsburg  feud,  and  a  battle  was  on  the  point  of  taking  place 
at  Colmar  between  him  and  the  imperial  forces,  when  Albert 
the  Lame,  his  elder  brother,  interposed,  and  a  treaty  was  con- 
cluded, by  which  the  Habeburgs  were  to  hold  Schaffhausen, 
Kheinfelden,  Breisach,  the  bulwarks  of  the  Upper  Bhine,  in 
fee  of  the  empire,  and  Otto  to  receive  the  empty  title  of  vice- 
gerent of  the  empire.  John  of  Bohemia,  enraged  at  these 
conditions,  instantly  joined  the  Italian  Guelphs. 

The  emperor,  upon  this,  convoked  a  great  diet  at  Nurembei^^ 
in  which  he  urgently  pointed  out  to  the  princes  the  necessity 
of  union.  John,  who  speedily  found  himself  deserted  by  hu 
Italian  allies,  and  in  want  of  money  and  troops,  also  appeared, 
dexterously  excused  his  conduct,  and  drew  the  Habsburgs, 
whom  he  found  on  friendly  terms  with  the  emperor,  over  to 
his  side,  giving  his  daughter,  Anna,  in  marriage  to  Otto  the 
Joyous,  whilst  he  himself  wedded  Elisabeth,  the  daughter  of 
the  emperor  Albert,  whom  he  had  ever  bitterly  hated  and 
opposed.    Louis  attempted  to  make  use  of  John  as  a  mediator 


THE  ELECTOBAL  DIET  AT  RENSB.       123 

between  bim  and  the  pope,  who  refosed  to  come  to  terms,  and 
John,  placing  himself  at  the  head  of  the  French  chivalry,  re- 
crossed  the  Alps  and  defeated  the  Gbibellines  at  Felice,  where 
his  son  Wenzcd  (afterwards  the  emperor  Charles  lY.)  gained 
his  first  spurs ;  after  which  he  returned  to  Grermany,  to  carry 
on  fends  with  the  petty  coonts. 

The  emperor,  in  the  hope  of  inducing  the  pope  to  release 
him  firom  the  interdict,  now  offered  to  perform  public  penance, 
to  sacrifice  the  faithful  Minorites,  and  to  abdicate  in  favour  of 
his  cousin,  Henry  of  Lower  Bavaria.  These  undignified  con« 
cessions  and  the  folly  of  Henry,  who,  in  the  hope  of  securing 
his  succession  to  the  throne,  entered  into  a  base  alliance  with 
France,  merely  served  to  furnish  the  pope  with  fresh  weapons, 
to  raise  the  suspicions  of  the  electoral  princes,  and  to  increase 
his  unpopulari^. 

John  XXU.,  after  declaring  Italy  for  ever  independent  of 
the  empire,  expired,  [a.  d.  1334,]  at  Avignon,  leaving  im* 
mense  wealth,  most  of  which  had  found  its  way  into  his  cof- 
fers from  Germany,  whence  he  had  also  drawn  the  enormous 

Bams  lavished  by  him  upon  France. ^Louis  was,  meanwhile, 

favoured  in  Germany  by  public  opinion,  averse  to  the  papal 
intrigues  at  Avignon,  by  Albert  the  Lame,  whose  love  of 
peace  counterbalanced  the  restlessness  of  John  of  Bohemia, 
and  by  a  quarrel  that  again  broke  out  between  the  houses  of 
Luxemburg  and  Habsborg. 

Henry  ci  Carinthia  and  Tyrol,  ex-king  of  Bohemia,  died, 
1335,  leaving  a  daughter,  the  celebrated  Margaretha  Maul- 
tasche,  (with  pouting  lips,  a  name  she  received  either  on  ac- 
count of  her  large  mouth,  or  from  her  residence,  the  castle  of 
Maultasch,  between  Botzen  and  Meran,)  whom  John  of  Bohe- 
mia instantly  wedded  to  his  son  John  Henry,  then  in  his 
eighth  year,  with  the  intention  of  extending  his  sway  over  the 
territories  of  her  late  father.  The  emperor  and  the  Habsburgs, 
jealous  of  this  addition  to  the  power  of  the  Luxemburg  family, 
instantly  leagued  against  him,  and  the  Habsburgs  were  de- 
dared  Henry's  successors.  Margaretha  chiefly  distinguished 
herself  by  laying  siege  to  the  castles  of  the  opposite  party 
during  this  feud,  which  was  put  an  end  to  in  1336,  by  the 
division  of  the  disputed  inheritance  between  the  rival  houses, 
to  which  the  emperor  was  forced  to  give  his  assent.  Dread- 
ing lest  the  union  of  the  late  rivals  might  be  turned  against 


124  THE  ELECTORAL  DIET  AT  RENSE. 

himself,  he  entered  into  negotiation  with  the  pope,  Benedict 
XII.,  the  tool  of  France,  who  compelled  him  to  refuse  the 
emperor's  petition,  upon  which  Louis  degraded  himself  so  far 
as  to  address  the  French  monarch  personally,  and  to  promise 
not  to  ally  himself  with  any  of  that  king's  enemies*  Philip, 
notwithstanding  these  concessions,  stiU  refusing  his  assent  to 
Louis's  release  from  the  interdict,  the  emperor  broke  off  the 
negotiation,  and  offered  to  aid  the  pretensions  of  Edward,  king 
of  England,  to  the  throne  of  France.  War  was  declared  be- 
tween the  empire  and  France,  and  the  restoration  of  the  Arelat 
was  demanded  ;  and  so  powerful  was  the  force  of  public  opinion 
among  the  citizens  and  the  lower  orders  throughout  the  empire 
in  favour  of  the  emperor,  that  the  princes  at  length  took  the 
part  of  their  long-neglected  sovereign,  and,  following  the  ex- 
ample of  the  bishops,  who  had  met  at  Spires  under  the  presi- 
dency of  Henry  of  Mayence,  until  now  a  zealous  Gruelph,  and 
had  agreed  to  effect  his  release  from  the  interdict,  assem- 
bled at  Reuse,  where,  moved  by  the  emperor's  remonstrances 
against  their  base  submission  to  a  pope,  a  creature  of  France, 
they  declared  that  the  supremacy  of  the  German  emperor 
above  all  other  sovereigns  of  the  earth  was  exclusively  be- 
stowed by  the  election  of  the  German  princes,  without  its  be- 
ing ratified  or  the  emperor  being  crowned  by  the  pope;  that 
the  emperor  was  not  the  vassal,  but  the  protector  of  the 
church ;  that,  on  the  demise  of  the  emperor,  the  pope  should 
no  longer  usurp  the  vicegerency  of  the  empire ;  and  finally, 
prohibited  the  publication  of  the  papal  bulls  within  the  em- 
pire without  the  previous  consent  of  the  German  bishops. 
These  resolutions  of  the  electoral  princes  were  supported  by 
the  cities ;  and  the  priests,  who  refused  to  uphold  the  em- 
peror, were  expelled.  The  hopes  of  the  people,  raised  by  the 
conference  that  took  place  between  the  emperor  and  the 
English  monarch  at  Coblentz,  were,  however,  deceived ;  the 
princes,  lately  so  energetic,  were  devoid  of  sincerity,  and 
Louis  greatly  diminished  his  popularity  by  his  acceptance  of 
a  sum  of  money  from  the  British  king,  whose  alliance  he  was 
shortly  afterwards,  to  the  extreme  discontent  of  the  people, 
induced  to  abandon  by  John  of  Bohemia,  in  the  vain  hope  of 
a  reconciliation  with  France,  and  of  a  release  from  the  papal 
interdict. 

The  discord  that  prevailed  among  the  princes  had,  mean- 


THE  BLECTORAL  DIET  AT  RENSB.  125 

vhile,  encouraged  the  free  spirit  of  the  Swiss.  The  oon* 
federated  peasantry  had  gained  skill  and  discipline  in  the 
incessant  warfare  with  their  nohle  and  ecclesiastical  neigh- 
boars,  and  strength  hj  their  union  with  the  inhabitants  of 
other  cantons  and  towns,  which  had,  like  them,  thrown  off  the 
yoke.    Berne  joined  the  confederation,  a.  d.  1339. 

The  emperor,  whilst  carrying  on  his  wretched  negotiations 
with  the  pope,  had  withdrawn  to  Bavaria,  on  which  he  be* 
stowed  an  excellent  code  of  laws.  Lower  Bavaria  also  fell 
to  him  on  the  extinction  of  the  reigning  house  on  the  death 
of  Henry,  and  the  conduct  of  Msffgaretha  Maultasch,  who, 
dissatisfied  with  her  youthful  husband,  John  Henry,  had  di- 
vorced herself  from  him,  and  wedded  Louis  the  Elder,  brought 
the  Tjrol  into  the  imperial  family.  John  of  Bohemia,  at  that 
time  engaged  in  opposing  the  Polish  party  in  Silesia,  in  which 
he  was  aided  by  his  son  Wenzel,  (surnamed  Charles  after  the 
French  king,  at  whose  court  he  had  been  educated,)  no  sooner 
learned  the  defection  of  the  Tyrol,  than,  hastening  to  Albert 
the  Lame,  he  entreated  him  to  unite  with  him  against  the 
house  of  Wittelsbach.  Albert  consented,  and  the  confederates 
were  naturally  joined  by  France  and  by  the  pope,  Clement  V., 
who  dwelt  at  Avignon,  like  a  Turk  in  his  harem,  surrounded 
hj  his  mistresses.  A  fearful  anathema  was  hurled  against  the 
emperor,  whose  courage  again  sank,  and  he  yielded  to  every 
condition  prescribed  by  the  pope,  namely,  to  lay  the  crown  at 
Us  feet,  to  place  the  whole  of  his  possessions  at  his  disposal, 
to  perform  every  penance  he  thought  fit  to  impose,  and  to 
niake  every  concession  he  chose  to  demand  for  France ;  not- 
withstanding which,  the  pope  still  refused  to  raise  the  inter-  ' 
^ct,  on  account  of  the  disinclination  of  the  French  monarch. 
I^uis,  nevertheless,  succeeded  in  pacifying  John  of  Bohemia, 
^J  indemnifying  him  for  the  loss  of  the  Tyrol  by  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Xiausitz,  which,  in  point  of  fact,  belonged  to  Bran- 
denburg. The  death  of  Willimn  IV.,  earl  of  Holland  and 
Hennegau,  who  was  drowned  together  with  two  hundred  and 
fifty  knights  and  ten  thousand  men,  [a.  d.  1345,]  during  an 
expedition  against  the  West  Friscians,  brought  Holland  and 
Hennegau  to  the  emperor  in  right  of  his  wife,  Margaretha, 
^he  late  earl's  sister ;  and  he  accordingly  sent  bis  son,  William, 
to  Holland,  where  he  gained  great  popularity  among  the  peo- 
ple by  the  grant  of  greai  privileges,  and  the  friendship  of  his 


126  THE  BATTLE  OF  CEECY. 

neighbours,  the  counts  of  Juliers  and  of  Gueldres,  whom  he 
created  dukes  of  the  empire.   ^ 

This  accession  of  wealth  and  influence  greatly  enraged  the 
anti-imperial  party,  more  particularly  John  of  Bohemia,  who, 
moreover,  suspecting  that  Louis  had  been  the  instigator  of  a 
conspiracy  formed  against  him  by  Casimir  of  Poland  during 
his  absence  in  Prussia,  set  up  his  son  Charles,  in  revenge,  as 
a  competitor  for  the  throne,  and  the  pope,  delighted  with  the 
scheme,  raised  Prague  to  an  archbishopric  The  assent  of 
Louisas  numerous  enemies  was  quickly  gained.  His  cousin, 
Rupert  of  the  Pfalz,  surnamed  the  Red,  attempted  to  seize 
Bavaria,  but  was  repulsed ;  and  Charles,  who  had  laid  siege 
to  the  Maultasche  in  her  castle  in  the  Tyrol,  was  also  speedily 
compelled  to  retreat  before  Louis  the  Elder.  John  of  Bohe- 
mia, who  had,  meanwhile,  received  permission  from  the  pope, 
who  merely  acted  in  the  name  of  France,  for  his  son's  elec- 
tion, in  return  for  which  he  promised  to  aid  France  against 
England,  now  canvassed  the  German  princes,  and  convoked 
them  to  Reuse,  where  shortly  before  they  had  so  energetically 
supported  Louis,  but  where  they  now  proclaimed  Charles  em- 
peror, A.  D.  1346.  The  people,  however,  rebelled.  Frank- 
furt and  Aix-la-ChapeUe  closed  their  gates  against  the  usurper, 
and,  notwithstanding  the  aid  given  by  the  archbishops,  the 
defeat  of  his  opponents  near  Coblentz,  and  the  power  of  his 
Guelphic  partisans  in  Austria,  Hungary,  and  Italy,  he  was 
unable  to  gain  possession  of  the  Tyrol,  whence  he  and  his 
mercenary  troops  were  expelled  by  Margaretha  Maultasche. 

Whilst  these  events  were  passing,  Louis  expired  during  a 
bear  hunt  at  Fiirstenfeld,  in  the  vicinity  of  Munich,  in  the 
arms  of  a  peasant,  A.  d.  1347. 


CLXXVm.   The  haUU  of  Crecy.—  The  black  death,— The 
Flagellants. — The  murder  of  the  Jews, 

France  and  the  pope  regarded  the  emperor  given  by  them 
to  Germany  as  their  tooL  Their  whole  power,  however, 
failed  in  reducing  the  Flemish  citizens,  although  abandoned 
by  the  rest  of  Germany,  and  on  ill  terms  with  their  nobility 
and  rulers,  to  subjection.  Brugge,  unaided  by  the  neighbour- 
ing towns,  was  [a.  d.  1328]  compelled  to  yield  to  the  allied 


THE  BATTLB  OF  C&ECT.  127 

IbrceB  of  Ynnee  and  Bohemia ;  but  the  French  did  not  long 
triumph.  Jacob  von  Artevelde,  a  wealthy  brewer  of  Ghent, 
but  a  man  of  nobk  birth,  opposed  the  attempts  made  bj  Louis 
of  Nevers,  earl  of  Flanders,  to  humble  the  pride  of  the  citi- 
zens,  and,  in  unison  with  Siger  von  Kortrjk,  concluded  a 
commercial  treaty  in  the  name  of  the  Flemish  cities  with 
Edward,  king  of  England.  Siger  fell  into  the  hands  of  Louis, 
who  ordered  him  to  execution,  upon  which  a  general  insur- 
rection, headed  by  Artevelde,  ensued,  and  this  popular  leader 
speedily  acquired  greater  influence  in  Flanders  than  had  ever 
been  enjoyed  by  her  earls. 

Charles  lY.,  the  tool  d  Papal  and  French  policy,  now  found 
himself  constrained,  owing  to  his  dependence  upon  his  father, 
to  serve  the  French  monarch  against  England,  although,  as 
will  hereafiter  be  seen,  he  was  too  prudent  a  politician  and 
too  sensible  of  his  dignity  to  allow  himself  to  be  long  enchained 
to  the  petty  interest  of  a  French  king.  Lothringia  had  long 
fJEivoured  France.  The  duke,  Flrederick,  had  fallen  in  Philip's 
cause  in  Flanders,  and  his  son,  Rudolf,  was  also  that  mon- 
arch's ally.  Edward  of  England,  on  landing  in  Flanders, 
was,  notwithstanding  the  death  of  Artevelde,  who,  falsely 
suspected  of  a  design  of  selling  Flanders  to  England,  had 
been  assassinated  by  his  countrymen,  received  with  open  arms 
by  the  citizens,  and  joined  by  Henry  the  Iron,  of  Holstein. 
The  French  suffered  a  total  defeat  at  Crecy,  August  26th, 
1346.  The  emperor,  uninterested  in  the  fate  of  the  battle, 
fled,  whilst  his  brave  father.  King  John  of  Bohemia,  who  had 
been  blind  for  many  years,*  bound  between  two  men-at-arms, 
plunged  headlong  into  the  thickest  of  the  fight,  in  the  vain 
hope  of  turning  the  battle.  With  him  fell  Rudolf  of  Loth- 
ringia, Louis  of  Nevers,  and  all  the  Germans  who  had  so 
uselessly  ventured  their  honour  and  their  lives  in  a  stranger's 
cause,  in  that  of  their  hereditary  foe.  When  the  death  of  the 
German  princes  was  told  to  the  English  king,  he  exclaimed, 
'*  0  ye  Germans !  how  could  ye  die  for  a  French  king ! " 
The  sword  of  the  blind  Bohemian  king  bore  the  inscription, 
"/cA  dien/"  "  I  serve,"  that  is,  "God,  the  ladies,  and  right," 
which  was  on  this  occasion  assumed  by  the  Prince  of  Wales 
as  his  motto. 

*  John  had  lost  one  of  his  eyes  during  his  Polish  expedition,  the  other 
through  the  ignorance  of  his  medical  attendants. 


128  THE  BLACK  DEATH. 

The  alliance  between  the  English  and  Flemish  proved  but 
of  short  duration,  and  Louis  II.  of  Male,  the  son  of  Louis  of 
Nevers,  was  raised  to  the  earldom  on  solemnly  swearing  to 
respect  the  liberties  of  the  citizens.  France  was  compelled  to 
restore  Ryssel,  Douai,  and  Bethune.  Lothringia,  and  Henry, 
bishop  of  Verdun,  who  had  made  a  formal  cession  of  his 
bishopric  to  France,  returned  to  their  allegiance  to  the  em- 
pire. The  Hansa  greatly  distinguished  itself,  [a.  d.  1344,] 
under  Henry  von  Lacken,  whom  Louis  had  sent  to  command 
its  troops,  by  sea  and  by  land,  against  the  Swedes.  Thuringia 
was  a  prey  to  intestine  feuds,  A.  d.  1342. 

Fearful  natural  visitations  and  signs  now  filled  all  Europe 
with  alarm.  In  1337,  appeared  a  great  comet ;  during  the 
three  ensuing  years,  an  enormous  multitude  of  locusts  ;  in 
1348,  the  end  of  the  world  seemed  at  hand ;  an  earthquake  of 
extraordinary  violence  devastated  Gjprus,  Greece,  Italy,  and 
the  Alpine  valleys  as  far  as  Basle.  Mountains  were  swal- 
lowed up.  In  Carinthia,  thirty  villages  and  the  tower  of 
Villach  were  reduced  to  heaps  of  ruins.  The  air  was  thick, 
pestilential,  and  stifling.  Wine  fermented  in  the  casks.  Fiery 
meteors  appeared  in  the  heavens.  A  gigantic  pillar  of  flame 
was  seen  exactly  over  the  papal  palace  at  Avignon.  A  second 
earthquake,  that  destroyed  almost  the  whole  of  Basle,  occur- 
red in  1356.*  These  horrors  were  succeeded  by  a  dreadful 
pestilence,  called  the  black  death,  its  victims  being  suddenly 
covered  with  black  spots  like  bums,  and  often  instantly  drop- 
ping down  dead.  It  first  appeared  in  China,  whence  it 
traversed  Asia  and  spread  over  Europe.  At  Basle  fourteen 
thousand  people  fell  victims  to  it,  at  Strassburg  and  Erfurt 
sixteen  thousand,  and  so  on  in  proportion  throughout  Ger- 
many ;  and  yet,  according  to  the  historians  of  that  period, 
Germany  suffered  less  than  other  countries.  In  Osnabruck, 
only  seven  married  couples  remained  unseparated  by  death. 
Of  the  Franciscan  Minorites  in  Germany,  without  including 
those  in  foreign  parts,  there  died  124,434,  whence  a  con- 
clusion may  be  drawn  both  of  the  fury  of  the  pestilence  and 
of  the  amazing  number  *of  this  order,  in  which  all  took  refuge 
to  whom  the  courtly  manners  and  luxury  of  the  rest  of  the 
priesthood  were  obnoxious.  Traces  of  the  moral  reformation 
of  the  church  were,  even  at  that  period,  perceivable  through- 
out Germany.     Besides  the  fathers  and  the  lay  brothers, 


THE  FLAGELLANTS.  129 

there  arose  a  third  class  of  these  monks,  the  Tertiarians,  who 
had  no  monasteries,  but  lived  freely  among  the  laitj,  and 
practised  the  severest  penance.  Their  number  was  without 
doabt  increased  bj  the  repeated  disturbance  of  divine  ser- 
?ice,*  which  the  interdicted  laity  performed  for  themselves  on 
the  refusal  of  the  priests ;  and  the  idea  of  atoning  for  sins  by 
the  performance  of  severe  penance  naturally  occurred  when 
absolution  was  no  longer  dispensed  in  the  churches.  Thus 
arose  the  orders  of  Beguines,  who,  besides  the  imposition  of 
peoance,  attended  the  sick ;  the  Beghards,  probably  so  termed 
from  their  founder,  a  man  from  Ficardy ;  Lollards,  {gebete 
hdlende,  prayer-mutterers,)  etc.,  whose  sincere  piety,  which 
sometimes  degenerated  to  mere  enthusiasm,  strongly  contrasted 
with  the  levity,  licence,  luxury,  and  pride  of  the  ecclesiastics. 
These  ideas  and  sects  were  abeady  common  throughout 
Germany,  when  the  great  pestilence,  which  swept  away  a 
third  of  the  inhabitants  of  Europe,  appeared.  The  day  of 
judgment  was  declared  to  be  at  hand,  and  a  letter,  said  to 
have  been  addressed  from  Jerusalem  by  the  Creator  of  the 
world  to  his  sinning  creatures,  was  dispersed  throughout 
Europe  by  a  wandering  tribe  of  penitents  or  Flagellants,  who, 
like  their  Italian  predecessors  in  the  thirteenth  century,  cru- 
elly lashed  themselves  as  they  went  along  singing  penitential 
songs.  They  marched  in  good  order  under  various  leaders, 
and  were  distinguished  by  white  hats  with  red  crosses.  These 
penitents  at  first  created  great  enthusiasm,  which  gradually 
decreased  as  the  pestilence  died  away,  and  [a.  d.  1349]  Cle- 
ment YL,  who  rightly  beheld  in  them  the  commencement  of 
ft  great  reformation,  launched  a  bull  against  and  persecuted 
them  as  heretics.  They  preached,  confessed,  and  forgave  sins, 
pronounced  the  absolution  granted  by  the  church  of  no  avail, 
upbraided  the  priests  for  their  hypocrisy  and  luxury,  and 
^ught  that  all  men  were  brothers,  and  equal  in  the  sight  of 
God.  Persecution  raised  their  enthusiasm  to  frenzy,  and  the 
truths  they  at  first  inculcated  were  perverted  by  pride  and 
hatred ;  some  even  gave  themselves  out  as  the  Messiah.  The 
enthusiasm  of  the  Beghards  was  allied  with  the  greatest  li- 
cence, which,  at  a  later  period,  so  strikingly  reappeared  in  the 
Adamites  and  Rebaptists.     In  a  council  held  at  Vienne,  they 

*  In  quibus  annis  homines  plures  nati  et  mortui  fuerunt,  qui  diyina 
omcia  nunquam  celebrari  yiderunt. — MalkohM, 

VOL.  II.  K 


130  THE  MXJBDBE  OF  THE  JEWS. 

were  charged  with  believing  every  thing  to  be  right  and  divine 
to  which  their  natures  inclined  them,  for  instance,  community 
of  wives  (an  idea  resuscitated  bj  the  Socialists  of  modern  days). 
According  to  Comerns,  they  believed  God  to  be  neither  bad 
nor  good,  and,  what  was  termed  bad  to  be  divine ;  that  man 
was  God,  and  that  God  could  not  have  created  the  world 
without  him :  "  homo  operatur  quod  Dens  operatur,  et  creavit 
ima  cum  Deo  coelum  et  terram,  et  est  genitor  verbi  etemi,  et 
Deus  sine  taH  homine  nihil  facere  potest,"  like  the  idea  of 
Hegel,  of  God's  first  attaining  consciousness  in  man.  Man 
could  therefore  only  act  by  the  inspiration  of  God,  and  when 
man's  inclinations  led  him  to  sin,  it  was  a  divine  impulse  on 
which  he  acted,  and  real  penance  consisted  in  giving  way  to 
this  impulse,  in  order  not  to  resist  the  will  of  God,  **  et  quia 
Deus  vult  me  peccasse,  ideo  noUem  ego  quod  peccata  non 
commisissem,  et  haec  vera  est  poenitentia." 

The  Flagellants,  so  long  as  they  possessed  the  power, 
greatly  tyrannized  over  the  Jews.  The  hatred  of  this  perse- 
cuted race  had  slumbered  since  the  crusades,  but  now  awoke 
with  redoubled  fury  in  Austria  and  Bavaria,  on  account  of 
the  desolation  caused  by  the  prodigious  quantities  of  locusts, 
(which  spread  over  a  space  of  three  German  miles*  in  breadth, 
and  more  miles  in  length  than  the  most  rapid  horse  could 
gallop  in  a  day,)  which  was  declared  to  be  a  punishm^it  in- 
dicted by  Heaven  on  account  of  the  desecration  of  the  Host  by 
the  Jews,  and  a  dreadful  massacre  ensued  in  both  these  coun- 
tries, A.  D.  1337.  The  severe  penalties  inflicted  upon  the 
murderers  by  the  emperor  Louis  put  a  stop  to  the  slaughter. 
In  1349,  the  appearance  of  the  pestilence  and  of  the  Flagel- 
lants was  again  a  signal  for  massacre ;  the  pestilence  was  de- 
clared the  effect  of  poison  administered  by  this  unhappy  peo- 
ple; the  infatuated  populace  could  no  longer  be  restrained; 
from  Berne,  where  the  city  council  gave  orders  for  the 
slai^hter  to  commence,  it  spread  over  the  whole  of  Switzer- 
land and  Germany ;  thousands  of  Jews  were  slain  or  burnt 
alive,  and  mercy  was  merely  extended  to  children  who  were 
baptized  in  the  presence  of  their  parents,  and  to  young  maid- 
ens, some  of  whom  escaped  from  the  arms  of  their  ravishers 
to  throw  themselves  headlong  into  the  flames  that  consumed 
their  kindred.  All  who  could,  took  refuge  in  Poland,  where 
•  Nine  English, 


CHABLES  THE  FOURTH.  131 

Gasimir,  a  second  AhaBiieros,  protected  them  from  lore  for 
^^Btber,  a  beautifiil  Jewess.  Poland  has,  since  this  period, 
swarmed  with  Jews.  The  persecution,  however,  no  sooner 
ceased,  than  they  reappeared  in  Germany. 


CLXXIX.  Charles  the  Fourth. 

Chakles  IY.  was  the  first  of  the  emperors  who  introduced 
the  foreign  policy  against  which  his  predecessors  on  the 
throne  had  so  manfuUy  and  unsuccessfolly  striven.  The 
Habsborgs  had  made  some  weak  attempts  of  a  similar  nature, 
bat  it  was  not  until  this  reign  that  modem  policy  took  deep 
'Oct  in  Germany.  This  emperor  appeared  to  think  that 
honour  had  vanished,  leaving  caution  in  its  stead. 

Lonis  the  Elder  had  succeeded  to  the  claims  of  the  house 
of  Wittelsbach,  which  it  was  Charles's  primary  object  to  de- 
^7.  The  failure  of  the  Hohenstaufen,  of  his  grandfather 
Henry,  and  of  Louis  of  Bavaria,  clearly  proved  to  him  the  im- 
possibility of  success  as  emperor,  and  induced  him,  like  the 
emperor  Albert,  to  do  his  utmost  to  raise  his  house  on  the 
J^reck  of  the  empire  ;  instead,  however,  like  that  emperor,  of 
increasing  his  power  by  open  violence,  he  empoisoned  Ger- 
n^an  policy  with  every  hypocritical  art,  by  the  practice  of 
courtly  treachery  and  secret  murder,  in  which  he  had  become 
^  adept  in  France.  Primogeniture,  first  introduced  by  him 
^to  his  family,  afterwards  passed  into  that  of  Habsburg,  and, 
^t  all  events,  prevented  the  dismemberment  of  the  empire, 
^bose  external  power  was  thereby  increased,  notwithstanding 
the  moral  pnralyzation  of  its  effect. 

The  Ascaniers  and  the  archbishop  of  Magdeburg,  the 
natural  rivals  to  Brandenburg,  instigated  by  the  emperor, 
^sed  a  pretender,  a  miller,  one  Jacob  Rehbock,  whom  they 
declared  to  be  Waldemar,  to  whom  he  bore  a  great  resem- 
blance, in  opposition  to  Louis  the  Elder,  who,  unprepared  for 
^  attach,  lost  the  whole  of  Brandenburg  with  the  exception 
of  Briezen,  since  named,  on  account  of  its  fidelity,  Treuen-r 
hriezen,  and  Frankfort  on  the  Oder,  which  was  unsuccessfully 
^^ed  by  the  emperor. 

The  Wittelsbacher  and  their  adherents,  Brandenburg,  Ffalz, 
Mayence,  and  Saxony,  had  offered  the  imperial  crown  to  the 

K  2 


132  CHARLES  THE  FOUETH. 

conqueror  of  Crecy,  which  the  English  parliament,  feariag 
lest  an  emperor  of  Germany  might  forget  his  duty  as  king  of 
England,  would  not  permit  him  to  accept.  Their  choice  then 
fell  upon  Gunther  von  Schwarzburg,  a  knight  distinguished 
for  his  feats  of  arms,  in  whose  favour  they  gained  over  the 
Poles,  the  ancient  foes  of  the  house  of  Luxemburg.  Charles 
IV.,  however,  craftily  entered  into  negotiation  with  Edward, 
to  whom  he  proved  the  necessity  of  an  alliance  between  them 
against  France,  drew  the  Habsburg  army  on  his  side  by 
giving  his  daughter,  Catherine,  in  marriage  to  Budolf  the 
son  of  Albrecht  the  Lame ;  and,  with  equal  skill,  dissolved  the 
Wittelsbach  confederacy  by  wedding  Anna,  the  daughter  of 
the  Ffalzgrave  Rupert,  by  ceding  Brandenburg  to  Louis  the 
Elder,  and  declaring  Waldemar,  whom  he  had  himself  invested 
with  that  electorate,  an  impostor;  Louis  the  Elder,  with 
equal  perfidy,  sacrificing  Gunther,  who  was  shortly  afterwards 
poisoned  by  one  of  Charles's  emissaries,  a.  d.  1347.  Gunther 
was  a  bold  and  energetic  man,  and  had  acquired  great  popu- 
larity by  a  manifesto,  in  which  he  had  pledged  himself  to 
maintain  the  imperial  prerogative  and  to  pursue  the  policy  of 
the  Hohenstaufen. 

Charles  stood  alone  at  the  head  of  the  house  of  Luxem- 
burg, whibt  that  of  Wittelsbach  was  weakened  and  disunited 
by  subdivision,  and  the  rest  of  the  princes  of  the  empire  were 
either  intimidated  or  engaged  in  family  feuds.  By  his  diplo- 
macy, marked  as  it  was  by  fraud  and  cunning,  he  raised  not 
only  the  power  of  his  own  family  but  also  that  of  the  empire, 
and  by  means  of  these  petty  arts  succeeded  where  the  Hohen- 
staufen with  all  their  valour  and  magnanimity  had  failed.  He 
dissolved  the  alliance  between  the  pope  and  France,  and 
gained  more  by  this  diplomatic  stroke  than  many  a  campaign 
could  have  effected.*  His  stay  during  his  youth  at  the 
French  court,  and  at  the  papal  palace  at  Avignon,  had  ren- 
dered him  acquainted  with  the  jealousy  secretly  existing  be- 
tween the  two  allies,  with  the  desire  of  the  pontifi*  to  escape 
from  thraldom  and  to  return  to  Rome,  from  which  the  dread 
of  again  falling  under  the  imperial  yoke  alone  withheld  him. 
By  the  most  fawning  humility,  feigned  piety,  and  genuine 
patience,  Charles  at  length  succeeded  in  winning  his  con- 

*  His  motto  was,  "  Optimum,  aliena  insania  frui." 


CHARLES  THE  FOURTH.  133 

fidence.  The  dangerous  position  in  which  France  was  gra- 
dually placed  by  ^England  also  aided  his  plans,  and  he  hestowed 
great  favoors  tipon  Philip  the  Bold,  the  jounger  son  of  John 
king  of  France,  who  had  inherited  Burgundy,  and  whose 
ambitions  extension  of  his  newly-acquired  dominions  was  ill 
viewed  by  France,  A.  B.  1358. 

Charles's  views  upon  Italy,  far  from  extending  to  the  re- 
annexation  of  that  country  to  the  empire,  were  circumscribed 
to  the  ceremony  of  coronation  at  Rome,  which  he  entreated 
as  a  favour  in  order  to  prove  to  the  pope  his  little  respect  for 
the  electoral  assembly  at  Reuse,  and  his  profound  reverence 
for  the  papal  sanction.  With  this  intention,  he  visited  Rome 
.  in  a  private  capacity,  without  heeding  the  Italian  factions,  and 
submitted  to  every  command  sent  by  the  pope  from  Avignon, 
even  to  the  degrading  condition  of  quitting  the  city  immedi- 
ately on  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremony. During  the  ab- 
sence of  the  pope,  the  Romans  had  rebelled  against  the  tyranny 
of  the  nobility,  and  had  formed  a  republic,  at  the  head  of 
which  stood  Cola  di  Rienzi,  who,  on  the  emperor's  arrival, 
hastened  to  his  presence  in  the  hope  of  bringing  about  the 
restoration  of  the  ancient  Roman  empire ;  but  Charles,  taking 
advantage  of  the  confidence  with  which  this  enthusiast  had 
placed  himself  within  his  power,  instantly  threw  him  into 
chains  and  delivered  him  to  the  pope.  Innocent  YL,  who  sent 
him  back  again  to  Rome,  there  to  work  as  his  tool ;  the  Ro- 
mans, however,  speedily  perceived  that  Cola,  instead  of  foster- 
ing the  ancient  rights  of  the  people,  was  a  mere  papal  instru- 
ment, and  an  insurrection  ensued,  in  which  he  was  assassinated. 
The  Ghibelline  faction  gained  an  unexpected  accession  of 
strength ;  weary  of  the  wretched  state  of  disunion,  their  hopes 
centred  in  Charles  as  the  restorer  of  the  national  unity  of 
Italy,  whilst  the  pope,  in  order  to  retain  his  supremacy  in 
that  country,  incessantly  promoted  dissension  and  division. 
In  the  same  spirit  with  which  Dante  had  formerly  addressed 
Henry  VII.,  did  Petrarch  now  implore  Charles  IV.  to  restore 
Italy  to  the  empire ;  a  step  that  would  solely  have  produced 
a  re-alliance  between  the  pope  and  France ;  the  fate  of  his 
predecessors  had,  moreover,  taught  Charles  but  too  well  the 
measure  of  Ghibelline  faith.  He  therefore  contented  himself 
with  bestowing  great  marks  of  distinction  upon  Petrarch,  and 
with  publicly  saluting  the  beautiful  and  celebrated  Laura,  im- 


134  CHARLES  THE  FOURTH. 

mortalized  in  his  sonnets.  He  even  fomented  the  disputes 
between  the  petty  Italian  princes  and  states,  hy  the  free  sale 
of  privileges  and  declarations  of  independence,  and  collected  ^ 
vast  number  of  relics  in  order  to  flatter  the  pope,  and  to  adorn 
the  churches  in  Boh^nia.  The  Ghibellines,  enraged  at  his 
conduct,  set  fire  to  the  house  in  which  he  lodged  at  Pisa,  and 
he  narrowly  escaped  with  his  life.  On  reaching  Borne,  he 
was  received  with  great  demonstrations  of  friendship  and 
respect  by  the  papal  legates,  and,  the  day  after  the  corona- 
tion, secretly  quitted  Rome,  under  pretext  of  following  the 
chase,  in  order  to  avoid  being  proclaimed  her  temporal  sove- 
reign.— Ten  years  later,  he  reaped  the  fruit  of  this  policy 
in  the  favour  of  Urban  V.,  whom  he  visited  at  Av^on,  and 
who,  even  more  than  his  predecessor,  strove  to  free  himself 
from  the  trammels  in  which  he  was  held  by  France.  When 
[a.  d.  1365]  Charles  was  crowned  king  of  Burgundy  (Arelat) 
at  Aries,  he  pacified  France  by  ceding  the  hereditary  posses- 
sion of  that  country  to  the  Dauphin,  so  called  from  the  Del- 
phinat,  which  fell  to  the  crown  prince  of  France,  in  1348. 
Two  years  after,  [a.  d.  1367,]  Urban  V.  re-entered  Borne, 
and,  in  the  following  year,  was  visited  by  Charles,  whom  he 
met  at  Yiterbo.  The  emperor  afterwards  conducted  him  to 
St.  Peter's,  holding  the  bridle  of  his  horse.  Success  had  at- 
tended his  schemes.  The  disunion  between  the  pope  and 
France,  and  his  own  reconciliation  with  the  firmer,  had  been 
effected.  The  next  pontiff*,  Gregory  XI.,  resided  at  Borne, 
^nd  was  universally  recognised  as  the  successor  of  St.  Peter, 
whilst  the  antipope  at  Avignon,  elected  by  the  French  cardi- 
nals, was  merely  acknowledged  in  France. 

With  the  same  skill  with  which  he  had  disunited  the  pope 
and  France,  Charles  now  strove  to  reintegrate  the  empire,  and 
to  quell  her  internal  dissensions ;  but  he  degraded  his  object 
by  the  means  by  which  he  sought  its  attainment.  His  policy 
towards  the  house  of  Wittelsbach  was  truly  diabolicaL  The 
Habsburgs  and  some  other  princely  houses  escaped  by  retiring 
into  obscurity.  Several  of  the  petty  princes,  as,  for  instance, 
Lux^nburg  and  Bar,  received  an  accession  of  dignity.  He 
also  contrived  to  place  the  ecclesiastical  princes  under  his  in- 
fluence, and  to  remain  on  good  terms  with  the  pope  by  means 
of  his  legate.  Cardinal  Talleyrand. 

The  golden  bull  drawn  up  a.  d.  1356,  is  a  circumstantial 


CHABLES  THS  FOURTH.  135 

proof  of  the  power  to  which  Charles  had,  at  that  period,  at- 
tained. By  it  the  number  of  electoral  princes  was  definitively 
reduced  to  seven,  including  the  three  spiritual  electors  of 
Majeoce,  Cologne,  and  Treves,  and  the  four  temporal  ones 
selwted  by  Charles  for  political  purposes,  Bohemia,  Bran- 
denburg, Saxon- Wittenberg,  and  Rhenish  Pfalz.  Charles 
already  possessed  Bohemia,  and  was  on  the  point  of  taking 
possession  of  Brandenburg,  whilst  the  weak  and  servile  side- 
branches  of  Wittelsbach  and  of  Ascan  reigned  in  the  Pfalz 
and  in  Wittenberg.  The  electors  were  also  declared  almost 
independent  sovereign  princes,  and  exercised  the  ju9  de  non 
evoeando,  which  deprived  their  subjects  of  the  right  of  ap- 
peal to  the  emperor ;  privil^es  bestowed  by  Charles,  not  as 
personal  favours,  but  with  the  intention  of  enlargiog  his 
Weditary  possessions,  and  by  intermarriage,  heritage,  pur- 
^itase,  etc.,  of  re-establishing  the  unity  of  the  empire,  which 
plains  the  exclusion  of  the  house  of  Habsburg,  to  which 
Charles  was  unwilling  to  grant  the  same  advantage,  from  the 
number  of  electoral  princes.  This  bull  is  silent  in  respect  to 
the  SQpremaey  of  the  emperor  in  Italy.  It  was  in  great  part 
drawn  up  by  Cardinal  Talleyrand. 

Charles  was  named  (falsely,  for  he  did  more  for  the  empire 
than  any  emperor  since  the  Hohenstaufen)  the  step-father  of 
the  empire,  but  the  father  of  Bohemia.  His  person  discover- 
^  his  Bohemian  descent,  his  resemblance  to  his  mother  being 
'Stronger  than  that  to  his  father.  He  was  of  diminutive  sta- 
^re,  but  thickset,  carried  his  head  ill  and  drooping  forwards, 
had  high  cheek-bones  and  coal-black  hair.  His  Slavonian 
appearance  curiously  contrasted  with  his  sumptuous  attire,  for 
he  seldom  laid  aside  the  imperial  crown  and  mantle,  and  with 
his  French  manners  and  education.  He  spoke  five  languages, 
*nd  was  deeply  versed  in  all  the  learning  of  the  times.  Part 
^  his  biogrftphy,  written  by  himself,  is  still  extant.  He  also 
drew  out  the  plan  for  the  new  part  of  the  cities  of  Prague  and 
Breslau. 

b  1348,  he  bestowed  a  new  code  of  laws  upon  Bohemia, 
^}  in  1355,  declared  Moravia,  Silesia,  and  the  Lausitz  in- 
arable  from  that  country.  He  also  granted  the  greatest 
P^vileges  to  the  aristocracy  and  to  the  cities,  encouraged 
mining  and  agriculture,  rendered  the  Moldau  navigable  as  far 
^  the  Elbe,  brought  German  artificers  into  the  country,  and 


136  CHARLES  THE  FOURTH. 

converted  the  whole  of  Bohemia  into  a  garden.  In  the  midst 
of  the  smiling  country  stood  the  noble  city  of  Prague,  whose 
fine  public  edifices,  the  regal  Hradschin,  etc. ;  the  celebrated 
bridges,  are  his  work.  Carlsbad  was  also  discovered  by  and 
named  after  him.  He  bestowed  equal  care  upon  Silesia, 
where  he  introduced  the  cloth  manufactures  of  Flanders,  and 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  linen  manufacture  for  which  it 
became  noted.  German  privileges  and  the  German  language 
quickly  spread  throughout  Lower  Silesia.  In  order  to  pre- 
serve his  amicable  relations  with  Poland,  he  wedded,  on  the 
death  of  Anna,  a  daughter  of  the  house  of  Piast,  Elisabeth, 
the  niece  of  Casimir  of  Poland,  a  woman  of  such  extraordinary 
strength  that  she  could  wrench  a  horse-shoe  in  two.  In  the 
other  provinces  of  his  empire  he  gave  a  great  impulse  to 
agriculture,  manufacture,  and  trade,  and  Balbin  remarks  of 
him,  that  his  age  was  that  of  masons  and  architects.  Nor 
were  the  moral  interests  of  his  subjects  neglected.  He 
founded  the  first  German  university  at  Prague,  April  6th, 
1348.  The  Habsburgs  followed  his  example,  and  [a.  d.  1365] 
founded  an  university  at  Vienna,  and  the  Pfalzgrave  founded 
another  [a.  d.  1386]  at  Heidelberg.  The  ecclesiastical 
princes  emulated  their  example,  and  Cologne  also  received  an 

university  in  1388;  Erfurt,  in  1392. The  instruction 

was  divided  into  four  faculties,  the  three  first  of  which  were 
the  sciences,  theology,  jurisprudence,  and  medicine,  the  pro- 
fessors of  these  sciences  received  the  title  of  doctor.  The 
fourth  faculty  comprehended  the  liberal  arts,  grammar,  rhe- 
toric, music,  dialectic,  arithmetic,  geometry,  and  astronomy, 
whose  professors  were  termed  magistri.  Numbers  of  the 
aristocracy,  and  still  greater  numbers  of  the  citizens,  crowded 
the  new  lecture-rooms.  The  university  of  Prague  ere  long 
contained  seven  thousand  students. 

The  spirit  of  the  new  universities  was,  in  consequence  of 
Charles's  policy,  at  first  wavering  and  undecided.  Numbers 
of  Minorites  still,  as  in  the  time  of  Louis  of  Bavaria,  impa- 
tient for  the  reformation  of  the  church,  crowded  to  them. 
The  school-divines  of  Oxford,  and  even  those  of  Paris,  since 
the  escape  of  the  pope  from  the  shackles  imposed  by  France, 
had  declared  against  popery.  The  terms  on  which  the  em- 
peror stood  with  the  pontifl^,  however,  rendered  the  first 
teachers  in  the  German  universities,  notwithstanding  their 


CONTESTS  BETWEEN  THE  CITIZENS,  ETC.  137 

ardent  desire  for  reformation  in  the  chnrch,  fearful  of  promol* 
gating  their  doctrines.  Henry  of  Hesse,  and  Marsilius  ab 
loghen,  the  heads  of  the  universities  of  Vienna  and  Heidel- 
berg, bj  whom  scholasticism  was  spread  throughout  Ger- 
many, acquired  great  note ;  but  the  moderation  for  which 
thej  were  distinguished  was  not  long  imitated.  Hierarchical 
power  still  strove  for  the  ascendency ;  the  universities  were 
gradually  filled  with  papal  adherents,  and,  in  the  ecclesiastical 
provinces,  were  merely  founded  as  ultramontane  schools. 
Boman  sophistry  quickly  spread  throughout  Grermany,  but 
was  opposed  [a.  d.  1391]  by  John  Tauler,  a  monk  of  Strass- 
bnrg,  who,  struck  with  horror  at  the  lies  beneath  which  the 
pure  doctrines  of  the  Christian  faith  lay  concealed,  attempted 
to  introduce  purer  tenets  among  the  people.  This  popular 
preacher  of  German  mysticism  was,  however,  too  mild,  and 
bis  followers  were  too  much  wrapped  up  in  ecstatic  devotion, 
to  effect  the  slightest  reformation  in  the  church. 

OLXXX.  Contests  between  the  citizens  and  the  aristocracy. — 
fVars  of  the  Hansa. 

Albebt  the  Lame  [a.  d.  1358]  had  four  sons,  Rudolf  the 
Handsome  or  the  Founder,  who  succeeded  to  the  Tyrol,  Leo- 
pold the  Pious,  who  fell  at  Sempach,  Albert  with  the  Tuft, 
(so  named  from  the  tuft  of  hair  he  bore  on  his  helm  in  memory 
of  his  wife,  in  whose  honour  he  founded  an  order  of  knight- 
hood,) and  Frederick.  This  family  no  longer  ventured  to 
contest  for  the  throne,  but  sought  to  extend  and  to  maintain 
Its  possessions  by  means  less  likely  to  attract  attention.  Its 
authority  was  supported  by  the  pope  and  by  the  nobility,  and 
It,  consequently,  suppressed  every  heretical  tendency  among 
the  people,  persecuted  the  Waldenses,  and  deprived  the  cities 
of  their  privileges.  Vienna  lost  her  ancient  constitution  and 
^il>orative  regulations,  and  was  raised  to  higher  importance 
hy  becoming  the  ducal  residence.  The  university,  founded 
hy  Rudolf,  had  a  papal  tendency.  The  nobility,  meanwhile, 
acquired  greater  power  by  their  support  of  the  ducal  family, 
«nd  the  peasantry  were  gradually  reduced  to  deeper  servility. 

In  Switzerland,  where  liberty  had  made  rapid  progress,  a 
^h  contest  broke  out  between  the  confederated  cities  and 


138  CONTESTS  BETWEEN  THE  CITIZENS 

the  Habsburgs.  Zurich,  Glaris,  and  Zng  joined  the  con- 
federation. Peace  was,  however,  at  length  restored  by  the 
intervention  of  the  emperor.  The  confederation  retained  the 
freedom  and  privileges  it  had  gained,  which  were  recognised 
by  the  emperor,  to  whom  it  swore  fealty.  No  injustice  was 
committed ;  the  Habsburgs  were  paid  their  due,  and  the  an- 
cient right  of  the  free  peasantry  to  be  under  the  jurisdictioxi 
of  the  crown,  without  infringing  their  peculiar  obligations  to 
the  monasteries  or  their  governors,  was  confirmed.  Rudolf 
built,  in  expiation  of  his  conduct,  the  long  bridge  across  the 
lake  of  Zurich  near  Raj^rschwyl,  for  the  convenience  of  pil- 
grims to  Einsiedeln. 

Hostilities  between  England  and  France  meanwhile  ceased, 
and  the  emperor,  during  his  stay  at  Strassburg,  on  his  return 
from  his  second  visit  to  Rome,  was  offered  by  the  knight  de 
Cervola  a  body  of  forty  thousand  mercenaries  freshly  dismissed 
from  the  service  of  the  English  king.  These  mercenaries 
were  termed  GiiglerSy  from  their  Gugel  hats  or  pointed  hel- 
mets. The  emperor  refusing  to  take  them  into  his  pay,  they 
began  to  plunder  the  country,  but  were  defeated  and  dispersed 
by  the  imperial  troops,  by  Wenzel  of  Luxemburg  and  the 
duke  of  Brabant.  Nine  years  later  a  fresh  and  numerous 
body  of  Guglers  under  Ingelram  de  Coucy,  who  claimed  part 
of  Alsace  in  right  of  his  mother,  Catherine  of  Habsburg,  be- 
sieged Leopold  in  his  castle  of  Breisach,  and  laid  waste  the 
country,  in  which  they  were  unopposed  by  Leopold,  probably 
from  the  hope  of  their  attacking  the  Swiss  confederation,  for 
which  purpose  John  de  Yienne,  bishop  of  Basle,  invited  them 
into  the  Bernese  territory.  The  pass  of  the  Hauenstein  was 
left  open  by  the  Count  Rudolf  von  Nidau,  who  fled  on  their 
approach,  and  forty  thousand  men,  including  six  thousand 
English  knights,  the  wildest  of  whom  was  Jevan  ap  Ejnion 
ap  Griffith  "  with  the  golden  hat,"  poured  across  the  Jura,  and 
laid  the  country  waste  by  fire  and  sword  as  far  as  the  Biittis- 
holz,  near  Lucerne,  where  three  thousand  of  them  were  slain 
by  six  hundred  peasants ;  the  rest  were  cut  to  pieces  in 
two  engagements  by  the  Bernese,  ▲.  d.  1376.  Coucy  escaped 
back  to  France.  The  bishop  of  Basle  was  punished  by  the 
defection  of  Biel,  which  he  had  caused  to  be  set  on  fire,  and 
which  now  joined  the  confederation.  Leopold  was  afterwards 
expelled  Basle,  on  account  of  his  insolence,  by  the  citizens. 


AND  THE  AfilSTOCaACT.  139 

¥mbu]^  in  tbe  Briesgau  was  illegaHj  sold  to  the  Habsbargs 
bj  tbe  imperial  governor,  A.  p.  1366 ;  a  transaction  unnotioed 
by  the  emperor,  who  desired  to  keep  on  good  terms  with 
that  house. 

The  Habsborgs  were  more  fortunate  in  the  East,  where 
tfaej  had  guned  Carinthia  and  the  Tyrol,  and  entered  into 
sijiiince  with  the  counts  of  Gorz  (Groritzia*)  and  the  VisoontL 
The  citizens  of  Trieste  [▲.  d.  1369]  implored  the  aid  of 
Austria  against  Venice,  and  [a.  d.  1380]  that  splendid  city 
and  harbour  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Habsburgs.  Whilst  in 
Upper  Germany  the  Habsburgs  opposed  the  confederated 
peasantry  and  the  cities^  the  aristocracy  and  the  cities  con- 
tested for  superiority  in  the  central  and  northern  provinces, 
and  a  struggle  took  place  equally  great  and  important  in  its 
results  as  that  between  the  church  and  the  empire. 

Had  all  the  cities  in  Germany  confederated  against  the 
nobility,  they  might  easily  have  overturned  the  empire,  but 
they  were  scattered  too  far  apart,  and  were,  moreover,  too 
jeaious  of  each  other's  prosperity  to  tolerate  such  a  concentra- 
tion of  power  or  the  pre-eminence  of  any  single  city.  Lubeck 
might  have  become  the  Venice  of  the  North,  bad  not  the  other 
Hanse  towns  been  blinded  by  petty  jealousy  to  their  political 
interest. 

The  power  of  the  cities  was,  nevertheless,  very  great 
The  citizens,  proud  of  their  newly-gained  liberties,  emulated 
the  knights  in  skill  and  bravery,  and  far  surpassed  them  in 
military  knowledge;  fighting  in  serried  ranks,  etc.  New 
tactics  and  improvements  in  tbe  art  of  siege  were  introduced 
by  the  burghers,  and  the  well-disciplined  city  regiments, 
eadi  distinguished  by  an  uniform  in  the  colours  of  their  city, 
first  founded  the  fame  of  the  German  infantry.  Tbe  use 
of  fire-arms,  destined  to  destroy  chivalry  by  rendering 
personal  strength  unavailing  against  art,  was  first  intro- 
duced by  the  citizens.  In  1354,  Berthold  Schwarz,  a  monk 
at  Freiburg  in  the  Breisgau,  by  chance  discovered  gunpow- 
der, and  was  killed  by  the  explosion.  The  first  powder- 
miU  was  erected  at  Lubeck,  a.  d.  1360.  John  of  Aarau 
was  the  first  celebrated  cannon-founder,  and  founded  his 
first  cannon  [a.  i>.  1372]  for  the  city  of  Augsburg.     Stones 

*  HJow  famous  as  the  retreat  of  the  Bourbon  dynasty  and  the  burial- 
place  of  CSiajles  X.,  ex-king  of  France,  a.  d.  1837. — TaANSLAToa. 


140  CONTESTS  BETWEEN  THE  CITIZENS,  ETC. 

were  at  first  made  use  of  instead  of  balls,  which  came  into 
use  A.D.  1387. 

The  contest  was  carried  on  with  the  greatest  obstinacy  in 
Swabia,  where  Eberhard  the  Riotous,  who  equalled  his  father 
in  wild  independence,  had  been  confirmed  bj  Charles  in  the 
government  of  Lower  Swabia.  His  tyranny  roused  the  cities 
to  open  rebellion,  and  Charles  came  in  person  to  Esslingen 
for  the  purpose  of  restoring  peace;  the  publication  of  the 
golden  bull,  and  its  prohibition  of  the  reception  of  fresh 
Pfahlburger,  (suburbans,)  however,  raised  a  suspicion  of  his 
intention  to  deprive  the  cities  of  their  corporative  privileges, 
and  to  reinstate  the  great  burgher  families,  and  the  citizens 
of  Esslingen  rose  in  open  insurrection.  Charles  was  com- 
pelled to  seek  safety  in  flight,  but  was  revenged  by  Eber- 
hard, who  reduced  the  city,  A.  d.  1360.  For  this  service 
he  was  rewarded  with  the  government  of  Upper  Swabia,  and 
the  debts  he  had  contracted  with  the  Jews  were  declared  null 
by  the  emperor.  Notwithstanding  these  favours,  he  leagued 
with  Habsburg  and  refused  obedience  to  his  liege,  upon  which 
he  was  put  out  of  the  bann  of  the  empire,  but  being  defeated 
at  Schamdorf,  [a.  d.  1360,]  and  imploring  the  emperor  to 
allow  him  to  retain  his  possessions  an  Bohemia  as  his  vassal, 
he  was,  consequently,  not  only  pardoned,  but  restored  to  his 
government  and  permitted  to  demand  reparation  from  the 
cities,  whose  power  the  emperor  willingly  saw  humbled. 

The  tyranny  of  the  Swabian  governor  at  length  incited 
the  nobility  against  him,  and,  in  1367,  the  Margrave  of  Baden 
and  the  Ilhenish  Pfalzgrave  leagued  with  the  count  of 
Eberstein  against  him ;  whilst  in  Upper  Swabia  two  orders 
of  knighthood  conspired  against  the  cities,  which  renewed 
their  confederation  in  1370,  and  vainly  sought  to  persuade 
Eberhard,  who  was  now  sorely  pressed,  to  join  their  alliance. 
The  nobles,  seeing  their  danger,  made  peace  with  their  foe, 
and  the  citizens  suffered  a  signal  defeat,  a.  d.  1372.  Charles 
once  more  favoured  the  victor,  and  empowered  him  to  levy  an 
imperial  tax  upon  the  humbled  cities,  which  again  revolted. 
Ulm  was  unsuccessfully  besieged  by  the  emperor  in  person, 
and  a  fresh  and  more  extensive  confederation  was  formed 
between  the  cities.  It  was  in  vain  that  the  emperor  pro- 
nounced them  out  of  the  bann  of  the  empire ;  they  refused  to 
lay  down  their  arms,  and  the  troops  of  Wurtemberg  were  de- 


WARS  OF  THE  HANSA.  141 

in  a  bloody  engagement,  in  which  eighty-six  noble 
linights  fell,  at  Keutlingen,  a.  d.  1377.  The  citizens  were 
again  victorious  at  Kauf  beuren,  and  those  of  Ulm  levelled  all 
theT\eighbouring  castles  with  the  ground. 

In  the  ensuing  year,  [a.  d.  1378,]  the  emperor  expired, 
and  the  contest  between  the  cities  and  the  aristocracy  burst 
oat  with  redoubled  fury  in  every  part  of  the  empire.  The 
Hansa  had,  meanwhile,  greatly  distinguished  itself,  and  had 
forced  Waldemar  III.  of  Denmark,  and  Hakon  of  Norway,  to 
sue  for  the  most  disgraceful  terms  of  peace.  The  princes  of 
Holstein  and  of  Lower  Germany,  at  strife  among  themselves, 
vainly  sought  to  humble  the  cities.  Magdeburg,  the  most 
powerful  city  of  central  Germany,  withstood  the  repeated 
attacks  of  the  nobility,  until  the  city-council,  erroneously 
imagining  that  a  system  of  defence  would  put  a  stop  to  aU 
further  attempts,  inscribed  upon  the  city-flag,  "  We  fight  not, 
but  defend,"  and  foolishly  followed  that  maxim.  Had  the 
cities  of  Germany  imitated  the  example  set  them  by  those  of 
Italy,  they  must,  like  them,  have  ruled  the  whole  country. 
Charles  IV.,  unable  to  check  the  disorder  prevalent  through- 
out the  empire,  meditated  the  future  restoration  of  order  by 
means  of  an  alliance  with  the  Hansa,  and  in  order  to  gain  a 
firm  footing  in  the  North,  made  the  valuable  acquisition  of 
Brandenburg,  and  fixed  his  royal  residence  at  TangermUnde, 
whence  he  commanded  the  entrance  to  the  Northern  Ocean. 
It  was  his  desire  to  be  declared  the  head  of  the  Hansa,  and 
had  the  Hansa,  alive  to  its  true  interests,  formed  this  potent 
alliance  at  a  period  when  the  princes  were  weakened  by  in- 
testine broils,  the  whole  of  Germany  must  have  presented  a 
far  different  aspect  at  the  present  day.  But  the  cities,  proud 
of  the  power  they  had  gained  by  their  industry  and  valour, 
deemed  the  emperor's  alliance  unnecessary,  and,  although 
they  treated  him  with  the  greatest  personal  respect,  refused  to 
make  the  slightest  concession,  misunderstood  his  great  po- 
litical schemes,  and  rejected  his  proposals. 


CLXXXI.    WenzeL — Cheat  struggle  for  freedom, 

Chaiojes  IV.  sought  by  every  means  in  his  power  to  secure 
to  his  sons   the  possessions  he  had  acquired.     The  eldest, 


142  WENZEL. 

Wenzd,  was  brought  up  in  pomp  and  luxury,  at  an  early  age 
initiated  into  the  affairs  of  the  empire,  and,  during  his  father^s 
life-time,  declared  his  successor  on  the  throne  by  the  bribed 
electors.  The  second,  Sigmund,  was  united  to  Mary,  the 
daughter  of  Louis,  king  of  Hungary  and  Poland,  in  the  ex- 
pectation of  succeeding  to  those  countries,  and  received 
Brandenburg.  The  third,  John,  was  invested  with  the 
Lausitz,  and  sumamed  "Von  Gorlitz.**  Charles  also  be- 
stowed Luxemburg  on  his  brother  Wenzel,  and  Moravia  on 
his  younger  brother,  Jodocus. 

Wenzel,  called  at  too  early  an  age  to  participate  in  the 
government  of  the  empire,  treated  affairs  of  state  with  ri- 
dicule or  entirely  neglected  them,  in  order  to  give  himself 
up  to  idleness  and  drunkenness.    At  one  moment  he  jested,  at 
another  burst  into  the  most  brutal  fits  of  rage.     The  Grer- 
mans,  with  whom  be  never  interfered  beyond  occasionally 
holding  a  useless   diet  at  Nuremberg,  deemed  him  a  fool, 
whilst  the  Bohemians,  who,  on  account  of  his  residence  at 
Prague,  were  continually  exposed  to  his  savage  caprices,  re- 
garded him  as  a  furious  tyrant.     The  possessions  with  which 
the   Bohemian  nobility  had  formerly  been  invested  by  the 
crown  exciting  his  cupidity,  he  invited  the  whole  of  the  aris- 
tocracy to  meet  him  at  Willamow,  where  he  received  them 
under  a  black  tent,  that  opened  on  either  side  into  a  white  and 
a  red  one.    The  nobles  were  allowed  to  enter  one  by  one,  and 
were  commanded  to  declare  what  lands  they  possessed  as 
gifts  from  the  crown.     Those  who  voluntarily  ceded  their 
lands  were  conducted  to  the  white  tent  and  feasted,  those  who 
refused  were  instantly  beheaded  in  the  red  tent.     When  a 
number  of  these  nobles  had  thus  been  put  to  death,  the  rest, 
perceiving  what  was  going  forward,  obeyed,  A.  d.  1389.    The 
massacre  of  three  thousand  Jews  in  Prague,  on  account  of 
one  of  that  nation   having   ridiculed  the  sacrament,  gave 
Wenzel  the  idea  of  declaring  all  debts,  owed  by  Christians 
to  Jews,  null  and  void ;  thus  putting  into  effect  the  Jewish 
law,  which  enjoined  all  debts  to  be  forgiven  every  seven  years ; 
a  law  they  had  never  put  into  practice  towards  Christians. 
The  queen,  Johanna,  being  killed  by  one  of  the  large  hounds 
that  ever  accompanied  her  husband,  he  wedded  the  princess 
Sophia  of  Bavaria,  a.  d.  1392.     It  was  in  the  ensuing  year 
that  the  notorious  cruelty  with  which  he  treated  St.  Nepo- 


WENZBL.  143 

mack  was  eBacted.  One  of  the  rojal  chamberlains  baying 
caused  two  priests  to  be  put  to  death  for  the  commission  of 
some  dreadful  crime^  the  archbishop  refused  to  tolerate  this 
encroachment  on  the  pren^tive  of  the  church,  and  placed  the 
chamberkdn  under  an  interdict  Wenzel  was  roused  to  fury 
8t  this  proceeding,  and  the  archlnshop  sought  safety  in  flight. 
Several  of  the  lower  dignitaries  of  the  church  were  seized. 
The  dean,  Kmowa,  dealt  the  king  such  a  heavy  blow  on  the 
head  with  his  sword-knot  as  to  draw  blood.  Two  lower  eccle- 
siastics, John  von  Nepomuck  (Pomuk)  and  Pnchnik,  were 
pat  to  the  rack  in  order  to  force  them  to  confess  the  designs 
of  the  archbishop,  and  by  whom  he  had  been  instigated; 
Wenzel,  irritated  by  their  constant  refusal,  seized  a  torch,  and 
with  his  own  hand  assisted  to  bum  the  sufferers.  They  still 
persisted  in  silence.  John  yon  Nepomuck  was  cast,  during 
the  night,  headlong  from  the  great  bridge  over  the  Moldau 
(where  his  statue  now  stands)  into  the  stream.  He  was  after- 
wards canonized  by  the  church  as  a  martyr,  and  made  the 
patron  saint  of  all  bridges.  Fuchnik  escaped  with  his  life,  and 
was  led  by  the  king,  now  filled  with  remorse  for  his  horrid 
cruelty,  to  the  royal  treasury,  where  he  aided  him  to  fill  his 
pockets,  and  even  his  boots,  so  heavily  with  gold,  as  to  render 
him  unable  to  stir. 

Sigmund,  at  length  conscious  of  the  ruin  into  which  the 
folly  of  the  king's  conduct  was  hurrying  his  family,  concerted 
measures  with  Jodocus,  Albert  of  Austria,  and  William  of 
Meissen,  and  suddenly  seizing  his  brother  at  Znaym,  [a.  d. 
1393,]  carried  him  prisoner  to  the  castle  of  Wiltberg  in  Aus- 
tria. John  von  Gorlitz,  however,  induced  the  princes  to  set 
him  at  liberty  on  account  of  the  scandal  raised  by  such  a 
transaction.  Wenzel  was  no  sooner  free,  than,  inviting  the 
Bohemian  nobles,  who  had  assisted  at  his  incarceration,  to  a 
banquet,  he  caused  them  to  be  beheaded,  and  poisoned  his 
brother  John,  who  had  undertaken  the  control  of  his  afiairs 
in  Bohemia. 

The  foreign  relations  of  the  empire  were  at  this  period  ex- 
tremely favourable,  and  merely  required  a  skilful  statesman 
at  the  head  of  affairs  to  turn  them  to  advantage.  The  dan- 
gerous alliance  between  the  pope  and  France  had  become 
gradually  weaker,  and  when,  on  the  demise  of  Gregory  in 
1378,  the  Italians  and  Germans  placed  Urban  VI.  on  the  pen- 


144       GREAT  STRUGGLE  FOR  FREEDOM. 

tifical  throne  in  Rome,  the  French  raised  an  antipope,  de- 
ment YII.,  at  Avignon,  a  great  schism  arose  in  the  church 
herself.     The  popes  thundered  their  anathemas  against  each 
other,  and  an  opportunity  was  now  afforded  for  temporal  sove- 
reigns to  intervene  between  them,  as  the  pope  had  formerly 
mediated  between  rival  princes.     France  was  fully  occupied 
with  England,  and  the  views  of  Naples  upon  the  succession  to 
the  throne  of  Hungary  had  failed.     On  the  death  of  Louis  of 
Hungary  and  Poland,  [a.  d.  1382,]  Sigmund  hastened  into 
Poland  in  order  to  lay  claim  to  the  throne  of  that  country 
in  right  of  his  wife,  Maria,  Louisas  eldest  daughter.     The 
Poles,  however,  expelled  him  the  country,  and  compelled  him 
to  deliver  up  to  them  Hedwig,  Louis's  younger  daughter. 
Maria  and  her  mother,  Elisabeth,  Louis's  widow,  were,  mean- 
while, exposed  to  great  danger  in  Hungary,  where  Charles 
the  Little  of  Naples  had  arrived  in  person,  laid  claim  to  the 
throne  as  nearest  of  kin  on  the  male  side,  and  seized  the 
crown.     Elisabeth,  a  Bosmian  by  birth,  and  habituated  to 
scenes  of  blood,  feigned  submission,  and,  during  a  confidential 
interview,  caused  him  to  be  seized  by  two  Hungarian  nobles, 
Niclas  Gara  and  Forgacz.     His  cowardly  Italian  retinue  fled, 
and  he  was  assassinated  in  prison,  a.  d.  1386.     Elisabeth  now 
grasped  the  sceptre,  and  induced  Maria,  who  regarded  her 
husband  with  antipathy,  to  give  him  a  cold  reception  on  his 
arrival  from  Poland,  and  he  was  shortly  after  sent  back  to  his 
brother  in  Bohemia.     Horwathy,  in  the  hope  of  gaining  pos- 
session of  the  two  queens,  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
Neapolitan  faction,  and,  suddenly  attacking  their  retinue  when 
on  a  journey  near  Diakovar,  slew  Forgacz  and  Gara  after  a 
brave  resistance,  caused  all  their  women  to  be  cruelly  tortured 
and  put  to  death,  and  Elisabeth  to  be  strangled  in  the  pre- 
sence of  Maria,  whom  he  imprisoned  at  Novigrad  on  the 
Adriatic,  with  the  intention  of  delivering  her  up  to  the  venge- 
ance of  Margaretha,  the  widow  of  Charles  the  Little ;  this 
project  was,  however,  contravened  by  the  Venetians,  who, 
dreading  the  union  of  Naples  with  Hungary,  instantly  shut  up 
Novigrad.   Jagello  of  Lithuania,  meanwhile,  wedded  Hedwig, 
between  whom  and  William  the  Courteous  of  Austria  a  mu- 
tual attachment  subsisted.   But  the  Poles,  bribed  by  Jagello's 
promise  to  embrace  Christianity  and  to  unite  Lithuania  with 
Poland,  gave  him  the  preference,  and  William,  whom  Hedwig 


G&BAT  STBUGOLE  FOE  FREEDOM.  145 

C  had  secreted  in  the  castle  of  Craoow,  was  espelled  the  coun- 
try. Dalwitz,  a  Polish  knight,  who  had  been  William's  bosom 
friend  and  counsellor,  afterwards  accused  the  wretched  Hed- 
wig  of  having  carried  on  too  intimate  a  correspondence  with 
^t  prince.  Hedwig  swore  that  she  was  innocent,  and  Dal- 
ipf  ivitz  was  condemned  to  creep  under  a  table  and  to  bark  like  a 
]i  dog.  The  Hungarians,  in  order  not  to  fall  into  the  power  of 
Jagello,  who  counted  upon  Maria's  condemnation  in  order  to 
onite  Hungary  with  Poland,  induced  Horwathy  to  restore  her 
dcI  to  her  hodband,  Sigmund,  on  a  solemn  assurance  of  security 
H  from  vengeance  on  her  part.  Maria  was  no  sooner  restored 
lii!  to  liberty  than  Sigmund  quarrelled  with  her,  shut  her  up  and 
treated  her  with  great  severity,  on  account  of  her  refusal  to 
oede  to  him  the  sole  sovereignty,  and  her  indignation  at  his 
licentious  conduct.  She  poss^lsed,  nevertheless,  sufficient 
nobilitj  of  mind  to  frustrate  a  conspiracy  against  his  life,  and 
be  gratefully  restored  her  to  liberty.  She  expired  shortly 
afterwards,  a.  d.  1392.  Dalmatia,  Bosnia,  Moldavia,  and 
Wallachia,  meanwhile  declared  themselves  independent  of 
Hungary,  to  which  they  had  hitherto  belonged,  and  were  en- 
couraged in  their  rebellion  by  Horwathy,  who  was  at  length 
taken  prisoner  and  put  to  a  cruel  death.  Sigmund,  in  order 
to  devote  his  undivided  attention  to  Bohemia,  mortgaged  the 
mere  of  Brandenburg  to  his  Moravian  cousins,  Procop  and 
Jobst,  the  sons  of  his  uncle  Jodocus. 

An  enormous  Turkish  army  under  Sultan  Bi^azet  now 
suddenly  appeared  on  the  frontiers  of  Hungary,  after  reducing 
a^ost  every  province  in  Grreece  to  subjection,  although  Con- 
stantinople had  been  besieged  in  vain.  In  1365,  Bajazet  had 
^n  opposed  by  Louis  of  Hungary,  who  was  defeated  on  the 
Marizza.*  The  enthusiasm  caused  by  the  crusades  had  long 
died  away,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  Sigmund  raised 
sixty  thousand  men,  among  whom  were  six  thousand  Bur- 
gundians  and  French,  for  the  siege  of  Nicopolis,  a.  d.  1396. 
Bajazet  advanced  at  the  head  of  two  hundred  thousand  men  to 
the  relief  of  that  city,  and  after  a  long  and  terrible  engage- 
nient,  in  which  sixty  thousand  Turks  fell,  gained  the  victory 
by  his  enormous  numerical  superiority.  Enraged  at  the  loss 
he  had  suffered,  and  at  the  cruelty  with  which  the  Christians 

•  In  gratitude  for  his  preseryation  he  founded  the  shrine  of  Mariazell 
in  Styria,  to  which  cjowds  of  pilgrims  still  annually  flock. — Translator. 

VOL.   II.  L 


146       GREAT  STRUGGLE  FOR  FREEDOM. 

murdered  their  Turkish  prisoners^  he  caused  ten  thousand  of 
the  Christian  captives  to  be  executed  in  his  presence.  The 
bloody  scene  had  lasted  four  hours  when  the  pachas,  struck 
with  horror,  cast  themselves  at  his  feet  and  sued  for  the  lives 
of  the  remainder.  Coucy,  one  of  the  number,  died  in  cap- 
tivitjr  Sigmund  escaped.  The  Turks  did  not  follow  up  their 
victory.  Hungary  again  became  a  prey  to  intestine  factions. 
Ladislaw  of  Naples  renewed  his  pretensions  to  that  country, 
A.  i>.  1399.  Sigmund  was  thrown  into  prison,  whence  he 
was  liberated  by  Hermann  von  Cilly,  on  condition  of  accept- 
ing his  daughter  Barbara  in  marriage. 

One  of  the  first  mistakes  committed  by  Wenzel,  was  the 
conferment  of  the  government  of  Swabia  [a.  d.  1382]  on 
Leopold,  duke  of  Austria,  by  which  the  hatred  of  the  cities 
to  the  house  of  Habsburg  was  still  further  imbittered.  Both 
parties  flew  to  arms.  Eberhard  of  Wurtemburg,  with  the 
intent  of  preventing  the  Habsburgs  from  gaining  possession 
of  Swabia,  prudently  intervened,  and  conciliated  himself  with 
the  knights,  the  cities,  and  the  princes ;  Leopold  also  attempted  ^ 
to  negotiate  terms  with  the  cities,  in  order,  to  strike  with 
greater  security  at  the  Swiss  peasantry.  The  cities,  not- 
withstanding the  proposals  of  peace  and  amity  made  to 
them  in  1382  and  1384,  regarded  them  with  suspicion,  and, 
in  1385,  thirty-one  of  the  cities  of  Switzerland  and  Swabia 
formed  a  confederation,  which  they  invited  the  peasantry  and 
petty  nobility  to  join  for  the  purpose  of  making  head  against 
the  Habsburg;  the  confederated  peasantry,  however,  dis« 
covered  great  lukewarmness,  replying  that  it  was  harvest  and 
they  had  no  time,  upon  which  the  cities  accepted  the  alliance 
proposed  to  them  by  the  Grerman  princes  and  left  the  Swiss 
peasantry,  who  were  instantly  attacked  by  Leopold,  unassisted 
in  the  hour  of  need.  The  battle  of  Sempach,  in  which  the 
peasants  owed  the  victory  to  the  patriotic  valour  of  Arnold 
von  Winkelried,  a  peasant  of  Unterwald,  (who  made  a  path 
with  his  body  over  the  lances  of  the  enemy,)  and  in  which 
Leopold  fell,  with  six  hundred  and  fifty-six  of  the  nobility, 
took  place,  a.  n.  1386.  This  success  was  followed  by  the 
battle  of  Nffifels,  during  which  the  peasants  of  Glarus  rolled 
stones  on  the  Austrian  squadrons,  [a.  d.  1388,]  and  setting  fire 
to  the  bridges  across  which  they  fled,  two  thousand  five  hundred 
of  the  enemy,  including  one  hundred  and  eighty-three  of  the 


GREAT  STBUGOLE  FOB  FREEDOM.  147 

nobiH^,  were  killed.  The  Swiss  confederation  gained  a  great 
accesaion  of  strength  by  the  adhesion  of  other  cities.  The  pea- 
sants of  Yalais  also  defeated  the  earl  of  Savoy  at  Visp^  during 
this  year,  and  pat  four  thousand  of  his  men  to  the  sword. 

In  1380,  the  Swabian  cities,  which,  after  the  battle  of  Sem- 
pach,  had  become  aware  of  the  impolicy  of  petty  jealousy, 
gained  courage  to  break  off  their  alliance  with  the  princes, 
and  again  sued  for  that  of  the  Swiss  peasantry,  which  being 
reftised,  they  formed  a  great  league  with  their  sister  cities  on 
the  Rhine.  Innumerable  feuds  ensued  between  them  and  the 
nobility,  until  the  defeat  of  the  citizens  of  Frankfurt  at  Esch- 
born  [▲.  D.  1888]  by  the  Ffalzgrave  Rupert,  when  most  of 
the  cities  concluded  peace  with  their  opponents.  By  an  im- 
perial edict,  [a.  d.  1889,]  they  were  forbidden  to  form  a  fresh 
confederation,  but  neither  their  ancient  hatred  of  the  nobility 
was  allayed  nor  their  strength  broken,  and  frequent  outbreaks 
continued  to  take  place. 

Peace  was  scarcely  restored,  [a.  d.  1392,]  when  the  Alpine 
herdsmen  again,  and  with  renovated  vigour,  arose  in  defence 

of  their  liberties* The  little  hut  built  by  St  Gall  had,  in 

course  of  time,  sprung  up  into  a  stately  monastery,  whose 
proud  abbot,  Cuno,  ruled  the  whole  of  the  Alpine  country  un- 
der the  high  Santis,  and  allowed  his  governors  to  tyrannise 
over  the  people.  The  governor  of  Appenzell  ordered  a  corpse 
to  be  disinterred  for  the  sake  of  its  good  coat  That  of 
Schwendi  hunted  all  the  peasants,  who  could  not  pay  their 
dues,  with  his  dogs.  One  day,  meeting  the  litUe  son  of  a 
miller,  he  asked  him  ^*  what  his  father  and  mother  were  do- 
ing ?"  ^^  He  bakes  bread  that  is  already  eaten ;  she  adds  bad 
to  worse,"  answered  the  boy ;  "  that  is,  my  father  lives  on  his 
debts,  my  mother  mends  rags  with  rags."  "  Why  so  ?  **  again 
inquired  his  interrogator.  '^Because,"  said  the  boy,  "you 
take  all  our  money  from  us ;"  and  when  the  governor  set  his 
dogs  upon  him,  he  raised  a  milk-can,  under  which  he  had  hid- 
den a  cat,  which  instantly  flew  out,  and  drew  off  the  dogs. 
The  boy  took  refuge  in  his  father's  cabin,  where  he  was  killed 
by  the  irritated  governor. 

The  peasants,  attracted  by  the  cries  of  the  unfortunate 
father,  raised  a  tumult,  attacked  the  castle  of  Schwendi,  and 
burnt  it  to  the  ground.  The  governor  contrived  to  escape. 
Ail  the  other  castles  in  the  vicinity  were  speedily  levelled 

L  2 


148  RUPERT. 

with  the  ground,  and  the  whole  ooontiT'  was  freed  from  its 
oppressors.  The  citizens  of  St  Gall  also  joined  the  peasants 
against  the  abbot^  A.  B.  1400.  The  Swabian  cities  were  called 
upon  to  decide  the  matter,  and  decreed  that  St  Gall  could 
onlj  confederate  with  cities,  not  with  peasants,  upon  which 
the  Appenzellers  were  abandoned  to  their  fate.  The  brave 
herdsmen  now  resolved  to  fight  their  own  battle,  and,  aided 
by  those  of  Glarus,  defeated  both  the  abbot  and  the  citizens  of 
St.  Gall,  A.  D.  1402.  Delighted  with  their  success,  they  sum- 
moned the  neighbouring  peasantry  to  join  the  banner  of  liberty, 
and  Rudolf,  Count  von  Werdenberg,  Austria's  foe,  Toluntarily 
laid  aside  his  mantle  to  take  the  herdsmen's  dress  and  join 
thdr  ranks.  Frederick  of  Austria  was  again  repulsed ;  but 
the  Appenzellers,  imboldened  by  success,  ventured  too  far 
from  their  country,  and  laid  siege  to  Br^enz,  whence,  after 
suffering  great  loss,  they  were  compelled  by  the  nobility  to  re- 
treat.    They  afterwards  joined  the  confederation,  a.  d.  1407. 


CLXXXII.  Eupert— The  Netherlands. 

The  incapacity  of  the  emperor  Wenzel  was  regarded  with 
indifference  by  the  princes  of  the  empire,  who  were,  conse- 
quently, unrestrained  by  bis  authority,  but  when  his  folly  ex- 
tended to  a  visit  to  Paris,  where,  in  a  drunken  frolic,  he  ceded 
Genoa  to  France  and  recognised  the  antipope  at  Avignon  as 
pope,  instead  of  Boniface  IX.,  who  then  wore  the  tiara  at 
Rome,  John,  archbishop  of  Mayence,  a  zealous  papal  adherent, 
began  to  tremble  for  his  mitre,  and  urged  the  princes  to  de- 
pose him.  The  Pfalzgrave  Rupert,  ambitious  of  restoring 
the  faded  glories  of  the  house  of  Wittelsbach,  offered  himself 
as  a  competitor  for  the  throne,  and  was  supported  by  the 
princes  of  the  upper  country  and  of  the  Rhine,  whilst  those  of 
Northern  Germany  favoured  Frederick  of  Wolfenbuttel,  the 
only  man  of  note  in  the  family  of  Welf.  Wenzel  was  cited  to 
appear  before  the  tribunal  of  the  princes  of  the  empire  at 
Oberlahnstein,  and,  on  refusing  to  appear,  was  formally  de* 
posed,  and  Rupert  was  proclaimed  emperor.  His  rival,  Fre- 
derick, was,  at  the  same  time,  [a.  d.  1400,]  also  proclaimed 
emperor  by  the  Saxons,  at  Fritzlar.  This  noble  prince,  who 
was  beheM  with  great  enmity  by  the  nobility,  was,  with  the 


EUPEET.  149 

consent  of  John  of  Majence,  whose  object  it  was  to  avoid  every 
species  of  schism,  attacked  and  murdered  by  a  Count  von 
Waldeck  when  on  his  way  to  Fritzlar.  Rupert  was  so  great 
a  favourite  with  the  nobiUty,  that  the  citizens,  on  his  election, 
instantly  offered  to  uphold  the  deposed  emperor,  who,  never- 
theless, remained  in  complete  inactivity  at  Prague.  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  closed  her  gates  against  Rupert,  who  was,  conse- 
quently, crowned  at  Cologne.  Wenzel  was  counselled  to 
bring  about  a  reconciliation  with  Boniface,  but  treated  the 
matter  with  indifference.  He  was  now  disturbed  by  his 
Bohemian  subjects,  and  the  nobles  took  advantage  of  the  dis- 
respect into  which  he  had  fallen  to  wrest  from  him  the 
greatest  privileges.  Fh)cop  and  Jobst  of  Moravia  declared  in 
Rupert's  favour,  in  the  expectation  of  gaining  possession  of 
Bohemia.  Frocop,  who  was  on  bad  terms  with  his  brother, 
however,  quickly  returned  to  his  allegiance.  During  this 
confusion,  Sigmund  unexpectedly  appeared,  and  made  Wenzel 
and  Procop  prisoners.  Whilst  occupied  in  restoring  Bo- 
hemia to  tranquillity,  he  incautiously  intrusted  Wenzel  to 
the  keeping  of  the  Habsburgs,  who,  delighted  with  the  dis- 
union prevailing  in  the  house  of  Luxemburg,  instantly  set 
him  at  liberty,  and  the  Bohemians,  with  whom  he  was,  not- 
withstanding his  cruelty  and  folly,  more  popular  than  Sig- 
mund, replaced  him  on  the  throne.  His  madness  increased 
from  this  period. 

Rupert  no  sooner  mounted  the  imperial  throne  than  he  de- 
clared against  France,  and  sought  to  win  the  favour  of  the 
cities  by  the  abolition  of  the  customs  on  the  Rhine,  which 
^  merely  the  effect  of  turning  from  him  the  affection  of  the 
nobility.  The  princes  were,  moreover,  faithless  to  him,  and 
he  was  viewed  with  jealousy  by  his  Bavarian  cousins.  Un- 
aided by  his  own  family  and  at  enmity  with  the  house  of 
Luxemburg,  he  naturally  sought  an  ally  in  that  of  Habsburg ; 
and  in  the  expectation  of  being  warmly  welcomed  by  Boni- 
face IX.,  who  still  smarted  under  the  insults  heaped  upon 
him  by  Wenzel,  undertook  an  expedition  to  Rome  for  the 
purpose  of  receiving  the  crown  from  the  hands  of  that  pontiff. 
Leopold  the  Proud,  whose  father,  Leopold,  had  fallen  at 
oempach,  accompanied  him  across  the  Alps  with  the  inten- 
tion of  attacking  the  Visconti,  who  had  rendered  themselves 
Peatly  obnoxious  to  him  as  neighbours.     Leopold  was,  in  this 


150  EUPERT. 

expedition,  assisted  with  Florentine  gold.  The  Yisconti, 
however,  who  had  been  created  dukes  of  the  empire  by 
Wenzel,  were  victorious  at  Brescia,  [a.  d.  1401,]  Leopold 
was  taken  prisoner,  and  Rupert  was  compelled  to  retrace  his 
steps  after  vainly  suing  the  Venetians  for  aid. 

Rupert  expired,  a.  d.  1411,  deserted  by  all  his  partisans 
and  treated  with  universal  disrespect;  his  acceptance  of 
Offenbach  and  the  Ortenau  from  William,  bishop  of  Strass* 
burg,  as  a  bribe  for  his  aid  against  the  citizens,  had  rendered 
him  utterly  contemptible ;  the  citizens  were  victorious,  the 
bishop  was  compelled  to  flee,  and  his  allies  were  taken  pri- 
soners. Sigmund  had,  meanwhile,  made  peace  with  the 
Habsburgs,  and,  assisted  by  Albert  of  Austria,  laid  siege  to 
Znaym,  which  was  defended  by  some  robber-knights,  Procop's 
partisans.  Wenzel,  trembling  for  the  Bohemian  crown  in 
case  of  his  brother's  success,  went  to  Breslau,  and  formed  an 
alliance  with  Jagello,  who  had  received  the  Christian  name  of 
Wladislaw  on  his  accession  to  the  throne  of  Poland,  a«  ]>« 
1404.  Sigmund  and  Albert  were,  at  the  same  time,  poisoned 
in  the  camp  before  Zna3an.  Sigmund  escaped  death  by  being 
suspended  for  twenty-four  hours  by  his  feet,  so  that  the 
poison  ran  out  of  his  mouth.  Being  deserted  by  William  the 
Courteous,  he  was  forced  to  give  up  Bohemia,  after  poisoning 
Procop  in  his  prison.  The  German  faction  being,  mean- 
while, victorious  over  the  Neapolitan  party  in  Hungary,  Sig- 
mund regained  that  country;  and  the  Turks,  having  been 
defeated  by  Timur  in  Asia,  Bosnia  and  Dalmatia  once  more 
sought  the  protection  of  Hungary.  The  order  of  the  dragon 
and  the  university  at  Ofen  were  founded  by  Sigmund  in 
memory  of  these  events. 

Ernst  the  Iron  of  Stjrria,  the  youngest  of  the  four  sons  of 
Leopold  of  Austria,  had  confederated  with  his  brother  Leo- 
pold against  his  infant  nephew  Albert,  afterwards  the  em- 
peror Albert  II.,  whom  they  sought  to  deprive  of  his 
inheritance,  but  who  was  successfully  defended  by  Sigmund 
and  the  Viennese.  Ernst,  independent  of  his  perfidy  to- 
wards his  nearest  relatives,  was  a  man  of  no  mean  intellect 
He  wedded  Cymburga,  a  Polish  princess,  a  woman  of  great 
beauty  and  wit,  and  of  such  extraordinary  strength  as  to  be 
able  to  break  horse-shoes  in  sunder  and  to  knock  nails  into  the 
wall  with  her  bare  hand.     She  was  remarkable  for  the  large 


r 


THE  NETHERLANDS.  151 

Qoderlip  that,  eren  at  the  present  day,  characterizes  the  family 
of  Habsbnrg. 

In  the  Netherlands,  family  fends  had  been  carried  on  with 
great  vimlence.  Gueldres  fell  [a.  d.  1361]  to  the  conntess 
of  Blois,  the  daughter  of  Dake  Beinhold,  and  Brabant  was  in- 
herited by  Johanna,  who  married  Wensel,  dnke  of  Luxem- 
barg,  who  dying  [a.  d.  1383]  without  issue,  Brabant  and 
Luxemburg  fell  to  Antony  of  Burgundy.  Thus^the  house  of 
Luxemburg  lost  its  ancient  ancestral  possessions,  without  any 
opposition  on  the  part  of  the  emperor  Wenzel,  Rupert  alone 
protesting  against  the  encroachment  of  Bui^ndy  upon  the 
empire. 

Flanders  had  become  a  scene  of  still  wilder  disorder,  and  a 
furioas  contest  was  carried  on  between  Ghent,  her  allies,  and 
the  cities  that  favoured  the  earl,  Louis  IL,  of  Male.  Peace 
was  made,  a.  d.  1381,  but  Louis,  incited  by  the  Child  of 
Edinghen,  (Enghien,)  attempting  to  take  vengeance,  Ghent 
again  revolted.  Grammont  was  reduced  to  ashes  by  the  Child, 
who  shortly  afterwards  fell  before  Ghent.  That  city  being 
redaced  to  great  straits  by  the  coalition  of  the  citizens  of 
^"^gge,  her  rival  city,  with  the  earl,  Philip  von  Artevelde, 
the  son  of  the  celebrated  brewer,  was  placed,  with  unlimited 
power,  at  the  head  of  the  citizens.  Famine  raged  within  the 
walls,  and  the  women  were  insisting  upon  a  surrender,  when 
Artevelde  returned  from  an  unsuccessful  parley  with  the  be- 
siegers, and  thus  addressed  the  people :  *^  Shut  yourselves  up 
in  the  churches,  recommend  your  souls  to  God  and  die  of 
hunger,  or  bind  yourselves  with  chains  and  yield  to  the  cruel 
^arl,  or — seize  your  arms  and  drive  back  the  foe !   *'  Choose 

one  of  these  three  I " "  Choose  for  us,"  was  the  reply ; 

and  Artevelde,  placing  himself  at  the  head  of  the  citizens, 
inade  a  desperate  sally,  defeated  the  troops  of  the  earl  and  the 
citizens  of  Brugge,  who  were  pursued  into  their  city,  where  a 
terrible  slaughter  took  place,  a.  d.  1382.  Louis  was  concealed 
hy  an  old  woman,  and  escaped ;  nine  thousand  of  the  citizens 
of  Brugge  were  slain,  and  the  city  was  plundered.  Artevelde 
hecame  lord  over  the  whole  of  Flanders. 

Louis,  whose  daughter,  Margaretha,  had  married  Philip  of 
Burgundy,  uncle  to  Charles  VL  of  France,  now  turned  to 
^at  country  for  aid,  and  a  numerous  French  army  was  des- 
patched against  Artevelde,  who,  although  successful  at  Co- 


^ 


152  THE  NETHERLANDS. 

mines,  was  defeated  and  fell  with  twenty  thousand  of  the 
Flemish  at  Rosehecke,  a.  d.  1382.  The  English  afterwards 
aided  Ghent,  and  the  war  was  carried  on  with  such  fury,  that 
numbers  of  the  Flemish  migrated  to  England  and  Holland. 
It  was  continued  on  the  death  of  Louis,  who  was  stabbed  in  a 
broil  at  Artois  by  the  duke  de  Berry,  [a.  d.  1384,]  by  Phi- 
lip of  Burgundy,  the  French  and  the  nobles  against  the  citi- 
zens and  the  English.  Peace  was  at  length  concluded,  a.  i>. 
1385.  Flanders  retained  her  ancient  liberties,  but  hencefor- 
ward appertained  to  Burgundy. 

Two  extraordinary  women  were  mixed  up.  with  the  in- 
trigues of  this  period,  Jacobea  of  Holland  and  Johanna  of 
Naples.  Jacobea,  the  only  child  of  William  of  Wittelsbach, 
the  heiress  to  Holland  and  the  Hennegau,  married  John,  the 
son  of  Charles  VI.  of  France,  who,  dying  early,  she  wedded 
John  of  Brabant,  the  imbecile  son  of  Antony.  Her  uncle, 
John  the  Merciless,  however,  leagued  with  the  pope,  who,  at 
his  request,  dissolved  Jacobea's  second  marriage  on  the  plea 
of  too  near  a  relationship,  with  Philip  of  Burgundy,  England, 
and  the  reigning  faction  of  the  Kabeljaus  in  Holland,  with  the 
design  of  depriving  her  of  her  rich  inheritance.  Abandoned 
on  almost  every  side,  and  with  a  husband  brutal  and  inca- 
pable, this  beautiful  young  woman,  already  deprived  of  part 
of  her  possessions,  now  sought  the  protection  of  the  English, 
in  the  hope  of  receiving  aid  from  one  of  their  princes,  Hum- 
phrey, duke  of  Gloucester,  to  whom  she  offered  her  hand. 
Philip  of  Burgundy  interposed,  and  Gloucester  had  scarcely 
landed  in  Holland  when  he  again  retreated  to  England.  Ja- 
cobea was  betrayed  into  Philip's  hands  and  carried  prisoner  to 
Ghent,  whence  she  escaped  in  man's  attire.  During  the  same 
year  [a.  d.  1425]  John  the  Merciless  expired,  and  bequeathed 
his  claims  upon  Holland  to  Philip,  who,  already  in  possession 
of  Flanders  and  heir  presumptive  to  Brabant  and  Luxemburg, 
spared  no  means,  by  fraud  or  violence,  to  gain  possession  of 
the  rest  of  the  Netherlands,  in  which  he  was  solely  opposed 
by  the  unfortunate  Jacobea.  Gloucester  remained  in  England, 
and  merely  sent  some  troops  to  her  aid,  who  were  joined  by 
the  city  faction  of  the  Hsecks,  and  defeated  by  the  Burgun- 
dians  at  Brouwershaven,  a.  d.  1425.  John  the  Imbecile,  of 
Brabant,  died  in  the  ensuing  year,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Philip.     Gloucester  married  an  Englishwoman,  and  Jacobea's 


THE  NETHERLANDS.  153 

Dutch  partisans  being  again  defeated  in  a  nayal  engagement 
near  Wieringen,  she  was  compelled  to  resign  the  government 
of  Holland  to  Philip,  and  to  promise  not  to  contract  another 
marriage  without  his  consent.  An  annual  pension  was  al- 
lowed her,  A.  D.  1436.  In  this  necessity,  she  found  a  faithful 
friend  and  prudent  counsellor  in  a  handsome  knight,  Frank 
von  Borselen,  whom  she  secretly  married.  Philip,  who  had 
sorroanded  her  with  spies,  gained  intelligence  of  the  con- 
spiracj,  threw  the  knight  into  prison,,  and  compelled  Jacobea 
to  purchase  her  husband's  liberty  with  the  renunciation  of  her 
claims  in  Philip's  favour.  Frank  was  appointed  head  forester, 
and  Jacobea,  after  living  some  years  with  him  in  that  station, 
died  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-six,  a.  d.  1439. 

Not  long  before  this,  Otto  the  Welf,  of  Brunswick,  a  hand- 
some young  prince,  had  been,  whilst  on  a  visit  to  Italy,  chosen 
bj  Johanna  of  Naples  for  her  fourth  husband)  and  by  this 
means  implicated  in  the  bloody  intrigues  of  the  house  of 
•^jou.  Otto  was  wounded  and  imprisoned  by  Charles  of 
Darazzo,  whom  the  pope  had  raised  as  his  rival,  and  Johanna 
vas  strangled.  Otto  was  afterwards  permitted  to  return  to 
Brunswick.  His  daughter  by  Johanna  married  a  king  of 
Cyprus.  The  crown  of  Naples  fell  to  Ren^  of  Anjou,  who 
was  driven  from  his  throne  by  Philip  of  Arragon,  who  had 
long  been  in  possession  of  SicUy,  a.  d.  1442. 

Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark  were  declared  inseparable 
under  the  queen,  Margaretha,  the  daughter  of  Waldemar  IIL 
of  Denmark,  by  the  Calmar  Union,  a.  d.  1397. 


THIRD  PERIOD. 
THE  AGE  OF  THE  REFOEMATION. 


Mnr  Gtxl  now  help  at,  and  give  us  one  of  the  trumpets  with  which  the  walls  of 
Jericho  were  thrown  do\rn,  that  we  may  also  blow  round  these  paper  walls  and 
loosen  the  Christian  rods  for  the  punishment  of  sins,  in  order  that  we  may  correct 
ourselves  by  chastisement.— Luthsb. 


PART  XIV.    THE  HUSSITE  WARS. 

CLXXXni.     Sigmund. 

Wb  have  now  arrived  at  that  stormy  period  when  the  worn- 
out  empire  of  the  middle  ages,  shaken  from  within  and  with- 
out, fell  in  ruins,  when  the  degenerate  church  waded  through 
crime,  and  Heaven,  in  anger,  emptied  the  viol  of  wrath  over 
Germany,  until,  after  centuries  of  sorrow  and  destruction,  a 
new  era,  with  a  new  faith,  a  new  constitution,  new  manners 
and  men,  rose  from  the  ruins  of  the  past. 

Physical  strength  and  love  of  adventure  had,  in  the  earlier 
ages,  given  rise  to  the  German  migrations,  and,  at  a  later 
period,  had  given  place  to  lofty  aspirations  of  chivalry,  faith, 
and  love,  which,  carried  to  excess  and  ahused,  now  yielded 
in  their  turn  to  the  sovereignty  of  reason.  The  pious  sim- 
plicity and  confidence  of  the  people,  more  and  more  practised 
upon  by  the  popes  and  their  scholastics,  were  at  length  so 
shamefully  abused  for  purposes  of  the  meanest  ambition  and 
avarice  that  reason  finally  revolted  against  the  chains  of 
habitual  belief.  The  ideas  inculcated  by  Arnold  of  Brescia 
and  by  Petrus  Waldus  had  annually  spread ;  men  saw  that 
the  church  had  gone  astray,  and  demanded  that,  cleansed 
from  her  tempord  lust  of  power  and  luxury,  from  her  scho- 
lastic lies  and  deceit,  she  should  return  to  her  primitive  sim- 
plicity and  truth.     The  learned  Englishman,  Wycliflfe,  was, 


SIGHX7ND.  155 

at  that  period,  the  soul  of  the  reforming  party.  Heresy  had 
spread  throaghoat  Germany.  Two  hundred  heretics  were 
burnt  at  Augsburg. 

The  circumstances  of  the  times  were  far  from  unfavourable 
for  a  reformation  in  the  church.  The  pontifical  chair  had 
been  deprived  of  much  of  its  supremacy  by  the  schism  in  the 
church,  consequent  on  the  election  of  the  antip<^>e8  at  Avig- 
non by  France,  in  opposition  to  the  successor  of  St.  Peter  at 
Borne,  and  the  popes  were  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  creating 
a  party  in  their  favour  among  the  clergy  and  in  the  universi- 
ties, by  which  meuis  the  papal  despotism,  introduced  by  Inno- 
cent lY.,  yielded  to  an  ecclesiastical  democracy,  which  now 
assumed  a  right  to  settle  the  dispute  between  the  popes,  and 
[k.  D.  1410]  the  council  of  Pisa,  composed  of  bishops  and 
doctoTB  of  the  universities,  boldly  deposed  the  antipopes,  Gre- 
gory XTI.  and  Benedict  XIII.,  and  elected  another  pope, 
Alexander  Y.,  who,  shortly  afterwards  dying,  was  succeeded 
by  John  XXIIL  Respect  for  the  pontiff  had,  however,  be- 
come 80  deeply  rooted  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  that  the  de- 
posed popes  were  able  to  maintain  their  authority,  and  the 
world  was  scandalized  by  beholding  three  popes  at  once,  as  if 
in  mockery  of  the  Trinity.  The  youngest  of  the  three,  John 
XXm.,  who  had  formerly  been  a  pirate,  a  man  sunk  in  guilt 
and  the  lowest  debauchery,  was  the  most  detestable,  but  the 
clergy  were  too  deeply  depraved  to  feel  any  repugnance  at  his 
election,  and  the  carctinal,  Peter  d'Ailly,  said  openly,  that  the 
church  had  become  so  bad  that  a  good  pope  would  be  out  of 
his  sphere,  and  that  she  could  only  be  ruled  by  miscreants. 

On  the  death  of  the  emperor  Rupert,  the  house  of  Wittels- 
bach,  weakened  by  division,  remained  in  a  state  of  inactivity, 
and  the  powerful  one  of  Luxemburg  continued  to  occupy  the 
throne,  Sigmund  being  elected  in  preference  to  Wenzel,  who 
contented  himself  with  Bohemia,  a.  d.  1412. 

Vtdn,  arrogant,  deceitful,  and  ever  undertaking  more  than 
be  had  power  to  perform,  Sigmund  discovered  his  true  cha- 
WMSter  from  the  very  onset.  In  the  electoral  assembly  he 
voted  for  himself,  with  these  words,  **  There  is  no  prince  in 
the  empire  whom  I  know  better  than  myself.  No  one  sur- 
passes me  in  power,  or  in  the  art  of  governing,  whether  in 
prosperity  or  adversity.  I,  therefore,  as  elector  of  Branden- 
burg, give  Sigmund,  king  of  Hungary,  my  vote,  and  herewith 


156  SIGMUND. 

elect  myself  emperor."  He  united  in  his  person  many  of  the 
qualities  for  which  his  relations  were  noted,  possessing  the 
subtlety  of  Charles  IV.,  the  thoughtlessness  of  king  John,  the 
licence  of  his  brother  Wenzel,  with  this  difference,  that,  whilst 
Wenzel  was  a  worshipper  of  Bacchus,  he  was  a  votary  of  Ve- 
nus. Endowed  with  beauty,  eloquence,  and  energy,  he  was 
totally  devoid  of  real  power  or  of  reflection.  He  ever  pursued 
a  temporizing  policy,  and  for  a  present  advantage  would 

thoughtlessly  sacrifice  a  greater  future  gain. At  first  he 

discovered  a  praise- worthy  zeal  for  the  church  and  state,  and, 
in  order  to  devote  himself  entirely  to  the  regulation  of  public 
affairs,  even  sacrificed  his  private  interests.  The  Turks,  for- 
tunately, made  no  further  attempt  upon  Hungary,  and  Ladis- 
law  of  Naples,  the  competitor  for  that  crown,  died.  Sigmund, 
anxious  to  secure  himself  to  the  rear,  concluded  peace  with 
Wladislaw  of  Poland,  whom  he  entertained  with  great  splen- 
dour at  Ofen.  Annoyed  by  the  successes  of  the  Venetians  in 
Dalmatia,  Frioul,  and  on  the  frontiers  of  Lombardy,  he  des- 
patched against  them  a  small  number  of  troops  under  Pippo 
of  Hungary,  who  being  defeated,  he  deemed  it  more  advanr 
tageous  to  make  peace,  and  to  cede  Zara  in  Dalmatia  to 
Venice  for  200,000  ducats.  He  then  passed  through  the  Ty- 
rol, and  visited  the  duke,  Frederick,  at  Innsbruck,  which  he 
quitted  in  great  displeasure,  and,  proceeding  to  Italy,  held  a 
conference  at  Lodi  with  the  pope,  whom  he  persuaded  to  con- 
voke a  new  council.  His  attempt  to  reduce  the  Visconti  to 
submission  failed,  but  at  Turin  he  secured  the  allegiance  of 
Amadeus,  earl  of  Savoy,  after  which  he  flattered  the  Swiss 
with  a  visit. 

Having  thus  settled  the  affairs  of  the  state,  and  having  re- 
plenished his  treasury  by  mortgaging  Brandenburg  to  Fre- 
derick of  Hohenzollern,  Burggrave  of  Nuremberg,  he  resolved 
to  become  the  reformer  of  the  church,  a  scheme  in  which  he 
had  the  sympathies  of  Europe,  and  for  this  purpose  convoked 
a  great  council  at  Constance.  The  necessity  of  a  reformation 
was  universally  felt,  and  was  even  participated  in  by  the 
clergy,  who  desired  the  termination  of  the  schism  in  the 
church,  and,  moreover,  hoped  to  extend  their  power  by  means 
of  a  great  council.  Sigmund,  fearing  the  party-spirit  of  the 
clergy,  sought  to  attract  the  laity,  and  to  give  to  the  council 
more  the  appearance  and  authority  of  a  general  European 


THE  COUNCIJi  OF  CONSTANCE.  157 

congress,  in  which  the  votes  were  regulated,  not  hj  classes 
but  hj  nations,  and  Toluntarily  ceded  his  prerogative,  now  a 
mere  delusion,  as  Roman  emperor,  and  placed  the  Romish* 
German  nation  no  longer  ahove,  bat  on  an  equality  with  the 
rest  of  those  represented  in  this  coancii.  After  incessant 
efforts,  he  at  length  succeeded  in  uniting  all  the  temporal 
and  spiritual  sovereigns  and  princes  of  Europe  for  this  pur- 
pose, without  being  himself  qualified  to  take  the  lead  in  such 
aa  assemblj,  where  his  undignified  conduct  drew  upon  him, 
and  upon  the  church,  the  well-merited  contempt  of  his 
brother  sovereigns. 


CLXXXIY.  The  CmmeUof  C&futanee. 

A.  D.  1414,  the  spiritual  and  temporal  powers  of  Catholic 
fiuTope  held  a  great  general  congress  at  Constance,  either  in 
person  or  bj  their  representatives.  The  temporal  powers 
consisted  of  the  emperor,*  of  almost  all  the  electors,  of  most 
of 't))e  great  vassals  of  the  empire,  of  members  of  the  nobility, 
of  the  ambassadors  of  all  the  catholic  sovereigns,  and  even  of 
those  of  Greece  and  Russia  in  their  strange  attire.  Of  the 
spiritual  dignitaries,  there  were  three  patriarchs,  thirty-three 
<^inal8,  forty-seven  archbishops,  one  hundred  and  forty-five 
bishops,  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  abbots,  eighteen  hun- 
^d  priests,  seven  hundred  and  fifty  doctors,  and  a  crowd  of 
monks.  Gregory  and  Benedict  merely  sent  their  legates, 
<^ohn  XXin.  alone  appearing  in  person.  The  Spaniards  at 
first  absenting  themselves  on  account  of  their  holding  with 
Benedict  XIII.,  the  council  was  merely  composed  of  four 
nations;  the  Germans,  including  the  Danes,  Swedes,  Nor- 
wegians, Poles,  Hungarians ;  the  Italians,  French,  and  Eng- 
lish, who  formed  two  opposing  parties,  that  of  the  Italians 
under  Pope  John,  supported  by  Frederick  of  Austria,  John 

*  Sigmund  entered  Congtance  on  Christmas  eve,  and  rode  by  torch- 
ligbt  to  the  church,  where,  with  the  imperial  crown  on  his  head,  he 
.  served  as  deacon  to  the  pope  whilst  reading  mass.  He  showed  himself 
niore  Tain  than  efficient  in  the  council.  When,  addressing  the  assembly, 
ue  gaid^  «  H^xq  operam,  ut  ilia  nefanda  schisma  eradicetur,"  a  cardinal 
Remarking  to  him,  "  Doipine,  schisma  est  generis  neutrius,"  he  replied, 

^-go  sum  rex  Romanus  et  super  grammaticam."  In  this  council  he 
lowered  his  dignity  in  matters  of  fiur  greater  importance. 


158  THE  COUNCIL  OF  CONSTANCE. 

of  Bargundy,  John,  archbishop  of  Mayence,  and  Bernard, 
Margrave  of  Baden ;  and  that  of  the  Germans,  French,  and 
English.  The  French,  unable  to  forget  the  subserviency 
of  the  pope  to  their  rale,  still  secretly  set  up  Avignon  in 
opposition  to  Rome ;  the  Germans  and  English  favoured  the 
French  party  for  the  purpose  of  deposing  the  notorious  pope» 
John,  and  some  among  them  sincerely  wished  for  a  reform- 
ation  in  the  church ;  whilst  all  the  northern  nations,  without 
exception,  jealous  of  the  preference  ever  given  to  Italians  in 
the  appointment  to  ecclesiastical  benefices,  unanimously  re- 
solved to  lower  their  pride  on  the  present  occasion ;  accord- 
ingly, when  the  northern  party,  headed  by  the  French  car- 
dinal, Peter  d'Ailly,  and  Gerson,  the  celebrated  chancellor  of 
the  university  of  Paris,  actively  seconded  by  the  German 
clergy  under  the  influence  of  the  emperor,  had  carried  the 
question  of  voting  according  to  nations,  (which  deprived  the 
majority  of  the  Italian  cardinals  and  bishops  of  their  power  of 
influencing  the  number  of  votes,)  it  advanced  a  step  further, 
and  declared  that  the  popes  were  subservient  to  the  council, 
and  that  each  of  the  three  must  either  voluntarily  resign  the 
tiara  or  be  deposed.  It  was  in  vain  that  Boeder,  a  German 
by  birth,  a  Parisian  doctor,  implored  the  council  to  take  the 
question  of  the  reformation  first  into  consideration.  The 
spiritual  lords,  who  ruled  the  assembly,  solely  intent  upon 
putting  an  end  to  the  scandal  of  a  papal  trinity,  and  upon 
restoring  the  external  dignity  of  the  church,  were  by  no  means 
inclined  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  people  by  reforming  her 
internal  abuses. 

Pope  John,  threatened  with  a  public  trial  for  the  crimes  he 
had  committed,  dissimulated  his  rage,  and  resigned  the  pon- 
tifical tiara.  A  statement  of  his  misdemeanors  had  already 
been  made  public.  His  attempt  to  bribe  the  emperor  failing, 
he  confederated  with  Frederick  of  Austria,  who  held  a  tourna- 
ment outside  of  the  city  walls,  and  the  pope,  favoured  by  the 
crowd,  fled,  disguised  as  a  groom,  with  a  cross-bow  on  his 
shoulder,  and  merely  accompanied  by  a  page,  to  Schaflliausen, 
where  he  was  speedily  joined  by  Frederick.  John  now  so- 
lemnly protested  against  his  enforced  abdication,  and  dissolved 
the  council.  The  terror  caused  by  this  step,  however, 
quickly  subsided.  Frederick  was,  in  return,  declared  out  of 
the  bann  of  the  empire,  and  Sigmund,  summoning  the  Swiss 


TflS  COUNCIL  OF  CONSTANCE.  l^d 

to  ids  aidy  bestowed  the  Austrkn  possessiooB  upon  them,  on 
eondition  of  their  invading  that  territorj,  and  thus  satMed 
las  ranooar  as  a  Lnx^nburg  against  the  house  of  Habsburg. 
The  WaldstHBtte  had  made  peace  with  Austria,  and  refused, 
bat  Berne,  ever  greedj  of  gain,  instantly  infringed  the  treaty 
sad  b^an  the  attack ;  upon  which  the  citizens  of  Zurich  and 
the  Alpine  peasantry,  filled  with  envy  of  the  promised  booty, 
abo  invaded  the  Habsburg  territory,  which  was  speedily  re* 
dnced  to  submission,  and  partitioned  among  the  confederates. 
Sigmund  shortly  afterwards  visited  Zwitzerland,  and  received 
the  oath  of  fealty  from  the  confederation.  Frederick  was  taken 
prisoner  at  Freiburg  by  the  Pfalzgrave,  Louis,  who  com- 
manded  the  imperial  troops.  On  being  carried  to  Constance, 
he  fell  at  the  emperor's  feet  to  sue  for  pardon ;  Sigmund  said 
to  him,  "We  regret  that  you  have  committed  these  offences ;" 
wd,  turning  to  the  ambassadors  of  Venice  and  Milan,  ob- 
served, "  You  know  how  powerful  the  dukes  of  Austria  are, 
see  what  a  Grerman  king  can  do  1"  The  Tyrolese  attempted, 
when  too  late,  to  rise  in  favour  of  their  duke.  Frederick  was 
compelled  to  resign  the  territory  of  which  he  had  been  de- 
prived, and  to  pay  a  heavy  fine.  Pope  John  was  also  taken 
prisoner  at  Freiburg,  and  carried  back  to  Constance,  where 
he  was  publicly  brought  to  trial  before  the  council,  and  his 
profligacy  and  irreligion  were  fully  divulged.  He  remained 
in  imprisonment  in  the  castle  of  Heidelberg  until  1418, 
when  he  again  took  his  place  among  the  cardinals.  Gregory 
^IL  submitted  to  the  council,  and  retained  his  cardinal's 
hat    Benedict  XIIL  still  bade  his  opponents  defiance  from 


The  insolence  of  the  popes  was  no  sooner  humbled  than  the 
council  attempted  to  stifle  the  popular  zeal  for  reform,  for 
which  the  heresy,  kindled  by  John  Huss  in  Bohemia,  offered 
&  good  opportunity.  The  Bohemians,  an  intuitively  lively 
and  intelligent  people,  had  gained  a  rapid  advance  in  civiliza- 
tion over  the  Germans,  since  the  reign  of  Charles  lY.  The 
nniversity  of  Prague,  endowed  with  the  most  valuable  privi- 
^es,  had  become  noted  for  the  learning  of  its  professors. 
The  marriage  of  Anna,  Wenzel's  sister,  with  Richard,  king  of 
England,  rendered  the  Bohemians  acquainted  with  the  writ- 
ings of  Wickliffe,  who,  since  1360,  had  boldly  ventured  to  at- 
^ck  the  abuses  of  the  church  in  England.    John,  who,  al- 


160  THE  COUNCIL  OF  CONSTANCE. 

though  a  ser£  by  birth,  had  raised  himself  by  his  talent  to  a 
professor's  chair  at  Prague,  and  had  been  chosen  confessor 
to  the  queen,  roused  by  these  writings,  zealously  preached 
against  papal  depravity  in  Prague.  The  dispute  between  the 
emperor  Wenzel  and  the  pope  aided  his  efforts,  and  the  So- 
hemian  students  quickly  adopted  his  tenets,  whilst  those  frotai 
Saxony,  Bavaria,  and  Poland  as  sturdily  opposed  them.  A 
violent  opposition  arose,  and  was  terminated  by  the  new  con- 
stitution given  to  the  university  by  the  emperor  Wenzel,  by 
which  the  votes  of  the  Saxons,  Bavarians,  and  Poles,  on  aU 
public  acts,  were  combined  into  one,  and  those  of  the  Bohe- 
mians tripled.  All  the  foreigners,  professors,  and  students, 
amounting  to  several  thousand,  instantly  quitted  the  university 
and  returned  to  their  several  countries,  where  the  Saxons 
founded  [a.  d.  1408]  the  university  at  Leipsic,  the  Bavarians 
enlarged  that  of  higolstadt,  and  the  Poles  that  of  Cracow. 
Huss  was  triumphantly,  proclaimed  Rector  of  Prague. 

Emboldened  by  success,  and  confident  that  inquiry  into  the 
abuses  of  the  church  once  roused  would  continue  to  be  prose- 
cuted, Huss  now  denounced  from  the  pulpit  the  anti-biblical 
dogmas  promulgated  as  Christian  doctrine,  and  the  temporal 
usurpations  of  the  church,  in  open  defiance  of  the  archbishop, 
Sbinco,  who  virulently  persecuted  him.     Some  Englishmen 
painted' on  the  wall  of  an  inn  a  picture,  in  which  Christ  was 
on  one  side  represented,  meek  and  poor,  entering  Jerusalem 
mounted  on  an  ass ;  on  the  other,  the  pope,  proudly  mounted 
on  horseback,  ghttering  with  purple  and  gold.     The  people 
came  in  crowds  to  see  this  picture.     Sbinco  revenged  himself 
by  committing  all  the  heretical  books  that  he  could  discover 
to  the  fiames,  upon  which  the  students  shouted  in  the  streets, 
**  The  ABC  protector  bums  the  books  he  does  not  under- 
stand.''   Three  students  were  arrested,  and,  notwithstanding   | 
the  promise  of  their  safety  given  to  Huss  by  the  town-council,   \ 
were  beheaded  in  prison.     Not  long  afterwards,  Hieronymus   i 
Faulfisch,  or  "  of  Prague,"  a  bold  friend  of  the  reformer,  seized   j 
a  wretched  man,  who,  accompanied  by  two  dissolute  females, 
publicly  sold  the  papal  dispensation,  hung  the  letters  of  dis- 
pensation on  the  bare  bosoms  of  the  women,  whom  he  drove 
in  this  plight  through  the  streets  of  Prague,  and  finally  burnt 
the  papal  buU  under  the  gallows.    The  wrath  of  the  papists  at 
this  insult  became  so  violent,  that  Wenzel  withdrew  his  pro- 


THE  COUNCIL  OF  CONSTANCE.  161 

11  from  the  reformers,  and  banished  them  from  the  city. 
088  found  an  asylum  with  Hussinez,  his  feudal  liege. 
The  preaching  and  writings  of  the  freethinking  Bohemian 
^  excited  such  universal  attention  that  John  XXIII.  cited 
to  Rome.  Huss  refused  to  obey,  but  appeared  before  the 
ncil,  whose  authority  he  alone  rec<^nised,  and  from  which 
apprehended  no  danger,  Sigmund  having  promised  him  a 
safe-conduct,  a.  d.  1414.  On  his  way  to  Constance,  he  dis- 
puted at  Nuremberg,  where  he  elicited  great  applause,  but 
bid  scarcely  reached  Constance,  than  by  a  sermon  he  heed- 
lessly afforded  to  his  opponents  an  excuse,  eagerly  sought  for, 
for  seizing  his  person,  and  was  imprisoned  in  a  narrow  dun- 
geon on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  where  the  common  sewers 
emptied  themselves.  The  pestilential  atmosphere  speedily 
engendered  a  fever.  His  noble  friend,  von  Chlum,  enraged  at 
the  ill  faith  of  the  prelates  and  princes,  vainly  appealed  to  the 
safe-conduct ;  the  repeated  addresses  of  the  estates  of  Bohemia 
^  to  the  council  in  behalf  of  their  protege,  and  their  demands 
j  for  his  restoration,  proved  equally  futile ;  Huss  was,  for  gteater 
J  security,  carried  to  the  castle  of  Gottlieben  in  the  Thurgau, 
^  where,  by  command  of  the  bishop  of  Constance,  he  was  chained 
hand  and  foot  to  the  wall  of  his  dungeon ;  in  this  state  he  re- 
Qudned  whilst  the  council  were  engaged  in  settling  the  papal 
and  Austrian  affairs,  which  were  no  sooner  concluded  than  Huss 
was  remanded  before  it.  The  unfortunate  reformer  could 
hardly  expect  lenity  from  an  assembly  that  had  just  bidden 
defiance  to  the  popes.  The  emperor,  justly  proud  of  standing 
ftt  the  head  of  the  council  independent  of  the  pope,  was  at  that 
time  endeavouring  to  win  over  the  Spaniards,  whose  king, 
Ferdinand  of  Arragon,  fanatically  insisted  upon  the  condemna- 
tion of  the  heretics.  The  affair  of  Huss  was,  consequently, 
regarded  as  an  interruption,  and  his  case  was  hurried  over. 
Sigmund  refused  the  petitions  of  the  Bohemian  Estates,  and 
excused  his  want  of  faith  by  saying,  that  he  had  merely  pro- 
mised Huss  a  safe-conduct  until  his  arrival  at  Constance, 
when  his  promise  was  of  no  further  avail,  owing  to  his  in- 
ability to  protect  a  heretic.  As  Huss  entered  the  assembly- 
room  a  solar  eclipse  darkened  the  air.  Addressing  the  emperor, 
^^  thanked  him  for  the  safe-conduct  he  had  granted;  the 
Wood  rushed  to  the  face  of  the  emperor,  who  made  no  reply. 
Huss  then  attempted  to  defend  his  doctrine,  but  was  silenced ; 

'VOL,  II.  M 


162  THE  COUNCIL  OP  CONSTANCE. 

the  articles  of  accusation  were  read  aloud,  and  he  was  ordered 
to  recant.  The  most  irrational  charges  were  made  against 
him,  such  as  that  of  his  having  maintained  the  existence  of 
four  gods,  at  which  he  could  not  suppress  a  smile.  The  car- 
dinals and  bishops  laughed  loudly  in  concert  whenever  pas- 
sages commenting  upon  their  criminal  mode  of  life  were  read, 
and  as  often  as  Huss,  in  the  midst  of  this  scandalous  uproar, 
rose  to  speak  in  his  own  defence,  the  tumult  increased,  and  he 
was  condemned  unheard,  on  his  stedfast  refusal  to  recant,  to 
the  stake.  The  noble-minded  Chlum  said  to  him,  "  Be  com- 
forted, teacher  of  virtue,  truth  is  of  higher  value  than  life !" 

Independent  of  the  false  charges  brought  against  him, 
Huss  had,  in  fact,  promulgated  doctrines  condemned  as  here- 
tical by  the  church  ;  as,  for  instance,  that  laymen,  as  well  as 
priests,  could  freely  participate  in  the  Lord's  supper ;  that  a 
priest  unworthy  of  his  office  could  not  dispense  the  sacra- 
ment ;  that  the  Holy  Ghost  rested  upon  the  whole  congrega- 
tion, and  not  merely  upon  the  priesthood ;  that  every  pious 
laymAi  was  fitted,  without  receiving  ordination,  to  act  as  a 
spiritual  teacher  and  guide ;  that  the  authority  of  the  bishop 
of  Rome  did  not  extend  over  foreign  nations.  He  had,  more* 
over,  greatly  offended  the  temporal  lords,  by  teaching  that 
obedience  was  as  little  due  to  a  wicked  prince  as  to  a  wicked 
pope. 

In  the  midst  of  the  solemn  council,  over  which  the  em- 
peror, seated  on  his  throne,  presided,  Huss  was  deprived  of  his 
priestly  office,  and  crowned  with  a  paper  cap,  an  ell  in  height, 
on  which  three  devils  were  painted,  with  this  inscription, 
"  the  arch-heretic."  He  simply  observed,  "  Christ  wore  the 
crown  of  thorns."  The  elector  of  the  Pfalz  headed  the  pro- 
cession to  the  place  of  execution.  Huss,  when  bound  to  the 
stake,  on  seeing  a  peasant  zealously  heaping  on  wood,  ex- 
claimed, "O  sacred  simplicity!"  The  pile  was  kindled,  and 
the  martyr's  voice  was  heard  singing  a  psalm  until  he  was 
stifled  by  the  flames.  He  is  said  to  have  prophesied  on  the 
day  of  his  death,  "  To-day  you  will  roast  a  goose,  (the  meaning 
of  the  word  '  Huss,')  but  a  hundred  years  hence  a  swan,  that 
you  will  not  be  able  to  kill,  will  appear."  He  suflered  on  his 
forty-second  birthday,  a.d.  1415. 

Hieronymus  of  Prague,  who  had  also  come  to  Constance, 
terrified  at  the  fate  of  his  friend,  fled,  but  was  retaken  and 


THE  COUNCIL  OF  CONSTANCE,  163 

thrown  into  prison,  where  he  was  induced  by  hunger,  torture, 
and  sickness,  to  recant  This  momentarj  wellness  was, 
howerer,  noblj  expiated :  '^  I  will  not  recant,"  said  he  to  the 
<»iuicil,  with  such  unexpected  firmness,  that  the  Italian,  Pog- 
gio,  struck  with  admiration,  named  him  a  second  Cato ;  '*  I 
will  not  recant,  for  my  blessed  master  has,  with  perfect  jus- 
tice, written  against  your  shameful  and  depraved  mode  of  life, 
and  with  truth  attacked  your  false  ordinances  and  your  evil 
cnstoms.  I  will  not  deny  thb  belief,  although  you  will  kill 
me."  He  was  condemned  to  the  stake ;  the  weak  attempt 
made  to  save  him  by  Caspar  Schlick,  Sigmund's  chancellor, 
who  advised  greater  lenity  on  account  of  Bohemia,  was  un- 
listened  to.  When  the  executioner  was  about  to  set  fire  to 
the  pile  from  behind,  Hieronymus  ordered  him  to  set  fire  to  it 
in  front,  ''  for,"  said  he,  ''  had  I  dreaded  fire,  I  should  not 
have  been  here,"  a.  d.  1416. 

The  emperor,  after  the  execution  of  Huss,  projected  a  visit 
to  Spain  for  the  purpose  of  personally  persuading  Benedict 
Xm.  to  submit,  and,  in  order  to  meet  the  expense  of  this 
extraordinary  journey,  sold  the  whole  of  Brandenburg,  toge- 
ther with  the  electorship,  to  Frederick  of  ZoUem  for  300,000 
ducats,  and,  for  a  smaller  sum,  created  the  Truchsesses  of 
Waldburg  governors  of  Swabia.  At  Perpignan  he  was  met 
by  Ferdinand  of  Arragon,  and  there  finally  succeeded  in  ef- 
fecting the  deposition  of  Pope  Benedict.  At  Chambery  he 
niised  Amadeus  YUI.,  earl  of  Savoy,  to  the  ducal  dignity. 
At  Paris,  where  he  was  sumptuously  entertained  as  the  high- 
est potentate  on  earth,  he  vainly  endeavoured  to  make  peace 
between  France  and  England,  at  that  time  engaged  in  bloody 
war&re,  and,  for  this  purpose,  visited  England,  where  he  was 
received  with  distrust,  the  English  imagining  that  he  intended 
to  set  himself  up  as  umpire  between  the  sovereigns  of  Europe, 
and  to  assert  his  supremacy  over  England.  On  his  arrival  on 
the  English  coast,  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  advancing  into  the 
water  with  his  sword  drawn,  demanded  "whether  he  in- 
tended to  exercise  any  sort  of  jurisdiction  in  England,"  and, 
on  receiving  an  answer  in  the  negative,  permitted  him  to 
land.  His  proposab  for  peace  were  ill  received  and  refused. 
William  of  Bavaria,  count  of  Holland,  came  to  London,  in  or- 
der to  be  invested  with  his  dignity  by  Sigmund,  who  re- 
vised, and  the  Wittelsbacher  returned  to  Holland,  taking  with 

M  2 


164  THE  COUNCIL  OF  CONSTANCE. 

him  the  whole  of  his  fleet,  so  that  until  it  pleased  Henry  of 
England  to  furnish  the  emperor  with  the  means  of  transport, 
he  was  in  some  sort  retained  a  prisoner  in  London,  whence 
the  insolence  of  the  moh,  on  one  occasion,  compelled  him  to 
flee  to  Canterhury,  where  he  was  detained  until  he  had  signed 
a  treaty  with  England  against  France,  upon  which  he  never 
afterwards  acted. 

On  his  return  to  Constance,  he  had  at  least  the  gratification 
of  adding  the  fifth  vote,  that  of  Spain,  to  the  council ;  har- 
mony, however,  was  thereby  unrestored,  and  the  emperor's 
authority  had  deeply  fallen.  A  fresh  and  violent  dispute 
arose  in  the  council,  one  party  advocating  the  reform  of  the 
abuses  that  had  crept  into  the  church,  the  other  as  eagerly 
evading  the  question,  and  insisting  on  the  election  of  a  fresh 
pope.  Frederick  von  ZoUem  and  the  majority  of  the  Ger- 
mans and  English  strongly  advocated  reform,  although  far 
from  agreeing  in  their  ideas  how  far  reform  ought  to  extend. 
Peter  d'Ailly  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  papal  party, 
which  consisted  of  the  higher  church  dignitaries,  the  French, 
Italians,  and  Spanish,  who,  affcer  some  time,  being  joined  by 
the  English,  the  Germans  were  compelled,  after  making  an 
energetic  protest,  to  yield,  Peter  d'AiUy  saying  with  his 
habitual  and  open  sarcasm  to  the  German  clergy,  ^'Ye 
want  to  reform  others,  although  ye  well  know  how  good  for 
nothing  ye  are  yourselves."  What  expectation  more  futile 
than  the  correction  of  the  abuses  of  power  by  its  possessors ! 
It  was  a  folly  of  the  age  to  expect  reformation  from  a 
council. 

An  Italian  cardinal  was  elected  pope,  [a.  d.  1417,]  under 
the  name  of  Martin  V.,  and  scarcely  felt  the  weight  of  the 
tiara  on  his  brow  before  he  concerted  measures  for  the  pre- 
vention of  every  degree  of  reform,  and,  by  concluding  separate 
concordats  with  the  diflerent  nations  of  which  the  council  was 
composed,  succeeded  in  dissolving  it,  and  in  reinstating  the 
papal  authority.  The  question  of  reform  was  no  longer  agi- 
tated ;  the  Germans  formally  renounced  their  connexion  with 
the  Bohemians ;  popular  opinion  was  treated  with  contempt ; 
the  emperor  was  no  longer  energetic  in  the  cause ;  the  bishops 
and  doctors  alone  acted ;  the  former  were  won  by  the  pope's 
amicable  proposals,  whilst  the  courage  of  the  latter  had  been 
visibly  cooled  by  the  fate  of  Huss,  and  thus  miserably  termin- 


\ 


DISTURBANCES  IN  BOHEMIA.  165 

ated  the  council  of  Constance,  on  which  so  many  hopes  had 
rested.* 

CLXXXV.  Disturbances  in  Bohemia. — Zizka. 

PopiTLAs  opinion  had  heen  disregarded  by  the  council  of 
Constance,  which  vainly  deemed  that  the  name  of  Huss  had 
heen  swept  from  the  earth  when  his  ashes  were  borne  away 
by  the  rapid  waters  of  the  Rhine.     But  his  doctrines  had 
taken  deep  root  in  Bohemia,  and  would  undoubtedly  have  also 
spread  into  Grermany  had  not  the  jealousy  of  the  Germans 
Ineen  roused  by  the  favour  with  which  the  emperors,  Charles 
IV.  and  Wenzel,  had  distinguished  the  Bohemians,  who  had, 
moreover,  often  treated  them  with  haughty  insolence,  and  had 
Huss  preached  not  in  the  Bohemian  but  in  the  German  tongue. 
Germany  was,  perhaps,  at  that  period,  unfitted  to  receive  his 
doctrines ;  the  grossest  ignorance  still  prevailed,  and  the  Ger- 
man universities,  far  from  spreading  enlightenment  among  the 
people,  were  the  abodes  of  papal  superstition. 

The  Bohemian  estates,  influenced  by  Ulric  von  Rosenberg, 
after  vainly  protesting  against  the  faithless  and  illegal  manner 
in  which  Huss  had  been  condemned,  passed  a  resolution,  [a.  d. 
1416,]  authorizing  every  manorial  lord  to  have  the  doctrines 
of  the  murdered  reformer  preached  within  his  demesnes.  The 
numerous  adherents  of  the  martyr  of  Constance  took  the  name 
of  Hussites,  and  the  preacher,  Jacob  of  Miesz,  gave  them  the 
distinctive  sign  of  the  cup,  by  teaching,  that  as  the  Spirit  of 
God  rested  not  on  the  priesthood  alone  but  also  on  the  whole 
community,  the  people  ought  to  partake,  as  in  the  early 
Christian  times,  of  the  Lord's  supper,  in  both  forms,  (sw 
lUraque,)  not  merely  of  the  bread,  but  also  of  the  wine  in  the 
chalice,  until  now  partaken  of  by  the  priest  alone.  The  Huss- 
ites were  hence  termed  Utraquists  or  Calixtines,  brethren  of 
the  cup.  The  people  were  at  first  pacified  by  the  freedom 
of  preaching  granted  by  the  Estates.  The  plunder  of  some 
monasteries  by  robber  bands  alone  demonstrated  their  secret 
hatred  of  the  Roman  clergy. 
On  the  conclusion  of  the  council  of  Constance,  Martin  Y., 

•  The  city  of  Constance  was  ruined  by  the  council,  the  emperor 
meanly  refusing  to  pay  a  farthing  of  his  personal  debts,  and  the  murder 
of  Huss  lay  like  a  curse  upon  the  city,  which  neyer  after  flourished. 


166  ZIZKA. 

in  the  vain  hope  of  crushing  the  heresy  with  spiritual  weapons,, 
hurled  his  fulminations  against  the  Hussites.  This  was,  how-^ 
ever,  merely  the  signal  for  strife.  In  the  spring  of  1419, 
the  cardinal-legate,  Dominid,  having  condemned  a  Hussite 
preacher,  whose  cup  he  cast  to  the  ground,  to  the  stake,  the 
Hussites,  now  in  great  numbers,  secretly  brooded  over  revenge. 
There  lived  at  that  time  in  Wenzel's  court  an  experienced 
officer,  named  John  Zizka  (Tschischka)  von  Trocznow,  who 
had  lost  one  of  his  eyes  during  his  childhood,  had  long  served 
against  the  German  Hospitallers  in  Poland,  and  was  now  the 
chamberlain  and  favourite  of  the  aged  emperor.  The  seduc- 
tion of  one  of  his  sisters,  a  nun,  by  a  priest,  had  inspired  him 
with  the  deepest  hatred  towards  the  whole  of  the  priesthood, 
and  he  viewed  the  Germans  with  national  dislike.  Since  the 
death  of  Huss,  he  had  remained  plunged  in  deep  and  silent 
dejection,  and  on  being  asked  by  Wenzel  why  he  was  so  sad, 
replied,  '^  Huss  is  burnt,  and  we  have  not  yet  avenged  him !" 
Wenzel  carelessly  observing  that  he  could  do  nothing  but 
that  Zizka  might  attempt  it  himself,  he  took  the  jest  in  earn- 
est^ and,  s^onded  by  Niclas  von  Hussinez,  Huss's  former  lord 
and  zealous  partisan,  roused  the  people.  Wenzel,  in  great 
alarm,  ordered  the  whole  body  of  citizens  to  bring  their  arms 
to  the  royal  castle  of  Wisherad  that  commanded  the  city  of 
Prague,  but  Zizka,  instead  of  the  arms,  brought  the  armed 
citizens  in  long  files  to  the  fortress,  and  said  to  the  emperor, 
"  My  gracious  and  mighty  sovereign,  here  we  are,  and  await 
your  commands;  against  what  enemy  are  we  to  fight?" 
Wenzel,  upon  this,  took  a  more  cheerful  countenance,  and 
dismissed  the  citizens.  All  restraint  was  now  at  an  end. 
Hussinez  was  banished  the  city,  but,  instead  of  obeying, 
assembled  forty  thousand  men  on  the  mountain  of  Hradistie 
in  the  district  of  Bechin,  which  henceforward  received  the 
biblical  name  of  Mount  Tabor,  where  several  hundred  tables 
were  spread  for  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  supper,  July 
22, 1419.  An  attempt  made  by  Wenzel  to  depose  the  Hussite 
city-council  in  the  Neustadt,  where  the  chief  excitement  pre- 
vailed, and  to  replace  it  by  another  devoted  to  his  interests, 
created,  at  the  same  time,  the  greatest  discontent  throughout 
Prague ;  and  on  the  imprisonment  of  two  clamorous  Hussites 
by  this  new  council,  Zizka  assembled  the  people,  marched,  on 
the  30th  of  July,  in  procession,  and  bearing  the  cup,  through 


DISTX7BBANCES  IN  BOHEMIA.  167 

the  Streets,  and,  on  arriving  in  front  of  the  councSl-hoiue  of 
tie  Neastadt,  demanded  the  liberation  of  his  partisana.  The 
oouDcil  hesitated ;  a  atone  fell  out  of  one  of  the  windows,  and 
the  mob  instantly  stormed  the  building  and  flung  thirteen  of 
the  coonciUorSy  Grermans  bj  birth,  out  of  the  windows.  The 
dwelling  of  a  priest,  supposed  to  have  been  that  of  his  sister's 
seducer,  was,  by  S^izka's  order,  destroyed,  its  owner  hanged, 
the  Carthusian  monks,  crowned  with  thorns,  were  dragged 
throQgh  the  streets,  etc.  A  few  days  afterwards,  the  emperor, 
Wenzel,  was  suffocated  in  his  palace  by  his  own  attendantSi 
Ang.  16th,  1419.  His  death  was  the  signal  for  a  general  out- 
break. On  the  ensuing  day,  every  monastery  and  church  in 
Prague  was  plundered,  the  pictures  they  contained  were  de- 
stroyed, and  the  priests'  robes  converted  into  flags  and  dresses. 
It  is  impossible  at  this  day  to  form  an  idea  of  the  splendour 
of  these  buildings,  and  of  that  of  the  royal  palaces,  on  which 
Charles  IV.  and  Wenzel  had  lavished  every  art.  ^neas 
Sylfius  mentions  a  garden  belonging  to  the  royal  palace  de- 
^yed  during  this  period  of  terror,  on  whose  walls  the  whole 
of  the  Bible  was  written.  Whilst  the  work  of  destruction 
proceeded,  a  priest,  Matthias  Toczenicze,  formed  an  altar  of 
t^ee  tabs  and  a  broad  table-top  in  the  streets,  and,  during 
the  whole  day,  dispensed  the  sacrament  in  both  forms.  The 
^  of  the  wealthy  citizens,  however,  was  speedily  cooled 
oj  the  dread  of  being  deprived  of  their  riches,  and  they  en- 
tered into  negotiation  with  Sophia,  Wenzel's  widow,  who  still 
defended  the  Wisherad,  and  even  sent  a  deputation  to  Sig- 
inund  with  terms  of  peace,  to  which  Sigmund  replied  by 
swearing  to  take  the  most  fearful  revenge.  Zizka,  flnding  the 
p^tizens  of  Prague  too  moderate  for  his  purposes,  now  invited 
^to  the  city  the  peasants,  who  were  advised  by  his  most 
^ve  partisan,  the  priest  Coranda,  to  arm  themselves  with 
ttidr  flails.  In  October,  they  plundered  the  Kleine  Seite  of 
^^ue  and  besieged  the  castle,  whence  the  queen  fled.  Zizka 
"^^Bi  nevertheless,  forced  by  the  moderate  party  to  quit  the 
^^i  fortified  Mount  Tabor  and  placed  himself  at  the  head  of 
*^e  peasantry,  who  took  the  name  of  "  the  people  of  Grod,"  and 
termed  their  Catholic  neighbours,  '^Moabites,  Amalekites,'' 
^te.,  whom  they  deemed  it  their  duty  to  extirpate,  whilst  their 
deader  entitled  himself  "  John  Zizka  of  the  cup,  captain,  in 
^^  hope  of  God,  of  the  Taborites." 


168  DISTURBANCES  IN  BOHEMIA. 

The  Bohemian  Estates,  anxious  for  the  restoration  of  tran- 
qoillitj,  now  had  recourse  to  the  emperor,  who,  on  the  con- 
clusion of  the  council  of  Constance,  had  made  terms  with  the 
Habsburgs  in  order  to  make  head  against  the  Turks,  who  had 
invaded  Hungary  and  Stjria,  and  whom  he  had  successfully 
repulsed  at  Badkersburg  in  1416,  and  at  Nissa  in  1419.  He 
received  the  Bohemian  deputation  at  Briinn,  and  had  the  folly, 
on  their  earnestly  petitioning  him  to  secure  to  them  free  com- 
munion, and  submissively  representing  the  great  danger  with 
which  the  country  was  threatened,  and  their  desire,  in  unison 
with  him,  to  restore  tranquillity  by  means  of  moderate  <:on- 
cessions,  to  allow  them  to  remain  for  a  length  of  time  on  their 
knees,  and  to  refuse  their  proposals.  Instead  of  joining  the 
moderate  party,  the  nobility  and  citizens,  against  the  fanatical 
peasantry,  he  insulted  them  all ;  and,  although  he  intended  to 
use  violence,  neglected  the  opportune  moment,  in  order,  ac- 
cording to  his  usual  policy,  to  secure  himself  to  the  rear,  for 
which  purpose  he  visited  Poland,  where  he  made  terms  with 
Wladislaw  and  the  Grerman  Hospitallers,  Jan.  6th,  1420. 
Symptoms  of  reaction,  meantime,  appeared  on  the  frontiers. 
Hussite  preachers,  who  ventured  to  cross  from  Bohemia,  were 
burnt  as  heretics. 

These  acts  of  cruelty  excited  reprisals  on  Zizka's  part,  and, 
after  swearing  publicly  with  Coranda,  at  Pilsen,  never  to  re- 
cognise Sigmund  as  king  of  Bohemia,  he  began  to  destroy  all 
the  monasteries  in  the  country,  and  to  burn  all  the  priests 
alive,  generally  in  barrels  of  pitch,  in  open  retaliation  of  the 
burning  of  the  heretics.  He  is  said  to  have  exclaimed  on 
hearing  the  agonizing  cries  of  his  victims,  '*  They  are  singing 
my  sister's  wedding  song ! "  Sophia,  who  had  garrisoned  all 
the  royal  castles  and  assembled  a  strong  body  of  troops,  des- 
patched the  lord  of  Schwamberg  against  him  in  the  hope  of 
seizing  him  before  he  was  joined  by  still  greater  multitudes. 
Schwamberg  came  up  with  him  near  Pilsen,  and  surrounded 
the  multitude,  great  part  of  which  consisted  of  women  and 
children,  on  the  open  plain.  Zizka  instantly  ordered  the 
women  to  strew  the  ground  with  their  gowns  and  veils,  in 
which  the  horses'  feet  becoming  entangled,  numbers  of  their 
riders  were  thrown,  and  Zizka,  taking  advantage  of  the  con- 
fusion, attacked  and  defeated  them.  The  superior  numbers 
of  the  imperial  troops,  however,  compelled  him  to  shut  himself 


ZIZKA.  169 

in  Filsen,  whence  he  was  allowed  free  egress  to  Tabor,  and  be 
gained  another  advantage  over  an  arm j  commanded  by  Peter 
von  Sternberg,  by  whom  he  was  attacked  on  his  march  thither. 
The  citizens  of  Prague  still  closed  their  gates  against  him,  but 
admitted  another  body  of  peasantry,  collected  by  Hinko 
Cmssina,  on  the  newly-named  Mount  Horeb,  near  Trzebecho- 
wicz,  and  thence  denominated  Horebites,  for  the  purpose  of 
storming  the  castle  of  Prague,  it  being  their  custom  to  make 
use  of  the  peasantry  in  cases  where  negotiation  failed.  The 
attack  was  unsuccessful,  and  the  citizens,  after  a  second  time 
vamly  attempting  to  mollify  the  emperor,  found  themselves 
eompelled  to  recall  Zizka,  and  to  confederate  with  him. 

Sigmund  assembled  an  army  in  Silesia,  whither  Sophia  also 
went,  whilst  a  body  of  imperial  troops  was  slowly  raised.  The 
citizens  of  Breslau  had  joined  those  of  Prague,  thrown  their 
aocient  councillors  out  of  the  windows  of  the  town-house, 
[a.  d.  1420,]  and  permitted  the  priest,  Krasa  of  Prague,  to 
preach  in  their  city.    Sigmund  condemned  Krasa  to  the  stake, 
and  twenty-three  of  the  new  councillors  to  be  beheaded. 
Inspirited  by  his  vicinity,  the  Bohemian  Catholics  inflicted 
great  cruelties  upon  the  Hussites  dwelling  among  them.    At 
Kuttenberg,  the  German  miners  flung  sixteen  hundred  of  the 
Hussite  inhabitants  down  the  mines. The  Taborites,  mean- 
while, entered  Prague,  May  the  20th,  and  rebuilt  the  fortifi- 
cations, although  the  castle  was  still  occupied  by  the  imperial 
garrison.  Sigmund  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  German  troops. 
A  convoy,  sent  by  him  to  the  garrison  at  Prague,  was  cap-* 
tnred  by  the  Hussites ;  Tabor,  besieged  by  Ulrick  von  Rosen- 
Wg,  who  had  gone  over  to  the  emperor,  was  relieved  by 
Hussinetz.     Konigingratz  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Hussites, 
and  Slan  was  burnt  to  the  ground.     Both  sides  treated  their 
piisoners  with  equal  cruelty,  the  Imperialists  cutting  a  cup, 
the  Hussites  a  cross,  on  their  foreheads,  etc.     In  June,  the 
iniperial  army  at  length  made  its  appearance,  commanded  by 
the  electors  of  Majence,  Treves,  Cologne,  Brandenburg,  etc., 
one  hundred  thousand  men  strong,  and  joined  the  Silesians 
uid  Hungarians,  already  assembled  by  the  emperor.     On  the 
30tb,  the  emperor  reached  Prague,  and  took  up  his  abode  in 
the  castle.      Zizka  instantly  threw  up  fortifications  on  the 
mountain  of  Witkow,  since  named  the  Zizkaberg,  which  com- 
mands the  city,  and  the  Imperialists  found  when  too  late  that 


170  DISTURB ANCES  IN  BOHEMIA. 

the  city  was  impregnable,  unless  this  post  was  first  gained. 
An  attack  made  upon  it  by  the  Meissners  failing,  Sigmund 
made  no  further  attempt,  and,  in  the  hope  of  coming  to  terms 
with  the  moderate  party,  who  were  greatly  obnoxious  to  the 
wild  peasantry,  and  of  thus  gaining  a  bloodless  victory,  so- 
lemnized his  coronation,  on  the  28th  July,  in  the  castle  of 
Prague,  caused  himself  to  be  proclaimed  king  of  Bohemia,  and 
paid  his  Slavonian  and  Hungarian  troops  with  the  jewels 
taken  from  the  imperial  palaces  and  churches.  The  German 
troops  remained  unrewarded,  and,  in  August,  quitted  Bohe- 
mia in  discontent.     Sigmund  followed. 

The  emperor's  hopes  were  speedily  gratified.  Strife  broke 
out  between  the  citizens,  the  nobility  of  Prague,  and  Zizka 
and  his  adherents.  The  Taborites  ruled  the  city  with  a  rod 
of  iron,  destroying  not  only  all  that  remained  of  the  former 
magnificence  of  the  churches,  but  also  prohibiting  every 
Sjrmptom  of  wealth  or  pleasure  among  the  laity.  Rich  attire, 
gambling,  and  dancing,  were  declared  punishable  by  death, 
and  the  wine-cellars  were  closed.  The  peasants  and  their 
preacher  harboured  the  fearful  belief  of  their  being  the  des« 
tined  exterminators  of  sin  from  the  earth.  All  church  pro- 
perty was  declared  public  property,  and  the  possessions  of  the 
wealthy  seemed  on  the  point  of  sharing  the  same  fate.  The 
citizens  and  nobility  rising  in  self-defence,  Zizka  deemed  it 
advisable  to  withdraw,  and  to  form  an  encampment  in  the 
open  country,  and  accordingly,  quitting  the  city  on  the  22nd 
of  August,  destroyed  the  celebrated  monastery  of  Koenigsaal, 
and  the  tombs  of  the  Bohemian  kings.  Sigmund,  who  had 
impatiently  awaited  this  event,  now  sought  to  conciliate  the 
faction  he  had  so  lately  insulted,  by  seizing  the  monasteries, 
and  bestowing  their  lands  on  the  nobility.  Emboldened  by 
Zizka's  departure,  he  again  approached  Prague,  but  Hussinez, 
who  coveted  the  Bohemian  crown,  and  had  placed  himself  at 
the  head  of  the  Horebites,  who  preferred  his  rule  to  that  of 
the  strict  and  republican  Taborites,  guarded  the  city,  and, 
aided  by  Crussina,  laid  siege  to  the  Wisherad.  Sigmund 
attempted  to  surprise  them  on  the  18th  October,  but  sufiered 
a  shameful  defeat  and  fled  into  Hungary.  The  Wisherad 
capitulated,  and  its  palace  and  church,  splendid  works  of  art, 
were  destroyed. 
.   This  blow  put  a  reconciliation  between  the  moderate  party 


ZIZKA.  171 

and  Sigmund  oat  of  the  question,  and  the  former  once  more 
made  tenns  with  the  wild  peasantry,  whose  leaders  were  at 
Tsmnce.  The  most  deadly  abhorrence  of  every  existing  in- 
slitation  had  taken  deep  root  within  Zizka's  breast,  and  he  at 
oQoe  oondemned  the  ancient  church,  royalty,  and  inequality 
of  rank.  A  fraternity,  composed  of  the  children  of  God, 
farmed  his  ideal  of  perfection,  and  he  expected  to  bear  down 
all  opposition  with  the  strokes  of  the  iron  flail.  Hussinez  was, 
on  the  contrary,  tormented  by  ambition,  and  his  late  success 
bad  emboldened  his  pretensions  to  the  crown.  The  moderate 
pa%  now  skilfully  opposed  him  to  Zizka,  whom  they  hastily 
recalled.  The  city  of  Prachaticz,  which  had  mocked  that 
leader,  had  meanwhile  been  burnt,  together  with  the  whole 
of  the  inhabitants,  and  the  bishop  of  Nicopolis,  who  by  chance 
fell  into  his  hands,  was  drowned.  On  his  return  to  Prague, 
1^  joined  the  moderate  party  in  the  great  national  assembly, 
in  order  to  hinder  the  usurpation  of  Hussinez ;  Ulric  Ton 
BoBenberg  was  also  present.  The  nobility,  clearly  perceiving 
that  Sigmund  would  never  be  tolerated  by  the  people,  pro- 
posed to  offer  the  crown  to  Wkdislaw  of  Poland ;  but  Zizka's 
i^publican  spirit  refused  to  do  homage  to  any  monarch,  and 
^^[ladislaw  was,  moreover,  far  from  aspiring  to  a  throne  en- 
tailing heavy  cares  and  the  hatred  of  the  whole  of  Christen- 
dom. Hussinez,  deeply  wounded  by  these  proceedings,  quitted 
the  city,  fell  from  horseback,  broke  his  leg,  and  died. 

In  the  ensuing  spring,  Zizka  prosecuted  his  war  of  exter- 
nunation  against  sinners,  that  is,  against  all  who  refused  to 
join  his  banner.  Every  city  that  ventured  to  resist  was  car- 
^  by  storm  and  laid  in  ashes,  its  inhabitants  were  mwr- 
^cred,  and  the  priests  burnt  alive.  Taborite  virtue  also  in- 
duced another  species  of  excess.  Whilst  Martin  Loquis  taught 
that  all  the  enemies  of  Christ  were  to  be  exterminated,  that 
Christ  would  appear  and  found  the  millennium  exclusively  for 
tliem,  some  enthusiasts  thought  proper  to  anticipate  that 
Wessed  season  by  the  introduction  of  the  innocence  of  paradise, 
^7  gobg  naked  like  Adam  and  Eve,  and  giving  way  to  the 
maddest  excesses.  These  Adamites,  however,  stood  in  great 
*?yor,of  Zizka,  by  whom  they  were  cruelly  persecuted  for  the 
^•diwxle  they  brought  upon  his  system. 

The  moderate  party  was  no  less  active,  and  persuaded  the 
Majority  of  the  adverse  or  wavering  nobles,  and  even  the  Bo- 


172  DISTURBANCES  IN  BOHEMIA. 

bemian  ecclesiastics,  to  coalesce.  A  new  and  great  diet  was 
held  at  Czaslau,  in  which  the  nobility  and  clergy  again  de- 
dared  in  favour  of  Huss's  doctrines,  and  completely  renounced 
^gmund  as  their  king.  This  diet  ratified  four  of  the  '^  articles 
of  Prague,"  free  preaching ;  the  communion  in  both  forms ; 
the  evangelical  poverty  of  the  priests  and  the  secularization 
of  all  ecclesiastical  property ;  the  extirpation  of  sins.  With- 
out the  last  article,  the  Taborites  could  not  have  been  gained, 
July  7th,  1421. 

Sigmund,  enraged  at  the  defection  of  the  moderate  party, 
incited  the  Silesians  to  invade  Bohemia,  and  twenty  thousand 
men  poured  into  that  unhappy  country;  even  women  and 
children  fell  victims  to  their  cruelty.  The  rumoured  approach 
of  Zizka,  however,  struck  them  with  terror,  and  they  retreated, 
after  acceding  to  the  articles  of  Prague.  Shortly  after  this, 
Zizka  was  deprived  of  his  remaining  eye  by  the  splinter  of  a 
tree  struck  by  a  cannon-ball,  during  the  siege  of  the  castle  of 
Baby.  Notwithstanding  this  misfortune,  his  knowledge  of 
the  whole  of  Bohemia  was  so  accurate,  that  he  continued  to 
lead  his  army,  to  draw  his  men  up  in  battle 'order,  and  to 
command  the  siege.  He  always  rode  in  a  carriage  near  the 
great  standard.  His  war  regulations  were  extremely  severe. 
Although  blind,  he  insisted  upon  being  implicitly  obeyed. 
On  one  occasion,  having  compelled  his  troops,  as  was  often  his 
wont,  to  march  day  and  night,  they  murmured  and  said  to 
him,  "  That  although  day  and  night  were  the  same  to  him,  as 
he  could  not  see,  they  were  not  so  to  them : "  "  How !  you 
cannot  see  I"  said  he,  "well !  set  fire  to  a  couple  of  villages." 

^In  September,  1421,  the  imperial  army  at  length  took 

the  field,  and  vainly  besieged  Saatz,  whilst  Sigmund  assem- 
bled reinforcements  in  Hungary.  The  army,  meanwhile,  be- 
came discontented  at  his  prolonged  absence,  and,  on  the  news 
of  Zizka's  approach,  dispersed.  In  November,  Sigmund  en- 
tered the  country  at  the  head  of  a  horde  of  eighty  thousand 
savage  Cumans  and  Servians,  and  inspired  the  moderate  party 
with  such  terror  that  its  chiefs  threw  themselves  on  his  mercy. 
Zizka  was  surrounded  and  shut  up  near  Kuttenberg,  but 
broke  his  way  through  the  enemy  during  the  night.  On  new- 
year's  day,  1422,  Zizka,  drawing  up  his  army  in  battle-array 
near  Kollin,  awaited  the  onset  of  the  foe,  when  the  Hun- 
garians, seized  with  sudden  panic,  fled  without  a  stroke. 


ZIZKA.  173 

They  were  overtaken  bj  their  unrelenting  pursuers  on  the  8th 
of  January  near  Deutschbrod,  where  numbers  of  them  were 
drowned  whilst  crossing  the  Sazawa,  bj  the  breaking  of  the 
ice.  Dentschbrod  was  burnt  down,  and  its  inhabitants  were 
put  to  the  sword. 

Bohemia  remained  for  some  years  after  this  unharassed 
save  hj  intestine  disturbances.  Loquis  the  prophet  was  con* 
demned  to  the  stake  hy  the  archbishop.  *  One  of  his  secret 
adherents,  John,  a  Pnemonstratenser  monk,  had,  however, 
gradoailj  acquired  such  influence  in  Prague  as  to  cause  a 
nobleman,  Sadlo  von  Kostenberg,  to  be  beheaded,  and  the 
iQoderate  party,  dreading  his  power  over  the  people,  had  him 
secretly  seized  and  put  to  death,  a.  b.  1422.  The  town-house 
was  instantly  attacked  by  the  populace ;  the  judge  and  five 
councillors  were  murdered,  and  John's  head  was  borne  in 
ffloomful  procession  through  the  city.  The  great  college  and 
the  valuable  library,  founded  by  Charles  IV.,  were  destroyed. 
^ee  Coribut,  the  nephew  of  Witold  of  lithuania,  aspired 
to  the  crown,  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  moderate 
party,  and  laid  siege  to  the  imperial  castle  of  Carlstein ;  but 
the  fickle  nobles  and  Zizka  refused  to  recognise  him,  and,  on 
his  departure  from  Prague,  the  former  leagued  with  the  citi- 
zens against  Zizka,  who,  disgusted  with  their  half-measures, 
no  longer  spared  them,  and  laid  their  lands  waste.  In  1423, 
lie  discomfited  the  confederates  at  Horzicz,  and  gained  pos- 
session of  Konigingratz,  where,  notwithstanding  his  blind- 
ness, he  killed  the  priest,  who  bore  the  host  in  front  of  the 
enemy's  ranks,  with  a  blow  of  his  club.  His  next  step  was 
^e  invasion  of  Moravia  and  Austria  in  order  to  keep  his 
^ps  employed,  and  to  strike  Albert,  Sigmund's  son-in-law, 
^ith  terror ;  he  suffered  great  losses  before  Iglau  and  Eremsin. 
In  the  ensuing  year,  [a.  d.  1424,]  the  moderate  party  once 
^oxe  took  up  arms  against  him,  and  pursued  him  to  Kutten- 
^g)  npon  which  he  feigned  a  retreat,  and,  suddenly  turning, 
ordered  his  battle-chariot  to  be  rolled  down  the  mountain 
side  upon  the  advancing  foe,  and,  attacking  them  during  the 
eonfusion  that  ensued,  captured  their  artillery,  and,  in  sign  of 
^umph,  set  Kuttenberg  in  flames.  Coribut  now  re-visited 
^^ue,  and  found  the  discomfited  nobility  more  inclined  in 
^is  favour,  but  was  in  his  turn  defeated  at  Kosteletz  on  the 
Elbe  by  Zizka,  who  followed  up  his  victory  by  marching 


174  THE  REIGN  OP  TEEROE. 

directly  upon  Prague,  which  he  threatened  to  level  with  the 
ground ;  but  sedition  broke  out  in  his  own  army.  Procop, 
Zizka's  bravest  associate,  clearly  perceiving  the  disastrous 
consequences  of  civil  warfare,  confederated  with  the  youn^ 
and  highly-gifted  priest,  Rokizana,  who  had  attained  great 
consideration  in  Prague.  Peace  was  unanimously  demanded, 
and  alone  opposed  by  Zizka,  who,  mounting  upon  a  cask,  thus 
addressed  his  followers :  **  Fear  internal  more  than  external 
foes  !  It  is  easier  for  a  few,  when  united,  than  for  many, 
when  disunited,  to  conquer  !  Snares  are  laid  for  you ;  you 
will  be  entrapped,  but  without  my  fault !"  Peace  was  con- 
cluded, and  a  large  monument  was  raised  on  the  Spitelfeld,  in 
commemoration  of  the  event,  with  stones  heaped  up  by  the 
opposing  parties.  Zizka  entered  the  city  in  solemn  proces* 
sion ;  Coribut  came  to  meet  him,  embraced  and  called  him 
father.  Sigmund  now  sought  to  mollify  the  aged  warrior;  and 
entered  into  negotiation  with  him.  Zizka,  however,  re- 
mained immovable,  planned  a  fresh  attack  upon  Moravia,  and 
died  en  route,  the  12th  of  October,  1424.* 


CLXXXVI.  TheReignof  Terror.— The  CauikcU  of  Basle. — 
End  of  the  Hussite  war. 

On  the  death  of  Zizka,  the  republican  Hussites  separated 
into  three  bodies,  the  Taborites  under  Procop  Holy,  the 
Orphans,  or  the  orphan  children  of  Zizka,  who  dwelt  in  their 
waggon  camp  in  the  open  country,  vowed  never  again  to  sleep 
beneath  a  roof,  and  elected  as  their  leader  Procop  the  Little, 
and  the  ancient  Horebites.  Coribut  and  Bokizana  headed 
the  imperial  Hussites  in  Prague. 

The  emperor  had,  meanwhile,  vainly  implored  the  aid  of 
the  great  vassals  against  them.  In  1425,  Procop  gained  a 
signal  victory  in  Meissen  ;  fifteen  thousand  of  the  Meissners 
strewed  the  field,  and  twenty-four  nobles,  who  were  overtaken 
in  the  pursuit,  knelt  in  a  circle  round  their  banner  and  sur- 
rendered, but  were  mercilessly  struck  down  with  the  iron 

*  Zizka  was  short  and  broad-shouldered,  with  a  large,  round,  bald 
head;  his  forehead  was  deeply  furrowed,  and  he  wore  long  fiery-red 
moustaches.  His  tomb  was  destroyed  by  order  of  Ferdinand  II.,  the 
Jesuitical  hyena,  who  raged  against  both  the  dead  and  living. 


THE  REIOK  OF  TERROR.  175 

flaik  of  the  peasantry.  Procop  Holy,  inspirited  by  this  suc- 
cess, re-entered  Moravia,  where  he  laid  siege  to  the  castle  of 
Eemnitz,  which  was  yaliantly  defended  by  Agnes,  the  youth- 
ful daughter  of  ZezimtL  yon  Rosenberg,  who  had  bequeathed 
it  to  her.  Unmoved  by  the  fearful  shouts  of  the  Hussites, 
who  enclosed  the  keep  on  every  side,  and  by  the  failure  of  the 
attempt  made  by  her  uncle,  Meinhart  von  Neuhausz,  to  re- 
iieve  the  garrison,  she  undauntedly  persevered  in  the  defence, 
and  so  greatly  excited  the  admiration  of  the  enemy,  that  Pro- 
eop  granted  her  free  egress  with  all  her  people,  and  sent  her 
in  safety  to  her  uncle,  von  Neuhausz. — Aifter  devastating 
Austria,  [a.  p.  1427,]  whilst  the  Orphans  and  the  Taborites 
invaded  the  Lausitz,  and  laid  villages  and  monasteries  in 
ashes,  Procop  besieged  Prague,  whence  Rokizana  had  expeUed 
a  Taborite  preacher,  but  was  conciliated  by  the  promised  sa- 
crifice of  Coribut,  who  was  seized  by  the  populace  and 
treated  with  great  ignominy,  notwithstanding  the  attempt  of 
the  nobility,  in  which  Himko  von  Waldstein  was  killed,  to 
liberate  him;  and  Coribut,  after  solemnly  renouncing  the 
crown  of  Bohemia,  returned  to  Poland.  Martin  Y.,  on  the 
failure  of  this  plan,  again  preached  a  crusade  against  the 
Hussites,  and  sent  Henry  de  Beaufort,  bishop  of  Winchester, 
to  stir  up  the  Germans.  Sigmund  also  implored  the  princes 
to  ward  off  the  increasing  danger,  and  a  large  army  was  re- 
assembled, to  which  Swabia,  the  Rhenish  provinces,  and  even 
the  Hanse  towns,  sent  troops.  But  the  Bohemians  also  re- 
united; the  nobility  laid  aside  their  animosity,  and  joined 
Procop's  army.  The  Saxons,  at  that  time  besieging  Mies,  fled 
on  bis  approach,  but  were  overtaken,  and  ten  thousand  of 
their  number  slain,  July,  1427. 

On  new-year's  day,  1428,  the  Hussite  factions  held  a  re- 
ligious meeting  at  Beraun,  where  Procop  Holy  distinguished 
himself  as  a  theologian.  The  people  of  Prague,  desirous  of 
ft  reconciliation  with  the  church,  proposed  the  recognition  of 
the  priesthood,  as  such,  on  condition  of  its  reformation,  which 
Procop  and  the  republican  party  stedfastly  rejected,  maintain- 
ing the  right  of  every  individual  to  read  the  Mass.  They  also 
Injected  the  sacraments.  Procop,  finding  unanimity  impos- 
sible, and  fearing  fresh  disturbances,  wisely  led  his  warlike 
followers  across  the  frontiers,  and  spread  the  terror  of  the 
Hussite  name  throughout  Silesia  and  Austria; 


176  THE  REIGN  OF  TERROR. 

Sigmund,  weary  of  the  war,  now  ofFereithe  government  of 
Bohemia  to  Frocop,  as  he  had  formerly  done  to  Zizka,  on  con- 
dition of  the  restoration  of  order.  In  the  spring  of  1429,  the 
Bohemian  estates  again  met  at  Prague,  and  openly  negotiated 
with  Sigmund,  who  had  come  as  far  as  Presburg.  All  parties 
sighed  for  tranquillity,  and  Procop,  at  the  head  of  a  deputa- 
tion, waited  upon  him,  and  again  tendered  to  him  the  crown 
of  Bohemia,  on  condition  of  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion 
being  conceded  to  the  nation.  The  emperor  hesitated.  The 
ancient  feelings  of  hatred,  meanwhile,  revived ;  the  Taborites 
and  Orphans  decided  the  matter  by  refusing  obedience  to  any 
sovereign,  and  the  negotiation  was  broken  off. 

The  weakness  of  the  German  potentates  in  the  adjoining 
provinces,  the  egotism  and  listlessness  of  those  in  the  more 
distant  parts  of  the  empire,  the  discouragement  and  voluptu- 
ous habits  of  the  emperor,  and  the  unwillingness  of  the  Ger- 
mans to  fight  in  a  cause  they  deemed  unjust,  had  left  the 
Hussites  without  an  opponent,  and  had  enabled  them  to  exe- 
cute their  revenge  on  a  systematic  plan.  Saxony  was  invaded, 
the  cities  were  sacked  and  burnt,  every  inhabitant,  generally 
speaking,  was  murdered.  On  the  burning  of  Altenburg,  the 
Hussites  said,  "  That  was  the  answer  to  the  death  of  Huss,** 
and  when  they  bathed  in  torrents  of  German  blood,  exclaimed, 
"  Here  is  the  sauce  for  the  goose  (Huss)  you  roasted  ! "  Sile- 
sia, Hungary,  and  Austria  were  invaded.  A  fresh  negotia- 
tion opened  between  Sigmund  and  Procop  at  Eger,  and  a  new 
intrigue  of  the  nobility,  who  offered  the  crown  of  Bohemia  to 
Frederick  of  Habsburg,  proved  equally  futile. 

About  this  time  the  pope,  Martin  V.,  expired.  His  suc- 
cessor, Eugenius  IV.,  spared  no  means  for  the  termination  of 
this  fearful  war.  On  the  1 9th  of  July,  a.  d.  1 43 1 ,  a  great  coun- 
cil was  convoked  at  Basle,  and  negotiations  were  opened  with 
the  Hussites,  whilst  the  cardinal,  Julian,  preached  a  fresh 
crusade  against  them,  and  Sigmund  persuaded  the  princes 
and  estates  of  the  empire  at  Nuremberg  to  use  every  effort  in 
the  cause.  The  Maid  of  Orleans,  who  had  just  driven  the 
English  out  of  France,  and  who  was  revered  as  a  saint 
throughout  Europe,  also  sent  an  admonitory  epistle,  written 
in  the  spirit  of  popery,  to  the  Hussites,  who  replied  to  the 
friendly  propositions  of  the  pope  and  of  the  princes,  "  You 
well  know  what  separates  us  from  you,  you  preach  the  gospel 


THE  COUNCIL  OF  BASLE.  177 

with  jour  mouths,  we  practise  it  in  our  actions ;"  and  when 
ttireatened,  thus  admonished  the  nations  gathered  against  them, 
"If  you  submit  to  the  deceitful  priests,  know  that  we  submit 
to  God  alone,  and  fight  with  his  arm ;  the  power  of  the  flesh 
irill  be  on  your  side,  on  ours  that  of  the  Spirit  of  Grod  ! " 

The  imperial  army,  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  men 
strong,  paid  with  the  common  penny,  which,  in  1428,  was 
fixed  by  the  diet  at  Nuremberg  as  the  first  general  tax 
&roaghout  the  empire,  conunanded  by  Frederick  of  Branden- 
burg, entered  Bohemia,  burnt  two  hundred  villages,  and  com- 
Butted  the  most  horrid  excesses.  The  Hussites  came  up  with 
it  near  Tauss,  the  14th  of  August,  1431,  but  scarcely  was 
their  banner  seen  in  the  distance  than  the  Germans,  notwith- 
standing their  enormous  numerical  superiority,  were  seized 
with  sudden  panic ;  the  Bavarians,  under  their  duke,  Henry, 
took  to  flight,  and  were  followed  by  all  the  rest.  Frederick 
of  Brandenburg  and  his  troops  took  refuge  in  a  wood.  The 
cardinal  alone  stood  his  ground,  and,  for  a  moment,  succeeded 
in  rallying  the  fugitives,  who  at  the  first  onset  of  the  enemy 
again  fled,  and,  in  their  terror,  allowed  themselves  to  be  un- 
resistingly slaughtered.  One  hundred  and  fifty  cannons  were 
^en.  The  free  knights  of  the  empire,  fiUed  with  shame  at 
this  cowardly  discomfiture,  vowed  to  restore  the  honour  of 
the  empire,  and  to  march  against  the  Hussites,  on  condition 
of  no  prince  being  permitted  to  join  their  ranks.  The  nobility 
cast  all  the  blame  on  the  cowardly  or  egotistical  policy  pur- 
sued by  the  princes ;  the  flight,  however,  chiefly  arose  from 
^e  disincHnation  of  the  common  soldiers  to  serve  against  the 
Hussites,  whose  cause  was  deemed  by  them  both  glorious 
and  just. 

^hese  dreadful  disasters  drew  a  declaration  from  Sigmund 
that  the  Bohemians  could  only  subdue  themselves,  that  peace 
n*wst  be  concluded  with  them  at  any  price,  and  that  in  time 
they  would  destroy  each  other.  In  consequence  of  these  de- 
liberations he  assumed  a  supplicating  attitude,  and  hypo- 
critically assured  them  in  writing  of  his  good  will  and  of  his 
present  inclination  to  come  to  terms ;  to  which  they  replied, 
that  his  real  intention  was  to  lead  them  from  the  truth.  He 
^hen  committed  to  the  council  of  Basle  the  task  of  carrying  on 
the  negotiations,  and  withdrew. 
The  council,  led  by  the  spiritual  and  temporal  lords,  who 

VOL.   II.  N 


178  THE  COUNCIL  OF  BASLE. 

were  fully  aware  of  the  importance  of  the  cause  at  stake, 
shared  his  opinion,  and  were,  consequently,  far  more  inclined 
to  make  concessions  than  was  the  pope,  who  refused  to  yield 
to  any  terms,  preferring  to  throw  the  onus  of  the  peace  on 
others.  The  council  therefore  acted  without  reference  to  the 
pontiff,  who  in  the  mean  time  amused  himself  with  solemnizing 
a  farcical  coronation  of  the  emperor  at  Rome.  The  emperor  re- 
mained, during  the  sitting  of  the  council  in  Italy,  engaged  with 
love  affairs,  although  already  sixty-three  years  of  age.  After 
openly  procrastinating  the  ceremony,  the  pope  at  length  gave 
full  Tent  to  his  displeasure,  [a.  i>.  1433,]  by  causing  the  crown 
to  be  placed  awry  on  Sigmund's  head  by  another  ecclesiastic, 
and  then  pushing  it  straight  with  his  foot  as  the  emperor 
knelt  before  him. 

Whilst  these  ridiculous  scenes  were  enacting  in  Italy, 
negotiations  were  actively  carried  on  at  Basle.  The  cardinal, 
Julian,  well  versed  in  Bohemian  politics,  led  the  council,  in 
which  Frederick  of  Brandenburg  exerted  his  influence  in 
favour  of  the  Hussites.  The  Bohemians  were  invited  to 
Basle  with  every  mark  of  respect,  and  aU  their  proud  con- 
ditions were  ceded.  They  were  granted  a  safe-conduct,  the 
free  exercise  of  their  religion  on  their  way  to  and  even  in  the 
council,  no  terms  of  ridicule  or  reproach  were  to  be  permitted, 
all  deliberations  were  to  be  suspended  until  their  arrival,  and 
the  pope  was  to  be  treated  as  subordinate  to  the  council. 
These  concessions  appear  to  have  been  intended  to  flatter  the 
pride  of  Procop  and  of  the  republicans  in  order  to  induce  them 
to  negotiate  terms  of  peace.  Bokizana  appears  to  have  entered 
into  the  projects  of  the  council,  and,  possibly,  owing  to  a  be- 
lief that  the  favourable  moment  had  arrived  for  securing 
religious  freedom  to  Bohemia  by  an  honourable  peace,  for 
he  certainly  knew  that  that  country  began  to  sigh  for  peace, 
and  that  the  moderate  party  had  secretly  gained  strength. 
Procop  was  secured  by  being  placed  at  the  head  of  the  em- 
bassy to  Basle,  and  the  republican  brethren  were  wearied  and 
dispersed  by  being  sent  upon  fresh  predatory  incursions ;  a 
number  of  the  Orphans  were  even  sent  into  Poland  to  aid  the 
Poles  against  the  German  Hospitallers,  in  return  for  which 
the  Poles  zealously  upheld  the  Hussite  cause  at  Basle. 

On  the  9th  of  January,  1433,  three  hundred  Hungarians, 
mounted  on  horseback  and  accompanied  by  an  immense  mul- 


THE  COUNCIL  OF  BASLE.  179 

titode,  entered  Basle.  Prooop  Holy,  distinguished  bj  his 
hawk  nose,  his  dark  and  ominoas-looking  countenance,  accom- 
panied bj  John  Rokizana,  the  head  of  the  Bohemian  dergj ; 
Nicolas  Peldrzimowski,  sumamed  Biscupek,  the  little  bishop, 
tbe  head  of  the  Taborite  preachers ;  Ulric,  the  head  of  the 
Orphan  preachers ;  and  Peter  Peyne,  sumamed  the  English- 
man, headed  the  procession,  and  were  graciously  reoeir^  by 
the  council,  which  patiently  listened  to  their  rough  truths. 
Procop,  being  reproached  with  having  said  that  the  monks 
were  an  invention  of  the  devil,  replied,  "  Whose  else  can  they 
be?  for  they  were  instituted  neither  by  Moses,  nor  by  the  pro- 
phets, nor  by  Christ."  The  dispute  was  carried  on  for  fifty 
days  with  the  unbending  spirit  common  to  theologians ;  nei- 
ther side  yielded,  and  the  Bohemians,  weary  of  the  futile  de- 
hate,  tamed  their  steps  homewards.  A  solemn  embassy  was 
instantly  sent  after  them,  and  the  terms  of  the  Hussites  were 
conceded,  but  with  reservations,  which,  it  was  trusted,  would 
eventually  undermine  their  cause.  By  this  compact,  the  four 
articles  of  Prague  were  modified  as  follows:  1st,  That  the 
communion  should  be  tolerated  under  both,  but  also  under  one 
form ;  2nd,  That  preaching  was  certainly  free,  but  that  regu- 
lar priests  were  only  to  exercise  that  office ;  3rd,  That  the 
dergy,  although  forbidden  to  possess  lands,  might  administer 
property ;  4th,  And  that  sins  were  to  be  extirpated,  but  only 
hy  those  possessing  legal  authority.  On  the  acceptance  of 
these  articles  by  the  Hussites,  the  council  h3rpocritically  styled 
them  the  '*  first  children  of  the  church,^  such  gross  deceit  did 
the  fear  inspired  by  these  wild  upholders  of  religious  freedom 
prompt. 

The  proclamation  of  peace,  and  on  such  honourable  terms, 
after  such  long  and  terrible  commotions,  exercised  a  magic 
influence  on  the  crowd,  and,  added  to  the  ill  success  and  pre- 
datory incursions  of  the  republican  Hussites  during  Procop's 
absence,  raised  a  general  feeling  against  them ;  and  Procop, 
op  his  return  from  Basle,  found  the  other  Hussite  leaders 
either  suspicious  of  his  conduct  or  rebeUious  against  his  au- 
thority. Dissensions  broke  out  in  tbe  camp,  and,  during  a 
wild  carouse,  the  plates  were  hurled  at  Procop's  head.  He 
returned  moodily  to  Prague,  but  afterwards  yielded  to  the 
snpplications  of  his  soldiers,  and  returned  to  the  camp  before 
Msen.    The  moderate  party  in  Prague  under  Rokizana,  and 

N  2 


180  END  OF  THE  HUSSITE  WAR. 

the  nobility  under  Meinhart  von  Neuhauss,  now  boldly  at- 
tempted to  gain  the  upper  hand.  Procop  the  Little  was 
driven  from  the  Neustadt^  after  losing  fifteen  thousand  men, 
and  fled  to  the  camp  before  Pilsen ;  Procop  Holy  instantly 
raised  the  siege  and  marched  upon  Prague.  Neuhauss  ad- 
vanced to  his  rencontre,  and  a  decisive  battle  was  fought  at 
Lippan,  four  miles  from  Prague,  May  28th,  1434.  The  two 
Procops  fell,  fighting  side  by  side.  Neuhauss,  unmindful  of 
Procop's  generosity  towards  his  niece,  Agnes,  caused  all  the 
prisoners,  to  whom  he  had  promised  safety,  to  be  locked  into 
barns  and  burnt  to  death,  two  days  after  the  battle.  The 
fugitives  rallied  at  Comnicze,  and  were  again  defeated. 

The  nobility  now  placed  themselves  at  the  head  of  afiTairs, 
supported  by  Rokizana,  who  thoughtlessly  sacrificed  political 
freedom  in  order,  as  he  imagined,  to  confirm  that  of  religion. 
Caspar  Schlick,  Sigmund's  crafty  chancellor,  managed  the 
rest,  and,  by  means  of  these  two  a  treaty  was  concluded, 
{]a.  d.  1435,]  which  bestowed  the  Bohemian  crown  upon  Sig- 
mund,  freed  Bohemia  from  the  papal  interdict,  ratified  the 
compact  entered  into  by  the  Hussites  and  the  council  of  Basle, 
nominated  John  Rokizana  archbishop  of  Prague,  and  declared 
the  Catholic  religion  subordinate  to  that  of  Huss,  by  com- 
pelling Sigmund  to  have  Hussite  preachers  in  his  court.  The 
emperor,  with  his  wonted  hypocrisy,  accepted  the  conditions, 
but  had  scarcely  entered  Prague  [▲.  d.  1436]  with  a  large 
concourse  of  followers,  than  he  threw  off  the  mask,  reinstated 
the  Catholic  religion,  and  ungratefully  deposed  and  banished 
John  Rokizana,  to  whom  he  owed  the  crown.  The  fanatics, 
notwithstanding  their  weak  number,  again  fiew  to  arms,  and, 
after  a  desperate  struggle,  were  completely  annihilated.  The 
last  of  the  Taborites,  Pardo  von  Czorka,  was  hunted  down 
like  a  wild  beast,  found  under  a  rock,  and  hanged. 

The  nobility,  freed  from  their  fanatical  opponents,  turned 
their  attention  homewards,  and  resolved  to  curb  the  violence 
of  the  emperor  and  to  secure  the  maintenance  of  peace  by  a 
system  of  moderation.  Sigmund  was  old,  and  his  son-in-law, 
Albert  of  Habsburg,  pursued  an  uncompromising  policy. 
They  therefore  conspired  with  Rokizana  and  the  empress, 
Barbara,  to  proclaim  Wladislaw  of  Poland  successor  to  the 
throne.  Sigmund,  on  learning  their  intentions,  perceived 
the  false  step  he  had  taken,  again  made  concessions,  and,  sud- 


DISTURBANCES  IN  THE  HANSE  TOWNS.  181 

denlj  entering  Moravia,  seized  the  person  of  the  faithless 
empress.  He  shortly  afterwards  expired  at  Znaim,  sitting  in 
state  "as  lord  of  the  world,''  as  he  vaingloriously  boasted,  A.  D. 
1437.  Albert,  aided  bj  the  subtlety  of  Caspar  Schlick, 
secured  the  succession,  on  condition  of  protecting  the  religious 
freedom  of  the  Utraquists. 


CLXXXVn.    Disturbances  in  the  Hanse  Taums.— Albert 
the  Second. — Frustration  of  the  Reformation. 

Gebmant,  occupied  with  her  own  internal  affairs,  took 
little  interest  in  those  of  Bohemia.  The  princes  and  cities 
were  every  where  at  feud.  In  Liibeck,  the  metropolis  of  the 
Hansa,  dissensions  broke  out  between  the  artisans  and  the  mer- 
chants, and  spread  to  Hamburg,  Stade,  Rostock,  and  Stettin. 
The  pirates  and  Friscians  regained  courage  and  recommenced 
their  depredations.  In  1418,  the  people  of  Bremen  captured 
two  Friscians,  Gerold  Liibben,  and  his  brother  Didde,  and 
condemned  them  to  execution.  Gerold  kissed  the  fallen  head 
of  his  brother.  The  citizens,  touched  at  the  scene,  offered 
him  his  life  on  condition  of  his  marrying  one  of  tlie  citizens' 
daughters,  to  which  he  replied,  "  I  am  a  noble  Friscian,  and 
despise  your  shoemakers'  and  furriers'  daughters."  His  head 
was  struck  off. 

The  defeat  of  the  Hanseatic  fleet  in  the  Sound  by  the 
Danes,  [a.  d.  1427,]  was  a  signal  for  fresh  disturbances,  the 
aitisaQs  laying  the  blame  on  the  petty  jealousy  of  the  rich  mer- 
chants. The  town-councillors  were  murdered  in  almost  all 
the  cities,  and  the  people,  maddened  with  revenge,  attacked 
the  Danish  king,  Eric,  whom  they  signally  defeated.  Had 
the  Hansa  leagued  with  the  numerous  and  powerful  cities  of 
tFpper  and  Lower  Germany,  the  power  of  the  princes,  at  that 
^e  weakened  by  dissension,  must  inevitably  have  sunk. 
Sigtnund,  although  well  aware  of  this,  supported  Denmark 
against  the  Hansa,  instead  of  aiding  the  cities,  which,  misled 
hy  petty  commercial  jealousies,  were  ever  engaged  with  in- 
ternal dissensions,  instead  of  acting  in  concert. 

Elisabeth,  the  daughter  of  Sigmund,  brought  in  dower  to 
her  husband,  Albert  of  Austria,  the  whole  of  the  Luxemburg 
inheritance,   Bohemia,    Moravia,    Silesia,    the  Lausitz,   and 


182  ALBERT  THE  SECOND. 

Huogarj.  The  wealth  and  great  possessions  of  the  house  of 
Habsbuig  had  ever  been  chiefly  acquired  bj  marriage,  hence 

the  proverb,  "  Tu  felix  Austria  nube  ! " Albert  was  elected 

as  Sigmund's  successor  on  the  throne  of  Germany.  He  'was 
extremely  dignified  in  his  demeanour,  tall  and  stout,  grave 
and  reserved.  At  the  diet  held  at  Nuremberg,  [a.  d.  1438,~] 
he  divided  the  provinces,  with  the  exception  of  the  imperial 
and  electoral  hereditary  possessions,  into  four  circles,  Fran- 
oonian-Bavaria,  Rhenish- Swabia,  Westphalian-Netherlands, 
and  Saxony,  whose  representatives  swore  to  maintain  peace. 

Albert  found,  meanwhile,  no  adherents  in  his  newly-ac- 
quired territory.  Fresh  dissensions  broke  out  in  Bohemia. 
All^ert  did  not  disguise  his  Catholic  fanaticism.  In  1420, 
one  hundred  and  ten  heretics  were  burnt  in  Vienna  alone,  and 
thirteen  hundred  Jews  in  Austria,  for  having  aided  the 
Hussites.  The  efforts  made  by  Caspar  Schlick,  Albert's  ne- 
gotiator, to  pacify  the  Bohemians,  were  almost  contravened 
by  this  false  policy.  The  Utraquists  elected  Wladislaw  of 
Poland  king,  and  intrenched  themselves  under  Ftaczek  von. 
Rattay  on  Mount  Tabor,  where  they  were  besieged  by 
Albert,  who  was  compelled  to  raise  the  siege  by  Greorge  von 
Podiebrad.  The  Poles  also  making  an  inroad  into  Silesia, 
Albert  hastened  to  make  terms  with  Wladislaw,  and,  for  that 
purpose,  held  a  conference  with  him  at  Breslau,  where  he  fell 
down  some  steps  and  broke  his  leg.  Affairs  also  wore  a  seri- 
ous aspect  in  Hungary.  Shortly  after  the  death  of  Sigmund, 
every  German  in  Ofen  was  murdered  by  the  Hungarians. 
The  danger  with  which  they  were  threatened  by  the  Turks, 
however,  rendered  a  union  with  the  now  powerful  house  of 
Habsburg  necessary.  As  early  as  1431,  the  Turks  had  re- 
crossed  the  Kulpa  and  invaded  Croatia.  The  irruption  of 
the  Turks  under  Sultan  Murad  caused  still  greater  devastation ; 
the  Hungarians  were  defeated  near  Semendria,  and  such  a 
vast  number  of  people  were  reduced  to  slavery,  that  a  pretty 
girl  was  sold  for  a  boot.  Albert  marched  into  Hungary, 
[▲.  D.  1438,]  but  his  troops  fled  the  moment  the  Turks  came 
in  sight.     This  emperor  died  [a.  d.  1439]  of  eating  melons. 

The  empress,  Elisabeth,  gave  birth  to  a  posthumous  son, 
Ladislaw,  who  was  placed  under  the  guardianship  of  his  cou- 
sin of  Habsburg,  Frederick  of  Styria,  the  son  of  Earnest  and 
Cimburga,  of  whom  little  was  known  beyond  his  having  made 


FRUSTRATION  OF  THE  BBFOBMATION.  188 

a  quiet  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  and  his  having  carried  on  a 
feud  with  the  insolent  count  of  Cillj,  nor  was  it  until  he  had 
been  raised  to  the  throne  as  the  head  of  the  most  powerful 
family  in  the  empire,  that  his  incapacity  was  fully  discovered. 
His  influence  was  null,  even  in  Austria,  that  country  swarm- 
ing with  robhers. 

Frederick  m.  considered  eleven  weeks  before  accepting 
the  crown.     He  was  a  slow,  grave  man,  with  a  large  pro- 
truding under-lip,  moderate  and  sedate  on  every  occasion, 
averse  to  great  actions  of  every  description,  and  a  stranger  to 
the  passions  of  the  human  heart ;  he  delighted  in  scientific  fol- 
Ues,  such  as  dabbling  in  astn^ogy  and  alchymy,  in  cultivating 
his  garden,  and  in  playing  upon  words.    This  emperor,  never- 
theless, reigned  for  fifty-three  years  over  Germany  during  a 
period  firaught  with  fate.     Like  his  two  predecessors,  he  was 
certainly  aided  by  Caspar  Schlick,  a  doctor  who  rose  from 
among  the  ranks  of  the  citizens  to  be  chancellor  of  the  em- 
pire ;  but  this  man,  whose  desert  lies  fiir  beneath  his  fame, 
never  performed  one  great  deed,  never  understood  the  spirit 
of  his  times  nor  the  duty  of  the  crown,  but  solely  occupied 
himself  with  decently  veiling  the  incapacity  of  his  three  suc- 
cessive masters,  and  with  deferring  by  his  plausible  negotia- 
tions the  decision  of  the  great  questions  that  agitated  the  age. 
Germany,  daring  the  long  and  ahnost  undisturbed  peace, 
indubitably  gained  time  for  the  development  of  internal  im- 
provement in  respect  to  her  social  welfare,  art,  and  industry, 
and  even  for  the  partial  regulation  of  the  empire  by  the 
federative  system,  by  the  union  of  the  lesser  and  greater  estates 
of  the  empire  in  the  circles,  that  of  the  ecclesiastical  orders 
with  those  of  knighthood  and  of  the  citizens  in  the  provincial 
diets,  by  the  government  of  the  electorates  and  duchies,  by  the 
new  method  of  judicature,  and  finally,  by  the  corporative  system 
in  the  cities ;  it  is,  nevertheless,  impossible  to  speak  in  terms 
of  admiration  of  an  age,  during  which  so  many  unnatural  cir- 
cumstances became  second  nature  to  the  German,  and  during 
which  the  empire  was  transformed  into  a  helpless  and  often  a 
motionless  machine,  incapable  of  improvement  save  by  de- 
struction.    So  long  as  the  estates  of  the  empire  held  an  un- 
decided position  in  respect  to  each  other,  so  long  as  it  still 
appeared  possible  for  this  enormous  mass  of  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral, great,  less,  and  petty  members  of  the  empire,  to  con- 


184  FRUSTRATION  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

glomerate,  so  as  finally  to  form  one  mass,  or,  at  all  events,  to 
confederate,  according  to  their  original  nationalities,  in  less 
compact  masses,  the  wildest  of  the  ^udal  times  was  not  with- 
out a  ray  of  hope,  but,  when  the  members  of  the  state,  great 
and  petty,  petrified  as  they  stood,  in  varied  disorder,  the  dis- 
ease under  which  the  empire  laboured  turned  from  acute  to 
chronic,  a  passing  evil  was  transformed  into  a  stationary,  ap- 
parently natural  one,  and  the  holy  empire,  like  the  incurable 
paralytic,  had  merely  dissolution  left  to  hope  for. 

The  council  at  Basle  still  sat.  On  the  settlement  of  the 
Bohemian  question,  that  for  the  introduction  of  the  long-* 
sighed  for  reform  in  the  other  parts  of  the  empire,  and  for  the 
abolition  of  the  most  glaring  of  the  church  abuses,  was  agi- 
tated. The  example  of  the  Hussites  had  rendered  the  assem- 
bled heads  of  the  church  sensible  of  the  necessity  of  measures 
being  taken  for  the  prevention  of  a  more  general  outbreak.  The 
open  immorality  of  the  priests  (the  chief  charge  made  against 
them  by  the  Hussites,  who  had  undertaken  to  extirpate  the  sins 
protected  by  the  church)  was,  consequently,  restrained,  be- 
sides the  desecration  of  churches  by  revels,  fairs,  and  licedtious 
festivals,  and  the  most  notorious  of  the  papal  methods  of  ex- 
tracting money,  such  as  annates,  etc.  These  resolutions  were 
adopted  by  the  council  in  1435,  and  ratified  by  the  imperial 
diet  held  at  Mayence,  a.  d.  1439.  Eugenius  IV.  openly  op- 
posed them,  and  was,  in  consequence,  deposed  by  the  council, 
and  Amadeus,  earl  of  Savoy,  was  elected  in  his  stead,  as 
Felix  v.*  An  able  sovereign  at  this  period,  by  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  favourable  disposition  of  the  council,  might 
have  produced  a  bloodless  reformation  in  the  church,  but  the 
imperial  crown  was  on  a  slumberer's  brow,  Roman  wiles  were 
again  triumphant,  and  the  horrors  of  the  Hussite  war  seemed 
scarcely  to  have  left  a  trace. 

'  The  emperor,  during  his  first  diet  held  at  Frankfurt  on  the 
Maine,  solemnly  placed  the  poet's  wreath  with  his  own  hand 
on  the  brow  of  ^neas  Sylvius  Piccolomini,  the  private  secre- 
tary of  the  council,  a  witty  Tuscan,  whose  poems  had  brought 
him  into  note.  He  was  a  friend  of  Caspar  Schlick.  When 
commissioned  by  the  council  to  act  as  their  negotiator  with 

*  A  dreadful  pestilence  raged  at  that  time  in  Basle,  and  carried  off 
five  thousand  persons.  The  celebrated  picture  of  the  Dance  of  Deatht 
afterwards  renewed  by  Holbein,  was  painted  in  memory  of  this  calanuty* 


f 


FRUSTRATION  OF  THE  REFOKMATION.  185 


J^erick  HI.,  he  quitted  their  service  in  order  to  become 
lus  private  secretary  and  biographer,  and  being  sent  by  him 
to  Borne  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  Eugenius  IV.  to  submit 
to  the  council  of  Basle,  abandoned  his  imperial  master,  be- 
came private  secretary  to  the  pope,  entered  the  churcb,  and 
ever  afterwards  exerted  his  talents  in  defence  of  the  tiara 
a^nst  both  the  council  and  the  emperor,  and  endeavoured  to 
wm  the  latter,  who  was  extremely  bigoted,  over  to  the  papal 
cause.  In  this  plan  he  was  aided  by  Caspar  Schlick,  and  the 
consequent  union  between  the  pope  and  the  emperor  speedily 
disarmed  the  council,  whose  zeal  in  the  cause  of  reform,  never 
very  sincere,  had  gradually  become  more  lukewarm.  The  de- 
fection of  the  once  energetic  cardinal,  Julian,  was  followed 
^  that  of  almost  all  the  rest,  with  the  exception  of  the  tem- 
poral princes  of  Germany,  who  still  insisted  upon  the  main- 
tenance of  the  former  resolutions  passed  by  the  council  and 
accepted  by  the  imperial  diet  at  Mayence,  and  earnestly 
pointed  out  the  danger  of  fresh  disturbances  on  the  part  of 
the  people  in  case  the  old  abuses  were  again  tolerated.  The 
archbishops  of  Cologne  and  Treves,  who  sided  with  them, 
^g  arbitrarily  deprived  of  their  mitres  by  Eugenius,  [a.  d. 
1445,]  the  electors  convoked  a  fresh  assembly  at  Frankfurt 
^  the  Maine,  [a.  d.  1446,]  and  despatched  George  von 
Heimburg  at  the  head  of  an  embassy  to  Rome,  where  he 
boldly  addressed  the  pope  in  terms  inspired  by  his  sense  of 
the  insults  offered  to  the  dignity  of  the  empire,  and  the  in- 
juries inflicted  upon  her  by  the  hypocritical  Roman,  ^neas 
Sylvius,  who  had  preceded  him  to  Rome,  however,  found 
oceans  to  pacify  the  pope,  and  craftily  counselled  him  to  dis- 
semble his  wrath  and  to  amuse  the  infuriated  Germans, 
^hilst  he  worked  upon  the  council  by  means  of  the  apostate 
Nicolas  of  Cusa.  Terms  had  already  been  made  with  the 
emperor,  and  nothing  more  was  wanting  for  the  success  of 
their  plans  than  to  instigate  the  people  against  the  princes. 
The  jealousy  of  the  citizens  of  Frankfurt  was  aroused,  and 
*W  formally  declared  themselves  subservient  to  the  em- 
P^r  alone,  ^neas  Sylvius  finally  succeeded  in  bribing 
John  von  Lisura,  the  chief  counsellor  of  the  electors  of 
^ayence,  one  of  the  principal  founders  of  the  federation, 
(fisderis  auctor  et  defensor,)  the  counsellors  of  Brandenburg, 
the  archbishops  of  Salzburg  and  Magdeburg,  etc.     The  false 


186  THE  SWISS  WARS. 

Step  taken  by  the  remaining  electors  of  Cologne,  Treves, 
Pfalz,  and  Saxony,  who  sought  the  support  of  France,  and  to 
conclude  a  treaty  with  that  power  at  Bourges,  [a.  d.  1447,] 
naturally  rendered  the  originally  just  and  national  cause  of 
the  electoral  assembly  extremely  unpopular,  and  placed  the 
victory  in  the  hands  of  the  papal  party.  The  four  electors 
were  compelled  to  submit,  and  declared  their  determination  to 
maintain  the  resolutions  ratified  at  Mayence  with  the  reserv- 
ation of  an  indemnity  to  the  pope.  Eugenius  expired  at 
this  conjuncture,  and  Felix  was  compelled  to  abdicate.  His 
successor,  Nicolas  V.,  emboldened  by  these  precedents,  con- 
cluded a  separate  Concordat,  that  of  Vienna,  with  the  emperor, 
[a.  d.  1448,]  to  which  the  princes  gave  their  assent,  not  pub- 
licly in  the  diet,  but  singly  as  they  were  gradually  won  over, 
and  by  which  every  resolution  of  the  council  of  Basle,  relating 
to  the  restriction  of  papal  abuses,  was  simply  retracted. 

Thus  by  an  impious  diplomacy  were  the  people  deceived,  and 
thus  was  the  warning  voice  of  history,  the  great  lesson  taught 
by  the  Hussite  war,  despised.  But,  at  the  moment  when  the 
hopes  of  the  people  for  a  reformation  in  the  church  by  its 
heads  fell,  a  new  power  rose  from  among  themselves,  John 
Guttenberg  discovered  the  art  of  printing. 


PART  XV. 

THE  AGE  OF  MAXIMILIAN. 


CLXXXVIII.  The  Swiss  wars. — The  Armagnacs. — George 
von  Podiebrad, 

DuBiNa  the  century  that  elapsed  from  the  first  unsuccessfhl 
attempt  of  the  Bohemian  reformers  to  the  great  and  signal 
triumph  of  those  of  Saxony,  history  merely  presents  a  succes- 
sion of  petty  and  isolated  facts.  The  emperor  slumbered  on 
his  throne ;  the  princes  and  cities  were  solely  occupied  in  pro- 


THE  ABMAONACS.  187 

motiDg  their  individual  interests,  and  popular  outbreaks  had 
])eeome  rare,  the  people  finding  a  vent  for  their  fanatical  rage 
in  combating  the  French  and  Turks.  The  insolence  of  the 
pope,  now  totally  unopposed,  overstepped  all  bounds,  and  the 
hierarchj,  far  from  gaining  wisdom  or  learning  caution  from 
the  past,  fondly  deemed  th^r  strength  invincible,  and  shame- 
leaslj  pursued  their  former  course  the  moment  the  storm  had 
passed  away. 

War  was  carried  on  with  various  success,  between  the  free 
cantons  of  Switzerland,  the  French  and  Italians,  from  1402  to 
1428.  The  peasants  in  the  Rhastian  Alps  also  asserted  their 
independence  at  this  period,  and  [a.  d.  1396]  formed  a  con- 
federacy against  the  nobility  and  clergy  at  Truns ;  this  con- 
federacy, denominated  the  gran  or  grey  Bundy  from  the  grey 
frocks  worn  by  the  peasants,  gave  name  to  the  whole  country 
of  the  Grisons,  or  GrattbuntUen.  This  was  followed  by  the 
▼ar  between  Schwytz  and  Zurich,  occasioned  by  the  refusal 
pf  the  latter  to  join  the  confederation  and  the  maintenance  of 
its  claims  on  the  country  of  Toggenburg.  The  emperor, 
Frederick  IIL,  in  the  hope  of  regaining  the  Habsburg  pos- 
sesions, invited  [a.  d.  1439]  a  body  of  French  mercenaries, 
the  Armagnacs,  so  named  from  their  leader,  to  invade  Switzer- 
land. The  pope,  who  thought  this  a  good  opportunity  for 
Aspersing  the  council  at  Basle,  also  countenanced  the  scheme, 
|>ut,  instead  of  four  thousand  mercenaries,  an  army  of  thirty 
thousand  men,  headed  by  Louis,  the  French  Dauphin,  crossed 
the  German  frontier,  for  the  purpose,  not  of  aiding,  but  of 
wnquering  Germany.  Shortly  before  this,  Charles  VIL  of 
*rance  had  muljcted  the  city  of  Metz  without  any  resistance 
^ng  offered  on  the  part  of  the  emperor.  The  Armagnacs, 
the  majority  of  whom  consisted  of  the  dregs  of  the  populace, 
^f  escaped  and  branded  criminals,  met  with  a  friendly  recep- 
tion frona  the  nobility  of  the  upper  country,  who  even  conde- 
^nded  to  gamble  and  carouse  with  them  on  an  equal  footing, 
hut  they  no  sooner  approached  Basle  than  the  confederated  pea- 
^Qtry,  at  that  time  besieging  Zurich,  despatched  fifteen  thou- 
sand men  to  Basle,  where  the  citizens  manfully  protected 
their  walls.  An  unexpected  r^icontre  taking  place  on  the 
"^s  between  this  small  troop  and  the  whole  of  the  French 
^^7,  a  dreadful  struggle  ensued ;  the  Swiss  were  overpow- 
^'H  and  the  remnant,  five  hundred  in  number,  taking  refuge 


188  THE  SWISS  WARS. 

io  the  hospital  of  St.  Jacop,  withstood  the  siege  for  a  whole 
day.     Six  thousand  of  the  French  were  slain.     The  Swiss 
were  at  length  cut  to  pieces  by  the  Austrian  cavalry ;  ninety- 
nine  were  suffocated  in  the  hospital,  which  had  been  set  on 
fire  by  the  besiegers ;  one  only  of  the  fifteen  thousand,  .^bli 
of  Glarus,  escaped  death.     On  recovering  from  his  wounds, 
he  was  chosen  Landamman  by  his  fellow-countrymen.     Six- 
teen Swiss,  who  had  escaped  by  fiight,  were  branded  and 
banished.     The  red  wine  produced  from  the  vineyards  on  the 
Birs  has  since  borne  the  name  of  Schweizerblut,  Swiss  blood. 
The  Dauphin,  dispirited  by  his  dearly-won  victory,  hastily 
retreated  on  learning  the  advance  of  the  main  body  of  the 
confederated  army,  and  retraced  his  steps  down  the  Rhine, 
pillaging  and  burning  on  his  route.     One  hundred  and  ten 
villages  were  reduced  to  ashes,  and  several  thousands  of  the 
peasantry  inhumanly  butchered.     The  emperor's  ambassadors 
were  contemptuously  dismissed.     The  citizens  of  Strassburg 
sallied  forth,  defeated  the  Armagnacs,  and  regained  the  ban- 
ner taken  from  the  Swiss  at  St.  Jacob.     The  Rhenish  princes 
were,  nevertheless,  so  imbittered  against  the  cities  as  even  to 
prohibit  their  serfs  to  furnish  the  citizens  with  the  necessary 
provisions,  and  to  allow  the  enemy,  unopposed,  to  lay  the 
country  waste.      In  the  Weilerthal,  ^yb  hundred  peasants 
rolled  great  stones  upon  the  heads  of  the  foe  as  they  wound 
through  the  pass.     Metz  was  besieged  by  the  Armagnacs, 
who  were  at  length  induced  by  a  bribe  to  recross  the  frontiers. 

The  Austrians  again  attempted  to  aid  Zurich,  but  being 
defeated  at  Ragaz,  Zurich  concluded  peace,  and  renounced 
her  alliance  with  the  emperor,  a.  d.  1446.  Toggenburg  pass- 
ed by  inheritance  into  the  family  of  Raron,  by  whom  it  was 
iBold  [a.  d.  1469]  to  St.  Gall.  The  confederates  destroyed 
several  castles  belonging  to  the  Austrian  nobility,  particularly 
Falkenstein,  and  [a.  d.  1471]  the  three  confederated  cantons 
entered  into  a  treaty  of  mutual  defence  with  the  Orisons. 

In  Hungary,  the  new-born  prince,  Ladislaw,  had  been 
crowned  king  by  the  German  faction.  His  mother,  Elisabeth, 
according  to  ^neas  Sylvius,  had  fostered  a  wish  to  wed 
Wladislaw  of  Poland  for  the  greater  safety  of  her  son.  She 
is  said  to  have  been  poisoned  at  the  emperor's  instigation, 
A.  D.  1442.  The  Hungarians,  ever  harassed  by  the  Turks, 
shortly  afterwards  elected  Wladislaw  king.     This  monarch 


GEOBGE  YON  PODIEBRAD.  189 

was  killed  during  the  same  year,  [▲•  d.  1444,]  at  Varna, 
where  his  army  was  defeated  by  the  overwhelming  forces  of 
the  Turks,  who  afterwards  turned  towards  Austria,  where 
thej  contented  themselves  with  pillaging  and  devastating  the 
eoQntry,  and  carrying  off  the  inhabitants.  IVederick  III., 
peaceably  occupied  with  his  garden,  left  them  unopposed,  nor 
once  dreamt  of  seconding  the  efforts  of  the  noble  John 
Hanjadi,  who,  unaided,  made  head  with  the  Hungarians 
against  the  barbarian  invader. 

In  Bohemia,  Ladislaw  was  universally  recognised  king,  but 
&e  estates,  between  whom  a  reconciliation  had  taken  place  in 
a  great  diet  held  at  Prague,  a.  d.  1440,  governed  in  his  stead. 
The  chiefs  of  the  two  factions,  Meinhard  von  Neuhauss  and 
Ptaczek,  divided  the  government.  The  Utraquists,  however, 
gradaally  regained  the  upper  hand  ;  Rokizana  was  reinstated 
10  the  see  of  Prague,  and  Greorge  von  Podiebrad,  a  descend- 
^t  of  the  German  house  of  Bemegg  and  Nidda,  which  had 
inigrated  to  Bohemia,  ruled  in  the  field.  On  the  death  of 
Ptaczek,  he  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  free-thinkers, 
iuid,  on  the  refusal  of  the  Pope  to  recognise  the  articles  of 
^gtie,  and  the  theft  of  the  original  documents  by  Cardinal 
^^ajel,  suppressed  the  rising  power  of  the  Catholic  faction, 
^k  Prague  by  surprise,  threw  Meinhard  von  Neuhauss  into 
prison,  where  he  expired,  [a.  d.  1448,]  and  seized  the  sole 
government.  The  example  of  Hunyadi  and  George  found  an 
"Jttitator  in  Austria,  in  one  Eitzinger,  a  Bavarian  by  birth, 
^ho  ruled  in  that  province  at  the  head  of  the  estates. 

^e  emperor,  incapable  of  wielding  the  sceptre,  and  jealous 
of  his  youthful  competitor,  Ladislaw,  kept  him  under  strict 
surveillance,  and,  in  the  hope  of  transmitting  the  crown  to  a 
^jscendant  of  his  own,  wedded  Eleonora  of  Portugal,  a  princess 
^f  great  beauty  and  wit.  The  bridal  pair  met  at  Siena,  were 
®^wned  at  Bome,  and  celebrated  their  wedding  at  Naples, 
^Qere  the  fountains  were  made  to  flow  with  wine,  and  thirty 
thousand  guests  were  feasted,  a.  d.  1452.  The  successful  at- 
^Dapt  of  the  Tyrolean  estates  to  release  their  duke,  Sigmund, 
«^^ii  a  minor,  from  the  hands  of  Frederick,  inspired  Eitzinger, 
^^  the  Count  von  Cilly,  with  a  similar  design  in  favour  of  La- 
dislaw, and  Frederick  no  sooner  reached  Neustadt,  his  usual 

place  of  residence,  than  he  was  compelled  to  deliver  him  into 
tfaeir  hands.   Ladislaw  was  instantly  proclaimed  king  of  Hun- 


190  GBORQE  VON  PODIEBBAD. 

gary  and  Bohemia,  where  he  was  received  with  the  greatest 
manifestations  of  delight,  but,  misled  by  the  Count  Ulric  von 
Gilly,  he  speedily  acquired  a  disinclination  for  grave  affairs, 
and  having  the  folly  to  act  as  a  zealous  upholder  of  Catholi- 
cism in  Bohemia,  where  he  publicly  treated  the  Utraquist  fac- 
tion, and  their  archbishop,  Bokizana,  with  contempt^  he  quick- 
ly lost  the  confidence  of  the  people,  who  once  more  turned  to 
their  ancient  favourite,  Greorge  von  Podiebrad.  This  leader 
had,  meanwhile,  defeated  the  sons  of  Meinhard  von  Neuhauss 
with  their  allies  of  Meissner,  and  had  carried  his  victorious 
arms  into  the  heart  of  Saxony.  Disturbances  also  took  place 
in  Silesia,  where  the  petty  princes  of  the  race  of  Piast  refused 
to  do  homage  to  Ladislaw  and  besieged  the  city  of  Liegnitz, 
which  was,  in  reward  for  its  fidelity,  chartered  by  Ladislaw, 
A.  D.  1453.  Austria  also  became  a  scene  of  intrigue.  Ulric 
von  Cilly  was  deprived  of  his  power  by  Eitzinger,  whom  he 
had  treated  with  great  ingratitude,  and  by  the  Austrian 
estates.  Ladislaw  was  compelled  to  part  with  his  favourite, 
who  was  driven  by  the  mob  out  of  Vienna,  but  shortly  af- 
terwards found  means  to  regain  his  former  station,  and 
Eitzinger  was  exiled. 

Hungary  was  equally  misgoverned.  The  people,  however, 
possessed  in  John  Hunyadi  a  powerful  leader,  equal  to  the 
exigencies  of  the  times.  In  1453,  the  capture  of  Constanti- 
nople and  the  consequent  destruction  of  the  Grecian  empire 
by  the  sultan,  Mohammed  IIL,  struck  Christendom  with 
terror.  Nicolas  V.,  Mneas  Sylvius,  and  their  chief  tool,  an 
Italian  monk,  John  Capistrano,  general  of  the  Capuchins, 
preached  a  crusade,  and  attempted  to  rouse  the  fanaticism  of 
the  people  against  the  Turks,  Capistrano  travelling  for  that 
purpose  through  the  greater  part  of  Germany  ;  but  his  elo- 
quence, although  it  influenced  the  bigotry,  failed  to  rouse  the 
military  ardour  of  the  people.  In  Silesia,  where  he  preached 
with  great  vehemence  against  the  Jews,  every  individual  be- 
longing to  that  hapless  race  was  burnt  alive.  The  princes, 
instead  of  joining  the  crusade  at  his  summons,  contented  them- 
selves with  pra3dng  and  ringing  the  Turkish  bells,  as  they 
were  called.  A  force  of  3000  peasants,  armed  with  flails 
and  pitchforks,  whom  he  inspired  with  extraordinary  enthu- 
siasm, was  all  he  succeeded  in  mustering  in  Germany,  and 
with  this  he  saved  Belgrade,  already  given  up  as  lost  by 


GEOBOE  VON  PODIEBSAD.  191 

Hunyadi,  as  if  bj  miracle ;  the  Turks  were  repulsed  from 
thewaUsy  their  entrenchments  carried,  twentj-fonr  thousand 
of  them  slain,  their  camp  and  three  hundred  cannon  taken, 
and  the  sultan  was  wounded.  Capistrano,  in  the  one  hand  a 
stick,  in  the  other  a  crucifix,  was  seen  in  the  thickest  of  the 
fight,  A.  D.  1455.  Hunjadi  expired,  and  was  shortly  after- 
wards followed  by  Capistrano.  Ladislaw  and  Matthias  Cor* 
vinus,  Hunyadi's  two  sons,  now  became  the  objects  of  their 
sovereign's  jealousy.  A  letter  sent  by  Ulric  von  Cilly  to  the 
despot  of  Servia,  in  which  he  promised  to  send  him  ere  long 
two  balls  to  play  with,  (the  heads  of  the  youthful  Hunyadi,) 
l)ecoming  known  to  them,  Ladislaw  Hunyadi  slew  Ulric,  and 
was  in  revenge  beheaded  by  the  king  ;  Matthias,  who  lay  in 
prison  in  expectation  of  a  similar  fate,  was  liberated  by  the 
death  of  the  king,  Ladislaw,  who  fell  a  victim  to  excess  at  the 
age  of  eighteen,  and  was  placed  by  the  Hungarians  on  the 
throne,  [▲.  i>.  1457,]  the  emperor  displaying  his  usual  indif- 
ference on  the  occasion. 

The  Bohemians  now  raised  their  favourite,  Greorge  von 

Podiebrad,  to  the  throne,  and  an  alliance  was  formed  between 

him  and  Matthias  of  Hungary,  to  whom  he  gave  his  daughter 

Gaterina  in  marriage.     The  loss  of  both  these  kingdoms  was 

peaceably  submitted  to  by  the  emperor,  to  whom  Matthias 

^  presented  60,000  ducats,  whilst  George  aided  him  against 

^  brother,  Albert  the  Squanderer.     The  Austrian  nobility 

treated  the  emperor  with  insolence,  and  Albert  intrigued 

against  him.     An  electoral  assembly  was  even  held  at  ^er, 

[a.  D.  1461,]  for  the  purpose  of  raising  George  von  Podie- 

l>nid  to  the  imperial  throne,  but  the  confusion  consequent  on 

tbe  war  in  the  Ffak  caused  the  matter  to  drop.     Vienna, 

meanwhile,  revolted  against  the  emperor ;  the  town-council 

^as  thrown  out  of  the  windows  of  the  town-house  ;  Wolfgang 

I    Holzer,  the  former  instigator  of  the  tumult  against  Ulric  von 

Cilly,  again  took  the  lead,  and  the  emperor  degraded  himself 

80  far  as  to  flatter  the  rebellious  citizen  in  order  to  be  per- 

^"^itted  to  enter  his  castle.     The  empress  Eleonora,  revolted 

^  this  conduct,  said  to  her  little  son,  Max,  "  Could  I  believe 

you  capable  of  demeaning  yourself  like  your  father,  I  should 

lament  your  being  destined  to  the  throne."     Some  knights 

^'^  from  the  castle  upon  the  citizens,  the  emperor  was,  at 

*^e  instigation  of  Albert,  formally  besieged.     George  von 


192  GEOEGE  VON  PODIEBRAD.  i 

Podiebrad,  however,  took  the  part  of  the  unfortunate  emperor,  \ 
and  raised  the  siege.     His  son,  Victorin,  was,  in  return   for  ^ 
this  service,  created  duke  of  Miinsterberg.     Peace  was  con-  i 
eluded,  and  the  emperor  consented  to  cede  Vienna  to  his  bro-  i 
ther  Albert,  who,  forgetful  of  the  services  of  the  citizens,  i 
ruled  them  with  a  rod  of  iron,  and  condemned  Holzer,  who  i 
now  favoured  the  emperor,  to  the  wheel.    Albert  died,  [a.  d. 
1463,]  leaving  Austria  in  a  state  of  great  confusion,  and  fre- 
quented bj  robbers.     Matthias  of  Hungary,  whom  the  em- 
peror called  to  his  aid  against  them,  caused  two  hundred  and 
eighty  to  be  hanged,  and  five  hundred  (three  hundred  of 
whom  were  women)  to  be  drowned  in  the  Danube  ;  notwith- 
standing which,  the  empress  was  robbed  whilst  taking  the 
waters  at  Baden,  by  the  knights  von  Stein  and  Puchheim. 

George  defended  the  Lausitz  against  the  claims  of  Saxony, 
and  sought  to  maintain  the  alliance  anciently  subsisting  be- 
tween Silesia  and  Bohemia.  The  Grerman  citizens  of  Breslau, 
whom  he  had  unintentionally  offended,  alone  viewed  him 
with  implacable  hatred,  and  defended  their  town  against  the 
whole  of  his  forces,  A.  d.  1459.  The  pope,  Pius  II.,  who  still 
favoured  George,  sent  his  legate,  Hieronymus  of  Crete,  to 
negotiate  terms  of  peace,  but  the  citizens  refused  to  yield. 
The  pope,  who  had  meanwhile  succeeded  in  winning  over 
Matthias  of  Hungary,  and  in  separating  him  from  George, 
now  threw  off  the  mask,  revoked  the  articles  of  Prague,  and 
placed  George  under  an  interdict.  This  act  of  treachery  re- 
mained at  first  without  result,  Matthias  being  still  too  power- 
less to  attack  Bohemia.  Pius  expired,  A.  d.  1465.  His  suc- 
cessor, Paul  II.,  carried  his  zeal  against  the  Bohemian  heretics 
to  a  more  violent  degree,  caused  George's  ambassadors  to 
be  driven  with  rods  out  of  Rome,  and  despatched  another 
legate,  Rudolf,  bishop  of  Lavant,  to  Silesia,  Saxony,  and  Bo- 
hemia, for  the  purpose  of  preaching  a  crusade  against  the 
heretical  king ;  and  a  murderous  war  consequently  sprang  up 
on  the  frontiers  of  Bohemia  between  the  Catholics  and  the 
Hussites,  each  party  branded  their  prisoners  with  the  cup  or  the 
cross.  George  was,  nevertheless,  victorious  in  every  quarter, 
[a.  d.  1467,]  but,  being  ungratefully  abandoned  by  the  em- 
peror, his  son-in-law,  Matthias,  attacked  him,  and  caused  him- 
self to  be  proclaimed  king  in  Bohemia  by  the  Catholic  faction 
and  by  the  Silesians.     George,  however,  watched  him  in  the 


FBITZ  THE  BAD.  193 

ip0  rests  of  Wjlemow,  where  he  caused  the  trees,  within  an 
ml  lormous  circle,  to  be  half  sawn  through,  and  the  moment 
s  0  ktthias  entered  the  circle,  to  be  suddenly  thrown  down,  and 
is  If  mt  him  up  so  doselj  that  he  agreed  to  make  peace,  and  to 
tiflj  17  the  expenses  of  the  war.  Matthias  no  sooner  found  him- 
•,ff  if  in  safety  than  he  infringed  the  peace,  sent  Gleorge  a  chest 
[i.!  tn  of  sand  instead  of  the  promised  gold,  every  oath  taken  to 
im  heretic  being  pronounced  disobligatory  by  the  pope,  and 
e  eilollected  his  forces  for  a  fresh  attack,  A.  i>.  1468.  George 
j  0  tbll  sick  ;  excommunicated,  surrounded  by  innumerable  foes, 
edi  md  plainly  foreseeing  that  the  Bohemian  crown  could  not  re- 
iritiBAaiii  in  his  family,  he  entreated  the  Bohemians  to  place 
r  ti  W^ladislaw  of  Poland,  their  ablest  defender,  on  the  throne. 
D.  The  news  of  the  capture  of  his  son,  Victorin,  by  the  Hunga- 
[001  rians,  reached  him  shortly  before  his  death,  a.  D.  1471. 
Ix  Wladislaw  became  king  of  Bohemia,  and,  in  order  to  con- 
sIji  ciliate  the  pope,  persecuting  the  Utraquists,  a  revolt  took  place  ; 
iij  the  citizens  of  Prague  threw  their  burgomaster  out  of  the 
ti  window,  and  deprived  several  of  the  town-councillors  of  their 
sli  heads.  Their  most  furious  attacks  were  directed  against  the 
monks  and  priests.  Tranquillity  was  at  length  restored  by 
the  sons  of  the  late  king,  Victorin  and  Henry,  who  had  re- 
gained their  liberty,  and  Wladislaw  consented  to  treat  the 
Utraquists  with  less  rigour,  A.  D.  1483. 


CLXXXIX.    Fritz  the  Bad.— The  German  HospitaUers,— 
The  Burgundian  wars, — Mary  of  Burgundy, 

Frederick,  the  Rhenish  Pfalzgrave,  sumamed  by  his 
enemies  Fritz  the  Bad,  was  a  man  of  an  impetuous,  decisive 
<iharacter,  and  sided  with  the  Upper  Germans  against  the  em- 
peror and  the  pope.  In  1461,  he  and  George  von  Heimburg 
^ere  actively  engaged  in  forwarding  the  election  of  George 
von  Podiebrad  by  the  electoral  assembly  convoked  at  Eger, 
^hich  being  violently  opposed  by  the  pope  and  the  emperor, 
^he  war  in  the  Pfalz  broke  out.  Fritz  the  Bad  built  a  tower 
*t  Heidleberg,  named  by  him  Trutz-Kaiser,  in  defiance  of 
thfe  emperor.  Mayence  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  imperialists, 
*nd  Was  deprived  of  her  charter,  Adolf  of  Nassau  saying  to 
the  citizens,  as  he  pointed  to  a  large  stone  in  the  market- 

^OL.  II.  o 


194  FEITZ  THE  BAD. 

place,  *'  Your  privil^es  shall  not  be  restored  until  this  stone 
shall  melt."  Ulric  of  Wurtemberg  and  Charles  of  Saden, 
the  emperor's  confederates,  committed  the  most  terrible  de* 
predations  in  the  Pfalz,  tying  large  branches  of  trees  to  their 
horses'  tails  in  order  the  more  effectuallj  to  destroy  the  com 
through  which  they  rode.  Fritz,  seccmded  by  the  enraged 
peasantry,  was  victorious  at  Seckenheim,  where  Ulric,  G-eorge, 
bishop  of  Metz,  and  Charles  fell  into  his  hands,  [a.  d.  1462,] 
and  Albert  Achilles  being  afterwards  defeated  by  Fritz's  ally, 
Louis  of  Bavaria,  who,  on  this  occasion,  took  the  imperial 
banner,  peace  was  concluded  between  the  contending  parties. 
Fritz  sumptuously  entertained  the  captive  princes,  but  left 
them  unfurnished  with  bread,  saying,  on  their  complaining  of 
this  treatment,  that  they  had  destroyed  all  the  com  on  the 
ground  with  their  own  hands.  On  their  refusal  to  pay  the 
ransom  demanded,  he  put  them,  lightly  dressed,  into  an  icy- 
cold  room  with  their  feet  in  the  stocks.  Ulric  and  Charles 
cost  their  estates  100,000  florins  each,  whilst  the  bishop  was 
merely  valued  at  45,000. 

Fritz  the  Bad  rendered  himself  still  further  remarkable  by 
his  marriage,  notwithstanding  the  prejudices  of  birth,  with 
Clara  Dettin,  the  daughter  of  a  citizen  of  Augsburg,  re- 
nowned for  her  extraordinary  beauty  and  vocal  powers.  Their 
children,  compelled  to  cede  the  Pfalz  to  Bavaria,  took  the  title 
of  Loewenstein,  and  founded  the  present  princely  house  o£ 
that  name. 

At  the  diet  held  at  Ulm,  1466,  the  pope  attempted  to  per- 
suade the  princes  to  make  head  against  the  Turks,  now  at  the 
summit  of  their  power.  War,  more  especially  when  foreign, 
was  at  this  period  carried  on  by  means  of  mercenaries. 
These  mercenaries  were,  however,  well  ^paid,  and  on  the 
present  occasion  each  estate  sought  to  lay  the  expense  on  the 
other,  the  princes  demanding  that  the  greater  part  of  the  ne- 
cessary supplies  should  be  furnished  by  the  cities,  which  on 
their  part  refused  not  so  much  from  avarice  as  from  hatred  o£ 
the  princes.  The  nobility,  merely  intent  upon  emancipating 
themselves,  constituted  a  counts'  union  as  an  intermediate 
power  between  the  princes  and  the  cities,  which,  in  1512, 
occupied  a  separate  bench  in  the  diet.  A  promise  of  20,000 
mercenaries  was  all  the  pope  could  obtain. 

In  the  ensuing  year  the  emperor  performed  a  pilgrimage 


r 


FBITZ  THE  BAD.  195 


to  Home,  not  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  the  affairs  of  Italy, 
not  on  account  of  Venice,  which,  since  1463,  had  been  at 
war  with  Trieste,  nor  on  account  of  Sforza,  the  bold  mercenary 
leader,  who,  since  the  extinction  of  the  house  of  Visconti,  had 
seized  the  duchy  of  Milan,  but  solely  and  simply  in  perform- 
ance of  a  pious  Yow.  By  his  personal  subserviency  to  the 
pope  he  rendered  himself  ridicidous^  and  on  his  return  [a.  i>. 
1469]  found  his  empire  in  a  state  of  general  disturbance. 
Continually  in  want  of  money,  he  had  already  caused  false 
coin  to  be  struck,  and,  nevertheless,  left  the  mercenaries,  fur- 
nished for  him  by  his  adherents,  unpaid.  The  murmuring 
Boldiery  found  an  advocate  in  Andreas  Baumkirchner,  the 
emperor's  true-hearted  servant,  but  Frederick,  instead  of 
satisfying  their  just  claims,  invited  Andreas  to  a  conference 
at  Graetz,  promising  him  safety  until  vespers,  and  detained  him 
in  conversation,  until  Baumkirchner,  at  length  perceiving  that 
the  day  was  drawing  to  a  close,  rushed  out,  and  leaping  into 
his  saddle,  galloped  towards  the  gate ;  at  that  moment  the 
vesper  bell  rang,  the  portcullis  dropped,  he  was  disarmed 
and  beheaded  beneath  the  gate-way.  Thus  did  a  Habsburg 
reward  fidelity. 

In  the  same  year,  [a.  d.  1469,]  the  Turks  again  invaded 
Carniola ;  the  aid  promised  by  the  diet  had  been  procrasti- 
nated, and  on  their  evacuating  the  country,  and  the  breaking 
out  of  dissension  between  them  and  Matthias  of  Hungary,  it 
still  continued  to  be  so.  The  question  was  again  laid  before 
the  diet  held  at  Batisbon,  [a.  d.  1471,]  but  the  emperor  fell 
asleep  during  the  first  debate.  The  ten  thousand  men  voted 
on  this  occasion  were  never  raised. 

Frederick  indemnified  himself  for  the  obloquy  he  had  in- 
curred as  emperor,  and  for  the  losses  of  his  house,  with  the 
new  title  of  archduke,  which,  in  1453,  he  bestowed  upon  the 
house  of  Habsburg.  A  complaint  in  his  feet,  the  consequence 
of  a  bad  practice  of  kicking  open  every  door  that  happened 
to  be  closed,  chiefly  contributed  to  his  isolated  residence  at 
Neustadt.  One  of  his  feet  having  mortified,  he  was  obliged 
to  submit  to  amputation:  "Ah,"  exclaimed  he,  '*a  healthy 
boor  is  better  than  a  sick  Roman  emperor ! " 

The  German  Hospitallers  in  Prussia  were,  meanwhile, 
totally  deprived  of  their  power.  In  1412,  a  great  revolution 
broke  out.      The  provincial  nobility,  oppressed   by  their 

o  2 


196  THE  GERMAN  HOSPITALLERS. 

tyranny,  rebelled  and  threw  off  their  yoke.  In  1440,  a  league 
was  publicly  entered  into  by  the  Prussian  cities  and  the  pro- 
vincial nobility,  for  the  purpose  of  "  appeasing  the  internal 
dissensions  of  the  order,  of  protecting  the  country  against  the 
Poles,  of  securing  their  persons  and  their  property,  and  of 
defending  right."  This  league  was  vainly  prohibited  by  the 
order,  and  invalidated  by  the  pope's  bull.  The  contending 
parties  referred  the  matter  to  the  emperor,  who  at  first  favoured 
the  popular  party,  and  afterwards  [a.  d.  1453]  put  the  con- 
federates out  of  the  bann  of  the  empire,  in  consequence  of 
which  the  Prussians  threw  off  their  allegiance  to  the  order, 
and  placed  themselves  under  the  protection  of  Poland.  A 
furious  war  instantly  broke  out :  Casimir  of  Poland  entered 
the  country,  where  he  was  received  with  acclamations  of  de- 
light ;  more  particularly  by  the  citizens  of  Dantzig,  who  be- 
held in  their  union  with  Poland  an  increase  of  commercial 
prosperity  on  account  of  the  opening  of  the  Vistula.  This 
city  alone  furnished  fifteen  thousand  mercenaries  towards 
the  war. 

The  arrival  of  a  body  of  fifteen  thousand  German  mercena- 
ries in  the  following  year,  1454,  to  the  aid  of  the  order, 
turned  the  tide  of  war.  The  Poles  suffered  a  signal  defeat. 
The  elector  of  Brandenburg,  who  dreaded  the  increasing 
power  of  his  Polish  neighbours,  vainly  attempted  to  negotiate 
terms  of  peace,  in  the  hope  of  saving  the  order  from  utter 
destruction.  The  Bohemian  mercenaries,  no  longer  paid  by 
the  impoverished  grand-master,  seized  his  person,  and  sold 
him  and  the  whole  of  western  Prussia  to  Casimir  for  436,000 
florins.  The  German  population,  however,  speedily  rebelled 
against  the  Polish  rule,  and  a  petty  war  was  carried  on  until 
1466,  when  peace  was  finally  concluded  at  Thorn,  and  the 
grand-master,  completely  deserted  by  his  German  allies,  was, 
besides  ceding  Western  Prussia,  compelled  to  hold  Eastern 
Prussia  in  fee  of  the  Polish  crown. 

A  war  of  thirteen  years  had  transformed  Prussia  into  a 
desert;  one  thousand  and  nineteen  churches  had  been  de- 
stroyed, those  that  remained  standing,  plundered  and  dese- 
crated ;  out  of  twenty-one  thousand  villages  but  three  thou- 
sand and  thirteen  remained,  and,  as  if  to  render  the  misery 
complete,  a  dreadful  pestilence  broke  out  in  1463,  which  car- 
ried off  twenty  thousand  persons  in  Dantzig  alone. 


THE  BUEGUNDIAN  WARS.  197 

The  dukes  of  Burgandy  had,  at  this  period,  risen  to  a 
great  degree  of  opulence  and  power ;  Charles  the  Bold,  who 
succeeded  his  father,  Philip  the  Grood,  [a.  d.  1467,]  destroyed 
Liege,  whose  citizens  were  encouraged  by  his  mortal  foe,  Louis 
XI.  of  France,  [a.  d.  1468,]  put  all  the  male  inhabitants  re- 
maining in  the  city  to  the  sword,  and  threw  several  thousand 
women  tied  back  to  back  into  the  Meuse.  In  1472,  he  liber- 
ated the  duke  Arnold  of  Gueldres,  who  had  been  imprisoned 
by  his  wife,  Catherine  of  Cleves,  and  his  unnatural  son, 
Adolf,  and  was  in  consequence  declared  heir  to  Gueldres. 
Nimwegen,  Aiz-la-ChapeUe,  and  Metz  were  laid  under  con- 
tribution, A.  D.  1473. 

The  emperor,  Frederick  III.,  had  again  lost  the  whole  of  the 
rich  Luxemburg  inheritance,  Bohemia,  and  Hungary,  was  de- 
spised throughout  the  empire,  had  been  more  than  once  attacked, 
and  was  at  length  threatened  with  great  danger  by  the  Turks. 
His  hopes  now  solely  centred  in  his  son,  Maximilian,  a  youth  of 
great  promise,  for  whom  he  aspired  to  the  hand  of  Mary,  the 
lovely  heiress  of  Charles  the  Bold.  It  was  on  this  account 
that  Sigmund  of  the  Tyrol  was  compelled  to  hypothecate  the 
government  of  Alsace  to  Charles,  who  was  also  on  this  account 
allowed,  unopposed,  to  destroy  Liege,  to  mulct  Aix-la-Chapelle 
and  Metz,  and  to  seize  Gueldres.  These  preliminary  civiUties 
over,  the  crippled  emperor  went  to  Treves  in  order  to  hold  a 
conference  with  the  bold  duke,  who  far  outvied  him  in  mag- 
nificence. The  negotiation,  nevertheless,  remained  uncon- 
cluded.  Charles  demanded  the  title  of  king  of  Burgundy,  but 
on  the  emperor's  insisting  on  the  marriage  being  concluded 
beforehand,  procrastinated  the  matter ;  Louis  XI.  of  France 
having  also  sued  for  the  hand  of  Mary  for  his  son,  and  it 
being  to  his  advantage  to  keep  the  rival  monarchs  in  a  state 
'  of  indecision.  The  pope,  who  not  long  afterwards  sided  with 
Charles  against  the  emperor,  appears  to  have  willingly  aided 
in  hindering  a  marriage  by  which  the  power  of  a  German 
house  would  receive  so  considerable  an  accession.  Frederick 
HI.,  offended  at  this  treatment,  suddenly  quitted  Treves,  [a.  d. 
1473,]  without  taking  leave  of  or  bestowing  the  royal  dignity 
on  Charles,  who  revenged  the  insult  by  attacking  Cologne, 
whence  he  was  repulsed  with  great  loss. 

The  tyrannical  conduct  of  Peter  von  Hagenbach,  governor 
of  Alsace,  had  meanwhile  rendered  the  Burgundian  rule  de- 


198  THE  BUEGUNDIAN  WARS. 

tested  by  tbe  Alsacians  and  their  neighbours  the  Swiss.  This 
circumstance  afforded  the  emperor  an  opportunity  for  taking 
up  arms  as  protector  of  the  empire,  and  he  accordingly  took 
the  field  against  Charles  the  Bold,  who  was  at  that  time  be- 
sieging Neuss,  whilst  Sigmund  of  the  Tyrol  raised  a  power- 
ful conspiracy  against  Burgundy  in  Upper  Germany ;  Basle, 
Strassburg,  and  the  cities  of  the  Upper  Rhine  as  far  as  Con- 
stance, laying  aside  their  ancient  hatred  of  the  Austrian  dy- 
nasty, in  order  to  repel  their  common  foe.  Sigmund  released 
the  government  of  Alsace,  the  cities  furnishing  the  necessary 
sum,  80,000  florins.  Charles's  refusal  to  accept  it  was  totally 
disregarded  ;  the  whole  of  Alsace  threw  off  her  allegiance  to 
Burgundy,  and  raised  the  standard  of  the  Habsburg.  Hagen- 
bach  was  beheaded  at  Breisach,  a.  d.  1474. 

The  emperor  had  meanwhile  encamped  before  Neuss.  The 
two  camps  lay  in  such  close  vicinity,  that  balls  fell  from  that 
of  Charles  into  the  emperor's  tent  and  carriage.  A  truce  was 
agreed  to  on  the  intervention  of  the  pope,  Charles  promising 
to  withdraw  without  coming  to  a  battle,  and  the  emperor  not 
to  follow  him  ;  that  is,  to  leave  the  Swiss,  whom  Charles  was 
about  to  attack,  to  their  fate.  The  execution  of  Hagenbach, 
who  had  been  condemned  by  the  confederation,  furnished  him 
with  a  plausible  pretext,  and  he  accordingly  entered  into  a 
close  alliance  with  lolantba  of  Savoy,  who  governed  in  the 
name  of  her  infant  children,  and  with  Sforza  of  Milan,  who 
sympathized  in  his  antipathy  to  the  bold  Swiss  peasantry. 
His  adversaries,  Ren6  II.  of  Lothringia,  who  took  refuge  in 
Zwitzerland,  and  Henry  of  Wurtemberg,  who  resided  at 
Mumpelgard,  fell  into  his  hands.  Mumpelgard,  however,  re- 
fused to  surrender.  The  Swiss  rose  en  masse,  slew  two  thou- 
sand five  hundred  of  the  Burgundians,  whom  they  totally 
defeated  at  Ericourt,  [a.  d.  1474,]  garrisoned  the  whole 
of  Yalais  belonging  to  Savoy,  and  formed  a  league  with  the 
Yallisers,  who  guarded  the  passes  towards  Lombardy,  and 
defeated  two  thousand  Lombards  and  Venetians,  who  were 
marching  to  Charles's  aid,  a.  d.  1475. 

The  Swiss  had  dispersed  to  their  several  cantons,  leaving 
the  forts  strongly  garrisoned,  when  Charles  undertook  a  se- 
cond campaign  against  thejoi,  [a.  d.  1476,]  at  the  head  of  an 
overwhelming  force.  The  emperor,  instead  of  sending  aid, 
permitted  Sigmund  to  seize  Engadin,  a  fort  appertaining  to 


f 


THE  BURGUNDIAN  WARS.  199 

the  GrisoDB.  Louis  XI.  promised  them  pecmiiary  assistance. 
Strassbuig  was  the  only  citj  to  which  the  confederation  ap- 
plied that  sent  effectnal  aid.  The  little  garrison  of  Granson 
was  faithlessly  butchered  by  GharleS)  to  whom  it  had  sorren* 
dered  on  a  promise  of  safety.  This  perfidy  was  nobly 
avenged  by  the  confederated  Swiss,  who  gained  a  signal  tri- 
umph, completely  routed  the  Burgundians,  despoiled  their  camp^ 
and  took  their  artillery.  Charles  was,  howcTer,  speedily  re- 
inforced from  Savoy  and  Italy,  and  laid  siege  to  Murten  on 
the  lake,  beneath  whose  walls  a  furious  engagement  took  place, 
in  which  twenty-six  thousand  of  the  Burgundians  were  either 
slain  or  driven  into  the  lake,  whose  waters  were  dyed  with  the 
frightful  carnage,  A.  d.  1476. 

Charles,  maddened  with  rage,  vented  his  fury  on  his  ally 
lolantha  of  Savoy,  whom  he  threw  into  prison  together  with 
her  children  with  the  intent  of  depriving  them  of  their  inhe- 
ritance. When  attempting  to  reduce  Nancy  by  famine,  he 
was  attacked  by  the  Swiss  and  Austrians,  who,  seeing  Charles's 
star  on  the  wane,  had  joined  their  former  confederates,  and 
was  completely  routed.  His  horse  fell  with  him  into  a  morass, 
wh^re  he  was  suffocated.  His  frozen  *  corpse  was  cut  out 
with  the  hatchet,  a.  d.  1477.  Louis  XI.  presented  the  Swiss 
confederation  with  24,000  florins.  £ngelbert  of  Nassau, 
who  fell  into  their  hands,  was  ransomed  with  50,000  florins. 
The  Yalais  was  restored  to  Savoy.  Unter  Yalais  joined  the 
confederation. 

The  duchy  of  Burgundy  was,  immediately  on  the  death  of 
Charles,  seized  by  Louis  XL,  who  was  only  withheld  from 
occupying  the  county  of  Burgundy  by  the  Swiss,  who  refused 
to  tolerate  him  in  their  neighbourhood.  He  was  also  rejected 
by  the  Netherlands.  His  infamous  favourite,  Olivier  de 
Dain,*  was  expelled  Ghent,  and  his  field-badge,  the  white 
cross,  was  exposed  at  Arras  on  the  gallows.  Arras  was 
taken  and  destroyed,  but  Ghent  stoutly  bade  him  defiance. 
The  heads  of  the  Bargundian  town-councillors,  and  of  several 
of  the  nobility  who  favoured  the  French,  fell ;  among  others, 
those  of  Humbercourt  and  Hugonet,  the  chief  councillors 
of  the  youthful  duchess,  notwithstanding  her  passionate  en- 
treaties.    Adolph  of  Gueldres,  in  the  hope  of  regaining  the 

*  His  barber,  a  monster  in  human  fonn,  like  his  master. 


200  MARY  OF  BURGUNDY. 

possessions  of  which  he  had  been  so  justly  deprived,  placed 
himself  at  the  head  of  the  Flemish,  who  promised  to  reward 
his  success  with  the  hand  of  the  Duchess,  but  fell  at  Doornik 
opposing  the  French.  His  son  Charles,  then  a  minor,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  French  king,  a.  d.  1477. 

Mary  of  Burgundy,  anxious  alike  to  escape  the  merciless 
grasp  of  this  royal  monster  and  the  rule  of  the  wild  demo- 
cracy of  Ghent,  at  first  endeavoured  to  conciliate  the  Dutch 
by  the  promulgation  of  the  great  charter,  in  which  she  vowed 
neither  to  marry,  nor  to  levy  taxes,  nor  to  make  war,  without 
their  consent,  and  conceded  to  them  the  right  of  convoking 
the  estates,  of  minting,  and  of  freely  voting  on  every  question. 
In  the  hope  of  gaining  a  greater  accession  of  power  by  a 
foreign  marriage,  she  skilfully  worked  upon  the  dread  with 
which  the  French  were  viewed  by  her  subjects,  to  influence 
them  in  favour  of  Maximilian,  the  handsomest  youth  of  his 
day,  whom  she  is  said  to  have  seen  at  an  earlier  period  at 
Treves,  or,  as  some  say,  of  whose  picture  she  had  become 
enamoured.      Max  inherited  the  physical  strength  of  his 
grandmother,  Cimburga  of  Poland,  and  the  mental  qualities 
of  his  Portuguese  mother,  surpassed  all  other  knights   in 
chivalric  feats,  was  modest,  gentle,  and  amiable.      Mary  con-* 
fessed  to  the  assembled  estates  of  the  Netherlands,  that  she 
had  already  interchanged  letters  and  rings  with  him,  and 
the  marriage  was  reserved  upon.     Max  hastened  to  Ghent, 
and,  mounted  on  a  brown  steed,  clothed  in  silver  gilt  armour, 
his  long  blond  locks  crowned  with  a  bridegroom's  wreath  re- 
splendent with  pearls  and  precious  stones,  rode  into  the  city, 
where  he  was  met  by  Mary.     The  youthful  pair,  on  beholding 
one  another,  knelt  in  the  public  street  and  sank  into  each 
other's  arms.  "  Welcome  art  thou  to  me,  thou  noble  German," 
said  the  young  duchess,  "  whom  I  have  so  long  desired  and 
now  behold  with  delight ! " 

This  event  greatly  enraged  the  French  monarch,  who  at 
length  succeeded  in  persuading  the '  Swiss  to  enter  into  alli- 
ance with  him,  and  to  cede  to  him  the  county  of  Burgundy,  A.  D. 
1478.  Max  speedily  deprived  him  of  the  territory  he  had 
seized  in  the  Netherlands,  A.  i>.  1479.  Louis,  finding  other 
means  unsuccessful,  now  attempted  to  kindle  the  fiames  of 
civil  war,  and  instigated  the  faction  of  the  Hoecks  against 
that  of  the  Kabeljaus,  which  Max  favoured.     This  young 


f 


MABY  OF  BURGUNDY.  201 

pnnce,  nnaocustomed  to  ciyil  liberty,  had  recourse  to  violence, 
and  gave  his  mercenaries  licence  to  murder  and  pillage.    The 
heads  of  the  faction  were  executed  at  Lejden.     The  protec- 
tion granted  by  him  to  the  young  Count  yon  Hoom,  the  mur- 
derer of  John  Yon  Dudselle,  the  popular  ringleader  at  Ghent, 
increased  the  wrath  of  the  people.     The  marriage  that  had 
commenced  under  such  happy  auspices  also  found  a  wretch- 
ed termination.     On  the  convocation  to  Herzogenbusch  of  all 
the  knights  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  an  order  instituted  by 
Philip  the  Good  of  Burgundy,  [a«  n.  1430,]  a  scaffolding  fell 
in  and  numbers  of  the  spectators  were  killed.     This  was  re- 
garded as  an  unlucky  omen.    Cheerfulness  was,  however, 
restored  by  another  and  a  better  omen  on  the  knighting  of 
Mary's  little  son,  Philip,  who,  during  the  ceremony,  drew  his 
sword  to  defend  himself  against  the  knight  who  had  touched 
him  on    the  shoulder.      Mary  had,  besides  this  son,  given 
birth  to  a  daughter,  Mai^aret,  and  was  again  pregnant,  when 
she  was,  whilst  hunting,  thrown  from  horseback,  and  danger- 
ously hurt  by  the  stump  of  a  tree,  against  which  she  was 
squeezed  by  her  fallen  horse.     From  a  false  feeling  of  deli- 
cacy, she  concealed  her  state  until  surgical  aid  was  unavailing, 
and  expired  in  the  bloom  of  life,  a.  d.  1482.     The  death  of 
the  beauteous  duchess  was  a  signal  for  general  revolt,  and 
Max,  perceiving  his  inability  to  make  head  both  against 
France  and  his  rebeUious  subjects,  concluded  the  peace  of 
Arras  with  the  former,  and  promised  his  daughter,  Margaret, 
to  the  Dauphin,  with  Artois,  Boulogne,  and  the  county  of 
Burgundy  in  dowry,  a.  b.  1482.    Margaret  was  sent  to  Paris. 
Burgundy  and  the  Arelat  were  united  to  France. 

Peace  being  thus  concluded  with  his  most  formidable  op- 
ponent, Max  turned  his  whole  forces  against  the  rebellious 
Hoecks,  who  had  taken  possession  of  Utrecht.  They  were 
defeated,  a.  b.  1483.  The  Flemish,  nevertheless,  refused 
submission  to  the  Habsburg,  by  whom  their  ancient  liberties 
were  neither  understood  nor  respected,  and  seized  the  person 
of  the  young  duke  Philip,  whom  they  alone  recognised  as 
Mary's  successor.  A  revolt  took  place  at  Brugge,  where  Max 
was  taken  prisoner  by  the  citizens,  his  councillors  were  put 
to  the  rack  in  the  public  market,  and,  on  the  news  of  the  ap- 
proach of  an  army  to  the  relief  of  the  Habsburg,  beheaded. 
Maximilian's  celebrated  jester,  Eung  von  den  Rosen,  attempted 


202  MARY  OF  BURGUNDY. 

to  release  his  master,  and  swam  by  night  across  the  fosse  of 
the  castle  where  he  was  confined,  but  was  attacked  and  driven 
back  bj  the  swans,  a.  d.  1488. 

The  emperor  summoned  the  whole  of  the  vassals  of  the 
empire  to  the  field  in  order  to  liberate  his  son,  and  the  pope 
hurled  his  fulminations  against  the  rebels.  The  princes,  en* 
raged  at  the  temerity  of  the  burgesses  to  imprison  one  of  their 
order,  assembled  in  great  numbers  beneath  the  imperial  ban- 
ner, and  bore  all  before  them.  The  first  burgher  of  Ghent 
who  fell  into  the  emperor's  hands  was  nailed  to  a  door,  with 
the  inscription,  "  Thus  will  be  treated  all  who  have  imprisoned 
the  Roman  king,''  and  sent  floating  down  the  stream  to  Ghent. 
The  defeat  of  the  citizens  of  Brugge  struck  the  rebels  with 
dismay,  and  their  royal  captive  was  set  at  liberty  on  binding 
himself  by  oath  not  to  take  revenge,  or  to  injure  their  privi- 
leges. Max,  who  had  been  fonr  months  a  prisoner,  took  the 
oath  demanded,  and  went  into  the  Tyrol,  to  escape  the  neces- 
sity of  breaking  it.  But  his  father  refused  to  comply  with 
these  terms,  and  notwithstanding  the  aid  furnished  by  the 
French,  the  Flemish  were  defeated  at  Bertborg,  a.  b.  1489. 
Nieuport  repulsed  the  attack  of  the  French  army.  The  Hoecks, 
under  Franz  von  Brederode,  secured  themselves  in  Rotterdam, 
and  were  supported  by  Philip  of  Cleve.  Albert  of  Saxony,  the 
imperial  stadtholder,  vainly  besieged  Brussels,  until  seconded 
by  a  pestilence  which  carried  off  almost  the  whole  of  the 
inhabitants.  The  power  of  the  Hoecks  now  declined.  Rot- 
terdam was  taken,  and  Brederode  retired  to  Flanders,  where 
he  turned  pirate  and  greatly  harassed  the  imperialists.  He 
was  taken  in  a  naval  engagement  off  Brou  vershaven,  and  died 
a  few  days  after  of  his  mismanaged  wounds,  aged  24,  a.  d. 
1490.     Philip  of  Cleve  took  refuge  in  France. 

The  flames  of  war  appeared  to  rage  with  redoubled  fury 
in  Flanders,  on  the  rape  of  Anna  of  Brittany,  whom  Max  had 
demanded  in  marriage,  and  who  was  captured  by  Charles  of 
France  when  on  her  way  to  Germany,  and  compelled  to 
marry  him,  in  revenge  for  the  loss  of  Mary  of  Burgundy,  of 
whose  hand  he  had  been  formerly  deprived  by  Maximilian. 
The  projects  of  the  French  monarch  upon  Italy,  however, 
inclined  him  to  yield  the  Netherlands,  and  Max  was  speed- 
ily pacified.  Peace  was  concluded  at  Sefalis,  [a.  d.  1493,] 
and  Margaret  was  restored  to  her  father.   France  also  resigned 


MATTHIAS  OF  HX7N0ABT.  203 

all  claimB  upon  her  stipulated  dowry.  Ghent,  Brugge,  and 
Ypem  sabmitted  and  were  pardoned.  Forty  citizens  of 
Brugge,  who  had  most  grievously  insulted  the  royal  person, 
being  alone  executed.  On  Maximilian's  return  to  the  Nether- 
lands in  1493,  Albert  of  Saxony  led  his  two  children  to  him 
at  Maestricht,  with  these  words,  "  God  has  granted  me  suc- 
cess, therefore  I  bring  you  these  two  children  and  an  obedient 
land."  Albert  had  vowed  not  to  shave  his  chin  until  the 
Netherlands  enjoyed  the  blessings  of  peace.  During  the 
festival  at  Maestricht,  Margaret  the  elder,  the  widow  of 
Charles  the  Bold,  the  grandmother  to  the  two  children,  cut 
off  a  part  of  his  beard,  and  he  had  the  rest  shaved  off.  Maxi- 
milian owed  him  a  heavy  debt  of  gratitude,  for  he  had  fur- 
nished the  means  for  carrying  on  the  war  in  the  Netherlands 
from  his  private  property,  the  mines  in  the  snow  mountains. 


CXC.  MaUhias  of  Hungary, — Affairs  in  Italy, — 
Maximilian  the  First 

On  the  death  of  George  von  Podiebrad,  Matthias,  king  of 
Hangary,  laid  claim  to  Bohemia,  but  was  solely  able  to  hold 
Silesia,  where  he  fixed  his  head-quarters  with  his  black  guard, 
a  picked  troop  of  mercenaries.  Casimir  of  Poland,  and  his 
son,  Wladislaw  of  Bohemia,  vainly  attempted  to  dislodge  him. 
The  most  terrible  reprisals  were  taken  on  the  unfortunate 
prisoners.  John,  duke  of  Sagan,  also  laid  Glogau  waste,  a.  d. 
1488.  Matthias,  occupied  with  the  west,  neglected  to  defend 
his  eastern  frontiers  against  the  Turks,  who  made  numerous 
inroads  into  Carniola,  Carinthia,  and  Styria,  whence  they  were 
sometimes  repelled  with  great  loss  by  the  peasantry.  These 
destructive  inroads  continued  without  intermission  for  up- 
wards of  twenty  years,  from  1471  to  1493,  during  which 
these  countries  were  laid  waste,  and  numbers  of  the  inhabit- 
ants carried  away  captive,  without  attracting  the  attention  of 
the  rest  of  Glermany, 

An  alliance  was  formed  [a.d.  1482]  between  the  Emperor 
Frederick  and  Wladislaw  of  Bohemia,  against  their  common 
foe,  Matthias  of  Hungary,  who  was  defeated  near  Bruck  on 
the  Leytra,  but  afterwards  regained  strength  and  laid  siege 
to  Vienna;  whose  inhabitants  vainly  implored  aid  from  the 


204  MATTHIAS  OF  HUNGARY. 

emperor,  who  replied  to  their  entreaties,  "  You  also  allowed 
me  to  starve  when  I  was  besieged  by  you  ! "    The  city  fell  into 
the  hands  of  Matthias,  A.  d.  1485.     The  emperor  at  length 
found  a  friend  in  Albert  of  Saxony,  who,  generously  saying, 
**  It  is  better  for  all  the  princes  of  Germany  to  be  beggars  than 
for  the  Roman  king  to  want  money  !"  furnished  him  with  the 
necessary  supplies  from  his  mines,  and  defeated  the  superior 
Hungarian  force  at  Negau,  a.  d.  1487.     The  return  of  Max 
from  the  Netherlands  now  compelled  Albert  to  repair  thither; 
whilst  Max  went  to  the  Tjrrol,  where  Sigmund  had  com- 
menced a  doubtful  war  with  Yenice,  known  as  the  Bovereiter 
war,  which  took  its  rise  from  a  frontier  dispute  between  the 
Venetian  inhabitants  of  Riva,  and  the  Tyrolean  Count  von 
Arco.     Bombs  were  first  used  in  the  siege  of  Botzen  by  the 
Count  von  Metsch  Roveredo.     Sigmund,  offering  to  yield, 
notwithstanding  the  unflinching  courage  of  the  Tyrolese,  was 
deposed  by  the  Estates,  who  provisionally  elected  Frederick 
Kappler  as  their  captain,  and,  with  a  thousand  men,  com- 
pletely routed  the  Venetians  near  Calliano.     Their  general, 
the  famous  Roberto  di  San  Severino,  was  drowned  in  the 
Etsch.     The  whole  of  the  Tyrol  hastened  to.  pay  homage  to 
Max  on  his  arrival,  and  he  ever  afterwards  clung  with  affec- 
tion to  this  country,  where  he  eternalized  his  memory;  he 
used  to  say  of  it,  "  The  Tyrol  is  only  a  coarse  boor's  frock, 
but  it  keeps  one  warm."     On  the  death  of  Matthias,  [a.  d. 
1490,]  he  hastened  to  liberate  Austria,  took  Vienna,  where  he 
received  a  wound  in  the  shoulden,  by  storm,  and  penetrated 
into  the  heart  of  Hungary.     liong  Conrad,  a  Swabian  in  his 
army,  boasted  of  having  murdered  three  hundred  persons  with 
his  own  hand  at  the  taking  of  Stuhl-Weissenburg.    The  blood 
stood  half  a  hand  high  round  the  tomb  of  Matthias.     The  in- 
fantry collected  so  much  booty  that  they  abandoned  their  , 
youthful  commander  and  returned  home.     The  Hungarians 
now  elected  Wladislaw  of  Bohemia  king,  and  tranquillity  was 
restored.     Wladislaw  bestowed  great  privileges  and  the  right 
of  being  governed  by  a  native  stadtholder  on  Silesia,  by  the 
Colowrat  treaty,  which  was  chiefly  managed  by  the  Bohemian 
noble  of  that  name. 

War  also  broke  out  between  the  Swiss  and  the  Milanese^ 
who  attempted  to  regain  possession  of  the  Livinenthal.  The 
confederation  took  up  arms,  but  again  dispersed,  on  account  of 


AFFAIRS  IN  ITALY.  205 

the  severity  of  the  winter.  Six  hundred  men  under  Frisch- 
hans  Theiling  of  Lucerne  alone  kept  the  field,  near  Irnis, 
(Giomico,)  against  sixteen  thousand  Milanese  under  Count 
Borello.  The  advice  of  one  of  the  peasants,  named  Stanga, 
to  flood  the  country,  was  followed  by  his  companions,  and  die 
whole  of  the  valley  was  converted  into  one  vast  sheet  of  ice.  The 
Milanese,  on  arriving  at  the  spot,  found  it  impossible  to  keep 
their  footing,  and  were  speedily  put  into  confusion  and  utterly 
defeated  by  the  iron-shod  Swiss,  of  whom,  notwithstanding 
their  numerical  inferiority,  two  only  were  slain,  one  of  whom 
was  Stanga.     Milan  purchased  peace,  a.  b.  1479. 

Max  had  scarcely  begun  to  regulate  the  affairs  of  Austria, 
when  his  aged  father  expired,  A.  d.  1493.  No  emperor  had 
reigned  so  long  and  done  so  little  as  Frederick  III.  Max  was 
proclaimed  his  successor  on  the  imperial  throne  without  a  dis- 
sentient voice,  and  speedily  found  himself  fully  occupied. 

France  at  that  time  cast  her  eyes  upon  Italy.  Nepotism, 
the  family-interest  of  the  popes,  who  bestowed  enormous 
wealth,  and  even  Italian  principalities,  on  their  nephews,  rela- 
tives, and  natural  children,  was  the  prevalent  spirit  of  the  court 
of  Rome.  The  pope's  relations  plundered  the  papal  treasury, 
which  he  filled  with  the  plunder  of  the  whole  of  Christendom, 
by  raising  the  church  taxes,  amplifying  the  ceremonies,  and 
selling  absolution.  Alexander  YI.,  who  at  that  period  occu- 
pied the  pontifical  throne,  surpassed  all  his  predecessors  in 
wickedness.  He  died  of  poison,  [a.  d.  1503,]  laden  with 
crimes.  The  royal  house  of  Arragon  again  sat  on  the  throne 
of  Naples.  In  Upper  Italy,  besides  the  ancient  republics  of 
Venice  and  Genoa,  and  the  principalities  of  Milan  and  Fer- 
rara,  Florence  had  become  half  a  republic,  half  a  principality, 
under  the  rule  of  the  house  of  Medicis. 

France,  ever  watchful,  was  not  tardy  in  finding  an  oppor- 
tunity for  interference.  In  Milan,  the  young  duke,  Giovanni 
Galeazzo  Sforza,  had  been  murdered  by  his  uncle  Luigi,  who 
seized  the  ducal  throne.  Ferdinand  of  Naples,  Galeazzo's  bro- 
ther-in-law, declaring  against  the  murderer,  Luigi  claimed  the 
assistance  of  the  French  king,  Charles  VIII.,  who  promised 
bim  his  protection,  and  at  the  same  time  asserted  his  own 
claim  to  the  Neapolitan  throne  as  the  descendant  of  the  house 
of  Anjou.  A.  D.  1494,  he  unexpectedly  entered  Italy  at  the 
head  of  an  immense  army,  partly  composed  of  Swiss  merce- 


206  MAXIMILIAN  THE  FIRST. 

naries,  and  took  Naples.  Milan,  alarmed  at  the  overwhelm- 
ing strength  of  her  importunate  aUy,  now  entered  into  a  league 
with  the  pope,  the  emperor,  Spain,  and  Naples,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  driving  him  out  of  Italj,  and  Alexander  YI.  astonished 
the  world  by  leaguing  with  the  arch-foe  of  Christendom,  the 
Turkish  sultan,  against  the  ''most  Christian"  king  of  France. 
Charles  yielded  to  the  storm,  and  voluntarily  returned  to 
France,  A.  d.  1495.  Maximilian  had  been  unable,  from  want 
of  money,  to  come  in  person  to  Italy,  and  three  thousand  men 
were  all  he  had  been  able  to  supply.  He  had,  however,  se- 
cured himself  by  a  marriage  with  Bianca  Maria,  the  sister  o£ 
Galeazzo  Sforza,  and  attempted,  on  the  withdrawal  of  the 
French,  to  put  forward  his  pretensions  as  emperor.  Fisa 
[a.  d.  1496]  imploring  his  aid  against  Florence,  he  undertook 
a  campaign  at  the  head  of  an  inconsiderable  force,  in  which 
he  was  unsuccessful,  the  Venetians  refusing  their  promised 
aid.  His  marriage  with  Bianca,  a  woman  of  a  haughty,  cold 
disposition,  unendowed  with  the  mental  and  personal  graces 
of  Mary  of  Burgundy,  was  far  from  happy.  Max  had  several 
illegitimate  children,  three  sons,  ecclesiastics,  who  died  in  ob- 
scurity, and  five  daughters. 

A  still  closer  alliance  was  formed  with  Spain,  where  the 
whole  power  had,  as  in  France,  centred  in  the  monarch. 
The  last  descendants  of  the  ancient  petty  kings  of  this  coun- 
try, Ferdinand  of  Arragon  and  Isabella  of  Castile,  had  mar- 
ried, and  by  their  united  force  had  expelled  the  Moors,  a.  d. 
1492,  a  year  also  famous  for  the  discovery  of  America,  whose 
mines  so  greatly  enriched  Spain,  by  Columbus  the  Genoese. 
The  marriage  of  Philip,  Maximilian's  son,  with  the  Infanta 
Johanna,  and  that  of  his  daughter  Margaret,  with  the  Infant 
Don  Juan,  [a.  d.  1496,]  brought  this  splendid  monarchy  into 
the  house  of  Habsburg,  the  Infant  Don  Juan  expiring  shortly 
afterwards,  and  the  whole  of  Spain  falling  to  Philip  in  right 
of  his  wife. 

Maximilian  was  distinguished  for  personal  bravery;  his 
disposition  was  benevolent,  cheerful,  and  enthusiastic ;  he  was 
of  an  active  turn,  well-informed,  full  of  wit,  spirit,  and  ani- 
mation, the  very  reverse  to  his  pedantic  parent  He  had, 
nevertheless,  inherited  a  portion  of  his  father's  frivolity,  his 
thoughts,  like  his  actions,  being  totally  deficient  in  greatness. 
Ever  occupied,  he  never  accomplished  any  really  useful  de- 


THE  FIRST.  207 

aign ;  ever  preserving  the  mien  of  a  genial  autocrat,  he  still 
pennitted  himself  to  be  swayed  bj  others.  Macchiavell],  the 
greatest  poHtician  of  his  time,  sajrs  of  him,  **  He  believed  that 
he  did  everj  thing  himself,  and  yet  allowed  himself  to  be  misled 
from  his  first  and  best  idea."  He  cherished  all  sorts  of  projects, 
which,  when  put  into  execution,  turned  out  exactly  contrary  to 
his  intention.  He  was,  in  reality,  completely  out  of  his  ele« 
ment  in  the  council  and  in  the  field ;  chivalric  feats,  in  which 
he  could  display  his  personal  courage  and  gallantry,  were  his 
delight,  and  for  which  he  was  best  fitted  by  nature.  His 
biography,  'written  under  his  dictation,  is  merely  an  account  of 
feats  of  this  description.  His  condescending  manners,  al- 
though rendering  him  the  darling  of  the  people,  greatly  less* 
ened  his  dignity,  and  was  often  unfitting  to  him  as  the 
emperor  of  the  holy  Roman  empire,  and  drew  upon  him  the 
mockery  of  his  jester,  Kunz  von  der  Rosen.  A  diary,  written 
by  the  emperor  himself,  has  been  preserved ;  it  contains  in- 
numerable little  hints,  how  a  certain  fish  should  be  caught 
and  cooked,  such  a  weapon  be  fabricated,  how  much  the  chas- 
tellain  of  a  distant  imperial  castle  should  be  paid,  and  many 
a  scandalous  anecdote, — ^but  not  one  word  concerning  the  great 
questiona  of  the  day,  the  church  and  the  state.  His  biography 
is  that  of  an  adventurous  knight,  not  that  of  an  emperor. 

Maximilian  ever  intended  well,  and  would  sometimes  kindle 
with  the  fire  of  the  ancient  Hohenstaufen  when  planning  the 
execution  of  some  great  project.  He  fervently  desired  to 
march  against  the  Turks,  to  re-annex  Italy  to  the  empire,  to 
chastise  the  insolence  of  France,  in  a  word,  to  act  as  became 
a  great  German  emperor ;  but  he  was  a  prisoner  in  the  midst 
of  the  weapons  of  Germany,  a  beggar  in  the  midst  of  her 
wealth ;  the  vassals  of  the  empire,  sunk  in  shameless  egotism, 
coldly  refused  to  assist  their  sovereign,  and  rendered  him  the 
laughing-stock  of  Europe. 

Eberhard  im  Bart,  count  of  Wurtemberg,  a  petty,  but  wise 
and  influential  prince,  whose  follies  had  been  expiated  by  a 
pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land,  ever  seconded  the  good  inten- 
tions of  the  emperor,  and  aided  in  carrying  several  of  his  pro- 
jects into  execution.  In  1477,  Eberhard  founded  the  uni- 
versity at  Tiibingen,  whose  most  distinguished  scholars  were 
his  friends.  The  emperor,  sensible  of  his  merit,  raised  him 
[a.  d.  1495]  to  the  dignity  of  duke.     On  his  first  appearance 


208  MAXIMILIAN  THE  FIBST. 

after  his  elevation  in  the  diet,  a  dispute  arising  eoncemmg  the 
seat  that  was  his  due,  he  declared  his  willingness  to  sit  eve 
behind  the  stove  if  the  diet  would  only  discuss  and  pass  some 
useful  resolution.    One  of  the  most  essential  services  rendere  ~ 
by  this  duke  was  his  attempt  to  restore  peace  and  order  to  the 
whole  empire,  as  well  as  to  Wurtemberg.     It  was  to  him  that 
the  Swabian  league  chiefly  owed  its  rise,  a.  d.  1488.     This 
league  was  originally  an  aristocratic  society,  known  as  that  o£  ] 
St   George's    shield,  which,   by  the   incorporation   of    the 
clergy  and  of  the  citizens  within  its  ranks,  became  a  general 
union  of  all  the  princes,  counts,  knights,  bishops,  abbots,  and 
cities  in  Swabia  for  the  maintenance  of  peace  and  right.     At 
the  diet  held  at  Worms,  Maximilian  zealously  laboured  to 
increase  the  external  power  of  the  empire  by  promoting  its 
internal  union,  order,  and  peace,  but  only  succeeded  in  render- 
ing the  confusion  systematic,  the  absurdities,  hitherto  unrecog- 
nised by  law,  legal,  and  the  .external  weakness  and  internal 
anarchy  of  the  empire  eternal.    The  empire  was  one  confused 
mass   of  electorates,  duchies,   earldoms,  bishoprics,  abbeys, 
imperial  free  towns,  and  estates  of  the  nobility,  which,  whether 
great  or  small,  refused  to  yield  to  one  another,  and  jealously 
asserted  their  independence.     None  possessed  sufficient  power 
to  maintain  order  by  force,  or  sufficient  confidence  to  intrust 
that  power  to  another.     Order  could  therefore  alone  arise  from 
the  mutual  necessity  and  voluntary  alliance  of  all.     The  ex- 
ample given  by  the  Swabian  league  was  followed,  and  the 
whole  empire  was  divided  into  ten  circles,  each  of  which  was 
to  form  a  league  similar  to  that  of  Swabia.     These  circles 
were,  Swabia,  Bavaria,  Franconia,  the  Upper  Rhine,  West- 
phalia,  Lower    Saxony,   Austria,   Burgundy,   the  Rhenish 
electorate,  and  Upper  Saxony,  without  comprising  Bohemia, 
Silesia,  Moravia,  the  Lausitz,  and  Prussia.     As  a  point  of 
union  for  all  these  circles,  Maximilian  demanded  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  government,  or  imperial  council,  over  which  the 
emperor  was  to  preside,  and  in  whose  hands  the  supreme 
power  was  to  be  lodged  during  his  absence.     This  plan  was 
never  put  into  execution.     An  imperial  chamber  with  salaried 
councillors,  who  took  cognizance  of  legal  matters,  was  alone 
established,  but  its  decisions,  owing  to  want  of  power,  also 
remained  without  authority. 

The  regulation  of  the  imperial  revenue  was  rendered  still 


MAXIMILIAN  THE  FIRST.  209 

more  urgent  by  the  fact,  daily  becoming  more  notorious,  that 
money  was  power,  that  without  that  necessary  article  the  em- 
peror was  powerless,  and  the  necessity  of  a  general  imperial 
treasury  wherewith  to  meet  the  general  outlay  was  clearly 
Tisible.  The  greater  portion  of  the  revenue  formerly  enjoyed 
by  the  crown,  had  been  seized  by  the  estates.  A  new  mode 
«f  taxation,  as  in  France,  was,  consequently,  necessary.  The 
estates,  meanwhile,  either  refused  to  contribute  or  disputed 
the  division  of  the  contribution,  and  it  was  with  great  diffi* 
calty  that  Maximilian  at  length  induced  them  to  grant  the 
common  penny  for  four  years,  that  is  to  say,  the  payment  by 
every  subject  of  the  empire  of  one  penny  out  of  every  thou- 
saDd  pence  he  possessed,  thus  a  tenth  per  cent.,  towards  the 
maintenance  of  the  state.  This  tax  was,  however,  notwith- 
standing its  insignificant  amount,  seldom  regularly  paid,  and 
the  emperor  was  ever  poverty-stricken.  Another  regulation, 
the  establishment  of  the  post  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating 
communication,  the  management  of  which  was  intrusted  to 
the  Count  von  Thurn  and  Taxis,  also  failed  on  account  of  the 
badsteteof  the  roads.  >' 

It  is  undeniable  that  by  the  federation  of  every  class,  the 
petty  and  great,  the  weak  and  strong,  were  alike  represented 
111  the  diet.  The  great  dukes  no  longer  ruled  the  whole  as- 
sembly; the  other  princes  of  the  empire  besides  the  electors, 
the  counts  and  other  grades  of  nobility,  the  prelates,  and,  above 
*lVthe  cities,  asserted  their  authority,  and  by  this  means  many 
a  man  and  many  an  idea  appeared  in  the  diet,  totally  distinct 
from  those  appertaining  to  the  court ;  but  ideas  however  ex- 
"^ent,  purposes  however  honest,  whether  harboured  by  the 
^peror  or  by  the  meanest  of  his  subjects,  were  alike  unavail- 
ing against  the  torrent  of  opposing  interests.  Hence  the 
wearying  prolixity  of  affairs.  Seats  and  titles  had  to  be  con- 
^6sted  before  the  real  question  could  be  investigated.  Verbal 
proceedings  were  succeeded  by  endless  written  ones,  so  that 
wfore  the  representatives  in  the  diet  could  lay  the  question  in 
debate  before  their  constituents,  and  then  before  the  diet,  the 
moment  for  action  had  generally  passed.  The  interminable 
^ting  also  introduced  a  crowd  of  lawyers,  who  explained 
every  thing  according  to  Roman  law,  and  took  advantage  of 
^e  contradiction  between  the  German  and  Roman  law,  to 
create  such  a  chaotic  state  of  confusion,  that  people  were  no 

VOL.  II.  P 


210  SEPARATION  OF  SWITZERLAND 

longer  able  to  trust  to  their  own  senses,  and  were  compelled 
to  have  recourse  to  the  sophistry  of  a  set  of  pettifogging 
pedants. 

Instant  aid  was  demanded  against  the  Turks.  But  all  the 
estates,  instead  of  granting  aid,  unanimously  joined  in  com* 
plaining  of  the  conduct  of  their  sister  estates  in  Italy,  Bur- 
gundy, Switzerland,  and  the  Netherlands,  which  separated 
themselves  more  and  more  from  the  empire,  and  no  longer 
contributed  their  quota  to  the  maintenance  of  the  state.  The 
nobility  declined  contributing  in  money,  the  cities  refused  to 
furnish  men.     After  a  long  debate  it  was  at  length  resolved 

to  levy  a  tax  of 24,000  florins,  to  defray  the  expense  of 

defen^ng  the  empire  against  the  Turks.  This  sum,  like  the 
former  ones  granted,  was  never  raised.  When  the  emperor, 
in  1497,  convoked  the  estates  to  Lindau,  in  order  to  take 
measures  against  the  French  in  Italy,  they  came  unfurnished 
with  troops  and  unsupplied  with  money. 


CXCI.  Separation  of  Switzerland  from  the  Empire. — Wars 
of  the  Friscians  and  Ditmarses. — Civil  dissensions. —  T'ke 
Bundschuh. —  Wars  of  Venice  and  Milan. 

The  empire,  like  the  oak  whose  topmost  branches  first  show 
symptoms  of  the  decay  spreading  from  its  roots,  first  lost  the 
finest  of  her  German  provinces,  and  her  holy  banner  was 
hurled  from  those  glorious  natural  bulwarks,  whence,  mid  ice 
and  snow,  our  victorious  forefathers  had  looked  down  upon  the 
fertile  vales  of  Italy.  Unlike  the  defection  of  the  Slavonians 
and  Italians  from  the  empire,  that  of  the  Swiss  inflicted  a 
heart-felt  wound.  Their  desertion  has  been  explained  and 
justified  by  time,  but  how  much  nobler  would  it  not  have  been 
had  they  at  least  attempted  to  remodel  the  empire,  by  creating 
an  energetic  interposition  on  the  part  of  the  people ! 

The  Swiss  confederation  had  been  declared  an  intend 
part  of  the  Swabian  circle,  but,  influenced  by  distrust  of  the 
Swabian  cities,  which  had  ever  preserved  a  false  neutrality 
towards  them,  and  6f  the  princes  and  nobles,  their  hereditary 
foes,  they  refused  to  enter  into  the  league.  Their  success 
against  Burgundy  had,  moreover,  rendered  them  insolent  and 
presumptuous,  whilst  France  incessantly  incited  them  to  de- 


f 


FROM  THE  SMPIEB.  21 1 


dare  themselves  independent  of  the  empire.  France  drew 
her  mercenaries  from  the  Alps,  was  a  good  paymaster,  and 
flittered  the  rough  mountaineers  with  a  semblance  of  rojal 
ooofidence ;  whilst  the  German  princes,  and  even  the  emperor, 
thoaghtlesslj  treated  them  with  c<»itempt.  A  dispute  con* 
cerning  landmarks  that  arose  between  the  Grisons  peasantry 
and  the  Austrian  Tyrolese,  and  occasioned  their  enrolment  in 
the  confederation,  brought  the  matter  to  an  issue.  The  en- 
raged emperor  declared  war  [a.  d.  1498]  against  the  Swiss, 
b  which  he  was  seconded  by  the  Swabian  league.  In  1499, 
the  Swiss  concluded  a  treaty  with  France,  and,  quitting  their 
mountains,  attacked  the  approaching  foe  on  every  side.  Wil- 
libald  Pirkheimer,  who  was  present  with  four  hundred  red- 
habited  citizens  of  Nuremberg,  has  graphically  described  every 
,  incident  of  this  war.  The  imperial  reinforcements  arrived 
slowly  and  in  separate  bodies  ;  the  princes  and  nobles  fighting 
b  real  earnest,  the  cities  with  little  inclination.  The  Swiss 
were,  consequently,  able  to  defeat  each  single  detachment  be- 
fore they  could  unite,  and  were  in  this  manner  victorious  in 
ten  engagements.  The  emperor,  on  his  arrival,  publicly  ad- 
dressed an  angry  letter  to  the  Swiss  from  Freiburg  in  the 
Breisgau.  The  Tyrolese  failed  in  an  attempt  to  take  the  Grisons 
in  the  rear  across  Bormio,  and  four  hundred  of  the  imperialists 
were,  on  this  occasion,  crushed  by  an  avalanche.  Pirkheimer 
saw  a  troop  of  half-starved  children  under  the  care  of  two  old 
women  seeking  for  herbs,  like  cattle,  on  the  mountains,  so 
great  was  the  distress  to  which  the  blockade  had  reduced  the 
Swiss.  They,  nevertheless,  defended  themselves  on  every 
side,  and  slew  four  thousand  Tyrolese  near  Mais  in  the 
vienstgau,  in  revenge  for  which  four  hundred  Grisons  pea- 
sants, detained  captive  at  Meran,  were  put  to  death.  The 
^peror  went  to  Constance,  where  a  letter  from  the  confeder- 
ation was  delivered  to  him  by  a  young  girl.*  Peace  was, 
however,  far  from  the  thoughts  of  the  emperor,  who,  dividing 
'^  forces,  despatched  the  majority  of  his  troops  against  Basle, 

•  On  being  asked  the  number  of  the  Swiss,  she  replied,  "There  are 
plenty  to  beat  you ;  you  might  have  counted  them  during  the  battle  had 
Qot  fear  struck  you  blind :"  and  on  an  old  soldier,  stung  by  the  sarcasm, 
^rawing  his  sword  upon  her,  she  said,  "  If  you  are  such  a  hero,  seek  men 
*  fight  with."  Gbtz  von  Berlichingen,  who  was  present,  thus  describes 
we  emperor ;  *'  He  wore  a  little  old  green  coat,  and  little  short  green 
^P>  and  a  great  green  hat  over  it."  (Quite  Tyrolean.) 


212  PHILIP  THE  HANDSOME. 

under  the  Coant  von  Furstenberg,  whilst  he  advanced  towards 
Geneva,  and  was  occupied  in  crossing  the  lake  when  the  news 
of  Fiirstenberg's  defeat  and  death,  near  Dornach,  arrived. 
The  princes,  Uttle  desirous  of  staking  their  honour  against 
their  low-born  opponents,  instantly  returned  home  in  giieat 
numbers,  and  the  emperor  was  therefore  compelled  to  make 
peace.  The  Swiss  retained  possession  of  the  Thurgau  and  of 
Basle,  and  Schaffhausen  joined  the  confederation,  which  was 
not  subject  to  the  imperial  chamber,  and  for  the  future  be- 
longed merely  in  name  to  the  empire,  and  gradually  fell  under 
the  growing  influence  of  France,  A.  d.  1499. 

Some  years  after  the  Swiss  war,  Maximilian  was  involved  in 
a  petty  war  of  succession  in  Bavaria,  A.  d.  1504.  Disturbances 
had  also  arisen  in  the  Netherlands,  [a.  d.  1494,]  where  the 
people  favoured  Charles  of  Gueldres  to  the  prejudice  of  the 
Habsburg.  Maximilian's  son,  Philip  the  fiandsome,  at  length 
concluded  a  truce  with  his  opponent,  and  went  into  Spain  for 
the  purpose  of  taking  possession  of  the  kingdom  of  Castille, 
whose  queen,  Isabella,  had  just  expired,  in  the  name  of  her 
daughter,  his  wife,  Johanna.  Ferdinand  of  Arragon,  his 
father-in-law,  however,  refused  to  yield  the  throne  of  Castille 
during  his  life-time,  and,  in  his  old  age,  married  a  young 
Frenchwoman,  in  the  hope  of  raising  another  heir  to  the 
throne  of  Arragon.  Johanna  had  been  imprisoned  during 
Philip's  absence,  by  command  of  her  cruel  father,  in  Medina 
del  Campo.  Animated  by  a  strong  desire  to  rejoin  her  hus- 
band, whom  she  passionately  loved,  she  placed  herself  under 
the  gateway,  whence  she  refused  to  move,  notwithstanding 
the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  and  remained  there  night  and 
day  until  she  was  liberated.  She  was  reported  to  her  hus- 
band as  crazed,  but  his  messenger  disproved  the  fact,  and  he 
rejoined  her,  but  shortly  afterwards  died,  either  of  a  sudden 
chill,  or  of  poison,  which  Johanna  was  accused  of  having  ad- 
ministered, but  a  heavier  suspicion  falls  upon  Ferdinand. 
Johanna  refused  to  quit  the  body  of  her  husband,  which  she 
constantly  held  in  her  embrace  and  watched  over,  taking  it 
every  where  with  her,  so  that,  as  had  been  once  foretold  to  him, 
he  wandered  more  about  his  Spanish  kingdom  after  his  death 
than  during  his  life-time.  She  was  at  length  persuaded  to 
permit  his  interment ;  but  the  body  had  scarcely  been  removed 
ere  she  imagined  herself  at  Medina  del  Campo,  her  beloved 


WARS  OF  THE  FRISCIANS  AND  DITMAB8ES.        218 

Philip  in  the  Netherlands,  and  that  she  was  not  allowed  to 
join  him,  and  her  attendants  were  compelled  to  beg  of  her  to 
order  the  vaalt  to  be  reopened,  in  order  to  convince  herself  of 
his  death.  She  did  so,  but  had  the  coffin  once  more  placed  at 
her  side.  She  then  consoled  herself  with  a  nurse's  tale  of  a 
dead  king,  who,  after  a  lapse  of  fourteen  jears,  was  restored 
to  life,  and  with  childish  delight  awaited  the  day.  On  finding 
her  hopes  disappointed  she  became  incurably  insane,  and  was 
put  under  restraint     She  surviyed  her  husband  fifty  years. 

Philip  left  two  sons,  Charles  and  Ferdinand.  His  sister, 
Margaret,  became  regent  of  the  Netherlands,  whence  Albert, 
the  brave  duke  of  Saxony,  had  been  expelled  by  Philip,  and 
heen  degraded  to  a  mere  stadtholder  of  Western-Frieslan<f. 
Eastern-Friesland  was  a  prey  to  civil  dissension,  [a.  d.  1454,] 
and  bravely  defended  itself  against  Oldenburg  and  Westem- 
Priesland  until  1515,  when  it  submitted  to  the  emperor,  and 
Henry  of  Nassau,  who  had  wedded  the  heiress  of  the  French 
house  of  Orange  and  had  taken  that  name,  became  stadtholder 
of  Holland,  where  he  acquired  great  popularity,  A.  D.  1516. 

The  Ditmarses  sustained  a  far  more  serious  war  with  Den- 
inark,  which  commenced  A.  D.  1500.  The  invading  army, 
thirty  thousand  strong,  was  completely  cut  to  pieces  [a.  d.. 
loll]  by  three  hundred  peasants.  But  their  hour  also  came. 
Success  had  rendered  them  insolent,  and  civil  dissensions 
breaking  out  among  them,  they  fell  under  the  rule  of  Fre- 
derick, king  of  Denmark,  [a.  d.  1559,]  who  wisely  endea- 
voured to  win  them  by  exempting  them  from  every  war-tax, 
hy  raising  no  fortresses  in  their  country,  and  by  leaving  them 
to  their  own  jurisdiction. 

The  tumults  that  continued  to  occur  in  the  cities  had  no 
influence  on  the  course  of  events,  and  merely  merit  notice  as 
indications  of  the  insolence  resulting  from  prosperity.  Quar- 
rels broke  out  in  the  Hansa,  which  also  withstood  the  repeated 
attacks  of  the  neighbouring  powers.  .Most  of  the  disturbances 
that  took  place  within  the  cities  arose  from  the  discontent  of 
the  people,  on  account  of  the  imposition  of  fresh  taxes,  and 
the  egotism  of  the  municipal  governments.  The  example  of 
the  Burgundian  court  had  increased  the  luxury  and  ostenta- 
tion of  the  higher  classes,  and  the  maintenance  of  peace  and 
order  called  for  a  greater  outlay  in  the  administration,  and 
consequently  caused  the  general  imposition  of  taxes,  dues,  etc. 


214  THE  BXTNDSCHUK 

These  charges  fell  more  heavily  on  the  peasant  than  on  the 
citizen,  and  occasioned  continual  disturbances.  The  first  ex- 
tensive conspiracy  of  the  peasants  was  formed  in  1498,  at 
Schlettstadt,  in  Alsace.  Their  banner  vras  the  Bundschuky 
a  peasant's  shoe  stuck  upon  a  stake,  the  symbol  of  the  pea- 
santry, as  the  boot  was  that  of  the  knights.  Their  object  was 
the  abolition  of  the  ecclesiastical  and  Roman  courts  of  law,  of 
the  customs  and  enormous  imposts.  This  conspiracy  was  dis- 
covered and  put  down  by  force,  but  appeared  again  at  differ- 
ent periods  under  various  names.  The  most  violent  demon- 
stration of  this  description  was  made  [a.  d.  1514]  in  the 
Bemsthal,  simultaneously  with  the  fearful  revolt  of  the  pea- 
sants in  Hungary.     Both  bad  a  sanguinary  close. 

Charles  had  been  succeeded  on  the  throne  of  France  by 
Louis  XII.,  who  renewed  the  projects  upon  Italy,  and  main- 
tained his  claims  upon  Milan  in  right  of  his  grandmother,  a 
Visconti.  Venice,  ever  at  strife  with  that  city,  gladly  fa- 
voured his  pretensions ;  and  the  pope,  Alexander  VL,  in  the 
hope  of  gaining  by  his  means  an  Italian  throne  for  his  son, 
the  notorious  Caesar  Borgia,  also  sided  with  him.  Louis  in- 
vaded Italy,  [a.  d.  1500,]  and  took  possession  of  Milan.  Sfar» 
taking  eight  thousand  Swiss  mercenaries  into  his  service,  and 
regaining  his  duchy,  Louis  also  turned  to  them  for  aid,  and, 
strengthened  by  a  body  of  ten  thousand  of  these  troops,  shut 
up  Sforza  in  Novara.  The  Swiss,  however,  refusing  to  fight 
against  each  other,  Sforza's  mercenaries  were  permitted  to 
march  unmolested  out  of  the  city.  The  duke,  disguised  as 
one  of  the  number,  quitted  the  place  with  them,  but  was  sold 
by  a  man  of  Uri,  named  Turmann,  to  the  French  monarch, 
who  sent  him  prisoner  to  France.  The  confederation  sen- 
tenced the  traitor  to  execution,  but  the  good  name  of  the 
Swiss  had  suffered  an  irreparable  injury,  not  only  by  this  in- 
cident, but  by  their  mercenary  habits.  Anshelm  the  historiaa 
observes,  that  they  returned  to  their  mountains  laden  with 
booty  and  covered  with  disgrace. 

Maximilian  beheld  the  successes  of  the  French  monarch  in 
Italy,  and  Ferdinand  of  Naples  dragged  in  chains  to  France, 
with  impotent  rage,  and  convoked  one  diet  after  another  with- 
out being  able  to  raise  either  money  or  troops.  At  length,  in 
the  hope  of  saving  his  honour,  he  invested  France  with  the 
duchy  of  his  brother-in-law,  Sforza,  and,  by  the  trealy  of 


WABS  OF  VENICB  ASD  MILAN.  215 

Blois,  [a.  d.  1504,]  oeded  Milan  to  France  for  the  sum  of  two 
lumdr^  thousand  francs.  The  marriage  of  Charles,  Max- 
imilian's grandson,  with  Claudia,  the  daughter  of  Louis,  who 
it  was  stipulated  should  bring  Milan  in  dowrj  to  the  house  of 
Habsburg,  also  formed  one  of  the  articles  of  this  treaty,  and 
in  the  event  of  any  impediment  to  the  marriage  being  raised 
by  France,  Milan  was  to  be  unconditionallj  restored  to  the 
bouse  of  Austria.  The  marriage  of  the  Archduke  Ferdi- 
nand with  Anna,  the  youthful  daughter  of  Wladislaw  of 
Hungary  and  Bohemia,'  was  more  fortunate.  Ferdinand  of 
Spain,  unable  to  tolerate  the  Habsburg  as  his  successor  on  the 
tkrone,  entered  into  a  league  with  France,  who  instantly  in- 
fringed the  treaty  of  Blois,  and  Claudia  was  married  to 
Francis  of  Anjou,  the  heir-apparent  to  the  throne  of  France. 
Maximilian,  enraged  at  Louis's  perfidy,  vainly  called  upon  the 
imperial  estates  of  Germany  to  revenge  the  insult ;  he  was 
merely  enabled  to  raise  a  small  body  of  troops,  with  which  he 
crossed  the  Alps  for  the  purpose  of  taking  possession  of 
Milan  and  of  being  finally  crowned  by  the  pope.  The  Ve- 
netians, however,  refused  to  grant  him  a  free  passage,  defeated 
Mm  at  Catora,  and  compelled  him  to  retrace  his  steps.  At 
Trient,  Matthaeus  Lang,  archbishop  of  Salzburg,  placed  the 
crown  on  his  brow  in  the  name  of  the  pope,  a.  d.  1508.  The 
Venetians,  inspirited  by  success,  followed  up  their  victory  by 
the  reduction  of  Trieste  and  Fiume  ;  and  a  great  revolt  of  the 
people  in  Grenoa,  who  favoured  the  imperial  cause,  against  the 
anstocracy,  the  partisans  of  France,  was  suppressed  by  the 
Swiss  mercenaries  in  Louie's  pay.  The  confederation,  over- 
whelmed with  reproaches  and  moved  to  shame  by  the  earnest 
appeal  of  the  emperor  to  their  honour  as  Germans,  sent  am- 
l^issadors  to  Constance,  to  lay  excuses  for  their  conduct  before 
the  emperor,  but  the  reconciliation  that  ensued  was  speedily 
forgotten  on  the  unexpected  annunciation  of  the  alliance  of 
the  emperor  with  France. 

The  insolence  and  grasping  policy  of  Venice  had  rendered 
her  universally  obnoxious.  Maximilian  had  been  insulted  and 
n>bbed  by  her;  Louis  dreaded  her  vicinity  to  his  newly- 
gained  duchy  of  Milan ;  whilst  Ferdinand,  the  pope,  and  the 
rest  of  the  Italian  powers  viewed  her  with  similar  enmity. 
These  considerations  formed  the  basis  of  the  league  of  Cam- 


216  WARS  OF  VENICE  AND  MILAN. 

braj,  A.  D.  1508,  in  which  all  the  contending  parties  ceased 
their  strife  to  unite  against  their  common  foe.  The  French 
gained  a  decisive  victory  at  Aguadello.  Yicenza  was  taken 
by  the  imperial  troops,  a.  d.  1510.  The  Swiss,  who  had  at 
first  aided  Venice,  being  forced  to  retreat  during  the  severe 
winter  of  1512,  revenged  themselves  by  laying  Lombardy 
waste.  Venice,  deprived  of  their  aid,  humbled  herself  before 
the  emperor,  and  the  senator  Giustiniani  fell  in  the  name  of 
the  republic  at  his  feet,  and  finally  persuaded  both  him  and  the 
pope  to  renounce  their  alliance  with  France.  The  new  con- 
federates were,  however,  defeated  at  Ravenna  by  the  French 
under  Gaston  de  Foix.  The  Swiss  confederation,  gained  over 
by  the  bishop  of  Sion,  who  was  rewarded  with  a  cardinal's 
hat,  now  took  part  with  the  emperor  and  the  pope,  and,  march- 
ing into  Lombardy,  drove  out  the  French  and  placed  Max 
Sforza  on  the  ducal  throne  of  Milan,  a.  d.  1512.  The  sub-* 
sequent  tyranny  and  insubordination  of  the  Swiss  in  Lom- 
bardy, and  the  great  preparations  for  war  made  by^  France, 
induced  Venice,  ever  watchful  over  her  interests,  again  to 
enter  into  alliance  with  that  country.  The  fresh  invasion 
of  Lombardy  in  1513,  by  the  French  under  Latremouille,  and 
the  German  lancers  of  Robert  von  der  Mark,  terminated 
disastrously  to  the  invaders,  and  the  Swiss,  after  plundering 
Lombardy,  united  with  a  small  body  of  imperialists  under 
Ulric,  duke  of  Wurtemberg,  and,  penetrating  into  France  as- 
fair  as  Dijon,  made  the  king  tremble  on  his  throne.  Their 
departure  was  purchased  at  an  enormous  price. 

The  emperor,  although  unable  to  ofier  much  opposition  to 
France  in  Italy,  was  more  successful  in  the  Netherlands,  where, 
aided  by  the  English,  he  carried  on  war  against  Louis  and  gain- 
ed a  second  battle  of  spurs  at  Teroanne.*  He  also  assembled 
a  troop  of  lancers  under  George  von  Frundsberg,  who  besieged 
Venice,  and  fought  his  way  through  an  overwhelming  force 
under  the  Venetian  general,  Alviano,  at  Ceratia. On  the 

*  Peter  Daniel  says,  in  his  History  of  France,  "  because  our  cavalry 
made  more  use  of  their  spurs  than  of  their  swords."  The  Cheyalier 
Bayard,  on  perceiving  the  impossibility  of  escape,  took  an  English  knight, 
who  had  just  dismounted,  prisoner,  in  order  instantly  to  surrender  him- 
self to  him.  Maximilian,  on  being  informed  of  this  strange  adventure, 
restored  Bayard  to  liberty. 


WARS  OF  VENICE  AND  MILAN.  217 

death  of  Louis,  {]a.  d.  1515,]  fortune  once  more  favoured 
France.  Francis  L,  immediately  after  his  accession  to  the 
throne,  invaded  Italy  in  person,  at  the  head  of  an  immense 
force,  among  which  were  six  thousand  (Germans)  of  the 
black  band,  so  called  from  their  harness,  under  Robert  von 
der  Mark,  and  twenty  thousand  under  the  duke  of  Gueldres. 
By  a  shameful  treaty  at  Gttlera,  the  Swiss  agreed  to  deliver 
up  to  him  the  city  of  Milan  for  three  hundred  thousand 
French  crown  dollars,  and  the  small  Swiss  force,  still  defend- 
ing that  duchy,  was,  consequently,  recalled.  The  Bernese 
obeyed,  but  the  Ziirichers  and  the  peasantry  of  the  four  can- 
tons preferred  annihilation  to  dishonour,  and  stood  their 
ground.  The  battle  of  Marignano,  between  the  Swiss  and  the 
French,  took  place  on  the  14th  of  September,  1515.  Schin- 
ner,  the  cardinal-bishop  of  Sion,  mounted  on  horseback  and 
arrayed  in  his  purple  robes,  headed  the  confederation.  This 
engagement  lasted  a  day  and  a  half,  and  the  victory  was  at 
length  decided  by  the  arrival  of  the  Venetians,  who  fell  upon 
the  rear  of  the  Swiss.  Zwingli  of  Zurich,  who  shortly  after- 
wards appeared  as  the  great  reformer,  was  also  in  this  battle. 
The  confederated  Swiss,  notwithstanding  their  enormous  num- 
ber of  killed  and  wounded,  made  an  orderly  and  honourable 
retreat,  but  were  reproached  on  their  return  home  for  having 
broken  the  treaty  of  Galera.  The  French  party  triumphed. 
•  Bomo  d'Ossola  was  delivered  up  to  them  by  the  Bernese  go- 
vernor. Francis  unsparingly  showered  gold  upon  the  con- 
federation, and,  in  1516,  Berne,  Lucerne,  Unterwalden,  Zug, 
Crlarus,  Fryburg,  Solothurn,  and  Appenzell  concluded  the  so 
ealled  "eternal  alliance  "with  France.  Zurich,  Uri,  Schwytz, 
and  Basle  alone  disdained  this  disgraceful  traffic  in  blood. 
Frundsberg,  left  unaided  in  Italy,  was  shut  up  in  Verona  by 
the  French,  where,  in  spite  of  famine  and  pestilence,  he 
bravely  held  out  until  relieved  by  a  small  force  under  Rogen- 
dorf.  Maximilian  entered  Lombardy  in  person,  [a.  d.  1516,] 
With  twenty  thousand  men,  ten  thousand  of  whom  were  Swiss, 
under  the  loyal-hearted  Stapfer  of  Zurich,  but  was  compelled 
to  retreat,  owing  to  want  of  money,  and  the  superior  numbers 
of  Swiss  in  the  service  of  France.  Unable  to  save  Milan,  he 
made  a  virtue  of  necessity  and  ceded  that  duchy  to  Francis. 
In  his  old  age,  he  zealously  endeavoured  to  raise  means  for 
carrying  on  the  war  against  the  Turks,  but  the  princes  re- 


218  THE  CHURCH. 

fused  their  aid,  and  the  first  symptoms  of  the  reformation  be- 
gan to  stir  among  the  people.  "Let  us  march,"  wrote  Ulric 
von  Hutten,  "not  against  the  Turk,  but  against  the  pope !" 


PART  XVI. 

THE  REFORMATION. 


CXCIL  The  Church,— The  Humanists.— The  art  of  Print- 
ing. — Luther. 

The  self-subjugation  of  Bohemia  and  the  Vienna  concordat 
had  effectually  checked  every  demand  for  reformation  in  the 
church,  and  Rome  once  more  breathed  freely.  The  people 
were  reduced  to  silence,  and  the  popes  redoubled  their  pre- 
tensions and  more  shamelessly  exhibited  their  vices.  After 
Pius  n.  (-^neas  Sylvius)  had  proved  to  the  world  that  dis- 
loyalty was  the  best  recommendation  to  the  pontifical  throne, 
Paul  n.  demonstrated  by  his  all-despising  brutality,  splen-  < 
dour,  and  arrogance,  that  he  could  still  further  abuse  the  vic- 
tory gained  by  his  predecessor,  and  by  his  fury  against  the 
Bohemians  the  implacability  of  the  despotism  self-denominated 
the  loving  mother  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Slxtus  IV. 
bestowed  the  fiendish  institution  of  the  Inquisition  on  Spain, 
and  public  brothels  on  Rome.  Innocent  VIII.  enriched  his 
sixteen  illegitimate  cjdldren  from  the  treasury  of  St.  Peter, 
replenished  by  the  offerings  of  the  faithful,  and  publicly  de- 
clared that,  "  God,  instead  of  desiring  the  punishment  of  sin- 
ners, only  called  upon  them  to  pay  for  their  sins."  Alexander 
VI.,  whose  horrid  crimes  have  been  recorded  by  his  master  of 
the  ceremonies,  John  Burkhard  of  Strassburg,  surpassed  all 
his  predecessors  in  profligacy.  His  daughter,  the  infamous 
Lucretia  Borgia,  was  termed  "  Alexandri  filia,  sponsa,  nurus.** 
Stained  with  blood,  unnatural  crime,  intemperance,  and  treach- 
ery towards  both  friend  and  foe,  this  monster  at  length  fell  a 


THE  CHTJBCH.  219 

nctiin  to  the  poisoned  cup  prepared  by  him  for  his  cardinals. 
Julias  U.  concealed  similar  crimes  beneath  his  love  of  war, 
which,  although  totally  opposed  to  his  destiny  as  the  shepherd 
of  souls,  was  nevertheless  tolerated  in  that  chiyalric  age. 
Leo  X.,  who  closes  the  line  of  popes  immediately  anterior  to 
the  Reformation,  was  free  from  personal  vices,  but  was  a  mere 
child  of  fortune.  By  the  interest  of  his  powerful  family,  that 
of  Medicis,  he  was  created  cardinal  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  and 
liecame  pope  at  thirty-seven.  Accustomed  to  pomp  from  his 
childhood,  he  surpassed  all  his  predecessors  in  splendour  and 
laxiirj,  and  was,  on  this  account,  besides  his  patronage  of  art 
and  his  revival  of  those  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome,  termed 
^tbe  heathen  pope."  Whatever  praise  may  be  his  due  as  a 
patron  of  modern  and  ancient  art,  the  mind  turns  with  disgust 
^m  the  anomaly  presented  by  a  pope  surrounded  with  hea- 
then  divinities  and  licentious  forms.  The  immense  sums 
necessary  for  the  erecticm  of  the  gigantic  church  of  St.  Peter, 
nused  by  him  in  commemoration  of  himself,  and  for  his  other 
extravagances,  were  drained  from  the  different  nations  of 
Sarope,  more  especially  from  the  Germans.  All  the  ecclesi- 
astical benefices,  property,  and  revenues  had  long  been  in  the 
power  of  the  pope,  which  no  bishop  nor  council  now  ventured 
to  oppose,  but,  as  the  riches  of  the  church  were  insufficient, 
fresh  and  novel  taxes  were  imposed  upon  the  laity.  Church 
penances  were  multiplied.  Since  the  cessation  of  the  cru* 
^es,  the  popes  had  decreed  that  whoever  made  a  pilgrimage 
to  Borne  and  laid  an  offering  on  St.  Peter's  shrine,  should  re* 
eeive  as  plenary  remission  for  his  sins  as  if  he  had  undertaken 
^  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem.  The  jubilee  was  at  first  to  be  so- 
lemnized every  hundred  years,  which,  on  its  being  found  so 
productive,  were  decreased  to  fifty,  then  to  thirty-three,  and 
finally  to  twenty-five.  Countless  multitudes  visited  Bome 
and  poured  millions  into  the  papal  treasury ;  but  as  the  whole 
of  the  faithful  children  of  the  church  were  unable  to  make  the 
desired  pilgrimage,  the  pope  considerately  furnished  them 
^ith  the  means  of  purchasing  absolution,  by  fabricating  a  pa- 
per-currency issued  by  heaven,  but  cashed  upon  earth.  These 
indulgences,  which  fixed  beforehand  the  price  for  each  ima- 
ginable sin,  and  secured  the  salvation  of  the  purchaser,  were 
publicly  offered  for  sale  throughout  Europe. 
The  popes  no  less  desecrated  their  sacred  office  by  the  zeal 


220  THE  CHURCH. 

with  which  they  emulated  the  sovereigns  of  France  in  the  art 
of  political  perfidy,  of  diplomatic  falsehood,  of  insidious  trea- 
ties, of  treachery  towards  their  allies,  and  of  systematic  ty- 
ranny, of  fraudulent  or  violent  suppression  of  ancient  popular 
liberty.  Political  craft  was,  it  is  true,  also  practised  by  the 
potentates  of  Grermany ;  the  emperor,  Charles  lY.,  was,  never- 
theless, owing  to  the  lessons  he  had  been  taught  during  his 
youth  at  Avignon,  the  only  perfect  adept  in  the  art,  the  rough 
honesty  of  the  German  character  ever  displaying  itself  in  the 
actions,  whether  good  or  evil,  of  the  princes  of  the  empire. 
In  France  and  Italy  deceit  was,  on  the  contrary,  the  guidiug 
maxim  in  diplomacy,  the  spirit  of  which  has  been  faithfully 
portrayed  by  Macchiavelli  in  his  work,  "  The  Prince,"  whose 
political  object  is  unlimited  despotism,  whose  means  are  sol- 
diers for  conquest  and  oppression,  money  for  raising  an  army 
and  for  bribing  opponents,  assassination,  treachery,  falsehood, 
for  getting  rid  of  a  rival  or  for  deceiving  him,  diplomatic  spies 
in  the  person  of  ambassadors  at  the  courts  of  brother  mon- 
archs,  (the  papal  legates  were  patterns  for  ambassadors  of  this 
description,)  and  the  promotion  of  popular  ignorance  by  the 
diffusion  of  superstitious  doctrines,  least  believed  by  those 
who  taught  them. 

The  depravity  of  the  church  was  the  inevitable  result  of 
the  enormous  multitude  of  idlers  and  hypocrites  fostered  in 
her  bosom.  The  bishoprics  had,  generally  speaking,  gradually 
become  sinecures  for  princes  and  counts,  and  the  canonries 
were,  consequently,  as  was  the  case  at  Strassburg,  usually  be- 
stowed upon  nobles  of  high  birth,  who  revelled  in  wanton 
luxury.  Men  of  talent  could  alone  attain  distinction  in  the 
service  of  the  pope.  The  priests  were  proverbially  ignorant* 
and  brutal,  and  their  ignorance  was  countenanced  by  the 
popes,  who  expressly  decreed  that  out  of  ten  ecclesiastics  one 
alone  was  to  study.  Their  morals  were  as  depraved  as  their 
minds  were  besotted.  Celibacy  was  eluded  by  the  main- 
tenance of  housekeepers,  and  drunkenness  was  a  clerical  vice 
commonly  alluded  to  in  the  satires  of  the  day.  Wealthy 
priests  had  poor  vicars,  travelling  students,  in  their  pay,  who 
preached  for  them,  and  the  hopes  of  these  hirelings,  who  bore 

*  The  anecdote  of  the  priest,  who,  having  once  heard  the  expression, 
"  St.  Benedictus  benedicat/'  ignorantly  said,  "  St.  Bemhardus  bemhar* 
dat,"  had  long  been  a  popular  jest. 


\ 


THE  CHURCH.  221 

the  whole  burthen  of  the  office  for  the  merest  pittance,  may 
be  easily  conceived,  on  the  outburst  of  the  Reformation.  Most 
of  the  travelling  preachers  belonged  to  this  class.  The  most 
horrid  disorder  prevailed  in  the  monasteries  and  convents. 
It  was  proverbially  said  in  reference  to  the  triple  vow,  "  the 
monks  are  only  poor  in  the  bath,  obedient  at  table,  and 
chaste  at  the  altar,^'  and  also,  "  the  abbots  have,  by  means  of 
their  poverty,  become  the  wealthiest  proprietors,  by  means  of 
their  obedience,  mighty  potentates,  by  means  of  their  chastity, 
the  bnsbands  of  all  the  women."  The  princely  abbots  of  St 
Oall,  Fulda,  etc.,  who  had  a  seat  in  the  diet,  were  in  fact  power- 
ful and  real  princes.  The  nuns  were  not  much  better  than 
the  monks,  who,  John  von  Goch  said  at  Mechlin,  *'  did  what 
the  devil  was  ashamed  to  think  I "  Scholasticism  had  intro- 
duced fresh  symbols  into  religion.  The  Virgin  had  become 
&u  object  of  deeper  devotion  than  either  God  or  the  Saviour, 
and  the  people  were  habituated  to  gross  and  obscene  repre- 
sentations. The  veneration  paid  to  relics  was  rendered 
ridiculous  by  the  practice  of  deceit  and  the  fabrication  of  sub- 
stitutes. The  saints  had  generally  three  or  four  different 
bodies,  and  innumerable  limbs,  all  of  which  were  declared 
genuine ;  there  was  a  chemise,  belonging  to  the  holy  Virgin, 
six  feet  in  length ;  the  drum  on  which  the  march  was  beaten 
when  the  Jews  crossed  the  Red  Sea  dry-shod ;  hay  from  the 
manger ;  a  piece  of  the  head  of  Tobias's  fish,  etc.  etc. :  addedv 
to  which  were  the  coarse  buffooneries  enacted  in  the  churches, 
partly  by  the  priests  in  self-mockery,  the  shameless  burlesque 
sermons,  the  fools'  and  asses'  festivals,  and  other  spectacles  of 
a  similar  description.  The  sale  of  indulgences  was,  however, 
more  revolting  than  all ;  it  was  intrusted  by  the  pope  to  the 
begging  monks  on  account  of  their  intercourse  with  the  peo- 
p^  and  the  matter  became  a  complete  quackery.  Tetzel,  the 
^t  known  of  these  dealers  in  absolution  on  account  of  his 
having  been  the  first  who  was  attacked,  carried  about  a 
picture  of  the  devil  tormenting  poor  souls  in  hell,  and  wrote  on 
hJ8  money-box, 

"  As  the  money  in  you  pop, 
The  souls  from  purgatory  hop." 

The  indulgence  was  at  that  period  generally  termed  "  The 
fiomap  pardon,"  and  was   purchased  more  from  fear  than 


222  THB  CHURCH. 

Stupidity.  The  emperor  Wenzel  and  Hieronymus  of  Prague 
were  not  solitary  in  their  disapprobation,  numbers  r^arding 
it  as  an  obnoxious  tribute  to  Rome,  and  fear  alone  rendering 
the  popular  discontent  inaudible.  It  was,  nevertheless,  mani- 
fested in  an  imperial  decree  of  1500,  which  declared  that 
a  third  of  the  immense  sums  raised  by  the  sale  of  indulgences 
should  alone  be  granted  to  the  pope,  and  that  the  remaining 
two-thirds  should  be  applied  by  the  government  for  the  de- 
fence of  the  empire  against  the  Turks,  but  no  one,  except 
Wimpheling,  who  presented  a  work  of  his  composition  to  the 
emperor  Maximilian  during  the  diet  held  at  Augsburg,  A.  d. 
1510,  in  which  he  said,  "that  the  church  was  intrusted  to 
people  who  knew  better  how  to  drive  mules  than  to  guide 
men,  and  that  Germany  wasted  money  on  the  foreigner  that 
she  required  for  herself,"  ventured  to  protest  against  this 
system  of  peculation. 

The  old  German  universities,  and  those  that  had  arisen  since 
the  abandonment  of  that  of  Prague  by  the  German  professors 
and  students,  were  peopled  with  the  most  decided  foes  to  the 
Bohemian  cause,  and  their  doctors  had  been  Huss's  most  viru- 
lent antagonists  in  the  council  of  Constance.  Every  species 
of  nonsense  was  at  this  period  capable  of  being  proved  sense 
by  means  of  scholastic  logic.  Learning,  however,  speedily 
revenged  herself  on  her  unworthy  professors.  The  solemn 
fools  pretending  to  the  title  of  professors  and  doctors  were  too 
idle  to  learn  even  ordinary  Latin,  and  men  of  superior  intellect 
gradually  succeeded,  under  the  unsuspicious  pretext  of  im- 
proving the  languages  in  the  universities,  in  elevating  their 
tone.  A  school,  in  which  genuine  piety  went  hand  in  hand 
with  enlightenment,  had  formed  in  obscurity,  independent  of 
the  universities.  It  was  founded  at  Deventer,  in  the  14th 
century,  by  Gerard  de  Groote,  under  the  form  of  a  monical 
community,  which  bore  the  simple  title  of  "  Brethren  of  com- 
mon life."  This  school  sent  forth  Buysbroek,  who  founded  a 
learned  university  in  Griinthal,  near  Cambray.  The  younger 
generation  of  students  attained  still  greater  distinction  by 
the  study  of  the  dead  languages,  by  means  of  which  they  ob- 
tained admission  into  the  universities,  and  strongly  opposed 
scholasticism.  The  new  study  of  the  dead  languages  was 
termed  "  Humaniora,"  on  account  of  the  historical  aesthetic 
philosophy  introduced  by  its  means  in  opposition  to  that  purely 


THE  ABT  OF  PBINTINO.  223 

theological.  The  church  at  first  took  no  offence  at  this  in- 
novation, the  Hamanists  merely  improving  the  church  Latin, 
whilst  the  study  of  the  ancient  heathen  writers  was  simply 
regarded  as  an  amusement  likely  to  wean  men  from  the 
practice  of  the  strict  morality  inculcated  hy  the  Reformers. 
The  pure  study  of  the  classics  was  especially  promoted  in 
Heidelbei^  and  Erfurt  hy  Lange,  hut  its  greatest  patrons 
were,  at  the  end  of  the  16th  century,  Erasmus  of  Rotterdam 
at  Basle,  and  Renchlin  of  Pforzheim  in  TUhingen,  the  former 
of  whom  possessed  all  the  suhtlety,  the  latter  all  the  solid 
learning,  requisite  for  deep  investigation.*  The  study  of 
Hebrew  in  addition  to  Greek  and  Latin,  however,  roused  the 
suspicion  of  the  church,  which  feared  lest  the  study  of  the 
Bible  text  might  render  the  infallibility  of  the  papal  ordinances 
doubtful,  and  [a.  d.  1479]  Burchard  of  Oberwesel  was  con- 
demned to  perpetual  imprisonment  for  venturing  to  assert  that 
the  Bible  ought  to  be  read  in  Hebrew.  An  attempt  made  to 
bum  all  Hebrew  books  was  controverted  by  Reuchlin,  who 
said  ''that  it  would  certainly  do  no  harm  to  destroy  some 
irrational  books  of  the  Jewish  Talmud,  but  that  whatever  was 
good  in  Hebrew  ought  to  be  perused  like  every  thing  that 
was  good  in  other  languages."  To  the  great  vexation  of  the 
opposite  party,  Leo  X.,  who  patronized  learning,  was  of  a 
similar  opinion. 

The  art  of  printing  was  invented  in  the  firsthalf  of  the  15th 
century.  The  first  step  to  it  was  the  art  of  carving  on  wood ; 
pictures  of  saints,  cards  for  playing,  elementary  school-books, 
had  been  printed  from  wooden  tablets.  This  art  was  greatly 
practised  at  Haarlem.  The  art  of  printing  with  movable 
letters  was  first  invented  by  John  Guttenberg  at  Mayence ; 
was  improved  upon  by  John  Fust,  with  whom  Guttenberg,  on 
account  of  his  poverty,  entered  into  partnership ;  and  still 
further  perfected  by  Peter  Schoefier.  Before  the  time  of 
Luther  the  Bible  had  already  been  translated  and  printed  in 
both  High  and  Low  Dutch,  and  the  comparison  between  the 

*  Eiasmus  was  reputed  the  greatest  scholar  in  the  world.  A  statue 
was  erected  to  his  memory  by  his  fellow-citizens  at  Rotterdam,  where  it 
is  still  to  be  seen.  It  was  asserted  in  the  popular  superstition  of  the  day, 
that  from  time  to  time  he  turned  over  a  leaf  of  the  book  he  is  represented 
holding  in  his  hand,  and  that  when  the  last  leaf  shall  turn  orer  the  world 
will  be  at  an  end. 


224  THE  ART  OF  PRINTING. 

overdrawn  ordinances  of  the  church  and  the 'simple  gospel 
was  thus  greatly  facilitated.     The  press  quickly  became  the 
organ  of  controversy,  and  the  empire  was  ere  long  inundated 
with  works  for  and  against  the  Humanists.     The  celebrated 
Erasmus,  without  deviating  from  the  dogmas  of  the  church, 
taught  the  students  to  read  the  Bible  in  the  original  text  and 
to  investigate  its  meaning,  whilst  his  Latin  satirical  poems, 
the  wittiest  of  those  times,  spread  throughout  civilized  Europe^ 
and  accustomed  the  reader  to  laugh  at  many  things  hitherto 
viewed  with  reverential  awe.*     The  increasing  di£fusion  of 
satirical  works  first  demonstrated  the  power  of  the  weapon 
placed  by  Guttenberg  in  the  hands  of  the  people.  The  monks 
perceived  their  danger,  and,  as  the  untaught  people  were  un- 
able to  read  or  write,  and  books  consequently  fell  merely  into 
the  hands  of  the  literati  and  the  small  educated  portion  of  the 
nobility  and  citizens,  they  sought  to  prejudice  the  people 
against  this  novel  invention  by  ascribing  it  to  the  devil,  and 
hence  arose  the  story  of  Dr.  Faust,  in  whose  name  that  of 
Fust  the  printer  at  Mayence  is  hardly  recognisable.  Berthold, 
archbishop  of  Mayence,  first  introduced  the  censorship  and 
prohibited  printed  books. 

Humanism  was  greatly  promoted  by  the  foundation  of  the 
university  at  Wittenberg,  [a*  d.  1502,]  by  the  elector  of 
Saxony,  Frederick  the  Wise.  Reuchlin  sent  thither  young 
Philip  Melancthon,  (Schwarzerde,  black  earth,)  who  possessed 
both  his  solid  acquirements  and  the  subtle  penetration  of 
Erasmus,  and  greatly  surpassed  them  both  in  zeal  for  truth. 
This  university  was  opposed  [a.  d.  1506]  by  another 
founded  by  Joachim,  elector  of  Brandenburg,  at  Frankfurt  on 
the  Oder,  with  a  papal  tendency. 

The  discovery  of  the  passage  to  the  East  Indies  and  td 
America  opened  a  fresh  field  for  investigation,  and  also  greatly 
contributed  to  the  enlightenment  of  the  age,  before  which  scho- 
lastic sophistry  could  no  longer  stand.  Still,  notwithstand- 
ing the  advance  in  the  learning  of  the  age,  the  people,  far 
removed  from  its  influence,  remained  in  a  state  of  mental 
darkness,  and  the  scholars  of  the  day,  liberal-minded  as  they 

*  Erasmus  was,  a.  d.  1510,  inyited  to  England  by  Henry  VIII., -wrote 
his  **  Praise  of  Folly  **  whilst  residing  with  Sir  Thomas  More,  and  was 
appointed  Margaret  professor  of  divinity  and  Greek  lecturer  at  Gaio- 
bridge. — Translator. 


LUTHER.  225 

frequently  were,  either  wanted  the  power  or  the  courage  to 
speak  openly  and  freely.  The  veneration  and  awe  generally 
inspired  by  the  authority  of  the  pope  restrained  the  discon- 
tented, until  a  man,  belonging  to  the  lower  classes,  gave  the 
example,  and  animated  even  princes  in  the  cause.  Martin 
Luther,  the  son  of  a  poor  miner  in  Saxony,  an  Augusdn 
monk,  Doctor  and  Professor  of  Theology  at  the  new  uni- 
versity of  Wittenberg,  a  fiery  and  daring  spirit,  a  hero  in  the 
garb  of  a  monk,  resolved,  alone  and  fearlessly,  to  promulgate 
the  convictions  common  to  him  and  to  many  others.  Uncon- 
scious of  his  high  destiny  and  as  yet  totally  devoid  of  ambi- 
tion, his  first  actions  were  solely  inspired  by  wrath  on  seeing 
the  shameless  conduct  of  John  Tetzel,  the  retailer  of  indulg- 
ences, in  Saxony. 

Luther  was  born  at  Eisleben,  and  lived  for  some  time  with 
liis  parents  at  Moera,  near  Schmalkald ;  on  the  improvement 
in  their  circumstances,  consequent  on  his  father  being  taken 
into  the  service  of  Count  von  Mansfeld,  he  was  sent  to  the 
academies,  and  at  first  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  juris- 
prudence at  Erfurt,  which  he  abandoned  for  that  of  theology 
on  the  death  of  his  friend  Alexius,  who  was  struck  with  light- 
ning when  at  his  side.  He  afterwards  entered  the  order  of 
St.  Augustin,  a  branch  of  Franciscans,  whose  strict  morality 
and  learning  strongly  contrasted  with  the  licence,  ignorance, 
and  perverting  sophistry  of  the  other  monastic  orders.  In 
1509,  Luther  visited  Rome  on  business  relating  to  his  order, 
and  took  up  his  abode  outside  the  Porta  del  Popolo,  in  the 
little  monastery  that  is  still  to  be  seen  there.  On  his  return, 
[a.,  d.  1512,]  he  was  appointed  doctor  at  Wittenberg,  and 
[a.  d.  1516]  published  the  "  German  Theology,"  a  work  writ- 
ten in  the  simple,  severe  style  of  the  best  mystics,  among 
whom  he  sought  shelter  and  encouragement  against  the  scho- 
lastics. As  yet  he  had  neither  joined  the  witty  and  learned 
Humanists,  nor  did  his  inclinations  sympathize  with  theirs ; 
ne  attacked  the  follies  and  depravity  of  the  age,  not  with  sa- 
tire and  irony,  but  with  the  earnest  gravity  of  a  mystic  monk, 
a  stranger  to  the  world.  He  acted  with  perfect  independence, 
to  the  astonishment  of  both  his  antagonists  and  his  friends. 

On  the  3l8t  of  October,  1517,  Luther  publicly  brought  for- 
ward in  the  castle-church  at  Wittenberg  ninety-five  Theses 
against  the  indulgence,  the  principal  of  which  were,  "  that  by 
'^OL.  n.  Q 


226  LUTHBE. 

sincere  repentance  and  penance  alone,  not  by  the  payment  of 
a  sum  of  money,  could  sins  be  remitted,  and,  consequently, 
that  the  pope  had  no  right  to  dispense  absolution  for  money ; 
moreover,  that  the  pope,  being  merely  the  vicegerent  of  Gtod 
upon  earth,  could  only  remit  the  external  penances  ordained 
by  the  church  on  earth,  not  the  eternal  punishment  awarded 
to  the  sinner  after  death."  This  bold  assertion,  like  a  spark 
of  vivid  light  amid  profound  darkness,  rendered  the  truth  fully 
visible,  and  thousands,  once  the  spell  of  silence  broken,  ven- 
tured to  utter  their  secret  thoughts ;  thousands  became  clearly 
aware  of  facts  of  which  they  had  before  timidly  doubted.  The 
whole  of  Germany  and  Europe  was  inundated  with  copies  of 
the  Theses,  and  unanimously  showered  applause  upon  the  bold 
monk.  The  ancient  church,  undermined  by  advancing  know- 
ledge and  her  own  depravity,  tottered  to  the  base.  The  ex- 
citement caused  by  these  Theses  was  so  great  that  Tetzel 
found  himself  forced  to  attempt  a  defence,  which,  however, 
merely  consisted  of  coarse  abuse  of  his  antagonist,  and  a 
haughty  appeal  to  the  authority  of  the  pope.  Prierias,  Hoch- 
straaten,  and  Eck  wrote  in  a  similar  spirit.  At  Rome,  the 
affair  was  merely  viewed  as  a  monkish  dispute,  and  the  Car- 
dinal Thomas  of  Gaeta,  (Cajetanus,)  the  general  of  the  Do- 
minicans, was  commissioned  to  examine  into  it.  The  old 
emperor,  Maximilian,  had,  exactly  at  that  period,  [a.  d.  1518,] 
opened  a  diet  at  Augsburg,  at  which  several  of  the  princes 
and  cities  complained  of  the  sale  of  indulgences  and  of  other 
ecclesiastical  disorders,  and  the  emperor,  deeming  it  politic  to 
make  use  of  Luther  as  a  means  of  humbling  the  pontiff,  and 
of  compelling  him  to  retract  some  of  his  inordinate  demands, 
refused  to  deliver  him  up,  although  he  had  been  cited  to  ap- 
pear at  Rome,  and,  on  the  conclusion  of  the  diet,  a  discussion 
took  place  between  Luther  and  Cajetanus  at  Augsburg.  It 
was  in  vain  that  the  cardinal  demanded  unconditional  recant- 
ation, Luther  was  firm,  and  Cajetanus  at  last  terminated  the 
discussion  by  sajdng,  *'  I  will  no  longer  talk  to  this  beast ;  he 
is  deep-sighted,  and  has  wonderful  ideas.''  Luther  appealed 
"  from  the  ill-informed  pope  to  those  better  informed,"  and, 
besides  maintaining  his  Theses,  increased  the  boldness  of  his 
scrutiny  and  of  his  words  as  his  antagonists  augmented,  and 
turned  the  arguments  they  brought  forward  in  defence  of  the 
papal  ordinances  against  themselves.     The  politics  of  the  day 


LX7THES.  227 

abo  momentarily  insared  his  personml  safety,  and  allowed  time 
for  his  friends  to  assemhk  before  his  enemies  oonld  take  any 
decisive  step  against  him.  The  pope  and  all  the  tempond 
princes  were  at  that  period  deeply  interested  in  the  election 
of  a  successor  to  Maximilian,  who,  on  the  dose  of  the  diet  and 
aflter  assisting  at  the  wedding  of  Albert  Achilles,  Margrave  of 
Brandenburg,  and  Sosanna  of  Bavaria,  had  qmtted  Augsburg 
for  Innsbruck,  where  the  citizens,  enraged  at  the  licentious 
conduct  of  bis  officers,  dosed  the  gates  against  him  and  com* 
pelled  him  to  remain  during  the  whole  of  the  wintry  night, 
January,  1519,  in  his  carriage  in  the  open  street  Mortifica* 
tion  and  chill  brought  on  a  fever,  and  he  expired  at  Wels  on 
his  way  to  Vienna. 

Frederick  of  Saxony  became  regent  of  the  empire ;  by  many 
be  was  even  destined  for  the  throne ;  at  all  events  his  vote  at 
the  election  was  of  great  weight,  and  the  pope  consequently 
presented  him  with  a  golden  rose  and  acted  with  extraordinary 
lenity  towards  Luther,  between  whom,  his  friends  Melancthon 
and  Carlstadt  on  one  side,  and  the  terrible  dialectic  £ck  on 
the  other,  a  religious  discussion  took  place  at  Ldpzig. 
Lather,  powerful  in  body  and  mind,  spoke  with  manly,  dear 
precision ;  Carlstadt,  a  diminutive,  dark  man,  with  bitterness 
and  heat;  whilst  Melancthon,  with  his  pale  countenance, 
slight  and  drooping  form,  impressive  tones,  and  deep  learning, 
loiT^thed  gentle  persuasion ;  but  Eck,  overpowering  in  person 
as  in  lungs,  drowned  their  voices,  and  with  great  acuteness 
pointed  out  the  contradictions  inseparable  from  the  Protestant* 
ism  of  later  days.  This  discussion,  like  its  predecessors,  was 
merely  productive  of  increased  hatred. 

Luther's  partisans,  meanwhile,  increased  in  number  and 
courage.  The  Bohemians  wrote  to  him  with  great  delight ; 
the  Humanists  also  dedared  in  his  favour ;  Ulric  von  Hutten 
addressed  to  him  a  letter  with  the  superscription,  **  Awake, 
noble  freedom  ;**  and  Franz  von  Sickingen  offered  him  shdter 
and  protection,  in  case  of  necessity,  in  his  hidden  castles ;  but 
Luther's  hopes  were  centered  in  Charles  Y.,  the  youthful 
grandson  of  the  late  emperor,  who  had  just  been  proclaimed 
bis  successor,  aided  by  whom  the  reformation  of  the  church 
would  be  secured.  With  this  intention  he  addressed  to  him 
a  letter  of  admonition,  but  full  of  reverence  and  suited  to  the 
spirit  of  the  age,  which  the  imperious  youth,  confident  of  the 
a  2 


228  LUTHER. 

infallibility  of  his  commanding  genius,  and  blind  to  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  times,  did  not  comprehend,  and  treated  with 
disdain. 

Inspirited  by  pablic  Sjrmpathy,  Luther  gave  to  the  world 
his  two  celebrated  works,  "  To  the  Christian  Nobility  of  the 
Grerman  Nation,"  and,  •^Of  the  Babylonian  Captivity  of  the 
Church,"  the  boldest  that  had  yet  appeared.  The  words  of 
the  hero  of  Wittenberg  struck  dumb  his  antagonists  and  con- 
firmed the  wavering.  He  addressed  the  pope,  the  emperor, 
the  aristocracy,  the  people,  reminding  them  of  the  duty  they 
had  to  perform  in  these  agitated  times,  and  requiring  each  to 
aid  in  placing  Christianity  and  the  German  empire  on  a 
firmer  basis.  He  wrote  in  Latin  to  potentates  and  savants^ 
in  Grerman  to  the  people,  and  his  enthusiasm  suddenly  raised 
that  language,  which  had  deteriorated  since  the  Swabian 
period,  and  laid  the  foundation  to  the  High  German  of  more 
modern  times.  His  introduction  of  a  German  in  the  place  of 
the  Latin  liturgy,  until  now  used,  of  German  psalm-singing  in 
churches,  and  his  abolition  of  the  Latin  service,  were  justly 
considered  as  some  of  the  most  essential  reforms. 

Rome  now  lamented  her  tardiness,  and  the  pope,  at  the 
urgent  request  of  the  German  theologians,  who  saw  the 
danger  close  at  hand,  published,  in  the  beginning  of  1520,  the 
bull  **  Exurge  Domine,"  in  which  Luther's  doctrines  were  coU" 
demned.  Cardinal  Alcander  carried  the  bull  to  Grermany, 
where  his  life  was  endangered  by  the  almost  universal  popu- 
larity of  the  bold  Reformer,  who  now  solemnly  renounced  all 
obedience  to  the  pope  and  to  the  ancient  church.  Convoking 
the  professors  and  students  of  Wittenberg  before  the  Elster- 
thor,  he  publicly  delivered  the  papal  bull  and  the  books  of 
the  canonical  law  to  the  fiames,  December  11th,  1520;  the 
elector  not  only  countenancing  this  proceeding,  but  also  blam- 
ing Alcander  for  having  promulgated  the  papal  bull  in  Ger- 
many without  his  knowledge,  and  declaring  the  papal  bull 
unjusty  and  that  the  pope,  by  listening  to  Luther's  personal 
enemy,  Dr.  Eck,  had  forgotten  his  duty  as  a  judge  by  not 
hearing  the  opposite  side,  and  by  needlessly  agitating  the  peo- 
ple. Shortly  after  this,  on  Christmas  day,  Carlstadt,  publicly 
and  unopposed,  administered  the  sacrament  in  both  forms, 
giving  the  cup  to  the  laity  after  the  manner  of  the  Hussites. 


CHARLES  THE  FIFTH.  229 


CXCm.  Charles  the  Fifth.— ne  Diet  at  Wamu.— Thomas 
Munzer. — Zwingli, — Pope  Adrian. — Internal  feuds. 

Whilst  the  people  were  thus  busied  with  the  Reformation, 
the  attention  of  the  princes  was  wholly  bestowed  on  the  elec- 
tion of  a  successor  to  the  throne,  on  which  the  balance  of 
power  in  Europe  depended. 

The  house  of  Habsburg  had  become  the  most  powerful  in 
Europe.  Maximilian  died,  A.  d.  1619 ;  his  only  son,  Philip, 
in  1606,  leaving  two  sons,  Charles  and  Ferdinand,  to  the 
elder  of  whom  fell  all  the  Habsburg  possessions,  and,  on  the 
demise  of  Ferdinand  the  Catholic,  the  whole  of  Spain  and 
Naples,  together  with  the  late  Spanish  conquests  in  America. 
This  monarch  boasted  that  the  sun  never  set  on  his  dominions. 
A  Persian  ambassador  addressed  him  as  **  the  monarch  pro- 
tected by  the  sun."  He  also  bore  two  globes  in  his  escutcheon. 
Although  naturally  desirous  of  wearing  the  imperial  crown  on 
the  death  of  his  grandfather,  he  had,  notwithstanding  his 
youth,  the  ability  to  perceive  that  his  election  would  rouse 
the  fear  and  jealousy  of  the  other  potentates  of  Europe,  and 
cautiously  to  veil  his  ambitious  project  of  gaining  the  supre- 
macy in  Europe*  His  motto  was  "nondum."  Francis  I., 
who  had  reaped  laurels  whilst  Charles  was  yet  a  boy,  his 
equal  in  ambition,  but  his  inferior  in  intellect  and  power,  at 
first  boldly  confronted  him  in  the  lists,  and  competed  for  the 
imperial  throne.  Had  the  crown  of  Germany  been  placed  on 
tis  brow,  the  power  of  the  Habsburg  would  have  found  an 
equipoise ;  his  ill  success,  on  the  contrary,  placed  him,  as  if  in 
a  giant's  grasp,  between  Germany  and  Spain,  and  limited  him 
to  a  mere  defensive  policy. 

Each  of  the  competitors  sought  to  incline  the  election  in  his 
favour,  and,  as  the  issue  was  doubtful,  to  secure  himself  in 
case  of  ill  success.  The  pope  dreaded  Charles's  supremacy 
and  opposed  him,  at  the  same  time  carefully  guarding  against 
converting  him  into  an  enemy,  whilst  the  electoral  princes 
^b%aded  the  power  of  both  of  the  aspirants  and  offered  the 
crown  to  Frederick  the  Wise,  elector  of  Saxony,  who,  con- 
scious that  the  little  power  possessed  by  his  house  would  in- 
capacitate him  from  acting  with  the  energy  requisite  on  the 
throne,  steadily  refused  it.     Francis  was  upheld  by  the  dukes 


230  THE  DIET  AT  WORMS. 

of  Wiirtemberg,  Brunswick,  Gueldres,  and  Mecklenburg,  and 
for  a  short  time  by  the  celebrated  knight  Franz  von  Sickingen. 
His  partisans,  bribed  hj  promises  and  gold,  however,  merely 
injured  his  cause.  The  traitors  were  viewed  with  universal 
abhorrence,  and  Francis  being  rejected  on  the  grounds  of 
his  not  being  a  Grerman,  the  choice  consequently  fell  upon 
Charles,  who  accorded  a  capitulation  to  the  princes,  by  which 
they  carefully  guarded  their  rights,  A.  B.  1519.  He  left  Spain 
for  Grermany,  a.  d.  1521. 

A  great  diet,  to  which  all  the  princes  and  estates  of  the 
empire  flocked,  was  convoked  at  Worms,  for  the  purpose  of 
receiving  the  emperor,  of  regulating  the  affairs  of  the  empire, 
but  principally  for  that  of  deciding  the  Lutheran  controversy. 
The  dignified  demeanour,  gravity,  gentleness,  and  condescend- 
ing manners  of  the  youthful  emperor,  inspired  the  assembly 
with  reverence.  The  dislike  of  the  Spaniards  to  their  Ger- 
man ruler,  and  the  inimical  preparations  of  his  unsuccessful 
rival,  Francis  I.,  rendered  the  confidence  of  the  Germans  and 
the  maintenance  of  peace  and  unity  throughout  the  empire 
important ;  the  new  religious  controversy  was,  consequently, 
obnoxious  to  Charles,  who,  perceiving  the  indifference  felt  to- 
wards it  by  the  princes  of  the  empire,  deemed  it  a  heresy  easy 
to  suppress,  and  as  offering  a  means  of  winning  over  the  pope. 
So  blind  was  this  emperor,  talented  in  other  respects,  to  the 
tendency  of  the  age.  Recent  events  alone  might  have  proved 
to  him  that  the  Reformation  was  inevitable,  and  if,  instead  of 
aiding  the  pope,  he  had  placed  himself  at  its  head,  it  might 
have  been  preserved  from  the  errors  produced  by  partiality, 
have  been  carried  through  with  power  and  moderation,  and 
have  attained  its  aim  without  terminating  in  a  schism. 

Charles,  anxious  to  retain  the  friendship  of  the  elector  of 
Saxony,  imagined  that  the  Lutheran  question  might  be  quietly 
set  aside,  and  that  the  insignificant  monk  would  seek  to  shel- 
ter himself  in  obscurity  from  the  proud  imperial  assejnbly  at 
Worms,  before  which  he  was  cited  to  appear.  Luther's 
friends,  alarmed  for  his  safety,  vainly  advised  him  not  to  ap- 
pear. On  his  arrival  at  Worms,  two  thousand  people  collected 
and  accompanied  him  to  his  lodging.  He  was  summoned  be- 
fore the  council,  April  18th,  1521.  His  demeanour  as  he 
confronted  this  imposing  assembly  was  dignified  and  calm. 
On  being  commanded  to  retract  the  charges  he  had  made 


THE  DIET  AT  WORMS.  231 

against  the  church,  he  addressed  them  at  great  length  in 
German,  and,  at  the  emperor's  request,  repeated  all  he  had 
said  m  Latin,  openlj  declaring  that  he  should  be  guiltj  of  the 
deepest  sin  were  he  to  recant,  as  he  should  thereby  strengthen 
and  increase  the  evil  he  opposed,  and  urgently  demanding  to 
be  refuted  before  being  condemned.  This  was  refused.  The 
emperor,  impatient  for  the  termination  of  the  affair,  insisted 
on  a  simple  recantation,  which  Luther  steadily  rejected.  The 
manly  courage  with  which  he  spoke  was  beheld  with  admira- 
tion by  the  princes,  and  with  delight  by  the  German  nobility, 
and  it  was  rumoured  that  four  hundred  of  their  number  had 
sworn  to  defend  him  at  all  hazards ;  papers  were  even  found 
on  which  the  significative  word  '^Bundschuh"  was  inscribed. 

Luther  was  now  put  under  the  ban  of  the  empire,  but  the 
emperor,  who,  in  after  years,  bitterly  lamented  his  not  having 
got  rid  of  hitu  by  condemning  him  to  the  stake,  pacified  the 
people  by  a  solemn  assurance  of  the  inviolability  of  the  safe- 
conduct  granted  to  him,  observing,  that  '^  if  truth  and  faith 
abode  no  where  else  they  ought  ever  to  find  a  refuge  in  the 
courts  of  princes."  Luther  returned  home,  but  was  on  his 
way  carried  off  by  a  troop  of  horsemen  to  the  Wartburg, 
where,  safe  from  the  artifices  of  his  enemies,  he  remained  in 
concealment  under  the  protection  of  his  friend  and  patron, 
Frederick  of  Saxony. 

The  emperor,  after  forming  a  new  government,  in  which 
the  elector  of  Saxony  had  great  influence,  returned  to  Spain, 
leaving  his  brother,  the  Archduke  Ferdinand,  in  possession  of 
Wurtemberg  and  of  his  more  ancient  hereditary  possessions 
in  Germany. 

Luther's  party  had  already  acquired  such  strength  that  his 
works  were  even  published  at  Worms,  during  the  emperor's 
stay.  His  friends,  although  imagining  him  lost,  zealously 
followed  in  his  steps,  but  the  want  of  a  leader  and  the  inde- 
cision that  prevailed  in  the  exposition  of  the  new  doctrines 
produced,  like  the  rising  storm  as  it  beats  the  surface  of  the 
ocean,  a  confused  murmur  throughout  Germany.  The  literati 
endeavoured  to  render  the  new  Lutheran  doctrines  clear  to 
the  dull  comprehension  of  the  people.  Melancthon  drew  up 
^e  principal  articles  of  the  Christian  doctrine,  (the  loci  com" 
mtt«e«,)  which  greatly  contributed  to  the  harmony  of  the  party, 
Wid  formed  the  groundwork  of  their  system.     Ulric  von 


232  THOMAS  MUNZEB. 

Hutten  continued  his  attacks  upon  the  pope.  Luther,  never-* 
theless,  in  his  retirement  in  the  Wurtburg,  where  he  was 
known  as  the  Chevalier  George,  and  amused  himself  sometimes 
by  hunting  in  the  neighbourhood,  far  more  aided  his  cause 
by  the  translation  of  the  Bible  into  German,  which,  besides 
rendering  the  Scriptures  accessible  to  men  of  every  grade, 
greatly  improved  the  language,  and  laid  the  foundation  to  the 
whole  of  High  German  literature. 

The  illiterate  and  the  enthusiastic,  however,  far  outstripped 
Luther  in  their  ideas ;  instead  of  reforming  they  wished  to 
annihilate  the  church,  and  to  grasp  political  as  well  as  religious 
liberty,  and  it  was  justly  feared  lest  these  excesses  might 
furnish  Rome  with  a  pretext  for  rejecting  every  species  of 
reform.  "Luther,"  wrote  their  leader,  Thomas  Miinzer, 
"  merely  draws  the  word  of  God  from  books,  and  -twists  the 
dead  letters."  Nicolas  Storch,  Mlinzer's  first  teacher,  a 
clothier,  who  surrounded  himself  with  twelve  apostles  and 
seventy-two  disciples,  boasted  of  receiving  revelations  from 
an  angel.  Their  rejection  of  infant  baptism  and  sole  recog- 
nition of  that  of  adults  as  efficacious,  gained  for  them  the  ap- 
pellation of  Anabaptists.  Carlstadt  joined  this  sect,  and  fol- 
lowed the  example  already  given  by  Bartholomew  Bemhardi, 
a  priest,  one  of  Luther's  disciples,  who  had  married.  The 
disorder  occasioned  by  Carlstadt,  who,  at  the  head  of  a  small 
number  of  adherents,  destroyed  the  images  and  ornaments  in 
the  churches,  forced  Luther,  who,  regarding  himself  as  the 
soldier  of  God  fighting  against  the  power  of  Satan  upon 
earth,  saw  the  works  of  the  devil  not  so  much  in  the  actions 
of  his  enemies  as  in  those  of  his  false  friends  and  of  those 
who  gave  way  to  exaggerated  enthusiasm,  to  quit  his  retreat, 
and  [a.  d.  1522]  he  returned  to  Wittenberg,  where  he 
preached  for  eight  days,  and  at  length  succeeded  in  quelling 
the  disturbance.  The  moderate  party  regained  its  former 
power.  Luther  continued  to  guide  the  Reformation.  His 
influence  over  the  people  and  his  moderation  inclined  the 
princes  in  his  favour,  and  strengthened  their  disposition  to  aid 
his  projects.  Henry  VHI.  of  England,  although  he  wrote 
with  a  coarseness  against  him  which  he  equalled  in  his  re* 
ply,  reformed  the  English  church  and  threw  off  the  papal  yoke, 
a  step,  which  he  would,  in  all  probability,  not  have  ventured 
upon  without  Luther's  precedent,     Brandenburg,  Hesse,  and 


2WINQLI.  233 

Saxony,  where  Frederick  introduced  the  service  in  the  Ger- 
man language,  and,  in  1524,  the  first  German  Psalm  Book, 
into  the  churches,  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Reformat 
tioD.  The  cities  also  declared  in  its  favour.  In  1623,  Mag-* 
deburg,  Wismar,  Rostock,  Stettin,  Dantzig,  Riga,  expelled 
the  monks  and  priests,  and  appointed  Lutheran  preachers. 
Nuremberg  and  Breslau,  where  almost  all  the  priests  married, 
hailed  the  Reformation  with  delight. 

In  Switzerland,  [a.d.  1516,]  Ulric  Zwingli  of  Toggenburg 
began  to  preach  against  ecclesiastical  abuses,  but  was  silenced 
bj  a  papal  pension.  Luther's  example,  however,  again  roused 
his  courage,  and,  since  1519,  he  exercised  the  greatest  influ- 
ence in  Zurich,  where  the  citizens  generally  favoured  the  Re- 
formation. Their  example  was  followed  by  those  of  Berne, 
Basle,  Strassburg,  Constance,  Miihlhausen,  St.  Gall,  Glaris, 
Schaffhausen,  and  a  part  of  Appenzell  and  the  Grisons.  In 
Zarich,  Zwingli  destroyed  the  pictures  and  organs  in  the 
ehurches,  whilst  Luther  protected  and  honoured  art.  His 
marriage  with  a  widow,  Anna  Reinhardt,  was  solemnized, 
A.  D.  1524.  He  administered  the  sacrament  without  the  holy 
wafer,  with  common  bread  and  wine.  The  Anabaptists,  re- 
pulsed by  Luther,  encouraged  by  these  precedents,  drew  near 
to  Zwingli,  and  their  leader,  Thomas  Munzer,  who  had  been 
expelled  from  Wittenberg,  went  to  Waldshut  on  the  Rhine, 
where,  countenanced  by  the  priest,  Hubmaier,  the  greatest 
disorder  took  place.  Zwingli  declared  against  them,  and 
caused  several  of  them  to  be  drowned,  [a.  d.  1524,]  but  was, 
nevertheless,  still  regarded  by  Luther  as  a  man  who,  under 
the  cloak  of  spiritual  liberty,  sought  to  bring  about  political 
changes.  Faber  preached  at  Berne,  that  the  Reformers  had 
begun  with  the  clergy,  but  should  end  with  the  rulers. 
Luther,  on  the  contrary,  cherished  an  almost  biblical  reverence 
for  the  anointed  of  the  Lord,  by  whose  aid  he  hoped  to  suc- 
ceed- in  reforming  the  church.  Zwingli  also  went  much  fur- 
ther than  Luther  in  his  attack  upon  the  ancient  mysteries, 
teaching,  for  instance,  that  the  bread  and  wine  in  the  Lord's 
supper  merely  typified  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  whilst 
Luther  maintained  their  being  the  real  presence. 

In  1521,  Charles  Y.  had  raised  his  ancient  tutor,  Adrian 
of  Utrecht,  to  the  pontifical  throne.  This  excellent  old  man 
^y  acknowledged  the  evils  that  prevailed  in  the  church, 


234  INTERNAL  FEUDS. 

accepted  the  hundred  grievances  of  the  Germans,  and  pro* 
jected  a  comprehensive  reform  in  the  outwf^d  observances  of 
the  church,  independent  of  its  doctrine.  He  shared  the  fate 
of  ahnost  every  German  pontiff  who  had  ventured  to  reform 
the  Church  of  Rome,  and  expired,  a.  d.  1523.  His  successor, 
Clement  VIL,  declared  with  great  truth  that  ^  the  separation 
of  the  North  from  the  church  was  far  less  perilous  than  a 
general  Reformation,  and  that  it  was  better  to  lose  a  part  than 
the  whole."  His  endeavours  were  therefore  chiefly  directed 
to  the  isolation  of  the  Reformation,  an  idea,  which  he  sought^ 
by  means  of  his  coadjutors,  Matthew  Lang  and  the  Archduke 
Ferdinand,  to  instil  into  the  mind  of  the  emperor.  The  per* 
secution  of  the  Lutherans,  several  of  whom  were  condemned 
to  death,  began  at  this  period. 

The  tranquillity  of  Germany  was  at  this  time  disturbed  by 
the  Wurtemberg,  Hildesheim,  and  Sickingen  feuds.  To  the 
numerous  nobility  of  the  empire  in  Swabia,  Franconia,  and 
the  Rhenish  provinces,  the  opening  Reformation  presented  a 
favourable  opportunity  for  improving  their  circumscribed  po- 
litical position,  seizing  the  rich  lands  belonging  to  the  church, 
and  raising  themselves  to  an  equality  with,  if  not  deposing, 
the  temporal  princes.  Ulric  von  Hutten  vainly  admonished 
their  union  with  the  citizens  and  the  peasantry  as  the  only 
means  of  success,  a  policy  which  their  pride  of  birth  and  dread 
of  the  encroaching  democracy  forbade  them  to  pursue.  Franz 
von  Sickingen,*  a  man  of  diminutive  stature  and  of  surpass- 
ing valour  and  wit,  celebrated  for  his  private  feuds  with  Metz, 
Worms,  and  Lorraine,  had,  in  the  commencement  of  the  war 
between  Charles  V.  and  Francis  L,  been  intrusted  with  the 
command  on  the  Rhine,  where  he  was  opposed  by  the  Cheva- 
lier Bayard,  whom  he  shut  up  in  Mezi^res  and  was  solely 
prevented  taking  prisoner  by  the  jealousy  of  the  count  of 
Nassau.  Francis  L  seized  this  opportunity  to  make  pro- 
posals to  Sickingen  and  to  the  German  nobility,  who,  in  the 
hope  of  succeeding  in  their  schemes  by  his  aid,  willingly 
listened,  and  Sickingen  convoked  the  whole  of  the  immediate 
nobility  of  the  empire  of  Swabia,  Franconia,  and  the  Rhine, 
to  a  great  diet  at  Landau,  [a.  d.  1522,]  where  he  was  nomin- 
ated captain  of  the  confederacy,  and  it  was  even  whispered 

*  His  portrait  and  that  of  Ulric  von  Hutten,  by  Albert  Durer,  aie  in 
the  Munich  gallery. 


INTEBNAL  FEUDS.  235 

that,  in  case  of  saccess,  he  was  destined  to  the  imperial  throne. 
His  opponents  termed  him  the  anti-emperor ;  Luther,  the  anti- 
pope.  Cleve,  Limburg,  and  Brunswick  rose  in  his  favour, 
but  were  reduced  to  submission  by  the  princes  of  Cleve,  Co- 
lore, and  Hesse.  In  1522,  he  besieged  Richard  of  Treves 
at  the  head  of  twelve  thousand  men,  but  was  repulsed  by  the 
princes  of  Hesse  and  of  the  Pfalz.  Deserted  by  Fiirstenberg 
and  Zollem,  the  chiefs  of  the  confederacy,  he  bravely  defended 
his  fortress  of  Landstuhl  against  the  overwhelming  forces  of 
the  enemy,  until  it  was  reduced  to  a  mass  of  ruins  by  the 
heavy  cannonade.  '  Mortally  wounded  by  a  splinter,  he  lay  on 
his  death-bed,  bitterly  exclaiming,  "Where  now  are  my 
friends  Amberg,  Fiirstenberg,  Horn,  etc.  !**  when  the  princes 
of  the  Pfalz,  of  Hesse  and  Treves,  who  had  gained  possession 
of  the  fortress,  entered  his  chamber.  Richard  of  Treves  loaded 
him  with  reproaches,  to  which  he  merely  replied,  "I  have 
now  to  speak  with  a  greater  Lord  than  you,**  and  immediately 
expired.  The  three  princes  knelt  and  prayed  for  the  salva- 
tion of  his  soul.  The  taking  of  the  Landstuhl  decided  the 
triamph  of  the  new  over  the  old  mode  of  warfare,  of  artillery 
over  the  sword,  the  lance,  and  walled  fortress,  and  that  of  the 
princes  over  the  nobility.  Ulric  von  Hutten  fled  to  Switzer- 
land, and  died  at  Ufnau,  on  the  lake  of  Zurich,  A.  D.  1525. 
Several  other  feuds  of  minor  importance  also  disturbed  the 
empire.  During  the  period  intervening  between  the  defeat 
of  Sickingen  and  the  great  insurrection  of  the  peasantry,  the 
papal  faction  was  unremitting  in  its  attacks  against  that  of 
Saxony.  The  government  of  the  empire,  over  which  Fre- 
derick of  Saxony  exercised  great  influence,  being  unable 
to  maintain  tranquillity  during  the  emperor's  absence,  its 
authority  consequently  diminished,  and  was  finally  destroyed 
by  the  disunion  that  prevailed  among  the  estates  at  the  diet 
held  at  Nuremberg,  a.  d.  1524.  The  disinclination  of  the 
^peror  to  countenance  the  Reformation,  the  discord  that 
broke  out  among  the  princes  at  the  diet,  and  their  inability  to 
guide  the  Reformation  and  to  hold  the  reins  of  government, 
necessarily  produced  popular  anarchy  on  the  one  hand,  and  a 
fr^h  attack  on  the  part  of  the  pope  on  the  other.  Before  the 
outbreak  of  the  great  peasant  war,  immediately  on  the  disso- 
lution of  the  Nuremberg  diet,  Clement  VII.,  by  the  cession 
of  the  fifth  of  all  the  revenues  of  the  church  to  the  Bavarian 


236  THE  PEASANT  WAB. 

dukes,  induced  them  to  promise  to  take  up  arms  in  case  of  ne- 
cessity against  the  heretics,  and  to  make  the  university  of 
Ingolstadt  a  bulwark  of  Ultramontanism.  The  Archduke 
Frederick  also  received  in  donation  from  the  pope  a  third  of 
the  church  revenues  within  his  possessions,  and  appears,  ac- 
cording to  Ranke,  in  his  account  of  the  Reformation  in  G-er'- 
manj,  to  have  also  acceded  to  similar  terms,  a.  d.  1524. 


CXCIY.   The  peasant  war.^^Defeat  of  the  peasants. 

The  example  of  the  nobility,  who  revolted  singly  against 
the  princes,  was  followed  by  the  peasantry,  who  had  not  re- 
mained undisturbed  by  the  general  movement.  The  religious 
liberty  preached  by  Luther  was  understood  by  them  as  also 
implying  the  political  freedom  for  which  they  sighed. 

Their  condition  had  greatly  deteriorated  during  the  past 
century.  The  nobility  had  bestowed  the  chief  part  of  their 
wealth  on  the  church,  and  dissipated  the  remainder  at  court. 
Luxury  had  also  greatly  increased,  and  the  peasant  was  con- 
sequently laden  with  feudal  dues  of  every  description,  to  which 
"were  added  their  ill-treatment  by  the  men-at-arms  and  mer- 
cenaries maintained  at  their  expense,  the  damage  done  hj  the 
game,  the  destruction  of  the  crops  by  the  noble  followers  of 
the  chace,  and  finally,  the  extortions  practised  by  the  new  law- 
offices,  the  wearisome  written  proceedings,  and  the  impoverish- 
ment consequent  on  law-suits.  The  German  peasant,  de- 
spised and  enslaved,  could  no  longer  seek  refuge  from  the 
tyranny  of  his  liege  in  the  cities,  where  the  reception  of  fresh 
suburbans  was  strictly  prohibited,  and  where  the  citizen^ 
enervated  by  wealth  and  luxury,  instead  of  siding  with  the 
peasant,  imitated  the  noble  and  viewed  him  with  contempt. 

Attempts  had  already  been  made  to  cast  off  the  yoke,  when 
the  Reformation  broke  out  and  inspired  the  oppressed  pea- 
santry with  the  hope  that  the  fall  of  the  hierarchy  would  be 
followed  by  that  of  the  feudal  system.  In  1522,  they  raised 
the  standard  of  revolt,  the  golden  shoe,  with  the  motto,  **  Who- 
ever will  be  free,  let  him  follow  this  ray  of  light,"  in  the 
Hegau,  but  were  reduced  to  submission.  Li  the  autumn  of 
1524,  a  fresh  insurrection  broke  out  and  spread  throughout 
Upper  Swabia.     Donau-Eschingen  was  unsuccessfuUy  be* 


THE  PEASANT  WAR.  237 

sieged  by  the  insurgents.  Daring  the  winter,  Greorge  Tnich- 
sess  (dapifer)  von  Waldbarg  was  nominated  by  king  Ferdinand 
to  the  command  of  the  Swabian  confederacy  against  the  pea- 
santry, and  ordered  to  use  the  utmost  severity  in  order  to 
quell  the  revolt.  Negotiations  were  at  first  carried  on  be* 
tween  the  Truchsess  and  the  peasants  of  Stiihlingen,  not- 
withstanding which,  in  the  spring  of  1525,  the  insurrection 
again  burst  out  on  every  side  under  George  Schmidt  and 
George  Toeubner,  who  formed  a  confederacy  including  all  the 
neighbouring  peasantry,  and  fixed  a  stake  before  the  house 
door  of  every  man  who  refused  to  join,  in  sign  of  his  being  an 
enemy  to  the  common  cause.  The  Algauer  under  Walter- 
bach  von  Au,  and  the  citizens  of  Memmingen  under  their 
preacher,  Schappeler,  joined  the  insurgents.  The  serfs  of 
the  Truchsess  besieged  his  castles.  Ulric,  the  smith  of  Sul- 
mentingen,  encamped  at  the  head  of  eighteen  thousand  men  at 
Baldringen.  The  most  numerous  and  the  boldest  band  of 
insurgents  assembled  under  Eitel  Hans  Miiller,  on  the  lake 
of  Constance.  Ulric,  the  ex-duke  of  Wurtemberg,  seized  this 
opportunity  and  raised  a  body  of  fifteen  thousand  Swiss  mer- 
cenaries, in  the  hope  of  regaining  possession  of  his  territories. 
The  Swiss,  bribed  by  the  Truchsess,  who  was  shut  up  in 
Tuttlingen  between  them  and  the  insurgent  peasantry,  de- 
serted Ulric  when  marching  upon  Stuttgard,  sold  his  ar- 
tillery, and  compelled  him  to  seek  refuge  within  the  walls  of 
Rotweil.  The  Swiss,  althoi)gh  themselves  peasants,  disco- 
vered little  inclination  to  aid  their  fellows,  and  monopolized 
their  freedom.  The  peasants,  abandoned  by  the  Swiss,  were 
now  exposed  to  the  whole  of  the  Truchsess's  forces,  con- 
sisting of  two  thousand  cavalry  and  seven  thousand  in- 
fantry, well  supplied  with  artillery  furnished  by  the  large 
towns,  and  were  slaughtered  in  great  numbers  at  Leipheim 
I  and  Wurzach ;  but  their  opponent  was  in  his  turn  shut 
I  up  in  Weingarten  by  Eitel  Hans  Miiller,  and  compelled  to 
I  negotiate  terms.  The  peasantry  discovered  extreme  mo- 
I  deration  in  their  demands,  which  were  included  in  twelve 
articles,  and  elected  a  court  of  arbitration  consisting  of  the 
Archduke  Ferdinand,  the  elector  of  Saxony,  Luther,  Me- 
lancthon,  and  some  preachers,  before  which  their  grievances 
were  to  be  laid. 
The  twelve  articles  were  as  follows  : — 1.  The  right  of  the 


238  THE  PEASANT  WAB. 

peasantry  to  appoint  their  own  preachers,  who  were  to  be 
allowed  to  preach  the  word  of  God  from  the  Bible.  2.  That 
the  dues  paid  by  the  peasantry  were  to  be  abolished,  with  the 
exception  of  the  tithes  ordained  by  Grod  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  clergy,  the  surplus  of  which  was  to  be  applied  to 
general  purposes  and  to  the  maintenance  of  the  poor.  3.  The 
abolition  of  vassalage  as  iniquitous.  4.  The  right  of  hunting, 
fishing,  and  fowling.  5.  That  of  cutting  wood  in  the  forests* 
6.  The  modification  of  soccage  and  average-service.  7.  That 
the  peasant  should  be  guaranteed  from  the  caprice  of  his  lord 
by  a  fixed  agreement.  8.  The  modification  of  the  rent  upon 
feudal  lands,  by  which  a  part  of  the  profit  would  be  secured  to 
the  occupant.  9.  The  administration  of  justice  according  to 
the  ancient  laws,  not  according  to  the  new  statutes  and  to 
caprice.  10.  The  restoration  of  communal-property,  illegally 
seized.  11.  The  abolition  of  dues  on  the  death  of  the  serf,  bj 
which  the  widows  and  orphans  were  deprived  of  their  right. 
12.  The  acceptance  of  the  aforesaid  articles,  or  their  refutation 
as  contrary  to  the  Scriptures. 

The  princes  naturally  ridiculed  the  simplicity  of  the  pea- 
santry in  deeming  a  court  of  arbitration,  in  which  Luther  was 
to  be  seated  at  the  side  of  the  archduke,  possible,  and  Luther 
himself  refused  to  interfere  in  their  affairs.  Although,  free 
from  the  injustice  of  denying  the  oppressed  condition  of  the 
peasantry,  for  which  he  had  severely  attacked  the  princes  and 
nobility,  he  dreaded  the  insolence  of  the  peasantry  under  the 
guidance  of  the  Anabaptists  and  enthusiasts,  whom  he  viewed 
with  deep  repugnance,  and,  consequently,  used  his  utmost 
endeavours  to  quell  the  sedition ;  but  the  peasantry,  believing 
themselves  betrayed  by  him,  gave  way  to  greater  excesses^, 
and  Thomas  Miinzer  openly  accused  him  ^^  of  deserting  the 
cause  of  liberty,  and  of  rendering  the  Eeformation  a  fresh  ad- 
vantage for  the  princes,  a  fresh  means  of  tyranny." 

The  whole  of  the  peasantry  in  Southern  Germany,  incited 
by  fanatical  preachers,  meanwhile  revolted,  and  were  joined 
by  several  cities.  Carlstadt,  expelled  from  Saxony,  now  ap- 
peared at  Botenburg  on  the  Tauber,  and  the  Upper  German 
peasantry,  inflamed  by  his  exhortations  to  prosecute  the  Re- 
formation independently  of  Luther,  whom  he  accused  of 
countenancing  the  princes,  rose  in  the  March  and  April  of 
1525,  in  order  to  maintain  the  twelve  articles  by  force,  to  com- 


THE  PEASANT  WAR.  239 

pel  the  princes  and  nobles  to  subscribe  to  them,  to  destroy  the 
monasteries,  and  to  spread  the  gospeL  Mergentheim,  the  seat 
of  the  unpopular  German  Hospitallers,  was  plundered.  The 
counts  of  Hohenlohe  were  fon^Bd  to  join  the  insurgents,  who 
said  to  them,  "  Brother  Albert  and  brother  George,  jou  are 
no  longer  lords  but  peasants,  we  are  the  lords  of  Hohenlohe !" 
The  ringleaders  were  Florian  Gejer,  a  notorious  captain  of 
mercenaries,  Bermeter,  Metzler,  a  tayem-keeper  in  the  Oden« 
wald,  and  Jaechlein  Bohrbach.  Numbers  of  the  nobility  were 
forced,  under  pain  of  their  castles  being  plundered  and  de- 
stroyed, to  join  the  insurgents.  The  castle  and  city  of  Wein- 
I  sperg,  in  which  a  number  of  Swabian  nobles  had  tiiJLen  refuge 
with  their  families  and  treasure,  were  besieged,  and  the  former 
was  stormed  and  taken  by  Geyer.  The  citizens  retained  the 
nobles,  who,  on  seeing  all  was  lost,  attempted  to  flee  by  force, 
and  they  fell  together  into  the  hands  of  the  victorious  pea- 
santry, by  whom  the  nobles,  seventy  in  number,  were  con- 
demn^ to  run  between  two  ranks  of  men  armed  with  spears, 
with  which  they  pierced  them  as  they  passed. 

This  atrocious  deed  drew  a  pamphlet  from  Luther  ''  against 
the  furious  peasantry,''  in  which  he  called  upon  all  the  citizens 
of  the  empire  *'  to  strangle,  to  stab  them,  secretly  and  openly, 
as  they  can,  as  one  would  kill  a  mad  dog."*  The  peasantry 
had,  however,  ceased  to  respect  him.  Florian  Greyer  returned 
to  Franconia,  where  he  systematically  destroyed  the  castles  of 
the  nobility.  The  main  body  of  the  insurgents,  meanwhile, 
held  a  great  council  of  war  at  Gundelsheim,  in  which  Wendel 
i  Hippler,  who  had  formerly  been  in  the  service  of  the  counts 
'  of  Hohenlohe,  by  whom  he  had  been  ill-treated,  advised  them 
to  seek  the  alliance  of  the  lower  nobility  against  the  princes, 
and  to  take  the  numerous  troops  of  mercenaries,  inclined  to 
favour  their  cause,  into  their  pay.  The  avarice  and  confi- 
dence of  the  peasantry  caused  the  latter  proposal  to  be  re- 
jected, but  the  former  one  was  acceded  to,  and  the  chief 
command  was  accordingly  imposed  upon  the  notorious  robber- 
knight  on  the  Kocher,  Goetz  von  Berlichingen  with  the  iron 
hand.  Gcetz  had  carried  on  several  feuds  with  the  temporal 
and  spiritual  princes,  and  was  reputed  a  bold  and  independent 

♦  Caspar  von  Schwenkfeld  said,  "  Luther  has  led  the  people  out  of 
Egypt  (the  papacy)  through  the  Red  Sea  (the  peasant  war),  but  has  de- 
aerted  them  in  the  wilderness."    Luther  never  forgave  him. 


240  THE  PEASANT  WAR. 

spirit ;  his  courage  was,  however,  the  only  quality  befitting 
him  for  the  office  thus  imposed  upon  him,  his  knowledge  of 
warfare  being  solely  confined  to  the  tactics  of  highway  rob- 
bery. His  life  had  been  spent  in  petty  contests ;  and  in  the 
candid  biography,  still  extant,  written  by  himself,  he  never 
even  alludes  to  the  great  ideas  of  the  times,  but  details  with 
extreme  zest  the  manner  in  which  he  had  way-laid  and  plun- 
dered not  only  armed,  foes,  but  also  peaceable  wajrfarers  and 
merchants.  With  this  extraordinary  leader,  or  rather  pri- 
soner, at  their  head,  the  multitude  crossed  the  Neckar,  and, 
advancing  into  the  valley  of  the  Maine,  spread  terror  as  far  as 
Frankfurt,  where  the  communes  rose  and  deposed  the  counciL 
Aschafienburg  was  forced  to  subscribe  to  the  twelve  articles. 
The  peasants  around  Spires  and  Worms,  and  in  the  Pfalz,  on 
either  bank  of  the  Rhine,  meanwhile  revolted  under  Frederick 
Wurm,  and  a  citizen  of  Weissenburg,  nicknamed  Bacchus. 
The  insurrection  in  the  Pfak  was  quelled  by  the  Elector 
Louis,  who  listened  to  the  demands  of  the  peasantry,  and  in- 
duced them  to  return  to  their  homes.  The  eastern  part  of 
Swabia  was  completely  revolutionized,  and  fresh  multitudes 
assembled  at  Gaildorf  and  EUwangen,  under  Jacob  Bader, 
who  needlessly  destroyed  the  fine  old  castle  of  Hohenstaufen, 
and,  on  the  Neckar  side  of  the  Alp,  Matern  Feuerbacher  as- 
sembled twenty-five  thousand  men.  Had  those  multitudes,  in- 
stead of  plundering  monasteries  and  castles,  aided  their  bre- 
thren of  Upper  Swabia,  the  force  of  the  Truchsess,  before 
which  Eitel  Hans  MUUer  was  retreating,  must  have  been 
annihilated. 

The  main  body  of  the  peasantry,  under  Goetz,  Metzler,  and 
Geyer,  now  marched  upon  Wurzburg,  within  whose  fortress  the 
clergy  and  nobility  had  secured  their  treasures.  The  whole 
country  was  in  open  revolt  as  far  as  Thuringia.  In  the  city 
of  Wiirzburg,  Hans  Bermeter  had  already  incited  the  citizens 
to  rebellion,  and  had  plundered  the  houses  of  the  clergy.  The 
city  was  easily  taken,  but  the  strongly-fortified  castle  of 
Frauenberg  was  gallantly  defended  by  the  feudal  retainers  of 
the  bishop.  Several  bloody  attacks  proving  unsuccessful, 
Goetz  advised  his  followers  to  retreat,  and  either  to  aid  the 
Swabian  peasantry  against  the  Truchsess  or  to  overrun  the 
whole  of  Franconia  and  Thuringia,  and  to  spread  the  revolu- 
tion to  the  utmost  limits  of  the  empire.     But  his  advice  was- 


DEFEAT  OF  THE  PEASANTS.         241 

overraled  bj  Gejer,  and  the  peasants  continued  to  expend 
their  energy  on  the  impregnable  fort  until  the  news  of  the  un- 
saccessful  defence  of  their  brethren  in  Swabia  against  the 
Truchsess  was  brought  by  Hippler,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  siege  was  suddenly  raised,  and  the  united  force  of  the 
peasantry  was  turned  against  the  Truchsess. 

The  elector,  Louis,  would,  notwithstanding  the  counsels  of 
the  refugee  nobility,  the  bishops  of  Wurzburg  and  Spires, 
who  continually  admonished  him  to  break  his  plighted  word, 
to  follow  the  exiample  given  by  the  Truchsess  and  others  of 
the  nobility,  and  to  head  his  troops  against  the  peasantry, 
have  remained  true  to  his  promise,  had  he  not  applied  for 
advice  to  Melancthon,  who  declared  him  free  from  guilt  in 
ease  he  broke  his  knightly  word,  and  zealously  exhorted  him 
to  make  head  against  the  rebels.  He  joined  the  Truchsess, 
who  DOW  found  himself  at  the  head  of  a  well-armed  force  of 
twelve  thousand  men,  and  marched  to  the  relief  of  Wiirzburg. 
When  too  late,  the  Franconian  peasantry  resorted  to 
diplomatic  measures  by  the  convocation  of  a  Franconian  diet 
at  Schweinfurt,  composed  of  all  the  estates  and  nobles  by 
whom  they  had  been  joined,  and  which  was  opened  by  an 
^ergetic  manifesto.  Negotiation  was,  however,  unavailing 
in  the  face  of  a  victorious  imperial  army.  Battle  or  flight 
were  the  only  alternative,  and  the  diet  was  dissolved  after 
sitting  a  few  days.  Hippler  vainly  loaded  the  peasants  with 
bitter  reproaches  for  their  rejection  of  the  counsel  he  had  so 
wisely  given,  and  endeavoured  to  maintain  some  degree  of 
discipline  and  order,  Goetz  von  Berlichingen  secretly  re- 
gained his  home  during  the  following  night.  May  28th,  1525, 
and  a  general  dispersion  took  place  among  the  different 
bodies  of  peasantry.  On  the  2nd  June,  the  Truchsess 
attacked  Metzler,  who  had  encamped  near  Koenigshofen. 
Metzler  fled,  and  the  peasantry  were  cut  down  by  thousands. 
■Hiis  defeat  was  chiefly  caused  by  the  disunion  that  prevailed 
smong  them  and  by  the  absence  of  Geyer  and  his  followers,  who 
Were  engaged  in  negotiating  terms  with  the  Margrave  Casimir 
von  Culmbaah,  and  in  besieging  the  castle  of  Wiirzburg.  Greyer 
Inched  the  field  of  battle  too  late  to  turn  the  day,  and  was 
himself  defeated  in  a  decisive  and  desperate  engagement  that 
*ook  place  ^  few  days  after.  He  escaped  to  the  vicinity  of 
l^imburg,  where  he  was  overtaken  and  slain. 

VOL.  n.  B 


242         DEFEAT  OF  THE  PEASANTS. 

Thousands  of  the  peasantry  had  &llen,  and  all  opposition 
BOW  ceased.  The  citj  of  Wurzburg  threw  open  her  gates  to 
the  triumphant  Truchsess,  who  held  a  fearfiA  court  of  judg- 
ment, in  which  the  prisoners  were  beheaded  by  his  jester, 
Hans;*  nineteen  citizens  and  thirty-six  ringleaders  were 
among  the  number.  Similar  horrors  were  enacted  through- 
out the  country,  and  were  followed  by  a  systematic  persecu- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  bishop.  The  Rhenish  princes  were, 
nevertheless,  speedily  recalled  in  order  to  quell  a  fresh  insur- 
rection that  had  broken  out  in  their  rear,  and  were  again 
victorious  at  Pfeddersheim.  The  Mai^rave,  Casimir  of  Bran- 
denburg-Culmbach,  who  had  kept  his  father  a  close  prisoner 
for  several  years  under  pretext  of  insanity,  treated  the  pea- 
santry with  the  most  refined  cruelty,  and  reduced  them  to 
such  a  state  of  desperation  that  the  peasant  lads  would  ask 
him  as  he  rode  along,  whether  he  intended  to  exterminate 
their  class.  The  Truchsess,  after  the  execution  at  Wurz- 
burg, joined  Casimir  at  Bamberg,  which  had  been  lately  the 
scene  of  a  fresh  defeat  of  the  wretched  peasantry,  who,  to- 
gether with  some  of  the  citizens,  suspected  of  co-operating 
with  them,  were  cruelly  butchered.  Hundreds  of  heads  feU 
on  the  return  of  the  expelled  nobility.  The  spiritual  princes 
surpassed  their  lay  brethren,  in  atrocity.  Another  insurrec- 
tion in  Upper  Swabia  was  put  down.  Goetz  was  retained  a 
prisoner  for  two  years.  Hippler  died  in  prison.  Nor  did 
the  cruelty  of  the  Truchsess  remain  unretributed.  His  son, 
a  student  in  the  French  university,  was  carried  off,  and,  in  all 

*  The  peasants  knelt  in  a  row  before  the  Truchsess,  whUst  Hans  th0 
jester,  -with  the  sword  of  execution  in  his  hand,  marched  up  and  down 
behind  them.  The  Truchsess  demanded,  **  which  among  them  had  been 
implicated  in  the  revolt  ?"  None  acknowledged  the  crime.  "  Which  d- 
them  had  read  the  Bible  ?"  Some  said  yes,  some  no,  and  each  of  those  j 
who  replied  in  the  affirmatiye  was  instantly  deprived  of  his  head  by 
Hans,  amid  the  loud  lau^ter  of  the  squires.  The  same  fate  befell  those 
who  knew  how  to  read  or  write.  The  priest  of  Schipf,  an  old  gouty 
man,  who  had  zealously  opposed  the  peasantry,  had  himself  carried  by 
four  of  his  men  to  the  Truchsess  in  order  to  receive  the  thanks  of  that 
prince  for  his  services,  but  Hans,  imagining  that  he  was  one  of  the. 
rebels,  suddenly  stepping  behind  him,  cut  off  his  head ;  "  upon  which," 
the  Truchsess  relates,  "  I  seriously  reproved  my  good  Hans  for  his  un- 
toward jest.**  See  Hormayr,  A  young  peasant  said,  as  he  was  about  to 
be  beheaded,  "  Alas  !  alas !  I  must  die  so  soon,  and  I  have  scarcely  hadj 
a  bellyful  twice  in  my  life !"    Stump/, 


DEFEAT  OF  THE  PEASANTS.  243 

probabilitjy  murdered,  (as  he  never  reappeared,)  bj  a  Chevalier 
Ton  Roeenberg,  whom  he  had  insulted. 

At  the  same  time,  in  the  summer  of  1525,  an  insurrection, 
bearing  a  more  religious  character,  broke  out  in  Thuringia 
where  Thomas  Munzer  appeared  as  a  prophet,  and  preached 
the  doctrines  of  equality  and  fraternity.  The  insurgents  were 
defeated  by  Ernst,  Count  von  Mansfeld,  whose  brother  Albert 
had  conceded  all  their  demands ;  and  afterwards  at  Fulda, 
by  Philip  of  Hesse,  who,  reinforced  by  Ernst,  the  Duke 
George,  and  the  Elector  John  of  Saxony,  marched  on  Fran- 
kenhausen,  the  head-quarters  of  the  rebels,  who,  infatuated 
with  the  belief  that  Heaven  would  fight  for  them,  allowed 
themselves  to  be  slaughtered  whilst  invoking  aid  from  God. 
Five  thousand  were  slain.  Frankenhausen  was  taken  and  pil- 
laged, and  three  hundred  prisoners  were  beheaded.  Munser 
was  discovered  in  a  hay-stack,  in  which  he  had  secreted 
himself,  put  to  the  rack,  and  executed  with  twenty-six  of  his 
oompanions. 

The  revolt  had,  meanwhile,  spread  from  Strassburg  through- 
out Styria,  Carinthia,  and  a  part  of  the  Tyrol,  and  Count 
Sigmund  von  Dietrichstein  was  despatched  thither  by  the 
Archduke  Ferdinand,  at  the  head  of  a  small  troop  of  merce- 
naries, for  the  purpose  of  restoring  tranquillity.  The  merce- 
naries, however,  refusing  to  face  the  insurgents,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  retreat  and  to  reinforce  himself  with  Hussars,*  who 
practised  the  greatest  atrocities  in  the  Alps.  "Whilst  carous- 
ing with  his  followers  at  Schladming,  celebrated  for  its  mines, 
he  was  surprised  daring  the  night  by  the  peasants  under 
Michael  Gruber.  Three  thousand  of  his  soldiers  were  slain, 
thirty-two  nobles  beheaded,  and  he  was  himself  taken  prisoner. 
His  life  was  spared  at  the  request  of  the  mercenaries,  who 
had  deserted  to  the  rebels,  but  all  the  Bohemians  and  Hussars 
in  his  army  were  put  to  death. 

Ferdinand  now  attempted  to  pacify  the  peasantry  by  con- 
cessions and  promises,  and  sent  to  them,  as  mediator,  George 
von  Frundsberg,  the  idol  of  the  mercenaries,  who  succeeded 
in  quelling  the  rebellion  in  the  Salzburg  territory.  Niclas 
von  Salm,  however,  refused  to  make  terms  with  the  insur- 

*  So  named  from  the  Hungarian  number  "huss,"  twenty;  these 
troops  of  cavaby  having  been  originally  formed  by  the  enrolment  of  every 
twentieth  man  in  Hungary.    Translator. 

B  2 


244  INCREASING  POWER  OF 

gents,  and  burnt  Schladming  with  all  its  inhabitants,  forcing 
those  who  attempted  to  escape  back  into  the  flames.  He  was 
also  victorious  over  the  rebel  chief,  Creismayr,  at  Radstadt 
Fearful  reprisab  were  taken.  The  whole  countrj  became  one 
scene  of  devastation,  and  young  children  were  cast  ad  *^  Lu-* 
theran  dogs*'  into  the  flames. 

Thus  terminated  this  terrible  struggle,  during  which  more 
than  one  hundred  thousand  of  the  peasantry  fell,  and  which 
reduced  the  survivors  to  a  more  degraded  state  of  slavery, 

CXCV.  Increasing  power  of  the  House  of  Habsburg, —  F»c« 
tories  in  Italy. — The  intermixture  of  diplomacy  with  the 
Reformadon.'^^The  Augsburg  Confession. 

The  emperor,  Charles  V.,  and  his  brother,  Ferdinand,  en* 
gaged  in  extending  the  power  of  their  family  abroad,  took 
merely  a  secondary  interest  in  the  events  that  agitated  Ger- 
many. The  rescue  of  Italy  from  French  influence  and  in- 
trigue, the  aUiance  of  the  pope  as  a  means  of  promoting  the 
interest  of  the  house  of  Habsburg,  and  the  possession  of  the 
Luxemburg  inheritance,  (Hungary  and  Bohemia,)  formed  the 
chief  objects  of  their  ambition ;  and  the  royal  brothers,  conse- 
quently, solely  took  a  serious  part  in  the  internal  movements 
of  the  empire,  or  made  use  of  them,  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
fluencing the  pope. 

Austria  was  by  no  means  free  from  the  general  state  of 
fermentation,  and  demanded  the  greatest  caution  on  the  part 
of  her  ruler.  A  new  government  had  been  formed  by  the 
estates  on  the  death  of  Maximilian,  and  their  recognition  of 
his  grandson  was  declared  dependent  upon  certain  conditions. 
The  doctrines  of  Luther  were  also  preached  at  Vienna,  by 
Paul  von  Spretten,  (Speratus,)  and  were  generally  disseminated 
throughout  Austria.  Charles  Y.,  unable  at  that  moment  to 
turn  his  attention  to  that  portion  of  his  dominions,  intrusted 
its  management  to  the  archduke,  who  visited  Vienna  in  1522, 
seized  the  persons  of  the  new  counsellors  at  a  banquet,  and 
deprived  them  and  six  of  the  citizens  of  their  heads.  Spera- 
tus was  banished,  and  his  successor,  Tauler,  condemned  to  the 
stake.  Hubmaier  of  Waldshut  was  also  burnt.  Lutheranism, 
nevertheless,  rapidly  progressed,  and  fresh  preachers,  patron- 


THE  HOUSE  OF  HABSBURO.  245 

ued  and  protected  bj  the  nobilitj,  upon  whom  Ferdinand  could 
oot  retaliate,  arose.  The  disputes,  between  the  emperor  and 
the  ^pe,  moreover,  inclined  him  to  leave  the  Reformers  un- 
haniflsed,  nor  was  he  altogether  uninfluenced  bj  the  hope  of 
enriching  himself  with  the  plunder  of  the  church.  During 
his  church  visitation  in  1528,  he  discovered  that  almost  the 
whole  of  the  Austrian  nobility  had  embraced  Lntheranism ; 
and  in  1532,  the  estates  demanded  religious  liberty,  and  re* 
iterated  their  demand  with  increased  energy  in  1541.  When, 
in  1538,  Cardinal  Aleander  visited  Austria,  he  found  several 
hundred  curacies  vacant,  the  priests  having  either  run  away 
or  married,  leaving  their  posts  to  be  gradually  refilled  by 
Lutheran  preachers.  For  ten  years  past,  not  a  single  student 
in  the  university  of  Vienna  had  turned  monk. 

Louis,  the  unfortunate  king  of  Bohemia  and  Hungary,  fell, 
in  his  twentieth  year,  in  the  great  battle  of  Mohacz,  fighting 
against  the  Turks,  and  his  possessions  were  inherited  by 
Ferdinand  in  right  of  his  wife,  Anna,  Louis's  sister.  The 
Bohemians,  unwilling  to  give  up  their  Hussite  compacts,  as 
i^onished  by  Luther,  who  urged  them  to  make  common 
canse  with  Saxony,  were  flattered  and  caressed  by  the  arch- 
d^e,  who  promised  toleration  in  religious  matters.  In  Hun- 
&^  he  behaved  with  still  greater  liberality,  and  placed 
himself  at  the  head  of  the  Reformers ;  the  Catholics,  supported 
hy  the  pope,  attempting  to  place  John  Zapolya  on  the  throne. 
This  competitor  was  defeated,  and  Ferdinand  solemnized  his 
pronation  at  Stuhlweiseenburg,  A.  D.  1527.  William  of 
Bavaria,  another  aspirant  to  the  throne  of  Bohemia,  was  re- 
jected by  the  Bohemians  in  favour  of  the  more  tolerant  arch- 
^Qkc,  and  ever  afterwards  distinguished  himself  as  a  cruel 
persecutor  of  the  Lutherans. 

^ilst  these  disturbances  afflicted  Germany,  the  youthful 
®nperor  was  busily  engaged  with  Spain  and  Italy.  On  the 
«>nclu8ion  of  the  council  of  Worms  he  had  hastened  into 
^pain  to  quell  a  revolt  that  had  broken  out  against  the  Habs- 
Jprg  rule.  Order  was  speedily  restored,  and,  after  fortifying 
"'^^'i^lf  by  an  alliance  with  England  against  France,  he  des- 
patched a  Spanish  army  under  Pescara  into  Italy.  The  con- 
wable,  Charles  de  Bourbon,  who  was  on  ill  terms  with  his 
eonsin,  the  French  king,  also  exerted  his  distinguished  talents 
^  a  commander  in  his  favour.     The  pope,  Adrian,  was  a 


246  VICTORIES  IN  ITALY. 

complete  tool  of  the  emperor ;  bot  his  successor,  Clement,  en- 
deavoured to  hold  the  balauce  between  the  emperor  and 
France,  whilst  the  petty  Italian  states  dreaded  the  overwhelm- 
ing power  of  the  former  more  than  the  influence  of  the 
latter.  The  French  under  Lautrec,  aided  by  Swiss  mer- 
cenaries, were,  consequently,  enabled  to  take  firm  footing  in 
Italy,  and  Pescara  was  hard  pushed.  George  von  Frunds- 
berg  and  his  German  Lancers  unexpectedly  came  to  his  rescue 
across  the  Yeltlin,  and  an  engagement,  in  which  five  thou- 
sand of  the  Swiss  fell,  took  place  at  Bicocca,  a.  d.  1522.  The 
Flemish  and  English  also  invaded  France,  and  advanced  as 
far  as  Paris,  a.  d.  1523.  In  the  ensuing  year,  Bourbon  and 
Pescara  expelled  the  French  from  Italy.  Frundsberg  took 
Genoa  by  storm,  but  Marseilles  made  a  steady  resistance. 
Twelve  thousand  of  the  Lancers  were  carried  off  by  pestilence 
and  famine  during  the  futile  siege. 

In  the  ensuing  year,  Francis  I.  took  the  field  at  the  head 
of  a  fine  army,  supported  by  eight  thousand  Swiss  nnder 
Diesbach,  and  the  Black  Guard,  five  thousand  strong,  com- 
posed of  German  mercenaries.  Bourbon,  Pescara,  and  Frunds- 
berg awaited  the  enemy  at  Pavia,  where  a  decisive  battle  was 
fought,  February  24th,  1525.  Francis,  incredulous  of  defeat, 
refused  to  quit  the  field  and  was  taken  prisoner.  The  whole 
of  the  Black  Guard  was  cut  to  pieces  by  their  enraged  coun- 
trymen. Twenty  thousand  of  the  French  and  their  allies 
strewed  the  field. 

This  glorious  victory,  however,  exposed  the  emperor  to 
fresh  danger.  His  power  was  viewed  with  universal  appre- 
hension. England  united  with  France ;  the  pope,  the  Italian 
princes,  not  excepting  Francesco  Sforza,  who  owed  his  re- 
storation to  the  ducal  throne  of  Milan  to  Charles,  followed 
her  example,  and  Pescara's  fidelity  was  attempted  to  be 
shaken.  France  took  up  arms  for  her  captive  monarch,  and 
Charles,  with  characteristic  prudence,  concluded  peace  at 
Madrid  with  his  prisoner,  a.  d.  1526,  who  swore  to  renounce 
all  claim  upon  Italy  and  Burgundy,  and  to  wed  the  emperor^s 
sister,  Eleonora,  the  widowed  queen  of  Portugal.  But  faith 
had  fled  from  courts.  Francis  no  sooner  regained  his  liberty 
than  he  sought  to  evade  his  oath,  from  which  the  pope,  more- 
over, releas^  him.  Charles,  meanwhile,  retained  his  sons  in 
hostage. 


VICT0BIB8  IN  ITALY.  247 

Pescara  dying,  Charles  de  Bourbon  was  created  generalis- 
simo of  the  imperial  forces  in  Italy,  and  fresh  reinforcements 
were  granted  at  the  diet  held  at  Spires  by  the  princes,  [a.  d. 
1526,]  who  in  return  were  allowed  freedom  of  conscience,  the 
edict  of  Worms  being  abrogated,  if  not  in  form,  at  least  in 
fact  George  von  Frundsb^g,  himself  a  Lutheran,  and  Se- 
bastian Schertlin,  another  celebrated  captain,  speedily  found 
themselyes  at  the  head  of  a  picked  body  of  troops.  A  mutiny, 
however,  caused  by  the  emperor's  delay  in  furnishing  the  sum 
required,  broke  out  in  the  camp.  Florence,  trembling  fw  her 
safety,  sent  150,000  ducats,  and  Charles  of  Bourbon  conde- 
scended to  demand  aid,  which  was  refused,  from  the  pope. 
Frundsberg  vainly  attempted  to  quell  the  mutiny.  His  Lanoers 
turned  their  arms  against  him.  He  fell  senseless  with  rage, 
and  never  after  sufficiently  recovered  to  retake  the  command, 
which  deferred  to  the  constable.  The  Lancers,  ashamed  of 
their  conduct,  demanded  to  be  led  against  the  pope,  and  aston- 
ished Rome  suddenly  beheld  the  enemy  before  her  gates. 
Charles  de  Bourbon  was  killed  by  a  shot  from  the  city.  The 
soldiery,  enraged  at  this  catastrophe,  carried  it  by  storm,  a.  d. 
1527.  The  pillage  lasted  fourteen  days.  The  commands  of 
the  officers  were  disregarded,  and  Frundsberg  fell  ill  from 
mation.  The  Lutheran  troopers  converted  the  papal  chapels 
uito  stables,  dressed  themselves  in  the  cardinals'  robes,  and 
proclaimed  Luther  pope.  Clement  was  besieged  in  the  Torre 
^  San  Angelo  and  taken  prisoner.  The  numbers  of  unburied 
hodies,  however,  produced  a  pestilence,  which  carried  off  the 
g^ter  part  of  the  invaders.  The  survivors,  headed  by  the 
Wnce  of  Orange,  marched  to  Naples,  which  he  valiantly  de- 
fended against  the  French.  The  Germans  under  Schertlin 
fought  their  way  back  to  Germany.  The  French  again  in- 
vaded Italy,  and  r^ained  Genoa,  but  being  defeated  at  Pavia 
hy  Caspar,  the  son  of  George  von  Frundsberg,  Naples  still 
holding  out,  Henry  of  Brunswick  marching  to  the  emperor's 
^4  and  Andreas  Doria,  the  celebrated  doge  of  Genoa,  de- 
claring in  Charles's  favour,  Francis  I.  concluded  a  treaty  at 
Cambray^  [a.  d.  1529,]  known  as  the  ladies'  peace,  his  mother 
*nd  the  emperor's  aunt,  Margaret,  stadtholderess  of  the  Ne- 
therlands, being  the  chief  negotiators.  Eleonora  of  Portugal 
*'6»tored  the  two  hostages  to  their  father,  by  whom  she  was 
''^▼ed  as  a  bride. 


248  THE  INTBBMIXTURE  OF  DIPLOMACY 

The  defeat  of  the  nobility  and  peasantry  had  crushed  the 
revolutionary  spirit  in  the  people,  and  the  Reformation,  strip- 
ped of  its  terrors,  began  to  be  regarded  as  advantageous  by 
the  princes.  Luther  also  appeared,  not  as  a  dangerous  inno- 
vator, but  in  the  light  of  a  zealous  upholder  of  princely  power, 
the  Divine  origin  of  which  he  even  made  an  article  of  faith ; 
and  thus  through  Luther's  well-meant  policy,  the  BeformatioD, 
the  cause  of  the  people,  naturally  became  that  of  the  princes, 
and,  consequently,  instead  of  being  the  aim,  was  converted 
into  a  means  of  their  policy.  In  England,  Henry  VIII.  fa<- 
voured  the  Reformation  for  the  sake  of  becoming  pope  in  his 
own  dominions,  and  of  giving  unrestrained  licence  to  ty- 
ranny and  caprice.  In  Sweden,  Gustavus  Yasa  embraced  the 
Lutheran  faith  as  a  wider  mark  of  distinction  between  the 
Swedes  and  Danes,  whose  king,  Christiern,  he  had  driven  out 
of  Sweden.  His  example  was  followed  [a.  d.  1527]  by  the 
grand-master,  Albert,  of  Prussia,  who  hoped  by  that  means  to 
render  that  country  an  hereditary  possession  in  his  family. 
His  cousin,  the  detestable  Casimir  von  Culmbach,  sought  to 
wipe  out  the  memory  of  his  parricide  by  his  confession  of  the 
new  faith.  Barnim  of  Pomerania,  Henry  of  Mecklenburg, 
the  Guelphic  princes  of  Brunswick,  Wolfgang  von  Anhalt, 
and  the  counts  of  Mansfeld  appear  to  have  been  actuated  by 
nobler  motives  in  favouring  the  Reformation.  John,  elector 
of  Saxony,  and  Philip  of  Hesse,  adhered  to  Luther's  cause 
with  genuine  enthusiasm.  Lubeck,  Schleswig,  Holstein,  and 
the  majority  of  the  northern  cities,  had  already  declared  in 
favour  of  the  Reformation.  Joachim,  elector  of  Brandenburg, 
Henry  of  Brunswick- Wolfenbiittel,  and  George,  duke  of 
Saxon-Tburingia,  formed  the  sole  exceptions  amoug  the  north- 
ern potentates,  and  remained  strictly  Catholic,  partly  through 
dread  of  the  emperor  and  of  the  pope,  partly  through  jealousy 
of  their  relatives  and  neighbours. 

The  elector  John,  Luther's  most  zealous  partisan,  immedi- 
ately on  his  accession  to  the  government  of  Saxony,  on  the 
death  of  Frederick  the  Wise,  empowered  Luther  to  undertake 
a  church  visitation  throughout  his  dominions,  and  to  arrange 
ecclesiastical  affairs  according  to  the  spirit  of  the  doctrine  he 
taught.  His  example  was  followed  by  the  rest  of  the  Lutheran 
princes,  and  this  measure  necessarily  led  to  a  separation  from, 
instead  of  a  thorough  reformation  of  the  church.     The  first 


WITH  THE  BEFORMATIOK.  249 

Step  was  the  abolition  of  monasteries  and  the  confiscation  of 
their  wealth  by  the  state,  by  which  a  portion  was  set  apart  for 
the  extension  of  the  academies  and  schools.  The  monks  and 
nuns  were  absolved  from  their  tows,  compelled  to  marrj  and 
to  follow  a  profession.  The  aged  people  were  provided  for 
daring  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  These  measures,  arbi- 
trary as  thej  appear,  were  hailed  with  delight  by  multitudes 
of  both  sexes,  who  sometimes  quitted  their  convents  without 
receiving  permission,  and  Luther,  in  defiance  of  the  ancient 
prophecy  that  antichrist  would  spring  from  the  union  of  a 
monk  and  nun,  wedded  [a.  d.  1525]  the  beautiful  young 
nun,  Catherine  von  Bora,  who  brought  him  several  children. 

The  whole  system  of  the  church  was  simplified.  The 
sequestrated  bishoprics  were  provisionally  administered,  and 
the  affairs  of  the  Lutheran  church  controlled  by  com* 
missioners  selected  from  among  the  Reformers,  and  by  the 
councils  of  the  princes,  Luther  incessantly  promulgating  the 
doctrine  of  the  right  of  temporal  sovereigns  to  decide  all 
ecclesiastical  questions.  His  intention  was  the  creation  of  a 
counterpoise  to  ecclesiastical  authority,  and  he  was  probably 
far  from  imagining  that  religion  might  eventually  be  deprived 
of  her  dignity  and  liberty  by  temporal  despotism.  Episcopal 
authority  passed  entirely  into  the  hands  of  the  princes.  An 
ecclesiastic,  who  received  the  denomination  of  preacher  or 
pastor,  (shepherd,)  was  placed  over  each  of  the  communes. 
The  churches  were  stripped  of  their  ornaments,  and  the 
clergy,  like  Luther,  assumed  the  black  habit  of  the  Augustins, 
over  which  they  placed  the  white  surplice  when  before  the 
altar.  The  German  language  was  adopted  in  the  service. 
Luther  edited  the  first  book  of  hymns,  the  most  beautiful 
among  which  were  his  composition.  The  church  catechism 
was  also  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  schoolmaster,  who  was 
under  the  surveillance  of  the  pastor.  The  schools  were 
greatly  improved  by  Luther. 

Luther  carried  on  a  long  and  bitter  dispute  with  Eras- 
mus, which  was  rendered  more  violent  by  the  papist  party, 
who  poured  oil  upon  the  fiames  of  discord. 

In  the  diet  held  at  Spires,  [a.  d.  1529,]  the  Catholic  princes, 
who  had  entered  into  closer  union  with  the  emperor,  and 
were  in  the  majority,  prohibited  all  further  reform,  and  de- 
creed that  the  afiairs  of  the  church  should  remain  in  statu  quo 


250  THE  INTEEMIXTTJRB  OF  DIPLOMACY 

until  the  coDTOcation  of  a  comiciL  Against  this  an  energetic 
protest  was  made  by  the  Lutheran  princes,  from  which  they 
and  the  Lutheran  party  received  the  name  of  Protestants, 
April  19th,  1529.  The  ambassadors  deputed  to  present  this 
protest  to  the.  emperor,  who  was  at  that  time  in  Italy,  were 
thrown  by  him  into  prison. 

The  Landgrave,  Philip,  weary  of  the  slow  advance  of  the 
Reformation,  notwithstanding  the  general  feeling  in  its  favour, 
now  project^  the  union  of  all  the  Reformers  in  the  empire, 
and,  for  this  purpose,  concerted  a  meeting  between  Luther 
and  Zwingli  at  Marburg,  a.  t>.  1529.  Luther's  invincible 
repugnance  to  the  tenets  of  the  latter,  however,  proved  an 
insuperable  obstacle  to  concord.  He  was,  moreover,  infatu- 
ated with  the  idea  of  gaining  over  the  emperor  to  his  cause, 
on  his  return  from  Italy.  The  elector,  John,  sued  for  the 
hand  of  the  emperor's  sister,  Catherine,  for  his  son. 

Charles  Y.,  after  his  triumph  at  Pavia  and  the  conquest  of 
Rome,  had  arranged  the  affairs  of  Italy  and  entered  into 
alliance  with  the  pope,  on  whose  natural  son,  Alessandro  di 
Medici,  he  bestowed  his  natural  daughter,  Margaret,  and  the 
duchy  of  Florence.  Francesco  Sforza  was  permitted  to  retain 
Milan.  In  reference  to  religion,  the  pope  openly  preferred  a 
schism  to  a  council,  whence  a  general  reformation  might  re- 
sult ;  and  Charles,  intent  upon  weakening  the  opposition  of 
the  princes,  {divide  et  impera,)  unable  to  crush  the  Lutheran 
party  without  resorting  to  open  and  bloody  warfare,  and  com- 
pelled by  necessity  to  direct  the  whole  of  his  forces  against 
the  invading  Turk,  fully  shared  his  views. 

The  Turks,  then  at  the  height  f>£  their  power,  had,  under 
Suleiman  U.,  taken  Rhodes  and  driven  thence  the  knights  of 
St.  John,  A.  D.  1522.  Suleiman,  prevailed  upon  by  France, 
recognised  John  Zapolya  as  king  of  Hungary,  A.  d.  1529, 
entered  that  country  at  the  head  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  men,  took  possession  of  it  and  laid  siege  to  Vienna. 
The  siege  lasted  twenty-one  days.  After  a  last  and  furious 
attempt  to  take  the  city  by  storm,  Suleiman,  after  laying  the 
country  waste  as  far  as  Ratisbon,  withdrew,  carrying  thou- 
sands of  the*  inhabitants  away  captive. 

The  news  of  the  retreat  of  the  Turks  no  sooner  reached  the 
emperor  in  Italy  than  his  projects  for  reducing  the  Germans 
to  submission  revived.     After  solemnizing  his  coronation  at 


WITH  THE  REFOKMATIOK.  251 

Bdogna,  he  returned  to  Germany,  where,  on  the  18th  June, 
1630,  he  opened  the  great  diet  at  Augsburg.  The  hopes 
cherished  by  Luther  and  by  Saxony  were  completely  frns- 
trated,  the  proud  emperor  refusing  to  bestow  the  hand  of 
his  sister  on  the  elector,  or  to  invest  him,  as  was  customary, 
with  the  electorate,  whilst  Luther,  owing  to  his  being  stUl 
under  the  bann  of  the  empire,  was  unable  to  appear  in  person 
at  Augsburg.  Lutheran  preaching  was  also  strictly  pro- 
hibited in  the  city  during  the  sitting  of  the  diet.  The  princes, 
neyertheless,  openly  confessed  their  resolution  to  remain  true 
to  the  faith  they  professed,  and  the  emperor  found  himself 
oompelled  to  hear  the  accused  before  deciding  the  Lutheran 
question.  The  confession  of  faith,  known  as  the  Augsburg 
Confession,  drawn  up  by  Melancthon,  and  remarkable  for  pre- 
dsion,  vigour,  moderation,  and  forethought,  was,  consequently, 
publicly  laid  [a.  d.  1630]  before  him  by  the  princes.  Charles 
expressed  a  desire  to  have  it  read  in  Latin,  which  was  op- 
posed by  the  elector,  John,  who  exclaimed,  ^*  We  stand  on 
German  ground,  his  Majesty  will  therefore  surely  permit  us 
to  use  the  German  language."  Charles  assented,  and  Bajer, 
the  chancellor  of  Saxony,  read  it  in  a  loud,  clear  tone,  that 
was  distinctly  heard,  even  in  the  castle-yard.  The  cities  of 
Upper  Germany,  more  Zwinglian  than  Lutheran,  presented  a 
puticular  confession,  and  a  third  party  sent  a  printed  copy 
of  Zwingli's  creed.  The  result  was,  the  adhesion  of  William 
of  Nassau  to  the  Protestants  the  instant  he  became  acquainted 
^th  their  tenets,  and  a  counter-declaration  or  confutation, 
I'cmarkable  for  weakness,  on  the  part  of  the  emperor. 

A  last  attempt,  made  by  Melancthon,  and  supported  by 
^ther,  to  bring  about  a  general  reformation  in  the  church 
^7  means  of  the  pope,  with  the  view  of  securing  the  church 
n^om  the  authority  of  the  temporal  princes,  failed,  owing  to 
*^  extreme  demorah'zation  of  the  clergy,  and  Luther  was 
Bpeedily  reduced  to  silence  by  the  princes  intent  upon  the 
secularization  of  the  bishoprics. 

The  Landgrave,  Philip,  equally  averse  to  the  conferences 
^h  with  the  emperor  and  the  pope,  (the  Germans,  according 
to  him,  wanting  the  spirit  and  not  the  power  to  help  them- 
selves,)  secretly  quitted  the  diet  and  returned  home,  filled  with 
^ger  at  the  weakness  of  his  friends  in  subscribing  to  the 
decree  by  which  the  disciples  of  Zwingli  were  put  under  the 


252  THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION. 

bann  of  the  empire.  He  had,  however,  the  melancholy  grati'- 
fication  of  seeing  the  failure  of  the  projected  reconciliation, 
the  Protestants,  after  long  and  vainly  demanding  the  acknow- 
ledgment of  their  confession  of  faith  from  the  emperor,  re- 
fusing to  grant  the  aid  he  in  his  turn  demanded  against  the 
Turks,  and  the  diet  being  dissolved  in  anger  on  both  sides. 
The  edict  of  Worms,  condemnatory  of  the  whole  of  the 
Lutheran  innovations,  was  confirmed  by  the  emperor.  This 
edict  was  rejected  by  the  Protestants,  and  the  city  of  Augs- 
burg, notwithstanding  the  emperor's  presence,  refused  to 
subscribe.  The  emperor,  unable  to  contend  against  the  spirit 
of  the  Protestant  and  the  jealousy  of  the  Catholic  party,  was 
compelled  to  yield.  The  election  of  his  brother  as  king  of 
Germany,  for  the  greater  security  of  the  power  of  his  house 
in  Germany  and  Hungary  during  his  almost  constant  ab- 
sence, was  effected,  after  the  dissolution  of  the  diet,  by  the 
Catholic  electors,  in  January,  1531,  at  Cologne,  Saxony  re- 
fusing to  vote,  and  the  dukes  of  Bavaria,  the  most  z^ous 
among  the  Catholic  party,  siding,  on  this  fresh  confirmation  of 
the  hereditary  power  of  Austria  and  the  consequent  fall  of 
their  hopes  for  the  possession  of  the  crown,  with  the  oppo- 
sition. 

The  warlike  projects  of  the  Landgrave  were  now  upheld 
by  the  whole  of  the  Protestant  party,  and  Luther,  who  had 
formerly  maintained  that  obedience  to  the  emperor,  as  su- 
preme ruler,  was  a  Divine  command,  openly  declared  war 
against  the  emperor  to  be  agreeable  to  the  will  of  God.  Li 
1531,  an  oflTensive  and  defensive  alliance  was  entered  into  at 
Schmalkald  by  John,  elector  of  Saxony,  Philip  of  Hesse, 
Philip,  Ernest  and  Francis  of  Brunswick,  Wolfgang  of  An- 
halt,  the  counts  of  Mansfeld,  and  the  cities  of  Strassbui^, 
Ulm,  Constance,  Beutlingen,  Memmingen,  Lindau,  Biberach, 
Isni,  Lubeck,  Magdeburg,  and  Bremen.  Brunswick,  Groet- 
tingen,  Gosslar,  and  Eimback  gradually  joined  the  alliance ; 
Bavaria  declared  herself  willing  to  favour  the  Protestants, 
and  drew  Zapolya  in  Hungary  and  the  French  monarch  into 
their  interest.  On  the  26th  May,  1532,  a  formal  treaty  was 
signed  at  Scheyern  between  France,  Bavaria,  Saxony,  and 
Hesse,  which  drew  a  protest  from  Luther,  whose  national 
feelings  revolted  at  a  league  with  France,  his  country's 
hereditary  foe.     His  words  found  an  echo  in  the  hearts  of 


r 


THE  AUGSBUBO  COKFBSSION.  258 

the  electors ;  the  French  plenipotentiaries  were  dismissed,  and 
a  reconciliation  with  the  emperor,  who,  alarmed  at  the  douhle 
danger  with  which  he  was  threatened  from  the  French  and 
Turks,  no  longer  held  aloof,  took  place,  and  [a.  d.  1532]  a 
treaty  for  the  settlement  of  existing  religious  differences  was 
signed  at  Nuremberg,  the  emperor  acknowledging  Protestant- 
ism in  statu  quOy  but  merely  until  a  future  and  definitiye  set- 
tlement, and  strictly  prohibiting  every  fresh  reform,  as  well  as 
excluding  the  Zwinglians,  who  were  a  second  time  put  under 
the  bann  by  their  Lutheran  brethren ;  the  Protestants,  in 
consideration  of  this  concession,  granting  the  aid  demanded 
by  the  emperor  against  the  Turks. 

It  was  lugh  time.  Suleiman  had  again  presented  himself  on 
the  frontier,  at  the  head  of  an  immense  army,  with  the  avowed 
intention  of  placing  himself  on  the  throne  of  the  Western  em- 
pire. All  Germany  flew  to  arms.  The  news  of  the  termin- 
ation of  intestine  dissension  in  Germany  no  sooner  reached 
the  sultan's  ears,  than  he  asked,  with  astonishment,  "  Whether 
the  emperor  had  really  made  peace  with  Martin  Luther?" 
and,  although  the  Germans  only  mustered  eighty  thousand 
men  in  the  field,  scarcely  a  third  of  the  invading  army,  sud- 
denly retreated.  A  body  of  fifteen  thousand  cavalry,  under 
Casim  Beg,  laid  the  country  waste  as  far  as  Linz,  but  were 
cut  to  pieces  by  the  Germans.  Gratz  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Ibrahim  Pacha,  [a.  d.  1532,]  but  the  citizens,  throwing  them- 
selves into  the  castle,  made  a  brave  resistance,  until  relieved 
by  an  imperial  army  under  Katzianer.  The  Turks  were 
routed.  The  Pacha  was  killed  at  Fimitz.  Peace  was  con- 
cluded between  the  emperor  and  the  sultan,  who  was  at  that 
time  engaged  in  a  fresh  contest  with  Persia.  A  part  of  Hun- 
gary was  ceded  to  Ferdinand,  Zapolya  retaining  possession 
of  the  rest,  but  the  Persian  war  was  no  sooner  brought  to  a 
conclusion,  than  hostilities  broke  out  anew. 

A  violent  struggle  was,  meanwhile,  carried  on  in  Switzer- 
land. The  Alpine  shepherds,  the  four  cantons,  and  Zug,  since 
known  as  the  Catholic  cantons,  leagued  together,  and  with 
the  Archduke  Ferdinand.  The  whole  of  Switzerland  took  up 
arms.  Negotiation  was  unavailing,  Zwingli  being  averse  to 
peace.  He  fell  at  Albis,  where  his  party  suffered  a  total  de- 
feat    Geneva  rejected  the  Catholic  service,  Ta.  d.  1535,1  as- 


254  THE  AUG8BUKG  CONFESSION. 

serted  her  freedom,  and  placed  herself  under  the  government 
of  the  great  Reformer,  Calvin,  whose  tenets  spread  thence  into 
France,  where  thej  were  upheld  hj  the  Huguenots  {Etdgenos- 
sen,  confederates). 

Philip  of  Hesse,  dissatisfied  with  the  treaty  of  Nuremberg, 
speedily  infringed  the  conditions  of  peace  hj  leaguing  with 
the  Swahian  confederation,  and  with  Wurtemberg,  against 
Ferdinand.   The  emperor,  threatened  bj  fresh  dangers,  mean- 
while lay  sick,  having  broken  his  leg  when  hunting.     A  con- 
ference took  place  at  Marseilles  •  between  the  pope  and  the 
French  monarch,  both  of  whom  smarted  beneath  the  supre- 
macy of  the  Habsburg,  nor  was  it  without  the  permission  of 
the  former  that  the  latter  entered  into  alliance  with  the  Ger- 
man Protestants,  and  advanced  100,000  dollars  in  aid  of  the 
attempt  made  by  Ulric,  the  young  duke  of  Wurtemberg,  to 
regain  his  duchy,  at  this  time  incorporated  with  Austria.     A 
meeting  took  place  between  Philip  of  Hesse  and  Francis  L  at 
Bar  le  Due,  after  which  Philip,  secure  of  his  ally,  took  the 
field  with  twenty  thousand  men,  with  the  view  of  reinstating 
Ulric  on  the  throne  of  Wurtemberg.     The  Pfalzgrave  Philip, 
Ferdinand's  stadtholder  at  Stattgard,  who  had  been  merely 
able  to  assemble  a  body  of  ten  thousand  men,  was  defeated  at 
Laufien,  and  Ulric  took  possession  of  Stuttgard,  a.  d.  1534. 
The  emperor  and  the  archduke,  anxious  to  avoid  a  general 
war,  yielded,  on  condition  of  the  latter  being  recognised  as 
Roman  king,  and  of  Wurtemberg  remaining  in  fee  of  Austria. 
Peace  was  made  at  Kadan,  and,  by  a  treaty  at  Linz,  Bavaria 
was  induced  to  recognise  Ferdinand  as  king  of  Germany. 
The  Protestant  faith  was  established  in  Wurtemberg  by  Ulric, 
who  also  ratified  the  ancient  liberties  of  his  subjects.     Wur- 
temberg, consequently,  formed  a  point  of  union  between  the 
Lutherans  in  the  North  and  the  Swiss ;  and  the  Landgrave, 
Melancthon,  and  the  citizens  of  Basle  again  revived  the  nego- 
tiations broken  at  Marburg,  for  the  purpose  of  uniting  the 
whole  of  the  Reformers  in  one  great  party.     Luther  was  this 
time  more  compliant,  and  gave  his  assent  to  the  Wittenberg 
concordat  drawn  up  by  Melancthon,  which  conciliated  the 
most  essential  differences  between  the  Swiss  and  Lutherans. 
A  secret  feeling  of  animosity,  nevertheless,  still  existed,  and 
the  concessions  made  by  the  Zwinglians  merely  brought  the 


DISTUBBAKCES  IN  THB  CITIES.  255 

Calvinists  in  more  striking  opposition  to  the  Lutherans,  and 
ranged  all  the  free-thinkers  and  the  republican  spirits  of  the 
daj,  opposed  to  Luther's  doctrines,  on  their  side. 


CXCYI.  Disturbances  in  the  cities. — The  Anabaptists  in 
Munster, — Crreat  Revolution  in  the  Hansa, — Dissolution 
rfthe  Crerman  Hospitallers. — Russian  depredations. 

Each  of  the  estates  had  successively  attempted  to  bring 
about  the  Reformation.  The  clergy  had  commenced  it  by 
raging  among  themselves;  the  nobility  and  the  peasantry 
had  separately  endeavoured  to  turn  it  to  their  own  advantage 
and  haid  been  defeated ;  the  attempts  of  the  cities,  still  more 
limited  and  isolated,  were  also  destined  to  fail,  for  it  was  de- 
creed that  among  all  the  estates  the  princes  alone  should  reap 
the  benefits  it  produced. 

In  1523,  a  great  movement  took  place  among  the  cities  of 
Lower  Germany.  Lutheran  preachers  were  every  where 
installed,  the  Catholic  priests  expelled,  and  the  refractory 
town  councils  deposed.  The  cities  of  Upper  Germany  also 
&voured  the  Reformation.  Strassburg,  Constance,  and  the 
cities  of  the  Upper  Rhine  adhered  to  Zwingli.  CEcolam- 
padius  reformed  Basle,  a.  d.  1529. 

The  Anabaptists  had,  since  the  defeat  of  the  peasantry, 
rarely  ventured  to  reappear.  The  cruelty  with  which  they 
were  persecuted  by  the  Lutherans  induced  them  to  emigrate 
in  great  numbers  to  the  Netherlands,  where  the  sedentary 
occupations  of  the  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants,  chiefly 
artisans  and  manufacturers,  inclined  them  the  more  readily 
to  religious  enthusiasm.  The  people  were,  at  a  later  period, 
secretly  instigated  to  revolt  by  individuals  of  this  sect.  The 
emperor,  Charles,  never  lost  sight  of  the  Netherlands,  which 
he  highly  valued,  and  sought  to  secure  both  within  and  with- 
out For  this  purpose,  he  concluded  peace  with  the  restless 
Charles  of  Gueldres,  on  whom  he  bestowed  Gueldres  and 
Zutphen  in  fee,  and  published  the  severest  laws  or  Placates 
against  the  heretics,  which  sentenced  male  heretics  to  the 
stake,  female  ones  to  be  buried  alive.  Margaret,  the  stadt- 
holderess  of  the  Netherlands,  died,  [a.  d.  1530,]  and  was 


256  THE  ANABAPTISTS  IN  MUN8TER. 

Bacceeded  bj  Maria,  Charles's  sister,  the  widow  of  Loai» 
of  Hungary,  who  was  compelled  to  execute  her  brother's  cruel 
commands. 

The  Anabaptists,  persecuted  in  the  Netherlands,  again  emi- 
grated in  great  numbers,  and  were  received  [a.  d.  1532 J  hy 
the  citizens  of  Munster,  who  had  expelled  their  bishop  and. 
been  treated  with  great  severitj  hj  Luther,  who,  true  to  his 
principles,  ever  sought  to  keep  the  cause  of  the  Beforma- 
tion  free  from  political  revolutions.*  The  most  extravagant 
folly  and  licence  ere  long  prevailed  in  the  city.  John. 
Bockelson,  a  tailor  from  Leyden,  gave  himself  out  as  a  pro«- 
phet,  and  proclaimed  himself  king  of  the  universe ;  a  clothier, 
named  Knipperdolling,  and  one  Erechting,  were  elected  bur- 
gomasters. A  community  of  goods  and  of  wives  was  pro- 
claimed and  carried  into  execution.  Civil  dissensions  ensued, 
but  were  speedily  quelled  by  the  Anabaptists.  John  of  Ley- 
den took  seventeen  wives,  one  of  whom,  Divara,  gained  great 
influence  by  her  spirit  and  beauty.  The  city  was,  mean- 
while, closely  besieged  by  the  expelled  bishop,  Francis  von 
Waldeck,  who  was  aided  by  several  of  the  Catholic  and 
Lutheran  princes;  numbers  of  the  nobility  flocked  thither 
for  pastime  and  carried  on  the  siege  against  the  Anabaptists, 
who  made  a  long  and  valiant  defence.  The  attempts  of 
their  brethren  in  Holland  and  Friesland  to  relieve  them 
proved  ineffectual.  A  dreadful  famine  ensued  in  consequence 
of  the  closeness  of  the  siege ;  the  citizens  lost  courage  and 
betrayed  the  city  by  night  to  the  enemy.  Most  of  the  fanatics 
were  cut  to  pieces.  John,  Knipperdolling,  and  Erechting 
were  captured,  enclosed  in  iron  cages,  and  carried  for  six 
months  throughout  Grermany,  after  which  they  were  brought 
back  to  Munster  to  suffer  an  agonizing  death.  Divara  and 
the  rest  of  the  principal  fanatics  were  beheaded. 

The  disturbances  produced  throughout  Germany  by  the 
Reformation  concluded  with  a  revolution  in  the  Hansa,  more 
extensive  in  nature  than  any  of  the  preceding  ones,  and  which, 
had  it  been  less  completely  isolated  from  the  southern  part  of 

*  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  tricolour  was,  even  at  this  period,  the 
revolutionary  symbol.  Uniforms  were  eithjer  grey  or  green,  the  arms 
white  ;  grey,  in  remembrance  of  death ;  green,  in  sign  of  regeneration ; 
white,  in  token  of  innocence.  A  golden  ring  was  also  worn  in  sign  of  ^ 
common  marriage. 


GREAT  REVOLUTION  IN  THE  HANSA.  257 

i  &e  empire,  might  easilj  have  produced  the  most  important 
^  results. 

In  1528,  Luther's  works  were  publicly  burnt  at  Lubeck  by 
:^he  common  hangman,  but,  two  years  later,  the  people  rebelled, 
I  compelled  the  town-council  to  grant  religious  liberty,  pro- 
illiibited  the  Catholic  service  in  the  churches,  and  drove  the 
burgomaster,  Nicolas  Broemser,  out  of  the  city.  His  flight 
was  a  signal  for  the  expulsion  of  the  whole  of  the  town-coun- 
eillors;  the  artisans  seized  the  government,  [a.  d.  1520,]  and 
placed  at  their  head  Jurgen  Wullenweber,  a  poor  tradesman, 
whose  genius  was  far  in  advance  of  his  times.  His  nomina- 
tion to  the  burgomastership  of  Lubeck  rendered  him,  accord- 
ing to  statute,  president  of  the  Hansa,  and,  perceiving  at  a 
glance  the  political  position  of  the  North,  he  projected  the 
lasting  confirmation  of  the  power  of  the  Hansa  by  a  great 
revolution. 

Shortly  anterior  to  these  events,  the  Hansa  had  made  vari- 
ous attempts  to  dissolve  the  union  of  the  three  kingdoms  of 
the  North,  Denmark,  Norway,  and  Sweden  under  Christiem 
n.,  and  had  aided  the  Swedes  under  Gustavus  Yasa,  and  the 
Danes  under  Frederick  of  Holstein,  to  shake  off  his  yoke. 
Christiem  was  treacherously  seized  by  the  Danes,  and  im- 
prisoned in  the  castle  of  Sunderburg,  A.  D.  1532.  The  aid 
received  from  the  Hansa  was  speedily  forgotten  by  the  Swedes 
and  Danes,  and  Gustavus  leagued  with  Frederick  against 
their  common  ally.  Frederick  expired  in  the  ensuing  year, 
and  Wullenweber  instantly  planned  the  restoration  of  Chris- 
tiem to  the  vacant  throne,  and  in  his  name  organized  a  fear- 
ful revolution  against  the  Danish  nobility.  The  liberty  of  the 
people,  was  the  general  cry.  The  cities  of  the  Baltic,  Stral- 
sund,  Rostock,  and  Wismar,  imitated  the  example  set  by 
Lubeck,  and  fi}rmed  popular  committees,  all  of  which  were 
subservient  to  Wullenweber,  who,  aided  by  the  burgomaster 
of  Copenhagen  and  the  minter  of  Malmoe,  the  capitals  of 
I^nmark,  instigated  the  people  to  revolt.  Mark  Meyer,  who 
had  risen  from  the  forge  to  the  command  of  the  forces  of  the 
^ty  of  Lubeck,  the  handsomest  man  of  his  time,  defended  the 
^und  against  the  Dutch  and  English,  and  being  wrecked  on 
we  EngUsh  coast,  was  thrown  into  the  Tower  and  sentenced  to 
be  hanged  as  a  pirate.  He,  however,  persuaded  Henry  VHL, 
who  was  at  that  time  on  ill  terms  with  the  pope  and  the  em- 

^OL.  II.  8 


258  GREAT  REVOLUTION  IN  THE  HANSA. 

peror,  and  jealous  of  the  northern  states,  to  offer  his  alliance 
to  Lubeck,  and,  instead  of  being  sent  to  the  gallows,  was 
dubbed  knight  and  sent  away  with  every  mark  of  distinction 
by  the  English  monarch.  Meyer,  on  his  return,  sent  WuUen- 
weber  to  Sweden,  with  the  view  of  placing  Sture,  a  descendant 
of  a  royal  branch,  on  the  throne.  This  project  was  nullified 
by  the  incapacity  of  the  youthful  pretender. 

Christopher,  count  of  Oldenburg,  Christiern's  cousin,  now 
took  the  chief  command,  and,  although  opposed  by  the  Danish 
nobility,  who  offered  the  crown  to  Christian,  count  of  Holstein, 
entered  Copenhagen  in  triumph,  the  Danes  every  where  rising 
against  the  obnoxious  nobles  and  bishops.  Christian,  in  re- 
prisal, closely  besieged  the  city  of  Lubeck,  cut  off  all  cor- 
respondence between  her  and  the  country,  and  destroyed  the 
suburban  gardens  and  villas.  The  citizens,  reduced  by  these 
measures  to  a  state  of  great  discomfort,  began  to  clamour 
for  peace,  and  Wullenweber,  on  returning  from  Copenhagen, 
whither  he  had  accompanied  the  count,  was  ill  received,  and, 
notwithstanding  his  concessions,  became,  owing  to  the  ma- 
chinations of  the  aristocratic  party,  gradually  less  popular. 
Christian,  immediately  after  the  conclusion  of  this  partial 
peace,  attacked  the  Danish  peasantry,  who  were  in  revolt 
throughout  Jutland,  and  beheaded  their  leader.  Meyer  was 
betrayed  into  his  hands  at  Helsingborg,  and  imprisoned  in 
Vardbierg,  where  he  gained  over  the  garrison,  expelled  the 
commandant,  and  seized  the  castle.  A  decisive  engagement, 
in  which  the  Hansa  was  defeated,  took  place  at  Assens.  The 
Lubeck  fleet,  which  favoured  the  aristocratic  faction,  was,  at 
the  same  time,  defeated  by  the  united  squadrons  of  Denmark 
and  Sweden.  Hamburg  convoked  an  Hanseatic  diet,  before 
which  Wullenweber  appeared  and  implored  the  deputies  to 
prosecute  the  war.  The  aristocratic  faction,  nevertheless^ 
triumphed,  and  a  decree  was  passed,  threatening  Lubeck  with 
exclusion  from  the  empire,  unless  the  people  were  compelled 
to  abdicate  their  sovereignty.  The  destruction  of  the  Ana* 
baptists  in  Munster  increased  the  insolence  of  the  aristocratic 
faction  in  Lubeck ;  the  municipality  was  compelled  to  resign 
its  functions,  and  Broemser  was  triumphantly  reinstalled. 

Wullenweber,  deserted  by  the  fickle  citizens,  was  treacher* 
ously  seized  by  the  archbishop  of  Bremen,  and  delivered  to 
the  cruel  duke,  Henry  of  Brunswick,  by  whom  he  was  three 


DISSOLUTION  OF  THE  GERMAN  HOSPITALLERS.    259 

times  pat  to  the  rack  and  then  beheaded.  Peace  was,  to  the 
rain  of  the  Hansa,  concluded  with  Christian,  and  the  Ger- 
mans wQre  withdrawn  from  Copenhagen,  which  was  com- 
pelled bj  famine  to  surrender.  Meyer,  forced  to  yield  by  his 
followers,  was  put  to  the  rack  and  quartered.  The  glory  of 
the  Hansa  fell,  never  again  to  rise. 

The  Lutheran  clergy,  however,  celebrated  their  triumph 
over  the  Anabaptists  and  the  Calvinists.  The  maintenance 
of  the  Confession  of  Augsburg  and  of  the  Lutheran  Cate« 
chism  was  confirmed  by  the  Hanse  towns,  at  a  great  convo- 
cation at  Hamburg,  A.  D.  1535. 

The  empire  of  the  German  Hospitallers,  founded  by  the 
Hansa,  suffered  far  greater  reverses.  Albert,  duke  of  Bran- 
denburg, brtoher  to  Casimir  von  Culmbach  and  George  von 
Anspach-Jaegerndorf,  was  elected  grand-master,  a.  d.  1511. 
The  Poles,  instigated  by  the  bishops,  invaded  Prussia,  A.  D. 
1520.  A  truce  was  concluded,  [a.  d.  1521,]  although  Al- 
bert was,  at  that  time,  supported  by  a  body  of  fourteen 
thousand  German  mercenaries.  The  order  had  fallen  into 
such  great  disrepute  that  the  knights  never  ventured  to  wear 
their  di'ess  in  public.  The  pride  of  the  aristocracy  had 
fallen ;  the  knights  had  voluntarily  elected  a  prince  as  their 
leader.  The  pope  even,  on  the  complaint  of  the  duke  against 
the  bishops,  reproached  him  with  the  degraded  condition  of 
the  order  and  demanded  its  reformation,  a  demand  with 
which  he  complied  in  a  manner  little  intended  by  his  monitor, 
by  yielding  to  the  desire  of  the  people  for  the  admission  of 
Lutheran  preachers,  the  use  of  the  German  language  in  the 
chnrch-service,  and  the  abolition  of  enforced  celibacy.  In 
1525,  he  concluded  a  treaty  at  Cracow  with  Poland,  by 
which  the  order  was  dissolved,  and  he  was  declared  hereditary 
dake  of  Prussia,  which  he  held  in  fee  of  Poland.  He  also 
strengthened  himself,  by  an  alliance  with  Denmark  by  wed- 
ding the  Princess  Dorothea,  the  daughter  of  Frederick  IL 

Livonia  and  Courland,  where  the  Teutonic  order  still  main- 
tained a  shadow  of  authority,  were  devastated  by  a  horde  of 
one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  Russians  under  their  czar, 
Ivan  Wasiliewicz  IL,  the  most  bloodthirsty  monster  that 
ever  raged  on  earth.  The  Hansa,  jealous  of  the  prosperity  of 
the  colony  she  had  herself  founded,  refused  her  aid.  Gothard 
Settler,  the  last  master  of  the  order  in  Livonia,  made  a  de- 

s  2 


260  RUSSIAN  DEPREDATIONS. 

termined  resistance,  and  was  at  length  assisted  by  Poland, 
Denmark,  and  Sweden,  who  partitioned  the  country  between 
themselves,  leaving  Courland  and  Semgall  as  an  hereditary 
duchy  to  Kettler.  The  jealousy  that  prevailed  among  the 
new  possessors  was  turned  to  advantage  by  the  czar,  who 
invaded  Livonia  [a.  d.  1572]  at  the  head  of  two  hundred 
thousand  men,  plundered  and  ravaged  the  country,  and  mas- 
sacred the  inhabitants.  A  fresh  invasion  took  place  in  1577, 
and  the  most  horrid  barbarities  were  again  perpetrated.  The 
German  garrison  of  the  castle  of  Wenden,  on  learning  the 
fate  of  their  countrymen,  destroyed  themselves  by  blowing 
the  castle  into  the  air.  Hans  Biiring  of  Brunswick,  the 
hero  of  Livonia,  alone  made  head  with  a  small  troop  of  fol- 
lowers against  the  Russians,  whom  he  greatly  harassed. 
The  fortujne  of  the  czar,  however,  turned  at  Wenden. 
The  Swedes  despatched  an  army  against  him  under  the 
French  general  Pontus  de  la  Gardie,  who  speedily  drove  him 
out  of  the  country.  Sweden  was  rewarded  by  the  possession 
of  Esthonia ;  Livonia  remained  annexed  to  Poland,  and  Cour- 
land under  Kettler,  whilst  Denmark  retained  the  island  of 
CEsel.  The  power  of  the  two  last  was,  however,  very  incon- 
siderable, and  before  long  a  war  broke  out  between  the  rival 
powers,  Poland  and  Sweden,  from  which  Russia,  ever  on  the 
watch,  alone  reaped  benefit. 


CXCVn.   The  council  of  Trident-^  The  Schmalhald  war.— 
The  Interim, — Maurice. 

Before  the  settlement  of  the  great  question  that  agitated 
Christendom,  the  infidels  had  again  to  be  combated.  Not- 
withstanding the  aid  promised  by  the  estates  of  the  empire, 
the  Turks  had  met  with  but  trifling  opposition  in  Hungary, 
where  the  imperial  troops  under  Katzianer  suffered  a  dis- 
graceful defeat  near  Esseck.  Katzianer,  although  evidently 
innocent,  was  by  order  of  Ferdinand  imprisoned  at  Vienna, 
whence  he  escaped  to  Zriny,  the  Ban  of  Croatia,  by  whom 
he  was  assassinated  as  he  sat  at  table  under  pretext  of  his 
intending  to  seek  shelter  with  the  Turks,  a  step  counselled 
by  his  pretended  friends.  This  defeat  compelled  Ferdinand 
to  recognise'  Zapolya  as  king  of  Hungary,  on  condition  of 


THE  COUNCIL  OF  TRIDENT.  261 

the  crown  reverting  on  his  demise  to  the  house  of  Habsburg. 
The  reconciliation  of  the  factions  that  agitated  Hungary  was, 
however,  prevented  by  the  sultan,  who  overran  the  whole 
country,  converted  Ofen  into  a  Turkish  city  with  mosques, 
and  partitioned  the  territory  into  Turkish  governments.  At 
the  same  time,  Haraddin  Barbarossa,  a  Turkish  pirate,  found- 
ed a  kingdom  in  Algiers  and  seized  Tunis,  whence  his  ves- 
sels struck  terror  along  the  coasts  of  Italy  and  Spain  and 
scoured  the  Mediterranean.  Tunis  was  taken  by  Charles  and 
his  ally,  Admiral  Doria,  [a.  d.  1535,]  but  the  distant  con- 
quest could  not  be  maintained,  and  the  pirates  speedily  reap- 
peared. A  second  expedition  undertaken  by  Charles  [▲.  d. 
1541]  against  Algiers  proved  unsuccessful. 

War  again  broke  out  with  France.  Francis  I.  renewed 
his  claims  upon  Milan  on  the  death  of  Francesco  Sforza, 
[a.  d.  1535,]  and  invaded  Italy,  whence  he  was  forced  to  re- 
treat by  Charles  and  the  duke  of  Alba,  who,  in  reprisal,  en- 
tered Provence,  whence  they  were  in  their  turn  driven  by 
pestilence.  Peace  was  once  more  concluded,  a.  d.  1537.  The 
emperor  retained  Milan.  Three  years  after  this,  he  journeyed 
&)m  Spain  to  the  Netherlands,  and  having  the  intention  to 
^sit  Henry  YUI.  of  England,  had  the  boldness  to  pass  through 
France,  where  he  was  sumptuously  entertained  by  Francis, 
who  accompanied  him  from  Paris  to  the  frontier. 

The  Lutherans,  meanwhile,  increased  in  strength,  if  not  in 
nnity.  John,  elector  of  Saxony,  was  succeeded  [a.  d.  1532] 
by  his  son,  John  Frederick,  who  surpassed  him  in  zeal  for  the 
Reformation :  he  was  also  continually  at  feud  with  Philip  of 
Hesse.  Christian,  king  of  Denmark,  joined  the  Schmalkald 
confederacy,  A.  d.  1538.  Brandenburg  embraced  Lutheran- 
ism,  [a.  d.  1539,]  and  Thuringia  followed  the  example.  The 
nobility  in  most  of  the  northern  states  upheld  the  Catholic, 
the  burghers  the  Lutheran,  faith.  The  Protestant  party  de- 
manded a  council,  independent  of  the  pope  and  held  on  this 
side  of  the  Alps,  and  therefore  refused  to  recognise  the  au- 
thority of  that  convoked  by  the  emperor  for  the  settlement  of 
religious  differences,  for  which  it  was  moreover  clear  a 
council  was  utterly  inadequate.  The  Catholic  princes  also 
openly  entered  into  a  holy  alliance  in  opposition  to  that  of 
Schmalkald,  a.  d.  1538.  This  alliance  consisted  of  the  Arch- 
duke Ferdinand,  William  and  Louis  of  Bavaria,  Eric  and 


262  THE  SCHMALKALD  WAR. 

Henry  of  Brunswick,  and  the  ecclesiastical  princes.  Each 
side  narrowly  watched  the  other  and  equally  avoided  a  strug-^ 
gle,  whilst  the  moderate  party  again  attempted  to  conciliate 
matters  with  the  aid  of  the  emperor  and  without  the  pope. 
Philip  of  Hesse  was,  at  that  period,  also  disposed  to  make 
concessions.  John  Frederick  of  Saxony  revived  his  former 
project  of  allying  himself  with  the  house  of  Habsburg.  The 
emperor,  moreover,  still  threatened  by  the  Turks  and  French, 
was,  like  the  Protestants,  far  from  disinclined  to  peace. 

A  tolerably  peaceable  discussion  took  place  between  Me- 
lancthon  and  £ck  at  the  diet  held  at  Batisbon,  [a.  d.  1541,] 
at  which  the  Ratisbon  Interim  was  proposed  by  Granvella, 
the  chancellor  of  the  empire,  in  Charles's  presence,  for  the 
provisional  accommodation  of  religious  differences.  The 
princes  of  Anhalt  were  sent  as  imperial  ambassadors  to  make 
proposals  to  Luther,  who,  falsely  regarding  the  whole  affair 
as  an  intrigue  intended  to  mislead  the  Protestants,  obstinately 
refused  to  concede  to  the  emperor's  wishes.  The  French 
monarch,  meanwhile,  anxious  to  separate  the  pope  from  the 
emperor,  and  to  hinder  any  concession  on  the  part  of  the 
former  to  the  Protestants,  pledged  himself  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  purity  of  the  Catholic  faith,  in  which  he  was  joined  by 
Bavaria,  jealous  of  the  restriction  upon  her  power  consequent 
upon  the  union  of  the  contending  parties  under  the  emperor. 

Fresh  disputes  speedily  broke  out,  and  a  wordy  contest  was 
for  some  time  carried  on  between  the  elector  of  Saxony  and 
Henry,  duke  of  Brunswick.  Blows  quickly  followed.  The 
Schmalkald  alliance  flew  to  arms,  was  victorious  at  Kalfelden, 
[a.  d.  1542,]  and  expelled  the  weak  duke  from  Brunswick. 
The  city  of  Hildesheim  expelled  her  bishop  and  embraced 
Lutheranism. 

The  emperor  again  appeared  in  person  at  the  diet  held 
during  the  ensuing  year,  [a.  d.  1543,]  at  Spires,  and  per- 
suaded the  Scbmdkald  confederacy  to  aid  him  against  the 
French  monarch,  who  had  once  more  taken  up  arms.  The 
elector  of  Saxony  was  appointed  generalissimo  of  the  imperial 
forces,  and  marched  against  William  of  Cleve,  who,  irritated 
at  the  emperor's  refusal  to  invest  him  with  the  countship  of 
Gueldres,  for  the  purpose  of  annexing  it  to  the  Netherlands, 
had  entered  into  aUiance  with  France.  The  city  of  Diiren  was 
stormed  and  burnt  down,  and  the  inhabitants  were  put  to  the 


THE  COUNCIL  OF  TBIDBNT.  263 

iword,  and  William,  in  order  to  save  his  country,  flung  him- 
self at  the  emperor's  feet  at  Venloo,  ceded  Gueldres,  and,  to 
the  great  mortification  of  the  Protestants,  who  had  so  strongly 
aid^  in  his  discomfiture,  swore  to  maintain  Catholicism 
throughout  his  dominions.  He  shortly  afterwards  wedded 
the  emperor's  niece,  Maria,  one  of  king  Ferdinand's  daughters. 
The  French  were  driven  from  Luxemburg,  which  they  had 
seized,  and  pursued  almost  to  the  gates  of  Paris,  when  the 
treaty  of  Crespy  was  suddenly  concluded  between  Charles 
and  Francis,  the  former  of  whom,  with  the  view  of  humbling 
the  Protestants,  once  more  sided  with  the  pope,  urged  the 
instant  convocation  of  the  council,  and  took  measures  to  curb 
the  growing  power  of  the  Schmalkald  confederation,  whose 
members  neither  turned  their  favourable  position  to  advan- 
tage nor  perceived  the  monarch's  wiles.  Henry  of  Bruns- 
wick again  attempted  to  regain  possession  of  his  territory,  but 
was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner  at  Nordheim  [a.  d.  1546] 
hy  the  leagued  princes,  who  gained  an  ally  in  the  elector  of 
thePfalz. 

The  council  of  Trident  was  opened  by  the  pope,  [a.  to. 
1545,]  and  the  emperor  convoked  a  diet  for  the  ensuing  year 
at  Ratisbon,  with  the  view  either  of  entrapping  the  Protest- 
ants or  of  putting  them  down  by  force.  Before  the  opening 
of  this  memorable  diet,  Luther  expired  at  Eisleben,  18th 
February,  1546.  He  died  in  sorrow,  but  in  the  conscientious 
belief  of  having  faithfully  served  his  God,  and,  although  the 
great  and  holy  work,  begun  by  him,  had  been  degraded  and 
dishonoured  partly  by  his  personal  faults,  although  the  Re- 
formation of  the  church  had  been  rendered  subservient  to  the 
▼iews  of  a  policy  essentially  unchristian,  the  good  cause  was 
destined  to  outlive  these  transient  abuses.  The  seeds,  scat- 
tered by  this  great  Reformer,  produced,  it  is  true,  thorns 
during  his  life-time  and  during  succeeding  centuries,  but  burst 
^^  blossom  as  the  storms  through  which  the  Reformation 
passed  gradually  lulled. 

^ance  being  humbled,  England  gained  over,  and  the  sultan 
pacified  by  the  cession  of  Hungary,  the  pope  and  the  emperor 
turned  their  united  strength  against  the  Protestants.  In  1540, 
^^  pope  had  taken  into  his  service  in  Spain  a  newly-founded 
J^aonkish  order,  that  of  Jesus,  which  he  had  commissioned,  by 
means  of  the  French  and  Italian  policy  practised  by  it  as 


264  THE  SCHMALKALD  WAR. 

morality,  to  extirpate  heresy.  The  motto  of  this  new  order 
was,  "  The  aim  sanctifies  the  means."  The  Jesuits  made  their 
first  appearance  at  the  council  of  Trident.  The  pope,  more- 
over, prepared  a  new  bull,  the  publication  of  which  he  re- 
served until  a  fitting  opportunity. 

The  emperor,  unwilling  to  have  recourse  to  violent  mea- 
sures, tried  by  every  method  of  subterfuge  and  hypocrisy  to 
induce  the  Protestants,  at  the  diet  held  at  Ratisbon,  to  recog- 
nise the  council,  meanwhile  secretly  assuring  the  pope,  in  the 
event  of  war,  of  his  intention  to  extirpate  the  Lutheran 
heresy.  The  pope,  fully  acquainted  with  Charles's  duplicity, 
deceived  him  in  his  turn,  by  publishing  these  secret  promises, 
to  his  extreme  mortification,  throughout  Germany.  The 
anger  of  the  Protestants  was  justly  roused  by  the  perfidy  of 
the  emperor,  who,  true  to  his  policy,  now  endeavoured  to 
breed  disunion  among  them  by  putting  the  elector  of  Saxony 
and  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse  out  of  the  bann  of  the  empire, 
whilst  he  spared  the  rest  of  the  confederates,  with  some  of 
whom,  for  instance,  Joachim  11.  of  Brandenburg,  who  had 
ever  been  lukewarm  in  the  cause,  Albert  Alcibiades  of  Culm- 
bach,  and  Maurice  of  Saxon-Thuringia,  on  whom  Philip 
had  bestowed  one  of  his  daughters,  he  entered  upon  a  secret 
understanding.  The  publication  of  the  bull,  and  the  bann, 
meanwhile,  roused  the  most  phlegmatic  members  of  the 
Schmalkald  confederacy  from  their  state  of  quiescent  ease 
and  inspired  them  with  unwonted  energy.  The  gallant 
Schertlin  von  Burtenbach  assembled  an  army  in  the  service 
of  Augsburg  and  of  the  rest  of  the  cities  of  Upper  Germany ; 
the  Landgrave  Philip  hailed  the  outbreak  of  war  with  open 
delight,  and  even  the  Saxon  elector,  unwieldy  as  he  was  in 
person,  mounted  his  war-steed  with  alacrity. 

These  vigorous  measures  took  Charles,  whose  troops  were 
still  unassembled,  by  surprise.  In  August,  1546,  the  princes 
of  Saxony  and  Hesse  united  their  forces  at  Donauwoerth  with 
the  burghers  under  Schertlin  and  the  Wurtembergers  under 
Hans  von  Heidek.  They  numbered  forty-seven  thousand 
men,  and  might  easily  have  surprised  the  emperor,  who  had 
merely  nine  thousand,  of  which  two  thousand  were  Spaniards, 
at  Ratisbon,  had  the  advice  of  Schertlin,  who  invaded  the 
Tyrol,  to  advance  with  the  whole  of  their  forces  been 
listened  to  by  the  princes,  who,  unwilling  to  disturb  Bavaria, 


THE  SCHMALKALD  WAR.  ^65 

that  had  declared  herself  neutral,  allowed  the  emperor  to 
escape  and  to  place  himself  at  Landshut  at  the  head  of  twenty 
thoosand  men,  sent  to  his  aid  from  Italy,  with  whom  he  threw 
himself  into  Ingolstadt.  The  disunion  that  prevailed  among 
the  confederates,  meanwhile,  rendered  their  superior  numbers 
QDavailing,  and,  after  vainly  bombarding  Ingolstadt,  they 
withdrew  with  the  intention  of  intercepting  the  reinforcements 
l»x>aght  from  the  Netherlands  by  the  Count  von  Biiren,  who 
eluded  their  search  and  joined  the  emperor  with  fifteen  thou- 
sand men. 

The  Saxon  elector  was  now  recalled  into  Saxony  by  an  at- 
tack on  the  part  of  Duke  Maurice,  who  was  secretly  instigated 
bj  the  emperor,  and  the  rest  of  the  confederates  dispersing. 
Upper  Grermany  was  exposed  to  the  whole  wrath  of  the  em- 
peror. The  cities,  deaf  to  Schertlin's  remonstrances,  offered 
no  opposition.  The  princes  of  Upper  Germany  also  submit- 
^«  John  Frederick  of  Saxony  was  taken  prisoner  on  the 
I^hauer  heath,  [a.  d.  1547,]  and  Wittenberg  was  induced, 
^y  the  emperor's  threat  to  decapitate  his  prisoner,  to  open  her 
gates.  The  elector  steadily  refused  to  recant.  His  prison 
was  voluntarily  shared  by  his  friend,  the  celebrated  painter, 
Lucas  Cranach.  Philip  of  Hesse  was  also  treacherously  seized 
at  Halle  by  the  emperor,  from  whom  he  had  received  a  safe- 
conduct  The  Protestant  party  was  thus  deprived  of  its  last 
support.  Wolfgang  of  Anhalt  voluntarily  quitted  his  posses- 
sions, and  lived  for  some  time  incognito  as  a  miller.  Schert- 
^  fled  to  Switzerland,  and  Bucer,  the  Strassburg  Reformer, 
to  England,  where  his  remains  were,  under  the  reign  of  Mary, 
exhumed  and  burnt. 

The  emperor  returned  to  Augsburg  in  order  to  regulate  the 
a&irs  of  the  empire,  whilst  his  brother  Ferdinand  went  to 
^^ue  for  the  purpose  of  revenging  himself  upon  the  Bohe- 
ouans  for  the  negative  aid  granted  by  them,  during  the  late 
«>ute8t,  to  the  Protestant  party.  The  bloody  diet  was  opened, 
and  the  heads  of  a  confederacy  formed  at  Prague,  February 
^^th,  1547,  by  the  estates,  in  defence  of  their  constitution  and 
religious  liberty,  were  publicly  executed.  Numbers  of  the 
nobility  were  compelled  to  emigrate ;  others  purchased  their 
^ves  with  the  loss  of  their  property.  The  cities  were  mulcted, 
deprived  of  their  privileges,  and  placed  under  imperial  judges, 
lumbers  of  the  citizens  were  exiled  and  whipped  across  the 


266  THE  INTERIM. 

frontier  by  the  executioner.  All  the  Hussites  belonging  to 
the  strict  sect  of  the  Taborites,  the  "Bohemian  Brethren," 
were  sentenced  to  eternal  banishment  and  sent  in  three  bands, 
each  of  which  numbered  a  thousand  men,  into  Prussia.  The 
whole  of  Austria  favoured  the  doctrines  of  Luther,  but  had 
remained  true  to  her  allegiance.  The  pope,  Paul  IIL,  terror- 
stricken  at  the  successes  of  the  emperor,  instead  of  being  de- 
lighted at  the  triumph  of  Catholicism,  removed  the  council 
from  Trident  to  Bologna  on  the  emperor's  return  [a.  d.  1546] 
to  Augsburg,  where,  true  to  his  former  policy,  he  treated  the 
heretics  with  great  moderation.  His  arbitrary  abolition  of 
corporative  government  and  restoration  of  that  of  the  ancient 
burgher-families  in  all  the  cities  of  Upper  Germany  gave  a 
death-blow  to  civil  liberty.  In  the  spring  of  1547,  Francis  I. 
of  France  expired.'  His  son  and  successor,  Henry  11.,  in- 
stantly confederated  with  tlie  pope  against  the  emperor,  and 
even  affianced  his  natural  daughter  to  a  Farnese,  one  of  the 
pope's  nephews.  Charles  V.,  meanwhile,  boldly  protested 
against  the  removal  of  the  council  to  Bologna,  declared  its  de- 
cisions invalid  until  its  return  to  Trident,  and,  in  the  mean 
time,  endeavoured  to  accomplish  a  church-union,  without  the 
pope,  with  the  now  humbled  and  more  tractable  Protestants, 
but  all  his  diplomacy  failed  in  reconciling  principles  diametri- 
cally opposed. 

The  Augsburg  Interim,  chiefly  drawn  up  by  Joachim,  the 
lukewarm  elector  of  Brandenburg,  and  his  smooth-tongued 
chaplain,  John  Agricola,  and  proposed  as  his  ultimatum  by 
the  emperor  to  the  Protestants,  was  a  master-piece  of  incon- 
gruity, and  utterly  failed  in  its  intention.  Ulric  of  Wurtem- 
berg  and  the  Pfalzgrave  Frederick,  harassed  by  the  imperial 
troops,  accepted  it  unconditionally,  but  the  elector  Maurice 
attempted  to  replace  it  by  another,  the  Leipzig  Interim,  dravm 
up  by  Melancthon.  The  majority  of  the  other  princes  also 
highly  disapproved  of  it.  The  captive  elector  of  Saxony 
steadily  refused  to  subscribe,  but  the  Landgrave,  Philip  of 
Hesse,  complied.  The  Interim  was  neither  Catholic  nor 
Lutheran,  and  was  viewed  with  suspicion  by  the  people,  by 
whom  it  was  regarded  as  a  sign  of  retrogression. 

The  cities  openly  rejected  the  Interim,  which  the  emperor 
merely  succeeded  in  imposing  on  the  South,  where  his  troops 
were  encamped.     Constance  was  surprised  by  the  Spaniards, 


MAUEICE.  267 

[a.  d.  1548,]  converted  into  a  provincial  town  of  Austria,  and 
compelled  to  embrace  Catholicism.  Flaccius,  Lather's  most 
faithful  disciple,  until  now  a  teacher  at  Leipzig,  quitted  that 
citj  in  disgust  at  the  Leipzig  Interim,  which,  in  truth,  was 
not  much  superior  to  that  of  Augsburg,  and  took  refuge  in 
Magdeburg,  where  the  bold  citizens  set  the  emperor  and  the 
pope  equally  at  defiance. 

The  little  approbation  bestowed  upon  the  Interim,  and  the 
i&trigues  of  William,  duke  of  Bavaria,  against  his  power, 
now  induced  Charles  to  abandon  his  plan  for  the  reconcilia- 
tion of  the  Protestants  without  the  interference  of  the  pope, 
and  for  their  conversion  by  his  means  into  mere  political 
tools.  This  change  in  his  policy  was,  by  chance,  masked  by 
the  death  of  Paul  III.,  who  was  succeeded  by  Julius  III.,  a 
weak  and  slothful  prince,  who,  bribed  by  the  emperor's  pro- 
mise of  bringing  the  Protestants  to  him,  opened,  [a.  d.  1551,] 
apparently  of  his  own  accord,  the  council  at  Trident,  whither 
the  Protestants  were  compelled  to  send  their  deputies.  The 
Sector  of  Brandenburg  most  deeply  humbled  himself,  by  pro- 
mising, 08  a  good  son  of  the  church,  to  obey  every  decree  of 
the  council.  The  emperor,  unwilling  to  concede  too  much  to 
the  pope,  however,  beheld  this  excessive  sei'vility  with  dis- 
pleasure, and  would,  in  all  probability,  have  defended  the 
^otestants  with  greater  ability  than  they  displayed  on  their 
<^wn  behalf,  had  not  the  whole  tissue  of  impotence  and  fraud 
been  suddenly  rent  asunder  by  the  rebellion  of  Maurice  of 
Saxony,  whom  the  emperor  had  commissioned  to  execute  the 
^^  pronounced  upon  Magdeburg,  but  who,  secretly  assem- 
bling an  immense  force,  entered  into  alliance  with  Henry  IL 
^  France,  and,  together  with  Albert  von  Culmbach,  raised 
^e  standard  of  revolt,  and  published  a  manifesto,  in  which, 
^indful  of  their  own  treasonable  correspondence  with 
"ance,  they  bitterly  reproached  the  emperor  for  the  numbers 
01  Spaniards  and  Italians  brought  by  him  into  Germany. 

Manrice,  after  granting  peace  to  Magdeburg,  marched, 
[^  D.  1552,]  with  William  of  Hesse,  the  son  of  the  captive 
elector,  and  Albert  the  Wild  of  Culmbach,  upon  Innsbruck, 
^bere  the  emperor  lay  sick.  The  Ehrenberg  passes  were 
^utly  disputed  by  the  Austrians,  three  thousand  of  whom 
^^*  A  mutiny  that  broke  out  in  the  electoral  army  gave  the 
^peror  time  to  escape  from  Innsbruck,  whence  he  was  car- 


268  MAURICE. 

ried  in  a  litter  across  tbe  mountains  to  Yillach,  in  Carinthia. 
John  Frederick  of  Saxony  was  restored  to  liberty  on  condition 
of  negotiating  terms  of  peace.  The  emperor  was,  at  this 
conjuncture,  without  troops,  the  enemy  was  in  full  pursuit,  the 
whole  of  Germany  in  confusion  at  this  unexpected  stroke, 
the  Catholics  were  panic-struck,  the  Lutherans  full  of  hope. 
Every  city,  through  which  Maurice  passed,  expelled  the 
priests,  and  the  ancient  burgher  families  rejected  the  Interim, 
re-established  the  pure  tenets  of  the  gospel,  and  restored 
corporative  government.  Had  the  reaction  spread,  the  em- 
peror would,  infallibly,  have  been  compelled  to  sue  for  peace, 

Henry  IL  at  the  same  time  took  the  field  as  *Hhe  liberator 
of  Germany."  His  first  care  was  to  secure  his  promised 
prey.  Toul  was  betrayed  into  his  hands.  Metz  was  taken 
by  stratagem,  and  was  henceforward  converted  into  a  French 
fortress.  The  young  duke,  Charles  of  Lorraine,  was  sent 
captive  to  France.  Strassburg  refused  to  open  her  gates  to 
the  invader.  Hagenau  and  Weissenburg  were  seized.  The 
people,  far  from  countenancing  the  treachery  of  their  rulers, 
every  where  gave  vent  to  their  hatred  against  the  French, 
who  were  warned  by  their  ally,  the  Swiss  confederation,  not 
to  attack  the  city  of  Strassburg.  Maria,  stadtholderess  of 
the  Netherlands,  meanwhile,  sent  a  body  of  troops  across  the 
French  frontier,  and  Maurice  making  terms  with  the  emperor, 
the  "Liberator"  hastily  retreated  homewards,  seizing  Verdun 
en  route. 

At  the  first  news  of  the  revolt  of  the  elector,  Ferdinand 
had  attempted  to  prevent  war  by  negotiation,  to  which 
Maurice  refused  to  listen  until  the  emperor's  flight  from  Inns- 
bruck had  placed  him  in  a  position  to  dictate  terms  of  peace. 
A  treaty  was,  consequently,  concluded  at  Fassau,  August  2nd, 
1552,  by  which  religious  liberty  was  secured  to  the  Protest- 
ants, and  the  princes,  John  Frederick  and  Philip,  were  re- 
stored to  freedom,  Maurice  binding  himself  in  return  to 
defend  the  empire  against  the  French  and  the  Turks.  He 
accordingly  took  the  field  against. the  latter,  but  with  little 
success,  the  imperial  commander,  Castaldo,  contravening  all 
his  efforts  by  plundering  Hungary  and  drawing  upon  himself 
the  hatred  of  the  people. 

Charles,  meanwhile,  marched  against  the  French,  and, 
without  hesitation,  again  deposed  the  corporative  governments 


MAURICE.  269 

reinstated  bj  Maurice,  on  his  way  through  Augsburg,  Ulm, 
Efislingen,  etc.  Metz,  valiantly  defended  by  the  duke  de 
Gaise,  was  vainly  besieged  for  some  months,  and  the  emperor 
was  at  length  forced  to  retreat.  The  French  were,  neverthe- 
less, driven  out  of  Italy. 

The  aged  emperor  now  sighed  for  peace.  Ferdinand,  averse 
to  open  warfare,  placed  his  hopes  on  the  imperceptible  effect  of 
a  consistently  pursued  system  of  suppression  and  Jesuitical  ob- 
scurantism. Maurice  was  answerable  for  the  continuance  of 
the  peace,  the  terms  of  which  he  had  prescribed.  Philip  of 
Hesse,  and  Jobn  Frederick,  whose  sons  had,  during  his  im- 
prisonment, founded  a  new  university  at  Jena,  similar  to  that 
at  Wittenberg,  had  already  one  foot  in  the  grave.  XJlric  of 
Wurtemberg  bad  expired  in  1550  and  been  succeeded  by  his 
son,  Christopher,  who  wisely  sought  to  heal  the  bleeding 
wounds  of  his  country,  upon  which,  in  unison  with  his 
estates,  he  bestowed  a  revised  constitution ;  provincial  estates, 
solely  consisting  of  Lutheran  prelates  and  city  deputies,  with 
the  right  of  rejecting  the  taxes  proposed  by  the  government, 
of  controlling  the  whole  of  the  state  property,  etc.,  and  ren- 
dered permanent  by  a  committee  ;  a  general  court  of  justice, 
>>iid  numerous  other  useful  institutions.  Peace  was,  conse- 
quently, a  necessity  with  this  prince.  The  weak  elector  of 
Brandenburg  was,  as  ever,  ready  to  negotiate  terms.  Albert 
the  Wild  was  the  only  one  among  the  princes  who  was  still  de- 
sirous of  war.  Indifferent  to  aught  else,  he  marched,  at  the 
l^ead  of  some  thousand  followers,  through  central  Germany, 
i&Qrdering  and  plundering  as  he  passed  along,  with  the  intent 
of  once  more  laying  the  Franconian  and  Saxon  bishoprics 
waste  in  the  name  of  the  gospel.  The  princes  at  length 
formed  the  Heidelberg  confederacy  against  this  monster  and 
the  emperor  put  him  under  the  bann  of  the  empire,  which 
Maarice  undertook  to  execute,  although  he  had  been  his  old 
niend  and  companion  in  arms.  Albert  was  engaged  in  plun- 
dering the  archbishopric  of  Magdeburg,  when  Maurice  came 
^P  with  him  at  Sievershausen.  A  murderous  engagement 
*ook  place  [a.  d.  1553].  Three  of  the  princes  of  Brunswick 
Were  slain.  Albert  was  severely  wounded,  and  Maurice  fell  at 
the  moment  when  victory  declared  in  his  favour,  in  the  thirty- 
third  year  of  his  age,  in  the  midst  of  his  promising  career. 
Albert  fled,  pursued  by  Henry  of  Brunswick  breathing  venge- 


270  MAURICB. 

•nee  for  the  untimely  fate  of  his  sons,  to  France,  bat,  too 
proud  to  eat  the  bread  of  dependence,  he  returned  to  Ger- 
many, where  he  found  an  asylum  at  Pforzheim  under  the 
protection  of  the  Margrave  of  Baden.  He  died,  worn  out 
by  excess,  [a.  d.  1557,]  in  his  thirty-fifth  year. 

Every  obstacle  was  now  removed,  and  a  peace,  known  as 
the  religious  peace  of  Augsburg,  was  concluded  by  the  diet 
held  in  that  city,  A.  d.  1555.  This  peace  was  naturally  a 
mere  political  agreement  provisionally  entered  into  by  the 
princes  for  the  benefit,  not  of  religion,  but  of  themselves. 
Popular  opinion  was  dumb,  knights,  burgesses,  and  peasants 
bending  in  lowly  submission  to  the  mandate  of  their  sove- 
reigns. By  this  treaty,  branded  in  history  as  the  most  law- 
less ever  concerted  in  Germany,  the  principle  "cujus  regio, 
ejus  religio,"  the  faith  of  the  prince  must  be  that  of  the 
people,  was  laid  down.  By  it  not  only  all  the  Reformed  sub- 
jects of  a  Catholic  prince  were  exposed  to  the  utmost  cruelty 
and  tyranny,  but  the  religion  of  each  separate  country  was 
rendered  dependent  on  the  caprice  of  the  reigning  prince ;  of 
this  the  Pfabs  ofiered  a  sad  example,  the  religion  of  the  people 
being  thus  four  times  arbitrarily  changed.  The  struggles  of 
nature  and  of  reason  were  powerless  against  the  executioner, 
the  stake,  and  the  sword.  This  principle  was,  nevertheless, 
merely  a  result  of  Luther's  well-known  policy,  and  conse- 
quently struck  his  contemporaries  far  less  forcibly  than  after- 
generations.  Freedom  of  belief,  confined  to  the  immediate 
subjects  of  the  empire,  for  instance,  to  the  reigning  princes^, 
the  free  nobility,  and  the  city  councillors,  was  monopolized  by 
at  most  twenty  thousand  privileged  persons,  including  the 
whole  of  the  impoverished  nobility  and  the  oligarchies  of  the 
most  insignificant  imperial  free  towns,  and  it  consequently 
follows,  taking  the  whole  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  empire  at 
twenty  millions,  that,  out  of  a  thousand  Germans,  one  only 
enjoyed  the  privilege  of  choosing  his  own  religion. 

The  ecclesiastical  princes,  to  the  great  prejudice  of  the 
Reformation,  did  not  participate  in  this  privilege.  By  the 
ecclesiastical  proviso,  they  were,  it  is  true,  personally  per- 
mitted to  change  their  religion,  but  incurred  thereby  the  de- 
privation of  their  dignities  and  possessions. 


PART  xvn. 

THE  WAR  OF  LIBEBATION  IN  THE  NETHEBLAND8. 


CXCYIII.  Preponderance  of  the  Spaniards  and  Jewiis.^-^ 
Courtly  vices. 

The  false  peace  concluded  at  Augsburg  was  immediatelj 
followed  by  Charles  V/s  abdication  of  his  numerous  crowns. 
He  would  willingly  have  resigned  that  of  the  empire  to  his 
son  Philip,  had  not  the  Spanish  education  of  that  prince,  his 
gloomy  and  bigoted  character,  inspired  the  Germans  with  an 
aversion  as  unconquerable  as  that  with  which  he  beheld  them. 
Ferdinand  had,  moreover,  gained  the  favour  of  the  German 
princes.  Charles,  nevertheless,  influenced  by  affection  to- 
wards his  son,  bestowed  upon  him  one  of  the  finest  of  the 
German  provinces,  the  Netherlands,  besides  Spain,  Milan, 
Naples,  and  the  West  Indies  (America).  Ferdinand  received 
the  rest  of  the  German  hereditary  possessions  of  his  house, 
besides  Bohemia  and  Hungary.  The  aged  emperor,  after  thus 
dividing  his  dominions,  went  to  Spain  and  entered  the  Hie- 
ronymite  monastery  of  Justi,  where  he  lived  for  two  years, 
amusing  himself,  among  other  things,  with  an  attempt  to  make 
a  number  of  clocks  keep  exact  time ;  on  failing,  he  observed, 
"  Watches  are  like  men."  His  whim  for  solemnizing  his  own 
funeral  service  proved  fatal ;  the  dampness  of  the  coffin  in 
which  he  lay  during  the  ceremony,  brought  on  a  cold,  which 
terminated  a  few  days  afterwards  in  death,  A.«  d.  1558 
Charles,  although  dexterous  in  the  conduct  of  petty  intrigues,^ 
was  entirely  devoid  of  depth  of  intellect,  and  ever  misunder- 
stood his  age;  magnanimous  in  some  few  instances,  he  was 
unendowed  with  the  greatness  of  character  that  had  empower- 
ed Charlemagne  to  govern  and  to  guide  his  times.  Possessed 
of  far  greater  power  than  that  magnificent  emperor,  the  half 
of  the  globe  his  by  inheritance,  he  might,  during  the  thirty 
years  of  his  reign,  have  moulded  the  great  Reformation  to  his 
will;  notwithstanding  which,  he  leil  at  his  death  both  the 


272  PREPONDERANCE  OF  THE 

church  and  ^tate  in  far  more  wretched  disorder  than  at  his 
accession  to  the  throne  of  Germany.  Frederick  III.  was  too 
dull  of  intellect  to  rule  a  world ;  Charles  Y.  was  too  cunning. 
He  overlooked  great  and  natural  advantages,  and  buried  him- 
self in  petty  intrigue.  Luther  remarked  of  him  during  his 
youth,  "  He  will  never  succeed,  for  he  has  openly  rejected 
truth,  and  Germany  will  be  implicated  in  his  want  of  suc- 
cess." Time  proved  the  truth  of  this  opinion.  The  insuffi- 
ciency of  the  Reformation  was  mainly  due  to  this  emperor. 

Ferdinand  I.,  opposed  in  his  hereditary  provinces  by  a  pre- 
dominating Protestant  party,  which  he  was  compelled  to  to- 
lerate, was  politically  overbalanced  by  his  nephew,  Philip  II., 
in  Spain  and  Italy,  where  Catholicism  flourished.  The  pre- 
ponderance of  the  Spanish  over  the  Austrian  branch  of  the 
house  of  Habsburg  exercised  the  most  pernicious  influence 
on  the  whole  of  Germany,  by  securing  to  the  Catholics  a  sup- 
port which  rendered  reconciliation  impossible,  to  the  Spaniards 
and  Italians  admittance  into  Germany,  and  by  falsifying  the 
German  language,  dress,  and  manners. 

The  religious  disputes  and  petty  egotism  of  the  several 
estates  of  the  empire  had  utterly  stifled  every  sentiment  of 
patriotism,  and  not  a  dissentient  voice  was  raised  against  the 
will  of  Charles  V.,  which  bestowed  the  whole  of  the  Nether- 
lands, one  of  the  finest  of  the  provinces  of  Germany,  upon 
Spain,  the  division  and  consequent  weakening  of  the  powerful 
house  of  Habsburg  being  regarded  by  the  princes  with  delight. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  power  of  the  Protestant  party 
was  shaken  by  the  peace  of  Augsburg,  Cardinal  CaraflTa 
mounted  the  pontifical  throne  as  Paul  IV.,  the  first  pope  who, 
following  the  plan  of  the  Jesuits,  abandoned  the  system  of  de- 
fence for  that  of  attack.  The  Reformation  no  sooner  ceased 
to  progress,  than  a  preventive  movement  began.  The  pontiffs, 
up  to  this  period,  were  imitators  of  Leo  X.,  had  surrounded 
themselves  with  luxury  and  pomp,  had  been,  personally,  far 
from  bigoted  in  their  opinions,  and  had  opposed  the  Reform- 
ation merely  from  policy,  neither  from  conviction  nor  fana- 
ticism. But  the  Jesuits  acted,  whilst  the  popes  negotiated ; 
and  this  new  order  of  ecclesiastics,  at  first  merely  a  papal  tool 
in  the  council  of  Trident,  ere  long  became  the  pontiff's  mas- 
ter. An  extraordinary  but  extremely  natural  medley  existed 
in  the  system  and  the  members  of  this  society  of  Jesus.     Tlie 


SPANIARDS  AND  JESUITS.  273 

Bost  fervent  attachment  to  the  ancient  faith,  mysticiamy  as- 
Betic  extravagance,  the  courage  of  the  martyr,  nay,  desire  for 
martyrdom,  reappeared  in  their  former  strength  the  moment  the 
church  was  threatened  ;  the  passions,  formerly  inspiriting  the 
erasader,  burst  forth  afresh  to  oppose,  not,  as  in  olden  tiroes,  the 
lensual  pagan  and  Mahommedan,  but  the  stern  morality  and 
rell-founded  complaints  of  the  nations  of  Germany,  to  which  a 
deaf  ear  was  turned ;  and  religious  zeal,  originally  pure,  but  now 
misled  by  a  foul  policy,  indifferent  alike  to  the  price  and  to 
the  means  hy  which  it  gained  its  aim,  sought  to  undermine  the 
Reformation.     Among  the  Jesuits  there  were  saints  equalling 
in  faith  the  martyrs  of  old  ;  poets  overflowing  with  philan- 
thropy ;  bold  and  unflinching  despots  ;  smooth-tongued  di- 
Tines,  versed  in  the  art  of  lying.     The  necessity  for  action,  in 
opposing  the  Reformation,  naturally  called  forth  the  energies 
of  the  more  arbitrary  and  systematic  members  of  the  order, 
end  threw  the  dreamy  enthusiasts  in  the  shade.     Nationality 
was  also  another  ruling  motive.     Was  the  authority  of  the  fo- 
reigner, so  long  exercised  over  the  German,  to  be  relinquished 
without  a  struggle  ?  This  nationality,  moreover,  furnished  an 
excuse  for  immoral  inclinations  and  practices,  for  all  that  was 
unworthy  of  the  Master  they  nominally  served.     The  attempts 
for  reconciliation  made  by  both  parties  in  the  church  no  sooner 
failed,  and  the  moderate  Catholic  party  in  favour  of  peace 
and  of  a  certain  degree  of  reform  lost  sight  of  its  original 
views,  than  the  whole  sovereignty  of  the  Catholic  world  was 
usurped  by  this  order.      The  pope  was  compelled  to  throw 
himself  into  its  arms,  and  Paul  lY.,  putting  an  end  to  the 
System  pursued  by  his  predecessors,  renounced  luxury  and 
licence,  publicly  cast  off  his  nephews,  and  zealously  devoted 
himself  to  the  Catholic  cause.     At  the  same  time  he  was,  not- 
withstanding the  similarity  in  their  religious  opinions,  at  war 
with  Philip  of  Spain,  being  unable,  like  his  predecessors,  to 
tolerate  the  temporal  supremacy  of  the  Spaniard  in  Naples, 
^me,  besieged  by  the  duke  of  Alba,  was  defended  by  Grer- 
man  Protestants,  and  the  pope  was  reduced  to  the  necessity 
of  seeking  aid  from  the  Turk  and  the  French.     Peace  was 
concluded,  a.  d.  1557.     Philip  afterwards  treated  the  pope 
with  extreme  reverence,  and  confederated  with  him  for  the 
restoration  of  the  church. 
The  settlement  of  the  Jesuits  throughout  the  whole  of  Ca- 

VOL,  n.  T 


274  PREPONDERANCE  OF  THE 

tholic  Germany  was  the  first  result  of  this  combination.  Wil- 
liam, duke  of  Bayaria,  granted  to  them  the  university  of 
Ingolstadt,  where  Canisius  of  Nimwegen,  the  Spaniard,  Salme- 
ron,  and  the  Savoyard,  Le  Jay,  were  the  first  Jesuitical  pro- 
fessors. Canisius  drew  up  a  catechism  strictly  Catholic,  the 
form  of  belief  for  the  whole  of  Bavaria,  on  which  [a.  d.  1561]] 
all  the  servants  of  the  state  were  compelled  to  swear,  and  to 
which,  at  length,  every  Bavarian  sul^ect  was  forced,  under 
pain  of  banishment,  to  subscribe.  Tlus  example  induced  the 
emperor  Ferdinand  to  invite  Canisius  into  Austria,  where 
Lutheranism  had  become  so  general  that  by  far  the  greater 
number  of  the  churches  were  either  in  the  hands  of  the  Pro- 
testants or  closed,  and  for  twenty  years  not  a  single  Catholic 
priest  had  taken  orders  at  the  university  of  Vienna.  Canisius 
was  at  first  less  successful  in  Austria  than  he  had  been  in  Ba- 
varia, but  nevertheless  effected  so  much,  that  even  his  oppo- 
nents declared  that  without  him  the  whole  of  southern  Ger- 
many would  have  ceased  to  be  Catholic*  Cardinal  Otto, 
bishop  of  Augsburg,  a  Truchsess  von  Waldburg,  aided  by 
Bavaria,  compelled  his  diocesans  to  recant,  and  founded  a  Je- 
suitical university  at  DilUngen.  In  Cologne  and  Treves  the 
Jesuits  simultaneously  suppressed  the  Reformation  and  civil 
liberty.  Coblentz  was  deprived  of  all  her  ancient  privileges, 
A.  D.  1561,  and  Treves,  a.  d.  1580. 

Ferdinand  L  was  in  a  difficult  position.  Paul  lY.  refused 
to  acknowledge  him  on  account  of  the  peace  concluded  be- 
tween him  and  the  Protestants,  whom  he  was  unable  to  op- 
pose, and  whose  tenets  he  refused  to  embrace,  notwithstanding 
the  expressed  wish  of  the  majority  of  his  subjects.  Like  his 
brother,  he  intrigued  and  diplomatized  until  his  Jesuitical  con- 
fessor, Bobadills^  and  the  new  pope,  Pius  lY.,  again  placed 
him  on  good  terms  with  Rome,  a.  d.  1559.  He  also  found  a 
mediator  in  Carlo  Borromeo,  archbishop  of  Milan,  who  had 
gained  a  high  reputation  for  sanctity  by  his  fearless  and  phi- 
lanthrdpic  biehaviour  during  a  pestilence,  and  who  was,  more- 
over, a  zealous  upholder  of  the  external  pomp  of  the  church 
and  of  public  devotion. 

Augustus,  elector  of  Saxony,  the  brother  of  Maurice, 
alarmed  at  the  fresh  alliance  between  the  emperor  and  the 
pope,  convoked  a  meeting  of  the  Protestant  leaders  at  Naum- 

*  He  was  in  consequence  mockingly  termed  "  canis  Aastriacus." 


SPANIARDS  AND  JESUITS.  275 

burg.     His  fears  were,  however,  allayed  by  the  peacefal  pro* 
posds  of  the  emperor,  [a.  d.  1661,]  and,  in  point  of  fact,  the 
fitting  moment  for  another  attempt  at  reconciliation  had  ar- 
rived.    The  great  leaders  of  the  Reformation  were  dead,  the 
zeal  of  their  successors  had  cooled  or  they  were  at  variance 
with  one  another.     Disgost  had  driven  several  theologians 
hack  to  the  bosom  of  the  Roman  Charch.     The  emperor,  and 
even  Albert  of  Bavaria,  William's  saccessor,  were  willing  to 
concede  marriage  to  the  priests,  the  sacrament  under  both 
forms  to  the  people,  the  use  of  the  German  tongue  in  the 
church-service,  and  several  other  points,  for  the  sake  of  ter- 
minating the  schism  in  the  church ;  and  even  the  pope,  through 
his  talented  nuncio,  Commendone,  made  several  extremely 
touching  representations  to  the  assembly  at  Naumburg.     All 
was  vain.     Commendone  was  treated  with  great  indignity  by 
the  assembled  Protestants.     His  subsequent  attempt  to  gain 
the  princes  over  one  by  one  also  failed,  Brandenburg  alone 
giving  him  a  favourable  reception.     The  assembly  at  Naum- 
burg was,  nevertheless,  extremely  peaceful  in  comparison  with 
the  convocation  held  simultaneously  at  Luneburg,  where  the 
strictest  Lutherans,  the  pope's  most  irreconcilable  foes,  chiefly 
preachers  from  the  Hanse  towns,  had  assembled.     John  Fre- 
derick, duke  of  Weimar,  had  also  separated  himself  from  the 
meeting  at  Naumburg,  through  hatred  of  the  electoral  house. 
The  reconciliation  so  ardently  hoped  for  by  the  moderate 
party  on  both  sides,  was  no  longer  possible.     The  schism  had 
been  too  much  widened  ever  again  to  close.   The  Protestants, 
instead  of  awaiting  a  general  discussion  of  ecclesiastical  mat- 
ters by  a  council,  had,  on  their  own  responsibility,  founded  a 
new  church  with  new  ceremonies  and  tenets.     The  Catholics 
bad,  on  their  side,  placed  the  council  not  over  the  pope,  but 
the  pope  over  the  council,  in  order  to  give  thefnselves  a  head 
and  greater  unity,  and  this,  council,  led  by  the  Jesuits,  had 
already  passed  several  resolutions  to  which  the  Protestants 
could  not  accede.     Neither  party  would  retract  lest  more 
might  be  lost,  and  each  viewed  the  other  with  the  deepest  dis- 
trust.    Leonhard  Haller,  bishop  of  Eichstasdt,  said  in  the 
council,  ^'  It  is  dangerous  to  refuse  the  demands  of  the  Pro- 
testants, but  much  more  so  to  grant  them."    Both,  parties 
shared  this  opinion,  and  resolved  to  maintain  the  schism.     A 
last  attempt  to  save  the  unity  of  the  German  church,  in  the 

t2 


276  PBBPONDERANCE  OF  THE 

event  of  its  separation  from  that  of  Rome,  was  made  by  Fer- 
dinand, who  convoked  the  spiritual  electoral  princes,  the  arch- 
bishops and  bishops,  for  that  purpose  to  Vienna,  but  the  con- 
sideration with  which  he  was  compelled  to  treat  the  pope 
rendered  his  efforts  weak  and  ineffectual;  those  made  by 
Albert  of  Bavaria,  independently  of  the  Protestants,  in  the 
council,  for  the  abolition  or  restriction  of  the  most  glaring 
abuses  in  the  church,  were  more  successful,  although  the  vrhole 
of  his  demands  were  not  conceded.  The  council  clearly  per- 
ceived the  necessity  of  raising  the  fallen  credit  of  the  clergy 
by  the  revival  of  morality.  A  number  of  abuses  in  this 
respect,  more  particularly  the  sale  of  indulgences,  were  abol- 
ished ;  the  local  authority  of  the  bishops  was  restored,  and 
the  arbitrary  power  of  the  legates  restricted ;  a  catechism  for 
the  instruction  of  the  Catholics  was  adopted  in  imitation  of 
that  published  by  the  Lutherans,  and,  by  the  foundation  of 
the  Order  of  Jesus,  talent  and  learning  were  once  more  to  be 
spread  among  the  monastic  orders.  But  the  council  also  drew 
the  bonds  of  ancient  dogmatism  closer  than  ever,  by  its  con- 
firmation of  the  supremacy  of  the  pope  and  of  his  infallibility 
in  all  ecclesiastical  matters.  "Cursed  be  all  heretics,"  ex- 
claimed the  cardinal  of  Lorraine  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
council,  which  re-echoed  his  words  with  thunders  of  applause, 
A.  D.  1563.  Pius  IV.,  who  closed  the  council,  and,  by  his 
reconciliation  with  the  emperor  and  with  Spain,  had  weakened 
the  opposition  of  the  hierarchy  and  strengthened  that  of  the 
Protestants,  was  succeeded  by  Pius  V.,  a  blind  zealot^  who 
castigated  himself,  and,  like  Philip  in  Spain,  tracked  the  here- 
tics in  the  State  of  the  Church  by  means  of  the  Inquisition, 
and  condemned  numbers  to  the  stake. 

The  Protestants,  blind  to  the  unity  and  strength  resulting 
from  the  policy  of  the  Catholics,  weakened  themselves  more 
and  more  by  division.  The  Reformed  Swiss  were  almost  more 
inimical  to  the  Lutherans  than  the  Catholics  were,  and  the 
general  mania  for  disputation  and  theological  obstinacy  pro- 
duced divisions  amongst  the  Reformers  themselves.  When, 
in  1562,  Bullinger  set  up  the  Helvetic  Confession,  to  which 
the  Pfalz  also  assented,  in  Zurich,  Basle  refused  and  main- 
tained a  particular  Confession.  A  university,  intended  by 
Ferdinand  I.  as  a  bulwark  against  the  Reformation,  was 
founded  by  him  at  Besan9on,  then  an  imperial  city,  a«  d.  1564. 


SPANIARDS  AND  JESUITS.  277 

Ferdinand  expired,  [a.  d.  1564,]  and  was  succeeded  on  the 
imperial  throne  bj  his  son,  Maximilian  II.,  who  had  gained 
great  popularity  throaghout  Germanj  by  his  inclination  to 
&vonr  the  Lutherans ;  but,  unstable  in  character,  he  commit- 
ted the  fault  of  granting  religious  liberty  to  his  subjects  with- 
out embracing  Lutheranism  himself,  and  consequently  exposed 
them  to  the  most  fearful  persecution  under  his  successor.  No 
one  ever  more  convincingly  proved  how  much  more  half- 
friendship  is  to  be  dreaded  than  utter  enmity. 

The  empire  was,  at  this  period,  externally  at  peace. 
France,  embroiled  by  the  Catholics  and  Huguenots,  was 
governed  by  a  female  monster,  the  widow  of  Henry  IL,  the 
Italian,  Catherine  di  Medicis,  who,  sunk  in  profligacy,  and 
the  zealous  champion  of  the  ancient  church,  reigned  in  the 
name  of  her  sons,  Francis  II.  and  Charles  IX.  The  Hugue- 
nots turned  for  relief  to  Germany.  In  1562,  six  thousand 
Hessians,  and,  in  1567,  the  Pfalzgrave,  John  Casimir,  with 
seventeen  thousand  men,  marched  to  their  aid.  The  queen 
>^a8,  on  her  side,  assisted  by  the  Swiss  Catholics,  and,  to  his 
eternal  disgrace,  by  John  William,  duke  of  Weimar,  who 
sent  a  reinforcement  of  five  thousand  men.  John  Casimir 
reaped  still  deeper  shame  by  his  acceptation  of  a  royal  bribe, 
and  his  consequent  desertion  of  the  Huguenots. 

The  Turks  also  left  the  empire  undisturbed.  They  were 
opposed  in  Hungary  by  an  imperial  army  under  Castaldo, 
which,  instead  of  defending,  laid  the  country  waste.  The 
^onk,  Greorge  Mertenhausen,  (Martinuzzi,)  was  more  in- 
fluential by  his  intrigues.  On  the  death  of  Zapolya,  to 
^hom  he  had  acted  both  as  temporal  and  spiritual  adviser,  he 
found  himself  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  Hungary,  and  proposed 
a  marriage,  which  never  took  place,  between  Zapolya's  son, 
«Jobn  Sigismund,  and  one  of  Ferdinand's  daughters.  His 
first  condition  was  the  emancipation  of  the  peasantry  by  the 
emperor,  on  the  grounds  that  "  the  Turks  offered  liberty  to 
the  Hungarian  serfs,  and  thereby  induced  numbers  to  aposta- 
^ze,  and,  in  this  apostacy  from  Christianity,  those  alone  who 
tyrannized  over  the  peasantry  were  to  blame."  Ferdinand 
naturally  refused  to  listen  to  these  remonstrances,  and  George 
Was  shortly  afterwards  accused  of  a  treacherous  correspond- 
ence with  the  Turks,  and  was  murdered  by  Castaldo's  bravos. 
The  pope,  who  had  shortly  before  presented  him,  at  Fer-' 


278  PRBPONDERANCB  OF  THE 

dinand's  request,  with  a  cardinal's  hat»  merely  observed  on 
this  occasion,  "  He  ought  either  to  have  been  less  strongly  re- 
commended or  not  to  have  been  assassinated."  The  Hunga- 
rians, roused  to  desperation  by  the  tyranny  of  Castaldo,  and  by 
the  devastation  committed  by  his  soldiery,  at  length  attacked 
him,  killed  the  greater  part  of  his  men,  and  declared  in  favour 
of  John  Sigismund  Zapolya.  This  demonstration  was  ren- 
dered still  more  effective  by  an  invasion  of  Camiola  by  the 
Turks,  A.  D.  1559.  Maximilian  II.,  on  his  accession  to  the 
throne,  purchased  peace  by  an.  annual  tribute  of  300,000 
guilders,  and  by  the  recognition  of  John  Sigismund  as  prince 
of  Transylvania.  The  sultan  infringed  the  treaty ;  the  peace 
of  Germany,  nevertheless,  remained  undisturbed,  the  grey- 
headed sultan  expiring  before  the  walls  of  Sigeth,  which  were 
gallantly  defended,  to  the  immortal  honour  of  his  nation,  by 
the  Hungarian,  Nicolas  Zriny.  The  Turks  withdrew,  and 
were  kept  in  check  by  Lazarus  Schwendi,  an  old  and  experi- 
enced general  of  the  time  of  Charles  Y. 

Maximilian,  insensible  to  the  advantages  presented  by  the 
peaceful  state  of  the  empire,  and  incapable  of  guiding  events, 
merely  ventured  upon  a  few  timid  steps  that  might  easily  be 
retraced.  After  having,  in  1565,  invited  Pius  IV.  to  abro- 
gate the  celibacy  of  the  clergy,  against  which  he  protested, 
his  next  step  should  have  b^n  the  prosecution  of  the  Re- 
formation independent  of  the  pope ;  instead  of  which,  uncon- 
scious of  the  deadly  suspicion  and  of  the  dark  assassin  that 
dogged  his  every  step,  he  used  his  utmost  efforts  to  preserve 
amicable  relations  with  him,  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
granted  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion  to  the  Austrian  no- 
bility, and  to  the  cities  of  Linz,  Steyer,  Enns,  Wels,  Frei- 
stadt,  Gmunden,  and  Yoecklabruck,  and  tolerated  the  intro- 
duction of  the  new  Protestant  church  into  Austria  by  Chytneus 
Ton  Rostock,  a.  d.  1568.  He  afterwards  allowed  the  Bible 
to  be  translated  for  the  use  of  the  Slavonians  in  Camiola, 
Carinthia,  and  Styria,  and  protected,  even  in  Vienna,  the 
Protestants  as  well  as  the  Jesuits,  on  one  occasion  bestowing 
a  box  on  the  ear  on  his  son,  afterwards  the  emperor  Rudoff 
n.,  for  having  attacked  a  Protestant  church  at  the  instigation 
of  the  Jesuits.  Half  measures  of  this  description  were  ex- 
actly calculated  to  excite  the  revenge  of  the  young  emperor 
on  the  decease  of  his  father.     Had  Maximilian  embraced  the 


SPANIARDS  AND  JESUITS.  279 

Latheran  faith,  or,  at  all  events,  extended  freedom  in  religious 
matters  indifferently  to  every  class,  had  he  sanctioned  it  hy  a 
solemn  decree,  and  placed  it  under  the  guarantee  of  the  rest 
of  Protestant  Germany,  his  concessions  would  have  met  with 
a  blessed  result  and  have  defied  the  sovereign's  caprice,  in- 
stead of  acting,  as  they  eventuaUy  did,  as  a  curse  upon  those 
among  his  subjects,  who,  under  his  protection,  demonstrated 
their  real  opinions,  and  were,  consequently,  marked  as  victims 
by  his  fanatical  successor.  He  also  tolerated  the  grossest 
papacy  in  his  own  family.  His  consort,  Maria,  the  daughter 
of  Charles  V.,  entirely  coincided  with  the  opinions  of  her 
brother  Philip,  and  instilled  them  into  the  mind  of  her  son. 
His  brothers,  Ferdinand  and  Charles,  were  zealous  disciples 
of  the  Jesuits.  Maximilian  also  gave  his  daughters  in  mar- 
riage to  the  most  bloodthirsty  persecutors  of  the  heretics  in 
Europe,  Anna  to  Philip  11.  of  Spain,  Elisabeth  to  Charles 
IK.  of  France,  who,  on  St.  Bartholomew's  night,  aided  with 
his  own  hand  in  the  assassination  of  the  Huguenots,  who  had 
been  treacherously  invited  by  him  to  Paris.  This  event  filled 
Maximilian  with  horror ;  he,  nevertheless,  neglected  to  guard 
his  wretched  subjects  from  the  far  worse  fate  that  awaited 
them  during  the  thirty  years'  war.  For  the  sake  of  treating 
each  party  with  equal  toleration,  he  allowed  the  Jesuits,  during 
a  period  when  hatred  was  rife  in  every  heart,  full  liberty  of 
action,  and  thus  encouraged  a  sect,  which,  solely  studious  of 
evil,  and  animated  by  the  most  implacable  revenge,  shortly 
repaid  his  toleration  with  poison. 

A  female  member  of  the  imperial  family  was  also  an  object 
of  the  hatred  of  the  Jesuits.  During  the  reign  of  Ferdinand 
!•,  his  son,  Ferdinand  of  the  Tyrol,  became  enamoured  of  the 
daughter  of  an  Augsburg  citizen,  Philippina  Welser,  the  most 
beautiful  maiden  of  her  time,  whom  he  secretly  married. 
PhiHppina  went  to  the  imperial  court,  and,  throwing  herself 
under  a  feigned  name  at  the  emperor's  feet,  petitioned  him  to 
guard  her  from  the  danger  with  which  she  was  threatened  in 
case  her  marriage  was  discovered  by  an  intolerant  father-in- 
law.  Ferdinand,  moved  by  her  beauty,  raised  her  and  pro- 
mised to  plead  in  her  favour.  Upon  this  Philippina  dis- 
covered the  truth,  and  the  emperor,  touched  to  the  heart, 
forgave  his  son.  The  pope  confirmed  the  marriage,  and  the 
happy  pair  spent  a  life  of  delight  at  the  castle  of  Ambras,  in 


280  COURTLY  VICES. 

the  Tyrol,  not  far  from  Innsbruck,  until  it  was  poisoned  by 
the  venom  instilled  bj  the  Jesuits.  Their  children  were 
created  Margraves  of  Burgau.  The  family  became  extinct 
in  1618. 

The  Protestants  also  allowed  the  opportunity  offered  to 
them  by  the  emperor  to  pass  unheeded,  and,  although  they 
received  a  great  accession  in  number,  sank,  from  want  of 
unity,  in  real  power  and  influence.  The  rest  of  the  Grerman 
princes,  Charles  and  Earnest  of  Baden,  and  Julius  of  Bruns- 
wick-Wolfenbuttel,  the  son  of  Henry  the  Wild,  embraced 
Lutheranism.  Austria,  Bavaria,  Lorraine,  and  Juliers  re- 
mained Catholic.  The  Reformers  were  devoid  of  union 
and  energy,  and  oppressed  by  a  sense  of  having  abused  and 
desecrated,  instead  of  having  rigidly  prosecuted,  the  Reform- 
ation. 'Was  their  present  condition  the  fitting  result  of  a 
religious  emancipation,  or  worthy  of  the  sacred  blood  that  had 
been  shed  in  the  cause  ?  Instead  of  one  pope,  the  Protestants 
were  oppressed  by  a  number,  each  of  the  princes  ascribing 
that  authority  to  himself;  and  instead  of  the  Jesuits  they  had 
court  chaplains  and  superintendents-general,  who,  their  equals 
in  venom,  despised  no  means,  however  base,  by  which  their 
aim  might  be  attained.  A  new  species  of  barbarism  had  found 
admittance  into  the  Protestant  courts  and  universities.  The 
Lutheran  chaplains  shared  their  influence  over  the  princes 
with  mistresses,  boon-companions,  astrologers,  alchymists,  and 
Jews.  The  Protestant  princes,  rendered,  by  the  treaty  of 
Augsburg,  unlimited  dictators  in  matters  of  faith  within  their 
territories,  had  lost  all  sense  of  shame.  Philip  of  Hesse  married 
two  wives.  Brandenburg  and  pious  Saxony  yielded  to  tempta- 
tion. Surrounded  by  coarse  grooms,  equerries,  court-fools  of 
obscene  wit,  and  misshapen  dwarfs,  the  princes  emulated  each 
other  in  drunkenness,  an  amusement  that  entirely  replaced 
the  noble  and  gallant  tournament  of  earlier  times.  Almost 
every  German  court  was  addicted  to  this  bestial  vice. 
Among  others,  the  ancient  house  of  Piast  in  Silesia  was 
utterly  ruined  by  it.  Even  Louis  of  Wurtemberg,  whose 
virtues  rendered  him  the  darling  of  his  people,  was  continually 
in  a  state  of  drunkenness.  This  vice  and  that  of  swearing 
even  became  a  subject  of  discussion  in  the  diet  of  the  empire, 
[a.  d.  1577,]  when  it  was  decreed,  "  That  all  electoral  princes, 
nobles,  and  estates,  should  avoid  intemperate  drinking  as  an 


COURTLY  VICES.  281 

example  to  their  subjects."  The  chaoe  was  also  followed  to 
excess.  The  game  was  strictly  preserved,  and,  daring  the 
hant)  the  serfs  were  compelled  to  aid  in  demolishing  their 
own  corn-fields.  The  Jews  and  alchymists,  whom  it  be- 
came the  fashion  to  have  at  court,  were  by  no  means  a  slight 
evil,  all  of  them  requiring  gold.  Astrology  would  have  been 
a  harmless  amusement  had  not  its  professors  taken  advantage 
of  the  ignorance  and  superstition  of  the  times.  False  repre- 
sentations of  the  secret  powers  of  nature  and  of  the  devil  led 
to  the  belief  in  witchcraft  and  to  the  bloody  persecution  of  its 
supposed  agents.  Luther's  belief  in  the  agency  of  the  devil 
had  naturdly  fiUed  the  minds  of  his  followers  with  super- 
stitious fears.  Julius,  duke  of  Brunswick,  embraced  the 
Heformation,  lived  in  harmony  with  his  provincial  estates, 
founded  the  university  of  Helmstaedt,  and,  during  a  long  peace, 
raised  his  country  to  a  high  degree  of  "prosperity,  but  had 
such  an  irresistible  mania  for  burning  witches,  that  the  black- 
eoed  stakes  near  Wolfenbiittel  resembled  a  wood.  The  con- 
sort of  Duke  Eric  the  younger  was  compelled  to  fly  for  safety 
to  her  brother  Augustus  of  Saxony,  Julius  having,  probably 
from  interested  motives,  accused  her  of  witchcraft. 

The  Ascanian  family  of  Lauenburg  was  sunk  in  vice.  The 
same  licence  continued  from  one  generation  to  another ;  the 
country  was  deeply  in  debt,  and  how,  under  these  circum- 
stances, the  cujus  regie  was  maintained,  may  easily  be  con- 
ceived. The  Protestant  clergy  of  this  duchy  were  proverbial 
for  ignorance,  licence,  and  immorality. 

The  imperial  court  at  Vienna  offered,  by  its  dignity  and 
Daorality,  a  bright  contrast  to  the  majority  of  the  IVotestant 
courts,  whose  bad  example  was,  nevertheless,  followed  by 
wany  of  the  Catholic  princes,  who,  without  taking  part  in  the 
Reformation,  had  thereby  acquired  greater  independence. 


CXCIX.   Contests  between  the  Lutheran  Church  and  the 
Princes, 

Tbe  whole  Reformation  was  a  triumph  of  temporal  over 
spiritual  power.  Luther  himself,  in  order  to  avoid  anarchy, 
had  placed  all  the  power  in  the  hands  of  the  princes.  The 
inemory  of  the  ancient  hierarchy  had,  however,  not  been  con- 


282  CONTESTS  BETWEEN  THE  LUTHERAN 

signed  to  oblivion,  and  the  new  passions  roused  bj  the  Be- 
fonnation  constantly  gave  the  preachers  an  influence  of  which 
they  well  knew  how  to  avail  themselves  in  opposition  to  the 
weaker  princes.  Had  they  not  been  defeated  by  their  own 
want  of  union,  they  might,  at  all  events,  have  rendered  the 
triumph  of  the  temporal  power  less  easy. 

The  strict  Lutherans,  by  whom  the  least  tenable  and  least 
practical  theses  of  Luther,  which  fostered  disunion  among  the 
Reformers,  were  rigidly  defended  against  the  attacks  of  the  Ca- 
tholics, the  Zwinglians,  and  the  Calvinists,  had  fixed  them- 
selves at  Jena  under  the  youthful  John  Frederick,  the  son  of 
the  expelled  elector  of  like  name.  The  Illyrian,  Flacius,  the 
spiritual  head  of  this  university,  was  an  energetic  but  narrow- 
minded  man,  by  whom  Luther's  doctrine  concerning  original 
sin  was  so  extremely  exaggerated,  that  he  declared  **  original 
sin  not  only  innate  ih  man,  but  his  very  essence,  and  that  he 
was  thoroughly  bad  ;  an  image,  not  of  God,  but  of  the  devil.** 
He  was,  it  is  true,  driven  to  this  extreme  by  the  exaggerated 
assertions  of  Agricola  at  Berlin,  and  of  Osiander  at  Koenigs- 
berg,  who  maintained  that  man  had  the  privilege,  when  once 
touched  by  grace,  of  being  no  longer  subject  to  sin,  whatever 
liis  actions  might  be.  Between  these  two  extremes  stood  the 
Wittenberg  party  under  the  aged  and  gentle-minded  Melanc- 
thon,  and  that  of  Tiibingen  under  the  learned  Brenz,  who 
was  shortly  to  be  followed  by  the  diplomatizing  Jacob  Andrea. 

The  relation  in  which  these  theological  parties  stood  to 
temporal  politics  was  extremely  simple.  The  doctrine  of 
grace  taught  by  Agricola  Osiander  placed  man  in  a  high  po- 
sition, flattered  him,  facilitated  the  forgiveness  and  also  the 
commission  of  sin  by  the  doctrine  of  justification,  and  there- 
fore exactly  suited  the  licentious  princes.  The  founders  of 
this  doctrine  also  manifested  the  utmost  servility  in  the  exter- 
nal observances  of  the  church,  and  conceded  every  thing  to 
their  sovereign.  This  sect  would  have  triumphed  over  the 
more  gloomy  tenets  of  the  Flacians,  who,  inflexible  in  the 
maintenance  of  external  observances,  bade  defiance  to  the 
princes,  had  it  not  in  its  pure  theological  dogma  more  resem* 
bled  Calvinism  than  genuine  Lutheranism.  The  majority  of 
the  princes,  decidedly  biassed  against  Calvinism  on  account 
of  its  republican  tendency,  preferred  Lutheranism  and  the 
hateful  contest  with  its  theologians. 


CflUBCH  AND  THE  PBINCES.  283 

John  Frederick  and  his  chancellor,  Briick,  actuated  by  he- 
reditary hatred  of  the  elector,  Augustus,  countenanced  the 
attacks  of  the  theologians  of  Jena  upon  those  of  Wittenberg. 
The  Interim  furnished  Fladus  with  an  opportunity  for  de* 
fending  the  Adiaphora,  (sacrificed  by  the  followers  of  Me- 
lancthon  at  Wittenberg  as  subordinate  to  the  Interim,)  which 
he  mamtained  as  essential ;  and  for  canying  on  a  dispute  con- 
cerning the  efl&cacy  of  good  works,  which  he  totally  rejected, 
and  declared  to  be  a  doctrine  of  destruction.  The  most  criminal 
wretch,  possessing  faith,  was,  according  to  him,  to  be  pre- 
ferred before  the  most  virtuous  unbeliever.  An  antagonist 
appearing  at  Jena  in  the  person  of  Strigel,  a  disciple  of  Me- 
lancthon,  a  Philipist,  supported  by  Hugel,  he  caused  them 
both  to  be  thrown  into  prison.  A  clever  physician,  named 
Schroeter,  however,  pointing  out  to  the  duke  **  the  advantage 
of  making  use  of  the  clergy  instead  of  allowing  them  to  make 
i»e  of  him,"  he  excluded  the  whole  of  the  professors  of  Jena 
^m  the  consistory,  which  he  composed  of  laymen.  In  the 
midst  of  these  disorders,  Melancthon,  who  had  long  sighed 
for  relief  from  ecclesiastical  disputes,  found  peace  in  the  grave, 
^*  B.  1559.  The  Flacians  triumphantly  beheld  the  elector's 
conciliatory  proposals  scornfuUy  rejected  by  John  Frederick, 
but,  deceived  by  the  belief  of  their  being  the  cause,  openly 
rebelling  against  the  ducal  mandate  by  which  they  were 
deprived  of  all  ecclesiastical  authority,  they  were  deposed,  and 
expelled  the  country,  a.  d.  1562.  Flacius,  cruelly  persecuted 
»y  his  former  pupils,  especially  by  the  morose  Heshusius,  died 
ni  misery  at  Frankfurt  on  the  Maine,  A.  d.  1575. 

The  Tubingen  party,  in  1558,  made  the  extraordinary  pro- 
position of  placing  a  superintendent-general,  consequently,  a 
l-Toteatant  pope,  over  the  whole  of  the  new  church ;  this  pro- 
position, however,  failed,  the  princes  having  no  inclination  to 
render  themselves  once  more  subordinate  to  an  ecclesiastic. 

Albert,  duke  of  Prussia,  was  severely  chastised  for  the 
^onn^tion  of  the  university  of  Ingolstadt  in  1546,  notwith- 
f^ding  the  comfortable  doctrine  of  his  favourite,  Osiander, 
p  r?®  jealousy  of  the  professors,  some  of  whom,  as  followers 
^f  Flacius,  others  at  the  instigation  of  the  ancient  aristocracy 
?*  *^e  Teutonic  order,  threw  themselves,  headed  by  Moerlin, 
^to  the  opposition,  and  roused  the  whole  country  against  the 
**lented  and  courtiy  Osiander,  who,  dying  suddenly  in  1552, 


284  CONTESTS  BBTWEEN  THE  LUTHERAN 

the  duke  published  a  mandate  ordaining  peace.  Moerlin  bade 
him  defiance,  was  deposed,  and  fied  to  Brunswick,  upon  which 
the  nobility,  cities,  and  clergy  confederated,  and  assumed  Buch 
a  threatening  aspect  that  all  the  Osiandrists  quitted  the 
country.  Skalich,  a  Croatian  by  birth,  the  duke's  privy 
counsellor,  fled.  The  court  chaplain,  Funk,  and  some  of  the 
counsellors,  deeming  themselves  in  security,  remained.  Moer- 
lin's  adherents,  however,  compelled  the  duke  to  discbarge  his 
mercenaries,  the  duchess  to  retract  her  former  declaration  in 
Osiander's  favour,  and  seized  the  persons  of  the  counsellors  in 
the  presence  of  their  sovereign.  Horst,  one  of  his  favourites, 
embraced  the  knees  of  his  master,  who  wept  in  his  helpless- 
ness. Horst,  Funk,  and  others  were  beheaded,  and  the  duke 
was  compelled  to  recall  Moerlin,  [a.  d.  156(5,]  whose  in- 
solence broke  the  heart  of  the  aged  duke  and  duchess,  both  of 
whom  expired  on  the  same  day,  A.  d.  1568.  Their  son, 
Albert  Frederick,  a  boy  fifteen  years  of  age,  was  driven  in- 
sane by  the  treatment  he  received  from  Moerlin  and  the 
nobility.  Moerlin  died,  [a.  d.  1571,]  and  bequeathed  his 
office  to  Heshusius,  a  man  of  congenial  character,  possessing 
all  the  instincts  of  the  dog  except  his  fidelity.  Such  were 
the  horrid  natures  produced  by  the  passions  of  the  age  ! 

The  feud  carried  on  by  John  Frederick  against  Augustus, 
elector  of  Saxony,  terminated  in  blood.  John  Frederick, 
implicated  in  an  attempt  made  by  a  Franconian  noble,^  Wil- 
liam von  Grumbach,  to  revive  Sickingen's  project  for  the 
downfal  of  the  princes,  was  put  with  him  under  the  bann  of 
the  empire,  which  Augustus  executed  upon  him.  John 
Frederick  was  taken  prisoner  in  Grotha,  borne  in  triumph  to 
Vienna,  and  imprisoned  for  life  at  Neustadt.  Grumbach  and 
Briick  were  quartered,  and  their  adherents  hanged  and  ex- 
ecuted. On  the  death  of  John  William,  John  Frederick's 
brother,  who  died,  a.  d.  1573,  his  infant  children  fell  under 
the  guardianship  of  the  elector,  Augustus,  who  expelled  all 
the  Flacian  preachers,  one  hundred  and  eleven  in  number, 
from  Weimar,  and  reduced  them  to  beggary.  The  Philipists 
triumphed.  Their  leader.  Fencer,  Melancthon's  son-in-law, 
the  elector's  private  physician,  was  in  great  favour  at  court 
Emboldened  by  success,  they  attempted  to  promulgate  their 
tenets,  in  which  they  approached  those  of  the  Calvinists,  and 
published  a  new  catechism  in  1571,  which  aroused  the  sus- 


CHURCH  AND  THE  PBINCBS.  285 

picion  of  Julius  of  Brunswick,  who  warned  the  elector  against 
liis  crypto-calvinistic  clergy.  Augustus  instantly  convoked 
liis  clergy,  and  a  satisfactory  explanation  took  place,  but,  in 
1^74,  influenced  by  his  consort,  Anna,  a  Danish  princess, 
who  ascribed  the  death  of  their  infant  son  to  the  fact  of  his 
having  been  held  at  the  font  by  Peucer,  the  crypto-calvinist, 
be  threw  both  him  and  his  adherents,  on  a  supposition  of 
treachery,  into  prison,  assembled  the  whole  of  the  clergy  at 
Torgau,  and  compelled  them  to  retract  the  tenets  they  had  so 
bng  defended  in  the  pulpit  and  by  the  press.  Six  of  their 
number  alone,  Biidiger,  Crell,  Wiedebram,  Cruciger,  Pegel, 
And  Moller,  refused  obedience  to  the  electoral  mandate,  and 
were  sent  into  banishment.  Peucer  remained  for  twelve  years 
in  a  narrow,  unwholesome  dungeon,  without  books  or  writing 


The  fanaticism  with  which  the  Calvinists  were  persecuted 
was  increased  by  other  causes.  Their  tenets  being  embraced 
^7  Frederick,  elector  of  the  Pfalz,  by  whom  the  French 
Hngaenot  refugees  were  protected,  a  confederacy  was  formed 
against  him  by  Christopher,  duke  of  Wurtemberg,  Wolfgang, 
duke  of  Pfalz-Neuburg,  and  Charies,  duke  of  Baden.  Frederick, 
Trendered  more  obstinate  by  opposition,  published  [a.  d.  1563] 
the  notorious  Heidelberg  Catechism  as  fonn  of  belief,  the 
iQost  severe  bull  in  condemnation  of  sectarians  called  forth  by 
the  Reformation,  and  the  dispute  would  have  taken  a  serious 
turn  had  not  the  emperor,  Maximilian  II.,  avoided  touching 
^IK>n  every  fresh  ecclesiastical  innovation  at  the  diet  held  at 
Augsburg,  A.  D.  1566.  Frederick  remained  isolated,  and 
°^ntained  Calvinism  throughout  his  dominions  with  extreme 
^verity.  A  Socinian  clergyman.  Sylvan,  a  disciple  of  the 
™e,  Socin,  who  denied  the  Trinity,  and  merely  admitted 
^«  person  in  the  Godhead,  was,  by  his  orders,  beheaded  at 
Heidelberg,  a.  d.  1572.  Frederick  died,  a.  d.  1576.  His 
*^>  Louis,  a  zealous  Lutheran,  destroyed  his  father's  work. 

^  entering  Heidelberg  he  ordered  all  among  his  subjects 
'^no  yfQYe  not  Lutheran  to  quit  the  city,  and  those  among  the 

^wvinistic  preachers  who  refused  to  recant  were  expelled 

the  country. 

fk  ^^  various  parties  were  now  sufficiently  chastised,  and 

the  clergy  demoralized,  for  the  safe  publication  of  a  fresh 

tormula  or  concordat,  by  the  Lutheran  princes.     In  Bran- 


286        EEVOLT  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS. 

denbnrg  the  clergy  had  been  taught  blind  submission  to  the 
court  by  Agricola,  and,  in  1671,  the  elector,  John  Gleorge, 
placed  the  consistory  under  the  presidency  of  a  layman, 
Chemnitz.  Augustus,  elector  of  Saxony,  found  a  servile  tool 
for  a  similar  purpose  in  Selneccer,  who,  with  Andrea  of  War- 
temberg,  the  son  of  a  smith  of  Waiblingen,  completed  the 
triumvirate,  who,  in  the  name  of  the  Lutherans  of  Southern 
Germany,  drew  up  the  formula,  [▲.  d.  1677,]  without  the 
convocation  of  a  synod,  in  the  monastery  of  Bergen,  and  im- 
posed it  upon  the  whole  of  the  Lutheran  world.  William  of 
Hesse,  whose  father,  Philip,  had  died,  laden  with  years,  in 
1667,  Pomerania,  Holstein,  Anhalt,  and  some  of  the  cities, 
alone  protested  against  it.     The  people  obeyed. 

Harmony  had  existed  amongst  the  Reformers  since  the 
covenant,  by  which  all  essential  differences  were  smoothed 
down,  entered  into  [▲.  d.  1663]  by  the  obstinate  elector  of 
the  Pfalz  and  Bullinger,  Zwingli's  successor  in  Zurich. 
Basle  alone  maintained  a  separate  confession  between  Luther- 
anism  and  Zwingliism.  The  disputes  among  the  Reformers, 
although  less  important  than  those  among  the  Lutherans^- 
nevertheless  equalled  them  in  virulence. 


CC.  JRevoli  in  the  Netherlands.— 7^  Geuses. 

Ghasles  Y.  had  assiduously  endeavoured  to  round  off  the 
Netherlands,  and  to  render  them  a  bulwark  against  France 
and  the  Protestants.  Gueldres  resisted  the  Habsburg  with  the 
greatest  obstinacy.*  The  aged  and  childless  duke,  Charles, 
was  compelled  by  the  Estates,  when  on  his  death-bed,  to  name 
William,  duke  of  Juliers,  his  successor,  in  preference  to 
the  Habsburg.  Ghent  also  revolted  against  the  enormous 
taxes  imposed  by  the  emperor,  who  appeared  [a.  d.  1614]  in 
person  before  the  gates,  forced  the  citizens  to  submit,  and  be- 
headed twenty  of  the  principal  townsmen.  Gueldres  was 
also  reduced,  and  William  of  Juliers  was  compelled  to  re- 
nounce his  daim  in  favour  of  the  Habsburg. 

*  Hoog  van  moed, 
Klein  van  goed, 
Een  Zwaard  in  de  hand 
Ist  wapen  van  Grelderland. 


REVOLT  IN  THE  NETHEBLANDS.        287 

The  emperor  vainlj  attempted  to  keep  the  Netherlands  free 
fit)m  heresy  by  the  publication  of  the  cruel  Placates.  Tyranny 
merely  rendered  zeal  extravagant,  and  gave  rise  to  secret  sec- 
tarianism. In.  1546,  a  certain  Loy  was  executed  for  promul- 
gating the  extraordinary  doctrine  of  the  existing  world  being 
hell.  From  Basle,  his  place  of  refuge,  the  influence  of  David 
Jons,  and  of  another  Anabaptist,  Menno  Simonis,  greatly 
spread.  The  Mennonites  were  distinguished  from  the  rest  of 
the  Anabaptists  by  their  gentleness  and  love  of  peace,  which 
caased  their  renunciation  of  the  use  of  arms.  The  French 
Calvinists,  who  had  found  their  way  into  Flanders,  were, 
however,  far  more  intractable  and  bold.  Such  numbers  were 
thrown  into  prison  and  sentenced  to  the  stake,  that  the  mer- 
cantile class  addressed  a  petition  to  the  emperor,  represent- 
ing the  injury  thereby  inflicted  on  industry  and  commerce. 
Material  interests,  nevertheless,  predominated  to  such  a  de- 
gree in  the  Netherlands,  that  the  victims  of  the  Placates, 
numerous  as  they  were,  excited  little  attention  among  the 
mass  of  the  population,  and  amid  the  immense  press  of  busi- 
ness.* Charles  drew  large  sums  of  money  from  the  Nether- 
^ds,  which  he  at  the  same  time  provided  with  every  means 
for  the  acquisition  of  wealth.  Commerce  and  manufactures 
flourished.  He  also  rendered  himself  extremely  popular  by 
^  constant  use  of  his  native  tongue,  Flemish,  his  adoption  of 
that  dress,  and  the  favour  he  showed  to  his  countrymen  even 
^  foreign  service.  His  father,  Maximilian,  had  greatly  con- 
tributed to  bring  Low  Dutch,  which  under  the  Burgundian 
rule  had  ceded  to  French,  into  general  use.  Under  the 
Habsburgs  the  literature  of  the  Netherlands  was  greatly  foa- 
med, and  chambers  of  rhetoric  were  formed  in  all  the  cities. 
Charles  V.,  a  thorough  Fleming  at  heart,  did  still  more  for 
^e  country,  notwithstanding  which,  he  abandoned  his  Ger- 
^luinic  system,  and  sacrificed  the  fine  provinces  of  the  Nether- 
^ds  to  the  stranger. 

*  The  cities  were  at  the  height  of  their  prosperity ;  hence  the  epi- 
hets,  Brussels  the  Noble,  Ghent  the  Great,  Mechlin  the  Beautiful,  Na- 
piir  the  Strong,  Antwerp  the  Rich,  Louvain  the  Wise  (on  account  of 
•ler  uniyersity). 

"  Nobilibus  Bruxella  viris,  Antwerpia  nummis, 
Gandayum  laqueis,  formosis  Brugga  puellis, 
LoTantum  doctis,  gaudet  Mechlinia  stultis." 


288        REVOLT  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS. 

The  petty  policy  with  which  this  monarch  coquetted  during 
his  long  reign,  with  which  he  embarrassed  instead  of  smooth- 
ing affairs,  the  great  cunning  and  power  with  which  he  exe- 
cuted the  most  untoward  and  the  most  useless  projects,  was 
not  contradicted  by  his  ill-starred  will,  by  which  he  arbitrarily 
bestowed  the  Netherlands  on  his  son,  Philip  II..  of  Spain,  de- 
prived Germany  of  her  finest  province,  and  laid  a  heavy 
burthen  upon  Spain.  By  it  the  natural  position  of  the  nations 
in  regard  to  one  another  was  disturbed  and  an  artificial  con- 
nexion created,  the  dissolution  of  which  was  to  cost  torrents 
of  blood. 

Philip  n.  at  first  received  the  most  brilliant  proofs  of  the 
fidelity  of  the  Netherlands  by  their  opposition  to  the  French, 
who  had  renewed  the  war,  and  were  again  aided  by  the  Swiss. 
Their  general,  Count  Egmont,  victorious  at  St.  Quintin  and 
Gravelingen,  concluded  a  favourable  peace  at  Cambrdsis, 
[a.  d.  1559,]  which  restored  Dunkirk,  that  [a.  d.  1540]  had 
been  taken  by  the  English,  who  [a.  d.  1558]  had  been  de- 
prived of  it  by  the  French,  to  Philip.  The  breast  of  this 
monarch,  nevertheless,  remained  impervious  to  gratitude. 
During  the  battle  of  St.  Quintin,  whilst  others  fought  for  him, 
he  remained  upon  his  knees,  and  vowed,  were  he  victorious, 
to  raise  a  splendid  church  in  honour  of  St.  Laurence,  and,  in 
performance  of  this  vow,  erected,  in  the  vicinity  of  Madrid, 
the  famous  monastery  of  the  Escurial,  on  which  he  expended 
all  the  treasures  of  Spain.  Being  overtaken  by  a  storm  during 
a  sea-voyage,  he  took  a  solemn  oath,  in  case  of  safety,  to  ex- 
terminate all  the  heretics  in  honour  of  God,  and,  in  fulfilment 
of  this  vow,  spilt  torrents  of  the  blood  of  his  subjects  with 
the  most  phlegmatic  indifference.  His  principal  occupation 
consisted  of  repose  in  solitary  chambers.  The  gloom  of  the 
Escurial  formed  his  ideal  of  happiness.  The  bustle  of  public 
life,  the  expression  of  the  popular  will,  were  equally  obnoxious 
to  him.  Ue  therefore  endeavoured  to  maintain  tranquillity 
by  enforcing  blind  obedience  or  by  death.* 

Philip,  on  his  departure  from  Spain,  left  his  half-sister,  a 
natural  daughter  of  Charles  V.,  Margaret  of  Parma,  a  woman 
of  masculine  appearance,  stadtholderess  of  the  Netherlands, 

♦  The  best  portraits  of  this  monarch,  particularly  those  at  Napl^, 
Dear  by  no  means  a  gloomy  or  austere  expression,  but  rather  one  of  cool 
impudence.    The  features  are  of  a  common,  nay,  almost  knayish  cast 


REVOLT  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS.        289 

and  placed  near  her  person  the  Cardinal  GranveUa,  a  man  of 
acute  and  energetic  mind,  blindly  devoted  to  his  service.  This 
appointment  greatly  offended  the  Dutch,  who,  instead  of  re- 
ceiving a  native  stadtholder,  either  the  Prince  of  Orange  or 
Count  Egmont,  in  compliance  with  their  wishes,  beheld  a 
base-born  stranger  at  the  head  of  the  government.  Philip, 
instead  of  making  use  of  the  nobility  against  the  inferior 
classes,  by  this  step  impolitically  roused  their  anger;  sus- 
picious and  wayward,  he  preferred  a  throne  secured  by  vio- 
lence to  one,  like  that  of  his  father,  ill-sustained  by  intrigue. 
With  the  view  of  effectually  checking  the  progress  of  heresy, 
he  decreed  that  the  four  bishoprics,  until  now  existing  in  the 
Netherlands,  should  be  increased  to  seventeen.  This  uncon- 
stitutional decree  gave  general  discontent;  to  the  nobility, 
whose  influence  was  necessarily  diminished  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  an  additional  number  of  churchmen ;  to  the  people,  on 
account  of  their  secret  inclination  to  and  recognition  of  the  te- 
nets of  the  Reformed  Church ;  and  to  the  clergy,  whose  ancient 
possessions  were  thus  arbitrarily  partitioned  among  a  number 
of  new-comers.  The  representations  made  by  every  class  were 
disregarded ;  GranveUa  enforced  the  execution  of  the  decree, 
erected  the  new  bishoprics,  and  commenced  a  bitter  persecu- 
tion of  the  heretics.  The  Dutch,  nevertheless,  did  not  over- 
step the  bounds  of  obedience,  but  revenged  themselves  on  the 
Cardinal  by  open  mockery  and  the  publication  of  caricatures,* 
which  rendered  the  country  hateful  to  him,  and  he  took  his 
departure,  A.  d.  1564. 

The  Netherlands  had  patiently  permitted  the  imposition  of 
the  useless  bishoprics,  the  doubly  severe  Placates,  the  new 
resolutions  of  the  council  of  Trident,  and  would  indubitably 
have  remained  tranquil  but  for  the  attempt  made  to  introduce 
the  Inquisition  by  Philip,  which  at  once  raised  a  serious  op- 
position. The  very  name  of  this  institution  was  not  heard 
without  a  shudder.  The  manner  in  which  it  had  in  America 
sacrificed  thousands  of  Indians  in  bloody  holocaust  to  the 
Christian  idols  of  Spain,  and  the  auto-da-fes,  great  execu- 

*  They  imitated  his  cardinal's  hat  with  a  fool's  cap ;  represented  him 
under  the  form  of  a  hen,  brooding  over  seventeen  eggs,,  and  hatching 
bishops.  Egmont's  servants,  even  at  that  time,  wore  a  bundle  of  arrows 
embroidered  on  their  sleeves,  a  symbol  of  union,  afterwards  adopted  afe 
the  arms  of  HoUaiid. 

VOL.   II.  u 


n 


290  SETOLT  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS. 

ti<»ial  festivals,  dnriDg  which  thousands  of  heretics  werehurnt 
alive,  und  over  which  the  king,  in  his  royal  robes,  presided, 
were  still  fresh  in  men's  minds.  '*  We  are  no  stupid  Mexi- 
cans," exclaimed  the  Dutch,  "  we  will  maintain  our  ancient 
rights  ! "  The  nobles  signed  the  compromise,  a  formal  pro- 
test against  the  Inquisition,  which  they  laid  in  the  form  of 
a  petition  before  the  regent,  A.  d.  1566.  The  procession, 
headed  by  Count  de  Brederode,  went  on  foot  and  by  two  and 
two  to  the  palace.  Count  de  Barlaimont,  a  zealous  royalist, 
on  viewing  their  approach,  said  jeeringly,  "  Ce  n'est  qu'un 
tas  de  gueux  !"  Margaret  gave  them  a  friendly  reception,  but, 
incapable  of  acting  in  this  affair  without  authority  from  the 
king,  promised  to  inform  him  of  their  request.  Barlaimont's 
remark  being  afterwards  repeated  at  a  banquet  attended  by 
the  nobility,  Brederode  good-humouredly  sent  a  beggar's  wal- 
let and  a  wooden  goblet  round  the  table  with  the  toast,  ''Vi- 
vent  les  gueux  !"  The  name  was  henceforth  adopted  by  the 
faction.  / 

The  nobles,  offended  at  the  contemptuous  silence  with 
which  their  petition  was  treated  by  the  king,  now  ventured  to 
prescribe  a  term  for  the  reception  of  his  reply.  A  great  po- 
pular tumult,  in  which  the  nobles  were  partially  implicated, 
broke  out  simultaneously.  The  captive  heretics  were  re- 
leased by  force,  the  churches  and  monasteries  were  stormed, 
and  all  the  pictures,  to  the  irreparable  injury  of  native  art, 
destroyed.  The  nobles  were,  however,  finally  constrained  by 
the  stadtholderess  to  come  to  terms.  The  Calvinists  in  Va- 
lenciennes imd  Tournay  alone  made  an  obstinate  defence,  but 
were  compelled  to  yield.  Egmont,  anxious  for  the  mainten- 
ance of  tranquillity  Mid  for  the  continuance  of  the  royal  favour, 
acted  with  great  severity. 

Philip,  without  either  ratifying  or  declaring  against  the 
terms  of  peace,  proclaimed  a  general  amnesty,  and  announced 
his  speedy  arrival  in  the  Netherlands,  and  his  desire  to  faliil 
the  wishes  of  his  people.  Lulled  suspicion  was,  however, 
speedily  reawakened  by  the  news  of  the  approach,  not  of  the 
king,  but  of  his  ferocious  commander-in-chief,  the  duke  of  Al- 
ba, at  the  head  of  a  powerful  force.  The  more  spirited 
among  the  nobles  advised  instant  recourse  to  arms,  and  the 
defence  of  the  frontier  against  the  approaching  army,  but 
were  overruled  by  the  moderate  party,  who  hesitated  to  rebel 


BEYOLT  IN  THS  NETHERLANDS.        291 

against  a  monarch  whose  intentioDS  were  merely  suspected. 
William  of  Orange,  count  of  Nassau,  the  wealthy  possessor  of 
Chalons-Orange,  stadtholder  of  Holland,  Seeland,  and  Utrecht, 
somiuned  the  Silent,  on  account  of  his  reserve,  whose  talents 
bad  endeared  him  to  Charles  V.,  vainly  warned  his  friends  of 
the  danger  they  incurred.  The  Counts  Egmont  and  Horn 
remained  incredulous,  and  William,  unahle  to  persuade  the 
States  to  make  a  resolute  opposition  before  the  mask  was 
openly  dropped  by  the  king,  resolved  to  secure  his  safety  by 
flight  On  taking  leave  of  Egmont  he  said,  '*  I  fear  you  iviU 
be  the  first  over  whose  corpse  the  Spaniards  will  march  !  " 
Some  of  the  nobles  mockingly  calling  after  him  as  he  turned 
away,  "  Adieu,  Prince  Lackland  I "  he  rejoined,  "  Adieu, 
headless  sirs  ! "  Numerous  adherents  to  the  new  faith  and 
weidthy  manufacturers,  alarmed  at  the  threatening  aspect  of 
affairs,  quitted  the  country.  The  majority  withdrew  to  Eng- 
^d.*  One  hundred  thousand  men,  more  than  would  have 
sufficed  for  the  defence  of  the  country  against  the  Spanish 
anny,  had  the  States  been  resolute  and  united,  emigrated. 
Brcderode  also  fled,  and  died  shortly  afterwards  in  exile. 

Alba,  a  monster  both  in  body  and  mind,  entered  Brussels 
in  the  summer  of  1567,  at  the  head  of  a  picked  force  of  twelve 
thousand  Spaniards  and  a  body  of  German  troops  which  he 
nused  on  his  march  from  Milan.  He  was  received  with  a 
death-like  silence.  Fear  had  seized  every  heart.  He  com- 
Bieneed  by  displaying  the  greatest  mildness,  received  Egmont 
*nd  the  rest  of  the  nobles  with  open  arms  and  overwhelmed 
them  with  civility,  called  no  one  to  account,  took  no  step 
'^thout  convoking  the  estates,  and  inspired  the  Dutch  with 
wjch  confidence  that  numbers  of  the  more  timid,  who  had 
^thdrawn,  were  induced  to  quit  their  strong-holds  and  to  re- 
*^*^  to  Brussels.  For  three  weeks  the  same  part  was  en- 
•*^ ;  the  certainty  of  the  intended  absence  of  the  Prince  of 

.  ,  "^ey  were  rejected  by  the  Hanse  towng  from  an  old  sentiment  of 
jealousy,  and  on  account  of  their  CalTinistic  tenets.  England,  more 
ieaisighted,  gave  the  industrious  and  wealthy  emigrants  a  warm  recep- 
^  It  was  in  this  manner  that  William  Curlen  of  Flanders  carried  his 
^  and  his  capital  to  England,  to  whose  monarch  he  lent  enormous 
^s;  he  alsd  settled  a  colony  of  eighteen  thousand  men  in  the  island  of 
«arbadoes,  and  opened  the  trade  between  England  and  China.  He  died 
poor,  but  his  grandson  presented  a  number  of  yaluable  antiques  and  a 
collection  of  naturai  history  to  the  British  Museum. 
u  2 


292  WILLIAM  OF  ORANGE. 

Orange  then  caused  him  to  throw  off  the  mask,  and,  inTiting 
the  Counts  Egmont  and  Horn  to  a  conference,  he  unexpect- 
edly placed  them  under  arrest,  September  9th,  1567,  and 
from  this  moment  cast  away  the  scabbard  to  bathe  his  sword 
in  the  blood  of  the  unsuspecting  Dutch. 

The  regent,  Margaret,  was,  under  pretext  of  a  secret  order 
from  the  king,  sent  out  of  the  country,  and  a  criminal  court, 
which  passed  judgment  upon  ail  the  Dutch,  who  confessed 
heretical  tenets,  had  signed  the  compromise,  or  been  impli- 
cated in  the  disturbances,  was  appointed.  This  court  was 
solely  composed  of  Spaniards,  to  whom  some  Dutch  traitors, 
for  instance,  Hessels  and  the  Count  de  Barlaimont,  served  as 
intormers.  The  confiscation  of  property  was  the  principal 
purpose  for  which  this  court  was  instituted,  and  numerous 
wealthy  proprietors  were  accused  and  beheaded,  though 
guiltless  of  offence.  The  secret  of  their  hidden  treasures  was 
extorted  by  the  application  of  the  most  horrid  tortures,  after 
which  the  unhappy  victims  were  delivered  over  to  the  ex- 
ecutioner. Blood  fiowed  in  torrents,  Egmont  and  Bbrn  were 
executed,  a.  d.  1568,  and  two  noble  Dutchmen,  Bergen  and 
Montmorency-Montigny,  sent  as  ambassadors  to  Madrid,  were 
by  Philip's  command  put  to  death,  the  one  by  poison,  the 
other  in  his  secret  dungeon. 


CCI.   miUam  of  Orange, 

William  had  fled  into  Germany  to  his  brother,  John  the 
Elder  of  Nassau-Dillenburg,  one  of  the  noblest  men  of  his 
day,  who  was  unfortunatdiy  sovereign  over  merely  a  petty  ter- 
ritory. He  was  the  first  who,  from  feelings  of  humanity  and 
respect  for  his  fellow  Christians,  abolished  bond-service.  He 
also  engaged  with  his  whole  forces  in  the  Dutch  cause,  and 
aided  William,  who  found  no  sympathy  among  the  Lutheran 
princes,  to  levy  troops.  The  high  Gimsburg,  in  the  solitary 
forests,  was  the  spot  where  the  leaders  secretly  met.  They 
succeeded  in  raising  four  small  bodies  of  troops,  composed  of 
exiles,  friends  of  liberty,  and  Huguenots.  John,  William,  and 
their  younger  brothers,  Louis,  Adolf,  and  Henry,  generously 
mortgaged  the  whole  of  their  possessions,  and  entered  the 


WILLIAM  OF  ORANOS.  293 

Netherlands  with  their  united  forces.*  Alba  instantly  seized 
William's  son,  Philip  William,  a  student  at  Louvain,  and  sent 
'him  a  prisoner  to  Spain.  The  struggle  commenced,  a.  d. 
1568.  The  princes  of  Nassau  gained  a  yictorj  at  Heiligerlee, 
which  cost  Adolf  his  life,  but  the  Spaniards  were  victorious 
at  Groningen,  where  Louis  lost  six  thousand  men,  and  nar- 
rowly escaped  by  swimming.  A  merely  desultory  warfare 
was  afterwards  carried  on  by  petty  bands  in  the  forests,  (the 
Bush  or  TVood  Geuses,)  or  on  the  sea,  by  the  Water  Greuses. 
Hermann  de  Ruyter,  the  grazier,  boldly  seized  the  castle  of 
Lcewenstein,  which  he  blew  up  when  in  danger  of  falling 
again  into  the  hands  of  the  Spanish. 

There  being  nothing  more  to  confiscate.  Alba  imposed  a 
tax,  first  of  the  hundr^th,  then  of  the  tenth,  and  afterwards 
of  the  twentieth  penny.     He  boasted  that  he  could  extract 


I    more  gold  from  the  Netherlands  than  from  Peru,  and,  never- 
I    theless,  withheld  the  pay  from  his  soldiery  in  order  to  incite 
I     them  still  more  to  piUage.     Close  to  Antwerp  he  erected  his 
principal  fortress,  the  celebrated  citadel,  from  which  he  com- 
manded the  finest  city  in  the  Netherlands,  the  navigation  of 
the  Scheldt,  Holland  on  one  side,  and  Flanders  on  the  other. 
It  was  here  that  he  caused  a  monument,  formed  of  the  guns  he 
i     had  captured,  to  be  raised  in  his  honour  during  his  life-time. 
I     The  pope,  in  order  to  reward  his  services  and  to  encourage 
his  persecution  of  the  heretics,  sent  him  a  consecrated  sword. 
The  number  of  victims  executed  at  his  command  amounted  to 
eighteen  thousand  six  hundred;  putrid  carcases  on  gallows 
and  wheels  infected  all  the  country-roads.     The  appearance 
of  a  new  and  enormous  star,  (in  Cassiopeia,)  which  for  more 
!     than  a  year  remained  motionless  and  then  disappeared,  filling 
I     the  whole  of  Europe  with  terror  and  astonishment,  and  a 
I     dreadful  flood  on  the  coast  of  Friesland,  by  which  twenty 
thousand  men  were  carried  away,  added  to  the  general  misery. 
On  the  latter  occasion,  [a.  d.  1672,]  the  Spanish  stadtholder, 
Billy,  gave  a  noble  example  by  the  erection  of  excellent  dikes, 
which  found  many  imitators,  and  his  memory  is  still  venerated 

*  Four  of  these  noble-spirited  hrethren  shed  their  life-hlood  in  the 
cause  of  the  freedom  of  conscience  and  of  the  independence  of  the 
Netherlands,  Adolf,  Louis,  and  Henry  falling  on  the  hatAe-field,  William 
by  the  hand  of  the  assassin.  John  was  for  some  time  stadtholder  of 
Gueldres,  but  returned  to  his  native  Nassau. 


294  WILLIAM  OF  OBANGB. 

on  the  coasts  of  the  Northern  Ocean.     Happy  would  it  have 
been  for  Qermanj  had  all  her  enemies  resembled  him ! 

It  was  not  until  1572  that  William  regained  suffici^it 
strength  to  retake  the  field.  Men  were  not  wanting,  but  they 
were  ill-provided  with  arms,  and  too  undisciplined  to  stand 
against  the  veteran  troops  of  the  duke.  By  sea  alone  ^raa 
success  probable.  William  von  der  Mark,  Count  von  Lumay, 
Egmont's  friend,  who  had  vowed  neither  to  comb  nor  cat  his 
hair  until  he  had  revenged  his  death,  a  descendant  of  the  cele- 
brated Boar  of  Ardennes,  quitted  the  forests  for  the  sea,  cap**- 
tured  the  richly-freighted  Spanish  ships,  and  took  the  town 
of  Briel  by  a  ruse  de  guerre.  Alba,  on  learning  this  event, 
remarked  with  habitual  contempt,  *^no  es  nada"  (it  is 
nothing).  These  words  and  a  pair  of  spectacles  (BrUley  Briel) 
were  placed  by  the  Geuses  on  their  banners.  No  sooner  had 
a  fortified  city  fallen  into  their  hands  than  the  courage  of  the 
Dutch  revived.  The  citizens  of  Vliessingen,  animated  by  the 
public  admonitions  of  their  pastor,  rebelled,  put  the  Spaniards^ 
who  had  laid  the  foundation  of  another  citadel  commanding 
the  town,  to  death,  and  hanged  the  architect,  Pacieco.  The 
whole  of  Holland  followed  their  example.  The  Spaniards 
were  every  where  slain  or  expelled,  and  were  only  able  to 
keep  their  footing  in  Middelburg. 

William  of  Orange  had  again  raised  an  army  in  Germany, 
and  his  brother  Louis  another  in  France.  The  faithless 
iFrench  court  offered  its  aid  on  condition  of  receiving  the 
southern  provinces,  whilst  William  was  to  retain  those  to  the 
north.  Louis  consented,  and  invaded  the  Hennegau,  whilst 
William  entered  Brabant ;  but  this  negotiation  had  been 
merely  entered  into  by  the  Catholic  party  in  France,  for  the 
purpose  of  attracting  the  Huguenots  to  Paris,  where  they 
were  assassinated.  The  news  of  the  tragedy  enacted  on  the 
night  of  St.  Bartholomew  opened  the  eyes  of  the  princes  of 
Nassau  to  the  treachery  of  France,  and  they  hastily  withdrew 
their  troops.  A  plot  laid  for  William's  capture  at  Mens  was 
frustrated  by  the  fidelity  of  a  smaU  dog  belonging  to  him, 
which  is  still  to  be  seen  sculptured  on  his  tomb. 

Alba,  burning  with  revenge,  now  marched  in  person  upon 
Mechlin,  where  he  plundered  the  city  and  put  all  the  inhabit- 
ants to  the  sword,  whilst  his  son,  Frederick,  committed  still 
more'  fearful  atrocities  at  Ziitphen.     Holland  was,  howevei:. 


WILLIAM  OF  OEANGB.  295 

destined  to  bear  the  severest  punishment    Frederick  was  des- 
patched thither  with  orders  to  spare  neither  age  nor  sex.    The 
whole  of  the  inhabitants  of  Naarden,  contrary  to  the  terms  of 
capitulation,  were  treacherously  butchered.     Harlem  was  gal- 
lantly defended  by  her  citizens  and  by  a  troop  of  three  hun- 
dred women,  under  the  widow  Kenan  Hasselaar,  during  the 
whole  of  the  winter.     William  von  der  Mark  and  WUliam  of 
Orange  vainly  attempted  to  raise  the  siege,  and  the  town  was 
at  length   compelled  by  famine  to  capitulate,  •  ▲.  d.  1573. 
Frederick  bad  lost  ten  Uiousand  of  his  men.    The  inhabitants 
were  sent  to  tbe  block,  and  when  the  headsmen  were  unable 
&om  fatigue  to  continue  their  office,  the  remaining  victims, 
three  hundred  excepted,  were  tied  back  to  back  and  thrown 
into  the  sea.     Frederick  th^n  marched  upon  Altmaar,  which 
was  so  desperately  defended  by  the  inhabitants,  both  male 
and  female,  that  one  thousand  of  his  men,  and  some  of  the 
three  hundred  Harlemites,  fell  in  the  trenches,  and  he  was 
compelled  to  withdraw.     The  Water  Geuses  were  at  the 
same  time  victorious  in  a  naval  engagement,  in  which  thirty 
of  the  great  Spanish  ships  were  beaten,  and  the  enormous 
admiral's   ship,  the  Inquisition,  and  six  others,  taken  by 
twenty-four  of  the  small  Dutch  vessels.     A  Spanish  fleet  of 
fifty-four  ships  was  afterwards  beaten,  and  a  rich  convoy  of 
uaerchantmen   taken.     The  captured  vessels  were  manned 
with  Dutchmen,  and  Holland  ere  long  possessed  a  fine  fleet  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  sail,  which  effectually  kept  the  Spaniards 
at  bay. 

'I^be  Spanish  court  at  length  perceived  the  folly  of  its 
crudty  and  severity.  Alba  was  recalled,  and  replaced  by 
Hequesens,  [a.  d.  1574,]  who  sought  by  gentleness  and 
mildness  to  restore  tranquillity.  The  Dutch,  however,  no 
longer  trusted  to  Spanish  promises,  and  continued  to  carry  on 
^^*  Middelburg  fell  into  their  hands,  and  a  Spanish  fleet, 
fastening  to  the  relief  of  that  town,  was  annihilated.  Suc- 
^88,  nevertheless,  varied.  During  the  same  year,  the  princes 
Were  beaten  in  an  open  engagement  on  the  Mookerheath 
^ear  Nimwegen,  where  Louis  and  Henry  fell,  covered  with 
S'^^*  Bequesens  pacified  his  mutinous  soldiers,  who  de- 
inanded  their  pay,  with  a  promise  of  the  plunder  of  the  rich 
^ity  of  Leyden,  to  which  Valdez  suddenly  laid  siege  before  it 
could  provide  itself  with  provisions.     The  city,  surrounded 


296  WILLIAM  OF  ORANGE. 

by  sixty-two  Spanish  forts,  quickly  fell  a  prey  to  famine,  the 
Dutch  land-army  had  been  dispersed,  and  the  ships  of  the 
"Water  Geuses  were  unavailable.  In  this  distress,  William's 
advice  to  cut  the  dikes  and  to  flood  the  country  was  eagerly 
put  into  practice.  *' Better  to  spoil  the  land  than  to  lose  it,** 
exclaimed  the  patriotic  people.  The  sea  poured  rapidly  over 
the  fields  and  villages,  bearing  onwards  the  ships  of  the  gal- 
lant Greuses.  It  was,  nevertheless,  found  impossible  to  reach 
the  still  distant  walls  of  Leyden,  which  were  viewed  with 
bitter  rage  by  the  rough  and  weather-beaten  shippers,  on 
whose  broad-brimmed  hats  was  worn  a  half-moon  vnth  the 
inscription,  "Liever  turcx  dan  pausch,"  "Better  Turkish 
than  popish."  Boisot  and  Adrian  Wilhelmssen  headed  the 
expedition.  The  most  profound  misery  reigned,  meanwhile, 
in  the  city.  Six  thousand  of  the  inhabitants  had  abready  died 
of  hunger.  The  prayers  of  the  wretched  survivors  were  at 
length  heard.  A  sea-breeze  sprang  up.  The  water,  impelled 
by  the  north-east  wind,  gradually  rose,  filled  the  trenches  of 
the  Spaniards,  who  sought  safety  in  flight,  and  reached  the 
city  walls,  bearing  on  its  broad  surface  the  boats  of  the  brave 
Geuses,  who,  after  distributing  bread  and  fish  to  the  famish- 
ing citizens  collected  on  the  walls,  went  in  pursuit  of  the 
Spaniards,  of  whom  one  thousand  five  hundred  were  drowned 
or  slain,  a.  d.  1575.  The  university  at  Leyden  was  erected 
in  memory  of  the  persevering  fidelity  of  the  inhabitants,  and 
as  compensation  for  their  losses.  The  anniversary  of  this 
glorious  day  is  still  kept  there  as  a  festival. 

Holland  was  henceforth  free.  William  was  elected  stadt- 
holder  by  the  people,  but  still  in  the  name  of  their  obnoxious 
monarch,  and  the  Calvinistic  tenets  and  form  of  service  were 
re-established,  to  the  exclusion  of  those  of  the  Catholics  and 
Lutherans.  As  early  as  1574,  the  Reformed  preachers  had, 
in  the  midst  of  danger,  opened  their  first  church -assembly  a* 
Dordrecht.  The  cruelties  practised  by  the  Catholics  were 
equalled  by  those  inflicted  on  the  opposing  party  by  the  R©" 
formers.  William  of  Orange  endeavoured  to  repress  these 
excesses,  threw  William  von  der  Mark,  his  lawless  rival,  in^ 
prison,  where  he  shortly  afterwards  died,  it  is  said,  by  poison, 
and  occupied  the  wild  soldiery,  during  the  short  peace. that 
ensued,  in  the  re-erection  of  the  dikes  torn  down  in  defence 
of  Leyden.     The  most  horrid  atrocities  were,  nevertheless, 


WILLIAM  OF  ORANGE.  297 

perpetrated  by  Sonoi,  by  whom  the  few  Catholics  remaining 
in  Holland  were  exterminated,  a.  d.  1577.  A  violent  com- 
motion also  took  place  in  Utrecht,  but  ceased  on  the  death  of 
the  last  of  her  archbishops,  Frederick  Scbenk  (cupbearer)  von 
Tautenburg,  a.  d.  1580. 

Spain  remained  tranquil.     The  armies  and  fleets  furnished 
by  Philip  had  cost  him  such  enormous  sums  that  the  state 
was  made  bankrupt  by  the  fall  in  the  revenue.     Requesens^ 
who  was  neither  able  nor  willing  to  take  any  decisive  step, 
suddenly  expired,  A.  d.  1576.     His  soldiery,  unpaid*  and  im- 
patient of  restraint,  now  gave  way  to  the  most  unbridled 
licence,   dispersed  over  Flanders,  sacked  one  hundred  and 
twenty  villages,  and,  driving  in  their  van  numbers  of  cap- 
tive women  and  girls,  approached  the  gates  of  Maestricht, 
where  the  citizens  refusing  to  fire  upon  the  helpless  crowd, 
the  Spaniards  forced  their  way  into  the  city,  where  they 
practised  every  variety  of  crime.    This  event  caused  the  long- 
suppressed  wrath  of  the  citizens  of  Ghent  to  explode.    The 
German  citizens  of  this  town,  who  favoured  the  tenets  of 
the  Reformers,  had  unresistingly  submitted  to  Alba,  and,  al- 
though the  gallows  had  remained  standing  for  years  in  each  of 
the  city  squares,  and  numbers  of  Iconoclasts,  Reformed  preach- 
ers, and  Geuses  had  been  hanged,  beheaded,  and  burnt^  Ghent 
had  suffered  comparatively  less  than  her  sister-cities.     The  ru- 
moured advance  of  the  Spanish  troops  roused  the  whole  of  the 
inhabitants,  the  men  flew  to  arms,  the  women  and  children 
lent  their  aid  in  tearing  up  the  pavement,  in  order  to  fortify 
the  town  against  the  castle,  commanded  by  Mondragon,  the 
hrave  defender  of  Middelburg.     The  troops  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange  were  allowed  to  garrison  the  city. — The  Spanish  sol- 
diery, however,  intimidated  by  those  preparations,  and  con- 
scious of  their  want  of  a  leader,  turned  off  towards  Antwerp, 
which  they  took  by  surprise,  November  4th,  1576.   They  laid 
fi^e  hundred  houses  in  ashes,  murdered  five  thousand  of  the 
inhabitants,  and  completely  sacked  the  city.     Numbers  of  the 
citizens  fled  to  Frankfurt  on  the  Maine,  which  they  enriched 
^7  the  introduction  of  their  arts  and  manufactures. 

William  of  Orange,  meanwhile,  took  advantage  of  the  ab- 
sence of  a  royal  stadtholder  and  of  the  universal  unpopularity 
of  the  Spaniards,  to  seize,  by  means  of  his  friends  Lalaing  and 
Climes,  the  town-council  of  Brussels  that  favoured  the  Span- 


298  WILLIAM  OF  ORANGE. 

iards,  and  to  propose  a  anion  of  all  the  Netherlands  for  the 
confirmation  of  peace,  the  equal  recognition  of  both  confes- 
sions of  faith,  and  the  expulsion  of  the  Spaniards.  This  was 
accomplished  by  the  pacification  of  Ghent,  the  8th  Novem- 
ber, 1576.  Ghent  was  the  centre  of  the  movement,  having 
for  aim  the  union  of  the  southern  to  the  northern  provinces. 
Mondragon  vainly  attempted  to  defend  the  citadel  against  the 
enthusiastic  populace,  and  finally  capitulated. 

Don  Juan,  a  natural  son  of  Charles  V.  by  Barbara  Blum- 
berger,  the  daughter  of  a  citizen  of  Augsburg,  the  new  Span- 
ish stadtholder,  a  man  already  known  to  fame  by  the  great 
victory  of  Lepanto,  gained  by  him  [a.  d.  1571]  over  the  Turk- 
ish fleet,  arrived  at  this  conjuncture.  The  mutinous  soldiery 
instantly  submitted  to  him,  but  the  Estates  insisted  upon  his 
confirmation  of  the  pacification  of  Ghent  in  the  name  of  the 
king,  to  which  he  assented  and  marched  to  Brussels.  The 
Spanish  troops  were,  in  consequence  of  this  peace,  sent  out  of 
the  country,  Don  Juan  dissembling  his  real  projects,  and 
3rielding  to  every  demand  with  the  view  of  weakening  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  of  limiting  him  to  Holland 
and  Seeland,  and  of  reconciling  the  southern  provinces  to 
Spain.  Several  of  the  nobles  were  jealous  of  William  of 
Orange,  among  others,  the  duke  of  Aerschot,  who,  as  governor 
of  Flanders,  garrisoned  the  citadel  of  Ghent  in  Don  Juan's 
name,  and  secretly  corresponded  with  him.  Don  Juan  also 
broke  his  word,  secretly  quitted  Brussels,  threw  himself  into 
the  fortified  castle  of  Namur,  and  recalled  the  Spanish  troops. 
The  Estates,  indignant  at  this  act  of  treachery,  deprived  him 
of  his  office,  and  called  William  of  Orange  to  the  head  of  af- 
fairs, but  that  prince,  conscious  of  the  jealousy  with  which  he 
was  beheld  by  the  rest  of  the  grandees,  and  less  intent  upon 
his  personal  aggrandizement  than  desirous  of  the  welfare  of 
the  country,  ceded  his  right  in  favour  of  the  Archduke  Mat- 
thias, the  second  son  of  Maximilian  IL,  by  whom  the  Nether- 
lands might  once  more  be  united  with  Germany,  and  who, 
moreover,  appeared  far  from  disinclined  to  advance  the  cause 
of  the  Reformation.  Matthias  was  received  with  open  arms 
by  the  German  party,  and  the  foreign  and  Spanish  faction 
completely  succumbed  on  the  capture  of  the  citadel  of  Ghent 
by  the  enraged  populace,  October  28th,  1577.  The  govern- 
ment of  this  city  became  a  pure  democracy.    Iconodasm  and 


WILLIAM  OF  ORANGE.  299 

the  assaasination  of  Catholic  priesto  recommenced,  and  a  tIo* 
lent  feud  was  carried  on  with  the  Walk>on  nobility,  the  seal* 
008  Bopporters  of  Catholicism.  These  events  were  beheld  with 
great  uneasiness  bj  Matthias  and  the  Prince  of  Orange,  whose 
efforts  were  solety  directed  to  the  union  of  all  the  Netherlands, 
whether  Catholic  or  Reformed,  under  a  Crennan  prince  against 
Spain.  William  yisited  Ghent  in  person,  for  the  purpose  of 
preaching  reason  to  the  Calvinists  and  of  renewing  the  article 
concerning  religious  toleration  contained  in  the  Pacification 
of  Ghent. 

Soon  after  this,  in  the  February  of  1578,  the  Dutch  army 
wder  Matthias  and  Orange,  was,  whilst  attempting  to  take 
Don  Juan's  camp  at  Gemblours  by  storm,  defeat^  by  the 
Spanish,  principally  owing  to  the  bravery  and  military  science 
of  the  young  Duke  Alexander  of  Parma,  the  son  of  Margaret 
This  misfortune  again  bred  dissension  and  disunion  among 
the  Dutch ;  Matthias  lost  courage,  and  endeavoured  by  his 
promises  to  induce  the  Catholics  to  abandon  the  Spaniards, 
whilst  the  citizens  of  Ghent,  with  increased  insolence,  again 
attacked  monasteries  and  churches,  committed  crucifixes  and 
pictures  of  the  saints  to  the  flames,  and  burnt  six  Minorites, 
accused  of  favouring  the  enemy,  alive.  The  French,  with 
customary  perfidy,  now  attemptai  to  turn  the  intestine  dis^ 
tensions  of  the  Dutch  to  advantage,  and  Francis,  Duke 
d*Alen9on,  the  brother  of  the  Frendi  monarch,  Henry  IIL, 
offered  aid,  in  the  hope  of  seising  the  government  of  the 
KetherlancLs.  Elizabeth,  queen  of  England,  made  a  futile 
attempt  to  assist  the  Reformers  by  sending  large  sums  oi 
money  to  the  Pfalzgrave,  John  Casimir,  whom  she  com- 
missioned to  raise  troops  for  the  Prince  of  Orange ;  but  the 
5^&lzgrave^  actuated  by  jealousy  of  the  fame  of  that  prince, 
joined  the  demagogues  of  Ghent.  Alen9on,  rejected  by  every 
Ifrty,  withdrew  from  the  country,  and,  in  revenge,  allowed 
the  French  soldiery,  several  thousands  in  number,  raised  for 
^flis  expedition,  to  join  the  Walloons,  who,  under  the  name  of 
^Malcontents  or  beadsmen,  had  just  commenced  a  bitter  war 
against  the  people  of  Ghent,  who,  under  their  leader,  Ryhove, 
gamed  the  upper  hand,  took  Briigge,  and  required  the  united 
efforts  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  and  of  Davidson,  the  English 
^bassador,  to  keep  within  bounds.  Don  Juan  expired  at 
"^  period,  [a.  p.  1578,]  and  the  Dutch,  had  harmony  subr 


300  WILLIAM  OF  ORANGE. 

Bbted  among  them,  might  easily  have  seized  this  opportunity, 
during  the  confusion  that  consequently  ensued  in  the  Spanish 
camp,  to  expel  the  duke  of  Parma.  The  bigotry  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Ghent  long  rendered  every  attempt  at  reconciliation 
between  them,  the  Walloons,  and  the  rest  of  the  Catholics, 
abortive,  and  it  was  not  until  William  of  Orange  again  ap- 
peared in  person  at  Ghent^  that  a  religious  convention  was 
agreed  to  and  peace  was  once  more  restored,  December 
16th,  1578. 

The  moment  for  action  had,  however,  passed.  The  duke 
of  Parma  had  already  taken  a  firm  footing  in  the  southern 
provinces,  and,  aided  by  the  implacable  Walloons,  was  steadily 
advancing.  Matthias  and  the  German  Catholics  tottered  on 
the  brink  of  destruction.  The  return  of  the  Catholic  priests 
to  Ghent  was  a  signal  for  a  fresh  popular  outbreak,  and  the 
treaty,  so  lately  concluded,  was  infringed.  The  Tiorthern 
provinces,  resolute  in  the  defence  of  their  liberties,  kept  aloof 
from  these  dissensions,  and,  on  the  22nd  January,  1579,  sub- 
scribed to  the  Union  of  Utrecht,  renounced  all  allegiance  to 
Spain,  and  founded  a  united  republic,  consisting  of  seven 
free  states,  Gueldres,  Holland,  Seeland,  Ziitphen,  Friesland, 
Oberyssel,  and  Groningen,  the  states-general  of  Holland, 
over  which  William  of  Orange  was  placed  as  stadtbolder* 
general.  This  step  had  been  strongly  advised  by  £^zabeth 
of  England,  as  a  means  of  raising  a  strong  bulwark  on  the 
mouths  of  the  Rhine  against  both  France  and  Spain.  The 
Dutch  declaration  of  independence,  like  that  of  the  Swiss 
confederation,  contained  the  preamble,  that  by  this  step  Hol- 
land had  no  intention  to  separate  herself  from  the  holy 
Roman  empire.  The  aid  demanded  by  both  the  Dutch  and 
the  Swiss  against  foreign  aggression  had  been  refused,  owing 
to  the  egotism  of  the  princes  and  the  mean  jealousy  of  the 
cities.  The  emperor  wanted  the  spirit  to  act  with  decision ; 
his  brother,  Matthias,  entered  the  country  and  quitted  it  with 
equal  secrecy.  The  Lutherans  refused  all  fellowship  with  the 
•followers  of  Calvin. 

The  Prince  of  Parma,  a  man  distinguished  both  as  a  warrior 
and  as  a  statesman,  formed  a  coalition  with  the  Walloons,  with 
the  discontented  nobility,  even  gained  over  William's  friend, 
the  influential  Lalaing,  and  commenced  operations  without 
delay.     Dunkirk  was  taken  within  six  days  ;  Maestricht  was 


WILLIAM  OF  OBANOB.  301 

stonned,  the  inhabitants  were  put  to  the  sword,  and  the  city 
was  reduced  to  ruins.  Herzogenbusch  and  Mechlin  fell  by 
stratagem.  The  underhand  system  of  seduction  pursued  by  this 
prince  was  opposed  by  an  open  manifesto  on  the  part  of  the 
stadtholder  of  Holland^  in  which  the  revolt  of  the  provinces 
against  their  legitimate  sovereign  was  justified,  on  the  grounds 
that  the  people  were  not  for  the  prince  but  that  the  prince  was 
for  the  people,  and  that  Philip  had  injured,  not  benefited  his 
sabjects.  This  manifesto  was  answered  by  another  on  the  part 
of  Philip  II.,  in  which,  without  touching  upon  the  just  com- 
plaints of  the  people,  he  ascribed  the  revolt  of  the  Nether- 
lands to  the  intrigues  of  William  of  Orange,  who  had  wickedly 
seduced  his  happy  subjects  from  their  allegiance.  He,  at  the 
same  time,  set  a  price  of  twenty-five  thousand  ducats  on  the 
head  of  this  arch-rebel,  and  promised  to  bestow  a  patent  of 
nobility  on  hia  assassin. 

William  of  Orange  for  a  third  time  visited  Ghent,  [a.  d. 
1^80,]  and  appeased  the  civil  broils.  Ghent  and  Briigge 
suhBcribed  to  the  Union  of  Utrecht.  Matthias  had  volun- 
tarily retired  ;  and  William,  in  order  to  raise  a  fresh  enemy 
to  the  rear  of  Parma,  who  continued  rapidly  advancing,  ad- 
vised the  election  of  a  French  prince  to  the  stadtholdership. 
Alen9on  instantly  hastened  into  the  country,  and  delayed  the 
duke's  progress  by  the  siege  of  Cambray.  The  Spanish 
manifesto  had  not,  meanwhile,  vainly  appc^ed  to  the  basest 
passions  of  the  human  heart.  A  Frenchman,  named  Jaure- 
gui,  ambitious  of  the  promised  guerdon,  shot  the  Prince  of 
Orange  in  the  head,  in  the  March  of  1581.  The  wound, 
although  dangerous,  was  not  mortal. 

The  Prince  of  Parma,  favoured  by  the  state  of  inactivity  to 
which  William  was  reduced  in  consequence  of  his  wound,  re- 
doubled his  efforts,  took  Doomik  and  Oudenarde,  and  was 
even  more  successful  by  intrigue  than  by  force  of  arms.  The 
^rench  were  equally  obnoxious  to  both  the  German  and 
Spanish  factions,  and  Alen^on  was  compelled  to  retire,  a.  d, 
^581.  Parma,  meanwhile,  skilfully  took  advantage  of  the 
J^ational  dislike  of  the  Germans  to  the  French  to  pave  the 
^ay  to  a  reconciliation  with  Spain,  and  William  of  Orange, 
on  his  recovery,  perceived  with  alarm  the  inclination  of  the 
southern  provinces  to  accede  to  his  proposals  for  the  sake  of 
peace.     His  faction  in  Ghent  was  defeated,  [a.  d.  1583,]  but 


302  WILLIAM  OF  ORANGE. 

the  treason  of  Hembyze,  the  head  of  the  Spanish  party,  who 
offered  to  deliver  up  the  city  to  Parma,  being  discovered,  the 
Orange  faction  was  recalled,  the  treaty  concluded  at  Docnmik 
between  Ghent  and  Parma  annulled,  and  the  duke's  letters 
were,  by  way  of  answer,  publicly  burnt.  Briigge,  instigated 
by  the  Duke  von  Aerschot,  opened  her  gates  to  the  Spaniards. 

Orange,  true  to  his  motto,  **  calm  in  the  midst  of  storms," 
still  hoped  for  success,  but  scarcely  had  he  recovered  from 
the  effects  of  his  wound  than  a  second  assassin  was  sent  by 
the  Spanish  monarch.  Balthasar  Gerard  presented  himself 
as  a  suppliant  before  him  and  received  a  handsome  present, 
in  return  for  which  he  lodged  three  balls  in  his  body.  '*  Oh 
Grod,  have  mercy  upon  me,  and  upon  this  poor  nation  ! "  were 
the  last  words  of  the  dying  prince.  This  deed  of  horror  took 
place  the  17th  July,  1^84.  His  last  wife,  Anne  de  Coligny,  bad 
seen  her  murdered  father,  the  celebrated  admiral,  and  her  first 
husband,  Teligny,  expire  in  her  arms.  Grerard  was  quartered, 
but  Philip  II.,  in  imitation  of  the  pope,  who,  on  receiving  the 
news  of  the  murder  of  the  Huguenots  on  St.  Bartholomew's 
night,  ordered  public  rejoicings,  ennobled  his  family,  and 
bestowed  upon  it  the  title  of  "  destroyer  of  tyrants." 

The  perfidious  Hembyze,  who,  although  in  his  seventieth 
year,  had  just  married  a  young  woman,  was,  as  if  in  expia- 
tion of  this  base  assassination,  almost  at  the  same  time,  Aug. 
4th,  beheaded  at  Ghent  as  a  traitor  to  his  country.  The 
Orange  faction  in  the  city  was,  nevertheless,  compelled  to 
submit  to  the  duke  and  to  comply  with  the  general  desire 
for  tranquillity  and  peace,  A.  n.  1584.  Parma  prohibited 
the  Calvinistic  form  of  worship,  threw  four  hundred  of  the 
citizens  into  prison,  closed  the  academies  and  printing-presses, 
and  established  the  Jesuits  in  the  city.  The  house  of  Hem- 
byze was  converted  into  a  Jesuit  college.  Brussels  and  Ant- 
werp were  taken,  after  sustaining  a  lengthy  siege. 

The  southern  Netherlands  were  thus  lost  to  the  Reforma- 
tion and  to  liberty,  and,  by  their  separation  from  the  northern 
provinces,  gave  rise  to  that  unnatural  distinction  between  na- 
tions similar  in  descent  that  still  keep  Holland  and  Belgium 
80  widely  apart. 


THS  BEPUBUC  OF  HOLLAND. 


ecu— 7^  RepubUe  t^HoOand. 

Peace  was,  on  tbe  death  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  offered 
hy  the  duke  of  Parma  to  Holland,  bj  whom  it  was  steadily 
rejected  and  Spain  was  declared  a  faithless  friend,  whom  she 
would  oppose  to  the  last  drop  of  her  heart's  blood.  Fortune, 
meanwhile,  faToured  Parma.  Maurice,  William's  son,  an 
inexperienced  youth,  had  been  raised  by  the  grateful  people 
to  the  stadtholdership,  and  Leicester,  the  EngUsh  envoy,  had, 
by  his  incapacity  and  arrogance,  rendered  himself  obnoxious 
to  the  Dutch,  whom  he  would  willingly  have  reduced  beneath 
the  British  sceptre.  The  declining  power  of  the  Reformers 
was,  nevertheless,  renovated  by  the  destruction  of  the  in- 
vincible Armada,  which,  shattered  by  a  storm,  was  completely 
annihilated  by  the  Dutch  and  English  ships  under  the  ad- 
iniials  Howard  and  Drake,*  A.  D.  1588.  This  success  ani- 
mated the  Dutch  with  fresh  courage,  and  Parma,  compelled  to 
niise  the  siege  of  Bergen-op-Zoom,  which  had  for  some  time 
resisted  bis  efforts,  fell  ill  with  chagrin.  The  castle  of 
Bleyenbek  yielded  to  the  Dutch,  A.  D.  1589.  Breda  was 
^en  and  sacked  by  Maurice,  who  defeated  the  Spaniards 
nnder  Verdugo  at  CflBWorden,  freed  Groningen  from  her 
tyrannical  governor,  the  Count  von  Rennenburg,  and  took 
Simwegen. 

The  war  dragged  slowly  on.  Philip  IL  again  had  recourse 
to  intrigue,  and,  restoring  Philip  William,  Maurice's  elder 
brother,  whom  he  had  long  detained  a  prisoner  in  Spain,  to 
liberty,  sent  him  unexpectedly  back  to  the  Netherlands,  in 
the  hope  of  dissensions  breaking  out  between  the  brethren ; 
hut  Philip  William,  although  refused  admission  into  the  coun- 
try by  the  Dutch,  who  feared  the  disturbance  of  their  repub- 
^c,  nobly  rejected  Philip's  proposals,  and  even  preferred  re- 
nouncing his  right  to  his  Burgundian  estates  to  holding  them 
on  dishonourable  terms,  a.  d.  1595. 

The  duke  of  Parma  expired,  [a.  d.  1596,]  and  was  suc- 
<ieeded  by  another  Spanish  stadtholder,  Albert,  also  a  son  of  the 
emperor  Maximilian  IL  Albert  had  married  Philip's  daugh- 
ter, Isabella.  Peace  was  equally  desired  by  all  parties  in  the 
Netherlands,  and  remained  alone  unconduded  from  want  of 
*  This  officer  brought  the  first  potatoes  from  America. 


304  THE  REPUBLIC  OF  HOLLAND. 

unanimity.  The  war  was,  meanwhile^  mechanically  carried 
on,  principally  by  foreigners,  French,  English,  and  eastern 
Germans ;  and  it  was  in  this  school  that  most  of  the  great 
military  characters  during  the  ensuing  wars  acquired  their 
science  and  skilL  The  most  remarkable  event  during  this 
war  was  the  siege  of  Ostend,  which  Albert,  or  rather  his 
wife,  Isabella,  ''the  only  nuin  in  her  family,"  resolved  to  gain 
at  whatever  price ;  she  even  vowed  not  to  change  her  under- 
garment until  success  had  crowned  her  endeavours.  The 
siege  commenced,  jl.  d.  1602,  and  was  at  length  terminated  by 
Spinola,  A.  D.  1605 ;  the  city  had,  during  this  interval,  been 
gradually  reduced  to  a  heap  of  ruins,  and  one  hundred  thou- 
sand men  had  fallen  on  both  sides.  The  tint  known  as  Isa- 
bella-colour was  so  named  from  the  hue  acquired  by  the  gar- 
ment of  the  Spanish  princess. 

A  truce  for  twelve  years  was  at  length  concluded,  [a.  d. 
1609,]  but  war  broke  out  afresh  on  the  commencement  of  the 
religious  war  that  convulsed  the  whole  of  Grermany.  The 
seven  northern  provinces  retained  their  freedom,  the  southern 
ones  remained  Spanish.  The  latter  lost  all  their  inhabitants 
favourable  to  the  Reformation,  and  with  them  their  prosperity 
and  civil  liberties.  The  cities  stood  desert ;  the  people  were 
rendered  savage  by  military  rule,  or  steeped  in  ignorance  by 
the  Jesuits;  and  in  this  melancholy  manner  was  Germany 
deprived  of  her  strongest  bulwark,  of  the  most  blooming  and 
the  freest  of  her  provinces.  Holland,  on  the  other  hand, 
blessed  with  liberty,  quickly  rose  to  a  high  degree  of  pros- 
perity. Her  population,  swelled  by  the  Calvinistic  emigrants 
from  the  Spanish  Netherlands,  from  France  and  Germany, 
became  too  numerous  for  the  land,  and  whole  families,  as  in 
China,  dwelt  in  boats  in  the  vicinity  of  the  larger  towns.  The 
over-population  of  the  country  gave  rise  [a.  d.  1607]  to  that 
Herculean  enterprise,  the  draining  of  the  Bremstersee,  by  which 
a  large  tract  of  land  was  reclaimed,  and  to  the  excellent 
Waterstaat  or  system  of  canals  and  dikes,  which  prevented 
the  entrance  of  the  sea,  and  was  superintended  by  Deichgrafsn 
The  navy  created  by  the  Water  Geuses  furnished  means  for  the 
extension  of  the  commercial  relations  of  the  republic.  Amster- 1 
dam  became  the  great  emporium  of  Dutch  commerce  and  the 
outlet  for  the  internal  produce  of  Holland.  The  trade  long  car- 
ried on  between  the  merchants  of  Spain  and  of  Holland  hadi 


THE  BEPUBLIC  OF  HOLLAND.  305 

Bretlj  continued  daring  the  war.  The  traffic  of  the  former 
ith  the  East  Indies  and  America  was  carried  on  with  the 
l^tal  of  the  Dutch,  who,  out  of  their  share  of  the  profit, 
toed  their  countrymen  against  the  Spanish  troops.  This 
iffic  being  discovered  and  strictly  prohibited  by  Philip  II., 
IB  Dutch  carried  it  on  on  their  own  account,  and  speedily 
Ndled  the  merchants  of  Spain  in  every  part  of  the  globe. 
\  1583,  Huygen  van  Linschoten  made  the  first  voyage  to 
IS  East  Indies,  whither,  in  1596,  Cornelius  Houtmann  sailed 
Hh  a  small  fleet  and  planted  the  banner  of  the  republic  in 
fcya,  where  it  still  flutters  in  the  breeze.  In  1596,  the 
lited  fleets  of  HoUand  and  England  took  the  rich  com- 
mercial town  of  Cadiz  and  burnt  it  to  the  ground.  During 
«  same  year  Linschoten  and  Heemskerk  set  out  on  an  ex- 
^ition  for  the  discovery  of  a  north-eastern  passage  to  China, 
^e  Dutch  had  long  maintained  commercial  relations  with 
hiaaia,  and  Archangel  had  been  founded  by  Adrian  Kryt ; 

iw  enterprise,  nevertheless,  failed,  the  ships  being  ice-bound 
the  Frozen  Ocean,  and  Heemskerk  compelled  to  winter  on 
ova  Zembla.  In  1599,  Stephen  van  der  Hagen  opened  the 
i  [ttce  trade  with  the  islands  of  Molucca  ;  in  1601,  van  Neck, 
t  ^  tea  trade  with  China,  and  van  Spilbergen,  the  cinnamon 
R*  rtde  with  Ceylon.  An  incessant  struggle  for  the  empire  of 
^  5f,  ®^  ^^^  meanwhile  carried  on  between  Holland,  Spain, 
V  ^^  Portugal,  the  two  latter  of  which  had  already  colonized 
h  »rts  of  the  New  World.  The  English  Channel  was,  in  1605, 
f  *^Wed  by  Houtain,  the  Dutch  admiral ;  no  Spanish  ship 
^  jas  permitted  to  reach  the  coast  of  Holland,  and  all  the 
^  'Paniards  who  fell  into  his  hands  were  drowned.  The  Dutch 
Si  leets  incessantly  harassed  the  Spanish  coasts.  In  1608,  Ver- 
I  tteven  settled  in  Calicut,  on  the  Coromandel  coast.  One  of 
o)  ^  aliips  visited  Japan  in  1609,  and  discovered  a  Dutch 
^??  '.^*^®^  Adam,  who  had  been  cast  on  the  shore,  living 
i^  oere  in  great  repute.  A  connexion  with  this  country  was 
ei;s  onned  at  a  later  period  by  van  den  Broek,  who,  aware  of  the 
f.  ^at  importance  of  the  island  of  Java  as  the  centre  of  the 
"^  ,^^^ possessions  in  the  East  Indies, erected  [a.  d.  1618]  the 
ijK»  portress  of  Batavia,  which  speedily  grew  into  an  extensive 
i^^ty-  In  1614,  van  Noordt  foUowed  on  the  track  of  the 
jppaniards  iti  the  southern  ocean,  and,  in  1615,  Schouten 
Wiled  round  the  southern  point  of  America,  named  by  him 
^      ^^u  u.  X 


306  THE  REPUBLIC  OF  HOLLAND. 

Cape  Horn,  in  honour  of  his  native  town,  Hoom.  New  Zea- 
land was  discoyered  about  the  same  time  and  named  after  the 
province  of  Seeland.  Hudson,  in  1610,  had  also  discovered 
the  extreme  north  of  America,  and  the  bay  named  a£ter  him. 
The  English,  jealous  of  his  success,  seized  and  starved  him  to 
death.  Numbers  of  his  countrymen  followed  in  bis  track, 
and,  in  1614,  added  the  whale  fishery  to  those  of  oodfieh  and 
herrings,  which  were  almost  exclusively  in  their  hands. 

The  mean  jealousy  of  the  Hansa  towns  met  with  its  fitting 
reward,  their  commerce  gradually  declining  as  that  of  Hol- 
land rose.  Their  prohibition  of  English  manufactures  caused 
the  expulsion  of  all  the  Hanseatics  from  England  and  the 
instalment  of  the  Dutch  in  their  stead,  a.d.  1598. 

Maurice  inherited  little  of  the  noble  sincerity  of  bis  father, 
and  viewed  with  jealous  eyes  the  despotic  power  wielded  by 
the  neighbouring  princes.  The  peace,  to  which  he  had  been 
forced  to  accede  by  Henry  IV.  of  France,  the  friend  of  reform, 
the  commercial  prosperity,  the  increase  of  the  navy,  the  colo- 
nial and  civil  wealth,  and  the  republican  spirit  of  Holland, 
were  alike  distasteful  to  him,  but,  compelled  to  relinquish  the 
hope  of  executing  his  tyrannical  projects  by  force  of  arms,  be 
concealed  them  beneath  a  mask  of  religion,  and  made  use  of 
means  the  best  calculated,  in  those  fanatical  times,  to  work 
upon  the  multitude. 

At  the  new  university  of  Leyden,  Justus  Lipsius  had  gained 
great  fame  for  learning,  and  Gomarus,  the  Calvinist,  for  or- 
thodoxy and  zeal.  Another  deeply-learned  and  talented 
preacher,  Arminius,  (Harmsen,)  who  had  successfully  combat- 
ed the  doctrine  of  predestination,  being  also  appointed  to  a 
professor's  chair  at  Leyden,  Gomarus,  who,  like  the  rest  of 
his  Calvinistic  brethren  of  that  period,  professed  ultra-liberal- 
ism, but  acted  with  a  bigotry  equalling  that  of  *  the  Catholics 
and  Lutherans,  instantly  raised  a  cry  of  heresy.  The  attempts 
made  by  Hugo  Grotius,  the  most  eminent  scholar  and  states- 
man of  the  age,  to  reconcile  the  adverse  parties,  were  rendered 
futile  by  political  intrigue.  Maurice,  instigated  by  resent- 
ment against  Olden  Barneveldt,  the  most  popular  and  in£tt- 
ential  of  the  statesmen  of  Holland,  declared  in  favour  of  Go- 
marus.*    The  Arminians  defended  themselves  in  a  remon- 

*  Hia  ignorance  was  such  that  he,  on  one  occasion,  demanded  of  an 
Arminian  *'  how  he  could  uphold  such  nonsense  as  a  belief  in  predestin- 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  HOLLAND.  807 

strance  to  the  states-general,  whence  thej  gained  the  name  of 
Bemonstrants.     The  Gromarists,  supported  bj  Maurice,  how- 
ever, gained  the  victory,  and  Olden  Bameveldt,  Hugo  Gro- 
tii^  with  their  friends  Hogerbeet  and  Ledenberg,  were,  at 
Maurice's  command,  arrested  in  the  name  of  the  states-gener- 
alj  which  were  in  utter  ignorance  of  the  affair.    The  Remon- 
strants, fearful  of  sharing  the  fate  of  their  leaders,  £ed  the 
oountrj.      The  town-councils  and  the  states-general  were 
biassed  by  the  creatures  of  the  prince,  and  the  prisoners  were 
judged  by  a  criminal  court  acting  solely  under  his  influence. 
67  the  great  synod  convoked  at  Dordrecht  as  a  cloak  for  his 
crime,  the  Remonstrants  were  condemned  unheard  as  abomin- 
able heretics,  whilst  Maurice  loaded  the  Gomarists  with 
favours,  a.  d.  1619.     Ledenberg,  in  order  to  escape  the  rack. 
Blabbed  himself  with  a  knife.     Olden  Bameveldt,  an  old  man 
of  seventy-two,  the  most  faithful  servant  of  the  republic, 
the  founder  of  its  real  grandeur,  of  its  navy,  was  condemned 
to  death,  as  a  disturber  of  the  unity  of  the  state  and  of  the 
efanrch  of  God.     He  addressed  the  people  from  the  scaffold  in 
tbe  following  words,  "  Fellow  citizens,  believe  me,  I  am  no 
tmitor  to  my  country.     A  patriot  have  I  lived  and  a  patriot 
^ill  I  die."     Maurice,  by  wKom  the  people  had  been  deceived 
^ith  false  reports  against  their  only  true  friends,  pretended 
to  mourn  for  his  death  Mid  to  lament  the  treason  that  had  led 
to  his  condemnation,  A.  D.  1619.     Hogerbeet  and  Grotius 
^ere  condemned  to    perpetual  imprisonment.     The  latter 
escaped  from  the  castle  of  Lowenstein,  in  which  he  was  im- 
Dttored,  by  means  of  his  wife,  Maria  von  Reigersberg,  who 
<^ncealed  and  had  him  carried  away  in  a  chest  of  books. 

I*opular  disturbances  ensued.  Several  insurrections  were 
quelled  by  force ;  the  secret  assemblage  of  the  Remonstrants 
^M  strictly  prohibited  and  the  censorship  of  the  press  estab- 
Jwhed.  The  two  sons  of  Olden  Bameveldt  conspired  against 
^^  Hfe  of  Maurice,  were  discovered  and  executed,  a.  d.  1623. 
Jiaarice  expired,  a.  d.  1625.  Ck>nscious  of  the  inevitable 
discovery  of  the  artifice  with  which  he  had  studiously  slan- 
Qftred  his  victims  and  deceived  the  Dutch,  and  of  the  infamy 
attached  to  his  name,  he  enjoined  his  brother  and  successor, 
Frederick,  with  his  dying  breath,  to  recall  the  Remonstrants. 

aii(m  ?'»  and  on  being  told  that  was  the  doctrine  of  the  Gomarists  and 
not  of  the  Arminiaosi  pretended  to  disbelieye  the  assertion, 
z  2 


308  RUDOLPH  THB  SECOND. 


CCIII.     Rudolph  the  Second. 

The  rest  of  Germany  beheld  the  great  struggle  in  the 
Netherlands  with  almost  supine  indifference.  The  destruc- 
tion of  the  Calvinistic  Dutch  was  not  unwillingly  beheld  bj 
the  Lutherans.  The  demand  for  assistance  addressed  [a.  i>. 
1570]  by  the  Dutch  to  the  diet  at  Worms  received  for  re- 
ply, that  Spain  justly  punished  them  as  rebels  against  the 
principle  of  cujus  regto,  (jus  religio.  The  Lutheran  princes, 
either  sunk  in  luxury  and  vice,  or  mere  adepts  in  intrigue, 
shared  the  peaceful  inclinations  of  their  Catholic  neighbours. 
The  moderation  of  the  emperor,  Maximilian  IL,  also  greatly 
contributed  to  the  maintenance  of  tranquillity, , but  still  far 
more  so  the  cunning  policy  with  which  the  Jesuits  secretly 
encouraged  the  internal  dissensions  of  the  Reformers  whilst 
watching  for  a  fitting  opportunity  again  to  act  on  the  offensive. 

Maximilian  IL  had,  shortly  before  his  death,  been  elected 
king  of  Poland,  and  great  might  have  been  the  result  had  he 
been  endowed  with  higher  energies.  The  Jagellons  be- 
came extinct  with  Sigismund  Augustus,  A.  D.  1572.  The 
capricious  Polish  nobles,  worked  upon  by  the  agents  of  the 
French  monarch,  raised  Henry  of  Anjou  to  the  throne,  which 
that  prince  speedily  and  voluntarily  renounced  for  that  of 
France.  .'  Maximilian  was  elected  king  by  one  faction,  and 
Stephen  Bathori,  prince  of  Transylvania,  by  another.  Max- 
imilian ceded  his  claim  and  expired  shortly  afterwards,  A.  D. 
1575.  The  Jesuits  were  accused  of  having  taken  him  off  by 
poison,  through  jealousy  of  his  inclination  to  favour  the  Re- 
formation. The  beautiful  Philippina  Welser  is  also  said  to 
have  been  murdered  in  the  castle  of  Ambras  by  opening  her 
veins  in  a  bath,  A.  d.  1576. 

Maximilian  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Rudolph  IL,  a  second 
Frederick  IIL  This  prince  devoted  his  whole  thoughts  to 
his  horses,  of  which  he  possessed  an  immense  number,  al- 
though he  never  mounted  them ;  to  the  collection  of  natural 
curiosities  and  pictures;  to  the  study  of  alchymy  and 
astrology,  in  which  he  was  assisted  by  the  Dane,  Tycho 
de  Brahe,  and  by  Kepler,*  the  great  German  astronomer. 

*  This  extraordinary  man,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  discovery 
of  the  laws  which  regulate  the  movements  of  the  planetary  bodies,  their 


RUDOLPH  THE  SECOND.  809 

Tycho  is  said  to  have  drawn  his  horoscope  and  to  have  fore- 
told his  death  by  the  hand  of  his  own  son,  in  consequence  of 
which  he  forswore  marriage  and  Kved  in  constant  seclu- 
sion. He  was  subject  to  fits  of  fury  resembling  madness. 
His  sleeping  apartment  was  strongly  barred  like  a  prison,  so 
great  was  his  apprehension  of  a  violent  death. 

Rudolph  bestowed  no  attention  upon  the  empire ;  he,  never- 
theless, permitted  Melchior  Clesel,  bishop  of  Vienna,  and  the 
Jesuits,  to  attempt  to  bring  about  a  reaction  in  his  hereditary 
provinces  against  the  Protestants,  who,  deeming  themselves 
secure  under  his  father's  sceptre,  had,  contrary  to  agreement, 
^ted  churches  on  spots  not  immediately  belonging  to  the 
privileged  nobility.  In  1579,  every  unprivileged  cure  was 
seized  and  the  public  instruction  placed  exclusively  in  the 
hands  of  the  Catholics,  a  proceeding  extremely  mild  when 
compared  with  the  merciless  extirpation  of  the  Calvinists  in 
Saxony,  of  the  Lutherans  in  the  Pfalz,  etc. 
^  The  great  victories  of  the  Dutch,  the  decided  inclination  of 
Elizabeth,  queen  of  England,  and  of  Henry  IV.  of  France,  to 
Calvinism,  suddenly  raised  that  sect  to  a  high  degree  of  influ- 
ence, which  was  further  increased  by  the  defection  of  several 
of  the  princes  from  Lutheranism  through  disgust  at  the  doc- 
tnnes  taught  by  the  clergy.  Immediately  after  the  triumph 
gained  by  the  Lutherans  by  means  of  the  concordat,  the  only 
Calvinistic  prince  remaining  in  Germany,  the  Pfalzgrave, 
John  Casimir,  brother  to  Louis,  the  Lutheran  elector,  had,  at 
a  congress  held  at  Frankfurt  a  M.  [a.  d.  1577,]  demand^ 
^d  from  England  and  France.  He  had  himself  levied  a 
troop  of  German  auxiliaries  for  the  French  Huguenots.  On 
Jhe  death  of  his  brother,  he  undertook  the  guardianship  of  his 
infant  nephew,  Frederick  IV.  [a.  d.  1585]  ;  all  the  Luther- 

ellipticity,  etc.,  was  bom  in  1571,  at  Wiel,  in  Swabia.  Whilst  a  boy, 
^Tading  sheep,  he  passed  his  nights  in  the  fields,  and  by  his  observation 
acquired  his  first  knowledge  of  astronomy.  His  discovery  was  con- 
demned by  the  Tubingen  university  as  contrary  to  the  Bible.  He  was 
^Dout  to  destroy  his  work,  when  an  asylum  was  granted  to  him  at  Graetz, 
^luch  he  afterwards  quitted  for  the  imperial  court.  He  was,  notwith- 
standing his  Lutheran  principles,  tolerated  by  the  Jesuits,  who  knew  how 
^alue  scientific  knowledge.  He  was  solely  persecuted  in  his  native 
country,  where  he  with  difficulty  saved  his  mother  from  being  burnt  as  a 
^tch.  He  was  also  in  the  service  of  the  celebrated  General  Wallen- 
«*em.    He  died  [a.  d.  1630]  at  Ratisbon. 


310  RUDOLPH  THE  SECOND. 

ans  were  instantly  expelled  the  Ffalz  and  the  tenets  of  Calvin 
imposed  upon  the  people. 

It  was  about  this  period  that  Gebhard,  elector  of  Cologne, 
born   Count   Truchsess  (dapifer)  von  Waldburg,   a  young, 
gentle-hearted,  but  somewhat  thoughtless  man,  embraced  Cd- 
yinism.     His  equally  worldly-minded  predecessor,   Salentin 
von  Ysenburg,  had,  [a.  d.  1577,]  after  persecuting  the  Lu- 
therans, suddenly  renounced  his  office  and  wedded  a  Countess 
von  Ahremberg,  an  example  Gebhard  was  inclined  to  follow, 
but  v^thout  relinquishing  his  position.     He  had  already  be- 
come notorious  for  easy  morality,  when,  one  day,   looking 
from  his  balcony,  he  beheld,  in  a  passing   procession,  the 
Countess  Agnes  von  Mansfeld,  canoness  of  the  noble  convent 
of  Gerrisheim  near  Dusseldorf,  the  most  beautiful  woman  of  . 
the  day,  and  becoming  violently  enamoured,  called  her  into 
his  presence,  and,  by  his  united  charms  of  rank,  youth,  and 
beauty,  quickly  inspired  her  with  a  corresponding  passion. 
The  Lutheran  Counts  von  Mansfeld,  speedily  informed  of  the 
connexion  between  their  sister  and  the  archbishop,  hastened 
to  Bonn,  where  they  were  holding  court  together,  and  com- 
pelled the  archbishop  to  restore  their  sister's  honour  by  a 
formal  marriage.     The  Calvinists  in  the  Pfalz,  in  Holl^d, 
and  France,  however,  promising  him  their  aid  on  condition  of 
his  reforming  the  whole  of  the  Colognese  territory,  and  in- 
spiring him  with  the  hope  of  rendering  his  possessions  here- 
ditary in  his  family,  he  embraced  the  tenets  of  Calvin,  and 
consequently  deprived  himself  of  the  support  of  the  strict 
Lutherans.     He  was  himself  completely  devoid  of  energy. 
The  bishop  of  his  cathedral,  Frederick  von  Saxon-Lauenbui^i 
who  grasped  at  the  archiepiscopal  mitre,  almost  the  entire 
chapter  and  the  citizens  of  Cologne,  declared  against  him. 
His  predecessor,  Salentin  von  Ysenburg,  actuated  by  jealousy, 
also  opposed  him.    On  the  day  on  which  Gebhard  solemnized 
his  wedding  at  Bonn,  the  bishop  took  possession  of  the  city  of 
Kaiserswerth,  Feb.  2nd,  1583.     The  majority  of  the  people 
were  against  him.     The  pope  put  him  under  an  interdict ;  the 
emperor  and  the  empire  were  bound  by  the  ecclesiastical 
proviso ;  the  Lutherans  refused  their  aid  through  jealousy  of 
the  Calvinists.     Earnest,  duke  of  Bavaria,  l»shop  of  Liege 
and  Freysingen,  was  elected  archbishop  in  his  stead,  and  in- 
vaded his  territory.   The  Pfalzgrave,  John  Casimir,  to  whom 


RUDOLPH  THE  SECOND.  31 1 

be  Iiad  in  his  terror  mortgaged  the  whole  of  the  eleetorate  of 
Cologne,  was  too  deeply  engaged  in  the  expulsion  of  the  La- 
tberans  from  the  Pfak  to  lend  him  the  requisite  aid,  and  left 
him  to  his  fate.  The  whole  of  the  electorate  was  speedily  in 
the  hands  of  the  Bavarian  duke,  and  Gebhard  took  refuge  in 
Ziitphen,  whence  he  escaped  to  William  of  Orange.  Agnes 
secretly  Tisited  England  and  applied  for  assistance  to  Essex, 
the  queen's  favourite,  but  was  instantly  expelled  the  country 
hy  the  jealous  queen,  who  refused  to  see  her.  Grebhard's  ad* 
herents,  meanwhile,  ravaged  the  country  around  Neuss,  but 
were  forced  to  capitulate  by  the  Spanish  under  the  duke  of 
Parma,  to  whom  Earnest  had  turned  for  aid.  The  cause  of 
the  expelled  archbishop  now  became  hopeless,  and  [a.  d. 
15891  he  withdrew  with  Agnes,  to  whom  he  ever  remained 
faithuil,  to  Strassburg,  where  he  had  formerly  held  the  office 
of  deacon.  He  died,  [a.  d.  1601,]  leaving  no  issue.  Agnes 
mrvived  him ;  the  period  of  her  death  and  her  burial-place 
are  unknown. 

Earnest  of  Cologne,  who  became  at  the  same  time  bishop  of 
Monster,  Liege,  and  Hildesheim,  favoured  the  Jesuits,  and 
persecuted  the  Protestants  with  the  greatest  rigour  in  Aix- 
la-Cbapelle.  The  Catholic  league,  meanwhile,  incessantly 
^«nied  on  hostilities  against  the  Huguenots,  whose  leader, 
Henry  of  Bourbon,  the  first  of  that  line,  mounted  the  throne 
of  France,  a.  d.  15.89.  This  monarch  was  greatly  seconded 
in  his  war  with  the  league  by  the  Reformed  Swiss,  under  Louis 
von  Erlach,  and  by  the  Calvinistic  prince.  Christian  von  An- 
^t.  The  Landgrave,  Maurice  of  Hesse-Cassel,  openly  em- 
^^i^^^ced  Calvinism,  A.  d.  1592.  The  separation  of  Hessian 
^^Knustadt  from  Cassel  took  pkce,  a.  d.  1614.  It  was  brought 
^ut  by  the  Lutheran  prince,  Louis  of  Darmstadt,  Maurice's 
cousin,  in  direct  opposition  to  the  will  of  the  provincial  estates. 
Maurice*  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  among  the  princes  of 
ai8  time,  witty  and  learned,  deeply  versed  in  classic  literature 
^d  art,  well  acquainted  with  modem  and  foreign  cultivation 
^d  customs,  and  not  the  less  zealous  for  the  improvement  of 
Germany.  .  The  Margrave,  Earnest  Frederick  of  Baden-Dur- 
}^\  became  a  convert  to  Calvin,  and  imposed  his  tenets  on 
«»  L\itheran  subjects.     He  died  of  apoplexy,  [a.  d.  1604,] 

*  This  prince  was  the  first  inventor  of  the  telegraph,  an  inyention  that 
«d  not  come  into  use  until  long  after. 


312  RUDOLPH  THE  SECOND. 

rwhen  marching  upon  Pforzheim,  whose  citizens  had  resisted 
his  tyranny.  John  Sigismund,  elector  of  Brandenburg,  also 
embraced  Calvinism,  the  faith  of  the  citizens  of  Juliers,  Cleve, 
and  Berg,  his  subjects  by  inheritance.  He  incurred  great  un- 
popularity by  his  toleration  of  Lutheranism  in  Brandenburg. 

The  Catholic  party  had  gradually  gained  internal  strength. 
Paul  IV.  commenced  the  restoration ;  Pius  IV.  gave  a  new 
constitution  to  the  Catholic  world  by  the  resolutions  of  the 
council  of  Trident ;  Pius  V.  exchanged  the  shepherd's  staff 
for  the  faggot  and  the  sword,  and,  by  his  example,  sanctified 
the  cruelties  perpetrated  by  Philip  11. ;  Gregory  XIIL,  the 
representative  of  Jesuit  learning,  put  the  Protestants  to 
shame  with  his  improved  Calendar,  which  was  published, 
A.  D.  1584,  and  violently  protested  against  at  the  imperial 
diet  by  the  Lutherans,  who  preferred  an  erroneous  computa- 
tion of  time  to  any  thing,  however  accurate,  proceeding  from 
a  pope;  and  finally,  Sixtus  V.  again  displayed  the  whole 
pomp  of  the  triumphant  church  from  1585  to  1590. 

The  Jesuits  had  rapidly  spread  over  the  whole  of  the  Ca- 
tholic world,  and,  solely  opposed  by  the  Dominicans,  jealous  of 
the  power  they  had  hitherto  possessed,  had  placed  all  beneath 
their  rule.  The  Franciscans,  so  influential  over  the  people, 
were  replaced  by  another  Jesuitical  body  of  begging  monks, 
drawn  from  their  ranks,  the  Capuchins,  who  were  commis- 
sioned to  work  upon  the  lower,  as  the  Jesuits  did  upon  the 
higher,  classes.  Permanent  nunciatures,  as  advanced  posts 
noting  the  movements  of  the  enemy  and  of  the  confederation, 
were  stationed,  in  1570,  at  Luzerne,  in  1588,  at  Brussels, 
Cologne,  and  Vienna. 

The  Reformers  had  entirely  lost  sight  of  the  ancient  church 
in  the  midst  of  their  internal  dissensions,  nor  was  it  until  the 
publication  of  Cardinal  Bellarmin's  subtle  criticism  on  the 
Reformation  in  1581,  and  that  of  Pope  Gregory's  celebrated 
bull  in  cana  Domini  in  1584,  on  the  one  side,  and  of  the  history 
of  the  order  of  Jesus  by  the  renegade  Jesuit,  HasenmuUer,  in 
which  he  lays  bare  all  its  evil  practices  and  exaggerates  its 
crimes,  in  1586,  on  the  other  side,  that  polemics  again  raged 
and  the  press  vented  its  venom  on  both  parties. 

The  bishoprics  continued  a  material  object  of  discord ;  those 
to  the  north  of  Germany  had  irrecoverably  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  the  princes  of  Brandenburg,  Brunswick,  Mecklenburg,  and 


RUDOLPH  THE  SECOND.  813 

Sazon-Laaenburg.  The  possession  of  others  was  a  matter  of 
nncertainty.  'In  Upper  Germany  and  in  Switzerland,  the 
Catholics  greatly  increased  in  strength  and  daring,  and  the 
confederates,  instigated  by  the  Jesuits,  took  up  arms  against 
one  another.  In  1586,  the  Catholic  cantons,  influenced  by 
Louis  PfyfiTers  of  Lucerne,  the  head  of  the  Catholics,  sur- 
named  the  Swiss  king,  concluded  the  golden  or  Borromean 
league  with  St.  Charles  Borromeo  for  the  extermination  of 
heretics.  This  league  raged  so  fearfully  in  Italy  that  num- 
bers of  Reformers  fled  thence  to  Zurich ;  hence  the  celebrated 
Zurich  names  of  Pestalozzi,  Orelli,  etc. 

The  favour  lavished  by  Stephan  Bathori,  king  of  Poland, 
npon  the  Catholic  party,  afforded  the  Jesuits  an  opportunity 
to  spread  themselves  over  Livonia  and  Polish-Prussia.  They 
were,  however,  driven  out  of  Riga  by  the  Lutheran  citizens, 
A.  D.  1587,  and  out  of  Dantzig  in  a  similar  manner,  a.  d.  1606. 
Clement  YIII.,  meanwhile,  intent  upon  extending  his  tem- 
poral sway  in  Italy,  had,  on  the  death  of  Alfonso,  the  last 
Mai^ave  of  the  house  of  Este,  [a.d.  1595,]  seized  Ferrara 
and  forcibly  annexed  that  duchy  to  the  dominions  of  the 
church.  His  successor,  Paul  V.,  zealously  persecuted  the  he- 
retics, and,  during  his  long  reign,  from  1605  to  1621,  inces- 
nuitly  encouraged  discord  and  dissension. 

Bavaria  displayed  the  greatest  zeal  in  the  Catholic  cause. 
Baden-Durlach,  whose  Margrave,  Philip,  had  fallen  at  Mont- 
oncourt  fighting  for  the  Huguenots,  had  been  re-catholicized 
^yBuke  Albert,  the  guardian  of  Philip's  infant  son.  Albert's 
saccessors,  William  [a.  d.  1579]  and  Maximilian,  [a.  d. 
1598,]  befriended  the  Jesuits.  In  1570,  all  the  wealthy  in- 
^bitants  of  Munich  took  refuge  in  the  Lutheran  imperial 
cities.  These  proceedings  were  far  from  indifferent  to  the 
Calvinists,  the  most  courageous  among  the  Reformers.  Frede- 
nek  IV.,  elector  of  the  Pfalz,  exhorted  the  Lutherans  to  make 
common  cause  with  the  rest  of  the  Reformers,  but  was  solely 
listened  to  by  Wurtemberg  and  the  Margraves  of  Franconia, 
^ho  entered  into  a  union  with  him  at  Anhausen,  [a.d.  1608,] 
which  was  joined  [a.  d.  1609]  by  Brandenburg  and  opposed 
V  Maximilian  of  Bavaria,  who  convoked  the  Catholic  princes, 
with  whom  he  concluded  a  holy  alliance.  Party  hatred  was 
still  further  inflamed  [a.  d.  1610]  on  the  death  of  the  last 
duke  of  Juliera,  Cleve,  Bere.  Mark,  and  Ravensperg,  when 


314  RUDOLPH  THE  SECOND. 

those  splendid  countries  fell  to  the  nearest  of  kin,  John  Sigis- 
mundy  elector  of  Brandenburg,  and  Wolfgang  William,  Ffalz- 
grave  of  Neuburg,  both  Reformed  princes.  The  majority  of 
the  people  was  also  Reformed.  The  Catholic  party,  led  bj 
Bavaria,  had,  in  the  hope  of  frostrating  the  expectations  of 
their  antagonists,  compelled  Jacobea  of  Baden,*  who  was  edu- 
cated at  Munich,  to  bestow  her  hand  upon  the  imbecile  duke, 
John  William,  A.  D.  1585.  This  scheme,  however,  fail^ ; 
the  duke  went  completely  mad,  and  Jacobea  remained  child- 
less. The  government  was  seized  by  his  sister,  Sibylla,  an 
elderly  maiden,  totally  devoid  of  personal  graces,  who,  jealous 
of  Jacobea's  beauty  and  aided  by  the  Catholic  party,  set  the 
now  useless  victim  aside.  Jacobea  was,  under  a  false  pre- 
text, seized,  accused  of  sorcery,  and  strangled  in  prison,  after 
undergoing  a  variety  of  tortures.  Antonia  of  Lorraine  was 
the  next  victim  bestowed  upon  the  duke,  in  the  hope  of  rais- 
ing a  progeny  in  the  Catholic  branch,  but  also  remaining 
childless,  she  was  sent  back  to  Lorraine,  and  Sibylla,  in  her 
forty-ninth  year,  wedded  Charles,  Margrave  of  Burgau.  Her 
hopes  of  issue  were  also  frustrated,  and,  on  the  death  of  John 
William,  in  1609,  the  whole  of  the  rich  inheritance  fell  to  the 
Reformed  branch,  which,  aided  by  France,  finally  succeeded  in 
expeUing  Sibylla's  faction,  which  was  supported  by  the  Span- 
ish Netherlands. 

The  united  princes,  meanwhile,  took  the  field,  but  again 
laid  down  arms  on  the  death  of  the  elector  of  the  Pfalz  and 
the  murder  of  Henry  of  Navarre  by  Ravaillac,  the  tool  of  the 
Jesuits.  Brandenburg  and  Neubui^  remained  in  peaceable 
possession  of  the  JuUers-Cleve  inheritance,  until  a  quarrel 
breaking  out  between  them,  the  Pfalzgrave  embraced  Catho- 
licism and  called  the  League  and  the  Spaniards  to  his  aid. 
The  matter  was,  nevertheless,  settled  by  n^otiation,  Bran- 
denburg taking  Cleve,  Mark,  and  Ravensberg  ;  Neuberg,  Jn- 
liers  and  Berg,  ▲.  d.  1614.  They  were,  however,  still  des- 
tined not  to  hold  the  lands  in  peace,  the  emperor  attempting  to 
place  them  under  sequestration  as  property  lapsed  to  the 

*  Her  portrait  is  still  to  be  seen  at  Dusseldorf.  She  was  imcommon- 
ly  beautiful  and  captivating.  She  loved  a  Count  von  Mandeischeid,  who, 
on  the  news  of  her  marriage,  became  insane.  The  pope  sent  his  benedic- 
tion on  the  marriage  of  this  lovely  woman  with  the  imbecile  duke,  and 
presented  the  unhappy  bride  with  a  golden  rose. 


RELIGIOUS  DISTURBANCES  IK  AUSTRIA.  315 

erown  ;  the  Dutch  and  Spaniards  again  interfered  in  the  dis- 
pute that  ensued,  and  shortly  afterwards  the  great  war  broke 
out  John  Sigismund  succeeded  the  imbecile  duke,  Frederick 
Albert,  on  the  throne  of  Prussia,  [a.  d.  1614,1  where,  during 
that  stormy  period,  the  Brandenburgs  with  difficulty  secured 
thdr  footing. 


PART  xvm. 

THE  THIRTY  YEARS'WAR. 


CCrV.    Great  religions  diiturbances  in  Austria,-^Defeat  of 
the  Bohemians. 

The  projects  laid  by  the  emperor  Maximilian  II.  were,  even 
during  his  life-time,  frustrated  by  his  brother,  Charles,  the 
nltra-Catholic  archduke  in  Styria,  Carinthia,  and  Carniola. 
This  energetic  man,  who,  by  his  settlement  of  the  military 
colonies  in  Croatia,  in  the  heart  of  which  he  erected  [a.  d. 
1580]  the  metropolis  of  Carlstadt,  had  greatly  served  the 
^pire,  violently  opposed  the  Protestants,  established  the 
Jesuits  at  Grsetz,  and  by  his  virulent  persecution  of  the 
Lutheran  communes  in  the  mountain  districts  drove  them  to 
^l|el,  A«  D.  1573.  The  peasantry  throughout  Styria  and 
^^^iola  revolted,  but  were  reduced  to  submission  by  the 
Uzkokes,*  wild  Slavonian  robbers,  called  for  that  purpose 
fo>m  the  mountains  of  Dalmatia. 

The  violent  abolition  of  the  religious  liberty  of  the  privi- 
^^ed  cities  by  Rudolph  II.  called  forth  an  energetic  remon- 
^nce  from  the  whole  of  the  provincial  estates,  that  drew 
Q^m  him  the  grant  of  four  privileged  churches  at  Gnetz, 
Judenburg,  Clagenfurt,  and  Laibach,A.  d.  1578,  which  were, 
nevertheless,  destroyed  by  the  Archduke  Charles,  at  whose 
oonunand  twelve  thousand  German  Bibles  and  other  Lutheran 

P*  These  l)arbarian8  aflemrards  greatly  annoyed  his  son,  the  emperor 
JJerdinand  II.,  who,  at  the  entreaty  of  Venice,  interdicted  their  piracy  in 
theAdriaUc. 


816  GREAT  RELIGIOUS 

books  were  burnt  bj  the  public  executioner  at  Gnetz,  a.  d. 
1579.  The  Lutheran  preachers  were  gradually  superseded 
by  Catholic  clergy  in  all  the  cities,  the  chartered  towns  not 
excepted,  and  the  citizens  were  compelled  to  recant.  The 
privileges  of  the  nobility  were  still  held  sacred,  but  the  prin- 
ciple, cujus  regioy  ejus  religio,  was  in  some  measure  even 
applied  to  them,  no  Lutheran  lord  being  permitted  to  take  a 
Catholic  peasant  into  his  service  unless  born  on  his  estates. 
The  Estates,  perceiving  their  demands  unheeded  by  their 
sovereign,  laid  their  complaints  [a.  d.  1582]  before  the  diet 
of  the  empire,  in  the  hope  of  being  protected  by  the  Lutheran 
princes.  But  here  also  their  hopes  were  frustrated  by  the 
pitiless  axiom,  cujus  regw,  ejus  religio.  The  Jesuits,  em- 
boldened by  this  defeat,  redoubled  their  attacks ;  numbers  of 
Lutheran  preachers  were  incarcerated,  but  were  partly  re- 
stored to  liberty  by  the  enraged  peasantry.  The  movement 
gradually  increased,  and  [a.  d.  1588]  the  archduke  was  merely 
saved  from  assassination  at  Judenburg  by  the  magnanimity 
of  a  Lutheran  preacher.  An  insurrection  broke  out  simul- 
taneously in  the  archbishopric  of  Salzburg.  Tumultuous 
meetings,  the  violent  seizure  of  the  preachers  and  the  armed 
opposition  of  the  peasantry,  were  annually  renewed  in  Austria 
from  1594. 

The  persecution  of  the  Austrian  Protestants  raged  with  re- 
doubled violence  on  the  accession  of  the  Archduke  Ferdinand, 
A.  D.  1596.  His  Jesuitical  preceptors  had  carefully  prepared 
him  from  his  earliest  childhood  for  the  part  they  intended  him 
to  perform,  and  he  had  solemnly  vowed  at  the  shrine,  of 
the  Virgin  at  Loretto  to  extirpate  heresy  from  his  dominions. 
The  actions  and  principles  of  his  unde,  Philip  II.,  the  model 
on  which  he  formed  himself,  were  merciful  in  comparison  with 
his.  Un warlike,  nay,  effeminate  in  his  habits,  ever  surrounded 
by  Jesuits  and  women,  he,  nevertheless,  possessed  a  bigoted 
obstinacy  of  character  that  nought  had  power  to  soften,  and, 
whilst  tranquilly  residing  in  Vienna,  willing  tools  were  easily 
found  to  execute  his  horrid  projects.  His  first  act,  in  answer 
to  the  renewed  petitions  of  the  Estates  for  religious  liberty, 
was  the  erection  of  gallows  throughout  the  country  for  the 
evangelical  preachers,  the  demolition  of  their  churches,  nay, 
the  desecration  of  the  churchyards  by  the  disinterment  of 
the  dead.     In  Laibach,  where  the  most  resolute  resistance 


DISTURBANCES  IN  AUSTRIA.  317 

was  offered,  the  pastors  were  torn  from  their  palpits,  the 
citizens  that  refused  to  recant  expelled,  and  their  goods  con- 
fiscated. The  opposition  of  the  Estates  was  weakened  by  the 
dissolution  of  their  union,  those  of  Upper  and  Lower  Austria, 
Styria,  Carinthia,  and  Carniola  being  compelled  to  hold  separ- 
ate assemblies.  The  Estates,  refused  aid  by  their  brethren 
in  belief,  were  driven  by  necessity  to  demand  assistance  from 
their  foreign  neighbours.  Venice  was  too  Catholic,  Hun- 
gary too  deeply  occupied  with  her  internal  affairs  and  the 
war  with  the  Turks,  to  listen  to  their  entreaties.  Bethlen 
Gabor,  Prince  of  Transylvania,  took  advantage  of  the  gradual 
decadence  of  the  Turkish  empire,  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the 
religions  war  in  Germany,  on  the  other,  to  found  an  independ- 
ent power  in  Hungary.  The  German  Transylvanians  had 
been  converted  to  Lutheranism,  [a.  d.  1533,]  and  were,  at 
this  period,  in  close  alliance  with  the  German  Lutherans.  Ru- 
dolph n.,  with  the  view  of  reconverting  them  to  Catholicism, 
instigated  the  Hungarians  against  them,  and  the  Saxons  were 
actually  declared  in  the  Hungarian  diet  [a.  d.  1590]  serfs  to 
the  Hungarians,  there  being  no  noblemen  among  them.  The 
national  Graf,  Hutter,  however,  rose  in  their  defence,  and 
openly  told  the  magnates  before  the  whole  assembly,  that 
"Labour  was  nobler  than  robbery,"  and  succeeded  in  repeal- 
ing their  decision.  The  Transylvanian  Saxons,  as  a  protec- 
tion against  the  Jesuits,  formed  a  union,  [a.  d.  1613,]  and 
bound  themselves  by  oath  to  stand  up  as  one  man  in  defence 
of  their  political  freedom  and  of  the  Augsburg  Confession, 
never  to  accept  of  nobility,  and  ever  to  preserve  their  equality, 
the  condition  of  their  freedom. 

Thus,  Tyrol  alone  excepted,  all  the  hereditary  possessions 
of  the  house  of  Habsburg  had  favoured  the  Iteformation,  and 
^ere,  in  point  of  fact.  Reformed.  Catholicism  was,  neverthe- 
less, reimposed,  by  means  of  political  intrigue,  on  the  whole 
of  this  immense  population. 

The  archdukes,  less  influenced  by  the  discord  that  prevailed 
throughout  the  empire  than  by  the  disturbances  in  the  here- 
ditary provinces,  which  caused  the  Habsburgs  to  totter  on  the 
throne,  resolved  [a.  d.  1606]  to  install  Matthias  in  the  place 
of  his  spiritless  brother,  the  emperor  Rudolph.  This  event  af- 
forded a  glimmer  of  hope  to  the  oppressed  Protestants.  Mat- 
thias speedily  found  himself  at  the  head  of  an  army,  and  com- 


318*  OBEAT  EBLIGIOUS 

pelled  the  emperor  to  cede  Hungary  and  Anstria.  Rudolph, 
shaken  from  his  slumhers,  hastened  unexpectedly  to  Prague, 
where,  sacrificing  the  principle  on  which  he  had  hitherto  go- 
verned, the  exclusive  rule  of  the  Catholic  form  of  worship,  to 
his  enmity  towards  his  brother,  he  fully  restored  the  privi- 
leges anciently  enjoyed  by  the  Utraquists,  and  [a.  d.  1609J 
promulgated  the  famous  letter  patent,  the  palladium  of  Bohe- 
mia, by  which  her  political  and  religious  liberty  was  con- 
firmed. The  storm  had,  however,  no  sooner  passed  than, 
regretting  his  generosity,  he  allowed  his  cousin,  the  Arch- 
duke Leopold,  bishop  of  Fassau,  whom,  notwithstanding  his 
priestly  office,  he  destined  for  his  successor  on  the  throne,  to 
assemble  a  considerable  body  of  troops  at  Passau,  invade  and 
devastate  Bohemia,  and  take  possession  of  the  Kleine  Seite  of 
Prague.  The  Bohemians  under  Matthias,  Count  von  Thurn, 
made  a  gallant  defence,  and  several  bloody  engagements  took 
place.  The  rage  of  the  Bohemians  was,  however,  chiefly  di- 
rected against  the  Jesuits,  who  were  accused  of  having  insti- 
gated this  attack  upon  their  liberties,  and  Rudolph,  deeply  sus- 
pected by  the  citizens  of  Prague  of  participating  in  the  plot, 
was  kept  prisoner  by  them  until  Leopold  voluntarily  retreated 
on  the  news  of  the  approach  of  Matthias  from  Hungary. 
Rudolph  was  compelled  to  abdicate  the  throne  of  Bohemia  in 
favour  of  his  brother,  whose  coronation  was  solemnized  amid 
the  jojrful  acclamations  of  the  people,  on  whom  he  lavished 
fresh  privileges.  "Ungrateful  Prague!"  exclaimed  the  de- 
posed monarch,  as  he  looked  down  upon  the  gorgeous  city 
from  his  palace  window,  "Ungrateful  Prague!  to  me  dost 
thou  owe  thy  wondrous  beauty,  and  thus  hast  thou  repaicl  my 
benefits.  May  the  vengeance  of  Heaven  strike  thee,  and  my 
curse  light  upon  thee  and  the  whole  of  Bohemia !" 

The  Bohemians,  enchanted  with  Matthias's  liberality,  pru- 
dently sought  to  draw  a  real  advantage  from,  and  to  strength- 
en their  constitution  by,  his  deceptive  concessions.  The  fal- 
lacy of  their  hopes  is  clearly  proved  by  the  fact  of  Ferdinand's 
having  annihilated  in  the  mountains  every  trace  of  the  liberty 
so  deceitfully  planted  by  his  uncles  and  sovereigns  in  Bohe- 
mia. Shortly  before  the  Christmas  of  the  same  year,  1610, 
the  Passau  troops  made  a  second  incursion  into  Upper  Aus- 
tria and  cruelly  harassed  the  Protestant  inhabitants. 

Matthias  succeeded  to  the  imperial  crown  on  the  death  of 


DISTURBANCKS  IN  AUSTRIA.  319 

Radolph  II.,  [a.  d.  1612,]  and,  unable  to  recall  past  events, 
peaceably  withdrew  from  public  life,  committing  the  govern- 
ment to  his  nephew,  Ferdinand,  whom  he  caused  to  be  pro- 
claimed king  of  Bohemia,  and  who  was  destined  to  discover 
the  little  accordance  between  the  system  of  oppression  pur- 
sued by  him  in  the  mountains  and  the  letters  patent  issued  by 
Kudolph.  Ferdinand  treated  his  uncle  with  the  basest  ingrati- 
tude, depriving  him  of  the  society  of  his  old  friend,  Cardinal 
Olesel,  and  treating  him  with  the  deepest  contempt.  The 
poor  old  man  was  at  length  carried  off  by  gout,  ad.  1617. 
Clesel  had  drawn  upon  himself  the  ill-will  of  the  youthful  ty- 
rant, by  expressing  a  hope  that  Bohemia  might  be  treated 
with  lenity,  to  which  Ferdinand  replied,  '*  Better  a  desert  than 
a  country  full  of  heretics  .**  The  only  descendants  of  the  house  of 
Habsburg  still  remaining  in  Germany,  were  Ferdinand  U.,  his 
two  brothers,  Leopold,  bishop  of  Passau,  and  Charles,  bishop 
of  Breslau.  The  throne  of  Spain  was  ][a.  d.  1621]  mounted 
by  Philip  IV.,  (grandson  to  Philip  II.,)  whose  brother,  Fer- 
<linand,  became  a  cardinal  and  the  stadtholder  of  the  Nether- 
lands. 

The  arrival  of  Ferdinand  with  his  Jesuitical  counsellors  at 
Prague  filled  Bohemia  with  dread,  nor  was  it  diminished  by 
lus  hypocritical  oath  to  hold  the  letters  patent  granted  by 
Rudolph  sacred ;  for  how  could  a  Jesuit  be  bound  by  an  oath  ? 
the  principles  on  which  he  acted  had  been  clearly  shown  by 
Ms  behaviour  at  Graetz  and  Laibach.  The  Jesuits  no  longer 
concealed  their  hopes,  and  the  world  was  inundated  with 
pamphlets,  describing  the  measures  to  be  taken  for  the  extir- 
pation of  heresy  throughout  Europe,  and  for  the  restoration 
of  the  only  true  church. 

Ferdinand  speedily  quitted  Bohemia,  leaving  the  govern - 
inent  in  the  hands  of  Slawata  (a  man  who,  for  a  wealthy 
bride,  had  renounced  Protestantism,  and  who  cruelly  perse- 
cuted his  former  brethren,)  and  Martinitz,  who  sought  to  in- 
snare  the  people  and  systematically  to  suppress  their  rights. 
A  strict  censorship  was  established ;  Jesuitical  works  were 
^ne  unmutilated.  Religious  liberty,  although  legally  pos- 
sessed by  the  nobility  alone,  had,  by  right  of  custom,  extended 
to  the  Protestant  citizens,  more  especially  since  the  grant  of 
tbe  letters  patent  by  the  emperor,  Rudolph  11.,  but  they  no 
sooner  ventured  to  erect  new  churches  at  Braunau  and 


820  GEBAT  RELIGIOUS 

Elostergrab,  than  an  order  for  their  demolition  was  issued  by 
Ferdinand,  who,  treating  the  representations  of  the  Estates 
with  silent  contempt,  their  long-suppressed  discontent  broke 
forth,  and,  at  the  instigation  of  Count  Thum,  they  flung 
Slawata  and  Martiuitz,  after  loading  them  with  bitter  re- 
proaches, together  with  their  secretary,  Fabricius,  according 
ta  old  Bohemian  custom,  out  of  the  window  of  the  council- 
house  on  the  Radschin.  They  fell  thirty-five  yards.  Mar- 
tinitz  and  the  secretary*  escaped  unhurt,  being  cast  upon  a 
heap  of  litter  and  old  papers ;  Slawata  was  dreadfully  shat- 
tered, and  was  carried  into  a  neighbouring  house,  that  of  a 
Princess  Schwarzenberg,  where  he  remained  unmolested. 
This  event  occurred  May  the  23rd,  1618,  and  from  this  day 
dates  the  commencement  of  the  thirty  years'  war. 

The  first  act  of  the  Bohemian  Estates  under  the  direction  of 
Count  Thurn  was  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits,  in  which  they 
were  imitated  by  the  rest  of  the  hereditary  provinces,  Silesia 
under  the  rule  of  John  George,  duke  of  Brandenburg- 
Jsegerndorf,  Moravia  under  its  principal  leader,  the  Baron 
Frederick  von  Teuffenbach,  Austria,  whose  chief  representa- 
tive was  Erasmus  von  Tschernembl,  and  Hungary  under 
Bethlen  Gabor  (Gabriel  Bathory).  A  list  of  grievances  was 
sent  to  Vienna,  and  religious  liberty  was  demanded  as  the  con- 
dition of  their  continued  recognition  of  Ferdinand's  authority. 

Ferdinand,  without  deigning  a  reply,  instantly  raised  twx) 
small  bodies  of  troops,  which  he  intrusted  to  the  command  of 
Dampierre  and  Bouquoi,  the  former  a  Frenchman,  the  latter 
a  Spaniard,  whilst  he  continued  to  levy  men  in  Italy,  Spain, 
and  the  Netherlands ;  but  Thurn,  marching  at  the  head  of  the 
Bohemians  upon  Vienna,  he  avoided  falling  into  his  hands  by 
going  to  Frankfurt  on  the  Maine,  [a.  d.  1619,]  where  the 
Lutheran  princes,  gained  over  by  his  Jesuitical  artifices,  elect- 
ed and  crowned  him  emperor  of  Germany.  Every  trace  of 
the  scruples  formerly  raised  against  the  election  of  Charles  V. 
and  of  Ferdinand  I.  had  vanished. 

The  Estates  of  Bohemia,  Silesia,  Moravia,  Hungary,  Aus- 
tria, Styria,  Carinthia,  and  Carniola,  abandoned  as  usual  in 
the  moment  of  need  by  their  Protestant  brethren,  now  closely 

♦  He  afterwards  received  the  title  of  Hohenfall.  He  is  said  to  have 
fallen  ilpon  Martinitz,  and,  notwithstanding  the  horror  of  the  moment,  to 
have  politely  asked  pardon  for  his  involuntary  rudeness. 


DISTURBANCES  IN  AUSTRIA  321 

confederated,  and  took  Count  Earnest  von  Mansfeld,  who  had 
served  with  distinction  in  the  Netherlands,  with  fourteen 
thousand  German  mercenaries,  into  their  service.  Bouquoi, 
af^er  defeating  Mansfeld  at  Pilsen,  marched  into  Hungary 
against  Bethlen  Gabor,  whilst  Dampierre,  worsted  in  Mora- 
via by  Teuffenbach,  retired  upon  the  Danube,  where  the  Up- 
per Austrians,  under  Stahremberg,  lay  in  wait  for  the  empe- 
ror on  his  return  from  Frankfort.  Ferdinand,  however, 
avoided  them  by  passing  through  Styria  to  Vienna.  That  city 
was  instantly  besieged  by  Thurn  and  Bethlen  Gabor,  and  the 
Viennese,  who,  notwithstanding  the  practices  of  the  Jesuits, 
were  still  evangelically  inclined,  stormed  the  palace  and  de- 
manded a  formal  grant  of  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion. 
At  this  moment  Dampierre's  cavalry  entered  the  palace-yard. 
The  citizens  withdrew,  and  the  Bohemians  and  Hungarians, 
weakened  by  famine  and  sickness,  and  threatened  to  the  rear 
by  a  fresh  enemy  raised  against  them  by  Ferdinand's  diplo- 
matic arts,  also  speedily  retreated.  The  Cossacks,  (not  those 
of  the  Ukraine,)  the  rudest  of  the  Lithuanian  tribes,  were  in- 
vited into  Austria  by  the  emperor  for  the  purpose  of  convert- 
ing the  people  by  fire,  sword,  and  pillage.  A  Spanish  army 
under  Verdugo  also  crossed  the  Alps  and  defeated  Mansfeld  at 
Langen-Loys.  The  Bohemians  and  Hungarians  were,  mean- 
while, victorious  over  the  Poles,  and,  in  the  midst  of  the  tu- 
mult of  war,  elected  Frederick  V.,  elector  of  the  Pfalz,  king  of 
Bohemia,  and  Bethlen  Gabor  king  of  Hungary,  in  the  stead 
of  the  emperor,  a.  d.  1620. 

The  behaviour  of  the  German  princes  during  the  war  in 
Austria  was  more  deeply  than  ever  marked  by  treachery  and 
weakness.  Never  has  a  great  period  produced  baser  charac- 
ters, never  has  a  sacred  cause  found  more  unworthy  champions. 
The  projects  harboured  by  the  pope,  the  emperor,  Spain,  and 
France,  for  the  complete  suppression  of  the  Reformation,  were 
well  known,  and  could  alone  be  frustrated  by  a  prompt  and  firm 
coalition  on  the  part  of  the  Protestant  princes.  George  Wil- 
liam of  Brandenburg,  John  George  of  Saxony,  Louis  of  Darm- 
stadt, John  Frederick  of  Wurtemberg,  and  the  Margrave, 
Joachim  Earnest,  of  Brandenburg,  bribed'i)y  personal  interest 
or  actuated  by  cowardice  and  by  jealousy  of  the  Pfalzgrave, 
abandoned  their  brethren  to  their  fate,  and  took  part  with  the 
emperor.     Maximilian,  duke  of  Bavaria,  who,  not  withstand- 


322  GREAT  RELIGIOUS 

ing  his  youth,  was  at  the  head  of  the  Catholic  League,  had, 
through  jealousy  of  his  cousin  the  Pfalzgrave,  sacrificed  the 
brilliant  prospects  of  his  house,  and  headed  the  Wittelsbach 
against  the  Wittelsbach  in  a  war  profitable  alone  to  the  Habs- 
burg.  C!onscious  of  this  false  step,  he  endeavoured,  although 
the  aUy  of  the  Habsburg,  to  curb  the  power  of  the  emperor, 
and  to  retain  his  position  as  the  head  of  Catholic  Germany. 
For  this  purpose,  he  long  delayed  advancing  to  his  aid,  until 
actually  compelled,  by  the  fear  of  losing  the  laurels  he  hoped 
to  win,  to  take  the  field  at  the  head  of  his  whole  force,  i^er 
concluding  an  alliance  at  Wurzburg  with  his  brother  Ferdi- 
nand in  Cologne,  and  Schweighart,  elector  of  Mayence,  in  which 
Lothar  of  Treves  and  Louis  of  Darmstadt  also  joined,  and  after 
protecting  his  rear  by  making  terms,  as  creditable  to  hinoi  as  a 
statesman  as  they  were  scandalous  in  the  opposite  party,  in 
the  name  of  the  League  with  the  Union,  the  duke  of  Wurtem- 
berg  promising  to  discharge  the  troops  of  the  Union,  Bavaria 
on  her  part  undertaking  to  leave  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed 
countries,  including  the  Pfalz,  Bohemia  alone  excepted,  un- 
harassed  by  the  League. 

Frederick,  elector  of  the  Pfalz,  a  young  and  ambitious  man, 
whose  projects  were  ever  seconded  by  his  wife,  Elizabeth,  a 
zealous  Caivinist,  the  daughter  of  James  L  of  England,  had 
placed  himself  without  difficulty,  owing  to  the  supine  indif- 
ference of  the  rest  of  the  united  princes,  at  the  head  of  the 
Union.  His  inaptitude  for  government  was,  however,  speedily 
discovered  by  the  Bohemians,  by  whom  he  had  been  elected 
king  and  received  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm.  Frederick 
was  merely  fitted  for  parade,  and  was,  perhaps,  the  most  in- 
capable of  the  reigning  princes  of  his  time,  for  he  never  allow- 
ed others  to  govern  in  his  name.  The  Lutheran  princes, 
jealous  of  the  increased  importance  of  the  Pfalz,  and  inimical 
to  him  on  account  of  his  Calvinistic  tenets,  abandoned  him. 
His  introduction  of  the  French  tongue  and  of  French  customs 
and  fashions  into  his  court  created  great  dissatisfaction 
among  his  Bohemian  subjects,  which  was  still  further  increas- 
ed by  his  encouragement  of  the  attacks  made  from  the  pulpit 
by  his  chaplain,  Scultetus,  upon  the  Utraquists  and  Luther- 
ans, and  by  the  demolition  of  the  ornaments  still  remaining  in 
the  churches  at  Prague.  The  crucifixes  and  pictures  were 
torn  down  and  destroyed.     The  attempt  to  demolish  the  great 


DISTURBANCES  IN  AUSTRIA.  323 

Stone  cracifix  on  the  bridge  over  the  Moldau  caused  a  revolt, 
which  Thum  was  alone  able  to  quell.  Peace  was  restored, 
but  Frederick  had  forfeited  the  affection  of  his  subjects.  In- 
stead of  attaching  the  Bohemian  aristocracy  to  his  person,  he 
showered  favours  upon  two  poor  nobles,  distinguished  neither 
by  their  talents  nor  by  their  characters.  Christian,  prince  of 
Anhalt,  and  George  Frederick,  Count  von  Hohenlohe,  by 
whom  Count  Mansfeld,  whose  birth  was  illegitimate,  was 
treated  with  such  marked  contempt,  that  he  withdrew  with 
his  troops  from  the  royal  army.  The  terms  stipulated  [a.  d, 
1620]  between  the  League  and  the  Union  also  deprived  Fre- 
derick of  the  aid  of  the  latter,  Bohemia  being  expressly  given 
up  as  a  prey  to  the  former.  His  alliance  with  Turkey,  more- 
over, greatly  contributed  to  increase  his  unpopularity  with 
every  party. 

Whilst  the  Protestants  were  thus  weakened  by  their  own 
treachery  and  disunion,  the  Catholics  acted  with  redoubled 
vigour.  Spinola  marched  from  the  Netherlands  at  the  head 
of  twenty  thousand  men  and  systematically  plundered  the 
Pfalz.  The  cries  of  the  people  at  length  struck  upon  the 
dulled  sense  of  the  united  princes.  Wurtemberg  tremblingly 
demanded,  "Why  the  late  stipulation  was  thus  infringed?" 
and  remained  satisfied  with  the  reply  that  Spinola,  not  being 
included  in  the  League,  was  not  bound  to  keep  its  stipula- 
tions ;  and  the  Union  made  a  treaty  with  Spinola  at  Mayence, 
hy  which  they  consented  to  his  remaining  in  the  Pfalz  on 
condition  of  the  neighbouring  princes  being  left  undisturbed. 
Heidelberg,  Mannheim,  and  the  Frankenthal  were  defended 
^y  the  troops  of  Frederick  Henry  of  Orange,  who  was  aban- 
doned by  the  rest  of  the  united  princes.  Maximilian  and  his 
field-marshal,  John  T'serclaes,*  Count  von  Tilly,  a  Dutch- 
Joan,  who  had  served  under  Alba,  next  invaded  Upper 
Austria  with  a  force  of  thirty  thousand  men.  Linz  yielded ; 
the  Estates  were  compelled  to  take  the  oath  of  fealty  to  the 
duke  as  the  emperor's  representative;  Tschemembl  fled  to 
Geneva,  where  he  died  in  want,  a.  d.  1626.  The  mountain 
peasantry,  enraged  at  the  capitulation  of  Linz  by  the  panic- 
struck  nobles,  took  up  arms,  but  were  unable  to  overtake  the 
^uke,  who  had,  in  the  mean  time,  entered  Bohemia,  where 

«  T'serclaes  signifies,  Sir  Clans,  Sir  Nicolas. 
Y  2 


324  DEFEAT  OF  THE  BOHEMIANS. 

numbers  of  the  inhabitants  were,  on  account  of  their  deter- 
mined resistance,  cruellj  butchered. 

Dampierre,  sacrificing  himself  for  the  emperor,  kept  Bethlen 
Gab(N*  at  bay,  though  with  an  inferior  force,  but  was  finally 
defeated  and  slain  before  Presburg.  The  Hungarians  poured 
in  crowds  around  Vienna,  whilst  the  League,  joined  by  Bou- 
quoi,  Yerdugo,  and  the  whole  of  the  imperial  forces,  left 
Vienna  to  the  right  and  marched  straight  upon  Prague,  where 
the  king,  Frederick,  little  anticipated  battle.  Anhalt  and 
Hohenlohe  had  fixed  an  encampment  on  the  Weissen  Berg, 
famed  for  Zizka's  deeds  of  prowess ;  Mansfeld  and  the  flower 
of  the  army  were  far  away  at  Pilsen,  and,  before  it  was  possi- 
ble for  him  to  advance  to  the  relief  of  the  metropolis,  the 
enemy  unexpectedly  stormed  the  Weissen  Berg,  Oct.  29th, 
1620.  Christian  of  Anhalt  rushed  to  the  encounter  and  was 
wounded;  the  Hungarian  auxiliaries  fied  and  drew  the 
Bohemians  in  their  train.  The  Moravians  made  a  valiant  but 
futile  resistance.  The  battle  rolled  onwards  to  the  gates  of 
Prague,  where  the  confusion  was  still  further  increased  by  the 
panic  of  the  king.  Prague  was  well  fortified  ;  the  troops  had, 
after  sufiering  a  trifling  loss,  entered  the  waUs ;  an  immense 
Hungarian  army  lay  around  Vienna;  Mansfeld  was  at 
Pilsen ;  Upper  Austria  in  open  insurrection ;  four  thousand 
men  and  ten  cannons,  left  in  the  hurry  of  the  moment  on  the 
Weissen  Berg,  comprised  the  whole  amount  of  loss.  But  fear 
had  paralysed  the  senses  of  the  monarch.  Instead  of,  like  the 
Hussites,  intrenching  himself  behind  his  fortifications  and 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  his  friends,  he  yielded  his  metropolis 
without  a  blow,  merely  demanding  twenty-four  hours  to  pre- 
pare for  his  departure,  notwithstanding  which  he  left  behind 
him  his  crown  and  most  important  documents,  the  whole  ar- 
chive of  the  Union,  which  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  imperial- 
ists. Frederick  fled  to  Breslau,  then  farther,  never  to  return. 
One  winter  brought  his  reign  to  a  close,  hence  he  received 
the  soubriquet  of  the  winter-king.*     Thurn  also  escaped. 

The  elector  of  Saxony,  who  had,  meanwhile,  occupied  the 
Lausitz  with  his  troops  and  had  taken  Bautzen  and  Zittau, 
now  expelled  the  fugitive  king  of  Bohemia  from  Silesia  and 
compelled  Breslau  to  do  him  homage  as  the  emperor's  repre- 

*  Gomes  palatinus  palans  sine  comite.  He  was  pursued  with  satirical 
songs  and  caricatures* 


DEFEAT  OF  THE  BOHEMIANS.  325 

sentative.  Frederick  took  refuge  in  Holland  with  his  consort, 
whom  the  elector  of  Brandenburg  had  unwillingly  permitted 
to  remain  at  Frankfort  on  the  Maine  until  after  the  birth  of 
her  son,  Prince  Maurice.  The  castle  of  Rhenen,  in  Holland, 
was  granted  as  a  residence  to  the  exiled  pair  bj  the  Prince  of 
Orange. 

Mansfeld,  driven  from  Pilsen  by  Tilly,  entered  into  a  pre- 
tended negotiation  with  the  emperor,  who  vainly  attempted 
to  bribe  him  to  enter  into  his  service,  and  had  no  sooner  pro- 
vided himself,  by  pillaging  the  country  around  Tachau,  with 
horses,  ammunition,  and  money,  than,  forcing  his  way  through 
Bamberg  and  Wurzburg,  he  escaped  the  imperialists  under 
Maximilian  and  General  Cordova,  who  had  been  left  by 
Spinola,  on  his  return  to  the  Netherlands,  in  the  Pfalz  where 
he  had  wintered.  Tilly  vainly  pursued  the  fugitives  ;  Mans- 
feld passed  the  Rhine  and  fixed  himself  in  Alsace  and  Lor- 
raine, ready,  in  case  of  necessity,  to  retreat  upon  Holland. 

Bethlen  Gabor,  driven  from  both  Vienna  and  Presburg  by 
Bouquoi,  was,  in  his  turn,  victorious  over  the  Austrian  fac- 
tion under  Count  Palffy  in  Hungary,  and  was  reinforced  by 
Jaegerndorf,  who  again  took  the  field  in  Silesia.  Bouquoi  fell 
before  Neuhausel.  Mansfeld's  expulsion,  the  open  perfidy  of 
the  Union,  and  the  threatening  aspect  of  Poland,  however,  in- 
clined Bethlen  Gabor  to  make  terms  with  the  emperor,  to 
whom  he,  consequently,  resigned  the  Hungarian  crown  on 
condition  of  receiving  seven  districts  and  the  title  of  prince  of 
the  empire.  Jaegerndorf,  who  now  stood  unaided  and  alone, 
was  compelled  to  dismiss  his  troops,  and  the  Silesian  Estates 
credulously  accepted  the  profiered  mediation  of  the  elector  of 
Saxony,  who  promised  to  protect  their  religious  liberty. 

Ferdinand's  apparent  lenity  greatly  facilitated  the  subjec- 
tion of  Bohemia.  For  three  months  vengeance  slumbered. 
With  the  cold-blooded  hypocrisy  of  Alba,  his  master  in  deceit, 
he  patiently  waited  until  the  Bohemians,  lulled  into  security, 
had  retaken  their  peaceful  occupations,  and  the  fugitives  had 
regained  their  homes.  On  the  20th  of  February,  1621,  the 
storm  burst  forth.  All  the  popular  leaders,  who  had  not 
escaped,  were  arrested.  Thurn  was  not  to  be  found,  but  his 
friend,  Count  John  Andreas  von  Schlick,  a  descendant  of  the 
celebrated  chancellor,  to  whom  the  Habsburgs  owed  so  much 
of  their  grandeur,  was  delivered  by  the  perfidious  elector  of 


326  DEFEAT  OF  THE  BOHEMIANS. 

Saxony,  to  whom  he  had  fled  for  shelter,  to  the  headsmen  of 
Prague.  His  right  hand  and  his  head  were  struck  off, 
Twentj-four  nobles  were  beheaded,  three  citizens  hanged, 
etc  Seven  hundred  and  twentj-eight  of  the  nobilitj,  who 
were  induced  by  a  promise  of  pardon  to  confess  their  partici- 
pation in  the  rebellion,  were  deprived  of  their  estates.  Forty 
million  dollars  were  collected  by  confiscation  alone.  Five 
hundred  noble  and  thirty-six  thousand  citizen  families  emi- 
grated. Bohemia  lost  the  whole  of  her  ancient  privileges.  The 
letter  patent  granted  by  Rudolf  was  destroyed  by  the  emperor's 
own  hands.  His  confessor,  the  Jesuit  Lamormain,  (Lsemmer- 
mann,)  searched  for  and  burnt  all  heretical  works,  particularly 
those  of  the  ancient  Hussites.  Nor  did  the  dead  escape ; 
Rokyzana's  remains  were  disinterred  and  burnt ;  Zizka's 
monument,  every  visible  memorial  of  the  heroism  of  Bohemia, 
was  destroyed.  Every  trace  of  religious  liberty  was  annihilated, 
and  the  emperor,  disregarding  his  promise  to  the  elector  of 
Saxony  in  regard  to  the  Lutherans,  declared  himself  bound  in 
conscience  to  exterminate  all  heretics.  Saxony,  for  form's  sake, 
protested  against  this  want  of  faith.  The  churches  throughout 
Bohemia  were  reconsecrated  by  the  Catholics ;  the  Hussite  pas- 
tors, who  failed  in  making  their  escape,  fell  a  prey  to  the  savage 
soldiery.  The  peasantry  were  imprisoned  by  the  hundred  and 
compeUed  by  famine  to  recant.  The  few  Catholic  nobles,  Sla- 
wata,  Martinitz,  Mittrovski,  Klenau,  Czeyka,  who  had  formerly 
been  expelled  the  country,  took  a  fearful  revenge.  The 
emigrants  were  the  most  fortunate  portion  of  the  population. 
At  Lissa,  the  citizens  set  fire  to  their  own  homes  and  fled  into 
Saxony.  A  desperate  resistance  was  here  and  there  made  by 
the  people.  The  most  valuable  of  the  confiscated  property 
was  granted  in  donation  to  the  Jesuits,  who  were  triumphantly 
re-established  in  the  country  for  the  purpose  of  drugging  the 
minds  of  the  enslaved  people,  and  so  skilfully  did  they  fulfil  their 
office,  that  ere  one  generation  had  passed  away,  the  bold,  free- 
spirited,  intelligent  Bohemian  was  no  longer  to  be  recognised 
in  the  brutish  creature,  the  oflspring  of  their  craft,  that  until 
very  lately  has  vegetated  unnoted  by  history. 

A  similar  plan  was  pursued  in  Silesia,  which  had  submitted 
on  the  guarantee  of  its  religious  liberty  by  the  elector  of 
Saxony.  Jesuits  or  other  monks,  accompanied  by  a  troop  of 
the  Lichtenstein  dragoons,  under  Count  Hannibal  von  Dohna, 


DEFEAT  OF  THE  BOHEMIANS.  827 

went  from  village  to  village,  from  one  house  to  another,  for 
the  purpose  of  converting  the  inhabitants;  pillage,  torture, 
the  murder  or  robbery  of  children,  were  the  means  resorted 
to.     Emigration  was  prohibited.     The  emperor,  not  satisfied 
with  suppressing  religious  liberty,  also  restricted  the  civil 
liberty  of  the  Estates  and  metamorphosed  the  Silesian  pro* 
vincial  Estates  into  a  body  of  commissioners  nominated  by 
and  subservient  to  him.    Breslau  and  the  duchies  of  Liegnitz, 
Brieg,  and  Oels,  which  were  still  governed  by  their  petty  im- 
mediate princes,  were  alone  spared.     Ferdinand,  unable  to 
suppress  Protestantism  in  Hungary,  secured  his  hereditary 
provinces  fronoi  infection  by  commercial  interdictions.     His 
offer  of  pardon  to  a  fugitive  nobleman,  Frederick  von  Rog- 
gendorf,  on  condition  of  his  return  to  his  country,  received 
for  answer,  '^  What  sort  of  pardon ;  a  Bohemian  one  ?  Heads 
off!  A  Moravian  one?   Imprisonment  for  life !   An  Austrian 
one?    Confiscation  !"    These  horrors  were  enacted  at  Ferdi- 
nand's command,  under  the  superintendence  of  his  confessor, 
Lamormain,  who  styled  himself,  in  reference  to  the  immense 
confiscations  that  took  place,  "  God's  clerk  of  the  exchequer." 
Saxony  received  the  Lausitz  in  pledge;  Brandenburg  was 
invested  with  Prussia.     Frederick  of  Bohemia,  John  George 
von  Jasgemdorf,  and  Mansfeld,  (on  whose  head  a  price  was 
fixed,)  were  put  under  the  bann  of  the  empire.     Anhalt  and 
Hobenlohe  were  pardoned.     The  Protestant  Union  voluntarily 
dissolved,  a.  d.  1621. 

Bisturbances,  caused  by  the  attempt  made  by  the  emperor  to 
get  the  passes  of  the  Grisons  into  his  hands,  on  account  of  the 
communication  with  Spain  and  Italy,  but  more  particularly 
for  the  purpose  of  cutting  off  that  between  Switzerland  and 
Venice,  which  countenanced  the  Reformers,  broke  out  simul- 
taneously in  Switzerland.  The  inhabitants  of  Veltlin  were 
butchered  [a.  d.  1620]  by  the  Spanish  and  Italian  troops  under 
the  Archduke  Leopold  and  Feria,  governor  of  Milan,  but 
the  peasantry,  excited  to  desperation  by  this  outrage,  rising 
en  masse,  the  imperialists  were  driven  out  of  the  country, 
^  i>.  1622.  Teuffenbach,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  Switzer- 
hmd  from  the  troubles  in  Moravia,  and  who  lay  sick  at  Pfeef- 
ters,  was,  during  this  contest,  seized  by  the  people  of  Sargans, 
sold  to  Ferdinand's  executioners,  and  beheaded  at  Inn- 
spruck. 


328  REVOLT  OF  THE  UPPER  AUSTRIANS. 


CCV.    Revolt  of  the  Upper  Austriansi— Count  Mansfeld, 

The  Austrian  nobility,  impelled  by  fear  and  by  the  hope  o£ 
reward,  had  yielded.  Death  and  confiscation  struck  them 
with  terror,  whilst  the  splendid  recompence  bestowed  by 
Ferdinand  on  the  Count  of  Lichtenstein,  whom  he  created 
prince  and  endowed  with  the  whole  of  the  confiscated  lands 
of  Jaegerndorf  and  with  Troppau  in  Silesia  in  return  for  his 
fidelity,  induced  many  among  the  rest  of  the  aristocracy  to 
declare  their  adherence  to  the  crown.  The  most  resolute  of 
the  opposite  party  bade  an  eternal  farewell  to  their  country. 
The  last  resolution  published  by  the  emperor,  in  February, 
1625,  was  as  follows;  "His  imperial  Majesty  reserves  to 
himself,  to  his  heirs  and  successors,  the  complete  control  of 
religion,"  according  to  the  principle  of  "cujus  regio,  ejus  re- 
ligio,"  perfectly  independent  of  the  pope,  in  right  of  his 
political,  not  of  his  ecclesiastical  supremacy.  The  Estates  were 
for  ever  prohibited  the  discussion  of  religious  matters  under 
pain  of  a  fine  of  one  million  florins  on  the  whole  assembly, 
and  a  court  of  correction,  empowered  to  confiscate  the  estates 
of  all  political  offenders,  was  established  at  Vienna.  The 
numbers  of  the  nobility  were  by  these  means  considerably  r&* 
duced,  and  their  confiscated  property  served  to  reward  the  few 
proselytes  of  the  crown.  In  Austria,  as  in  Bohemia,  the 
numerous  independent  nobility  possessed  of  petty  estates  wa3 
replaced  by  a  small  number  of  favourites  and  upstarts,  some 
of  whom  introduced  new  and  foreign  races  into  the  country, 
and  on  whom  large  tracts  of  land  were  bestowed.  The  people 
were  for  ever  deprived  of  their  only  organ,  the  Estates,  on 
which  they  had  reposed  implicit  confidence,  by  the  flight  and 
defection  of  the  nobility ;  they  were,  notwithstanding,  at  that 
time  far  from  being  the  blind,  dull  mass  they  afterwards 
became,  and  amongst  their  ranks  there  were  many  men  de- 
void neither  of  spirit  nor  intelligence. 

Upper  Austria  had  been  consigned  by  Ferdinand  to  Max- 
imilian of  Bavaria  by  way  of  indemnification  £Dr  the  expenses 
of  the  war.  The  Count  von  Herberstorf,  a  man  of  an  austere 
and  cruel  disposition,  possessed  of  great  personal  courage,  the 
stadtholder  appointed  by  Bavaria  over  Linz,  gave  his  soldiers 
licence  to  plunder,  vex,  and  murder  the  hei'etical  peasantry. 


REVOLT  OF  THE  UPPER  AUSTRIANS.  329 

The  whole  country  being  Lutheran,  the  re-establishment  of 
Catholicism  was  necessarily  gradual.  The  magistracy,  cor- 
porative privileges,  the  use  of  hospitab,  the  right  of  guardian- 
ship, were  one  by  one  withdrawn  from  the  Lutherans  ;  their 
children  were  torn  from  them  and  educated  in  the  Catholic 
faith,  their  wills  were  declared  invalid,  etc.  In  1624,  all 
Lutherans,  who  still  publicly  professed  their  faith,  were  com- 
pelled to  emigrate ;  in  1625,  the  external  ceremonies  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  the  fasts,  the  accompaniment  of  processions 
with  banners,  etc.,  were  strictly  enforced,  and  the  Easter  of 
1626  was  ^xed  as  the  term  for  the  entire  suppression  of  heresy 
throughout  the  country. 

This  decree  was  a  signal  for  a  last  and  desperate  struggle. 
The  people  resolved  to  shed  the  last  drop  of  their  blood  for 
the  gospel  rather  than  pollute  themselves  by  participating  in 
the  devilish  idolatry  of  their  tyrannical  master.  The  pea- 
santry of  the  mere  of  Frankenburg  first  revolted,  and  ex- 
pelled the  priests  engaged  in  purifying  the  church  at  Zwies- 
palten,  by  fumigation,  from  the  smell  of  heresy.  Herberstorf 
was,  however,  at  hand,  and,  ordering  seventeen  of  the  pea- 
SHDts  to  be  seized,  had  them  hanged  as  ornaments  on  the 
tower  and  beneath  the  eaves  of  the  sacred  edifice.  This 
sacrilegious  deed  caused  a  general  insurrection.  Herberstorf 
was  defeated  at  Feurbach,  where  he  lost  twelve  hundred  of 
his  men,  and  was  forced  to  seek  shelter  within  the  walls  of 
Linz.  Stephen  Fadinger,  a  wealthy  peasant,  formerly  a  hat- 
maker,  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  insurgents,  who  divided 
themselves  into  regiments,  some  of  which  wore  a  black  uni- 
form in  sign  of  sorrow  for  their  country,  fixed  upon  certain 
places  of  meeting,  and  maintained  the  most  perfect  order, 
without  having  a  single  member  of  the  ancient  Estates  either 
^  their  head  or  among  their  ranks.  A  collision  took  place  at 
Hausruckviertel  between  the  scattered  soldiery  and  the  pea- 
santry, which  terminated  in  a  general  assassination  of  the 
Bavarians. 

The  Estates  were  now  convoked  for  the  purpose  of  medi- 
ating between  the  emperor  and  "his  trusty  peasantry,"  to 
^hose  complaints  he  promised  to  turn  a  "  lenient  ear,"  whilst 
he  made  fresh  military  preparations,  the  presence  of  his  troops 
^^ng  at  that  time  required  in  other  parts  of  the  empire.  The 
peasants,  meantime,  continued  to  arm  themselves,  and  seized 


BEVOLT  OF  THE  UPPER  ATJSTEIANS. 

three  vessels  bearing  Bavarian  troops  up  the  Danube  to  the 
relief  of  Linz.  No  quarter  was  given.  Fadinger,  on  his  part, 
took  advantage  of  the  truce  to  gather  in  the  harvest  and  to 
provide  for  the  future  wants  of  his  followers.  The  altematiye 
offered  by  him  to  the  emperor  was,  "  liberty  of  conscience  or 
renunciation  of  allegiance  to  the  house  of  Habsburg." 

The  attempt  to  compel  Linz,  Enns,  and  Freistadt  to  capi- 
tulate by  fkmine  failing,  Fadinger  formally  besieged  them  in 
the  summer  of  1626,  when  he  was  killed  by  a  cannon-ball 
whilst  reconnoitring  the  fortifications  of -Linz.  The  attacks 
of  the  enraged  peasantry  proved  futile.  Wiellinger,  their  new 
leader,  was  unpossessed  of  the  talent  of  his  gifted  predecessor. 

Another  body  of  insurgents  under  Wolf  Wurm  had,  mean- 
while, gained  possession  of  Freistadt,  and  Enns  had  been  re- 
lieved by  a  troop  of  imperialists  under  Colonel  Loebel,  whose 
soldiery  set  the  villages  in  flames  and  butchered  their  inha- 
bitants. Wiellinger,  instead  of  opposing  them  with  his  fw- 
midable  numbers,  foolishly  marched  the  main  body  of  his 
forces  upon  Linz,  where  he  met  with  insurmountable  diffi- 
culties and  a  determined  resistance.  His  attempts  to  take  the 
place  by  storm  were  signally  defeated.  A  thousand  of  the 
peasants  were  killed  and  numbers  wounded.  A  night-attack 
by  water  also  failed,  and  a  ship,  crowded  with  peasants,  was 
blown  into  the  air.  Fresh  regiments  of  imperialists  and  Ba- 
varians, meanwhile,  poured  into  the  country.  Loebel  was  sup- 
ported by  the  Colonels  von  Auersperg,  Preuner,  and  Schaff- 
tenberg.  Preuner  took  Freistadt  by  a  coup  de  main  and 
defeats!  a  body  of  peasantry  at  Kerschbaum.  Wiellinger, 
compelled  to  raise  the  siege  of  Linz,  during  which  he  had  lost 
all  his  ammunition  and  his  army  had  been  reduced  to  two 
thousand  men,  when  too  late,  attacked  Loebel,  and  a  dreadful 
battle  took  place  at  Neuhofen,  where  one  thousand  of  the  pea- 
sants fell  and  Wiellinger  was  severely  wounded.  He  was  re- 
placed by  a  fresh  leader,  '^  the  Student,"  whose  real  name  was 
never  known,  although  he  was  the  greatest  character  that  ap- 
peared in  this  tragedy.  The  peasants,  inspired  by  him  with 
fresh  courage,  undauntedly  opposed  the  troops  now  pouring 
upon  them  from  every  quarter.  Adolf,  duke  of  Holstein,  the 
emperor's  ally,  was  surprised  by  the  Student  during  the  night 
near  Wesenufer ;  a  thousand  of  his  men  were  slain,  and  he 
was  constrained  to  flee  in  his  shirt  to  Bavaria.     General 


REVOLT  OF  THE  UPPER  AUSTRIANS.  831 

Lindlo,  who  was  sent  by  Maximilian  to  avenge  this  disgrace, 
fell  into  an  ambuscade  laid  by  the  Student  in  the  great  Pram 
forest.  Lindlo  contrived  to  escape,  but  almost  the  whole  of 
bis  officers  and  three  thousand  of  his  men  were  cut  to  pieces. 
Another  body  of  peasantry  defeated  Loebel  on  the  Welser- 
heath.  Preuner  was,  however,  victorious  in  the  Miihlviertel 
and  at  Lambach.  The  Student  divided  his  men  into  three 
bodies  and  took  up  a  strong  position  at  Weibem,  Eferding, 
and  Gmunden,  at  which  latter  place  rocks  and  stones  were 
rolled  upon  Herberstorf's  troops,  which  were  put  to  flight, 
leaving  one  thousand  five  hundred  men  on  the  field. 

The  celebrated  general,  Henry  Godfrey  von  Pappenheim, 
whose  fame  as  a  distinguished  commander  of  the  League  was 
only  second  to  that  of  Tilly,  was  now  despatched  into  the 
mountains  at  the  head  of  fresh  troops  against  the  invincible 
Student,  whom  he  attacked  in  his  second  position  at  Eferding, 
and  at  length,  after  a  hard  and  dubious  contest,  in  which  two 
thousand  of  the  peasantry  were  slain,  defeated.  He  then 
marched  upon  Gmunden,  whence  he  succeeded  in  dislodging 
the  enemy,  who  instantly  took  up  a  strong  position  in  a  wood. 
The  whole  of  the  imperial  forces  stood  here  opposed  to  the 
little  body  of  peasantry,  and  in  such  close  vicinity  that  the 
palms  sung  by  them  and  a  sermon  delivered  by  the  Student, 
in  which  he  exhorted  them  to  be  of  good  courage,  were 
plainly  heard  by  the  foe.  The  charge  made  by  the  peasantry 
upon  the  flank  of  the  imperialists  was  at  first  successful,  the 
whole  of  the  right  wing  taking  to  flight  and  being  pursued  as 
far  as  the  streets  of  Gmunden,  notwithstanding  which,  after  a 
murderous  battle  of  four  hours,  Pappenheim  kept  the  field 
and  four  thousand  peasants  were  slain.  This  defeat  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  battles  of  Voecklabruck  and  Wolfsegg,  in  which 
several  thousands  of  the  peasantry  fell,  among  others  the  un- 
sown Student^  whose  head  was  presented  to  the  general. 
An  enormous  mound  that  was  raised  over  the  fallen  brave 
near  Pisdorf,  and  which  is  still  known  as  the  Peasant  Mound, 
is  the  only  record  that  remains  of  those  bloody  times. 

The  country  was  placed  under  martial  law.  A  number  of 
captive  peasants  were  dragged  to  Vienna,  whence  they  never 
i^etumed.  Many  thousands  had  fallen.  The  remainder  were 
converted  to  Catholicism  by  the  military  and  by  the  Jesuits. 
The  remains  of  Fadinger  and  Zeller  were,  at  the  emperor's 


332  COUNT  MANSFELD. 

command,  exhumed  and  burnt  by  the  hangman.  Wiellinger 
and  twelve  of  the  other  ringleaders  were  executed ;  numberb 
of  the  peasants  were  butchered  by  the  soldiery,  and,  in  con- 
dusion,  the  emperor,  unable  to  deny  himself  the  pleasure, 
ordered  Madlfeder,  Hausleitner,  and  Holzmiiller,  the  poor 
peasant  commissioners,  who  had  formerly  entered  into  nego- 
tiation with  him  and  the  Estates  and  who  had  received  a  si^e- 
conduct  signed  with  his  royal  hand,  to  be  seized,  quartered 
alive,  and  their  limbs  exposed  on  gallows  on  the  high  roads 
in  different  parts  of  the  country. 

The  obstinacy  with  which  the  people,  notwithstanding  the 
success  of  the  League  and  the  treachery  of  the  princes,  assert- 
ed their  liberty  of  conscience,  had,  by  the  great  concourse  of 
soldiery  beneath  their  banners,  enabled  some  of  the  minor 
nobility,  among  others.  Count  Mansfeld,  to  keep  the  field. 
This  diminutive,  sickly-looking,  deformed  man,  possessed  a 
hero's  soul.  The  Protestants  flocked  in  such  crowds  beneath 
hb  standard,  that,  in  the  autumn  of  1621,  he  found  himself 
in  Alsace  at  the  head  of  twenty  thousand  men ;  but,  deserted 
by  all  the  powerful  princes,  who  alone  possessed  the  means  of 
supporting  an  army,  he  was  compelled  by  necessity  to  main- 
tain his  troops  by  pillage,  an  example  that  was  imitated  by 
all  the  leaders  during  this  terrible  war.  In  the  ensuing  spring, 
seconded  by  some  of  the  minor  princes,  who  had  ventured  to 
join  him  during  the  winter,  he  took  the  field  against  Tilly. 
George  Frederick,  Margrave  of  Baden- Durlach,  had  taken  up 
arms  against  the  emperor  on  account  of  the  protection  afforded 
by  him  to  his  cousin  William  of  Baden-Baden,  whom  he 
sought,  under  pretext  of  the  illegitimacy  of  his  birth,  to  de- 
prive of  his  inheritance.  Christian  of  Brunswick,  the  youngest 
brother  of  Frederick  Ulric  of  Wolfenbiittel,  another  of  his 
allies,  was  an  adventurer,  who,  having  become  enamoured  of 
Elisabeth,  ex-queen  of  Bohemia,  wore  her  glove  in  his  hat, 
and  fought  for  "  God  and  his  lady."  He  entered  West- 
phalia and  plundered  the  wealthy  churches  and  monasteries. 
Numbers  of  the  towns  escaped  pillage  on  payment  of  ransom ; 
he  lost,  however,  one  thousand  two  hundred  men  before  the 
little  town  of  G«seke. — Mansfeld  was  also  joined  by  John 
Earnest,  Frederick  and  William  of  Saxe- Weimar,  who  were 
filled  with  indignation  at  the  guardianship  attempted  to  be 
imposed  upon  them  by  the  treacherous  elector  of  Saxony. 


COUNT  MANSFELD.  333 

Their  youngest  brother,  Bernard,  served,  in  his  ei|;hteenth 
year,  in  his  brother  William's  regiment.  Magnus  of  Wurtem- 
berg  also  took  up  arms  in  Mansfeld's  favour,  against  the 
wish  of  his  brother,  John  Frederick,  the  reigning  duke. — -— 
Maurice,  Landgrave  of  Hesse-Cassel,  also  showed  great  zeal 
in  the  cause,  but  was  not  supported  by  his  provinciid  Estate 
the  prelates  and  the  nobility,  who  entered  into  a  separate  ne- 
gotiation witb  the  Spaniards,  between  whom  and  the  nobility 
a  treaty  was  concluded  at  Bingen,  [a.  d.  1621,]  in  the  name 
of  the  Landgrave,  who  angrily  protested  against  it.  He  was 
unable,  owing  to  the  defection  of  the  Estates,  to  bring  a  suf- 
ficient number  of  troops  into  the  field. 

The  ex-king  of  Bohemia  ventured  in  person  into  the  camp 
of  Mansfeld,  who,  united  with  the  Margrave  of  Baden,  de- 
feated Tilly,  who  was  murdering  and  burning  in  the  Pfalz, 
near  Wislocb  or  Mingelsheim ;  but  the  Margrave,  separating 
from  him,  was  attacked  at  Wimpfen  by  Tilly,  who,  mean- 
while, had  been  joined  by  Cordova,  and  was  completely  routed. 
His  flight  was  covered  by  four  hundred  of  the  citizens  of 
Pforzheim,  under  their  burgomaster,  Deimling,  who  were  cut 
down  to  a  man.  Magnus  of  Wurtemberg  fell,  covered  with 
glory.  Bernard  of  Weimar  greatly  distingubhed  himself  in 
this  action.  Mansfeld  had,  in  the  mean  time,  taken  prisoner 
Louis,  Landgrave  of  Darmstadt,  who  had  refused  him  a  free 
passage  across  his  territory.  Christian  of  Brunswick,  when 
attempting  to  join  Mansfeld,  was  surprised  and  defeated  at 
Hoechst  on  the  Maine,  where  a  terrible  slaughter  took  place, 
Christian  having  rendered  himself  peculiarly  obnoxious  to  the 
Catholics.  Mansfeld's  operations  were  rendered  less  effective 
^7  the  unexpected  desertion  of  the  ex-king  of  Bohemia,  who, 
at  the  instigation  of  Saxony,  implored  the  emperor's  pardon 
*nd  dismissed  his  troops.  Mansfeld,  without  money  or  credit, 
"ad  now  but  one  alternative,  and  threw  himself,  with  Chris- 
^n,  into  Champagne,  for  the  purpose  of  inspiring  Louis 
XlII.,  who  had  begun  to  persecute  the  Huguenots,  with 
alarm,  and  of  providing  himself  with  the  means  of  subsistence, 
^^  marched  thence  into  the  Netherlands  with  the  intention 
of  attacking  Spinola,  who  had  forced  the  Dutch  to  retreat 
^Pon  the  Rhine,  taken  Juliers,  and  was  besieging  Bergen-op- 
2ooin.  Although  pursued  by  Cordova,  they  fought  their 
^*y  in  the  Ardennes  through  the  insurgent  peasantry,  gained 


334  COUNT  MANSFBLDa 

a  brilliant  victory  over  the  united  forces  of  Cordova  and 
Spinola  at  Fleurus,  and  raised  the  siege  of  Bergen-op-Zoom. 
fVederick  of  Weimar,  who  had  ventured  to  join  the  evan- 
gelical fugitives,  fell  in  this  battle,  and  Christian  was  severely 
wounded.  The  winter  was  passed  in  East  Friesland,  where 
the  maintenance  of  the  troops  fell  heavily  on  the  unremu- 
nerated  peasantry.  Mansfeld  visited  London,  where  he  was 
received  with  great  acclamations,  in  the  hope  of  gaining  as- 
sistance from  England.  He  was  wrecked  during  his  return, 
and  saved  by  the  fidelity  of  his  friends  and  attendants,  sixty- 
six  in  number,  who  ceded  to  him  the  only  chance  of  escape, 
a  frail  boat,  which  bore  him  safely  to  land,  whilst  they  calmlj 
resigned  themselves  to  a  watery  grave. 

Mansfeld's  retreat  left  the  Upper  Rhine  a  prey  to  Tilly^s 
vengeance.  Heidelberg  was  stormed  by  his  savage  soldiery, 
by  whom  the  wretched  inhabitants  were  treated  with  horrid 
'  cruelty.  The  valuable  library  was  sent  by  Maximilian,  whose 
possession  of  Upper  Austria  began  to  excite  the  displeasure 
of  Ferdinand,  to  the  pope,  Gregory  XV.,  as  a  means  of  re- 
taining that  pontifiTs  favour.  The  precious  ancient  German 
manuscripts,  contained  in  this  library,  reached  Rome  in 
safety,  and  were  thus  saved  from  sharing  the  destruction  that, 
during  later  wars,  awaited  the  castle  of  Heidelberg,  where 
they  had  been  kept,  which  fell  a  prey  to  the  flames.  They 
were  sent  back  to  Heidelberg  in  1815.  Mannheim  was  taken 
by  storm  and  burnt  to  the  ground.  Frankenthal  capitulated. 
The  inhabitants  of  Germersheim,  although  the  troops  of  the 
Ffalz  had  evacuated  the  place,  were  butchered  by  the  impe-* 
rialists.  Catholicism  was  re-imposed  upon  the  whole  of  the 
Ffalz.  Nor  did  the  opposite  side  of  the  Rhine  escape. 
Strassburg  mainly  owed  the  preservation  of  her  liberty  of 
conscience  to  the  strength  of  her  walls,  but  the  greater  part 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Hagenau  and  Colmar  (Protestants)  were 
compelled  to  emigrate. 

Ferdinand,  with  the  view  of  realizing  the  projects,  the  exe- 
cution of  which  he  had  commenced  by  force,  by  means  of  ne- 
gotiation, and  the  promulgation  of  new  laws,  convoked  the 
electoral  princes  [a.  d.  1623]  to  Ratisbon.  This  was  no 
longer  a  diet,  but  an  aristocratic  assembly,  whence  the  other 
Estates  of  the  empire  were,  during  this  reign  of  terror,  arbi- 
trarily excluded  by  the  emperor,  who  hoped  to  succeed  in  his 


COUNT  MANSFELD.  335 

schemes  bj  the  sole  aid  of  the  princes.  His  first  object  was 
the  conclusion  of  a  treatj  with  Bavaria,  whom  he  hoped  to 
supersede  as  the  head  of  the  Catholic  party,  and  on  whom, 
bdug  compelled  to  reward  him  for  his  services,  he  bestowed 
the  Upper  Pfalz  in  fee  and  the  electoral  dignity,  but,  jealous 
of  his  power  and  influence,  retained  Rhenish  Pfalz  under  pre- 
text of  the  offence  a  grant  of  that  country  would  give  to 
Frederick's  father-in-law,  the  English  monarch.  In  order  to 
attach  the  minor  princes  to  his  person  and  by  their  means  to 
create  a  counterpoise  to  Bavaria,  he  bestowed  at  this  diet  the 
title  of  prince  on  the  Counts  von  Hohenzollern  and  great 
privileges  on  the  Counts  von  Fiirstenberg.  Rhenish  Pfalz 
merely  lost  the  wealthy  monastery  of  Lorsch,  which  was 
ceded  to  Mayence.  Maximilian,  forced  to  content  himself 
with  the  Upper  Pfalz,  of  which  he  took  possession  to  the 
great  dissatisfaction  of  the  inhabitants,  immediately  abolished 
the  ancient  constitution  and  banished  all  the  Protestant  in- 
habitants. Thus  ended  the  first  act  in  the  thirty  years' 
tragedy,  the  Calvinistic  and  Hussite  movement  in  Upper 
(^ermany,  which  the  Lutherans  in  Lower  Germany,  instead 
of  favouring,  had  aided  the  Catholics  to  oppose. 

Peace  was,  nevertheless,  still  out  of  the  question.  All  the 
bulwarks  of  the  Reformation  in  the  South  had  been  destroyed. 
The  North,  that  fondly  deemed  herself  secure,  was  next  to  be 
attacked.  The  cruel  fanaticism  of  the  emperor  and  the 
perfidy  of  Saxony  had  weakened  every  guarantee.  The 
^^^^  of  the  general  and  forcible  suppression  of  Protestantism 
throughout  Germany,  and  shame  for  their  inaction,  induced 
the  circle  of  Lower  Saxony  to  take  up  arms  and  to  seek  aid 
from  their  Protestant  brethren  in  England,  Denmark,  and 
Sweden.  Richelieu  was  at  this  time  at  the  head  of  afiairs  in 
France,  and,  although  as  a  cardinal  a  zealous  upholder  of 
Catholicism,  he  was  not  blind  to  the  opportunity  offered,  by 
supporting  the  German  Protestants  against  the  emperor,  for 
weakening  the  power  of  that  potentate,  partitioning  Germany, 
*nd  extending  the  French  territory  towards  the  Rhine.  The 
^naan  Lutherans,  insnared  by  his  intrigues,  blinded  by 
fear,  and  driven  to  this  false  step  by  the  despotism  and  per- 
"^y  of  the  emperor,  little  foresaw  the  immeasurable  misfor- 
tune foreign  interference  was  to  bring  upon  their  country. 
^Ilin,  the  French  plenipotentiary,  at  first  wished  to  place  the 


536  WALLENSTEIN. 

warlike  Swedish  monarch,  Gustavus  Adolphus,  at  the  head 
of  the  German  Protestants,  entered  into  alliance  with  Eng- 
land, and  gained  over  the  elector  of  Brandenburg,  who  pro- 
mised his  sister,  Catherine,  to  the  Russian  czar,  in  order  to 
keep  a  check  upon  Poland,  at  that  period  at  war  with  Sweden ; 
but  these  intrigues  were  frustrated  by  Christian  IV,,  king  of 
Denmark,  who  anticipated  the  Swedes  by  taking  up  arms 
and  placing  himself  at  the  head  of  the  movement.  Gustavus, 
at  that  time  engaged  with  Poland,  was  unable  to  interfere. 
The  Russian  match  was  broken  off,  [a.  d.  1625,]  and  the 
luckless  bride  was  given  in  marriage  to  the  aged  Bethlen 
Gabor. 

CCVI.     Wdllenstein, — The  Danish  campaign. 

War  with  Denmark  no  sooner  threatened  than  Ferdinand, 
to  the  great  discontent  of  Bavaria,  raised  an  army,  independent 
of  the  League,  by  the  assistance  of  a  Bohemian  nobleman, 
Albert  von  Wallenstein  (properly,  Waldstein).  This  noble- 
man belonged  to  a  Protestant  family,  and  had  been  bred  in 
that  faith.  He  had  acquired  but  a  scanty  supply  of  learning 
at  the  university  of  Goldberg  in  Silesia,  which  he  quitted  to 
enter  as  a  page  the  Catholic  court  of  Burgau.  Whilst  here 
he  fell,  when  asleep,  out  of  one  of  the  high  castle  windows 
without  receiving  any  injury.  He  afterwards  studied  the  dark 
sciences,  more  especially  astrology,  in  Italy,  and  read  his  fu- 
ture destiny,  of  which  he  had  had  a  secret  presentiment  from 
his  early  childhood,  in  the  stars.  He  commenced  his  career 
in  the  emperor's  service,  by  opposing  the  Turks  in  Hungary, 
where  he  narrowly  escaped  death  from  swallowing  a  love- 
potion  administered  to  him  by  Wiczkowa,  an  aged  but  ex- 
tremely wealthy  widow,  whom  he  had  married,  and  with 
whose  money  he  raised  a  regiment  of  curassiers  for  the  em- 
peror. His  popularity  was  so  great  in  Bohemia,  that  the 
Bohemians,  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  disturbances  in  Prague, 
appointed  him  their  general.  He,  nevertheless,  remained 
attached  to  the  imperial  service  and  greatly  distinguished 
himself  in  the  field  against  Mansfeld  and  Bethlen  Gabor. 
By  a  second  and  equally  rich  marriage  with  the  Countess 
Harrach  and  by  the  favour  of  the  emperor,  who  bestowed  upon 
him  Friedland  and  the  dignity  of  count  of  the  empire,  but 


WALLENSTEIN.  337 

chiefly  by  the  purchase  of  numberless  estates,  which,  on 
account  of  the  numerous  confiscations  and  emigrations,  were 
sold  in  Bohemia  at  merely  a  nominal  price,  and  by  the  adul- 
teration of  coin,*  Wallenstein  became  possessed  of  such 
enormous  wealth,  as  to  be,  next  to  the  emperor,  the  richest 
proprietor  in  the  empire.  The  emperor  requesting  him  to 
raise  a  body  of  ten  thousand  men,  he  levied  forty  thousand, 
an  army  of  that  magnitude  being  solely  able  to  provide  itself 
in  every  quarter  with  subsistence,  and  was,  in  return,  created 
duke  of  Friedland  and  generalissimo  of  the  imperial  forces. 
A  few  months  sufficed  for  the  levy  of  the  troops,  his  fame 
and  the  principles  on  which  he  acted  attracting  crowds  be- 
neath his  standard.  Every  religion,  but  no  priest,  was  toler- 
ated within  his  camp ;  the  strictest  discipline  was  enforced 
and  the  greatest  licence  permitted ;  merit  met  with  a  princely 
reward;  the  commonest  soldier,  who  distinguished  himself, 
was  promoted  to  the  highest  posts ;  and  around  the  person  of 
the  commander  was  spread  the  charm  of  mystery ;  he  was 
reported  to  be  in  league  with  the  powers  of  darkness,  to  be 
invulnerable,  and  to  have  enchained  victory  to  his  banner. 
Fortune  was  his  deity  and  the  motto  of  his  troops..  In  his 
person  he  was  tall  and  thin ;  his  countenance  was  sallow  and 
lowering ;  his  eyes  were  small  and  piercing,  his  forehead  was 
Wgh  and  commanding,  his  hair  short  and  bristling.  He  was 
anrrounded  with  mystery  and  silence.! 

'^^%>  jealous  of  Wallenstein's  fame,  hastened  to  anticipate 
that  leader  in  the  reduction  of  the  circle  of  Lower  Saxony. 
The  Danish  monarchy  who  held  Schleswig  and  Holstein  by 
"ght  of  inheritance,  and  Ditmarsch  by  that  of  conquest,  whilst 
Wa  son,  Frederick,  governed  the  bishoprics  of  Bremen  and 
Verden,  attempted  to  encroach  still  further  on  the  German 

*  He  purchased  property  to  the  amount  of  7,290,000  florins,  a  fifth  of 
jw  real  value,  and  the  coin  with  which  he  paid  for  it  was,  moreover,  so 
oad,  that  the  emperor  was  compelled  to  secure  him  against  enforced 
restitution  by  an  express  privilege. 

t  Two  portraits  of  this  singular  man  are  to  be  seen  at  Dux  near  Toep- 
•ni,  one  of  the  country  residences  of  the  present  counts  of  Waldstein. 
^ne  represents  him  as  a  fair  youth,  whose  smooth  and  open  brow  is  still 
'insuUied  by  crime ;  the  other  bears  the  dark  and  sinister  aspect  of  a 
jjian  whose  hands  have  been  imbrued  in  blood,  whose  seared  conscience 
nesitates  at  no  means,  however  base,  cruel,  or  unholy,  for  the  attainment 
w  his  purpose.    Trajjslator. 

▼OL.  II,  z 


338  WALLENSTEIN. 

empire  and  long  carried  on  a  contest  with  Lubeck  and  Ham'^ 
bnrg.  During  peace  time,  in  1619,  he  seized  the  free  town 
of  Stade,  under  the  pretext,  customary  in  those  times,  of  pro- 
tecting the  aristocratic  council  against  the  rebellious  citizens. 
He  also  built  Gliickstadt,  and  levied  high  customs  on  the  citi- 
zens of  Hamburg.  The  avarice  and  servility  of  the  princes 
of  Wolfenbiittel  and  Liineburg-Zelle  had  also  at  that  period 
rendered  them  contemptible  and  deprived  them  of  much  of 
their  former  power  and  influence.  Christian  the  Wild,  of 
Brunswick,  was  appointed  generalissimo  of  the  circle  of  Lower 
Saxony,  but  was  no  sooner  opposed  by  Tilly  than  his  brother, 
Greorge  Frederick  Ulric  of  Wolfenbiittel,  and  the  Danish  king, 
withdrew  their  troops  and  dissolved  the  confederacy.  Chris- 
tian, nevertheless,  still  kept  the  field  with  those  of  his  allies 
who  remained  faithful  to  him,  among  others,  William  and 
Bernard  of  Weimar,  and  a  bloody  engagement  took  place  at 
Stadtloo,  in  which  Tilly  was  victorious  and  William  of  Wei- 
mar was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner.  He  returned  to  East 
Friesland  to  Mansfeld.  The  noble  Danish  body-guard,  that 
h&d  been  sent  to  Wolfenbiittel,  was  attacked  and  driven  across 
the  frontier  by  the  enraged  German  peasantry,  and  the  Hanse 
towns,  flattered  by  the  emperor  and  embittered  against  Den- 
mark by  the  erection  of  Stade  and  Gliickstadt,  were  almost 
the  first  to*recall  their  troops  and  to  desist  from  opposition, 
whilst  George  of  Luneburg,  attracted  by  the  report  of  the 
great  arrondissements  projected  by  the  emperor,  preferred 
gain  to  loss  and  formally  seceded. 

The  Danish  monarch  now  found  himself  totally  unprotected, 
and,  in  order  to  guard  his  German  acquisitions  in  case  Bruns- 
wick followed  the  example  of  the  Hansa  and  embraced  the 
imperial  party,  set  himself  up  as  a  liberator  of  Germany,  in 
which  he  was  countenanced  and  upheld  by  England,  Holland, 
and  Richelieu,  the  omnipotent  minister  of  France.  He,  never- 
theless, greatly  undervalued  the  simultaneous  revolt  of  the 
Upper  Austrians,  to  whom  he  impolitically  offered  no  assist- 
ance. The  German  princes  remained  tranquil  and  left  the 
Dane  unaided.  The  Hessian  peasantry  rose  in  Tilly's  rear, 
and  those  of  Brunswick,  enraged  at  the  cowardly  desertion  of 
the  cause  of  religion  by  the  princes  and  the  nobility,  killed 
numbers  of  his  soldiery  in  the  SoUinger  forest,  captured  the 
garrisons  of  Dassel  and  Bodenwerder,  seized  a  large  convoy 


WALLENSTEIN.  339 

sear  Eimbeck,  destroyed  the  castles  of  all  the  fugitiTe  nobility, 
and  hunted  George's  consort,  the  daughter  of  the  treacherous 
Louis  of  Darmstadt,  from  one  place  of  refuge  to  another.  The 
citizens  of  Hanover,  where  the  magistrate  was  about  to  capi- 
tulate to  Tilly,  also  flew  to  arms  and  appointed  John  Earnest 
of  Weimar  commandant  of  their  city,  A.  d.  1625. 

Tidy,  at  first  worsted  at  Niemburg  by  the  Danish  general, 
Obeotraut,  who  fell  shortly  afterwards  at  Seelze,  spread  the 
terror  of  his  name  throughout  Hesse,  Brunswick,  and  the  rest 
of  the  Lutheran  provinces.  The  Spaniards  in  the  Nether- 
iands,  encouraged  by  this  example,  again  resorted  to  their  an- 
cient practices,  and,  during  the  winter  of  1626,  Henry,  Count 
Ton  Berg,  made  an  inroad,  still  unforgotten  by  the  Dutch,  into 
the  Velau,  where  he  burnt  down  the  villages,  butchered  all 
the  men,  and  left  the  women  and  children  naked  and  houseless, 
exposed  to  the  inclemency  of  the  season. 

In  the  ensuing  year,  the  approach  of  Wallenstein  caused 
Tilly,  anxious  to  bind  the  laurels  of  victory  around  his  own 
brow,  to  bring  the  Danish  campaign  to  a  hasty  close,  and, 
taking  advantage  of  the  state  of  inactivity  to  which  the  Danish 
monarch  was  reduced  by  a  fall  from  horseback,  seized  Hameln 
and  Minden,  where  the  powder  magazine  blew  up  during  the 
attack  and  destroyed  the  whole  garrison,  consisting  of  two 
thousand  five  hundred  men,  a.  d.  1627.  Havelberg,  Gottin- 
gen,  and  Hanover  next  fell  into  his  hands,  and  a  pitched  bat- 
tle was  fought  on  the  Barenberg  near  Lutter,  which  termin- 
ated in  the  rout  of  the  whole  of  the  Danish  forces  and  the 
surrender  of  Holstein. 

Mansfeld  and  John  Earnest  of  Weimar,  too  weak,  notwith- 
standing the  reinforcements  sent  to  their  aid  by  England  and 
Holland,  to  take  the  field  against  Wallenstein,  who,  at  the 
head  of  a  wild  and  undisciplined  army  of  sixty  thousand  men, 
was  advancing  upon  Lower  Germany,  attempted  to  draw  him 
through  Silesia  into  Hungary  and  to  carry  the  war  into  the 
hereditary  provinces  of  the  emperor,  but  were  overtaken  and 
defeated  on  the  bridge  of  Dessau.  Mansfeld,  nevertheless, 
fscaped  into  Silesia,  where  his  popularity  was  so  great,  that 
in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  he  found  himself  once  more  at 
the  head  of  an  army  consisting  of  twenty  thousand  evangeli- 
cal volunteers,  four  thousand  Mecklenburgers,  and  three  thou- 
sand Scots  and  Danes.     Wallenstein  pursued  him,  and  the 

z  2 


340  WALLENSTEIN. 

contending  armies  lay  for  some  time  in  sight  of  each  other  on 
the  Waag,  without  venturing  an  engagement.  Wallenstein, 
meanwhile,  gained  over  the  Hungarian  king,  and  Mansfeld, 
once  more  abandoned,  attempted  to  escape  to  Venice,  but, 
worn  out  by  chagrin  and  fatigue,  expired,  standing  upright  in 
his  armour,  at  Uracowicz,  in  Bosnia.  He  was  buried  at  Spa- 
latro.  His  ally,  John  Earnest  of  Weimar,  died  in  Hungary. 
A  body  of  his  troops  under  Colonel  Baudis  fought  their  way, 
although  opposed  even  by  Brandenburg,  to  Denmark.  Beth- 
len  Gabor  expired,  a.  d.  1629,  leaving  no  issue. 

The  triumph  of  the  Catholics  was  complete.  As  early  as 
1625,  a  jubilee  had  been  solemnized  and  public  prayers  for 
the  extirpation  of  the  heretics  had  been  ordained  throughout 
the  whole  of  the  Catholic  world  by  the  pope.  Urban  VEQ., 
who  also  founded  the  celebrated  Propaganda,  congregatio  de 
propaganda  Jide,  whose  members  were  instructed  in  the  task,, 
whenever  violence  failed,  of  alluring  apostates,  more  especially 
the  princes,  back  to  the  bosom  of  the  one  true  church. 

The  Protestant  cause  was  lost.  The  more  powerful  and  in- 
fluential among  the  princes  of  the  Lutheran  Union  had  turned 
traitors  ;  the  lesser  potentates  had,  after  a  futile  contest,  been 
compelled  to  yield.  Christian  of  Brunswick  expired  at  Wolf- 
enbiittel.  The  Margrave  of  Baden  had  fled  into  Denmark* 
Maurice  of  Hesse  was  finally  reduced  to  submission  by  Tilly, 
and  died,  [a.  d.  1632,]  after  abdicating  in  favour  of  his  son, 
William,  who,  not  bound,  like  his  father,  by  an  oath  to  main- 
tain tranquillity,  was  free  to  seize  any  opportunity  that  oflered 
during  the  war  for  his  restoration  to  power.  The  Hessian  no- 
bility, supported  by  Tilly,  had  acquired  great  privileges  by 
the  stipulations  of  the  peace  concluded  between  that  general 
and  Maurice,  of  which  they  made  use  to  raise  a  tumult  against 
their  sturdy  opponent,  Wolfgang  Gunther,  the  Landgrave*s 
privy-counsellor,  whom  they  sentenced  to  execution. 

The  opposition  offered  by  the  people  had  also  been  stifled  in 
blood.  The  peasants  in  Upper  Austria  and  Brunswick  had 
fallen  a  prey  to  the  soldiery,  and  an  insurrection  of  the  Bohe- 
mian peasantry,  under  Christopher  von  Redern,  who  had 
taken  KoBnigsgraetz  by  storm  and  laid  waste  the  property  of 
Wallenstein's  brother-in-law,  Teraki,  was  speedily  quelled ; 
five  hundred  were  slain,  the  rest  branded  and  deprived  of  their 


WALLENSTEIN.  341 

Wallenstein  became  the  soul  of  the  intrigaes  carried  on  in 
the  camps  and  in  the  little  courts  of  Northern  German j,  and 
had  not  the  Catholics,  like  the  Protestants  at  an  earlier  period, 
heen  blinded  bj  petty  jealousies,  Europe  would  have  been 
moulded  by  his  quick  and  comprehensive  genius  into  another 
form.  He  demanded  a  thorough  reaction,  an  unconditional 
restoration  of  the  ancient  imperial  power,  a  monarchy  abso- 
lute as  that  of  France  and  Spain.  In  order  to  carry  out  his 
project  for  securing  the  submission  of  the  southern  provinces 
of  Germany  to  the  imperial  rule  by  the  firm  and  peaceable 
possession  of  those  in  the  north,  the  seat  of  opposition,  he  in- 
vaded Holstein,  defeated  the  Margrave  of  Baden  near  Aal- 
borg,  and  made  Christian  IV.  tremble  in  Copenhagen.  Tilly, 
meanwhile,  garrisoned  the  coasts  of  the  Baltic  and  seized 
Stade,  whilst  Arnheim,  with  the  Saxon  troops  sent  by  the 
elector  to  Wallenstein's  aid,  held  the  island  of  Riigen.  Ros- 
tock fell  into  the  hands  of  Wallenstein,  John  Albert,  and 
Adolf  Frederick  of  Mecklenburg  were  driven  out  of  the 
country,  Stralsund  was  besieged,  and  the  people  were  laid 
under  heavy  contributions.  Wallenstein  had  already  come  to 
an  understanding  with  Poland,  and  the,  Hanse  towns  were 
drawn  into  his  interests  by  a  promise  of  the  annihilation  of 
the  Dutch,  of  the  traffic  of  the  whole  world  being  diverted 
from  Amsterdam  to  Hamburg,*  and  of  the  monopoly  of  the 
whole  of  the  commerce  of  Spain.  The  emperor,  in  order  to 
counterpoise  the  power  of  the  ancient  princely  families  which 
threatened  to  contravene  the  schemes  laid  for  his  aggrandize- 
ment by  his  favourite,  bestowed  upon  him  the  principality  of 
Sagan,  in  Silesia,  and  the  whole  of  Mecklenburg,  whilst  he  in 
his  turn  proposed  to  gain  the  crown  of  Denmark  for  his 
master,  to  create  Tilly  duke  of  Brunswick-Calenberg  and 
Pappenheiin  duke  of  Wolfenbuttel,  and,  in  order  to  evade 
George's  pretensions,  that  prince  was  sent  to  Italy  under  pre- 
tence of  securing  the  succession  of  the  petty  duchy  of  Mantua 
for/ the  emperor. 

Wallenstein's  projects  were,  nevertheless,  frustrated  by  his 
own  party.  The  emperor  objected  to  the  Danish  crown  as 
too  precarious  a  possession,  whilst  Tilly,  a  zealous  Catholic 
^d  Jesuit,  the  slave  of  his  order,  by  which  the  schemes  of  the 

*  These'  promises  were  indeed  vain ;  the  last  Hanseatic  diet  was  held, 
A.  0. 1630.    The  Hansa  had  fallen  never  again  to  rise. 


342  WALLENSTEHSr. 

duke  of  Friedland  were  viewed  with  saspicioiiy  and  which 
solely  aimed  at  the  suppression  of  the  Befonnation,  not  that  of 
the  princely  aristocracy,  which  it  hoped  to  restore  to  the 
Catholic  Church,  gave  lum  but  lukewarm  aid,  and  his  attempts 
upon  Stralsund  were,  consequently,  unsuccessful,  and,  after 
losing  twelve  thousand  men,  he  was  compelled  to  raise  the 
siege. 

The  Danes  were,  meanwhile,  forced  by  the  treaty  of 
Lubeck  [a.  d.  1629]  to  abandon  the  Protestant  cause.  Den- 
mark, actuated  by  jealousy  of  Sweden,  consented  to  all  the 
terms  proposed,  and  a  marriage  between  Ulric,  the  crown 
prince  of  Denmark,  and  Wallenstein's  only  daughter,  was  even 
agitated.  Arnheim  was  sent  to  aid  Poland  against  Sweden. 
England,  whose  king,  James  II.,  had  been  won  over  by 
the  Jesuits,  also  abandoned  the  Protestant  cause. 

The  heroic  defence  of  Stralsund  decided  the  fate  of  Eu- 
rope. Wallenstein's  pride  received  a  deep  blow.  The  em- 
peror, already  doubtful  of  his  fidelity,  now  lost  his  belief  in 
his  unvarying  good  fortune  and  threw  himself  into  the  arms 
of  the  Jesuits,  who  chiefly  dreaded  a  schism-  among  the 
Catholics.  Maximilian  of  Bavaria,  jealous  of  the  supremacy 
of  Austria,  had  already  entered  into  negotiation  with  Biche* 
lieu  and  even  with  the  Lutheran  princes,  and  threatened  to 
take  the  field  against  the  emperor,  were  Wallenstein  further 
permitted  to  exercise  arbitrary  rule  throughout  the  empire 
and  to  treat  the  dignities  and  privileges  of  the  princes  with 
contempt.  Richelieu  also  dreaded  the  unity  of  Germany,  and 
ofiered  to  invade  the  empire  in  order  to  curb  Wallenstein, 
whose  genius  he  dreaded,  by  force. 

.  The  emperor,  undeterred  by  repeated  warnings,  abandoned 
his  great  general,  and  published,  [a.  d.  1629,]  in  the  spirit  of 
the  League,  the  infamous  edict,  enforcing  the  restitution  of  all 
ecclesiastical  property  confiscated  since  the  treaty  of  Passau. 
By  this  edict  the  Protestant  archbishoprics  of  Magdeburg  and 
Bremen,  the  bishoprics  of  Halberstadt,  Minden,  LUbeck, 
Ratzeburg,  Merseburg,  Meissen,  Naumburg,  Brandenburg, 
Havelberg,  Lebus,  Cammin,  and  numberless  monastic  lands, 
were  restored  to  the  Catholics.  The  imperial  commissioners 
intrusted  with  the  execution  of  the  edict,  protected  by  the 
Friedlanders  and  Leaguers,  exercised  the  greatest  tyranny, 
enforcing  the  restoration  of  lands  confiscated  prior  to  the  term 


WALLENSTEIN.  343 

fixed  and  the  recantation  of  their  proprietors.  The  Catholic 
ritual  was  re-established  in  all  the  free  imperial  cities,  even 
in  those  where,  as  ,for  instance  in  Augsburg,  it  had  been 
abolished  and  replaced  bj  that  of  Luther  long  before  the 
treaty  of  Passau.  The  emperor  appropriated  the  greater  part 
of  the  booty  to  his  own  family,  and  encouraged  plurality  by 
appointing  his  son,  Leopold,  archbishop,  and  bishop  of  Bre- 
men, Magdeburg,  Halberstadt,  Passau,  Strasburg,  and  abbot 
of  Hersfeld,  which  placed  all  those  rich  ecclesiastical  demesnes 
in  his  hands,  and  thus,  whilst  seemingly  defending  religion 
against  the  political  egotism  of  the  Protestant  princes,  emulated 
them  in  Stripping  the  church.  The  whole  of  the  confiscated 
monastic  property,  without  distinction,  fell  to  the  Jesuits. 

Lay  property  shared  a  similar  fate.  Every  nobleman  who 
bad  served  under  Frederick  of  Bohemia,  Mansfeld,  or  Bruns- 
wick, was  deprived  of  his  estates,  and  the  emperor's  and  the 
Leaguers'  troops,  under  pretext  of  protecting  the  commissioners 
in  the  performance  of  their  duty,  were  stationed  in  and 
allowed  to  pillage  the  Protestant  provinces.  The  Catholics, 
nevertheless,  generally  viewed  their  success  with  distrust,  and 
it  was  remarked  that,  in  Wurtemberg,  the  monasteries,  instead 
of  being  taken  into  possession,  were  merely  plundered,  that  the 
booty  was  carried  into  Bavaria  and  Austria,  that  even  the 
forests  were  cleared  and  the  timber  sold.  John  Frederick, 
duke  of  Wurtemberg,  had  expired,  A.  d.  1628,  leaving  his 
infant  son,  Eberhard  III.,  under  the  guardianship  of  his  uncle, 
Louis  Frederick,  who  died  shortly  afterwards  of  chagrin  at 
the  devastation  of  his  territories. 

The  cruelty  and  tyranny  practised  by  the  emperor  remained 
wboUy  unopposed  by  the  Protestant  princes.  The  city  of 
Magdeburg  alone  maintained  her  ancient  fame  by  defending 
her  walls  against  the  whole  of  the  imperial  forces.  The  free 
imperial  cities  had  been  delivered  up  to  the  emperor  and  were 
purposely  unrepresented  in  the  council  of  princes,  which 
usurped  the  prerogatives  of  a  diet  of  the  empire,  held  at  Ratis* 
bon,  A.  D.  1630.  The  restoration  of  the  ecclesiastical  property 
jorely  displeased  the  Lutheran  princes.  Saxony  and  Branden- 
^ui'g  beheld  with  pain  the  archbishoprics  and  bishoprics  in 
the  north  torn  from  their  families  and  bestowed  upon  the  Arch' 
duke  Leopold,  Hildesheim  on  Prince  Ferdinand  of  Bavaria, 
elector  of  Cologne,  Minden  and  Verden  on  Francis  William, 


344  WALLEXSTEIN. 

Count  von  Wurtenberg,  (a  side-branch  of  the  Bavarian  dy- 
nasty,) who,  as  commissioner  for  the  whole  of  Northern  Got- 
many,  superintended  the  execution  of  the  edict.  But  their 
dread  of  Wallenstein  smoothed  every  difficulty.  The  elector 
of  Saxony  and  all  the  Lutheran  princes,  bribed  with  Wallen- 
stein's  dismissal,  gave  their  consent  to  the  edict  and  tolerated 
its  transgression  in  the  free  imperial  cities.  The  complaints 
against  his  administration  were  studiously  brought  forward, 
as  if  to  veil  the  robberies  committed  under  the  edict.  The 
duke  of  Friedland  was  made  the  scapegoat  for  the  crimes  of 
others.  The  man,  to  whom  the  emperor  owed  all  he  possessed, 
was  dismissed,  A.  d.  1630.  Nor  was  this  the  least  important 
triumph  of  the  princely  aristocracy  over  aU  the  contending 
parties  in  Germany  in  the  course  of  this  century.  The  hope 
of  restoring  the  unity  of  the  empire  was  once  more  frustrated 
and  the  ancient  polyarchy  saved. 

Gustavus  Adolphus,  king  of  Sweden,  landed  at  this  con- 
juncture on  the  coast  of  Pomerania.  His  arrival  was  viewed 
with  pleasure  by  the  cabinet  of  Vienna,  as  a  means  of  hum- 
bling Bavaria  and  the  League,  and,  in  case  of  necessity,  Wal- 
lenstein would  still  be  able  to  raise  the  Austrian  standard  when 
Bavaria  and  Sweden  should  have  mutually  weakened  one  an- 
other. Wallenstein's  offer  to  defend  the  coasts  in  his  right 
as  Prince  of  Mecklenburg  was  rejected,  and  he  withdrew, 
with  the  wealth  he  had  amassed,  to  Prague. 

A  groundless  fear  of  opposition  on  the  part  of  Wallenstein 
had  induced  the  emperor  to  draw  off  twenty  thousand  of  his 
men,  and  to  send  them  into  Italy  in  order  to  secure  to  the 
imperial  house  the  succession  to  the  duchy  of  Mantua,  to 
which  Charles,  duke  of  Nevers,  a  French  prince,  laid  claim. 
France  eagerly  seized  this  opportunity  to  take  a  footing  in 
Italy.  The  pope.  Urban  VIII.,  a  worldly-minded,  warlike, 
intriguing  prince,  and  Venice,  alarmed  at  the  emperor's  suc- 
cesses in  Germany  and  dreading  anew  the  supremacy  of 
Austria  in  Italy,  leagued  with  France  and  countenanced  the 
invasion  of  Northern  Germany  by  Sweden.  The  concessions 
made  by  the  emperor  to  Bavaria  probably  arose  from  a  dread 
of  Maximilian's  open  accession  to  this  dangerous  confederacy. 
Ferdinand,  meanwhile,  enraged  at  the  defiance  of  his  power 
by  the  Italians,  levied  a  numerous  body  of  troops  for  the  re- 
lief of  Spinola,  who  with  difficulty  kept  his  ground  in  Upper 


GUSTAVUS  ADOLPHUS.  345 

Italj,  and,  after  gallantly  defending  Casale,  died  of  chagrin, 
caused  bj  the  ingratitude  with  which  he  was  treated  by  the 
Spanish  court.  The  imperialists  were  victorious,  took  Man- 
tffa,  which  was  strongly  fortified,  by  storm,  and  committed 
the  most  horrid  outrages  in  the  city  and  its  vicinity.  The 
duchy  was,  nevertheless,  ceded  to  Nevers  for  the  purpose  of 
conciliating  France  and  of  securing  the  allegiance  of  Bavaria, 
which  threatened  to  side  with  France  unless  Mantua  was 
sacrificed.  The  accession  of  Savoy  to  his  party,  through 
dread  of  the  supremacy  of  France,  little  availed  the  emperor, 
that  duke  being  compelled  to  cede  to  France  some  of  the  most 
important  passages  into  Italy,  Piquerol,  Riva,  and  Perouse. 
In  this  war,  six  thousand  Swiss  fought  under  French  colours. 
It  also  appears  that  the  Catholic  generals  at  that  period  in 
Italy,  Gallas,  Altringer,  Colalto,  Egon  von  Fiirstenberg,  en- 
tered into  the  Jesuitical  conspiracy  and  were  ever  false  friends 
to  Wallenstein.  George  von  Liineburg,  who  had  been  sent 
to  Italy,  and  had  there  become  acquainted  with  the  treacher- 
ous projects  cherished  by  the  pope  and  the  Jesuits  and  the 
chequered  fate  of  his  inheritance,  repented  of  his  treason, 
sought  a  pretext  for  his  return,  and  fled  to  the  Swede. 

The  cowardly  Lutheran  princes,  before  the  dissolution  of 
the  council  of  princes  at  Ratisbon,  deemed  themselves  called 
upon  to  make  some  demonstration  in  favour  of  their  oppressed 

religion,  and protested  against  the  improved  Gregorian 

calendar,  for  which  they  evinced  far  deeper  horror  than  for 
the  edict  of  restitution. 

GCVIL   Gustavus  Adolphus, 

From  Holland  to  the  mountains  of  Carniola,  from  Prussia 
to  the  Bernese  Alps,  wherever  German  was  spoken,  had  the 
tenets  of  Luther  and  Calvin  spread  and  found  a  harbour  in 
the  hearts  of  the  people.  Bavaria  and  the  Tyrol  excepted, 
every  province  throughout  Germany  had  battled  for  liberty 
of  conscience,  and  yet  the  whole  of  Germany,  notwithstand- 
ing her  universal  inclination  for  the  Reformation,  had  been 
deceived  in  her  hopes,  a  second  imperial  edict  seemed  likely 
to  crush  the  few  remaining  privileges  spared  by  the  edict  of 
restitution,  and  Magdeburg  alone,  with  unflinching  persever- 
ance, ventured  to  oppose  the  imperial  commands. 


346  GUSTAVU8  ADOLPHUS. 

Gustavas  Adolphas,  one  of  the  most  zealoas  and  conscien- 
tious of  the  advocates  of  the  Reformation,  reigned  at  that 
time  in  Sweden.  His  father,  Charles,  a  younger  brother  of 
King  John,  of  the  house  of  Wasa,  had  been  placed  on  the 
throne  bj  the  Protestant  Swedes  instead  of  the  actual  heir, 
Sigismund,  king  of  Poland,  who  had  embraced  Catholicism. 
The  attempt  made  bj  Maurice  of  Hesse,  in  1615,  to  place 
Gustavus,  then  a  youth,  at  the  head  of  the  Union,  had  been 
frustrated  by  the  jealousy  of  Denmark  and  the  war  between 
Sweden  and  Poland,  which  terminated  in  Sigismund's  defeat 
and  the  annexation  of  Livonia  to  Sweden.  Riga  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Swedish  monarch,  A.  d.  1621.  Elbing  shared 
the  same  fate.  Dantzig  offered  a  successful  resistance.  The 
elector  of  ^Brandenburg,  Poland's  vassal,  preserved  a  strict 
neutrality.  Gustavus,  on  the  defeat  of  Denmark,  no  longer 
hesitated  in  joining  the  German  Protestants.  His  flag  speedily 
waved  in  Stralsund.  Amheim,  (Amim,)  sent  by  Wallenstein 
to  the  aid  of  Poland,  was  at  first  successful,  but  was  after- 
wards defeated  at  Marienburg  by  Gustavus,  whose  army  was 
reinforced  by  numbers  of  imperial  deserters.  The  elector  of 
Brandenburg,  bribed  by  the  cession  of  Marienburg  and  Wer- 
der,  forgot  his  jealousy  and  passed  from  neutrality  to  demon- 
strations of  amity.  Peace  was,  by  the  intervention  of  France, 
finally  concluded  with  Poland  and  Denmark,  and  Gustavus, 
urged  by  his  sincere  piety,  resolved  to  take  up  arms  in  de- 
fence of  Protestantism  and  to  free  Germany  from  the  yoke 
imposed  by  the  Jesuits.  The  love  of  fame  and  the  chance  of 
placing  the  imperial  crown  on  his  own  brow  were  other,  but 
secondary  inducements.  His  military  genius,  developed  in 
the  war  with  Poland,  the  internal  state  of  Germany,  and  the 
excellence  of  his  well-disciplined  troops,  inured  to  hardship 
and  fatigue,  accustomed  to  victory,  and  filled  with  enthusiasm 
for  their  faith  and  for  their  king,  vouched  for  his  success.  In 
his  army  were  several  Grerman  refugees  of  distinction,  the 
grey-headed  Count  Thurn  and  his  gallant  son,  who  died  of 
fever  during  this  expedition.  Otto  Louis,  Rheingrave  of  Salm, 
and  the  three  brave  Livonian  brothers,  Rosen.  The  cause  for 
which  he  fought  had,  it  is  true,  gained  for  him  the  hearts  of 
the  Protestant  population  throughout  Germany ;  his  arrival 
was,  nevertheless,  viewed  with  greater  dissatisfaction  by  the 
Protestant  princes  than  by  either  of  the  Catholic  parties.   The 


GUSTAVUS  AD0LPHU8.  347 

League,  France,  Bavaria,  and  the  pope  hoped,  by  means  of  the 
Swede,  to  reduce  the  emperor  to  submission,  whibt  the  em- 
peror and  Wallenstein  on  their  side  secretly  aimed  at  weaken- 
ing the  League  by  similar  means ;  both  sides,  consequently, 
greatly  favoured  Gustavus's  chance  of  success  by  their  hesi- 
tation in  taking  strong  measures  against  him.  The  greatest 
obstacles  were,  on  the  contrary,  thrown  in  his  way  by  the 
Protestant  princes,  whom  he  came  to  defend,  and  who  refused 
to  second  his  efforts.  The  extension  and  confirmation  of  the 
power  of  Sweden  to  the  north  were,  in  point  of  fact,  at  the 
sole  expense  of  Brandenburg,  of  the  house  of  Guelph,  and  of 
that  of  Saxony.  The  jealousy  with  which  the  German  princes 
viewed  the  entry  of  a  warUke  and  powerful  neighbour  on 
their  territory  was  also  natural ;  their  late  reconciliation  with 
the  emperor,  moreover,  rendered  them  peculiarly  disinclined 
to  favour  the  Swedish  expedition,  by  which  the  flames  of  war 
were  again  to  be  lighted  throughout  unhappy  Germany,  where 
every  province,  ancient  Bavaria  and  the  Tyrol  alone  ex- 
cepted, had  been  ravaged  by  fire,  sword,  and  pillage  during 
the  reUgious  war.  A  dreadSful  famine,  caused  by  the  Mans- 
feld  expedition,  by  the  rapine  of  Wallenstein's  soldiery,  and  by 
the  pillage  carried  on  by  the  Jesuits,  raged  in  Silesia ;  the 
citizens  and  peasantry  died  by  thousands  of  starvation,  and 
many  instances  occurred  of  parents  devouring  their  children, 
and  of  brethren  destroying  one  another  for  the  last  mouthful 
of  bread.  This  misery,  fearful  as  it  was,  was,  however,  a 
mere  prelude  to  the  horrors  that  ensued.  The  arrival  of  the 
Swedish  king  was  but  the  opening  of  the  war. 

Gustavus  Adolphus  cast  anchor  on  the  24th  of  June,  1630, 
the  anniversary  of  the  Confession  of  Augsburg,  near  to  the 
little  island  of  Ruden,  and  landed,  during  a  violent  thunder- 
storm, at  Usedom.  His  army  consisted  of  sixteen  thousand 
men,  comprising  forty  German  companies,  under  Colonels 
Falkenberg,  Diedrich,  Holl,  Kniphausen,  Mitchefahl.  His 
first  object  was  to  take  firm  footing  in  Fomerania  and  Meck- 
lenburg. Bozislaw,  duke  of  Fomerania,  was,  accordingly, 
compelled  to  join  his  cause,  and  the  imperial  garrisons  were 
driven  out  of  the  minor  towns  during  the  winter  of  1631. 
Torquato  Conti,  the  imperial  stadtholder  in  Fomerania,  un- 
able to  keep  his  ground,  laid  the  whole  country  waste  during 
his  retreat.     Tilly  evinced  no  anxiety  to  oppose  the  advance 


348  GUSTAVUS  ADOLPHUS. 

of  the  Swedes,  but  Pappenheim,  unable  to  restrain  his  im- 
patience, attacked  Charles,  duke  of  Lauenburg,  who  bad  ven- 
tured, in  the  service  of  the  Swedes,  as  far  as  Ratzeburg,  and 
carried  him  off  prisoner.  New  Brandenburg,  Demmin,  where 
he  took  the  duke  di  Savelli  captive,  Gartz,  Wolgast,  Anclam, 
Stargard,  Colberg,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Swedish  king. 
Mecklenburg,  and  the  ancient  Hanse  towns,  Griefswald  and 
Rostock,  were  still  maintained  by  the  imperialists. 

The  vain  negotiations  between  Bavaria,  the  pope,  and  France 
were  at  length  terminated  by  the  necessity  of  opposing  the 
Swedes,  and  Tilly  received  orders  to  take  the  field.  New 
Brandenburg  was  speedily  retaken,  but  the  perfidy  with  which 
he,  contrary  to  the  terms  of  capitulation,  butchered  two 
thousand  of  the  Swedes,  was  bitterly  avenged  on  the  capture 
of  Frankfurt  on  the  Oder  by  Gustavus,  who,  as  a  warning  to 
Tilly  to  desist  from  imitating  the  cruel  practices  of  the  Croa- 
tians  during  war,  put  two  thousand  of  the  imperialists  to  the 
sword.  Numbers  of  the  fugitives  were  drowned  in  the  Oder, 
the  bridge  giving  way  beneath  the  crowd. 

A  treaty  was,  meanwhile,  concluded  at  Baerwald  between 
Gustavus  and  the  French  monarch,  who  promised  to  pay  him 
annually  the  sum  of  four  hundred  thousand  dollars  and  to 
grant  him  his  aid,  now  rendered  requisite  owing  to  the  luke- 
warmness  of  the  Lutheran  princes  ;  and  Gustavus,  deeply 
disgusted  at  their  conduct,  was  alone  withheld  from  aban- 
doning his  purpose,  from  returning  to  Sweden  and  coming  to 
terms  with  the  emperor,  by  the  consciousness  that  to  him 
alone  did  Magdeburg  and  the  people  throughout  Germany 
look  for  succour.  The  electors  of  Brandenburg  and  Saxony 
brought  about  a  council  of  princes  at  Leipzig,  in  which  they 
sought  to  persuade  the  princes  of  Northern  Grermany,  Lu- 
therans and  Calvinists,  who,  on  this  occasion,  offered  an  ex- 
ample of  rare  unity,  to  maintain  a  system  of  armed  neutrality 
and  to  await  the  course  of  events  in  order  to  turn  them  to 
their  own  advantage.  The  emperor,  who,  meanwhile,  pur- 
sued a  similar  policy,  made  every  effort  to  gain  over  the 
neutral  princes,  more  particularly  Saxony,  who,  in  return, 
insolently  renewed  his  ancient  complaints.  The  urgent  en- 
treaties of  Gustavus  Adolphus  for  aid  from  Saxony  before 
Magdeburg  fell  were  equally  futile ;  the  elector  shared  the 
hatred  cherished  by  the  rest  of  the  princes  against  the  free 


GUSTAVU8  ADOLPHUS.  349 

towns  and  gloried  in  their  destruction.  The  citizens  of  Mag- 
deburg, meanwhile,  performed  prodigies  of  valour.  Although 
twice  besieged  since  1629  by  Altringer  and  bj  Pappenheim, 
they  repulsed,  unaided,  every  attack.  As  early  as  1621,  the 
citizens  had  given  themselves  a  more  liberal  constitution,  and 
it  was  not  until  they  were  threatened  with  destruction  that  an 
imperial  party  created  a  schism  among  them.  Falkenberg 
was  sent  by  Gustavus  to  take  the  command  of  the  city,  which 
he  entered  after  passing  through  the  enemy's  camp  disguised 
as  a  skipper.  The  princes  of  Hesse  and  Weimar  were  alone 
withheld  from  aiding  the  city  by  their  inability  to  cope  with 
Tilly,  who,  at  the  head  of  an  immense  body  of  troops,  closely 
blockaded  the  walls,  and,  notwithstanding  the  desperate  de- 
fence made  by  the  citizens,  gradually  took  all  the  outworks. 
During  the  night  of  the  20th  of  May,  1631,  whilst  Falkenberg 
was  engaged  in  the  council-house  opposing  the  imperial  party 
among  the  citizens,  who  loudly  insisted  upon  capitulating,  Pap- 
penheim, unknown  to  Tilly,  mounted  an  unguarded  part  of  the 
walls,  and,  being  speedily  followed  by  the  rest  of  the  imperial 
troops,  poured  suddenly  through  the  streets.  Falkenberg  in- 
stantly rushed  to  their  rencontre  and  was  shot.  The  citizens, 
although  without  a  leader  or  a  plan  of  defence,  fought  from 
street  to  street  with  all  the  energy  of  despair,  until  over- 
whelmed by  numbers.  The  soldiery,  maddened  by  opposition, 
spared  neither  age  nor  sex.  Some  of  the  officers,  who  entreated 
Tilly  to  put  a  stop  to  the  massacre,  were  told  to  return  to  him 
on  the  expiration  of  an  hour.  The  most  horrid  scenes  were 
meanwhile  enacted.  Every  man  in  the  city  was  killed, 
numbers  of  women  cast  themselves  headlong  into  the  Elbe 
and  into  the  fames  of  the  burning  houses  in  order  to  escape  the 
brutality  of  the  soldiery ;  fifty-three  women  were  beheaded 
by  the  Croatians  whilst  kneeling  in  the  church  of  St.  Cather- 
ine. One  Croat  boasted  of  having  stuck  twenty  babes  on  his 
pike.  One  hundred  and  thirty-seven  houses  and  the  fire-proof 
cathedral,  in  which  four  thousand  men  took  refuge,  were  all 
that  remained  of  the  proud  city.  The  rest  of  the  inhabitants 
had  fallen  victims  to  the  sword  or  to  the  flames.  The  slaughter 
continued  until  the  22nd,  when  Tilly  appeared  and  restored 
^scipline  and  order.  The  refugees  in  the  cathedral  were 
pardoned  and  for  the  first  time  for  three  days  received  food. 
^%>  a  tall  haggard-looking  man,  dressed  in  a  short  slashed 


850  GUSTAVUS  ADOLPHUS. 

green  satin  jacket,  with  a  long  red  feather  in  his  high-crowned 
hat,  with  brge  bright  eyes  peering  from  beneath  his  deeply 
furrowed  brow,  a  stiff  moustache  under  his  pointed  nose, 
ghastly,  hollow-cheeked,  and  with  a  seeming  affectation  of 
wildness  in  his  whole  appearance,  sat,  mounted  on  a  bony 
charger,  on  the  ruins  of  Magdeburg,  proudly  looking  upon  the 
thirty  thousand  bodies  of  the  brave  citizens  now  stiffening  in 
death,  which,  at  his  command,  were  cast  into  the  Elbe.  The 
river  was  choked  up  by  the  mass  near  the  Neustadt. 

The  news  of  this  disaster  filled  Gustavus  with  rage  and 
sorrow,  and,  probably  reckoning  upon  aid  from  the  people, 
panic-struck  by  the  destruction  of  Magdeburg,  in  case  the 
princes  still  maintained  their  neutrality,  he  entered  Prussia, 
surrounded  Berlin,  and,  stationing  himself  sword  in  hand  be- 
fore the  city  gates,  demanded  a  definite  declaration.  The  re- 
lation in  which  he  stood  with  the  elector,  George  William,  was 
somewhat  extraordinary.  This  prince  had  an  extremely  beau- 
tiful sister,  named  Eleonore,  whose  hand  had,  ten  years  before 
the  present  period,  been  demanded  by  Wladislaw  of  Poland  and 
by  the  Swedish  monarch,  then  the  bitterest  foes.  The  elector, 
who  merely  held  Prussia  in  fee  of  Poland,  naturally  favoured 
the  former  suitor,  but  Gustavus,  habitually  bold  and  daring, 
visited  Berlin,  [a.  d.  1620,]  during  the  elector's  absence, 
gained  the  princess's  affection,  and  returned  with  her  as  his 
queen  to  Stockholm.  The  Polish  king,  in  revenge,  incited  the 
fanatical  Lutherans  in  Prussia  against  the  elector.  JaBgem- 
dorf,  the  heritage  of  Brandenburg,  was,  on  the  other  hand, 
bestowed  by  the  emperor  on  Lichtenstein,  but  the  elector,  in- 
stead of  openly  ranging  himself  on  the  side  of  his  brother-in- 
law,  allowed  himself  to  be  swayed  on  the  one  hand  by  his 
dread  of  Poland,  whilst  on  the  other  he  was  indemnified  with 
the  imperial  party  by  the  intrigues  of  his  minister,  Adam  von 
Schwarzenberg,  a  tool  of  the  Jesuits,  and  by  those  of  his 
favourite,  Conrad  von  Burgsdorf.  The  female  part  of  the 
family,  encouraged  by  the  presence  of  Gustavus,  now  opposed 
the  obnoxious  favourites,  and  the  elector,  to  whom  the  Swedish 
monarch  offered  the  alternative  of  his  alliance  or  the  reduction 
of  Berlin  to  a  heap  of  ashes,  was  compelled  to  jrield.  BerliD, 
Spandau,  and  Kiistrin  were  garrisoned  by  the  Swedes. 

The  cruel  persecution  was,  meanwhile,  unavailing  totally 
to  repress  the  courage  of  the  citizen  and  the  peasant.     Strass- 


GUSTAVUS  ADOLPHUS.  351 

burg  followed  Magdeburg's  glorious  example  and  took  up 
arms  in  defence  of  the  gospel.  Numbers  of  Swabians,  trem- 
blingly countenanced  by  the  regent  of  Wurtemburg,  Julius 
Frederick,  flocked  to  the  aid  of  their  brethren  in  belief.  Egon 
von  Fiirstenberg  was,  consequently,  recalled  from  Mantua  and 
despatched  by  the  emperor  into  Swabia,  at  the  head  of  fifteen 
thousand  men.  Memmingen,  Kempten,  and  the  little  Pro- 
testant settlement  of  Austrian  refugees,  Freudenstadt  in  the 
Black  Forest,  fell  a  prey  to  the  licence  of  his  soldiery.  Julius 
Frederick  yielded  without  a  blow.  Strassburg,  nevertheless, 
proved  impregnable,  and  Fiirstenberg  hastened  to  join  his 
forces  with  those  of  Tilly,  at  that  time  hard  pushed  in  the 
north.  The  insurgent  peasantry  of  the  Harz  had  greatly 
harassed  him  on  his  passage  through  the  mountains.  His  in- 
vasion of  Hesse  had  been  opposed  by  the  Landgrave  William. 
The  important  fortress  of  Wesel  had  been  taken  by  the  Dutch. 
Gustavus  had  also  advanced  to  the  Elbe  and  intrenched  him- 
self near  Werben,  where  Tilly,  venturing  an  attack,  was  re- 
pulsed with  considerable  loss.  The  troops  under  Fiirstenberg, 
Altringer,  etc.,  sent  to  his  aid  by  the  emperor,  alone  enabled 
him  to  make  head  against  the  Swede ;  this  aid  was,  however, 
coupled  with  the  condition  of  the  pillage  of  Saxony  in  order 
to  imbitter  the  wavering  elector,  John  George,  against  Bava- 
ria and  the  League,  and  to  compel  him  to  declare  himself. 
Halle,  Merseberg,  Zeiz,  "Weissenfels,  Naumburg  were,  accord- 
ingly* plundered,  and  the  great  plain  of  Leipzig  was  laid 
waste.  John  George,  roused  by  this  proceeding,  obeyed  the 
pressure  of  circumstances  and  fulfilled  the  warmest  wishes 
of  his  Protestant  subjects  by  entering  into  alliance  with 
Sweden.  Amheim,  who  had  quitted  the  imperial  service,  and 
whose  diplomatic  talents  well  suited  the  intriguing  Saxon 
court,  was  placed  at  the  head  of  his  troops.  Eighteen  thou- 
sand Saxons  coalesced  with  the  Swedish  army  near  Diiben  on 
the  Heath,  and  the  confederated  troops  marched  upon  Leip- 
zig, which  had  just  fallen  into  Tilly's  hands. 

The  Swedes  and  imperialists  stood  opposed  to  each  other 
for  the  first  time  on  the  broad  plains  of  Leipzig.  The  Swedes 
were  distinguished  by  their  light  (chiefly  blue)  coats,  by  the 
absence  of  armour,  their  active  movements,  and  light  artillery ; 
the  imperialists,  by  their  old-fashioned  close-fitting  (generally 
yellow)  uniforms,  besides  armour,  such  as  cuirasses,  thigh- 


1552  GUSTAVUS  ADOLPHUS, 

pieces,  and  helmets,  their  want  of  order  and  discipline,  their 
slower  movements,  and  their  awkward,  heavy  artillery.  The 
battle  was  commenced,  contrary  to  the  intention  of  Tilly,  who 
awaited  the  arrival  of  the  corps  under  Altringer  and  Fugger, 
(Fiirstenberg  had  already  joined  him,)  by  Pappenheim,  who, 
being  attacked  whilst  reconnoitring,  Tilly  was  compelled  to 
hasten  to  his  aid.  Gustavus  Adolphus,  dressed  in  a  simple 
grey  great-coat,  with  a  green  feather  in  his  white  hat,  rode 
along  the  Swedish  ranks  animating  his  men  to  the  fight.  The 
Swedes  were  stationed  in  the  right  wing,  the  Saxons  in  the 
left,  Tilly's  army  was  drawn  up,  according  to  ancient  cus- 
tom, in  one  long  line ;  that  of  Gustavus  was,  on  the  contrary, 
separated  into  small  movable  masses,  which,  marching  off  to 
the  right  and  left,  charged  Tilly's  flank.  Adolf  von  Holstein 
unwarily  advancing,  was  consequently  taken  between  two 
fires,  his  whole  corps  destroyed,  and  himself  mortally  wounded. 
The  Pappenheim  cuirassiers  were  seven  times  repulsed.  The 
Saxons'  wing  was  turned  by  Tilly,  but  the  Swedes,  falling  on 
his  flank,  captured  his  artillery,  turned  it  upon  him  and  beat 
him  off  the  field,  September  7th,  1631.  The  imperialists  fled 
in  wild  confusion  to  Halberstadt,  where  Tilly,  who  had  been 
rescued  by  Rudolf,  duke  of  Luneburg,  and  the  Walloons,  who, 
since  the  revolt  of  the  Netherlands,  had  fought  with  distinc- 
tion in  the  Catholic  cause,  collected  the  remnant  of  his  army. 
The  Saxon  peasantry,  filled  with  confidence  at  Tilly's  de- 
feat, rose  throughout  the  country,  killed  all  the  fugitives  from 
the  imperial  army,  and  flocked  in  numbers  under  the  Swedish 
banner.  The  princes  even  regained  courage,  and  all  the  mi- 
nor aristocracy  came  in  person  to  offer  their  aid.  The  road 
to  Vienna  lay  open.  The  annihilation  of  the  imperial  power 
and  the  ruin  of  the  house  of  Habsburg  appeared  inevitable. 
France,  and  even  the  pope.  Urban  VIII.,  were,  consequently, 
zealous  in  their  efforts  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation  between 
Sweden  and  Bavaria,  but  Gustavus,  aware  of  the  enthusiasm 
with  which  he  was  regarded  by  the  whole  of  Protestant  Ger- 
many, too  noble  to  sacrifice  the  cause  of  religion  to  an  in- 
triguing pontiff,  and  the  German  empire  to  French  rapacity, 
acted  in  the  spirit  of  a  future  Protestant  emperor,  and,  instead 
of  joining  the  Catholic  and  anti-imperial  League,  unhesitatingly 
fell  upon  it,  crushed  Bavaria,  intimidated  France,  and  freed 
himself  on  every  side  before  attempting  to  annihilate  the  little 


GUSTAVUS  ADOLPHUS.  353 

remaining  power  of  the  Habsburg.  George  von  Liineburg  was 
sent  into  Brunswick  to  regain  that  province  with  troops  that 
were  still  unlevied.  Baudis,  Greneral  Banner,  and  William, 
Landgrave  of  Hesse,  were  ordered  to  support  him  and  to  purge 
the  whole  of  Northern  Germany  of  the  Leaguers.  Gustavus 
marched  in  person  through  Merseberg,  where  he  cut  to  pieces 
two  thousand  of  the  imperialists,  and  Erfurt,  where  he  was  re- 
ceived with  open  arms,  through  the  Thuringian  forest  to  Bam- 
berg and  Wurzburg,  the  latter  of  which  he  took  by  storm. 
The  garrison  and  a  number  of  monks  were  put  to  death.  The 
intervention  of  France  was  a  second  time  refused  by  the 
Swedish  conqueror,  who  advanced  on  the  Rhine  with  the  in- 
tention of  throwing  himself  between  France  and  Bavaria,  of 
aiding  the  Dutch,  and  of  liberating  the  Protestants  in  Upper 
Germany.  Hanau,  Aschafienburg,  Rothenburg  opened  their 
gates  to  him.  Frankfurt  on  the  Maine  was  entered  in  tnumph. 

^Mayence  was  taken.  The  archbishop,  Anselm  Casimir,  fled. 
Charles  of  Lorraine,  who  still  maintained  his  position  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  Rhine,  and  the  imperial  Colonel  Ossa,  on  the 
right,  were  repulsed.  Spires,  Landau,  and  numerous  other 
towns  opened  their  gates  to  the  Swedes.  The  fortresses  of 
Koenigstein,  Mannheim,  Kreuznach,  Bacharach,  and  Kirchberg 
fell  into  their  hands.  The  whole  of  the  Pfalz  was  once  more 
freed  from  the  Spanish  yoke.  The  garrison  of  Heidelberg, 
under  Henry  von  Metternich,  alone  held  out.  The  arrival  of 
the  Swedes  was  hailed  with  open  demonstrations  of  delight 
along  the  Neckar  and  the  Rhine.  Horn,  sent  by  Gustavus 
into  Swabia,  took  Mannheim,  Oppenheim,  Heilbronn,  and 

;  Mergentheim,  and  extirpated  the  bands  of  robbers,  composed 
of  the  fugitive  troops  of  Charles  of  Lorraine.  The  Pfalz- 
grave,  Christian  von  Birkenfeld,  raised  troops  for  the  Swedish 
army.  Frederick,  the  ex-Pfalzgrave  and  ex-king  of  Bohemia 
returned,  but  was  not  formally  reinstated  by  Gustavus,  who 
hoped  by  this  refusal  to  spur  England  into  action.  The  queen 
of  Sweden,  Eleonore,  also  came  to  Frankfurt  to  share  her  hus- 
band's triumph.* 

"  The  old  devil"  Tilly,  as  Gustavus  wrote  to  the  Pfalzgrave, 
meanwhile  retook  the  field.  Rotenburg  on  the  Tauber  and 
Bamberg  once  more  changed  masters,  but  he  was  compelled 

•  On  meeting  him,  she  threw  her  arms  around  him,  and,  holding  him 
•  fast  in  her  embrace,  exclaimed,  *'  Now  is  Gustayus  the  Great  a  prisoner !" 
VOL.  II.  2  a 


354  WALLBNSTEIN'S  SECOND  COMMAND. 

to  raise  the  siege  of  Wurzburg  in  order  to  cover  Bayaria 
against  Gustavus,  whilst  Pappenheim  threw  himself  alone 
into  Northern  Germany.  Donauwoerth  fell.  The  battle  of 
Itain  on  the  Lech,  where  Tillj  and  Maximilian  had  intrench- 
ed themselves,  proved  fatal  to  the  former;  a  cannon-ball 
shattered  his  thigh,  and  he  expired  in  excruciating  agonies, 
A.  D.  1632.  His  last  injunction  to  Maximilian,  at  any  price 
to  garrison  Ratisbon,  the  key  to  Bohemia,  Austria,  and  Ba- 
varia, without  delay,  was  instantly  obeyed.  Horn  was  already 
en  route  thither,  but  was  forestalled  by  the  Bavarian  duke, 
who  threw  himself  with  his  troops,  disguised  as  Swedes,  under 
cover  of  the  night,  into  that  city. 

Gustavus,  after  restoring  liberty  of  conscience  to  Augsburg, 
and  receiving  the  homage  of  the  citizens,  entered  Munich, 
which  surrendered  at  discretion,  in  triumph  with  the  ex-king 
of  Bohemia  and  Queen  Eleonore,  at  whose  side  rode  a  monkey 
with  a  shaven  crown,  in  a  Capuchin's  gown,  and  with  a  rosary 
in  his  claws.  A  fine  of  40,000  dollars  was  laid  upon  the 
town.  One  hundred  and  forty  cannons,  within  which  30,000 
ducats  and  a  quantity  of  precious  stones  were  concealed,  and 
which  had  been  buried  for  security,  were  betrayed  into  the 
hands  of  the  conqueror.  Maximilian's  proposals  for  peace 
were  scornfully  rejected. 

CCVIII.    WallensteirCs  second  command. —  The  battle  ofLui-- 
zen. —  The  Heilhronn  confederacy , — Death  of  fVattenstem, 

The  advance  of  the  Swedish  king,  who,  during  his  Rhen- 
ish conquests,  had  afforded  the  emperor  time  to  create  a 
most  dangerous  diversion,  now  received  a  check. 

In  Northern  Germany,  the  imperial  garrisons  of  Rostock 
and  Wismar  had  capitulated,  but  Gronsfeld  still  kept  the 
field,  George  von  Luneburg,  unaided  by  his  brother,  having 
with  extreme  difficulty  succeeded  in  setting  an  army  on  foot. 
William  of  Hesse  also  met  with  little  success.  The  Dutch 
took  Maestricht.  Pappenheim  appeared  in  the  Netherlands, 
but  a  dispute  arising  between  him  and  the  Spanish  leaders,  he 
returned  to  Central  Germany,  where  his  presence  was  loudly 

called, for.     He  retook  Hildesheim  en  route. The  arrival 

of  the  Swedes  had  roused  the  fanaticism  of  the  Catholic  popu- 
lation in  the  South,  and  a  general  rising,  similar  to  that  of  the 


WALLENSTEnrS  SECOND  COMMAND.  366 

Lutheran  peasantry  against  the  Catholic  soldiery  in  Hesse  and 
the  Harz,  took  place  among  the  Catholic  peasantry  against  the 
Swedes.  In  Bavaria,  every  straggler  from  the  main  body  was 
murdered  by  tiie  country  people ;  in  Weissenburg,  one  thou- 
sand men,  who  capitulated,  were  butchered.  Ossa  endeavoured 
to  organize  a  great  insurrection  of  the  peasantry  in  Upper 
Swabia,  but  was  defeated  at  Biberach  by  the  Swedes,  in 
Bregenz,  by  Bernard  von  Weimar,  and  the  town  of  Fried- 
stadt,  where  several  Swedes  had  been  murdered  by  the  people, 
was  burnt  to  the  ground  by  Greneral  Banner,  and  all  the  in- 
habitants were  put  to  the  sword.  Horn,  on  the  other  hand, 
laid  si^e  to  Constance. 

The  movement  to  the  rear  of  the  Swedes  was,  nevertheless, 
of  far  less  importance  than  the  proceedings  of  France.  Riche- 
lieu, after  vainly  urging  Gustavus  to  spare  Bavaria  and  to 
direct  his  whole  force  against  the  emperor,  had  thrown  fresh 
troops  into  Lorraine  and  the  electorate  of  Treves,  whose 
prince,  Philip  Christopher,  had  voluntarily  placed  himself  be- 
neath his  protection,  and  Gustavus,  who  was  on  the  point  of 
conquering  Bavaria  and  Austria,  was  compelled  to  permit  the 
occupation  of  Coblentz,  Ehrenlnreitstein,  and  Philipsburg,  by 
the  French. 

Maximilian,  whose  correspondence  with  Richelieu  had 
been  intercepted  by  the  imperialists  and  sent  to  Vienna,  now 
saw  himself  constrained  to  east  himself  unconditionally  into 
the  arms  of  the  emperor.  The  Upper  Austrian  peasantry, 
attracted  by  the  approach  of  the  great  northern  magnet,  once 
more  dreamed  of  liberty,  and  six  thousand  men  had  already 
taken  up  arms  in  the  Hausruckviertel,  when  the  news  of  the 
return  of  the  Swedes  northwards  once  more  crushed  their 


The  elector  of  Saxony  had  gone  into  Bohemia ;  Arnheim 
into  Silesia.  The  imperial  forces,  in  this  quarter  numerically 
weak,  fell  back.  Schaumburg  was  beaten  at  Steinau  in 
Silesia.  The  retreat  of  the  Croatians  was  traced  by  rapine 
and  desolation.  The  elector  entered  Prague  with  a  number 
of  Bohemian  prisoners.  WaUenstein  had  withdrawn  to 
Znaim.  On  the  death  of  Tilly,  the  rapid  advance  of  the 
Swedes  and  the  threatening  aspect  of  Hungary,  where  a  new 
popular  leader,  Ragoczy,  had  arisen,  all  seemed  lost.  The 
intrigues  of  France,  Bavaria,  and  the  pope,  compelled  the 
2  A  2 


356  WALLENSTEIN'S  SECOND  COMMAND. 

emperor  to  seek  for  aid  in  his  own  resources,  and,  notwith- 
standing the  efforts  of  the  Jesuits  and  of  Spain,  again  to  have 
.  recourse  to  Wallenstein,  who,  the  moment  of  danger  passed, 
.  was  once  more  to  be  thrown  aside  and  to  be  sacrificed  to  the 
Jesuitical  party.  Wallenstein,  fully  aware  of  the  emperor's 
design,  coldly  refused  his  aid  until  his  demands,  justified  by 
^*  the  weakness  and  disunion  of  the  empire,  the  duplicity  of 
his  friends,  the  perfidy  of  the  confederates,  the  anarchy  con- 
sequent on  polyarchy,  the  necessity  of  sole  command,  of  a 
dictatorship,"  had  been  complied  with.  His  conditions,  that 
the  imperial  troops  throughout  Germany  should  be  placed 
wholly  and  solely  under  his  command;  that  the  emperor 
should  in  no  wise  interfere  with  military  affairs ;  that  every 
conquest  made  by  him  should  be  entirely  at  his  own  disposal ; 
that  he  should  be  compensated  by  the  formal  grant  of  one  of 
the  hereditary  provinces  of  Austria  and  of  another  ;  that  he 
.  should  be  empowered  to  confiscate  whatever  property  he  chose 
for  the  maintenance  of  his  troops ;  were  conceded  by  the  em- 
peror on  the  day  on  which  his  rival,  Tilly,  expired,  April, 
1632,  and,  within  a  few  months,  his  wonderful  genius  had, 
as  if  by  magic,  raised  a  fresh  and  numerous  army  from 
the  clod. 

The  Saxons  were  speedily  driven  out  of  Bohemia.  The 
Vdgtland  was  ravaged  by  Wallenstein's  infamous  partisan. 
Hoik,  who  advanced  as  far  as  Dresden  and  burnt  the  neigh- 
bouring villages  as  a  bonfire  for  the  elector,  who  was  at  that 
time  solemnizing  a  festival.  Wallenstein  meanwhile  guarded 
Bohemia.  The  entreaties  of  his  ancient  foe,  Maximilian,  for 
the  liberation  of  Bavaria,  were  unheeded ;  his  views  for  the 
present  turned  upon  Saxony,  and  the  consequent  retreat  of 
the  Swedes  northward,  instead  therefore  of  advancing  upon 
Bavaria,  he  forced  Maximilian  to  join  him  at  Eger,  where  he 
publicly  embraced  him,  and  marched  thence  to  Leipzig,  which 
shortly  capitulated. 

Wallenstein  had  now  gained  his  purpose.  Gustavus, 
through  dread  of  the  defection  of  the  vacillating  and  timid 
elector,  was  compelled  to  renounce  his  projects  against  the 
South  and  to  turn  his  arms  i^ainst  the  imperial  leader ;  but, 
unwilling  entirely  to  cede  the  South,  he  took  up  a  strong  position 
with  sixteen  thousand  men  near  Nuremberg,  where  he  await- 
ed the  arrival  of  reinforcements.  Wallenstein,  although  at  the 


WALLENSTEIN'S  SECOND  COMMAND.  357 

head  of  an  army  of  sixty  thousand  men,  was  too  well  acquainted 
with  the  advantageous  position  of  his  antagonist  to  hazard  an 
attack,  and  took  up  an  equally  impregnahle  position  on  the 
Old  Mountain  close  to  the  Swedish  camp.  Three  months 
passed  in  inactivity,  and  a  famine  ere  long  prevailed  hoth  in 
Nuremberg  and  in  Wallenstein's  camp.  The  peasantry  had 
fled  in  every  direction  from  the  pillaging  troops,  who  destroy- 
ed whatever  they  were  unable  to  carry  away.  The  Swedes 
succeeded  in  seizing  a  large  convoy  of  provisions  intended 
for  Wallenstein,  and  were  shortly  afterwards  reinforced  by  the. 
chancellor  of  Sweden,  Oxenstierna,  by  Bernard  von  Weimar, 
and  by  Banner.  The  Swedish  army  now  amounted  to  seventy 
thousand  men.  Nuremberg,  Gustavus's  firm  ally,  could  send 
thirty  thousand  into  the  field.  Wallenstein,  who  patiently 
awaited  the  destruction  of  the  enemy  by  famine,  kept  close 
within  his  camp.  The  Swedes  at  length,  rendered  furious 
by  want,  attempted  to  take  the  imperial  camp  by  storm,  but 
were  repulsed  with  dreadful  loss.  The  Swedish  general, 
Torstenson,  was  taken  prisoner,  and  Banner  was  wounded. 
The  imperial  general,  Fugger,  was  killed  whilst  pursuing  the 
Swedes.  Another  fourteen  days  elapsed,  when  Gustavus,  un- 
able to  draw  his  opponent  forth,  was  compelled,  after  losing 
twenty  thousand  men,  and  the  city  of  Nuremberg  ten  thousand 
of  her  inhabitants,  to  quit  this  scene  of  death  and  famine. 
Pestilence  had,  however,  raged  with  still  greater  fury  in  Wal- 
lenstein's camp,  and  had  cut  his  immense  army  down  to 
twenty-four  thousand  men,  September,  1632. 

Gustavus,  in  the  hope  of  carrying  the  war  into  Bavaria  and 
into  the  heart  of  the  Catholic  states,  marched  southwards ; 
whilst  Wallenstein,  anxious  to  render  Northern  Germany  the 
theatre  of  war,  took  a  contrary  direction.  Leaving  a  hundred 
villages  around  Nuremberg  in  fiames,  he  marched,  with  terror 
in  his  van,  through  the  Thuringian  forest  to  Leipzig,  which, 
panic-stricken,  threw  wide  her  gates.  Fappenheim  joined 
him,  but,  unaware  of  the  rapidity  with  which  Gustavus  had 
turned  in  pursuit,  again  set  off  for  Lower  Saxony.  Gustavus, 
in  the  hope  of  bringing  Wallenstein  to  an  engagement  on  the 
plains  of  Leipzig,  now  rapidly  advanced  through  the  country 
lately  pillaged  by  his  foe,  and  summoned  his  ally,  George  von 
LUneberg,  to  his  assistance.  The  confidence  of  that  prince  in 
the  fortune  of  the  Swede  had  been,  however,  severely  shaken 


358  THE  BATTLE  OF  LUTZEN. 

by  the  re-appearance  ot  WaUensteiiiy  and  he  refused  to  obey. 
Arnheim,  who  had  quitted  Silesia,  also  tarried  at  Dresden. 
At  Erfurt,  Gustavus  bade  adieu  to  his  queen,  Eleonore. 

The  battle  of  Ltitzen  commenced  early  in  the  morning  of 
the  6th  of  November,  1632,  not  far  from  the  scene  of  Tilly's 
former  defeat.  Gustavus  would  have  scarcely  ventured,  with- 
out first  awaiting  the  arrival  of  reinforoemoits,  to  have  attacked 
Wallenstein,  had  he  not  learnt  the  departure  of  Pappenheim, 
who  was  now  hastily  recalled  from  Halle,  which  he  had  just 
reached.  A  thick  fog,  that  lasted  until  eleven  o'clock,  hindered 
the  marshalling  of  the  troops,  and  gave  the  Pappenheimers 
time  to  reach  the  field  before  the  conclusion  of  the  battle. 
Wallenstein,  although  suffering  from  a  severe  attack  of  gout^ 
mounted  his  steed  and  drew  up  his  troops.  His  infantry  waa 
drawn  up  in  squares,  flanked  by  cavalry  and  guarded  in 
front  by  a  ditch,  defended  by  artillery.  Gustavus,  without 
armour,  on  account  of  a  slight  wound  he  had  received  at 
Dirschau,  and  exclaiming,  *'  At  them  in  Grod's  name  !  Jesus ! 
Jesus  !  Jesus !  let  us  vindicate  to-day  the  honour  of  thy  hdiy 
name !"  brandished  his  sword  over  his  head,  and  charged  the 
ditch  at  the  head  of  his  men.  The  infantry  crossed  and  seized 
the  battery.  The  cavalry,  opposed  by  Wallenstein's  black 
cuirassiers,  were  less  successful.  ^'Charge  those  black  fel- 
lows!" shouted  the  king  to  Colonel  Stalhantsch.  At  that 
moment  the  Swedish  infantry,  which  had  already  broken  two 
of  the  enemy's  squares,  were  charged  in  the  flank  by  Wallen- 
stein's cavalry,  stationed  on  the  opposite  wing,  and  Gustavus 
hurrying  to  their  aid,  the  cavalry  on  the  nearest  wing  also 
bore  down  upon  him.  The  inereasing  density  of  the  fog  un- 
fortunately veiled  the  approach  of  the  imperialists,  and  the 
king,  falsely  imagining  himself  followed  by  his  cavalry,  sud- 
denly found  himself  in  the  midst  of  the  black  cuirassiers. 
His  horse  received  a  shot  in  the  head,  and  another  broke  his 
left  arm.  He  then  asked  Albert,  duke  of  Saxon-Lauenburg» 
who  was  at  his  side,  to  lead  him  off  the  field,  and,  turning 
away,  was  shot  in  the  back  by  an  imperial  officer.  He  fell 
from  his  saddle ;  his  foot  became  entangled  in  the  stirrup,  and 
he  was  dragged  along  by  his  horse,  maddened  with  pain.  The 
duke  fled,  but  Luchau,  the  master  of  the  royal  horse,  shot  the 
officer  who  had  wounded  the  king.  Gustavus,  who  still  lived, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  cuirassiers.     His  German  page, 


THE  BATTLE  OF  LUTZEN.  359 

Lubelfing,  a  youth  of  eighteen,  refused  to  tell  his  master's 
rank,  and  was  mortally  wounded.  The  king  was  stripped. 
On  his  exclaiming,  "I  am  the  king  of  Sw^enl"  they  at- 
tempted to  carry  him  off,  but  a  charge  of  the  Swedish  cavalry 
eompelling  them  to  relinquish  their  prey,  the  last  cuirassier, 
as  he  rushed  past,  shot  him  through  the  head.* 

The  sight  of  the  king's  charger,  covered  with  blood,  wildly 
galloping  along  the  Swedish  front,  confirmed  the  report  of  the 
melancholy  fate  of  his  royal  master.  Some  of  the  Swedish 
generals,  more  especially  Kniphausen,  who  drew  off  his  mea 
in  reserve,  meditated  a  retreat,  but  Duke  Bernard  of  Wei- 
mar, spurning  the  idea  with  contempt  and  calling  loudly  for 
vengeance,  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  a  regiment,  whose 
colonel,  a  Swede,  he  ran  through  for  refusing  to  obey  him, 
and  regardless,  in  his  enthusiasm,  of  a  shot  that  carried  away 
bis  bat,  charged  with  such  impetuosity  that  the  ditch  and  the 
battery  were  retaken  and  Wallenstein's  infantry  and  cavalry 
were  completely  thrown  into  confusion.  The  latter  fled ;  the 
gunpowder  carts  were  blown  up  j  the  day  was  gained.  At  that 
moment,  Pappenheim's  fresh  troops  poured  into  the  field  and 
once  more  turned  the  battle.  The  body  of  the  king,  defended  by 
^alhantsch,  was  sharply  contested  by  Pappeoheim,  who  fell, 
pierced  with  two  bullets.  His  men  fought  with  redoubled 
rage  on  the  death  of  their  commander ;  Wallenstein  rallied 
bis  troops,  and  a  desperate  conflict  of  some  hours'  duration  en- 
sued, in  which  the  flower  of  the  Swedish  army  fell  and  the 
ditch  and  battery  were  lost.  Bernard  was  forced  to  retreat, 
and  the  battle  was  for  the  third  time  renewed  by  Kniphau- 
sen's  reserved  corps,  which  pressed  across  the  ditch,  followed 
by  the  rest  of  the  weary  Swedes.  This  last  and  desperate 
charge  was  irresistible.  Wallenstein,  driven  from  the  field, 
fled  across  the  mountains  of  Bohemia,  and  his  brutal  soldiery 
were  scattered  in  every  direction.  Numbers  were  slain  by 
the  Protestant  peasantry.  Those  of  his  ofiicers  who  had  first 
fled  were  afterwards  put  to  death  at  his  command. 

The  bloody  corpse  of  the  king  was  found  by  the  great  stone, 
still  known  as  the  Swedish  stone.  It  was  laid  in  state  before 
the  whole  of  the  Swedish  army,  which  responded  to  Ber- 

*  Gustarus  was  extremely  fine  and  majestic  in  person,  his  eyes  were 
blue  and  gentle  in  expression,  his  manners  commanding,  noble,  and  con- 
ciliating.   His  countenance  was  open  and  attractive. 


360  THE  BATTLE  OF  LUTZEN. 

nard's  enthusiastic  address,  with  a  vow  to  follow  him  wherever 
he  led.  This  enthusiasm,  however,  speedily  cooled.  Ber- 
nard's sole  command  of  the  troops  was  frustrated  by  the  jea- 
lousy of  the  Swedish  officers.  In  Sweden,  Gustavus  had 
merely  left  an  infant  daughter,  Christina.  The  ex-Hng  of 
Bohemia  died  of  horror,  at  Mayence,  on  receiving  the  news 
of  the  death  of  his  friend  and  protector.  His  consort,  Elisa- 
beth Stuart,  resided  for  many  years  afterwards  at  Rhenen* 
near  Utrecht.  The  battle  of  Liitzen  filled  the  imperialists, 
notwithstanding  their  defeat,  with  the  greatest  delight.  Pub- 
lic rejoicings  were  held  at  Madrid.  The  emperor,  Ferdinand, 
discovered  no  immoderate  joy  at  his  success,  and  even  showed 
some  signs  of  pity  on  seeing  the  blood-stained  collar  of  his 
late  foe.  The  pope.  Urban  VIII.,  ordered  a  mass  to  be  read' 
for  the  soul  of  the  fallen  monarch,  whose  power  had  curbed 
that  of  the  emperor.  The  emperor's  foes  have,  at  every  pe- 
riod, been  regarded  with  secret  good-will  by  the  pope. 

♦  Elisabeth  Stuart  dwelt  for  a  considerable  period  at  Rhenen  under 
the  protection  of  the  States-general,  mourning  for  her  husband,  whose 
place  of  burial  was  unknown,  her  brother,  Charles  I.  of  England,  whose 
head  had  rolled  on  the  scaiTold,  and  her  unfortunate  children.  Her 
eldest  son,  Henry  Frederi6k,  was  drowned  [a.  d.  1629]  at  Amsterdam. 
The  second,  Charles  Louis,  became,  on  the  termination  of  the  war,  elec- 
tor of  the  Pfalz,  but  lived  unhappily  with  his  wife,  and,  taking  a  mistress, 
his  mother  refrained  from  returning  thither.  The  Uiird,  Robert,  after 
distinguishing  himself  against  Cromwell  and  Spain,  remained  with  his 
mother  and  occupied  himself  with  the  study  of  chemistry.  The  fourth, 
Maurice,  disappeared  after  a  naval  engagement  with  the  Spanish  flotilla, 
and  was  supposed  to  have  been  lost  in  a  storm  at  sea.  The  fifth,  Ed- 
ward,  dishonoured  his  family,  that  had  suffered  so  much  for  the  sake  of 
religion,  by  turning  Catholic,  and  entered  the  French  service.  The  sixth, 
Philip,  a  brave  adventurer,  murdered  a  nobleman  and  fled  into  France. 
He  was  killed  in  the  French  service,  during  a  siege.  The  seventh,  Gus- 
tavus, died  in  his  boyhood.  The  eldest  daughter,  Elisabeth,  rejected  the 
hand  of  Ladislaw  of  Poland  from  a  religious  motive,  studied  philosophy, 
was  a  friend  of  Descartes  and  of  William  Penn,  the  founder  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  died  Lutheran  abbess  of  Herford.  The  second,  Henrietta  Maria, 
married  Ragoczy,  Prince  of  Transylvania,  but  died  shortly  after  the  wed- 
ding. The  third,  Louisa,  had  a  talent  for  painting  and  remained  for  a 
long  time  with  Robert  in  attendance  on  her  mother,  whom  she  suddenly 
quitted  in  order  to  take  the  veil.  She  became  Catholic  abbess  of  Man- 
buisson.    The  fourth,  Sophia,  married  a  poor  prince.  Earnest  Augustus 

of  Bmnswick-Liineburg,  the  youngest  of  four  brothers. Elisabeth  and 

her  son  Robert,  the  only  one  of  her  numerous  family  left  in  her  old  age, 
repaired  to  England  on  the  restoration  of  the  Stuarts.  She  died  there, 
A.  D.  1662.    Robert  also  died  in  England,  leaving  no  legitimate  issue. 


THE  HEILBRONN  CONFEDERACY.  361 

Axel  Oxenstierna,  Gastavas's  minister,  and  his  most  faith- 
ful friend,  became  regent  of  Sweden  during  the  minority  of 
the  queen,  Christina,  and  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  his 
noble  master.  But  he  was  merely  a  statesman,  not  a  military 
leader ;  a  minister,  not  a  king.  Sweden,  instead  of  placing  a 
Protestant  emperor  on  the  throne  of  Germany,  could  hence- 
forwsrd  merely  endeavour  to  secure  liberty  of  conscience  to 
the  German  IVotestants.  Gustavus's  ambition  had  embraced 
the  whole  of  Germany ;  that  of  Oxenstiema  simply  extended 
to  the  possession  of  one  of  her  provinces.  Had  Gustavus 
lived,  Germany  might  have  become  great,  united,  and  happy ; 
France  would  have  been  confined  within  her  limits ;  Sweden 
would  have  become  a  German  province ;  the  German  pro- 
vinces on  the  Baltic  would  have  been  incorporated  with  the 
empire;  Livonia  would  have  been  saved,  and  the  Russians 
checked.  Oxenstierna,  by  his  project  for  the  dismember- 
ment of  Germany  and  his  consequent  coalition  with  France, 
was,  instead  of  the  friend,  the  most  dangerous  foe  to  the 
German  cause.  The  coalition  of  the  Catholics  and  Protest- 
ants for  the  expulsion  of  the  foreigner  was  urgently  ne- 
cessary for  the  salvation  of  the  empire,  but  the  Protestants, 
intimidated  by  the  edict  of  restitution,  placed  no  confidence  in 
the  promises  of  their  Jesuitical  sovereign.  The  confederated 
princes,  bribed  by  French  gold,  promises,  and  grants,  still 
carried  on  the  war  and  remained  true  to  Oxenstierna,  who, 
notwithstanding  the  opposition  offered  by  France  and  Saxony, 
was  elected  head  of  the  confederacy  in  a  convocation  of  the 
princes,  held  at  Heilbronn. 

The  Swedish  troops  were  once  more  thrown  into  Upper 
Germany,  and  Bernard  von  Weimar  set  off  for  the  Upper 
Danube  in  order  to  form  a  junction  with  Horn,  in  the  spring 
of  1633.  The  Bavarian  cavalry,  under  John  von  Werth, 
vainly  intercepted  him  ;  they  were  repulsed,  and  a  junction 
took  place  with  Horn  at  Neuburg,  where  the  clamour  raised 
^y  the  officers  for  the  pajrment  of  their  long  arrears  was 
silenced  by  the  seizure  of  the .  ecclesiastical  property  and  its 
partition  among  them.  Bernard  received,  as  his  share  of  the 
booty,  the  bishoprics  of  Wiirzburg  and  Bamberg  as  a  new 
^ranconian  duchy,  whilst  Horn  usurped  the  government  of 
Mergentheim.     Night  skirmishes  conducted  by  the  cavalry 


362  THE  HEILBBONN  CONFEDERACY. 

and  light  troops  became  from  this  period  more  frequent,  and 
pitched  battles  of  rare  occurrence. 

Wallenstein,  meanwhile,  remained  immovable  in  Bohemia. 
France  attempted  to  shake  his  fidelity  to  the  emperor  bj  an 
offer  of  the  Bohemian  crown.  Spain,  actuated  by  her  ancient 
distrust,  sent  an  army  under  Feria,  with  orders  to  join  the 
division  of  Wallenstein*s  army  under  Altringer  at  Kempten, 
in  which  he  succeeded,  notwithstanding  the  advance  of  French 
troops  into  the  Grisons.  Horn,  who  had,  meanwhile,  laid 
siege  to  Constance,  now  rejoined  Bernard,  and  offered  the 
Spaniard  battle  near  Tiitlingen.  Feria,  however,  declined 
coming  to  an  engagement,  and,  after  entering  Alsace  and  re- 
lieving Breisach,  at  that  time  besieged  by  the  Rhinegraves 
von  Salm,  dragged  the  remainder  of  his  army,  which  during 
the  winter  had  fallen  a  prey  to  pestilence  and  famine,  through 
Swabia  to  Munich,  where  he  expired,  whilst  Horn  remained 
tranquilly  at  Balingen. 

France,  in  the  hope  of  confirming  her  possession  of  Lorraine, 
still  kept  that  country  garrisoned  with  her  troops.  In  the 
North,  George  von  Liineburg  continued  to  oppose  Gronsfeld ; 
William  of  Hesse  and  his  brave  general,  Holzapfel,  took 
Paderbom,  and,  uniting  with  George  and  a  small  Swedish 
army  under  Kniphausen,  laid  siege  to  Hameln.  Gronsfeld 
and  his  Dutch  allies,  the  Counts  Merode  and  Geleen,  hasten- 
ing to  the  relief  of  that  town,  were  completely  routed  at 
Hessisch-Oldendorf.  Hameln  and  Osnabriick  capitulated. 
Boninghausen,  the  imperial  partisan,  and  Stalhantsch,  the 
Swedish  colonel,  took  up  their  quarters  in  Hesse.— —Wallen- 
stein's  partisan,  Hoik,  meanwhile,  laid  Thuringia  waste,  took 
and  plundered  Leipzig,  and  burnt  Altenburg,  Chemnitz,  and 
Zwickau  to  the  ground.  In  Zwickau,  a  pestilence,  caused  by 
the  famine  and  the  heaps  of  putrid  dead,  broke  out  and  raged 
like  an  avenging  spirit  among  Hoik's  troops.  He  sought 
safety  in  flight,  but  the  pestilence  kept  pace  with  his  move- 
ments, strewing  his  path  with  the  dying  and  the  dead,  and  at 
length  made  him  its  victim  at  Tirschenreuth.  Wrung  with 
anguish  and  remorse,  he  sent  his  horsemen  out  in  every  direc- 
tion, and  offered  six  hundred  dollars  to  any  one  who  would 
bring  a  Lutheran  pastor  to  administer  the  sacrament  before  he 
expired ;  but  shortly  before  this  he  had  ordered  the  assassin- 


THE  HEILBBONN  CONFEDBKACY.  363 

ation  of  eveij  ecclesiastic  in  the  country,  and  the  few  who 
remained  having  taken  refuge  in  the  forests,  he  died  in 
agcmies  of  despair  before  one  could  be  found  to  perform  that 


Wallenstein's  officers,  HIow,  Gcetz,  and  Octavio  Piccolomini, 
a  venal  Italian  mercenarj,  the  most  depraved  wretch  that  ap« 
peared  on  the  scene  during  the  war,  also  carried  fire  and 
ftword  into  Silesia  and  completely  destroyed  the  city  of  Rei- 
chenbach.  Some  thousand  Poles  under  Dohna  aided  to 
ravage  the  country.  These  flying  corps,  however,  retreated 
to  Bohemia  on  the  arrival  of  Arnheim  with  his  Saxons  and  of 
a  Swedish  troop  under  Colonel  Duval.  The  Protestant  towns, 
particularly  Breslau,  gave  them  a  hearty  welcome.  Dohna, 
who  had  defended  that  city,  narrowly  escaped  assassination 
V  the  enraged  citizens.  Duval,  however,  treated  the  city 
with  extreme  severity,  plundered  the  Catholic  churches  and 
ecclesiastical  property,  destroyed  the  ancient  and  magnificent 
cathedral  library,  and  converted  the  church  of  St.  Bartholo- 
loew  into  a  stable.  The  bishop,  Charles  Ferdinand,  fied  into 
Poland.  A  multitude  of  Silesians,  who  had  been  compelled 
to  emlM*ace  Catholicism,  again  recanted.  The  whole  of  the 
iniperial  garrison  in  Strehlen  was  massacred  by  the  Swedes, 
^  D.  1633.  Wallenstein  now  appeared  in  person  in  Silesia, 
OQt-manoBuvred  Arnheim,  with  whom  he  carried  on  a  secret 
eoirespondence,  and  surprised  the  small  body  of  Swedes  re- 
maining at  Steinau,  where  he  captured  the  aged  Count  Thurn, 
whom  he  restored  to  liberty  in  order  to  mortify  the  Viennese, 
snd  to  flatter  the  national  feeling  of  the  Bohemians,  whose 
sovereign  he  might  one  day  become.  Groedizberg,  where  he 
seized  the  treasures  of  Frederick,  duke  of  Liegnitz,  was  taken, 
Nimptsch  burnt  to  the  ground,  and  the  wretched  inhabitants 
throughout  the  country  were  massacred  and  tortured,  without 
'^ard  to  age  or  sex.  Arnheim  was  pursued  into  the  Lausitz. 
^<£rlitz  and  Bautzen  capitulated.  Terzky  took  Frankfurt  on 
the  Oder,  and  Wallenstein  suddenly  returned  to  Bohemia  in 
order  to  oppose  Bernard  of  Weimar. 

Bernard,  unopposed  by  John  von  Worth,  who  had  merely 
beaten  a  few  Swedish  regiments  under  Sperreuter  from  their 
qtiarters  in  the  vicinity  of  Augsburg,  had  marched  down  the 
Danube,  and  in  November  taken  possession  of  Ratisbon.  Wal- 
lenstein looked  on  with  indifference,  and  when  at  length  in- 


364  THE  HEILBRONN  CONFEDERACY. 

duced  to  return  by  the  urgent  entreaties  of  the  Bavarians  and 
of  the  Viennese  court,  evaded  coming  to  an  engagement  and 
went  back  to  Bohemia.  John  von  Werth  gained  a  slight  ad- 
vantage at  Straubing. 

It  is  a  well-confirmed  fact  that  Wallenstein  carried  on  ne- 
gotiations with  Saxony  and  Brandenburg,  and  that  the  latter 
hoped  by  his  aid  to  restore  the  intermediate  power  so  long 
desired  between  the  emperor  and  Sweden.  It  is  also  indu- 
bitable that  France  favoured  this  intrigue  and  assured  to 
Wallenstein  the  possession  of  Bohemia.  If,  at  the  same  time, 
he  secretly  corresponded  with  Oxenstierna,  it  was  solely  for 
the  purpose  of  compelling  the  others  to  accede  to  better  terms ; 
the  Swede  did  not  believe  him  to  be  in  earnest.  Jt  is  impos- 
sible to  discover  to  what  lengths  Wallenstein  intended  to  go. 
His  first  object  was  at  all  events  to  secure  a  support  in  case 
he  should  again  fall  a  victim  to  the  Spanish-Bavarian  faction. 
At  the  same  time,  he  confided  the  fact  of  his  negotiations  to 
the  emperor,  who,  believing  their  sole  object  to  be  to  sound  all 
parties,  authorized  him  to  carry  them  on.  The  ambiguity 
and  reserve  with  which  he  consequently  acted  rendered  him 
an  object  of  suspicion  to  all  parties,  and,  moreover,  no  one 
valued  his  alliance  unless  he  was  backed  by  his  army.  The 
cessation  of  hostilities,  caused  by  continual  negotiation,  was, 
meanwhile,  highly  distasteful  to  his  soldiery,  in  whose  minds 
prejudices  were  busily  instilled  by  the  Jesuits,  who,  at  the 
same  time,  whispered  to  the  bigoted  Catholics  that  the  duke 
of  Friedland  was  on  the  point  of  going  over  to  the  Protestants. 
The  foreign  troops  were  easily  gained ;  the  German  soldiery 
remained  firm  in  their  allegiance  to  Wallenstein.  Ulric, 
prince  of  Denmark,  who  had  entered  the  camp  to  negotiate 
with  Wallenstein,  was  shot^  as  if  by  accident,  by  one  of 
General  Piccolomini*s  body-guards.  Wallenstein,  either  un- 
able or  unwilling  to  come  to  terms  with  the  enemy  unless 
secure  beforehand  of  the  co-operation  of  his  army,  endea- 
voured to  outwit  the  Jesuits  by  offering  to  resign  his  com- 
mand. The  conduct  of  the  army  appeared  to  meet  Wallen- 
stein's  highest  expectations.  A  violent  commotion  ensued  in 
the  camp  at  Pilsen ;  the  whole  of  the  oflicers  entreated  Wal- 
lenstein not  to  abandon  them,  and,  at  a  banquet  given  by  bis 
confidant.  Field-marshal  Illow,  a  document,  by  which  they  in 
their  turn  bound  themselves  never  to  desert  him,  was  signed 


DEATH  OF  WALLENSTBIN.  365 

hj  them  all.  The  foreign  officers  also  added  their  signatures) 
but  with  intent  to  betray  him. 

The  jealousy  of  the  emperor  was,  meanwhile,  inflamed  bj 
the  insinuations  of  the  Jesuits.  The  Spanish  ambassador  ex- 
claimed, ^'  Why  this  delay  ?  a  dagger  or  a  pistol  will  remove 
him !"  His  assassination  was  resolved  upon  by  the  emperor, 
who,  in  perfect  conformity  with  his  character,  wrote  to  him 
continually  in  the  most  gracious  terms,  for  twenty  days  after 
having  signed  the  warrant  for  his  death.  The  voluptuary, 
Octavio  Piccolomini,  in  whom  Wallenstein,  blinded  by  a  su- 
perstitious belief  in  the  conjunction  of  their  stars,  placed  the 
most  implicit  confidence,  betrayed  all  his  projects  to  the  em- 
peror, who  committed  to  General  Gullas  the  decree  for  the 
deposition  of  Wallenstein,  his  nomination  as  generalissimo  in 
his  stead,  and  a  general  amnesty  for  the  officers.  This  secret 
order  was  solely  confided  by  Gallas  to  the  foreign  officers,  to 
the  Piccolomini,  to  Isolani,  Colloredo,  Butler,  etc. ;  and  the 
general  amnesty  was  afterwards  exchanged  for  a  decree,  de- 
priving all  the  German  generab  of  their  appointments  and 
replacing  them  with  foreigners. 

Wallenstein,  suddenly  abandoned  by  Piccolomini  and  the 
rest  of  the  foreign  generals,  fled  with  the  few  regiments  that 
still  clung  to  him  (there  were  traitors  among  them)  to  Eger. 
Driven  by  necessity,  he  now  demanded  aid  from  Bernard  von 
Weimar,  who  had  taken  Ratisbon  and  was  in  his  neighbour- 
hood. The  astonishment  caused  by  this  message  was  ex- 
treme, and  Bernard,  who  believed  Wallenstein  in  league  with 
the  devil,  exclaimed,  "  He  who  does  not  trust  in  God  can 
never  be  trusted  by  man!*'  Wallenstein's  hour  was  come. 
Colonel  Butler,  two  Irish  officers,  named  Lesley,  and  a  Scotch- 
man, named  Gordon,  who  were  probably  in  league  with  the 
Jesuits,  conspired,  in  the  hope  of  being  richly  rewarded  by 
the  emperor,  against  the  life  of  their  great  leader  and  common 
benefactor.  The  soldiers  used  by  Butler  for  this  purpose 
consisted  of  Irishmen,  two  Scotchmen,  and  an  Italian.  Ulow, 
Terzky,  Bansky,  and  Captain  Neumann  were  murdered  during 
a  banquet  held  in  the  castle  of  Eger.*  The  door  of  Wallen- 
stein's  apartment  was  burst  open.  Wallenstein  sprang  from 
his  bed  and  was  met  by  Devereux,  who  cried  out  to  him, 

.*  The  banqueting-hall,  where  this  tragic  scene  took  place,  is  now  all 
tiiat  remains  of  the  castle  of  Eger.    Translator. 


866  DEATH  OF  WALLENSTEIN. 

"  Are  you  the  villain  who  wonld  sell  the  army  to  the  enemy 
and  tear  the  crown  from  the  emperor's  head?"  Wallenstein, 
without  replying,  opened  his  arms  and  received  a  mortal 
wound  in  the  breast,  February  25th,  1634.* 

Bernard  von  Weimar  reached  Eger  shortly  after  the  mur^ 
der,  and  found  the  town  in  the  hands  of  the  imperialists. 
Butler  and  Lesley  were  created  counts  and  richly  rewarded 
by  the  emperor.  Neustadt  was  bestowed  upon  Batler,  the 
whole  of  Teraky's  possessions  upon  Lesley,  those  of  Kinsky 
upon  Gordon.  Devereux  received  a  badge  of  distinction  and 
a  pension.  Wallenstein's  possessions  were  divided  among  Mb 
betrayers,  Gallas  receiving  Friedland;  Piccolomini,  who,  on 
the  murder  of  his  former  friend  had  helped  himself  richly  to 
his  treasures,  being  merely  rewarded  with  the  gift  of  Bachod, 
Colloredo  with  Opotschno,  Altringer  with  Toeplitz,  Traut- 
mannsdorf  with  Gitschin.  The  emperor  appropriated  Sagan 
to  himself.  The  money  left  in  Wallenstein's  treasury  by  Pie- 
colomini  was  scattered  as  a  largesse  among  the  soldiery.  The 
officers  who  had  most  firmly  adhered  to  their  former  leader, 
were,  although  guiltless  of  participation  in  his  political  schemes, 
banished,  in  order  to  make  room  for  foreigners ;  twenty-four 
of  their  number  were  beheaded  at  Pilsen.  The  emperor,  at 
the  same  time,  published  a  manifesto,  in  which  he  attempted 
to  justify  Wallenstein's  base  assassination  by  loading  his 
memory  with  false  aspersions,  the  very  negotiations  carried 
on  by  him  at  his  command  and  with  his  knowledge  being 
brought  forward  in  proof  of  the  criminality  of  his  designs. 

CCIX.   The  battle  of  Ncerdlingen.—The  treati/ of  Prague- 
Defeat  of  the  French. 

Wallenstein's  army,  a  few  regiments  excepted,  which 
dispersed  or  went  over  to  the  Swedes,  remained  true  to  the 
emperor.  The  archduke,  Ferdinand,  was  appointed  general- 
issimo of  the  imperial  forces,  which  were  placed  under  the 
command  of  Gallas.  Another  army  was  conducted  across  the 
Alps  by  the  Cardinal  Infanto,  Don  Fernando,  brother  to  Phi- 
lip IV.  of  Spain,  A.  d.  1634.  Had  Bernard  been  aided  by 
the  Saxons  or  by  Horn,  the  whole  of  the  imperial  army  might 

*  The  room  in  the  burgomaster's  house,  where  this  murder  was  com- 
mitted, may  still  be  seen  by  the  inquisitive  trayeller.    Trakslatob. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  NOSBDUNOEK.  367 

easily  have  been  scattered  during  the  confusion  consequent  on 
the  death  of  its  commander,  but  the  Saxons  were  engaged  in 
secaring  the  possession  of  the  Lausitz,  and  it  was  not  until 
Maj  that  Amheim  gained  a  trifling  advantage  near  Li^nits. 
Horn  laid  siege  to  Ueberlingen  on  the  Lake  of  Constance, 
with  a  view  of  retarding  the  advance  of  the  Spaniards.  A 
small  Swedish  force  under  Banner  retook  Frankfurt  on  the 
Oder  and  joined  the  Saxons.  The  little  town  of  Hcexter 
was  plundered,  and  all  the  inhabitants  were  butchered  by 
Geleen,  George  von  Liineburg  delaying  to  grant  his  promised 
aid  in  the  hope  of  seizing  Hildesheim  for  himself.  Hil- 
desbeim  capitulated  in  July.  The  country  swarmed  with 
revolutionary  peasant  bands,  whom  hunger  had  converted 
into  robbers.  The  upper  Rhenish  provinces  were  equally 
unquiet.  Bernard  remained  inactive  on  the  Danube,  alone 
disturbed  by  John  von  Werth,  who  once  more  drove  him 
from  his  quarters  at  Deggendorf.  Feuqui^res,  meanwhile, 
strenuously  endeavoured  to  win  the  Heilbronn  confederation 
over  to  the  interests  of  France,  and  to  dissolve  their  alliance 
with  Sweden.  Loeffler  had  abandoned  the  Swedish  service 
for  that  of  France,  and  his  master,  the  young  Duke  Eberhard 
of  Wurtemberg,  was,  like  William  of  Hesse,  in  the  pay  of  that 
crown. 

The  whole  of  the  Protestant  forces  were  thus  scattered 
when  the  great  imperial  army  broke  up  its  camp  in  Bohemia 
and  advanced  upon  Ratisbon,  with  the  design  of  seizing  that 
city  and  of  joining  the  Spanish  army  then  advancing  from 
Italy.  Bernard  vainly  summoned  Horn  to  his  aid ;  the  mo- 
ment for  action  passed,  and,  when  too  late,  he  was  joined  by 
that  commander  at  Augsburg,  and  the  confederates  pushed 
hastily  forwards  to  the  relief  of  Ratisbon.  Landshut  was 
taken  by  storm  and  shared  the  fate  of  Magdeburg.  Al- 
tringer,  whilst  vainly  attempting  to  save  the  city,  perished 
in  the  general  conflagration.  The  castle,  which  had  been 
converted  into  a  powder  magazine,  was  blown  up,  A.  d.  1634. 
The  news  of  the  capitulation  of  Ratisbon  on  the  26th  of  July, 
reached  the  victors  midway.  Amheim  and  Banner  appeared 
on  the  same  day  before  Prague.  The  imperialists,  neverthe- 
less, indifferent  to  the  fate  of  Bohemia,  continued  to  mount 
the  Danube.  The  advanced  Croatian  guard  conunitted  the 
most  horrid  excesses.     At  Noerdlingen,  a  junction  took  place 


368  THE  BATTLE  OF  NOSRDLINGEN. 

with  the  Spanish  troops.  The  imperial  army  now  amounted 
to  fortj-six  thousand  men  under  Ferdinand  III.,  the  Cardinal 
Infan*^-the  elector  of  Bavaria,  the  duke  of  Lorraine,  Ge- 
neral >allas  and  John  von  Werth.  The  Protestants,  al- 
though reinforced  bj  the  people  of  Wurtemberg,  merely  num- 
bered thirty  thousand.  Bernard,  too  confident  of  success, 
and  impatient  to  relieve  the  city  of  Noerdlingen,  at  that  time 
vigorously  besieged  by  the  imperialists,  rejected  Horn's  advice 
to  await  the  arrival  of  the  Rhinegrave,  and  resolved  to  hazard 
a  battle.  On  the  26th  of  August,  a.  d.  1634,  he  made  a 
successful  attack  and  gained  a  favourable  position,  but  was, 
on  the  following  day,  overwhelmed  by  numbers.  The  ex- 
plosion of  his  powder-magazine,  by  which  numbers  of  his 
men  were  destroyed,  contributed  to  complete  his  defeat.  Count 
Thum  the  Younger  vainly  endeavoured  to  turn  the  battle 
and  led  his  men  seventeen  times  to  the  charge.  Horn  was 
taken  prisoner,  and  twelve  thousand  men  fell.  Bernard  fled. 
His  treasures  and  papers  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
The  Rhinegrave,  who  was  bringing  seven  thousand  men  to 
his  aid,  was  surprised  and  completely  routed  by  John  von 
Werth  and  Charles  of  Lorraine.  Heilbronn  was  plundered 
during  the  retreat  by  the  Swedish  Colonel  Senger,  who  fled 
out  of  one  gate  with  his  booty  as  the  imperialists  entered  at 
another  to  complete  the  pillage. 

The  horrors  inflicted  upon  Bavaria  were  terribly  revenged 
upon  Swabia.  The  duke  of  Wurtemberg,  Eberhard  IH., 
safe  behind  the  fortifications  of  Strassburg,  forgot  the  misery 
of  his  country  in  the  arms  of  the  beautiful  Margravine  von 
Salm.  Waiblingen,  Niirtingen,  Calw,  Eirchheim,  Boeblingen, 
Besigheim,  and  almost  every  village  throughout  the  countiy 
were  destroyed ;  Heilbronn  was  almost  totally  burnt  down ; 
the  inhabitants  were  either  butchered  or  cruelly  tortured. 
To  pillage  and  murder  succeeded  famine  and  pestilence.  The 
population  of  the  duchy  of  Wurtemberg  was  reduced  from 
half  a  million  to  forty-eight  thousand  souls.  The  Jesuits  took 
possession  of  the  old  Lutheran  university  of  TUbingen.  Osi- 
ander,  the  chancellor  of  the  university,  unmoved  by  the  ex- 
ample of  his  weaker  brethren,  who  recanted  in  order  to  re- 
tain their  offices  and  dignities,  bravely  knocked  down  a 
soldier,  who  attacked  him,  sword  in  hand,  in  the  pulpit.  The 
Catholic  service  was,  in  many  places  rerestablished  by  force. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  NCERDLINGEN.  369 

The  whole  of  Wurtemberg  was  either  confiscated  by  the  em- 
peror or  partitioned  among  his  favourites ;  Trautmannsdorf 
received  Weinsberg ;  Schlick,  Bablingen  and  Tuttlin^^  etc. ; 
Taupadel,  who  had  been  left  by  Bernard  in  Schornai  ,  was 
forced  to  yield.  Augsburg  was  again  distinguished  amid  the 
general  misery  by  the  loss  of  sixty  thousand  of  her  inhabit- 
ants, who  were  swept  away  by  famine  and  pestilence.  The 
remaining  citizens,  whom  starvation  alone  compelled  to  ca- 
pitulate, were  deprived  of  all  their  possessions,  forced  to  recant, 
and  refused  permission  to  emigrate.  Wurzburg,  Frankfurt, 
Spires,  Philipsburg,  the  whole  of  Rhenish  Franconia,  besides 
Mayence,  Heidelberg,  and  Coblentz,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
emperor.  The  whole  of  the  Pfalz  was  again  laid  waste,  and 
the  inhabitants  were  butchered  in  such  numbers  that  two 
hundred  peasants  were  all  that  remained  in  the  lower  country. 
Isolani  devastated  the  Wetterau  with  fire  and  sword,  and 
plundered  the  country  as  far  as  Thuringia.  The  places 
whither  the  Swedes  had  fled  for  refuge  also  suffered  incredibly. 
The  fugitive  •  soldiery,  without  provisions  or  baggage,  cla- 
moured for  pay,  and  Oxenstierna,  in  order  to  avoid  a  general 
pillage,  laid  the  merchants,  assembled  at  the  fair  held  at 
Frankfurt  a  M.,  under  contribution.  The.  sufferings  of  the 
wretched  Swabians  were  avenged  by  the  imbittered  soldiery 
on  the  Catholic  inhabitants  of  Mayence. 

The  imperial  army,  although  weakened  by  division,  by  gar- 
risoning the  conquered  provinces,  and  by  the  departure  of  the 
Infanta  for  the  Netherlands,  still  presented  too  formidable  an 
aspect  for  attack  on  the  part  of  Bernard,  who,  unwilling  to 
demand  the  aid  he  required  from  France,  remained  peaceably 
beyond  the  Rhine.  The  Heilbronn  confederacy  had,  inde- 
pendently of  him,  cast  itself  into  the  arms  of  France.  Loeffler, 
the  Swedish  chancellor,  and  the  chief  leader  of  the  confedera- 
tion, had  contrived  to  secure  to  France,  without  Bernard's 
assent,  the  hereditary  possession  of  Alsace,  for  which  he  was 
deprived  of  his  office  and  banished  by  Oxenstierna.  The 
celebrated  Dutchman,  Hugo  Grotius,  replaced  him  as  Swedish 
ambassador  in  Paris.  Wurtemberg  and  Hesse  had  long  for- 
warded the  interests  of  France. 

The  sin  committed  by  the  Heilbronn  confederation  against 
Germany  by  selling  themselves  to  France  is  alone  to  be 
palliated  by  the  desperate  situation  to  which  tl^ey  were  r€- 

YOL.    II.  2   B 


570  THE  TEEATY  OF  PKAGUE. 

duoed  by  the  defection  of  the  Protestant  electors.  Sftxcnj- 
and  Brandenburg  again  concluded  peace,  a.  d.  1635,  at  Prague, 
with  the  emperor,  to  whom  they  abandoned  all  the  Protestants 
in  southern  and  western  Germany  and  the  whole  of  the  Heil- 
bronn  confederation,  under  pretext  of  the  urgent  necessity  of 
peace,  of  the  restoration  of  the  honour  of  Germany  and  of  the 
happiness  of  the  people  by  the  expulsion  of  the  foreigner. 
Saxony  was  reinstated  in  the  territory  of  which  she  had  been 
deprived  by  the  edict  of  restitution,  and  received  the  Upper- 
Lausitz  as  an  hereditary  fief.  Augustus,  elector  of  Saxony, 
was  also  nominated  administrator  of  the  archbishopric  of 
Magdeburg  in  the  room  of  the  Archduke  Leopold.  A  Saxon 
princess,  the  daughter  of  the  dectoress,  Magdalena  SibyUa, 
was  given  in  marriage  to  Prince  Christian  of  Denmark  as  an 
inducement  to  that  kingdom  to  take  the  field  against  Sweden. 
Brandenburg  received  the  reversion  of  Pomerania,  whose  last 
duke,  Bogislaw,  was  sick  and  childless.  The  princes  of 
Mecklenburg  and  Anhalt,  and  the  cities  Erfurt,  Augsbui^, 
Nuremberg,  and  Ulm,  also  conformed  to  the  treaty  for  the 
sake  of  preserving  their  neutrality,  for  which  they  were  bit- 
terly punished. 

Had  the  emperor  taken  advantage  of  the  decreasing  power 
of  Sweden,  of  the  procrastination  on  the  part  of  France,  and 
of  the  general  desire  for  peace  manifested  throughout  Grer- 
many,  to  publish  a  general  amnesty  and  to  grant  the  free 
exercise  of  religion  throughout  the  empire,  the  wounds  in- 
flicted by  his  blood-thirsty  policy  might  yet  have  been  heal- 
ed, but  the  grey-headed  hypocrite  merely  folded  his  hands, 
dripping  in  gore,  in  prayer,  and  demanded  fresh  victims 
from  the  god  of  peace.  Peace  was  concluded  with  part  of 
the  heretics  in  order  to  secure  the  destruction  of  the  rest. 
The  last  opportunity  that  offered  for  the  expulsion  of  the 
foreign  robber  from  Germany  was  lost  by  the  exclusion  of 
the  Heilbronn  confederation  from  the  treaty  of  Prague  by  the 
emperor ;  and  although  they  in  their  despair  placed  the  empire 
at  the  mercy  of  the  French,  and  their  country  for  centuries 
beneath  French  influence,  their  crime  rests  on  the  head  of  the 
sovereign,  who  by  his  acts  placed  the  empire  on  the  brink 
of  the  precipice,  and  on  those  of  the  dastardly  electors,  who, 
for  the  sake  of  securing  an  enlai^ed  territory  to  their  houses, 
basely  betrayed  their  brethren.    The  elector  of  Saxony,  for  the 


THE  TREATY  OF  PRAGUE.  371 

second  time  unmindfal  of  his  plighted  faith,  abandoned  Protest- 
ant Silesia  to  the  wrath  of  the  Jesuits,  and  the  fate  of  the  re- 
maining Protestant  provinces,  excluded  from  the  treaty  of 
Prague,  may  be  read  in  that  of  the  Pfalz  and  of  Wurtemberg. 

Oxenstiema  hastened  in  person  to  Paris  for  the  purpose  of 
making  terms  with  Richelieu,  and  thereby  counterbalancing 
the  league  between  the  emperor,  Saxony,  and  Brandenburg, 
and  Bernard  von  Weimar  was  compelled  passively  to  behold 
the  dispute  between  Sweden  and  France  for  sovereignty 
over  Protestant  Germany.  The  French  soldiery  were,  more- 
over, 80  undisciplined  and  cowardly  that  they  deserted  in 
troops.  Bernard  was  consequently  far  from  sufficiently  rein- 
forced, but  nevertheless  succeeded  in  raising  the  siege  of  Hei- 
delberg. The  death  of  the  energetic  and  aged  Rhinegrave 
took  place  just  at  this  period. 

Whilst  matters  were  thus  at  a  stand-still  on  the  Upper 
Rhine,  success  attended  the  imperial  arms  in  the  Netherlands. 
The  French,  victorious  at  Avaire,  were  forced  to  raise  the  siege 
of  Lou  vain  by  the  Infanto  and  Piccolomini,  a.  d.  1635.  The 
Dutch  were  also  expelled  the  country.  Bernard,  fearing  to  be 
surrounded  by  Piccolomini,  retired  from  the  Rhine  into  Upper 
Burgundy.  Heidelberg  fell ;  two  French  regiments  were  cut 
to  pieces  at  Reichenweiher  by  John  von  Werth ;  Hatzfeld  took  . 
Eaiserslautem  by  storm,  and  almost  totally  annihilated  the 
celebrated  yellow  regiment  of  Gustavus  Adolphus.  Mayence 
was  closely  besieged,  and  France,  alarmed  at  the  turn  of  affairs, 
sent  the  old  Cardinal  de  la  Valette  to  reinforce  Bernard,  who 
advanced  to  the  relief  of  Mayence  and  succeeded  in  raising 
the  siege,  notwithstanding  the  cowardice  of  the  French,  who 
were  forced  by  threats  to  cross  the  Rhine.  John  von  Werth, 
meanwhilev  invaded  Lorraine,  and,  with  Piccolomini  and  the 
Infanto,  made  a  feint  to  cross  the  French  frontier.  La  Valette 
and  Bernard  instantly  returned,  pursued  by  Gallas  and  al- 
ready surrounded  by  Colloredo,*  who  was  defeated  by  Bernard 
at  Meisenheim,  where  he  had  seized  the  pass.  Hotly  pur- 
sued by  Gallas  and  hard  pushed  by  the  Croatians,  Bernard 
escaped  across  the  Saar  at  Walderfingen  on  a  bridge  raised  on 
wine-casks,  before  the  arrival  of  the  main  body  of  the  im- 

•  The  Colloredo  are  descended  from  the  Swabian  family  of  Walsee, 
which,  in  the  fourteenth  century,  settled  in  the  Friaul,  and,  at  a  later 
period,  erected  the  castle  on  the  steep  (collo  rigido). 

2  B  2 


372  THE  TREATY  OF  PRAGUE. 

perialists,  which  came  up  with  his  rearguard  at  Boulaj,  but 
met  with  a  repulse.  After  a  retreat  of  thirteen  days,  the  fu- 
gitive army  reached  Metz,  in  September,  1635.  Gallas  fixed 
his  head-quarters  in  Lorraine,  but  the  country  had  been  al- 
ready so  completely  pillaged  that  he  was  compelled  to  return 
in  November,  and  to  fix  his  camp  in  Alsace-Gabem,  where  he 
gave  himself  up  to  rioting  and  drunkenness,  whilst  his  army 
was  thinned  by  famine  and  pestilence.  Mayence  was  starved 
out  and  capitulated,  after  having  been  plundered  by  the 
Swedish  garrison. 

In  the  commencement  of  1636,  Bernard  visited  Paris,  where 
he  was  courteously  received  by  Louis  XIII.  The  impression 
made  upon  his  heart  by  the  lovely  daughter  of  the  Due  de 
Rohan  was  no  sooner  perceived  than  a  plan  was  formed  by  the 
French  court  to  deprive  him  of  his  independence  as  a  prince 
of  the  empire.  Bernard  discovered  their  project  and  closed 
his  heart  against  the  seductions  of  the  lady.  The  aid  pro- 
mised by  France  was  now  withheld.  Both  parties  were  de- 
ceived. France,  unwilling  to  defray  the  expenses  of  a  war 
carried  on  by  Bernard  for  the  sole  benefit  of  Protestant  Grer- 
many,  merely  aimed  at  preserving  a  pretext  for  interference 
in  the  political  and  religious  disputes  agitating  that  country, 
and,  for  that  purpose,  promised  Bernard  a  sum  of  four  mil- 
lion livres  for  the  maintenance  of  an  army  of  eighteen  thou- 
sand men. 

The  reconquest  of  Alsace  followed ;  at  Gabern,  which  was 
taken  by  storm,  Bernard  lost  the  forefinger  of  his  left  hand, 
and  the  bed  on  which  he  lay  was  shattered  by  a  cannon  balL 
He  returned  thence  to  Lorraine,  where  he  carried  on  a  petty 
war  with  Gallas  and  took  several  fortresses.  The  humanity 
evinced  by  him  at  this  period,  so  contrary  to  the  licence  he  had 
formerly  allowed  his  soldiery  from  a  spirit  of  religious  fanaticism, 
proceeded  from  a  desire  to  please  the  French  queen,  the  cele- 
brated Ann  of  Austria,  the  daughter  of  Philip  III.  of  Spain. 
He  surprised  Isolani's  Croatians  at  Champlitte,  deprived  them 
of  eighteen  hundred  horses  and  of  the  whole  of  the  rich  booty 
they  had  collected,  a.  d.  1636. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year,  John  von  Werth  had,  inde- 
pendently of  Gallas,  ventured  as  far  as  Louvain,  where  a  re- 
volution had  broken  out.  The  Gallo-Dutch  faction,  never- 
theless, proved  victorious,  and  the  imperialists  were  expelled. 


DEFEAT  OF  THE  FRENCH.  373 

Werth,  unable  to  lay  siege  to  the  town  with  his  cavalry,  re- 
venged himself  by  laying  the  country  in  the  vicinity  waste. 
In  April,  he  joined  Piccolomini  with  the  view  of  invading 
France  and  of  marching  full  upon  Paris.  This  project  was, 
however,  frustrated  by  Piccolomini's  timidity  and  by  the  tardy 
movements  of  the  infantry.  This  expedition,  undertaken  in 
defiance  of  the  orders  of  the  elector  of  Bavaria,  forms  one  of 
the  few  amusing  episodes  of  this  terrible  tragedy.  Werth, 
advancing  rapidly  with  his  cavalry,  beat  the  French  on  every 
point,  forced  the  passage  of  the  Somme  and  Oise,  and  spread 
terror  throughout  France.  The  cities  laid  their  keys  at  his 
feet,  the  nobles  begged  for  sentinels  to  guard  their  houses,  and 
paid  them  enormous  sums.  Paris  was  reduced  to  despair. 
The  roads  to  Chartres  and  Orleans  were  crowded  with  fugi- 
tives, and  the  metropolis  •  must  inevitably  have  fallen  had 
Werth,  instead  of  allowing  his  men  to  remain  behind  plunder- 
ing the  country,  pushed  steadily  forwards.  By  this  delay, 
Richelieu  gained  time  to  levy  troops  and  to  send  the  whole 
of  the  disposable  force  against  him.  A  part  of  the  French 
troops  were,  nevertheless,  cut  to  pieces  during  a  night-attack 
at  Montigny,  and  it  was  not  until  the  autumnal  rains  and 
floods  brought  disease  into  his  camp  that  Werth  retired.  He 
remained  for  some  time  afterwards  at  Cologne,  where  he 
wedded  the  Countess  Spaur  (of  an  ancient  Tyrolese  family). 
Ehrenbreitstein,  still  garrisoned  by  the  French,  who  had  long 
lost  Coblentz,  was  closely  besieged  by  Werth,  and  forced  by 
famine  to  capitulate,  a.  d.  1637.     • 

William  of  Hesse,  instead  of  joining  Bernard  after  the  bat- 
tle of  Noerdlingen,  had  raised  troops  with  the  money  received 
by  him  from  France  and  had  seized  Paderborn,  which  was 
retaken  by  the  imperialists,  a.  d.  1636.  George  von  Liine- 
burg,  who  had,  in  1634,  become  the  head  of  the  Guelphic 
House  on  the  death  of  Frederick  Ulric  of  Wolfenbiittel,  long 
hesitated  to  give  in  his  adhesion  to  the  treaty  of  Prague,  but 
Oxenstierna,  on  becoming  acquainted  with  his  intercourse 
^th  the  emperor,  depriving  him,  by  means  of  Sperreuter,  of 
Ws  best  regiments,  his  hesitation  ceased  and  he  acceded  to  the 
emperor's  terms.  Sperreuter,  who  had  deserted  with  the 
^wer  Saxon  regiments  to  the  Swedish  general,  Banner,  now 
went  over  to  the  emperor,  and  Baudis  to  Saxony.  A  reac- 
tion took  place  in  all  the  German  regiments  under  the  Swedish 


374  DEFEAT  OF  THE  FRENCH. 

Standard,  of  which  the  Prague  confederation  failed  to  take  ad- 
vantage, and  their  commanders  were  bribed  bj  Kniphausen 
to  remain  in  the  pay  of  Sweden.  This  general  fell,  in  Janu- 
ary, 1636,  at  Haselune,  during  an  engagement  with  Geleen, 
who  was  beaten  off  the  field.  Minden  was  betrayed,  in  May, 
by  the  commandant  Ludingshausen,  Kniphausen's  son-in- 
law,  to  the  Swedes. 

The  remnant  of  the  old  Swedish  army  under  Banner  found 
itself  exposed  to  the  greatest  danger  by  the  conclusion  of 
peace  at  Prague.  Banner  had,  together  with  the  elector  of 
Saxony,  advanced  upon  Bohemia,  whence  he  was  now  com- 
pelled to  retreat.  On  the  alliance  between  George  von  Liine- 
burg  and  Saxony,  Baudis  was  despatched  against  him,  Novem- 
ber, 1635,  but  was  defeated  at  Doemitz,  and  Banner,  dreading 
to  be  cut  off  by  an  imperial  col-ps  under  the  Bohemian,  Mar- 
zin,  who  had  taken  Stargard  by  storm  and  pillaged  that  town, 
withdrew  to  Pomerania.  During  this  autumn,  the  French  am- 
bassador, d'Avaux,  had  succeeded  in  bringing  about  a  recon- 
ciliation between  Wladislaw  of  Poland  and  Sweden,  and  in  ter- 
minating the  long  war  between  those  countries.  The  Swedish 
regiments  under  Torstenson  consequently  evacuated  Livonia 
and  Prussia  and  united  with  those  under  Banner ;  whilst,  on 
the  other  hand,  a  wild  troop  of  Polish  Cossacks  marched  to 
the  aid  of  the  emperor.  This  cunning  policy  on  the  part  of 
France  caused  the  war  to  rage  with  redoubled  fury.  Banner 
and  Torstenson  defeated  the  Saxons  in  the  depth  of  winter  at 
Goldberg  and  Kiritz,  and,  in  February,  Banner  again  invaded 
Saxony  and  cruelly  visited  the  defection  of  the  elector  on  the 
heads  of  his  wretched  subjects.  The  arrival  of  Hatzfeld  at 
the  head  of  a  body  of  imperialists  compelled  him  to  retire 
behind  Magdeburg,  where  Baudis  was  severely  wounded  and 
relinquished  the  command.  Each  side  now  confined  itself 
to  manoeuvring  until  the  arrival  of  reinforcements.  The 
Swedish  troops  arrived  first,  and  Hatzfeld  and  the  Saxons, 
being  drawn  into  an  engagement  at  Wittstock,  before  Goetz 
was  able  to  join  them,  were  totally  defeated.  Hatzfeld  was 
wounded,  and  the  elector  lost  the  whole  of  his  baggage  and 
treasure.  Saxony  was  again  laid  waste  by  Banner's  infuriated 
troops.  The  gallant  defence  of  Leipzig  increased  their  rage. 
All  the  towns  and  villages  in  the  vicinity  were  reduced  to 
ashes.     A  similar  fate  befell  Meissen,  "Wurzen,  Oschatz,  Col- 


DEATH  OF  FERDINAND  THE  SECOND.  375 

^tz,  Liebwerda,  and  several  smaller  towns.  The  peasants 
fled  in  crowds  to  the  fortified  cities  and  to  the  mountains, 
and,  to  complete  the  general  misery,  famine  and  pestilence 
succeeded  to  the  sword  and  the  fire-brand.  A  bloody  revenge 
was  taken  bj  Derflinger  with  a  Brandenburg  squadron  on  a 
thousand  Swedish  horse  that  ventured  into  the  province  of 
Mansfeld.  Banner  finally  assembled  his  troops  and  intrenched 
himself  in  Torgau,  which  he  stored  with  provisions,  whilst 
Gallas,  Goetz,  Hatsfeld,  and  the  elector  of  Saxony  advanced 
to  the  attack. 

OCX.    Death  of  Ferdinand  the  Second.^PeMenc9  and 
Famine, — Bernard  von  Weimar. — Banner, 

Thb  favour  of  the  electoral  princes  being  secured  by  the 
treaty  of  Prague,  they  were,  in  the  autumn  of  1636,  convoked 
by  Ferdinand  II.  to  Ratisbon,  for  the  purpose  of  electing  his 
son,  the  Archduke  Ferdinand,  as  his  successor  on  the  throne. 
Ferdinand  II.  exjMred  A.  D.  1637,  after  having  the  gratifica- 
tion of  quelling  the  revolt  of  the  peasantry  in  Camiola  and 
Upper  Austria.  In  Erfurt,  the  imperial  general,  Hatzfeld, 
seized  the  government,  imprisoned  and  tortured  the  Lutheran 
clergy  and  drained  the  coffers  of  the  citizens.  Nuremberg, 
Augsburg,  and  Ulm  met  with  an  almost  similar  treatment. 

Ferdinand  bequeathed  the  empire  to  his  son,  Ferdinand  III., 
a  man  of  insignificant  character,  whose  mother,  Maria,  also  a 
Habsburg,  was  daughter  to  Philip  III.  of  Spain.  The  late 
emperor,  notwithstanding  the  immense  scale  on  which  he 
performed  his  part  and  the  unheard-of  calamities  which, 
worse  than  the  worst  of  despots,  he  inflicted  upon  his  subjects, 
^d  not  live  to  witness  the  triumph  of  his  party.  Napoleon, 
who  carried  fire  and  sword  almost  throughout  Europe,  brought 
<ess  death  and  sorrow  on  the  world  than  this  quiet  and  devout 
^peror,  to  whose  religious  and  political  fanaticism  ten  mil- 
uons  of  his  fellow  men  were  sacrificed.  The  people  were 
deprived  by  him  of  their  political  and  religious  liberty.  The 
ancient  German  constitution  was  annulled,  and  the  principles 
of  absolute  monarchy,  like  those  of  Spain,  were  for  the  first 
t«tie  carried  into  practice  in  the  hereditary  provinces  of  the 
Habsburg,  and  ere  long  in  those  of  Germany.  The  assem- 
bling of  the  Estates  became  an  empty  court-ceremony.     Had 


376  PESTILENCE  AND  FAMINE. 

the  emperor  triumphed,  Germany  would  at  least  have  been 
rewarded  with  the  acquisition  of  unity  for  the  loss  of  her 
liberty,  but  her  evil  destiny  deprived  her  of  the  one  without 
granting  the  other. 

During  the  year  in  which  the  old  emperor  closed  his  eyes 
that  had  so  long  gloated  on  blood,  the  misery  that  reigned 
throughout  Germany  had  reached  the  highest  pitch ;  the  hor- 
rors of  the  long  war,  the  destruction  of  the  towns  and  vil- 
lages by  lire,  the  torture  and  murder  of  the  citizens  and 
peasantry  by  the  soldiery,  were  accompanied  by  a  famine, 
which  depopulated  whole  districts ;  the  land  remained  unculti- 
vated, and  a  pestilence  resulted  from  want,  bad  food,  and  the 
putridity  of  the  air  occasioned  by  the  heaps  of  unburied  dead. 
The  soldier,  driven  by  necessity  as  well  as  by  love  of  rapine, 
snatched  the  last  morsel  from  the  hands  of  the  famishing 
wretches  that  remained.  Bands  of  Marauders  (Merode-bro- 
thers,  so  called  from  their  leader,  the  Count  von  Merode) 
composed  of  peasantry  and  of  homeless  wanderers,  who  some- 
times aided  one  party,  sometimes  another,  cruelly  avenging 
themselves  on  the  soldiery  or  joining  them  in  their  predatory 
excursions,  ranged  the  country,  and  forced  the  inhabitants, 
by  the  infliction  of  the  most  horrid  tortures,  to  open  their 
concealed  hoards  of  provisions  or  of  treasure.  Whole  pro- 
vinces were  so  completely  pillaged  as  to  afford  no  sustenance 
to  the  troops,  and  men  and  children  fought  like  wolves  for  a 
morsel  of  carrion. 

The  historians  of  this  period  graphically  describe  this  ex- 
cess of  misery.  Ferdinand  II.,  on  his  accession  to  the  throne, 
found  Austria  Lutheran,  thickly  populated,  and  prosperous ;  he 
left  her  Catholic,  depopulated,  and  impoverished.  He  found 
in  Bohemia  three  million  Hussites  dwelling  in  flourishing 
cities  and  villages,  he  left  merely  seven  hundred  and  eighty 
thousand  Catholic  beggars.  Silesia,  happy  and  blooming,  was 
laid  desolate ;  most  of  her  little  cities  and  villages  had  been 
burnt  to  the  ground,  her  inhabitants  put  to  the  sword.  Saxony, 
the  Mere,  and  Pomerania  had  shared  tt>e  same  melancholy 
fate.  Mecklenburg  and  the  whole  of  Lower  Saxony  had 
been  ruined  by  battles,  sieges,  and  invasions.  Hesse  lay  ut- 
terly waste.  In  the  Pfalz,  the  living  fed  upon  the  dead, 
mothers  on  their  babes,  brethren  on  each  other.  In  the 
Netherlands,  Liege,   Luxemburg,   Lorraine,   similar  scenes 


BERNARD  VON  WEIMAR.  377 

of  horror  were  of  frequent  occurrence.  The  whole  of  the 
Bhenish  provinces  lay  desert.  Swabia  and  Bavaria  were  al- 
most entirely  depopulated.  The  Tyrol  and  Switzerland  had 
escaped  the  horrors  of  war,  but  were  ravaged  by  pestilence. 
Such  was  the  aspect  of  Europe  on  the  death  of  Ferdinand  11., 
who,  like  an  aged  hyaena,  expired  amid  mouldering  bones  and 
ruins. 

Bernard  von  Weimar  a  second  time  visited  Paris,  where 
he  was  now  upheld  by  Oxenstiema  through  his  friend, 
Hugo  Grotius  (the  Swedes  being  unable  to  take  any  mea- 
sures in  the  North  so  long  as  he  remained  fixed  in  the 
South).  He,  in  the  mean  time,  allowed  his  troops  to  pillage 
Champagne,  which  speedily  induced  the  French  monarch 
to  furnish  him  with  the  means  of  satisfying  the  demands  of 
his  soldiery.  Charles,  duke  of  Lorraine,  and  Mercy,  the 
Bavarian,  had,  meanwhile,  fixed  their  quarters  in  Burgundy. 
A  bloody  engagement  took  place  with  the  latter  at  Besan9on, 
in  which  Bernard,  who  crossed  the  Saone  on  horseback  at  the 
head  of  his  men  in  the  face  of  the  enemy,  was  victorious.  Isle, 
I^iire,  and  several  other  Burgundian  fortresses  fell  successively 
into  his  hands,  and  [a.  d.  1637]  he  again  pushed  forwards 
fts  far  as  the  Bhine,  where  he  strongly  fortified  the  islands. 
Twice  surprised  by  Jahn  von  Werth,  he  plunged  into  the 
stream  and  escaped  by  swimming.  Still,  notwithstanding  the 
cowardice  of  the  French  troops,  aJmost  the  whole  of  whom  ran 
away,  success  crowned  his  efforts.  The  winter-quarters  on 
the  Rhine  being  insecure,  he  suddenly  crossed  the  stream  with 
his  dismounted  cavalry,  a  disease  having  carried  off  their 
horses,  and  threw  himself  amongst  the  mountains  in  the 
bishopric  of  Basle,  where  no  enemy  had  yet  penetrated,  and 
^hich  was  well  stored  with  supplies.  The  opposition  made 
^y  the  peasantry  and  the  threats  of  the  Catholic  Swiss,  whose 
*  rotestant  countrymen  sided  with  him,  were  equally  unavail- 
^ng»  The  fortifications  on  the  Rhine  were,  meanwhile,  speedily 
taken  by  Werth  from  the  cowardly  French  garrisons,  whilst 
ws  unworthy  colleague,  the  Duke  di  Savelli,  vainly  sought  to 
araw  Bernard  into  the  emperor's  service.  Hugo  Grotius  was 
^ually  unsuccessful  in  his  project  for  regaining  him  for 
Sweden,  by  marrying  him  to  the  young  queen,  Christina,  and 
^  fresh  dispute  arose  between  Bernard  and  France  on  account 
^  the  cession  of  Veltlin  by  that  kingdom  to  the  Grisons  and 


378  BERNARD  VON  WEIMAR. 

the  consequent  abandonment  of  Due  Bohan,  who  capitulated 
to  the  Spanish  under  Serbelloni  [a.  d.  1637]  and  took  refuge 
in  Bernard's  camp. 

At  the  head  of  a  hardy  troop,  merely  six  thousand  strong, 
Bernard  unexpectedly  broke  up  his  camp  on  the  Dellsberg, 
January  17th,  1638,  and  penetrated  into  the  Frickth^, 
firmly  resolved  to  maintain  himself  on  the  Upper  Rhine,  and, 
by  success  and  fresh  levies  of  troops,  to  win  for  himself  the 
power  in  Germany  which  he  had  so  long  and  so  vainly  at- 
tempted to  gain  by  means  of  France.  Laufenburg  and  Wald- 
shut  were  taken  by  surprise.  Rheinfelden,  where  four  hun- 
dred of  the  garrison  were  destroyed  by  the  explosion  of  a  mine, 
made  a  gallant  defence.  John  von  Werth  and  Savelli  hastened 
to  its  relief,  and,  on  the  18th  February,  a  desperate  engage- 
ment took  place  beneath  the  city  walls.  Bernard,  overwhelmed 
by  numbers,  was  forced  to  quit  the  field ;  the  brave  Bhinegrave 
fell,  and  Rohan  was  wounded  But,  on  the  21st,  Bernard 
unexpectedly  assailed  the  enemy  whilst  celebrating  their  vic- 
tory in  Rheinfelden  and  completely  routed  them.  Both  the 
leaders,  the  gallant  John  von  Werth  and  the  worthless  Savelli, 
Generals  Enkefort  and  Sperreuter,  with  almost  the  whole  of 
the  army,  were  taken  prisoners.  John  von  Werth,  contrary 
to  the  promise  given  by  Bernard,  was  sent  a  prisoner  to  Paris, 
where  he  was  treated  with  great  distinction.  Savelli  was  sent 
on  his  parole  to  Laufenburg,  whence  he  found  means  to  escape. 

Bernard  continued  to  pursue  the  enemy  and  to  collect  rein- 
forcements. His  old  school-fellow,  Guebriant,  joined  him 
with  a  small  number  of  French.  Rheinfelden  and  Freiburg 
in  the  Breisgau  fell  into  his  hands.  Taupadel  took  StuttganL 
The  possession  of  Breisach,  the  key  to  the  whole  of  Upper 
Germany,  was  keenly  disputed.  Goetz,  the  field-marshal  of 
the  empire,  hastening  to  its  relief,  was  routed  at  Benfeld  by 
Taupadel.  The  battle  of  Witten weyer,  in  which  Bernard,  whose 
forces  were  far  less  considerable,  was  victorious  over  Gostz  and 
Savelli  and  an  army  of  eighteen  thousand  five  hundred  men, 
followed.  Taupadel,  who  had  rashly  ventured  too  far  in  pursuit, 
was  captured  by  Savelli,  who  kept  him  in  close  imprisonment. 
Breisach  still  refused  to  capitulate,  and  the  besieging  army 
sufiered  a  considerable  loss  from  the  attacks  of  the  peasants 
of  the  Black  Forest.  Horst,  who  was  bringing  a  supply  of 
flour  and  powder,  was  forced  to  retreat,  and  was  deprived  of 


BERNARD  VON  WEIMAR.  379 

part  of  his  stores.  Charles,  duke  of  Lorraine,  when  attempting 
to  relieve  the  city,  was  taken  prisoner  at  Thann.  Bernard, 
who  had  for  some  time  been  suffering  from  fever,  being  car- 
ried from  the  field  half  dead  to  his  camp,  Goetz  attempted  to 
take  him  unawares,  and  had  already  reached  the  bridges  over 
the  Rhine,  when  Bernard,  springing  from  his  couch,  bestrode 
his  battle-steed,  and  rushed  to  the  defence.  The  troops,  in- 
spired with  enthusiasm  at  the  sight  of  an  eagle  hovering 
over  his  head,  pressed  forward,  and,  after  a  dreadful  struggle, 
succeeded  in  routing  the  imperialists,  numbers  of  whom  were 
drowned  in  the  Rhine.  Breisach  was  driven  by  famine  to 
capitulate.  The  garrison  was  promised  food  and  free  egress. 
The  treatment  of  the  prisoners,  taken  by  the  imperialists 
during  the  siege,  some  of  whom  were  starved  to  death,  whilst 
the  rest  fed  upon  their  comrades,  was  not  known  until  the 
terms  of  capitulation  had  been  acceded  to ;  Bernard,  never- 
theless, although  his  heart  burned  within  him,  remained  true 
to  his  given  word. 

Savelli,  the  fitting  favourite  of  the  Jesuits  and  of  the 
Viennese  court,  had,  with  consistent  baseness,  affected  the 
removal  and  imprisonment  of  his  worthier  rival,  Goetz.  On 
the  fall  of  Breisach,  he  had  again  recourse  to  diplomacy,  and 
called  upon  Bernard,  in  the  name  of  his  country,  to  join  the 
emperor.  Bernard  replied,  "  that  a  duke  of  Saxony  needed  no 
^on  in  patriotism  from  an  Italian  duca,**  and,  garrisoning 
Breisach  with  German  troops,  refused  to  deliver  that  fort  into 
the  hands  of  the  French.  But,  either  for  the  purpose  of  paci- 
fying Richelieu,  or  of  providing  Breisach  with  fresh  stores, 
"^  returned  to  Burgundy  during  the  depth  of  winter,  and 
seized  that  part  of  the  earldom  which  had  hitherto  escaped  the 
^vages  of  war.  The  peasantry  were  defeated,  the  lofty, 
Jocky  strong-hold  of  Joux  was  taken,  and  an  immense  num- 
^r  of  horses  and  stores  of  every  description  were  carried  to 
Breisach.  Richelieu  made  fresh  advances,  but,  being  person- 
jWy  ofiended  by  Bernard's  refusal  of  the  hand  of  his  niece  and 
heiress,  Margaret  de  Vignerot,  he,  from  that  moment,  resolved 
^Pon  his  ruin.  Erlach,  one  of  Bernard's  most  confidential 
ofiicers,  was  bribed  with  an  annuity  of  12,000  livres  to  betray 
Ws  noble-spirited  master.  Bernard's  intention  to  maintain 
himself  independent  of  France  was  clearly  evident.  He  placed 
^Pman  garrisons  in  all  the  strong-holds,  received  petitions  as 


380  BBRNAED  VON  WEIMAR. 

the  sovereign  of  Alsace,  negotiated  with  Sweden,  and,  unadvised 
by  France,  sought  an  alliance  with  Hesse.  His  death  speedily 
followed.  On  his  way  to  Pfirt  he  was  suddenly  taken  ill,  and 
was  carried  to  Neuburg,  where  he  expired,  A.  d.  1639.  Almost 
all  contemporary  writers  assert  his  having  been  poisoned  by 
a  French  emissary.  "  Germany,"  wrote  Hugo  Grotius,  "  was, 
in  this  prince,  deprived  of  her  greatest  ornament  and  of  her 
last  hope,  of  almost  the  only  one  worthy  of  the  name  of  a 
German  prince."* 

Bernard  bequeathed  his  conquests  and  the  whole  of  bis 
personal  property  to  his  brother,  to  the  express  exclusion  of 
France ;  but  the  traitor,  Erlach,  to  whom  he  had  intrusted 
Breisach,  delivered  that  fortress  up  to  France,  seized  the 
whole  of  his  treasures,  appropriated  the  most  valuable  portion 
to  himself,  and  distributed  200,000  dollars  among  the  soldiery 
as  a  French  largesse,  in  consideration  of  which  they  were 
bound  to  serve  BVance  until  the  question  of  the  inheritance 
was  settled.  This  settlement  never  took  place.  The  Ger- 
man officers  and  soldiers  were  kept  in  a  state  of  uncertainty, 
and  the  possibility  of  a  mutiny  on  their  part  was  obviated 
by  the  fortresses  being  garrisoned  half  with  French,  half 
with  Germans,  until  the  inactivity  of  the  Swedes,  the  help- 
lessness of  the  dukes  of  Weimar,  and  the  seduction  practised 
upon  the  troops,  left  the  German  officers  no  alternative  than 
to  remain  in  the  French  service,  to  which  they  yielded  the 
more  readily  on  the  appointment  of  their  ancient  comrade, 
Guebriant,  to  their  command. 

The  young  Pfalzgrave,  Charles  Louis,  the  son  of  the  unfor- 
tunate king  of  Bohemia,  made  a  futile  attempt  to  replace  the 
loss  of  Bernard.  Assisted  by  the  English,  and  by  his  gallant 
brother,  Robert,  (Bernard's  rival  with  the  beautiful  Kohan,) 
he  had  raised  a  little  army  on  the  coasts  of  northern  Grer- 
many,  but  was  in  October,  1638,  defeated  at  Vlotho  by  Hatz- 
feld.  He  escaped  with  great  difficulty.  Bobert  was  taken 
prisoner.  Charles  Louis  returned  to  England,  whence,  in  the 
hope  of  placing  himself,  on  Bernard's  death,  at  the  head  of 

*  Bernard  von  Weimar  was  a  handsome  man,  scarcely  in  his  thirtieth 
year,  with  a  manly,  sun-burnt  countenance.  His  hair,  which  was  re- 
markably long,  lay  in  thick,  bright  curls  upon  his  shoulders.  He  never 
married,  and  was  equally  chaste  and  pious.  He  daily  devoted  several 
hours  to  the  study  of  the  Bible,  which  he  knew  almost  entirely  by  heart 


BERNARD  VON  WEIMAR.  381 

his  leaderless  army,  he  hastened,  with  a  sum  of  moDej,  to 
Alsace,  but — through  France,  where,  by  Richelieu's  order,  he 
was  deprived  of  his  treasure,  and  kept  prisoner  at  Yincennes, 
until  Bernard's  army  had  sworn  allegiance  to  France,  when, 
on  his  binding  himself  by  oath  never  to  act  against  the  inter- 
ests of  that  country,  he  was  contumeliously  set  at  liberty. 

William,  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  meanwhile,  driven  out  of  his 
territories,  which  had  been  confiscated  by  the  emperor,  had 
thrown  himself  into  East  Frizeland,  where  he  laid  the  country 
waste  and  raised  fresh  troops  with  the  money  taken  from  the 
inhabitants.  He  died,  a.  d.  1637.  The  contest  with  the  em* 
peror  was  carried  on  after  his  death  by  his  widow,  Amelia 
Elizabeth,  whilst  the  Hessian  Estates  and  their  general  Holz- 
appel  concluded  a  truce,  in  order  to  spare  the  country,  three 
hundred  villages  having  been  burnt  to  the  ground  by  Geleen. 
The  duchess,  a  zealous  Calvinist,  demanded,  as  a  pledge  of 
the  emperor's  good  faith,  the  toleration  of  Calvinism,  Luther- 
anism  being  alone  tolerated  by  the  treaty  of  Prague.  Had 
the  three  forms  of  worship  been  at  once  placed  on  an  equal 
footing,  how  much  neejdless  misery  might  not  Germany  have 
been  spared !  Her  demand  was  left  unnoticed  during  a  whole 
year. — George  von  Luneburg,  although  a  party  to  the  treaty 
of  Prague,  remained  in  close  alliance  with  Sweden,  preserved 
a  strict  neutrality,  and  guarded  his  possessions.  Konigsmark 
of  Brandenburg,  a  Swedish  general,  one  of  the  boldest  rob- 
bers of  the  day,  devastated  the  Eichsfeld  with  German  troops 
and  levied  contributions  upon  the  bishop  of  Wiirzburg,  Hatz- 
feld's  brother,  a.  d.  1639. 

The  French  confining  themselves  to  the  occupation  of  Al- 
sace, the  emperor,  Bavaria,  Saxony,  and  Brandenburg  turned 
their  united  forces  against  the  Swedes.  The  claims  of  Bran- 
denburg upon  Pomerania  on  the  death  of  Bogislaw,  the  last 
of  her  dukes,  A.  d.  1637,  had  been  treated  with  derision  by 
the  Swedes,  and,  from  that  moment,  the  elector  George  William, 
aided  by  his  general  Klitzing,  had  discovered  the  greatest 
zeal  in  opposing  them.  Arnheim,  ^i^ho  had  thrown  up  his 
command  and  was  living  peaceably  at  Boitzenburg,  was  seized 
hy  the  Swedes,  who  dreaded  lest  he  might  replace  himself  at 
the  head  of  the  Saxons,  and  sent  to  Stockholm.  Gallas,  Hatz- 
feld,  Goetz,  and  Geleen,  meanwhile,  attacked  Banner  and  drove 
him  from  his  entrenchments  in  Torgau ;  but,  although  completely 


882  BERNARD  VON  WEIMAR. 

surrounded,  he  contrived  by  means  of  a  ruse  to  escape  across 
the  Oder  to  Landsberg,  where,  disappointed  in  meeting  Wran- 
gel,  he  found  himself  exposed  to  the  most  imminent  danger, 
shut  in  between  the  imperial  army,  the  Warthe,  and  the  Polish 
frontiers,  which  the  fear  of  involving  Poland  in  a  fresh  war 
withheld  him  from  crossing.  With  extraordinary  presence  of 
mind  he  made  a  feigned  march  towards  Poland,  drew  the  im- 
perial army  on  that  side,  and  succeeded  in  drawing  himself 
out  of  his  perilous  situation  without  incurring  the  slightest 
loss,  July,  A.  D.  1637.  "  They  caught  me  in  the  sack,"  said 
he,  **  but  forgot  to  tie  it  up  ! "  He  retreated  to  the  sea, 
whilst  Gallas  laid  the  whole  country  waste,  took  Havelberg, 
Doemitz,  and  Wolgast,  where  he  destroyed  the  magnificent  castle 
of  the  Pomeranian  dukes ;  the  more  ancient  one  in  Schwedt 
had,  at  an  earlier  period,  been  burnt  by  the  Swedes.  The 
Mere  suffered  in  an  equal  degree,  and,  exactly  at  this  moment, 
Klitzing,  offended  at  the  conduct  of  Burgsdorf,  the  elector's 
favourite,  withdrew  from  the  scene  of  action.  The  peasants 
in  Droemling  rose  against  the  plundering  soldiery  and  captured 
their  artillery.  Gallas's  men,  neglected,  as  in  Alsace,  by  their 
voluptuous  general,  were  driven  by  famine  to  desert  in  troops 
to  Banner,  who  had  in  the  mean  time  again  drawn  George  von 
Liineburg  on  his  side  with  a  promise  of  confirming  him  in  the 
possession  of  Hildesheim.  A  fresh  treaty  was  concluded,  A.  D. 
1638,  between  Sweden  and  France,  and,  in  the  spring  of  1639, 
Banner  again  took  the  field,  and,  after  defeating  Marzin,  who 
at  that  time  headed  the  Saxons,  near  Chemnitz,  and  taking  a 
corps  under  Hof  kirch  and  Montecuculi  prisoner  near  Bran- 
deis,  overran  Bohemia  as  far  as  Prague,  where  he  encamped 
on  the  Weissen  Berg.  A  small  Swedish  corps  under  Stal- 
hantsch  occupied  Silesia,  where  the  famine  was  so  dreadful 
that  at  Hirschberg,  for  instance,  almost  the  whole  of  the  in- 
habitants died  of  hunger,  and  the  few  who  survived  attached 
themselves  to  the  Swedish  troop  for  the  sake  of  the  rem- 
nants of  food  left  by  the  soldiers.  Banner,  disappointed  in 
his  hope  of  finding  some  Hussites  still  in  Bohemia,  at 
length  quitted  that  wretched  country,  which  presented  a  com- 
plete scene  of  desolation,  in  order  to  join  Guebriant  and  to 
prevent  the  formation  of  an  intermediate  party  in  Northern 
Germany. 

The  footsteps  of  the  retreating  Swedes  were  marked  by 


BANNER.  883 

fire  and  blood.  In  Thuringia  the  people  fled  in  crowds  into 
the  Harz  forest.  The  duchess  of  Hesse  sent  a  reinforcement 
c^  twenty  thousand  men,  and  George  of  Lnneberg  sent 
Klitzing,  whom  he  had  taken  into  his  service,  with  the  whole 
of  his  forces,  to  his  aid.  The  great  imperial  army,  led  by  the 
Archduke  Leopold,  the  emperor's  brother,  and  by  Piccolomini, 
who  had  stepped  into  Gallas's  place  and  had  just  been  created 
Duke  d'Amalfi  on  account  of  a  victory  gained  by  him  at  Die- 
derhoven  in  the  Netherlands  over  the  French,  came  up  with 
Banner  at  Saalfeld,  where  both  armies  remained  encamped 
opposite  to  one  another,  without  venturing  an  engagement, 
and  suffering  terribly  from  famine,  the  whole  country  in  the 
vicinity  having  been  laid  desert.  Banner's  wife,  a  Countess 
Erlach,  dying  in  his  camp,  [a.  d.  1640,]  he  bore  her  remains, 
accompanied  by  his  whole  army,  to  Erfurt,  where  his  tears 
were  speedily  dried  by  a  passion  for  the  Princess  Johanna  of 
Baden-Durlach,  whom  he  met  there  by  chance.  Piccolomini 
also  quitted  Saalfeld  in  order  to  join  the  Bavarians  under 
Mer(^,  who  had  been  employed  in  watching  the  movements  of 
the  Weimarians  in  Swabia  and  the  Pfalz,  and  the  two  armies 
again  met  near  Neustadt,  but  without  coming  to  an  engage- 
ment. Both  sides,  meanwhile,  fell  a  prey  to  famine  and  pes- 
tilence. Holzappel,  who  had  attempted  to  form  a  German 
party  independent  of  France  and  Sweden,  threw  up  his  com- 
miasion  in  disgust,  and  a  separate  alliance  was  formed  between 
the  duchess  and  George.  Banner,  equally  indifferent  to  the 
movements  of  the  imperial  army  and  to  the  remonstrances  of 
Guebriant,  followed  the  Princess  Johanna  to  Waldeck,  where 
lie  solemnized  his  marriage  with  her.  He  took  up  his  winter- 
qnarters  at  Hildesheim  with  George  von  Liineburg.  Both 
Greorge  and  Banner  are  said  to  have  been  poisoned  during  the 
festivities  that  took  place ;  the  ill-health  of  the  former  may, 
however,  be  ascribed,  on  stronger  grounds,  to  mental  anxiety, 
that  of  the  latter  to  debauchery.  Taupadel  was  exchanged 
^or  Sperreuter. 

An  attempt  made  during  this  winter  by  Banner  to  seize  the 
person  of  the  emperor,  who  had  convoked  a  diet  at  Batisbon, 
was  frustrated  by  the  rising  of  the  Danube,  occasioned  by  a 
sudden  thaw.  Guebriant,  fearful  of  the  desertion  of  the  Wei- 
mar troops  should  he  quit  the  Rhine,  abandoning  him  to  the 
^Daperor,  who  was  advancing  at  the  head  of  an  overwhelming 


384  TORSTENSON. 

force,  he  retreated  throagh  Bohemia  into  Saxonj.  Three 
Swedish  regiments  under  Colonel  Slangen  were  cut  to  pieces, 
after  gallantly  defending  his  rear,  at  Wald-Neuburg.  Al- 
though rejoined  by  Guebriant,  he  was  still  unable  to  cope 
with  his  antagonists,  and,  after  vainly  attempting  the  defence 
of  the  Saal  near  Merseburg,  was  compelled  to  take  refuge  in 
Halberstadt,  where,  worn  out  with  his  lingering  sickness,  he 
expired,  May,  1641.  George  von  Liineburg  had  preceded 
him  to  the  grave,  and  Arnheim,  who  had  escaped  from  his 
Swedish  prison  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  the  intermediate 
party,  had  also  died  not  long  before. 

The  advance  of  Piccolomini  to  the  relief  of  Wolfenbiittel, 
where  the  imperial  garrison  had  long  held  out  against  the  be- 
sieging Protestants,  terminated  the  disputes  already  rife  in  the 
Swedish  camp,  and  all  the  Protestant  troops,  those  of  Hesse 
alone  excepted,  instantly  reuniting,  a  brilliant  victory  was 
gained  beneath  the  walls  of  Wolfenbiittel  by  the  Weimar 
troops  under  Guebriant,  those  of  Banner  under  Wrangel, 
Pfuel,  and  Koenigsmark,  and  the  Liineburg  regiments  under 
Klitzing.  The  Hessians  rejoined  them  after  the  conflict,  but 
Guebriant,  attempting  to  follow  up  the  advantage  unaided  by 
the  Swedes,  who  refused  to  act  until  the  arrival  of  Torsten- 
son,  was  twice  discomfited,  and  William  Otto,  count  of  Nas- 
sau, was  slain. 

Eberhard  von  Wurtemberg  had,  meanwhile,  [a.  d.  1641,] 
repaired  to  Vienna,  made  his  submission  to  the  emperor  and 
been  restored  to  his  possessions,  which  had  been  entirely  de- 
populated and  laid  waste  by  the  imperial  troops. 

CCXI.   Torstenson. — John  von  Werth, —  The  peace  of 
Westphalia, 

The  listnessness  with  which  the  war  was  carried  on  in 
Germany  proved  that  the  moment  for  concluding  the  peace, 
so  earnestly  desired  by  all  parties,  had  arrived.  Ferdinand 
m.,  and  even  Maximilian  of  Bavaria,  recognised  the  impos- 
sibility of  completely  suppressing  the  Reformation  and  the 
necessity  of  conciliation.  Peace,  nevertheless,  could  not  be 
concluded ;  France  and  Sweden  still  sought  to  tear  the  prey 
from  each  other's  grasp.  In  France,  after  the  death  of  Car- 
dinal Richelieu,  [a.  d.  1642,]  and  that  of  Louis  XIII.,  \k>  p. 


TORSTBNSON.  385 

1643,]  the  govemment  had  heen  undertaken,  in  the  name  of 
the  youthful  monarch,  Louis  XIY.,  hj  Cardinal  Mazarin,  who 
pursued  a  policj  similar  with  that  of  his  predecessor  in  office, 
and  refused  to  bring  the  war  to  a  termination  until  France 
had  prostrated  Grennanj  at  her  feet.  In  Sweden,  Oxenstierna 
and  the  Swedish  aristocracy,  instead  of  following  in  the  foot- 
iteps  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  who  had  projected  the  union  of 
Sweden  with  Germany,  the  triumph  of  the  gospel,  and  the 
marriage  of  his  daughter,  Christina,  with  Frederick  William 
^  Brandenbui^,  solely  aimed  at  the  conversion  of  the  Grer- 
man  coasts  of  the  Baltic  into  a  Swedish  province,  and  rejected 
the  alliance  of  the  elector  of  Brandenburg,  who,  visiting  Stock- 
holm,  [a.  d.  1637,]  Christina  quitted  that  city  without  deign* 
ing  to  receive  him.  Her  mother,  the  aunt  of  the  intended 
bridegroom,  was  also  compelled  to  quit  the  kingdom. 

Frederick  William,  afterwards  sumamed  the  Great  Elector, 
succeeded  his  father,  George  William,  in  Brandenburg,  a.  d. 
1640.  This  prince  might  easily  have  placed  himself  at  the 
head  of  all  the  Protestants  in  Northern  Germany,  have  con- 
cluded an  advantageous  peace  with  the  emperor,  and  have 
chased  the  handful  of  Swedes  and  French,  disputing  like  vul- 
tures over  the  remnants  of  their  prey,  across  the  frontiers ;  but 
distrust  of  the  Catholics,  of  the  sovereigns  ruled  by  the  Je- 
suits, had  struck  root  too  deeply,  and  the  edict  of  restitution 
^as  still  too  recent  for  him  at  that  period  to  pursue  the  po- 
1  licy  he  afterwards  adopted.  He  might  possibly  have  been 
i  also  disinclined  to  play  a  part  subordinate  to  that  acted  by 
Saxony,  and  have  hoped,  by  opposing  the  false  Saxon,  to  be 
recognised  as  the  first  Protestant  prince  in  Germany  on  the 
demise  of  George,  when  Brandenburg,  in  fact,  first  superseded 
Saxony  as  the  head  of  the  German  Protestants. 

The  Guelphs,  Christian  Louis  von  Calenberg,  Frederick 
von  Celle,  and  Augustus  von  Wolfenbiittel,  went  ver,  not- 
withstanding the  victory  gained  by  them  beneath  the  walls  of 
'V'olfenbiittel,  to  the  emperor,  who  confirmed  Calenberg  in  the 
possession  of  Hildesheim.  The  influence  of  this  family  was 
considerably  weakened  by  the  division  of  its  possessions 
anaong  its  different  members. 

The  war,  meanwhile,  continued,  the  Germans  remaining 
true  to  the  colours  of  both  France  and  Sweden,  the  latter  of 
*^hich  sent  a  small  body  of  reinforcements,  scarcely  seven 

VOL.   11.  2  c 


386  TORSTENSON. 

thousand  strong,  and  a  fresh  leader,  Leonard  Torstenson,  who, 
late  in  the  autumn  of  1641,  took  the  command  of  Banner^s  late 
troops.  Guebriant  separated  from  him  in  order  to  oppose 
Lamboj  on  the  Lower  Rhine.  In  the  spring  of  1642,  after 
encamping  at  Salzwedel  in  sight  of  Piccolomini  without  being 
able  to  bring  him  to  an  engagement,  he  suddenly  invaded 
Silesia,  which  Francis  Albert  von  Lauenburg  had  just  wrested 
from  Stalhantsch,  defeated  Lauenburg  near  Schweidnitz,  took 
him  prisoner  and  entered  Moravia,  with  the  view  of  forming  an 
alliance  with  Ragoczy,  prince  of  Transylvania,  and  of  besieg- 
ing Vienna,  but  that  prince,  who,  like  Bethlen  Gabor,  merely 
made  use  of  the  Protestants  for  the  purpose  of  extorting  fa- 
vourable terms  from  the  emperor,  showed  no  inclination  to 
lend  him  aid.  The  siege  of  BrUnn,  which  offered  a  steady 
resistance,  was  abandoned.  Olmutz  and  the  whole  of  Moravia, 
hitherto  spared  by  the  ravager,  were  plundered.  Torstenson 
then  returned  to  Silesia,  burning  Buntzlau  and  seizing  Zittau 
en  route,  and  was  reinforced  by  Koenigsmark  and  Wrangel.  The 
imperialists,  who  had  taken  a  terrible  vengeance  on  the  Pro- 
testant Silesians,  by  whom  Torstenson's  arrival  had  been  hailed 
with  delight,  had,  meanwhile,  fruitlessly  blockaded  Glogau,  gal- 
lantly defended  by  Wrangel.  Torstenson,  on  the  arrival  of  a 
large  body  of  Hungarian  reinforcements  in  the  imperial  camp, 
retreated  from  the  Oder  to  the  Elbe  and  laid  siege  to  Leipzig, 
whither  he  was  pursued  by  the  imperialists,  who,  not  far  from 
Leipzig,  near  Breitenfeld,  twice  already  the  scene  of  their 
discomfiture,  met,  November  2,  1642,  for  a  third  time,  with  a 
total  defeat.  Torstenson's  horse  was  killed  under  him.  The 
Swedish  generals,  Lilienhoek  and  Slangen,  were  slain.  Two 
of  the  imperial  colonels,  Madlo  and  Defour,  who  had  been  the 
first  to  quit  the  field,  were  put  to  death.  A  reunion  after- 
wards took  place  between  Torstenson  and  Guebriant,  who 
concerted  an  attack  upon  Bavaria,  which,  however,  was  not 
put  into  execution,  Guebriant  returning  to  the  Rhine,  and 
Torstenson,  after  spending  the  winter  months  in  a  futile  siege 
of  Freiberg  in  Saxony,  again  fixing  himself  in  Moravia,  with 
the  view  of  carrying  the  war  into  the  emperor's  hereditary 
provinces  and  of  awaiting  aid  from  Ragoczy. 

The  campaign  of  1643  was  opened  by  Gallas,  Piccolo- 
mini  having,  after  the  disaster  of  Breitenfeld,  re-entered  the 
service  of  Spain,  and  the  archduke  having  withdrawn  to  his 


T0ESTEN80N.  387 

bishopric  of  Paseau ;  but  Torstenson,  after  a  second  and  futile 
attempt  upon  Briinn,  unexpectedly  received  orders  to  advance 
upon  Denmark,  by  whose  humiliation  alone  Sweden  could 
hope  to  secure  her  conquests  in  Northern  Germany.  The 
superiority  of  the  Danish  over  the  Swedish  fleet,  moreover, 
rendered  the  presence  of  the  army  indispensable.  Austria 
and  Saxony  were  also  busily  intriguing  with  Denmark.  The 
urgency  of  the  circumstances  demanded  instant  action ;  by  a 
sudden  stroke  alone  could  the  movement  to  the  rear  of 
the  Swedes  be  checked ;  Torstenson,  accordingly,  mounting 
almost  the  whole  of  his  infantry,  hurried  through  Silesia, 
and  in  fifteen  days  reached  Holstein.  The  Danes,  taken 
by  surprise,  submitted.  Jutland  was  as  rapidly  conquer-^ 
ed,  and  his  hungry  soldiery  took  up  their  winter-quarters 
in  these  fertile  countries,  which  had,  until  now,  escaped 
the  ravages  of  war.  The  brave  Ditmarses  alone  ventured 
to  oppose  their  unwelcome  guests.  Ragoczy,  meanwhile, 
advanced  upon  Hungary  and  kept  a  part  of  the  imperial 
troops  occupied,  so  that  Gallas  was  unable  to  follow  the 
Swedes  at  the  head  of  a  strong  enough  force  until  1644,  when, 
strengthened  by  the  junction  of  the  Danish  army  at  Kiel,  he 
shut  Torstenson  up  in  Jutland.  That  commander,  neverthe- 
less, contrived  to  elude  his  vigilance,  and,  remounting  his  in- 
fantry, unexpectedly  passed  his  opponents  and  re-entered 
Germany,  where  Kcenigsmark  had,  in  the  mean  time,  made 
head  against  the  Saxons,  and,  after  losing  Chemnitz,  had 
taken  Torgau.  Ragoczy  had  been  driven  out  of  Hungary  by 
Goetz.  Torstenson  was  pursued  by  Gallas,  whom  he  in  his 
turn  shut  up  in  Bernburg,  whence,  after  losing  a  number  of 
his  men  by  famine,  he  escaped  to  Magdeburg.  Enkefort, 
marching  to  his  relief,  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner  by 
Torstenson  at  Juterbok.  In  the  winter  of  1645,  Gallas,  who, 
in  the  midst  of  the  want  by  which  he  was  surrounded,  con- 
tinued his  drunken  revels,  found  means  to  escape  with  two 
thousand  men  to  Bohemia.  Wrangel  was,  in  the  mean  time, 
victorious  over  the  Danes.  Hatzfeld  and  GcEtz  were  hastily 
recalled,  the  former  from  Lower  Germany,  where  he  had 
watched  the  movements  of  the  Hessians  and  of  Koenigsmark, 
the  latter  from  Hungary,  in  order  to  protect  the  hereditary 
provinces,  which  again  lay  open  to  Torstenson.  Bavaria  also 
sent  John  von  Werth,  who  had  at  length  been  exchanged  for 

2  c  2 


^B8  T0R8TENS0N. 

the  Swedish  field-marshal,  Horn,  to  their  aid,  and,  in  the 
spring  of  1645,  the  imperialists  took  the  field  in  considerable 
numbers.  A  bloody  engagement  took  place  at  Jankau,  in  Bo- 
hemia. The  imperialists,  deeming  the  victory  secure,  dis- 
persed for  the  sake  of  plundw  and  were  overpowered.  Hatz- 
feld  was  taken  prisoner.  The  whole  of  Austria  now  lay  open 
to  the  victor.  Iglau,  Krems,  and  Kornneuburg  were  taken, 
and  the  country  was  laid  waste  up  to  the  gates  of  Vienna. 
Torstenson  was,  notwithstanding,  unable,  from  want  of  artil- 
lery, to  lay  formal  siege  to  Vienna,  whence  the  empress  and 
her  court  had  fied  into  the  mountains.  Ragoczy,  instead  of 
supporting  the  Swedes,  accepted  a  bribe  from  the  emperor, 
and  Count  Buchheim,  who  had  until  now  been  engaged  in 
opposing  the  Hungarians,  advancing  to  the  relief  of  Vienna, 
Torstenson  retired  and  finally  evacuated  Moravia  after  an- 
other ineffectual  attempt  upon  Briinn.  His  restless  lieu- 
tenant, Koenigsmark,  who  now  aided  the  French,  now  the 
Hessians,  now  rejoined  the  main  body  of  the  Swedes  or  pil- 
laged the  country  on  his  own  account,  had,  in  the  interim, 
blockaded  Dresden  and  compelled  the  elector  of  Saxony  to 
accede  to  a  truce,  consequently  to  recede  from  the  imperial 
party,  A.  d.  1645.  This  important  success  brought  repose  to 
the  Swedes.  Torstenson,  long  a  victim  to  gout,  finally  ceded 
the  command  to  Gustavus  Wrangel  and  returned  to  Sweden. 
During  this  year  Denmark  also  purchased  peace  with  Sweden 
by  the  cession  of  the  island  of  Oesel. 

In  1642,  Guebriant  had  set  out  for  the  Lower  Rhine  and 
had  defeated  and  captured  Lamboy  on  the  Hulser  heath,  near 
Kempen.  Hatzfeld,  who  was  at  that  time  watching  the  move- 
ments of  the  Hessians  and  guarding  Cologne,  retreated  before 
hi&  superior  forces  into  the  Alps,  leaving  the  Catholic  pro- 
vinces on  the  Rhine  at  the  mercy  of  the  foe,  who  laid  the 
country  waste  with  fire  and  sword.  The  Prince  of  Orange 
advanced  in  order  to  unite  his  forces  with  those  of  Guebriant, 
who  at  length  received  a  reinforcement  of  French  troops,  four 
thousand  strong,  all  of  whom  shortly  afterwards  ran  away. 
John  von  Wertb,  who  had  been  exchanged  for  Horn,  also 
appeared  in  Cologne,  where  the  citizens,  imbittered  by  Hats- 
feld's  inactivity,  embraced  his  knees  as  their  deliverer.  Both 
sides  were,  however,  too  weak  to  hazard  an  engagement 
Guebriant  returned  in  autumn  to  Central  Germany  with  the 


JOHN  VON  WERTH.  389 

view  of  attacking  Bavaria  in  conjunction  witn  Tontenson ; 
this  project  was,  however,  abandoned,  and,  finding  himself 
hard  pushed  bj  the  Bavarians  under  the  Lothringian,  Merc^, 
and  John  von  Werth,  he  once  more  retreated  upon  Brnsach, 
and  after  being  beaten  from  his  quarters  in  Goeppingen,  Of- 
terdingen,  and  Hemmendorf,  reached  the  Kinzigthal  with  his 
half-famished  troops.     Swabia  was  reduced  to  a  state  of  inde- 
scribable misery  by  the  depredations  committed  bj  both  parties. 
Banner's  German  army  having  been  reintegrated  by  several 
thousand  Swedes  under  Torstenson,  France  reinforced  that 
under  Guebriant  with  a  body  of  troops  under  the  Count  de 
Ranzau,  Anne  of  Austria's  handsome  and  gallant  favourite, 
who,  in  the  summer  of  1643,  laid  siege  to  Rotweil,  which  was 
betrayed  into  his  hands.    Whilst  encamped,  during  November, 
in  and   around  Tuttlingen,  he  was  suddenly  surrounded  by 
Mercy,  Charles,  Duke  of  Lorraine,  Hatzfeld,  and  John  von 
Wertfa,  and  fell,  with  the  greater  part  of  his  army,  into  their 
hands.     Taupadel,  who  lay  sick  in  the  town,  contrived  to 
escape,    and  the  evening  before  this  unexpected  disaster, 
Guebriant,  who  had  been  severely  wounded  during  the  siege 
of  Rotweil,  expired.     Numbers  of  the  fugitive  French  were 
slain  by  the  German  peasants,  who,  throughout  the  war,  took 
a  bloody  but  just  vengeance  on  the  brigand  invader.     The 
military  science  displayed  by  Mercy  on  this  occasion  was  re- 
warded with  the  appointment  of  generalissimo  over  the  allied 
imperial,  Bavarian,  and  Lothringian  troops.    During  his  stay 
in  Swabia,  where  he  fruitlessly  blockaded  Hohentviel,  the  fu- 
gitive Weimar  troops  pillaged  Burgundy.  Taupadel's  regiment 
was  almost  cut  to  pieces  by  the  enraged  peasantry.    In  the  sum- 
mer of  1614,  Turenne,  who,  as  well  as  Guebriant,  had  served 
his  apprenticeship  of  arms  under  Bernard  von  Weimar,  crossed 
the  Rhine  at  the  head  of  a  fresh  French  army,  and  advanced 
to  the  relief  of  Freiburg  in  the  Breisgau,  at  that  time  closely 
besieged  by  Mercy.     Freiburg,  nevertheless,  fell,  uncontested 
by  Turenne,  who  awaited  the  arrival  of  a  second  French 
army  under  the  Due  d'Enghien,  afterwards  known  as  the 
great  Conde.     A  dreadful  battle  was  fought  near  Freiburg, 
in  which  Conde,  who  arrived  too  late  to  turn  the  fate  of  the 
day,  was  driven  off  the  field,  and  Mercy,  too  much  enfeebled 
by  his  victory  to  make  head  against  the  superior  forces  of  the 
enemy,  evacuated  Swabia,  where  provisions  were  no  longer 


390  JOHN  VON  WERTH. 

to  be  procured,  and  retreated  on  the  Maine.  John  von  Wertk 
took  Mannheim  and  Hoeehst  by  surprise.  The  whole  of  the 
Bergstrasse  was  garrisoned  by  Bavarians.  The  French  fixed 
their  head-quarters  on  the  Upper  Rhine  and  seized  Philipps- 
burg.     Nothing  of  importance  occurred  on  the  Lower  Rhine. 

Several  skirmishes  took  place  with  various  success  on  both 
sides  in  the  opening  of  the  campaign  of  1645.  Mercy  was 
struck  dead  by  a  cannon-ball,  August  the  3rd,  and  Geleen 
was  taken  prisoner,  in  the  battle  of  Allerheim  in  the  Ries, 
which  was  gained  and  lost  by  both  sides,  Enghien,  after  rout- 
ing the  Bavarians,  being  himself  driven  off  the  field  by  John 
von  Werth,  who  arrived  at  the  termination  of  the  conflict. 
The  defection  of  the  elector  of  Saxony  from  the  imperial 
cause  was  now  imitated  by  Maximilian  of  Bavaria,  who  also 
sought  to  promote  his  own  interest  by  a  renewal  of  amicable 
relations  with  France.  Geleen  was,  consequently,  exchanged 
for  Grammont,  who .  had  been  taken  prisoner  at  Allerheim ; 
the  command  of  the  Bavarian  forces  was,  however,  bestowed 
upon  him  in  the  place  of  the  gallant  John  von  Werth,  whose 
principles  were  too  favourable  to  the  emperor.  Enghien  and 
Turenne  withdrew.  Peace  was  concluded  at  Ulm  between 
Bavaria  and  France  in  November,  1646.  The  defection  of 
Bavaria  was  deeply  felt  by  the  emperor.  Geleen  threw  up 
his  command  in  disgust,  and  John  von  Werth,  who  had  sim- 
ply regarded  the  Bavarians  as  troops  of  the  empire,  was  re- 
leased from  his  oath  of  allegiance  to  Maximilian,  and  at- 
tempted to  desert  with  his  entire  army  to  the  emperor.  His 
project,  however,  failed ;  he  was  abandoned  to  a  man  by  the 
Bavarian  troops,  and,  with  Spork  and  some  other  officers, 
narrowly  escaped  Wallenstein's  fate.  A  price  of  10,000  dol- 
lars was  placed  upon  his  head,  and  his  possessions  in  Bavaria, 
on  the  Rhine,  and  in  the  Netherlands  were,  at  Maximilian's 
command,  destroyed  by  fire. 

Wrangel,  meanwhile,  invaded  Upper  Swabia  in  the  depth 
of  winter,  plundered  Ravensburg  and  Leutkirch,  overcame 
the  desperate  resistance  of  the  peasantry  near  Kempten  and 
Isny,  and,  after  laying  a  hundred  villages  in  ashes,  returned, 
in  the  spring  of  1647,  to  Franconia,  where  he  took  Schwein- 
furt.  Turenne,  in  the  mean  time,  laid  the  country  around 
Darmstadt  waste.  Paderborn,  so  often  the  bone  of  contention 
during  this  war,  and  which  had  been  taken  by  the  Land- 


JOHN  VON  WEKTH.  391 

gravine  of  Hesse  in  1645,  was  recaptured  by  Melander  von 
Holzapfely  who  had  long  quitted  the  service  of  the  Landgravine, 
and,  although  a  Protestant,  was  now  appointed  generalissimo 
of  the  imperial  troops  ;  such  vicissitudes  were  there  in  a  war 
which  had  originally  been  a  religious  one !  Gallas  was  dead. 
Piccolomini,  now  Duke  d'Amalfi,  again  displayed  great  activity 
in  the  Netherlands  and  even  invaded  France.  The  great 
imperial  leaders  had  disappeared  one  by  one,  and  had  been 
succeeded  by  Montecuculi,  who  was  now  recalled  from  Silesia, 
where  he  had  greatly  harassed  the  little  Swedish  garrisons, 
to  Melander's  aid. 

Turenne^  covered  to  the  rear  by  the  Bavarians  under 
Gronsfeld,  hastened  to  the  Netherlands  in  order  to  check  the 
pr(^ress  of  Piccolomini.  The  German  cavalry,  the  Weimar 
veterans,  however,  refused  to  follow  the  infantry  across  the 
French  frontier,  and,  on  the  21st  of  June,  1647,  turned  back 
&om  Saarbrlick,  and,  recrossing  the  Rhine,  advanced  upon 
Swabia.  Turenne  vainly  sought  to  restrain  them  by  force. 
Headed  by  William  Hempel,  a  student  from  Jena,  they  fought 
their  way  back  to  their  native  country,  and  two  thousand  of 
their  number  joined  Eoenigsmark  in  Westphalia. 

Eger  falling  into  the  hands  of  Wrangel,  who,  in  July,  1647, 
again  invaded  the  hereditary  provinces,  the  emperor,  accom- 
panied by  Melander  and  John  von  Werth,  took  the  field  in 
person  at  the  head  of  the  whole  of  his  forces.  Both  sides, 
nevertheless,  contented  themselves  with  petty  skirmishes,  and, 
although  neither  armies  were  considerable  in  number,  the 
wasted  country  was  unable  to  furnish  them  with  supplies. 
In  September,  Maximilian  of  Bavaria  renewed  his  alliance 
with  Austria.  Wrangel,  compelled  to  retreat  before  the  united 
forces  of  Melander  and  Gronsfeld,  threw  himself  into  Hesse, 
where  he  fixed  his  winter-quarters,  in  order  to  punish  the 
Landgravine  for  her  French  policy.  Turenne  re-entered  Ger- 
many, and,  uniting  with  Wrangel,  again  invaded  Swabia. 
GoBppingen,  Heidenheim,  Gmiind,  Ehingen,  were  pillaged ; 
Wiesensteig  was  burnt.  Melander  and  Gronsfield  were  de- 
feated at  Zusmarsbausen  on  the  Bavarian  frontier.  May  17th, 
1648.  Melander  was  killed.  The  victors  spread,  robbing 
and  murdering,  over  Bavaria,  and  Ecenigsmark  was  sent  to 
invade  Bohemia. — In  this  extremity,  the  emperor  recalled 
Hccolomini  and  reinstated  him  in  the  command  of  his  uni- 


692  THE  PEACE  OF  WESTPHALIA. 

versally  defeated  troops,  whilst  Maximilian  had  once  more 
recourse  to  Enkefort,  who  had  again  planted  the  imperial 
standard  in  Upper  Swabia»  and  John  Ton  Werth  retook  the 
command  of  the  imperial  cavalry.  Still  one  disaster  followed 
another  in  rapid  succession.  Lamboy,  who  had  been  left  in 
Hesse  by  Melander,  was  defeated  by  Geis  near  Grevenburg, 
and  George  of  Darmstadt  was  finally  compelled  to  make  a 
formal  cession  of  Marburg  to  the  Landgravine.  The  Archduke 
was  also  defeated  by  d'Enghien  near  Lens  in  the  Netherlands, 
August,  1648.  Kcsnigsmark  had,  meanwhile,  appeared  un- 
expectedly before  Prague  and  taken  the  Neustadt,  where  he 
made  an  immense  booty  by  treachery  and  surprise.*  The 
Altstadt  was  gallantly  defended  by  Rudolph  CoUoredo.  The 
Ffalzgrave,  Charles  Gustavus,  the  newly-appointed  gaieral- 
issimo  of  the  Swedish  forces,  followed  with  reinforcements^ 
was  joyfully  welcomed  in  Leipzig,  and  marched  rapidly  upcm 
Prague  to  the  conquest  of  the  Altstadt. 

Peace  was,  at  this  conjuncture,  proclaimed  throughout  the 
empire  to  all  the  armies,  to  all  the  besieged  cities,  to  the  trem- 
bling princes,  to  the  w.ailing  people.  The  wild  soldiery  were 
roused  to  fury  at  the  news.  At  Feuchtwangen,  Wrangel 
dashed  his  cocked  hat  to  the  ground  and  gave  orders  to  let 
loose  all  the  furies  of  war  during  the  retreat.  The  beautiful 
city  of  Liegnitz  in  Silesia  was  wantonly  set  on  fire  by  one  of 
his  men.  The  neighbouring  city  of  Jauer  was  similarly 
treated  by  the  imperial  troops,  who,  shortly  before  the  peace, 
had  attacked  the  Swedes  in  that  place.  Turenne,  the  idol  of 
France,  acted  in  the  same  manner.  Neresheim  was  sacked, 
and  Weil  was  laid  in  ashes  by  his  soldiery.  This  robber- 
band  at  length  disappeared  behind  the  Yosges,  A.  b.  1649. 

Had  the  disputes  between  the  Royalists  and  Cardinalists  in 
France  been  turned  to  advantage,  a  peace  more  favourable  for 
Germany  might  have  been  concluded,  but  no  one,  with  the 
exception  of  the  indefatigable  Charles  of  Lorraine,  who 
joined  the  French  princes,  carried  on  the  war  at  his  own  cost, 

♦  The  valuable  collection  of  paintings  of  the  emperor  Rudolf  11., 
among  others,  some  fine  Correggios,  were  carried  away.  The  youthiiil 
queen,  Christina,  possessed  little  taste  for  the  fine  arts,  and  had  the  fijiest 
heads  cut  out  of  the  pictures  and  pasted  upon  tapestry.  The  rest  of  this 
inyaluable  collection,  260  pictures,  were  purchased  at  a  later  period  for 
the  Orleans  gallery  at  Paris.  The  most  valuable  part  of  the  booty  was 
the  celebrated  Bible  of  Ulphilas* 


THE  PEACE  OF  WESTPHALIA.  393 

and,  in  1649,  defeated  Mazarin's  troops  at  Cambraj,  appeared 
conscioas  ef  the  fact. 

Plenipotentiaries  from  the  belligerent  powers  had,  since 
1644,  been  assembled  at  Osnabriick  and  Miinster  in  West- 
phalia, for  the  purpose  of  concluding  peace.  The  hatred  sub- 
sisting between  the  different  parties  in  Grermanj  had  insen- 
sibly diminished,  and  each  now  merely  aimed  at  saving  the 
little  remaining  in  its  possession.  Misery  and  suffering  had 
oooled  the  religious  zeal  of  the  people,  licence  that  of  the 
troops,  and  diplomacy  that  of  the  princes.  The  thirst  for 
blood  had  been  satiated,  and  passion,  worn  out  by  excess, 
slumbered.  Germany  had  long  sighed  for  the  termination  of 
a  struggle  solely  carried  on  within  her  bosom  by  the  stranger. 
The  Swedes  and  French  had,  however,  triumphed,  and  were 
now  in  a  position  to  dictate  terms  of  peace  favourable  for  them- 
selves, and  a  long  period  elapsed  before  the  jealous  pretensions 
of  all  the  parties  interested  in  the  conclusion  of  peace  were  sa- 
tisfied. The  procrastination  of  the  emperor,  who  allowed  three 
quarters  of  a  year  to  elapse  before  giving  his  assent  to  the  treaty 
of  peace,  the  tardiness  of  the  French  and  Swedish  ambas- 
sadors in  appearing  at  the  congress,  the  disputes  between  the 
members  about  titles,  right  of  precedence,  etc.,  carried  on  for 
months  and  years,  are  to  be  ascribed  not  so  much  to  the  pe- 
ltry of  the  age,  to  Spanish  punctilio  and  to  German  tedium, 
Mto  the  policy  of  the  belligerent  powers,  who,  whenever  they 
^pected  a  fresh  result  from  the  manoeuvres  of  their  generals, 
often  made  use  of  these  means  for  the  sole  purpose  of  pro- 
longing the  negotiations. 

The  fate  of  our  great  fatherland,  the  prospects  of  the  im- 
mense empire  over  which  Charlemagne  and  Barbarossa  had 
reigned,  lay  in  the  hands  of  Avaux,  the  shameless  French 
embassador,  who  cited  the  non-occupation  of  the  left  bank  of 
the  Rhine  by  France  as  an  extraordinary  instance  of  gener- 
^ty,  and  of  Salvias,  the  Swedish  envoy,  who^  ever  dreading 
^  be  outMritted  by  his  principal  antagonist,  Avaux,  vied  with 
mm  in  impudence.  At  the  side  of  the  former  stood  Servien, 
a*  that  of  the  latter  John  Oxenstiema,  the  son  of  the  great 
chancellor.  Trautmannsdorf,  the  imperial  envoy,  a  tall,  ugly, 
but  grave  and  dignified  man,  alone  offered  to  them  a  long  and 
**®«dy  resistance,  and  compelled  them  to  relinquish  their 
S'^aest  demands.     By  him  stood  the  wily  Volmar  of  Wur- 


394  TUB  PEACE  OF  WESTPHALIA. 

temberg,  a  recanted  Catholic.  The  Dutch  ambassadory  Paw, 
vigiUmtly  watched  over  the  interests  of  his  countr^s  in  which 
he  was  imitated  by  the  rest  of  the  envoys,  who,  indifferent  to 
the  weal  of  Germany  as  a  whole,  were  solely  occupied  in  pre- 
serving or  gaining  small  portions  of  territory  from  the  great 
booty.  Barnbiihler  of  Wurtemberg,  whose  spirit  and  perse- 
verance remedied  his  want  of  power,  and  the  celebrated  na- 
tural philosopher.  Otto  von  Guerike,  the  inventor  of  the  air- 
pump,  burgomaster  of  ruined  Magdeburg,  might  also  be; 
perceived  in  the  background  of  the  assembly,  which  had  met 
to  deliberate  over  the  state  of  the  empire  under  the  presi- 
dency of  foreigners  and  brigands. 

The  misery  caused  by  the  war  was,  if  possible,  surpassed  by 
the  shame  brought  upon  the  country  by  this  treaty  of  peace. 
In  the  same  province,  where  Arnim  had  once  routed  the 
legions  of  Rome,  Germany  bent  servilely  beneath  a  foreign 
yoke.  At  Miinster,  Spain  concluded  peace  with  Holland. 
The  independence  of  Holland  and  her  separation  from  the 
empire  were  recognised,  ftnd  Germany  was  deprived  of  her 
finest  provinces  and  of,  the  free  navigation  of  the  Rhine ;  a- 
fatal  stroke  to  the  prosperity  of  all  the  Rhenish  cities.  The 
independence  of  Switzerland  was  also  solemnly  guaranteed. 
Peace  was  concluded  between  France  and  the  empire.  France 
was  confirmed  in  the  possession  of  Metz,  Toul,  Verdun,  and 
the  whole  of  Alsace,  with  the  exception  of  Strassburg,  of  the 
imperial  cities  and  of  the  lands  of  the  nobility  of  the  empire 
situated  in  that  province,  in  consideration  of  which,  Breisach 
and  the  fortress  of  Philippsburg,  the  keys  to  Upper  Germany, 
were  ceded  to  her,  by  which  means  Germany  was  deprived 
of  one  of  her  finest  frontier  provinces  and  left  open  to  the 
French  invader,  against  whom  the  petty  princes  of  Southern 
Grermany  being,  consequently,  unprotected,  they  fell,  in  course 

of  time,  under  the  infiuence  of  their  powerful  neighbour. 

At  Osnabriick,  peace  was  concluded  with  Sweden,  which  was 
indemnified  for  the  expenses  of  the  war  by  the  payment  of  five 
million  of  dollars  and  by  the  cession  of  the  bishoprics  of  Bre- 
men and  Verdun,  the  objects  of  Danish  jealousy,  of  the  city  of 
Wismar,  the  island  of  RUgen,  Stralsund,  consequently,  of  all 
the  important  posts  on  the  Baltic  and  the  Northern  Ocean. 

One  portion  after  another  of  the  Holy  German  empire  was 
thus  ceded  to  her  foes.   The  remaining  provinces  still  retained 


THE  PEACE  OF  WESTPHALIA.  395 

their  anciefit  form,  but  hnng  too  loosely  together  to  withstand 
another  storm.  The  ancient  empire  existed  merely  in  name ; 
the  more  powerful  princes  virtually  possessed  the  power  and 
rendered  themselves  completely  independent,  and  the  supre- 
macy of  the  emperor,  and  with  it  the  unity  of  the  body  of  the 
state,  sank  to  a  mere  shadow.  Each  member  of  the  empire 
exercised  the  right  of  making  war,  of  concluding  peace,  and 
of  making  treaties  with  every  European  power,  the  emperor 
alone  excluded.  Each  of  the  princes  possessed  almost  unli- 
mited authority  over  his  subjects,  whilst  the  emperor  solely 
retained  some  inconsiderable  prerogatives  or  reservations. 
The  petty  princes,  the  counts,  knights,  and  cities,  however, 
still  supported  the  emperor,  who,  in  return,  guarded  them 
against  the  encroachments  of  the  great  princes.  The  petty 
members  of  the  empire  in  Western  Germany  would,  never- 
theless, have  preferred  throwing  themselves  into  the  arms  of 
France. 

Every  religious  sect  was  placed  on  an  equal  footing,  their 
power  during  the  long  war  having  been  found  equal,  and  their 
mutual  antipathy  having  gradually  become  more  moderate. 
The  imperial  chamber  was  composed  of  equal  numbers  of  Ca- 
tholics and  Protestants,  and,  in  order  to  equalize  the  power  of 
the  electoral  princes,  the  Rhenish  Pfalz,  together  with  the 
electoral  office,  was  again  restored  to  its  lawful  possessor. 
Bavaria,  nevertheless,  retained  both  the  electoral  dignity  and 
the  Upper  Ffalz,  notwithstanding  the  protest  made  by  Charles 
Louis,  the  son  of  the  ex-king  of  Bohemia,  against  this  usurp- 
ation. All  church  property,  seized  or  secularized  by  the  Pro- 
testants, remained  in  their  hands,  or  was,  by  the  favour  of  the 
princes,  divided  among  them.  The  emperor  and  the  Catholic 
princes  yielded,  partly  from  inability  to  refuse  their  assent, 
and  partly  because  they  began  to  perceive  the  great  advan- 
tage gained  thereby  by  the  temporal  princes ;  nor  was  it  long 
before  they  imitated  the  example.  The  pope  naturally  made 
a  violent  protest  against  the  secularization  of  church  property. 
Innocent  X.  published  a  bull  against  the  peace  of  Westpha- 
lia. The  religious  zeal  of  the  Catholics  had  also  cooled,  not- 
withstanding the  admonitions  of  the  Jesuits;  the  princes, 
consequently,  were  solely  governed  by  political  ideas,  which 
proved  as  detrimental  to  the  papal  cause  after,  as  religious 
enthusiasm   had  been   during  the  Reformation.     The  au- 


396  THE  PEACE  OF  WESTPHALIA, 

thority  of  the  pope»  like  that  of  the  emperor,  had  faded  to  a 
shadow. 

All  secularized  property  reclaimed  by  the  Catholics  since 
the  Normal  year,  1624,  consequently  since  the  publication  of 
the  edict  of  restitution,  was  restored  to  the  Protestants,  and 
all  Protestant  subjects  of  Catholic  princes  were  granted  the 
free  exercise  of  the  religion  professed  by  them  in  the  said 
year,  which,  happening  to  have  been  that  immediately  aft^ 
the  battle  on  the  White  Mountain,  and  the  emperor  declaring 
that,  at  that  period,  his  Reformed  subjects  no  longer  enjoyed 
liberty  of  conscience,  the  protests  made  by  the  emigrated 
Austrian  Protestants  remained  without  effect.  The  Silesian 
princes,  still  remaining  in  Liegnitz,  Brieg,  Wohlau,  Oels, 
Miinsterberg,  and  the  city  of  Breslau,  were  allowed  to  remain 
Lutheran,  and  three  privileged  churches  were,  moreover,  per- 
mitted at  Glogau,  Jauer,  and  Schweidnitz.  The  ancient  sys- 
tem was  strictly  enforced  throughout  the  rest  of  the  hereditary 
provinces.  The  sole  favour  shown  towards  the  Protestants 
was  their  transportation  to  Transylvania,  where  they  were 
allowed  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion.  The  Jesuits  were 
invested  with  unlimited  authority  in  that  portion  of  the  Grer- 
man  empire  which  remained  Catholic  after  the  peace  of  West- 
phalia. In  1652,  an  imperial  edict  enforced  the  profession  of 
Catholicism,  under  pain  of  death,  by  every  individual  within 
the  hereditary  provinces. 

The  disputes  between  the  Lutherans  and  the  Reformers 
were  also  brought  to  a  close,  and  the  senseless  law,  by  means 
of  which  the  faith  professed  by  the  prince  was  imposed  upon 
his  subjects,  was  repealed.  The  violence  with  which  the  doc- 
tors of  theology  defended  their  opinions,  nevertheless,  re- 
mained  unabated. 

Germany  is  reckoned  by  some  to  have  lost  one-half,  by 
others,  two-thirds  of  her  entire  population  during  the  thirty 
years'  war.  In  Saxony,  nine  hundred  thousand  men  had 
fallen  within  two  years ;  in  Bohemia,  the  number  of  inhabit- 
ants, at  the  demise  of  Ferdinand  II.,  before  the  liast  deplorable 
inroads  made  by  Banner  and  Torstenson,  had  sunk  to  one- 
fourth.  Augsburg,  instead  of  eighty,  had  eighteen  thousand 
inhabitants.  Every  province,  every  town  throughout  the 
empire,  had  suffered  at  an  equal  ratio,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Tyrol,  which  had  repulsed  the  enemy  from  her  Anders 


THE  PEACE  OF  WESTPHALIA.  397 

and  had  enjoyed  the  deepest  peace  during  this  period  of  horror. 
The   country  was  completely  impoverished.     The  working 
class  had  almost  totally  disappeared.     The  manufactories  had 
heen  destroyed  by  fire,  industry  and  commerce  had  passed 
into  other  hands.     The  products  of  Upper  Germany  were  far 
inferior  to  those  of  Italy  and  Switzerland,  those  of  Lower 
Germany  to  those  of  Holland  and  England.     Immense  pro- 
vinces, once  flourishing  and  populous,  lay  entirely  waste  and 
uninhabited,  and  were  only  by  slow  degrees  re-peopled  by 
foreign  emigrants  or  by  soldiery.    The  original  character  and 
language  of  the  inhabitants  were,  by  this  means,  completely 
altered.     In  Franoonia,  which,  owing  to  her  central  position, 
had  be^i  traversed  by  every  party  during  the  war,  the  misery 
and  depopulation  had  reached  to  such  a  pitch,  that  the  Fran- 
conian  Estates,  with  the  assent  of  the  ecclesiastical  princes, 
abolished  [a.  d.  1650]  the  celibacy  of  the  Catholic  clergy, 
and  permitted  each  man  to  marry  two  wives,  on  account  of  the 
numerical  superiority  of  the  women  over  the  men.     The  last 
remains  of  political  liberty  had,  during  the  war,  also  been 
snatched  from  the  people ;  each  of  the  Estates  had  been  de- 
prived of  the  whole  of  its  material  power.     The  nobility  were 
compelled  by  necessity  to  enter  the  service  of  the  princes,  the 
citizens  were  impoverished  and  powerless,  the  peasantry  had 
been  utterly  demoralized  by  military  rule  and  reduced  to 
servitude.     The  provincial  Estates,  weakly  guarded  by  the 
crown  against  the  encroachments  of  the  petty  princes,  were 
completely  at  the  mercy  of  the  more  powerful  of  the  petty 
sovereigns  of  Germany  and  had  universally  sunk  in  import- 
ance.    Science  and  art  had  fled  from  Germany,  and  pedantic 
ignorance  had  replaced  the  deep  learning  of  her  universities. 
The  mother  tongue  had  become  adulterated  by  an  incredible 
variety  of  Spanish,  Italian,  and  French  words,  and  the  use  of 
foreign  words  with  German  terminations  was  considered  the 
highest  mark  of  elegance.     Various  foreign  modes  of  dress 
were  also  as  generally  adopted.     Germany  had  lost  all  save 
her  hopes  for  the  future. 


PART  XIX. 

THE  INTERNAL  STATE  OF  GERMANY  DURING  THE 
REFORMATION. 


CCXII.     The  Jesuits. 

The  Reformation  had,  in  its  results,  faUen  far  short  of  the 
anticipations  cherished  bj  the  more  loftj-minded  among  its 
promoters.  The  church,  instead  of  being  generally  and 
thoroughly  reformed,  had  been  but  partially  freed  in  the 
north  from  her  external  shackles  and  remained  internally 
almost  as  deeply  as  ever  enslaved  ;  the  new  church  was,  like 
her  elder  sister,  a  prey  to  superstition  and  fanaticism,  and 
modern  scholastic  controversy,  belief  in  witchcraft  and  ghosts 
and  in  involuntary  works  of  grace,  were,  with  the  bloody  per- 
secution of  heretics,  the  wretched  results  of  a  struggle  that, 
for  two  hundred  years,  had  drenched  Europe  in  blood. 

The  Reformation  had,  notwithstanding,  followed  its  natural 
course.  Ideas,  when  novel,  are  necessarily  slow  and  difficult 
in  their  realization,  and  many  are  the  transitions,  many  the 
transformations,  they  are  destined  to  undergo  as  time  and 
events  roll  on. 

The  deeper  and  more  lasting  the  reform  in  a  nation's  mode 
of  thought  and  action,  the  more  surely  will  it  raise  the  most 
obstinate  resistance,  the  more  surely  will  it  rouse  every  evil 
passion  latent  in  the  heart  of  man,  and,  according  to  an  eter- 
nal and  historical  law,  first  lead,  not  to  its  prefixed  aim,  bat 
to  its  opposite,  to  demoralization  and  tyranny  instead  of  to 
civilization  and  liberty. 

The  south  of  Europe  remained  thoroughly  Catholic,  the 
north  became  completdiy  Lutheran.  Germany  was  both  Ca- 
tholic and  Lutheran,  a  circumstance,  politically  speaking, 
greatly  to  her  prejudice,  but  far  from  unfavourable  to  the 
progress  of  religion  and  civilization.  The  continued  existence 
of  the  ancient  church  served  a  moral  purpose,  her  errors  offered 
a  continual  warning  to  her  successor,  whilst  what  was  good  in 
her  gained  time  to  overcome  Protestant  prejudice  and  to  regain 
its  influence ;  the  vicinity  of  the  Catholics,  moreover,  rendered 


THE  JESUITS.  399 

the  Protestants  less  liable  to  laxity  and  oardessnesa.  The 
Catholic  church  still  preserved  her  great  and  ancient  idea  of 
one  universal  Christian  church,  and,  with  justice,  refused  to 
sink  the  religion  superior  to  all  temporal  power  and  compre« 
bending  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  to  a  slavish  service  in 
separate  and  petty  provincial  churches.  She  preserved  the 
idea  of  the  freedom  and  independence  of  the  church,  and,  with 
justice,  refused  to  envelop  the  anointed  priests  of  the  Lord  of 
lords  in  the  state-livery  of  a  petty  prince ;  and,  finally,  she 
preserved  the  idea  of  a  magnificent  soul-stirring  service  as  that 
most  worthy  of  the  Deity,  and,  with  justice,  blamed  the  banish- 
ment of  all  that  is  striking  and  beautiful  from  the  Protestant 
form  of  worship.  The  Protestant  church,  on  the  other  hand, 
possessed  equal  advantages.  She  adopted  as  one  of  her  funda- 
mental principles,  the  non-exercise  of  temporal  power  by  a 
minister  of  God,  and,  with  justice,  opposed  the  hierarchy.  She 
required  morality  and  piety  in  her  priests,  and,  with  justice, 
condemned  the  debauchery  and  immorality  consequent  upon 
celibacy.  She  demanded  freedom  of  conscience  and  of  thought 
in  religious  as  well  as  all  other  matters,  reason  being  not  the 
least  of  the  talents  bestowed  by  God  upon  man  to  be  used  to 
his  honour  and  glory,  and  reason  being  the  only  safeguard 
against  the  errors  into  which  the  church  had  so  deeply  fallen ; 
and,  with  justice,  she  opposed  scholasticism,  by  which  reason 
was  oppressed  and  nations  were  kept  in  dark  ignorance. 

The  defection  of  the  whole  of  Northern  Europe  dealt  a  se- 
vere blow  to  the  external  power  of  the  hierarchy,  but,  at  the 
same  time,  more  firmly  established  its  sway  in  the  South, 
where  the  Catholics  were  driven  by  necessity  to  coalesce  and 
to  take  extraordinary  measures.  The  Reformation  also  exer- 
cised a  powerful  influence  upon  its  opponents.  The  pope,  it 
is  true,  did  not  relinquish  the  least  of  his  pretensions,*  but  an 
end  was  put  to  the  most  glaring  vices  of  the  church.     The 

*  The  infamous  bull  in  Coena  Domini,  which,  anterior  to  the  Reform- 
ation, condemned  all  those  disagreeing  with  Rome,  added  the  following 
anathema,  under  Urban  VIII.,  during  the  thirty  years'  war :  "  Excom- 
municamus  et  anathematizamus  ex  parte  Dei  omnipotentis,  etc.  Quos- 
ciinque  Hussitas,  Wichlefistas,  Lutheranos,  Zwinglianos,  Calvinistas, 
Ugonottos,  etc.  Item  excommunicamus  et  anathematizamus  omnes  ad 
universale  futurum  concilium  appellantes.  Item  excommunicamus  et 
anathematizamus  omnes  Piratas,  cursarios  et  lutrunculos  maritimos.** 
]Lutherans,  Calvinists,  and  pirates  were  thus  classed  together ! 


400  THE  JESUITS. 

jastice  of  the  reproach  cast  upon  her  by  the  Reformers  was 
felty  and  the  clergy  reformed  themselyes,  or,  at  all  events,  ex- 
.temally  practised  the  most  rigid  morality.  Licence  was  solely 
difficalt  to  check  among  the  lower  clergy,  men  of  more  re^ 
fined  and  elevated  minds  being,  generally  speaking,  inclined 
for  reform,  and  leaving  behind  them  an  ignorant  scum,  who 
were,  nevertheless,  consecrated  for  the  priesthood,  principally 
for  the  sake  of  giving  occupants  to  the  livings.  Discipline 
was  first  reintroduced  into  the  church  by  the  Jesuits,  who 
were,  however,  fully  conscious  of  the  influence  of  rough  man- 
ners and  speech,  nay,  even  of  that  of  the  ridiculous  upon  the 
people ;  nor  did  the  fact  escape  them  of  the  disadvantage  un- 
der which  Lutheranism  laboured,  owing  to  its  gloom  and  aus- 
terity. By  a  bold  artifice  they  brought  the  laugh  on  their 
side  and  permitted  the  Capuchins*  to  attract  their  audience 
by  jocose  sermons,  Capucinades  or  SaWadereieny  so  called 
from  the  opening  words  of  their  discourses,  ^^  dixit  SahxUor 
naater,^^  The  toys  with  which  the  people,  "  like  children  of 
a  larger  growth,"  were  amused,  served  a  similar  purpose ;  the 
spiritual  shops,  the  small  retail  trade  in  pictures  of  Madonnas 
and  saints,  in  consecrated  amulets  possessing  the  power  of 
guarding  the  purchaser  against  every  ill ;  the  consecration  of 
houses,  tables,  beds,  kitchens,  cellars,  and  stables,  and  the 
abuse  of  religion  by  its  application  in  the  most  ludicrous  or 
the  most  unholy  matters.  This  sacred  buffoonery  was  directed 
In  the  cities  and  towns  by  the  Jesuits,  in  the  country  by  the 
Capuchins,  who  were  hence  nicknamed  the  Jesuits'  poodles. 
Every  other  monkish  order  was  deemed  inferior  to  them  and 
merely  vegetated  in  the  rich  monasteries.  Not  only  the  old 
Benedictines,  who,  through  jealousy  of  the  Jesuits,  again  ap- 
plied themselves  to  learning,  chiefly  to  the  study  of  history, 
in  contradistinction  to  the  dogmatism  and  dialectics  of  their 
opponents,  but  also  the  strict  Carthusians,  who  had  completely 
renounced  the  world,  were  immeasurably  wealthy,  and  the 
contrast  between  their  marble  palaces,  their  gold  and  diamonds, 
and  their  original  vow  of  external  poverty,  afforded  a  signi- 
ficant proof  of  the  unnatural  position  gained  by- the  church. 

*  So  named,  [a.  d.  1536>]  owing  to  a  ridiculous  dispute  among  the 
Franciscans,  whether  their  holy  founder,  St.  Francesco  d'Assisi,  wore  a 
pointed  capuchin  or  not.  The  party  in  fayour  of  the  latter  formed  them- 
selves into  a  distinct  order. 


THB  JESUITS.  401 

Rome  ruled  over  the  eburch  by  means  of  tbe  Jesaits  and 
Capuchins.  Tbe  council  of  Trident  attempted  tbe  partial  re- 
establishment  of  episcopal  power  in  order  to  check  tbe  local 
and  national  opposition  raised  against  Rome,  but  was  un- 
successful, owing  to  the  rapid  progress  of  tbe  Reformation. 
The  bishops,  consequently,  sank  to  their  former  state  of  sub- 
ordination, and  all  ecclesiastical  affairs  were  henceforward  sole- 
ly controlled  by  tbe  pope  and  bis  Jesuitical  propaganda,  who 
were,  nevertheless,  always  compelled  to  secure  the  assent  of 
tbe  princes  by  means  of  tbe  nuncios  accredited  to  the  great 
Catholic  courts  ;  the  bishops  were  simply  subalterns,  except 
when,  at  the  same  time,  sovereign  princes. 

The  church  required  expert  champions,  and  therefore  did 
not  fail  to  oppose  similar  weapons  to  the  mass  of  learning 
among  tbe  Protestants.     Tbe   necessity  of  borrowing  tbe 
weapons  of  her  opponents  and  of  intrusting  the  defence  of  her 
system,  merely  founded  on  unreasoning  credulity,  to  reason,  was, 
however,  of  itself  productive  of  a  great  internal  change.     The 
Catholicism  of  the  Jesuits,  although  externally  unaltered,  totally 
differed  from  that  of  tbe  middle  ages.     Even  in  its  exaggera- 
tions it  had  until  now  been  nature,  an  overdrawn  effort,  an 
abuse  of  nature,  but  now  it  became  art,  a  creation  of  Jesuitry. 
The  people  had  formerly  been  left  to  their  simplicity,  of  which 
it  was  perhaps  excusable  to  take  advantage,  but  now  they 
had  attained  knowledge,  and  the  Jesuits  made  use  of  art  for 
the  purpose  of  restoring  ignorance.     This  formed  the  essential 
difference  between  former  and  modern  times. 
:      The  Society  of  Jesus  was  founded  by  Ignatius  Loyola,  an 
^thusiastic  Spaniard,  for  penitents,  who,  in  those  heretical 
I  times,  ere  long  made  it  their  business  to  confirm  the  faith  of 
the  wavering,  and,  consequently,  became  the  tools  of  Rome. 
Benedict  XIV.  named  them  St.  Peter's  Janissaries.     Their 
object  was  the  restoration  of  unlimited  hierarchical  power, 
:  and  they  despised  no  means,  however  base,  that  might  con- 
I   duce  to  success,  according  to  their  celebrated  maxim,  "  The 
i   ^d  justifies  tbe  means.''    The  society  was  intended  to  form 
I   an  aristocracy  of  talent,  whose  office  it  was  to  guard  the 
avenues  of  knowledge  against  the  rest  of  mankind ;  and,  as  a 
precaution  against  individual  treachery,  no  member  was  per- 
i    mitted  to  quit  the  order  except  to  take  the  vows  of  a  Carthu- 
sian, by  which  he  bound  himself  to  silence  and  solitude  for 

I  VOL.    II.  2  D 


402  THE  JESUITS. 

the  rest  of  his  dajs.  The  heads  of  the  society  had  unlimited 
power  to  remove,  punish,  and  assassinate  the  members.  The 
first  vow  taken  hj  the  initiated  was  that  of  unconditional  obe- 
dience. A  system  of  secret  espionage  pervaded  the  whole 
society  ;  suspicion  was  condemnation ;  and  the  victim  was  sen- 
tenced to  die  in  seclusion  of  starvation,  as  is  expressly  directed 
by  Suarez,  the  great  Jesuitical  casuist.  The  members  were 
divided  into  classes,  the  highest  of  which,  the  professors, 
elected  the  head  or  general  of  the  whole  order,  who  resided  at 
Rome.  Every  province  of  the  order  was  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  a  pater  provincialis.  The  higher  grades  were 
kept  strictly  secret  from  the  lower  classes,  who  were  merely 
the  blind  tools  of  the  former.  The  pope  conferred  the  most 
extensive  privileges  upon  the  order,  which  was  empowered  to 
interfere  every  where  with  the  clergy  and  with  all  other 
orders. — And,  in  order  to  renew  the  times  of  the  first  apostles, 
the  Jesuits  sent  out  missionaries,  who  visited  the  most  distant 
parts  of  the  globe,  for  the  purpose  of  converting  the  heathen 
and— of  taking  possession  of  the  New  World.  They  brought 
countless  treasure  into  Europe,  by  means  of  which  they  placed 
themselves  on  a  firm  footing  and  acquired  immense  influence 
at  a  period  when  money  was  power. 

The  most  celebrated  of  these  missionaries  was  St.  Xavier, 
who  met  with  a  martyr's  death  in  India.  Numbers  of  the 
Jesuits  shared  the  same  fate  ;  many,  in  particular  Grermans, 
were  distinguished  for  piety  and  learning  and  by  their  ex- 
ploration of  unknown  countries.  Among  the  European  Je- 
suits were  many  fervent  spirits  actuated  by  the  purest  zeal ; 
many  simple  and  poetical  minds  unstained  by  hypocrisy,  for 
instance,  Balde  ;  many  deeply  learned  men,  sincere  lovers  of 
truth.  It  would  be  unjust  to  pass  a  sweeping  condemnation 
upon  all  the  Jesuits.  But  the  ruling  spirit  and  the  political 
effect  of  the  order  were  immoral.  The  manner  in  which  they 
denied  the  truths  brought  to  light  during  the  Reformation, 
sought  to  veil  them  by  bringing  to  view  the  weaknesses  and 
errors  of  Protestantism,  or  to  suppress  them  by  force,  cannot 
be  justified.  The  sophistry  with  which  they  still  defended 
undeniable  and  long-sensible  abuses  was  revolting  to  reason. 
The  means  by  which  they  bent  the  powerful  and  wealthy  to 
their  purposes  were  often  the  most  unholy. 

One  of  the  principal  objects  of  the  Jesuits  was  to  replace 


THE  JESUITS.  408 

the  sale  of  dispensations,  which  had  fallen  into  bad  repute 
since  the  Reformation,  and  which  was,  moreover,  almost  in- 
dispensable to  the  church.  This  was  done  by  means  of  the 
lax  morality  of  the  confessional.  The  more  luxurious  court 
life  became  the  more  easily  did  the  Jesuits  forgive  the  sins 
committed  by  the  aristocracy;  in  order  to  pacify  the  new 
conscientious  scruples  awakened  by  the  Reformation,  they 
became  the  advocates  instead  of  the  judges  of  sins,  from  every 
description  of  which  they,  by  their  casuistry,  exculpated  the 
offender.  The  Spanish  Jesuits  went  furthest.  The  book  of 
Escobar,  the  confessor's  manual,  passed  through  thirty-six 
editions,  which  were  printed  under  the  direction  of  the  society 
and  of  the  church.  The  church  closed  her  eyes  to  any  mea- 
sures taken  by  the  confessors,  provided  they  made  proselytes 
and  gathered  the  stray  sheep  into  the  fold. 

According  to  their  casuistical  system,  all  sins  were  excul- 
pated, Ist,  By  the  doctrine  of  probabilismuSy  that  is,  by  the 
mildest  of  all  possible  interpretations.  A  says,  **  Such  a  sin 
is  too  horrible  to  be  forgiven."  B  says,  "Certainly;  still  it 
might  thus  be  exculpated,  etc.,  etc."  Upon  this  C  says,  "  Ac- 
cording to  A's  opinion  it  cannot  be  forgiven ;  but  it  can  be 
according  to  B's,  and  as  an  authority  is  all  that  is  requisite, 
and  the  mildest  point  of  view  is  admissible,  I  agree  with  B.** 
2ndly,  By  the  directio  intentionis,  that  is,  by  the  thoughts  be- 
ing occupied  during  the  performance  of  a  bad  action  with  an 
innocent  object.  Thus,  for  instance,  one  might  bribe  another 
or  accept  of  a  bribe  and,  at  the  same  time,  be  merely  thinking 
of  civility  or  gratitude.  3rdly,  By  the  reservatio  mentalis. 
It  was  allowable  to  take  a  false  oath  by  voluntarily  adding  a 
mental  reservation,  as,  for  instance,  a  man  might  swear  he 
nad  no  money,  although  he  had  some,  provided  he  mentally 
added  "none  to  lend,"  etc.  One  might  take  an  oath  thus,  "I 
swear  (that  I  say  here,  although  it  is  untrue)  that  I,  etc.,"  or, 
j*  I  swear  that  I  did  not  do  that  (a  hundred  years  ago  or  a 
nnndred  miles  hence),"  or,  "  I  swear  to  do  so  (if  I  cannot 
think  of  something  else)."  4thly,  By  amphibologia,  or  equivo- 
cation; for  instance,  one  can  deny  any  thing  touching  the 
f  rench  by  thinking  of  the  word  "  gallus  "  as  implying  a  cock 
matead  of  a  Gaul.  5thly,  By  the  intentio  bona,  which  was 
^ne  principal  thing*  Strictly  speaking,  the  only  virtue  re- 
quired in  a  Jesuit  was  the  promotion  of  the  intentions  of 
2  D  2 


404  THE  JESUITS, 

his  order ;  whoever  did  this,  merited  eternal  bliss,  whioh  was 
ever  the  case.  The  sins  of  the  wealth/  and  powerful,  whom 
it  was  to  the  interest  of  the  order  to  treat  with  lenity,  were 
excused  on  the  ground  of  their  having  no  intenUo  tnala^  that 
is,  that  the  sin  had  not  been  committed  for  the  sake  of  sin- 
ning. Thus,  for  instance,  adultery  was  allowable  in  princes 
and  nobles,  because  the  marriage  vow  had  been  broken,  not 
for  the  sake  of  committing  adultery,  but  for  the  sake  of  an- 
other woman.  6thly,  and  lastly.  By  pia  operOy  by  good 
works ;  whoever  honoured  the  Jesuits,  built  colleges  for  them, 
gave  them  money,  etc.,  whoever,  in  general,  did  good  service 
to  the  Catholic  church,  diligently  observed  her  ceremonies^ 
purchased  a  dispensation,  etc.,  was  completely  free  from  guilt. 
Means  such  as  these  easily  gained  over  the  wealthy  and 
the  powerful.  The  Jesuits  displayed  the  greatest  activity 
at  court,  their  maxim  being  to  influence  the  flock  through  its 
leaders.  They  long  governed  all  the  Catholic  courts  of  Eu- 
rope, sometimes  as  confessors  or  tutors  to  the  sovereign,  some- 
times as  counsellors  and  negotiators,  the  most  talented  men  of 
their  order  especially  devoting  themselves  to  political  matters ; 
but  their  principal  profession  was  that  of  a  procurer ;  the 
secrets  of  the  confessional  rendered  them  masters  of  the  weak- 
nesses of  the  princes  and  princesses,  whom  they  doubly  flat- 
tered, by  affording  them  opportunities  to  satisfy  their  inclina- 
tions, and,  at  the  same  time,  giving  them  full  absolution. 
Like  the  Lutheran  court-chaplains,  they  ever  found  means  to 
secure  the  eternal  salvation  of  the  sovereign,  whatever  might 
have  been  his  crimes.  They  even  succeeded  in  creeping  into 
Protestant  courts  for  the  purpose  of  converting  the  prince  or 
of  corrupting  his  counsellors.  It  was  in.  this  manner  they 
converted  Queen  Christina  of  Sweden,  the  daughter  of  the 
great  Gustavus  Adolphus.  The  most  important  projects  of 
the  Protestants  have  been  frustrated  by  the  secret  intrigues  of 
Jesuitical  emissaries  at  the  courts  of  the  Protestant  princes. 
The  Jesuits  also  applied  themselves  to  the  study  of  medicine, 
by  which  means  they  got  the  life  of  the  sovereign,  in  whose 
service  they  were,  into  their  power,  and  many  of  the  poison- 
ings which  took  place  at  that  time  may  be  placed  to  their 
charge,  no  less  than  many  of  the  assassinations,  by  which  they 
removed  the  leaders  of  the  opposite  party.  In  1614,  the 
general  of  the  order,  Aquaviva,  prohibited  the  public  defence 


THE  JESTTITB.  405 

of  regicide  by  the  Jesuits,  probably  from  fear  of  giTing  offence 
to  tbeir  royal  patrons.  In  order  to  work  with  greater  s^urity, 
they  had  secret  members  among  the  laity ;  princes  were  even 
enrolled  in  their  ranks.  These  members  were  termed  the 
short-robed  Jesuits. 

Education  was  almost  entirely  controlled  by  the  Jesuits, 
who,  by  this  means,  secured  the  rising  generation  and 
methodically  implanted  in  the  people  the  spirit  requisite  for 
their  purposes.  The  most  fitting  members  of  the  order  were 
placed  in  their  schools  or  colleges.  Every  science  was  turned 
to  suit  their  purposes.  Every  thing  that  might  prove  preju- 
dicial to  themselves  was  carefully  avoided  in  the  schools  and 
in  their  writings  and  all  Protestant  books  were  strictly  pro- 
hibited. Although  there  were  many  deeply  learned  and 
shrewd-minded  men  among  the  Jesuits,  the  want  of  truth 
in  their  discourses  rendered  their  schools  far  inferior  to 
those  of  the  Protestants;  nor  could  the  knowledge  they 
acquired  ever  benefit  the  people,  owing  to  their  almost  con- 
stant use  of  the  Latin  tongue,  which  was  at  first  natural, 
the  first  Jesuits  having  been  Spaniards  or  Italians,  but  which 
was  afterwards  purposely  persevered  in  with  a  view  of  pre- 
venting the  students  from  studying  German  and,  more  par- 
ticularly, Protestant  works. 

The  inclination  of  the  Jesuits  to  place  themselves  as  an 
intermediate  class  between  the  priests  and  the  laity,  and,  by 
this  means,  to  govern  both,  is  clearly  discernible  in  their  new 
forms.  They  avoided  the  old  terms  of  "monastery,  monks," 
etc.,  and  termed  themselves  a  "society;"  their  houses,  "col- 
leges and  residences."  In  South  America,  in  the  province  of 
Paraguay,  they  even  usurped  sovereign  rule,  but  had  the 
prudence  to  veil  their  model-monarchy,  in  imitation  of  which 
they  one  day  hoped  to  rule  the  whole  world,  from  the  eyes  of 
the  curious. 

It  was  the  Jesuits  who  desecrated  the  spirit  of  the  vener- 
able mother-church  whiht  attempting  to  preserve  her  body, 
the  tottering  edifice  of  hierarchical  tyranny.  One  of  her  heads 
liad  prophesied  concerning  them,  "  As  lambs  have  we  crept 
in,  as  wolves  will  we  govern,  as  dogs  shall  we  be  driven  out, 
and  as  eagles  shall  we  return." 

The  most  celebrated  of  the  Jesuitical  dogmatists  of  Ger* 
many,  during  the  thirty  years'  war,  were  Gretser,  self-named 


406  THE  LUTHERAN  AND 

malleus  hareticorum,  and  Tanner.  Daring  the  subsequent 
peace,  the  Bollandists  gained  great  celebritj  in  the  Nether- 
lands bj  their  acta  sanctorum^  a  continuation,  principally  by 
Holland,  Papebrochius,  etc.,  of  the.  legends  of  the  saints, 
formerly  collected  by  the  industrious  Benedictius.  The  An- 
nals, published  by  Baronius,  up  to  1607,  in  opposition  to  the 
Magdeburg  Centuries  of  Flacius,  were  the  greatest  historical 
work  of  the  Catholic  church.  Leisentritt  Juliusburg,  of 
Vienna,  who  produced  a  Catholic  hymn-book  in  opposition  to 
that  of  Luther,  belonged  to  the  peaceful  Catholics. 

Although  Germans  served  the  society  of  Jesuits,  they  never 
gained  the  upper-hand  in  that  order,  the  German  character 
being  antipathetical  to  its  institutions,  which  were  brought 
from  Spain  to  Germany  and  ever  remained  foreign  to  the 
BoiL  The  first  opposition  raised  against  the  order  in  the 
Catholic  church  originated  from  a  German,  Jansen,  [a.  d. 
1638,]  in  the  university  of  Lou  vain,  in  the  Spanish  Nether- 
lands. Jansen  demanded  sincerity  in  religious  feeling  in- 
stead of  Jesuitical  hypocrisy  and  external  works ;  humility, 
piety,  and  fear  of  God,  instead  of  the  intolerable  priestly  pride 
of  the  Jesuits.  His  doctrine,  Jansenism,  spread  principally 
throughout  France,  replacing  all  that  had  been  lost  by  the  sup- 
pression of  the  Huguenots  ;  and,  at  the  very  time  that  France 
was  sending  disease  and  incendiaries  into  Germany,  did  Ger- 
man genius  nobly  avenge  its  fatherland  by  imparting  a  benefit 
to  its  foe. 

CCXin.   The  Lutheran  and  Reformed  Churches. 

The  Reformers  were  as  disunited  as  the  Catholics  were 
the  contrary.  The  doctrine  of  the  Lutiierans,  or  Protestants, 
stood  opposed  to  that  of  the  Calvinists,  the  Reformers  in  the 
stricter  sense,  and  these  two  great  sects  were  again  inter- 
nally divided.  The  political  distribution  of  the  Reformers  also 
affected  the  external  constitution  of  the  church,  each  princi- 
pality or  republic  having  its  separate  church. 

The  bonds  of  the  universal  church  had  thus  been  torn  asun- 
der, and  separate  provincial  churches  alone  existed.  The 
independence  and  liberty  of  the  church  were  by  this  means 
destroyed,  and,  instead  of  the  ancient  hierarchy,  which  had 
asserted  its  superiority  over  or  its  equality  with   temporal 


REFORMED  CHURCHES.  407 

power,  there  was  merely  a  political  church  subserTient  to  the 
temporal  govemmeot  of  each  province.  The  whole  of  the  hier-, 
archical  power  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  princes.  The 
prince  inherited  the  ecclesiastical  property,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  exercised  all  spiritaal  power  and  jurisdiction.  The 
ministry  and  the  cure  of  souls  were  all  that  remained  to  the 
priest,  whose  nomination,  removal,  and  even  the  doctrines  he 
was  to  inculcate,  depended  upon  the  caprice  of  the  prince.  The 
curate  was  a  salaried  servant  of  the  state.  A  number  of 
parishes  stood  under  an  inspector,  superintendent,  or  deacon, 
in  imitation  of  the  Catholic  deaconries,  all  of  whom  were  sub- 
ordinate to  a  consistory,  composed  of  spiritual  and  temporal 
members  and  forming  a  subdivision  of  the  government.  It 
was  only  in  countries  where  the  prince  and  his  subjects  differed 
in  religion  that  the  consistory  maintained  its  independence. 
All  temporal  affairs,  matrimonial  causes  alone  excepted,  were 
beyond  its  jurisdiction. — The  poor  country  clergy  were  also 
generally  dependent  upon  the  nobility,  who  held  the  right  of 
patronage,  or  the  right  of  nominating  one  of  the  candidates  for 
the  ministry,  who  was  examined  by  the  consistory,  to  his  village 
church  ;  a  right  simply  consequent  on  that  of  property,  the 
village  belonging  to  the  noble  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
country  belonged  to  the  prince.  The  poor  candidates,  conse- 
quently, competed  for  the  favour  of  the  nobility,  and,  as  the 
depravity  of  the  courts  gradually  spread  downwards,  the  Pro- 
testant clergy  were  exposed  to  the  most  unworthy  treatment, 
serving  as  buffoons  to  their  patrons  or  as  convenient  husbands 
for  their  cast-off  mistresses. 

The  splendour  of  the  Catholic  church,  her  adoration  of  saints 
ftnd  relics,  her  ceremonies  all  too  deeply  calculated  to  impose 
ypon  the  senses,  had  led  the  Lutherans  and  the  Reformers 
mto  the  opposite  extreme  in  their  inartificial,  meagre,  prosaic 
service,  which  merely  consisted  of  listening  to  a  sermon  be- 
tween bare  walls,  and  of  singing  in  chorus,  which  generally 
degenerated  to  a  screaming  sound  little  in  harmony  with  the 
notes  of  the  organ,  the  whole  congregation,  whether  able  to 
sing  or  not,  joining  in  chorus.  The  sermon,  the  word  of  God, 
was  the  main  point,  and,  until  abused  by  hypocrisy,  modern 
scholasticism,  and  oratory,  had  an  extraordinary  influence  over 
the  multitude.  The  Lutherans  retained  a  greater  degree  of 
solemnity  in  their  church  service  than  the  Reformers. 


408  THE  LUTHERAN  AND 

The  Reformed  churches  were  at  first  strictly  democratic. 
The  clergy  were  not  even  distinguished  by  their  attire  from 
the  rest  of  the  community ;  nor  was  it  until  the  aristocracy 
gradually  rose  to  power,  as  in  Switzerland  and  Holland,  that 
the  Reformed  churches  also  assumed  an  aristocratic  appearance. 
In  strictness  of  morals  the  Reformed  maintained  her  superi- 
ority over  the  Lutheran  church.  At  the  present  day,  as  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  when  church-going  was  considered  in 
Switzerland,  more  particularly  in  Zurich,  as  an  indispensa- 
ble duty,  the  sabbath  is  observed  at  Zurich  with  a  strictness 
unknown  elsewhere,  except  in  North  America,  owing  to 
a  similar  reason,  religion  and  morality  being  more  rigidly 
practised  by  the  people  in  a  self-controlled  republic  than  thej 
ever  can  be  under  a  monarchy.  Berne  first  complained  of 
the  servility,  and  of  the  consequent  laxity  of  the  morals,  of  the 
clergy  dependent  upon  the  upper  classes. 

The  theological  uncertainty  displayed  in  the  composition  of 
the  Interim,  the  compliance  of  Melancthon,  and,  more  particu- 
larly, that  of  Agricola,  the  separation  of  the  strict  Lutherans 
from  the  Swiss,  and,  in  Holland,  that  of  the  strict  Oalvinists 
from  the  Arminians,  have  already  been  alluded  to.  The  con- 
troversial writings  of  these  sects  and  those  of  the  Jesuits 
henceforth  chiefly  occupied  the  theological  press,  swelling  the 
bombast  of  ancient  scholasticism,  and  uniting  indescribable 
coarseness  and  brutality  with  expressionsof  the  most  envenomed 
hate.  Pamphlets  from  every  corner  of  Germany  disputed,  like  an 
immense  flock  of  ravens  over  a  carcase,  over  the  rotten  remains 
of  the  church,  and  the  scholastics  had  no  sooner  triumphed  over 
the  anabaptistical  dilettanti  than  they  fell  at  strife  among  them- 
selves. The  first  and  most  important  point  was  to  rephice 
the  inexhaustible  means  of  grace  possessed  by  the  ancient 
church  with  something  offering  an  equal  guarantee  to  the  peo- 
ple, whom  former  habits  and  the  promulgation  of  fresh  doc- 
trines had  rendered  anxious  for  the  salvation  of  their  souls. 
The  text  of  the  Bible  was  open  to  various  interpretations,  and 
it  was  on  all  sides  unanimously  resolved  that  the  cheap  dis- 
pensation should  be  replaced  by  a  justification  of  the  easiest 
description.  The  mode  by  which  this  justification  was  to  be 
obtained,  however,  produced  a  -furious  dispute.  Luther  and 
Flacius,  who  werit  still  further,  justified  by  blind  faith  in  the 
word  of  God,  independent  of  all  good  works ;  nay,  Flacius 


BEFOEMEB  CHURCHES.  409 

even  condemned  yirtue  without  faith  and  justified  every  sin- 
ner who  believed.  Agricola  and  Osiander  admitted  the  eter- 
nal grace  of  Grod  by  which  man  was  justified  and  rendered, 
like  Christ,  devoid  of  sin.  Calvin  taught  the  doctrine  of  pre- 
destination, according  to  which  certain  individuals  were  from 
their  birth  destined  to  future  bliss.  On  no  sides  were  means 
for  salvation  wanting.  These  theological  controversies  being, 
moreover,  without  practical  influence  on  the  people  or  on  pub- 
lic morals,  again  degenerated  to  mere  scholastic  cavils.  The 
preponderance  of  justifying  effect,  which,  independent  of  all 
good  works  and  of  morality,  was  by  some  ascribed  to  faith,  by 
others  to  grace,  might  have  endangered  public  morals,  had 
not  the  -people,  with  their  sound  sense,  in  spite  of  the  ab- 
surdities inculcated  by  the  theologians,  chiefly  comprehended 
the  Reformation  as  a  reform  in  their  moral  and  social  existence, 
and  had  recourse  to  that  blessed  gift,  the  German  Bible,  which 
even  the  theology  of  the  schools  was  unable  to  pervert. 

Modern  Protestant  scholasticism  was  necessarily  opposed 
by  modern  mysticism.  Pious  and  high-minded  men  were  na- 
turally driven  to  seek  for  salvation  elsewhere  than  in  verbal 
disputations.  The  gentle-minded  Schwenkfeld  had,  even  in 
Luther's  time,  taught  that  Christianity  consisted  not  in  con- 
troversy, but  in  purity  of  life  and  love  of  one's  neighbour. 
John  Arnd,  who,  towards  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
followed  in  Tauler's  steps  and  led  his  hearers  from  contro- 
versy to  devotion,  met  with  less  opposition  on  account  of  his 
not  being  the  founder  of  any  particular  system;  but  Jacob 
Boehme,  the  shoemaker  of  Goerlitz,  who,  about  the  same  time, 
irradiated  Germany  with  his  ideas,  became  the  object  of  the 
bitter  hatred  and  persecution  of  the  Lutheran  clergy.  ^  His 
"Rising  Morn"  broke  with  redoubled  eflulgence  through  the 
mists  of  ignorance  and  arrogance.  When  speaking  of  the 
controversies  of  his  times,  he  says,  "  After  the  internal  church, 
which  he  solely  acknowledged,  the  Turkish  appeared  to  him 
the  most  reasonable,  as  it  had  only  one  god  and  a  moral  code 
without  dispensation ;  the  next  best  was  the  strong  church, 
(that  of  Rome,)  with  which  something  might  still  be  done ; 
hut  the  most  corrupt  of  all  was  the  church  of  disputants  (the 
Lutheran)." 


410  THE  EMPIRE. 


CCXIV.   The  Empire.— The  Princes  and  ike  NohOUy. 

The  emperor's  title  of  "augmenter  of  the  empire**  had  be- 
come a  mockery,  an  empty  sound.  The  Swiss  and  Dutch  had 
asserted  their  independence,  the  Netherlands  had  been  ceded 
to  Spain,  part  of  Lorraine  and  Alsace  to  France,  part  of 
Lower  Saxony  to  Denmark,  Fomerania  to  Sweden.  Inter- 
nally, the  empire  was  torn  and  hung  but  loosely  together,  her 
constitution  was  a  monstrum  reipublic^B.  The  imperial  diet 
was  divided  into  three  colleges  or  benches,  those  of  the  elec- 
tors, princes,  and  cities.  The  elector  of  Mayence,  as  arch- 
chancellor  of  the  empire,  held  the  presidency,  whenever  the 
emperor  was  not  present  in  person,  and  the  secretaries  re- 
ceived all  petitions,  etc.  The  electoral  princes  decided  all 
questions  by  vote,  of  which  each  had  one.  The  bench  of 
princes  was  subdivided  into  two  colleges,  one  of  which  con- 
sisted of  the  spiritual  and  temporal  princes,  who  were  not 
electors,  the  other  of  prelates  (abbots)  and  counts.  The  spi- 
ritual princes  were  those  who  as  princes  of  the  empire  were 
independent  in  temporal  matters  of  the  other  princes.  During 
the  gradual  decay  of  the  ancient  duchies,  the  subordinate  bi- 
shops and  even  some  of  the  abbots  declared  themselves  in- 
dependent, and  it  was  only  in  the  Habsburg-Burgundian 
hereditary  province  that  they  still  remained  subordinate  to  the 
princes;  the  powerful  archbishops  and  bishops  of  Frague, 
Breslau,  Olmiitz,  and  the  United  Netherlands  were,  conse- 
quently, simply  Austrian  subjects,  and  were  unrepresented  in 
the  diet.  The  numbers  of  the  spiritual  princes  of  the  empire 
had  been  greatly  thinned  by  the  Reformation  on  account  of 
the  defalcation  of  the  majority  of  those  of  Northern  Grermany. 
Of  the  temporal  princes  every  house  had  a  vote,  and  dis- 
putes often  arose  between  the  different  lines,  each  of  which 
claimed  that  right,  or,  on  account  of  fresh  houses  raised  to  the 
dignity  of  prince.  The  numerous  princes  created  by  Ferdi- 
nand II.  of  Austria  in  imitation  of  the  Spanish  grandees 
were  refused  admission  to  the  bench  occupied  by  the  houses 
of  more  ancient  date.  The  prelates  were  divided  into  two 
benches,  the  Swabian  and  Rhenish,  each  of  which  possessed 
but  a  single  vote.  The  counts  were  divided  into  two  benches, 
the  Swabian  and  Wetterauan,  to  which  were,  in  1640,  added 


THE  EMPIRE.  411. 

the  Franconian,  and,  in  1655,  the  Westphalian,  and  here  again 
each  bench,  not  each  individual,  possessed  one  vote.  In  the 
same  manner,  since  1474,  the  college  of  the  cities  consisted  of 
two  benches,  each  of  which  had  one  vote,  the  Rhenish,  over 
which  Cologne,  and  the  Swabian,  over  which  Batisbon,  pre- 
sided. The  barons  of  the  empire,  although  not  represented 
in  the  diet,  were  recognised  as  an  Estate  of  the  empire,  and 
consisted  of  three  circles,  the  Swabian,  Franconian,  and 
Rhenish,  controlled  bj  a  directory  selected  from  among  them- 
selves. The  diet  was,  moreover,  collectively  divided  into  two 
bodies,  according  to  the  difference  of  religion,  the  corpus  Ca^ 
thoUcorum  and  the  corpus  Evangelicorum,  Every  question, 
however,  naturally  depended  upon  the  great  princes,  whose 
separate  votes  always  gave  them  the  majority.  The  taxes 
and  levy  of  troops  were  divided  among  the  circles,  each  of 
which  had  a  captain,  generally  the  most  powerful  prince 
within  its  limits.  The  emperor,  even  in  his  character  as 
president  over  the  imperial  chamber,  the  highest  court  of  jus- 
tice for  the  whole  of  the  German  people,  and  over  the  im- 
perial aulic  council,  the  highest  court  of  justice  for  the 
princes,  was  dependent  upon  the  voices  of  the  princes,  and 
was  unable  to  execute  any  sentence  he  might  venture  to  pro- 
nounce in  condemnation  of  one  of  their  number.  The  same 
was  the  case  in  regard  to  the  appropriation  of  feofs  lapsed  to 
the  crown.  The  most  distant  claims  were  asserted  in  defiance 
of  the  emperor,  the  whole  of  whose  authority  was  limited  to 
the  grant  of  titles,  the  protection  of  the  less  powerful  among 
the  Estates,  and  the  promotion  of  commerce.  The  powerful 
princes  pursued  a  perfectly  independent  course. 

In  this  manner,  the  diets  naturally  declined.  Affairs  of 
importance  were  transacted  by  writing  or  by  diplomatic  means 
through  ambassadors  between  the  potentates  of  the  empire,  and 
the  weak  were  either  compelled  to  yield,  or,  by  their  dissent, 
Baultiplied  the  negotiations  without  exercising  any  decisive 
influence  over  them.  The  princes  rarely  appeared  in  person  at 
the  diet,  and  their  ambassadors,  as  well  as  the  city  deputies, 
'whilst  engaged  in  informing  their  master  or  their  constituents 
01  the  progress  of  the  question  and  in  awaiting  instructions, 
generally  allowed  the  moment  for  action  to  slip  by.  This 
procrastination,  however,  suited  the  Estates,  who,  from  self* 
ishness  or  from  jealousy  of  the  house  of  Habsburg,  ever  re^ 


412  THE  EMPIRE. 

fused  to  assist  the  crown,  however  urgent  the  demand.  Sal- 
tan Soliman  11.  jastlj  remarked,  *'The  Crermans  deliberate, 
I  act  I" 

The  election  of  the  emperor  and  his  coronation,  meanwhile, 
still  retained  much  of  their  ancient  solemnity  and  splendour, 
but  Aix-la-ChapeUe  had  gradually  sunk  into  oUivion.  Botli 
ceremonies  now  took  place  at  Frankfurt  a  M.,  whither  the 
regalia,  kept  at  Nuremberg,  were  regularly  carried.  These 
consisted,  first,  of  sacred  relics,  a  piece  of  the  holy  cross,  a 
thorn  from  the  Saviour's  crown,  St.  Maurice's  sword,  a  link 
of  St  Paul's  chain,  etc.  Secondly,  of  the  insignia  of  the  em- 
pire, the  massive  golden  crown,  weighing  fourteen  pounds, 
of  Charlemagne,  set  with  rough  diamonds,  the  golden  ball, 
sceptre,  and  sword  of  that  great  monarch,  the  imperial  mantle 
and  robes,  the  priestly  stole  and  the  rings.  The  election  over, 
a  peal  of  bells  ushered  in  the  coronation  day ;  the  emperor  and 
all  the  princes  assembled  in  the  Romer  and  proceeded  thence 
on  horseback  to  the  cathedral,  where,  mass  having  been  read, 
the  elector  of  Mayence  rose  as  first  bishop  and  archchancellor 
of  the  empire,  and,  staff  in  hand,  demanded  of  the  emperor, 
"Vis  s.  fidem  catholicam  servare?"  to  which  he  replied, 
**Volo,"  and  took  the  oath  on  the  gospel.  Mayence  then 
asked  the  electors  "whether  they  recognised  the  elected  as 
emperor?"  to  which  they  with  one  accord  repjied,  "Fiat.* 
The  emperor  then  took  his  seat,  and  was  anointed  by  May- 
ence, whilst  Brandenburg  held  the  vessel  and  assisted  in  half 
disrobing  the  emperor,  on  the  crown  of  the  head,  the  breast, 
the  neck,  the  shoulder,  the  arm,  the  wrist,  and  the  fiat  of  the 
hand ;  after  which  he  was  attired  in  the  robes  of  Charlemagne 
and  the  ceremony  was  concluded  in  front  of  the  altar  by  May- 
ence, assisted  by  Cologne  and  Treves.  The  emperor,  adorned 
with  the  crown,  then  mounted  the  throne,  the  hymn  of  St 
Ambrose  being  meanwhile  chanted,  and  performed  his  first  act 
as  emperor  by  bestowing  the  honour  of  knighthood  with  the 
srword  of  Charlemagne,  usually  on  a  member  of  the  family  of 
Dalberg  of  Rhenish  Franconia,  which  became  so  customary 
that  the  herald  demanded,  "  Is  no  Dalberg  here  ? "  The 
emperor  headed  the  procession  on  foot  back  to  the  Romer. 
Cloths  of  purple  were  Spread  on  the  way  and  afterwards  given 
to  the  people.  The  banquet  was  spread  in  the  Romer.  The 
emperor  and  (when  there  happened  to  be  one)  the  Roman 


THE  PRINCES  AND  THE  NOBILITY.  413 

kiDg  sat  alone  at  a  table  six  feet  high»  the  princes  below,  the 
empress  on  one  side  three  feet  lower  than  the  emperor.  The 
electoral  princes  performed  their  offices.  Bohemia,  the  im- 
perial cup-bearer,  rode  to  a  fountain  of  wine  and  bore  the 
first  glass  to  the  emperor  ;  Pfak  rode  to  an  ox  roasting  whole, 
and  carved  the  first  slice  for  the  emperor  ;  Saxony  rode  up 
to  his  horse's  bellj  into  a  heap  of  oats  and  filled  a  measure  for 
his  lord  ;  and,  lastly,  Brandenburg  rode  to  a  fountain  and 
filled  the  silver  ewer.  The  wine,  ox,  oats,  and  imperial  ban- 
quet, with  all  the  dishes  and  vessds,  were,  in  conclusion, 
given  up  to  the  people. 

According  to  the  imperial  register,  a.  d.  1521,  under  Charles 
y.,  the  iniperial  Estates  were  divided  as  follows.     Ist,  Circle 
of  Austria.     Archduke  of  Austria  (Habsburg).     Bishops  of 
Trient,  Brixen,  Gurk,  Sekau,  Lavant.     2nd,  Circle  of  Bur- 
gundy.    Duke  of  Burgundy  (Habsburg).     3rd,  Circle  of  the 
Lower  Bhine.    Archbishops  of  Mayence,  Cologne,  Treves, 
and  the  Rhenish  Ffalzgrave,  oi^  the  house  of  Wittelsbach,  all 
four  electoral  princes.   Also  the  city  of  Gelnhausen.    4th,  Cir- 
cle of  Franconia.   Bishops  of  Bamberg,  Wurzburg,  and  Eich- 
stadt.     The  master  of  the  Teutonic  order  of  Mergentheim. 
The  Margraves  of  Brandenburg  at  Anspach,  Bayreutb,  Culm- 
bach,  (formerly  Burggraves  of  Nuremberg,)  of  the  house  of 
Hohenzollern.     The  Counts  of  Hohenlohe,  Erbach,  and  other 
petty  nobles.    The  cities  of  Nuremberg,  Windsheim,  Weissen- 
burg,  Bottenburg,    Schweinfurt.      5th,    Circle  of    Swabia. 
Bishops  of  Augsburg,  Constance,  Chur.     Abbots  of  Kempten, 
Beichenau,    St.  Gall,   Weingarten,   and    numerous    others. 
Buke  of  Wurtemberg,  Margrave  of  Baden,  Counts  von  (Et- 
tingen,  FUrstenberg,  Montfort,  Eberstein,  Loewenstein,  Helf- 
enstein,  etc.     Innumerable  petty  nobles.     Cities  ;  Augsburg, 
XJlm,  Kempten,  Leutkircb,Wangen,  Ravensburg,  Ueberlingen, 
Pfullendorf,  Schaffhausen,  Esslingen,  Weil,  Wimpfen,  Diin- 
kelsbiihl,    Griiningen,    Noerdlingen,    Buchan,    Gengenbach, 
liottweil,  Kauf  beuren,  Memmingen,  Biberach,  Issni,  Lindau, 
Bnchhorn,  Constance,  St.  Gall,  Reutlingen,  Gmiind,  Heil- 
^nn.  Hall,  Bopfingen,  Aalen,  Donauwoerth,  Ofienburg,  2^11. 
6th,  Circle  of  Bavaria.   Archbishop  of  Salzburg.   Bishops  of 
Passau,  Freising,  Batisbon,  Kemsen  (Chiemsee).  Duke  of  Ba- 
varia and  Ffalzgrave  of  Neuburg,  of  the  house  of  Wittelsbach. 
Landgrave  of  Leuchtenberg,   (shortly  afterwards  extinct,) 


414  THE  PRINCES  AND  THE  NOBILITY. 

Count  von  Ortenberg,  and  some  others  of  lesser  note.  The  citj 
of  Ratisbon.  7th,  The  circle  of  the  Upper  Rhine.  Bishops  of 
Worms,  Strassburg,  Be8an9on,  Geneva,  Metz,  Verdun,  Spires, 
Basle,  Sion,  Lausanne,  Toul.  Princely  abbots  of  Fulda, 
Hirschfeld,  and  numerous  others  of  lesser  note.  Duke  of 
Lorraine  and  of  Savoy,  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  Count  of  Nassau, 
Rhinegrave  von  Salm,  Counts  von  Bitsch,  Hanau,  Leiningen, 
Falkenstein,  Isenburg,  Solms,  Wittgenstein,  Waldeck,  etc. 
Cities  ;  Basle,  Colmar,  TUrkheim,  Obemebenheim,  Roszheim, 
Hagenau,  Landau,  Worms,  Friedberg,  Metz,  Verdun,  Besan- 
9on,  Gailhausen,  Miihlhausen,  Kejsersberg,  Miinster,  (in  the 
Georgenthal,)  Strassburg,  Schlettstadt,  Weissenburg,  Spires, 
Frankfurt,  Wetzlar,  Toul,  Saarbriick.  8th,  Circle  of  West- 
phalia. Bishops  of  Paderbom,  Utrecht,  Cammerich,  Verden, 
Liege,  Miinster,  Osnabriick,  Minden.  Abbots  of  Corvey, 
Stablo,  etc.  Abbesses  of  Hervorden,  Essen,  etc.  Dukes  of 
Juliers  and  Berg,  Cleve  and  Mark.  Counts  von  Oldenburg, 
Bentheim,  Wied,  Mandersch«id,  Lippe,  Moers,  etc.  Cities ; 
Cologne,  Wesel,  Cammerich,  Soest,  Hervorden,  Warberg, 
Verdun,  Aix-la-Chapelle,  Deubern,  Dortmund,  Duisburg, 
Bragkel,  Lengad.  9th,  Circle  of  Upper  Saxony.  Elector  of 
Saxony,  of  the  house  of  Wettin.  Elector  of  Brandenburg,  of 
the  house  of  HohenzoUern.  The  master  of  the  Teutonic  order 
in  Prussia,  and  the  land-master  in  Livonia.  Bishops  of 
Meissen,  Merseburg,  Naumburg,  Brandenburg,  Havelberg, 
Lebus,  Camin ;  abbess  of  Quedlinburg,  abbot  of  Saalfeld, 
Wolkenried,  etc.  Dukes  of  Saxon-Thuringia  (the  Albertine 
line  of  the  house  of  Wettin).  Dukes  of  Pomerania,  princes 
of  Anhalt,  Counts  von  Mansfeld,  Schwarzburg,  Stolberg,  Ho- 
faenstein,  Gleichen,  etc.  Cities ;  Dantzig,  Elbing,  Wolken- 
ried. 10th,  Circle  of  Lower  Saxony.  Archbishops  of  Mag- 
deburg and  Bremen.  Bishops  of  Halberstadt,  Hildesheim, 
Liibeck,  Schwerin,  Ratzeburg,  Schleswig.  Dukes  of  Hol- 
Btein,  (king  of  Denmark,  of  the  house  of  Oldenburg,)  Bruns- 
wick, (of  the  house  of  Guelph,)  Saxon-Lauenburg,  (of  the 
house  of  Anhalt,)  and  Mecklenburg.  Cities ;  Liibeck,  Ham- 
burg, Goettingen,  Goslar,  Nordhausen,  Miihlhausen,  Wismar, 
Rostock,  Stralsund,  Brunswick,  Magdeburg,  Lemgo,  Erfurt, 
Limburg. 

Each  of  the  Estates  suffered  by  the  religious  war,  the 
princes  alone  gained  thereby.     The  aristocracy  and  the  cities 


THE  PRINCES  AND  THE  NOBILITY.  415 

sank  in  power  and  independence  whilst  the  power  of  the 
princely  houses  rose  hy  the  establishment  of  the  right  of  pri- 
mogeniture. In  1621,  the  indivisibility  of  the  hereditary  pro- 
vinces of  the  house  of  Habsburg  was  passed  into  a  law ;  the 
house  of  Wittelsbach  in  Bavaria  had  done  the  same  in  1545, 
but  too  late,  the  other  branch  having  already  fixed  itself  in  the 
Pfalz,  where  the  division  of  the  family  possessions  still  con- 
tinued. 

The  electoral  house  lost  the  Upper  Pfalz  to  Bavaria ;  the 
collateral  line  of  Pfalz-Neuburg  divided  the  Cleve  inheritance 
with  Brandenburg,  and,  in  1666,  came  into  the  actual  posses- 
sion of  Berg  and  Juliers ;  in  1683,  this  line  replaced  the  ex- 
tinct electoral  house.  The  other  collateral  line,  Pfalz-Bir- 
kenfeld,  surviving  the  rest  of  the  Wittelsbacher,  came  into 
sole  possession  of  the  whole  of  the  Bavarian  inheritance.  A 
descendant  of  this  line,  Charles  Gustavus,  mounted  the  throne 

of  Sweden,  a.  d.  1654. The  house  of  Hohenzollern  was 

also  divided  into  the  Brandenburg  and  Franconian  lines,  the 
house  of  Wettin  into  those  of  Saxony  and  Thuringia,  the  house 
of  Guelph  into  those  of  Liineburg  and  Wolfenbuttel.  Hesse, 
Baden,  Mecklenburg,  and  Anhalt  were  also  subdivided.  Wur- 
temberg  formed  a  single  exception  among  the  Protestant 
houses  and  established  the  right  of  primogeniture  at  a  much 
earlier  period.  The  right  of  primogeniture  in  the  Catholic 
reigning  families  and  the  subdivision  of  the  possessions  of  the 
Protestant  princes  exercised  a  great  influence  over  the  war  of 
religion.  The  subdivision  of  the  possessions  of  the  petty  princes, 
Hohenlohe,  Waldburg,  Schwarzburg,  Reuss,  Lippe,  etc.,  also 
contributed  to  diminish  the  little  power  they  possessed. 

The  demoralization  engendered  by  this  subdivision  and  by 
the  family  disputes  to  which  it  gave  rise,  and  which  were,  more- 
over, fed  by  the  religious  war  and  by  the  sovereignty  usurped 
t>y  the  princes  independent  of  both  emperor  and  pope,  and  per- 
vading most  of  the  courts  of  Germany,  has  been  already  men- 
tioned. The  ancient  sturdiness  of  the  German  character  was 
long  perceptible  in  the  sports  of  the  field,  nor  was  it  until  vice 
had  gradually  sapped  both  mental  and  physical  vigour  that 
more  effeminate  amusements  were  introduced  in  their  stead,  that 
the  ancient  tournament  yielded  to  the  childish  sport  of  running 
at  the  ring,  and  shallow  wits  were  salaried  for  the  entertainment 
of  the  great.  Fools,  misshapen  dwarfs,  moors,  apes,  etc.,  became 


416  THE  PRINCES  AND  THE  NOBILITY. 

court  appendages.  Immoderate  drinking  was  at  first  the  fashioii* 
able  vice  among  the  princes,  whose  succesaors,  enervated  both 
in  mind  and  body,  brought  licence  on  the  throne.  The  nobles^ 
degenerated  by  court-life,  quitted  their  fastnesses,  whose  wall» 
no  longer  resisted  the  artillery  of  the  besieger,  threw  off  their 
armour,  that  no  longer  protected  them  from  the  bullet,  and 
exchanged  their  broad  battle-swords  for  the  pretty  toy  worn 
by  the  courtier.  Here  and  there,  however,  might  still  be 
found  a  nobleman  of  the  old  school  living  on  his  estate,  but 
the  country  nobility  were  regarded  as  far  beneath  the  courtly^ 
aristocracy.  The  ancient  and  free-spirited  nobility  in  the 
hereditary  provinces  had  been  almost  entirely  exterminated 
by  war,  the  headsman's  axe,  and  emigration,  and  had  been  re- 
placed by  proselytes  and  foreign  adventurers,  on  whom  the 
emperor  had  bestowed  the  titles  of  princes  and  counts  with 
rich  estates,  in  order  to  form  a  fresh  nobility  on  the  model  of 
the  Spanish  grandees,  in  other  words,  a  splendid  household, 
from  which  the  higher  officers,  both  civil  and  military,  were 
selected.  The  lower  nobility,  almost  entirely  expatriated, 
were  replaced  by  a  species  of  Hidalgo  or  noble  by  patent; 
titles  being  by  the  court  lavished  on  or  sold  to  its  civic  fol- 
lowers. The  example  given  by  Austria  was  followed  by  the 
other  German  courts,  and  the  families  of  ancient  nobility  that 
still  remained  were  compelled  to  admit  very  unworthy  sub- 
jects, such  as  the  families  of  favoured  mistresses,  etc.,  into 
their  ranks.  The  ancient  families,  disgusted  at  this  innova- 
tion, took  refuge  in  pride  of  ancestry,  to  which  those  least  dis- 
tinguished by  personal  qualities  the  more  obstinately  clung. 
Duelling  was  also  a  noble  prerogative. 

The  princes  had  reduced  the  clergy  to  submission  by  the 
Reformation,  the  nobility  by  modern  military  tactics,  the  cities 
by  the  decay  of  commerce,  and  the  peasantry  in  the  peasant 
war.  The  wretched  results  of  the  thirty  years'  war  utterly 
annihilated  the  ancient  power  of  the  provincial  Estates, 
which  were  either  entirely  dissolved  or  rendered  a  blind  tool 
of  the  government.  Wurtembergj.  the  sole  exception,  re- 
mained a  miniature  constitutional  England  in  the  heart  of 

enslaved  Germany. The  governments  were  formed  on  the 

French  model.  Up  to  this  period,  every  German  tribe  had 
from  the  earliest  times  participated  in  the  government  France 
first  ofiered  the  example  of  a  despotic  monarchy  modelled  on 


.        THE  PRINCES  AND  THE  NOBILITY.  417 

that  of  ancient  Eome  and  Greece  under  the  emperors,  which 
now  served  as  a  pattern  to  the  princes  of  Germany.     The 
prince,  either  alone  in  his  cabinet  or  aided  by  his  chancellor 
and  privy  counsellors,  deliberated  over  all   affairs  of  state. 
His  will  was  law.     The  provinces  were  governed  by  officers 
of  the  crown,  who  imposed  and  levied  taxes.     The  chambers, 
by  which  the  revenue  and  expenses  of  the  state  were  con- 
trolled, were  the  most  important  care  of  the  government. 
Funds  were  required  for  the  maintenance  of  the  splendour  of 
the  court ;  funds  were  required  by  the  cabinet  for  the  main- 
tenance of  ambassadors,  for  purposes  of  bribery  and  corruption 
at  foreign  courts,  etc.     Funds  were  required  by  the  govern- 
ment for  the  maintenance  of  an  army  during  war  and  peace, 
for  the  foundation  of  public  institutions,  etc.     Every  imagin- 
i   able  means  of  raising  these  necessary  funds  were  consequently 
resorted  to.      The  demesnes  of  the  sovereign,  confiscated 
I   church  property,  or  lapsed  fiefs  were,  like  a  large  country 
J   estate,  turned  to  the  profit  of  the  crown.     The  coinage,  tolls, 
{   and  mines  were  applied  to  the  same  purpose.     Fresh  royal 
J   dues  were  created  by  the  sale  of  privileges,  titles,  offices,  and 
I   even  justice,  or,  by  the  reservation  of  immense  monopolies. 
;    Whilst  the  revenue  and  prerogatives  of  the  chambers  were  by 
5    these  means  extended,  the  people  were  oppressed  with  heavy 
,    taxes.     The  wealth  possessed  by  the  subject  was  estimated  by 
i    the  government  as  a  capital,  in  point  of  fact,  belonging  to  the 
^   sovereign,  and  lent  by  him  to  his  subjects  at  an  arbitrary  per 
I   centage. 

I  The  general  German  and  imperial  courts  of  justice  fell; 
like  the  local  and  private  courts,  into  disuse,  and  were  replaced 
fj  by  the  provincial  courts  of  the  different  principalities.  The 
^  Roman  law,  which  had  long  been  in  use,  became  general,  and 
I  formed  the  substratum  of  all  provincial  law.  All  laws  of 
^  German  origin  had  fallen  into  contempt.  The  popular  courts 
^  of  justice,  consequently,  fell  into  disuse.  Neither  the  com- 
I,  mune,  nor  the  elected  judge,  nor  the  Feme,  the  last  free 
,  popular  court  of  justice,  could  any  longer  hold  a  tribunal. 
The  whole  of  the  judicial  power  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
jl  princes,  who  committed  it  to  one  particular  class,  the  lawyers, 
who  were  instructed  in  the  universities  in  the  Roman  law  and 
appointed  as  judges  and  salaried  by  the  prince.  The  peo- 
ple, ignorant  of  the  Roman  law,  were  compelled  to  intrust 

VOL.   II.  2   E 


418  THE  PRINCES  AND  THE  NOBILITY.       ^ 

their  complaints  and  defence  before  the  court  to  another 
especial  classy  connected  with  the  law,  that  of  the  advocates, 
who  aided  the  judges  in  deceiving  their  clients  as  interest  or 
caprice  prompted.  Decisions  were  secret.  The  Feme  had 
been  dissolved,  but  its  worst  feature,  secresy,  was  retained. 
Law-suits  were  conducted  in  writing,  for  the  sake  of  greater 
exactitude,  and,  in  case  of  appeal,  for  the  delivery  of  docu- 
ments to  the  higher  courts.  These  written  proceedings  na- 
turally required  time,  and  the  procrastination  of  a  decision 
was  advantageous  to  both  judge  and  advocate,  all  costs  being 
paid  by  the  contending  parties.  This  was  the  worst  of  all. 
Justice  was  no  longer  dispensed  gratis.  The  poor  were  com- 
pelled to  purchase  their  right,  and  the  lawyers  enriched  them- 
selves at  their  expense.  People  now  frequently  applied  for 
justice  to  neutral  judges,  presumed  to  be  masters  of  their  pro- 
fession and  impartial,  and  who  were  to  be  found  among  the 
professors  in  the  universities,  to  whom  important  suits  were 
referred  for  decision.  The  ancient  bench  of  justices  at  Leip- 
zig, filled  by  the  learned  professors  of  that  university,  was 
raised  in  this  manner  to  the  dignity  of  a  high  court  of  appeaL 
The  note  to  which  it  attained  may  be  judged  from  the  fact 
that  the  greatest  lawyer  of  those  times,  Benedict  Carpzow, 
who  sat  on  the  Leipzig  bench  from  1620  to  1666,  decided  no 
less  than  twenty  thousand  capital  sentences. 

The  barbarous  and  dishonouring  punishments  inflicted  by 
the  degenerate  Romans  on  their  slaves  were  still  enforced 
upon  the  free-born  German.  The  punishment  of  the  rack  or 
torture  was  taken  from  the  Roman  law.  The  criminal  code 
of  Charles  Y.,  the  Carolina,  was  an  abridgment  of  all  these 
barbarous  and  wicked  innovations.  Every  township  and  pro- 
vincial court  had  its  torture-chamber,  where  the  accused  was 
racked  in  all  his  limbs,  thumb-screwed,  pricked  under  his 
nails,  burnt  with  boiling  lead,  oil,  or  vitriol,  until  he  confessed* 
The  innocent,  unable  to  bear  the  horrible  torture,  conse- 
quently often  confessed  the  crimes  with  which  they  were 
charged  and  were  condemned  to  death.  Every  township  and 
court  had  also  its  place  of  execution.  Wherever  a  hill  com- 
manding a  lovely  prospect  rose  in  the  vicinity  of  a  town,  its 
summit  was  crowned  with  a  gallows  and  a  wheel  and  covered 
with  the  bones  of  victims.  The  simple  punishment  of  death 
no  longer  satisfied  the   pampered  appetite  of  the  ^criminal 


THE  PRINCES  AND  THE  NOBILITY.  419 

jadge.  Torture  was  formed  into  a  83rstem,  and  the  horrors 
practised  hj  the  ancient  tyrants  of  Persia  and  of  Rome,  by 
the  American  savage  in  his  warlike  fanaticism,  were,  in  cold 
blood,  legalized  hj  the  lawyers  throughout  Germany.  The 
chopping  off  of  hands,  the  cutting  out  of  tongues,  blinding, 
pinching  with  red-hot  tongs,  cutting  slices  out  of  the  back, 
tearing  out  the  heart,  empaling,  wrenching  off  limb  by  limb 
with  the  iron  wheel,  quartering  with  four  horses  or  with  oxen 
in  order  to  lengthen  the  torture,  modified  the  simplicity  of 
beheading,  hanging,  and  burning.  A  species  of  tyrannical 
wit  was  sometimes  displayed  in  the  mode  of  punishment.  In 
Switzerland,  bigamy  was  punished  by  the  criminal  being  cut 
in  two,  and  one  half  of  his  person  b^ng  given  to  each  of  his 
wives.  In  Augsburg,  the  clergy  were  enclosed  in  iron  cages 
and  hung  as  singing  birds  on  the  church  towers,  where  they 
were  left  to  perish  with  hunger,  as  grievous  crimes  could  not 
be  left  unpunished,  and  the  temporal  power  could  inflict  no 
corporal  punishment  on  a  member  of  the  church.  Jewish 
thieves  were  hanged  by  the  legs  between  two  dogs.  Poachers 
were  chained  to  the  stag,  which  was  turned  loose  into  the 
woods,  or  were  sewn  into  a  deer-skin  and  thrown  to  the  dogs. 
In  the  white  tower  at  Cologne,  bread  was  hung  high  above  the 
heads  of  the  criminals,  who  were  thus  compelled  either  to 
break  their  necks  by  clambering  up  to  it,  or  to  die  of  hunger ; 
etc.  etc 

The  prince  chiefiy  maintained  his  authority  by  means  of 
his  mercenaries.  Formerly  the  whole  of  the  population  bore 
arms,  afterwards  only  the  feudal  nobility  and  the  citizens  ; 
the  power  was  therefore  formerly  in  the  hands  of  the  citi- 
zens, and  afterwards  in  those  of  the  nobility  and  citizens,  who 
were  in  their  turn  ere  long  compelled  to  cede  their  arms  to 
the  soldiery  and  their  power  to  the  princes,  the  soldiers*  pay- 
masters. After  the  invention  of  gunpowder,  of  heavy  artillery, 
the  consequent  introduction  of  the  new  method  of  carrying  on 
sieges,  and  of  modern  tactics,  a  strong  arm  and  a  brave  heart 
no  longer  guaranteed  success  in  the  battle-field,  but  the  expe- 
rience and  discipline  of  regular  troops.  Corps  consequently 
formed  under  experienced  leaders,  which,  like  the  armed  so- 
cieties of  the  ancient  Germans,  were  governed  by  their  own 
laws  and  made  war  their  profession.  They  had  no  fixed 
abode,  only  for  a  certain  time  serving  those  who  gave  them 

2  B  2 


420  THE  PRINCES  AND  THE  NOBILITY. 

highest  pay ;  after  which  they  were  free,  and  would  not  an- 
frcquenUy  enrol  themselves  heneath  the  standard  of  their  late 
opponent.  They  regarded  war  as  a  mefins  of  livelihood, 
without  regard  to  its  cause  or  object  They  had  their  private  | 
treasury,  their  private  tribunal  that  passed  sentence  of  life  or 
death,  and,  with  their  women  and  children,  formed  a  petty 
migratory  force,  that  partly  recruited  itself,  their  children  and 
the  boys  that  attached  themselves  to  them  becoming  in  their 
turn  soldiers.  The  notorious  black  guard,  which,  for  almost 
a  century,  maintained  its  full  numbers  and  served  under 
almost  every  prince  in  Europe,  was  a  band  of  this  description.  , 
On  the  gradual  decay  of  the  power  of  the  aristocracy  and  of  j 
the  cities  and  on  the  opening  of  the  Reformation,  when  the 
mass  throughout  Germany  was  in  a  state  of  strong  fermenta- 
tion, the  mercenary,  particularly  the  foreign,  troops,  afforded 
a  convenient  means  to  the  princes  for  keeping  their  refrac- 
tory Estates  or  rebellious  subjects  in  check  and  the  people 
under  subjection.  They  were  consequently  retained  during 
peace  as  body-guards  and  household  troops  and  as  garrisons 
in  the  fortresses  formerly  defended  by  the  nobles  or  the  citi- 
zens. This  foreign  soldiery  brought  foreign  terms  into  use 
during  the  thirty  years*  war.  The  various  troops  were  formed 
into  companies  under  a  captain,  a  certain  number  of  which 
composed  a  regiment,  commanded  by  a  colonel.  Several  of 
these  regiments  were  again  commanded  by  a  general,  and  the 
generals  were,  in  large  armies,  in  their  turn  subordinate  to 
the  field-marshal,  or  generalissimo.  The  interior  economy  of 
the  army,  the  court-martial,  etc.,  also  required  a  crowd  of 
especial  officers,  such  as  master  of  the  ordnance,  quartermaster- 
general,  provost-marshal,  etc.,  whilst  its  spiritual  wants  were 
supplied  by  military  chaplains  and  a  chaplain-general. 

The  first  mercenaries  were  Swiss,  and  merely  consisted  of 
infantry,  that  generally  advanced  to  the  attack  in  a  wedge, 
armed  with  jagged  clubs,  (morning  stars,)  and  with  extremely 
broad,  double-handed  swords.  They  were  succeeded  by  the 
German  lancers,  who  bore  immensely  long  pikes,  at  one  end  of 
which  was  a  hatchet  (halberds,  partisans).  To  these  were 
shortly  afterwards  associated  the  arquebusiers,  who  used  the 
first  guns,  which,  on  account  of  their  weight,  were  rested  upon 
forks,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  iiim.  The  Spanish  arquebu- 
siers were  the  most  celebrated.     Gustavus  Adolphus  intro- 


THE  CITIZENS  AND  THE  PEASANTRY.  421 

daced  a  lighter  gun,  the  musket,  which  has  ever  since  heen  used 
hy  the  infantry.  The  Croatians  in  the  imperial  armies  first  dis- 
tinguished themselves  as  light  infantry  for  skirmishing  and  for 
harassing  the  advanced  guard  and  the  rear  flanks  of  the  enemy. 
In  the  cavalry,  the  ancient  knights  and  squires  were  succeeded 
hy  the  troopers  or  cuirassiers,  who  still  retained  the  armour 
and  helmet.  The  dragoons,  without  armour,  with  a  hat  in- 
stead of  a  helmet,  armed  with  the  carabine,  a  species  of  light 
cavalry,  that  could  also  serve  on  foot,  were  first  introduced  by 
Mansfeld  and  were  more  systematically  organized  by  Gusta- 
vus  Adolphus.  To  these  were  finally  added  a  body  of  light 
cavalry  for  outpost  duty  and  skirmishing,  the  Hungarian  Hus- 
sars and  the  Polish  Cossacks  in  the  imperial  army. The 

artillery  at  first  bore  great  affinity  to  the  gigantic  and  awk- 
ward catapult.  The  first  light  artillery  was  introduced  by 
Gustavus  Adolphus.  Maurice,  Prince  of  Orange,  brought 
the  art  of  siege  to  greater  perfection.  The  first  routine  in 
tactics  was  practised  by  the  Swiss,  who  also  introduced  the 
square,  as  affording  the  best  protection  to  infantry  against  the 
cavalry.  Gustavus  Adolphus  laid  at  first  great,  perhaps  too 
great,  weight  on  military  science,  and  in  his  tactics  decidedly 
favoured  attacks  on  the  enemy's  flanks. 

CCXV.   The  Citizens  and  the  Peasantry. 

The  fourteenth  century  was  the  heroic  age  of  the  cities  ;  in 
the  fifteenth,  they  reached  the  summit  of  their  power,  but  had 
already  become  disunited  and  slothful ;  in  the  sixteenth,  they 
sufiered  by  religious  factions,  by  the  attacks  of  the  princes 
and  by  the  decrease  of  commerce,  which  passed  principally 
into  the  hands  of  the  Dutch  and  English ;  the  thirty  years* 
war  completed  their  ruin.  The  confederated  cities  of  the 
Rhine  and  Upper  Germany  were  included  in  the  newly-con- 
stituted circles,  although  still  regarded  as  free  imperial  cities ; 
the  single  cities  fell  without  exception  to  decay,  whilst  those  of 
lesser  importance  became  objects  of  ridicule  with  the  imperial 
eagle  over  their  low  gates  and  with  their  petty  corporations. 
The  great  cities  on  the  Rhine,  Mayence  and  Cologne,  fell  un- 
der the  dominion  of  their  ecclesiastical  princes,  which  not  a 
IHtle  contributed  to  the  rise  of  the  free  imperial  city  of  Frank- 
furt on  the  Maine.     Of  the  Hanse  towns,  Hamburg,  Bremen, 


422  THE  CITIZENS  AND  THE  PEASANTRY. 

and  Lubcck  alone  retained  their  ancient  independence ;  the 
rest  fell,  lik»  Branswick,  partiaUy,  or,  like  Magdeburg,  Wis- 
mar,  and  Stralsund,  wholly  under  the  princes  of  the  North. 
In  Central  Germany,  Nuremberg  maintained  her  freedom 
against  the  petty  princes  of  Franconia ;  Leipzig  rose  to  pros- 
perity through  the  favour  of  the  elector  of  Saxony,  who  ren- 
dered her  the  seat  of  a  general  fair  for  the  whole  empire  ;  and 
Ratisbon  enjoyed  a  respectable  neutrality  as  the  principal 
scene  of  diplomatic  affairs.  In  Brandenburg,  Saxony,  Bava- 
ria, and  Austria,  however,  all  the  cities,  Vienna,  Prague, 
Breslau,  Berlin,  (the  ancient  frontier  towns,)  submitted,  after 
a  violent  struggle,  to  the  respective  sovereigns  of  those  coun- 
tries.    Bavaria  even  made  an  old  imperial  free  town,  Donau- 

woerth,  one  of  her  provincial  cities. ^Besides  these  towns 

of  ancient  date,  there  sprang  up  many  others  as  the  power  of 
the  princes  increased,  particularly  princely  residences  and 
collegiate  towns. 

In  the  cities,  the  spirit  of  the  government  changed  from 
democratic  to  aristocratic.  The  great  commotions  in  the  com- 
munes terminated  in  silent  submission.  In  some  of  the  cities 
of  Southern  Germany  the  ancient  burgess  families  regained 
their  former  influence ;  in  others,  a  new  hereditary  aristocracy, 
consisting  of  members  of  the  town-council,  sprang  from  the 
ruling  corporations.  The  revolution  in  the  government  of  the 
cities  of  Northern  Germany,  although  violent,  had  taken  place 
at  a  later  period,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  than  in  those  of 
the  South,  and  had  been  merely  transient  in  its  effects.  In 
all  the  Hanse  towns,  the  more  influential  among  the  burgher 
families  had  never  raised  a  broad  line  of  demarcation,  as  town- 
nobility,  between  themselves  and  the  rest  of  the  citizens,  but 
had  admitted  among  their  ranks  all  the  families  whom  wealth 
or  merit  gradually  raised  to  distinction,  and,  by  thid  means, 
gained  an  accession  of  wealth  and  talent,  against  which  the 
lower  classes,  the  workmen,  vainly  strove,  the  necessity  of 
again  having  recourse  to  commerce  and  trade  for  the  purpose 
of  gaining  a  livelihood  ever  replacing  the  government  in  the 
hands  of  the  merchants.  The  municipal  government,  once  so 
powerful,  had,  nevertheless,  fallen  in  the  Hanse  towns  as  it 
had  every  where  else.  Instead  of  bold  speculations,  the  main- 
tenance of  prerogatives  and  of  family  wealth  were  alone 
thought  of,  and  gave  rise  to  the  practice,  bad  even  in  a  phy- 


THE  CITIZENS  AND  THE  PEASANTEY.  423 

ideal  point  of  yiew,  of  intermarriage  between  near  of  kin.  In 
Spires,  which,  anterior  to  the  thirty  years'  war,  numbered 
thirty  thousand  inhabitants,  such  timidity  prevailed,  that  even 
the  ancient  burgher  families  were  divided  into  three  degrees, 
according  to  the  antiquity  of  their  races,  and,  with  pedantic 
jealousy,  looked  with  scorn  upon  each  other  and  the  rest  of 
the  citizens.  The  denization  of  rising  families  or  of  indivi- 
duals was  by  this  means  rendered  difficult,  and  any  partici- 
pation in  the  municipal  government  utterly  impossible.  The 
free,  proud  spirit  of  the  citizens  became  petty  and  enslaved, 
and  the  burgher  families  aped,  not  the  nobility,  as  their  fathers 
had  done  before  them,  but  the  servile  dependents  of  the  court. 
They  assumed  proud  titles,  decorated  themselves  with  chains 
and  orders,  played  the  diplomatist,  and,  notwithstanding  their 
wise  and  dignified  demeanour,  were  ever  overreached  or  bribed. 
Notwithstanding  the  declension  of  commerce,  the  cities  con- 
tinued for  some  time  wealthy  and  prosperous,  and  civic  luxury 
rose  to  its  height  at  the  moment  when  civil  power  first  showed 
symptoms  of  decay.  The  citizens  rested  on  their  laurels ; 
the  children  revelled  in  the  wealth  gained  by  their  parents  in 
the  sweat  of  their  brows.  The  love  of  luxury  was  strength- 
ened by  the  example  of  the  courts  and  by  the  immense  quan- 
tities of  colonial  products  poured  into  Europe.  The  wealthy 
citizens  vied  with  the  courtiers,  nay,  with  the  prince  himself, 
in  splendour.  Fugger  of  Augsburg,  so  honourably  mentioned 
by  Charles  V.,  was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  count  and  after- 
wards to  that  of  prince.  Nor  was  opulence  simply  confined 
to  individuals ;  the  excellent  administration  of  the  town- 
property  and  the  public  spirit  of  the  corporations  rendered 
prosperity  general.  But  the  citizens  were  enervated  by  lux- 
ury, and  the  band  that  had  wielded  the  sword  now  seized  the 
bowl.  Beer  was  at  that  time  one  of  the  principal  productions 
of  Northern  Germany,  and  Magdeburg,  Eimbeck,  Zerbst, 
Goslar,  Brunswick,  Hamburg,  and  Bremen  were  famous  for 
their  immense  breweries.*  Several  of  the  princes  even  pre- 
ferred it  to  wine.     It  afforded  a  wholesome  beverage  to  the 

♦  Berckenmeyer,  in  his  antiquarian  curiosities,  gives  the  names  of  the 
diflferent  brews  of  Northern  Germany,  as,  for  instance,  **  Brunswick 
Mumme,  Halberstadt  Breyhan,  Goslar  Gose,  Breslau  Scheps,  Hall  Puff, 
Wittenberg  Cuckoo,  Liepzig  Rastrum,  Zerbst  Wiirze,  Osnabriick  Buse, 
Munster  Koite,  Kiel  Witte,  Colberg  Black." 


^ 


424  THE  CITIZENS  AND  THE  PEASANTRY. 

people  whom  it  guaranteed  from,  the  intoxicating  fumes  of 
brandy.  How>  may  we  ask,  did  Northern  Grermany  lose  this 
important  branch  of  her  industry  and  allow  her  population  to 
be  enervated  with  brandy,  whilst  Bavaria  now  solely  main- 
tains the  reputation  of  the  German  breweries  ? The  citi- 
zens also  vied  with  the  nobility  in  magnificence  of  appard. 
Fantastical  modes,  long-pointed  shoes,  ithmensely  wide  sleeves 
and  hose,  etc.,  which  drew  the  public  animadversions  of  the 
clergy,  became  general ;  but  wigs,  the  most  unnatural  of  all, 
did  not  come  into  fashion  until  after  the  thirty  years'  war. 
Since  the  council  of  Constance,  theatrical  performances,  par- 
ticularly during  the  carnival  and  the  fairs,  also  came  into 
vogue,  under  the  name  of  farces  or  mummeries,  the  actors 
being  (vermumoni)  masked.  Fun  and  frolic  characterized  the 
popular  festivals.  Each  guild  had  its  Hanswurst  (Jack-pud- 
ding) in  imitation  of  the  prince's  jester,  and,  in  the  excess  of 
their  folly,  they  executed  fantastical  chef-d'oeavres,  built  gi- 
gantic tuns,  like  that  at  Heidelberg,  founded  enormous  beUs, 
like  that  at  Erfurt,  made  gigantic  sausages  and  loaves  to 
match,  etc. 

Merely  a  shadow  of  the  mad  joviality  of  the  citizens  re- 
mained after  the  thirty  years'  war. 

The  cities  had  gradually  gained  in  circumference.  The 
danger  to  which  they  were  continually  exposed  had  caused 
the  citizens  to  collect  within  the  walls  ;  hence  the  narrow 
streets  and  the  tall,  dark  houses  in  the  old  part  of  the  towns. 
The  opulent  citizens,  nevertheless,  nobly  expended  their  wealth 
in  the  foundation  of  establishments  for  the  public  benefit,  such 
as  schools,  libraries,  hospitals,  poor-houses,  hotels,  etc.  The 
most  magnificent  of  these  establishments  was  erected  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  at  Augsburg,  by  Fugger,  who  built  up- 
wards of  a  hundred  cottages  in  the  suburb  of  St.  Jacob's,  as 
refuges  for  the  poor ;  it  was  not,  however,  until  the  ensuing 
century,  that  sanitary  establishments  and  poor-houses  were 
brought  to  perfection  in  Holland.  The  example  offered  in 
this  respect  by  the  free  towns  and  republics  had  a  beneficial 
influence  upon  the  states.  Luxury  with  her  train  of  conco- 
mitant evils  had,  meanwhile,  rendered  an  immoderate  care  of 
health  necessary,  and  sent  crowds  to  seek  it  at  the  baths  of 
Germany,  those  abodes  of  licence  and  quackery. 

Tlie  Jews  were  still  confined  to  the  Jewries  or  Jews' 


THE  CITIZENS  ANB  THE  PEASANTRY.  425 

qnartersy  where  thej  were  locked  in  at  night-fall ;  and,  although 
their  lives  were  no  longer  unprotected  by  the  laws,  thej  were 
the  objects  of  public  contumely,  which,  however,  did  not  hin- 
der them  from  enriching  themselves  by  usury  at  the  expense 
of  the  Christians.  The  well-meant  attempt  made  by  Chris- 
topher the  Wise,  duke  of  Wurtemberg,  to  banish  the  Jews 
from  the  Roman  empire  as  public  nuisances,  as  the  secret  foes 
to  the  nationality  and  religion  of  Germany,  as  traitors  ever  on 
the  watch  to  betray  the  empire  to  the  foreigner,  as  crafty  and 
demoralizing  speculators  on  the  improvidence,  weaknesses,  and 
vices  of  the  Christians,  failed,  principally  on  account  of  the 
countenance  at  that  time  afforded  to  the  Jews  by  some  of  the 
princes,  who  transacted  business  with  them  on  an  immense 
scale,  and,  by  means  of  their  court  Jews,  drained  the  coffers 

of  their  Christian  subjects. The  gypsies,  another  foreign 

i-ace,  but  harmless  and  unimportant  in  number,  made  their 
first  appearance  in  Germany  in  1422.  They  were  probably 
an  Indian  race,  flying  before  the  conquering  arms  of  Timur. 

The  peasantry  suffered  even  more  than  the  citizens  by  the 
thirty  years'  war.  With  the  exception  of  the  countries  in 
which  the  peasants  had  preserved  their  liberties  and  rights, 
Switzerland,  Holland,  and  Frizeland,  the  whole  of  Central  and 
Eastern  Germany  was  peopled  with  slaves,  unpossessed  of 
honour,  wealth,  or  knowledge,  the  produce  of  whose  toil  was 
swallowed  up  by  the  nobility,  the  clergy,  and  the  court.  A 
distinction  must,  nevertheless,  be  made  between  the  originally 
German  and  the  originally  Slavonian  population.  In  the 
Slavonian  East,  there  were  fewer  burthens  and  more  personal 
slavery ;  in  the  German  West,  greater  personal  freedom  and 
heavier  dues.  In  Wurtemberg,  for  instance,  the  serf  was  not 
bound  to  the  soil  and  was  free  to  quit  his  lord  ;  in  Austria, 
Bohemia,  Silesia»  and  the  frontier  provinces,  he  was  unpos- 
sessed of  this  privilege.  The  Wurtemberg  peasant  was,  on 
the  other  hand,  far  more  heavily  laden  with  oppressive  dues, 
soccage-service,  and  exposed  to  heavier  punishments  than  the 
half-slave  in  the  East.  The  former  was  an  impoverished,  fallen, 
ill-treated  freeman,  whose  rebellious  spirit  hardships  alone 
coold  tame ;  the  latter  was  an  hereditary  bondman,  whose 
patient  content  befitted  the  patriarchal  position  of  his  lord. 

In  olden  times,  when  gold  was  scarce,  the  peasant,  besides 
t^ie  tithes  that  fell  to  the  church,  paid  his  lord  in  kind,  a  por- 


426  THE  CITIZENS  AND  THE  PEASANTRY. 

tion  of  grain,  flax,  frnit,  grass,  a  cow  from  the  herd,  a  hen 
and  eggs  from  house  and  hearth.  He  also  paid  soceage- 
service,  that  is,  worked  in  person  and  with  his  horses  for  his 
lord.  These  dues  and  services  were  originally  moderate,  bat, 
as  the  wants  of  the  nobility  gradually  increased,  the  peasantry 
became  more  heavily  oppressed,  and  their  consequent  revolt 
merely  afforded  to  the  nobility  an  opportunity  and  an  excuse 
for  a  more  systematic  mode  of  oppression. 

Soccage-dues  were  arbitrarily  increased.  In  the  sixteenth 
century,  the  electors  of  Brandenburg  were  compelled  to  set  a 
limit  to  the  oppressive  practices  of  the  nobility  and  to  fix  the 
services  performed  by  the  peasant  to  his  lord  at  two  days  in 
the  week.  The  most  oppressive  of  all  was  the  hunting-average, 
which  compelled  the  peasant  to  tread  down  his  own  crops 
whilst  aiding  his  lord  in  chasing  the  deer.  The  peasantry 
were  also  exposed  to  the  most  unjust,  most  disgusting,  and 
extraordinary  dues.  Soccage-duty  was,  moreover,  remissible 
on  payment  of  a  certain  sum,  which  was  enforced  upon  all 
unable  or  unwilling  to  perform  it  in  person.  Rents  or  na- 
tural dues  were,  in  course  of  time,  also  raised.  On  every 
parcel  of  land,  every  comer  of  the  house,  a  new  and  especial 
impost,  often  distinguished  by  a  whimsical  name,  was  levied. 
Each  season  of  the  year,  every  change  in  the  family  by  mar- 
riage or  death,  an  additional  building,  etc.,- enriched  the  ma- 
norial lord.  Besides  the  gift  of  the  best  head  of  the  cattle, 
the  best  piece  of  furniture,  or  the  best  dress  of  the  peceased 
peasant,  to  his  lord,  the  Landemium,  generally  ten  per  cent, 
on  the  real  value  of  the  property,  had  to  be  paid  into  his 
coffers  on  its  transition  into  other  hands,  besides  innumerable 
other  chance  dues.  Then  came  a  number  of  new  punishments 
and  fines.  Air  and  water,  forest  and  field,  were  originaUy 
free  to  all.  Villages  were  more  scattered,  the  country  more 
open,  the  nobles  more  contented  and  generally  absent ;  but, 
by  degrees,  the  lord  of  the  manor  insisted  on  the  sole  enjoy- 
ment of  the  chace,  the  stream,  the  forest,  and  the  field,  and 
inflicted  the  most  terrible  punishments  on  the  serf  who  ven- 
tured to  infringe  his  self-raised  prerogative.  These  punish- 
ments were  also  profitable,  being  remittable  by  fine. 

In  the  Catholic  states,  the  cultivation  of  the  land  in  large 
tracts,  copyholds,  was  still  continued  ;  but,  in  the  Protestant 
provinces,  the  subdivision  of  property  became  general ;  the 


THE  CITIZENS  AND  THE  PEASANTRY.  427 

country  people  in  the  former  were,  consequently,  more  in- 
clined to  idleness  and  amusement,  those  of  the  latter  to  indus- 
try and  care.     The  greatest  evil  was  the  general  demand  for 
money,  which  was  made  to  replace  personal  service  and  pay- 
ment in  kind,  and  the  peasant  was  constrained  to  borrow  money 
and  to  pay  interest,  which  was  shamelessly  raised  and  pro- 
longed, for  it,  in  kind.     This  system  of  exaction  was,  for  in- 
stance, pursued  by  the  Swiss  burghers  towards  their  bondsmen. 
The  peasant,  miserably  fed  and  lodged,  daily  overworked, 
physically  and  mentally  degraded,  gradually  lost  his  ancient 
health   and  vigour.     The  gigantic  frame  of  the  free-bom 
Grerman  withered  beneath  the   hopeless  unpaid  toil  of  the 
soccager.     The  peasantry  had,  after  a  bloody  contest,  been 
disarmed.     Instead  of,  as  of  yore,  following  their  lord  to  the 
field,  they  were  chained  like  oxen  to  the  plough,  and,  de- 
graded and  despised,  vegetated  in  ignorance  and  want.     In 
the  Protestant  states,  a  few  village  schools  were  established, 
but  it  was  long  before  reading  and  writing  became  general 
among  the  lower  classes ;  nor  did  they  derive  much  benefit 
from  the  instruction  they  received,  as  it  merely  consisted  of 
religious  precepts,  which,  although  calculated  to  console  the 
wretched   peasant  and  to  fortify  his   patience,  neither  im- 
proved nor  altered  his  oppressed  condition.     Still,  deeply  as 
the  peasant  had  fallen,  his  original  nature  was  not  utterly 
perverted,  and  the  further  he  was  removed  from  the  higher 
classes,  the  less  was  he  tainted  with  their  despicable  vices. 
Nor  had  his  natural  humour  and  good  sense,  his  conscious- 
ness of  higher  worth,  entirely  quitted  him.     In  the  lowly 
hut  were  preserved  those  fine  popular  legends,  thrown  aside 
^y  the  higher  classes  for  awkward   imitations  of  the  fo- 
reigner.     It  was  there  that  the  memory  of  the  wondrous 
^ys  of  yore  still  lived,  that  ideas  both  lovely  and  sublime 
Were  understood  and  cherished.     Far  away  and  forgotten  by 
self-styled  civilization,  legendary  lore  took  refuge  among  the 
P<>or  and  untaught  children  of  nature.     But,  wherever  op- 
pression and  contempt  roused  the  bitter  feelings  of  the  boor, 
they  found  vent  in  mocking  proverbs,  popular  ballads,  and, 
more  than  all,  in  coarse  but  cutting  jests. 


428  THE  ERUDITION  OF  THE  UNIVERSITIES. 


CCXVL   The  erudition  of  the  Universities. 

Whilst  the  people  were  thus  enslaved  bj  ignorance,  learn- 
ing made  rapid  strides  at  the  universities,  where  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  scholars  gradually  rose  as  tliat  of  the  churchmen 
sank ;  but  the  literati,  after  freeing  themselves  from  the 
shackles  of  the  Roman  hierarchy,  and,  under  Luther's  power- 
ful guidance,  for  some  time  forwarding  the  popular  interests 
of  Germany,  ere  long  forsook  their  national  literature  for  the 
exclusive  study  of  the  classics  and  introduced  much  that  was 
heterogeneous  into  the  literature  of  Germany. 

The  learned  class,  which  provided  servants  for  the  state 
and  for  the  church,  was  formed  in  the  universities,  which, 
since  the  Reformation,  had  increased  in  number  and  had  been 
newly  constituted. 

The  German  universities  were  founded  at  the  following 
periods -.—Prague,  1348;  Vienna,  1365;  Heidelberg,  1387; 
Cologne,  1388 ;  Erfurt,  1392  ;  Leipzig,  1409 ;  Rostock,  1419; 
Louvain,  1426;  Griefswald,  1456;  Freyburg  in  the  Breis- 
gau,  1457;  Treves,  1472;  Ingolstadt,  1472;  TUbingen  and 
Mayence,  1477;  Wittenberg,  1502;  Frankfurt  on  the  Oder, 
1506;  Marburg,  1527  ;  Konigsberg,  1544;  Dillingen,  1549; 
Jena,  1558;Leyden,  1575 ;  Helmstaedt,  1576;  Altorf,  1578; 
Olmiitz,  1581;  Wiirzburg,  1582;  Franecker,  1585;  Grsetz, 
1586;  Giessen,  1607;  Groningen,  1614;  Paderborn,  1615; 
Rinteln  and  Strassburg,  1621;  Salzburg,  1623;  Osnabriick, 
1630;  Utrecht,  1634;  Linz,  1636;  Bamberg,  1648.  The 
Catholic  universities  were,  previously  to  the  Reformation, 
principally  under  the  direction  of  the  Franciscans  and  Do- 
minicans, and,  subsequently  to  that  period,  under  that  of  the 
Jesuits,  all  of  whom  were  equally  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
the  Roman  hierarchy.  The  Protestant  universities  were  at 
first  directed  by  the  Reformed  clergy ;  at  a  later  period,  by  the 
lawyers  and  court-counsellors,  in  the  spirit  of  Roman  law 
and  modern  monarchy. 

The  German  universities  underwent  a  radical  change  im- 
mediately after  the  great  catastrophe  at  Prague  in  the  time  of 
the  Hussites.  The  professors  and  scholars,  subdivided  ac- 
cording to  nations,  no  longer  formed  free  republics  as  hereto- 
fore ;  the  professors  were  paid  by  the  government,  and  the 


THE  EBUDITION  OF  THE  UNIVERSITIES.  429 

Students  were  divided,  not  according  to  nations,  but  accord- 
ing to  faculties  and  bursa.  Bursa  (Bcerse)  were  institutions 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  students,  who  were  thence  termed 
Burschen.  There  were  professor  and  burgher  Bursa;  the 
former  of  which  looked  down  upon  the  latter  and  ill-treated 
them.  The  fresh  students  were  also  dreadfully  abused  by 
those  of  longer  standing.  These  Bursa  were  put  an  end  to 
\}j  the  free  spirit  of  the  Reformation,  but  the  roughness  and 
brutality  inherent  in  them  was  imitated  in  the  clubs,  into 
which  the  students  were  again  divided  according  to  the  coun- 
try to  which  they  belonged,  a  resuscitation  of  the  ancient  di- 
vision according  to  nations,  and  also  in  the  horrid  Fennal 
system.  In  1661,  John  George  II.  of  Saxony  was  compelled 
formally  to.  prohibit  the  robbery  of  the  younger  students,  the 
Pennales,  by  the  elder  ones,  the  Schorists,  who  deprived  them 
of  their  good  clothes  and  gave  them  rags  in  return,  obliged 
them  to  clean  their  shoes,  etc. 

Before  the  Reformation,  scholasticism  in  theology,  law,  and 
grammar  was  chiefly  taught  at  the  universities.     Cavils,  po- 
verty of  idea,  verbosity,  dialectic  controversy  were  fostered ; 
science  was  but  little  studied.     The  pure  conception  of  the 
Virgin  formed,  before  the  Reformation,  the  principal  subject 
of  controversy  between  the  theologians  of  all  the  universities, 
and  was  for  a  whole  century  disputed  with  great  subtlety  and 
bitterness  in  controversial  writings  and  in  discourses  in  learn- 
ed assemblies.     The  principal  controversy  between  the  pro- 
fane masters  concerned  the  casiu  vocativuSy  whether  it  was  a 
positio  or  a  suppasiHo,  and  an  important  congress  was  con- 
voked at  Heidelberg  for  the  purpose  of  deciding  the  dispute. 
This  scholastic  spirit  unfortunately  also  animated  the  Reform- 
ers, and,  as  the  enthusiasm  that  prevailed  during  Luther's 
time  disappeared,  the  divinity  of  the  Protestant  universities  be- 
came as  strongly  impregnated  with  sophistry  and  cavilling  as 
that  of  the  Papists  had  formerly  been.     To  these  were  added 
the  scholasticism  of  the  lawyers,  the  cavils  of  the  commenta- 
tors on  the  Roman  law,  who  industriously  sought  to  uproot 
all  German  customs,  to  annihilate  German  spirit  and  the  poor 
remains  of  German  liberty,  by  setting  out  with  the  principle 
of  the  worst  period  of  the  Roman  empire,  "  that  the  will  of 
the  sovereign  was  the  source  of  all  law."     The  most  distin- 
guished of  the  Romanists  in  the  sixteenth  century  were,  Ho- 


430  THE  ERUDITION  OF  THE  UNIVERSITIES. 

loander,  Zasius,  Henning  von  Gode  or  the  numarcha  juris. 
As  early  as  the  fifteenth  centary,  Peter  von  Andlau,  in  a 
work  on  the  Grerman  empire,  attempted  to  reduce  its  constitu- 
tion to  a  system,  in  which  he  was  followed,  in  the  beginning 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  by  Arumasus  of  Jena.  Chemnitz, 
(Hippolytus  a  Lapide,)  however,  acquired  the  highest  repute 
by  his  work  on  the  Peace  of  Westphalia,  in  which  he  con- 
demned the  unity  of  Grermany  and  lauded  her  subdivision 
under  petty  princes  and  foreign  brigands.  Politics  were  stu- 
died in  Holland,  where  a  more  liberal  spirit  reigned,  with  far 
greater  assiduity  than  in  the  rest  of  Germany.  Hugo  Gro- 
tius,  by  his  work  de  Jure  Belli  et  PaciSy  laid  the  foundation  to 
a  law  of  nations,  based  on  natural  right,  reason,  morality,  and 
Christianity. 

Grammar,  hitherto  a  dry  and  unintellectual  study,  was  ani- 
mated with  fresh  life.  The  study  of  the  dead  languages  ren- 
dered the  Germans  familiar  with  the  poets,  philosophers,  and 
historians  of  Greece,  and  the  dark  shades  of  scholastic  ignor- 
ance faded  before  the  rising  light  of  knowledge.  The  study 
of  the  humanities  had  greatly  aided  the  Beformation  and  was 
therefore  naturally  carried  on  to  a  still  greater  extent  in  the 
Protestant  universities.  The  founders  of  the  first  academies, 
in  which  the  learned  languages  and  humanities  were  taught, 
were  Rudolf  Agricola,  of  whom  mention  has  already  been 
made,  at  Heidelberg,  Conrad  Celtes,  Wimpheling,  Lange  at 
Erfurt,  Hegius ;  their  most  celebrated  professors  were  Reuch- 
lin  and  Erasmus ;  their  most  talented  advocate  was  Ulric  von 
Hutten  ;  their  intermediator  with  Luther's  Reformation,  Phi- 
lip Melancthon.  In  the  course  of  the  sixteenth  century,  there 
appeared  numbers  of  distinguished  professors  of  Greek  and 
Latin,  grammarians,  editors  to  the  ancient  authors,  critics, 
etc.,  of  which  the  following  acquired  the  greatest  note :  Bea- 
tus  Rhenanns,  Conrad  G^ssner,  Joachim  Camerarius,  £k)ban 
Hessus,  Gruterus,  Crusius,  Hermann  von  der  Busch,  the 
witty  Bebel  of  Tubingen,  the  still  wittier  Taubmann  of  Wit- 
tenberg, the  unfortunate  Frischlin,  Scioppius  of  the  Pfalz,  the 
Dutchman,  Justus  Lipsius,  a  second  Erasmus  in  wit  and 
learning,  Meursius,  Puteanus,  Scaliger,  Heinsius,  Gerard  Vos- 
sius,  Willibald  Pirkheimer,  the  learned  citizen  of  Nuremberg, 
and  Peutinger  of  Augsburg,  Thomas  von  Rehdiger,  a  wealthy 
Silesian  nobleman,  the  collector  of  a  valuable  library,  etc     It 


1 


THE  EEUDITION  OF  THE  UNIVERSITIES.  431 

was  certainlj  strange  for  imagination  to  digress  so  suddenly 
from  the  present  in  order  to  bury  itself  in  the  records  of  the 
past,  but  the  contrast  was  natural  Who  would  not  have 
sighed  for  deliverance  from  the  theological  nonsense  at  that 
time  occupying  the  whole  attention  of  the  learned  world  ?  And 
what  consolation  could  the  earlier  histories  of  Germany,  which 
merely  recorded  the  triumphs  of  Papacy,  afford  ?  It  was  at 
that  period  pardonable  for  the  learned  to  fly  for  relief  to  the 
beautiful  creations  of  the  ancient  Greeks,  and,  if  this  inclina- 
tion has  been  carried  to  an  extreme,  if  the  lovers  of  classical 
antiquity  have  neglected  to  improve  their  mother  tongue,  this 
is  but  a  natural  and  a  temporary  consequence  of  the  enthu- 
siasm with  which  the  study  of  the  ancients  was  pursued.  The 
German  enthusiast  is  apt  to  believe  a  useful  thing  the  only 
one  necessary,  and,  whilst  straining  his  energies  in  one  direc- 
tion, to  be  blind  to  aught  else ;  but,  whilst  mentally  transported 
to  the  times  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome,  he  involuntarily 
formed  himself  on  the  models  they  presented. 

Natural  philosophy  now  came  into  repute.  During  the  Catho- 
lic middle  ages,  every  subject  had  been  treated  in  a  spiritual  or 
religious  point  of  view.  Nature  had  been  despised  as  an  instru- 
ment of  sin.  Heaven  was  the  Christian's  highest  aim,  and  his 
sojourn  \ipon  earth  was  to  be  spent  in  self-denial,  celibacy,  fast- 
ing, in  mental  and  physical  abasement.  This  sprang  from  the 
antithesis  originally  offered  by  Christianity  to  the  heathen 
adoration  of  nature,  and  the  inquirer  into  nature  was  conse- 
quently regarded  as  a  student  of  the  black  art. 

At  Salerno  in  Italy  medicine  had  been  studied  on  the  Mo- 
hammedan principle,  but  had  been  rendered  incapable  of  being 
improved  by  experience,  by  its  accommodation  to  the  general 
scholastic  notions.  In  the  commencement  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  an  Alsacian  monk,  Basilius  Yalentinus,  inspired  by 
his  own  genius,  began,  as  he  eloquently  expressed  himself, 
**  to  analyze  nature."  His  first  discoveries  in  chemistry  formed 
a  stepping-stone  for  all  others.  In  this  century,  also,  Conrad 
von  Megenberg,  deacon  of  Ratisbon,  wrote  a  treatise  on  the 
nature  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  on  that  of  the  earth,  stones, 
plants,  animals,  and  mankind.  His  notions  were,  it  is  true, 
extremely  imperfect.  This  work  passed  through  six  editions 
between  1475  and  1499. 

Almost  a  century,  however,  elapsed  before  the  humanists 


432  THE  EEUDITION  OF  THE  UNIVERSITIES. 

succeeded  in  forming  physicians  on  the  model  of  the  ancient 
Greeks  and  Romans,  of  Hippocrates  and  Gulen,  in  banishing 
the  old  scholastic  dogmas  and  in  taking  experience  as  a  guide. 
Koch  of  Basle,  Winther  of  Andernach,  Hagenbuch,  Fuchs, 
Lange,  Zwinger,  and  numerous  others  distinguished  them- 
selves as  practitioners,  as  well  as  as  translators  of  the  ancients 
and  as  commentators.  Conrad  Gessner  [a.  d.  1565]  was  the 
most  noted  among  the  humanists  and  naturalists.  Botany 
and  anatomy  were  also  studied.  TabemsBmontanus  wrote  a 
celebrated  botanical  work  in  the  fifteenth  century.  In  1491, 
appeared  the  botanical  work  of  John  von  Cube  of  Mayence, 
adorned  with  wood-cuts  ;  and  Ketham  made  anatomical  wood- 
cuts for  Wolfgang,  prince  of  Anhalt.  Werner  Rolfing,  a 
celebrated  anatomist,  was  bom  in  1599,  at  Hamburg.  j 

Theophrastus  Paracelsus  *  opened  a  completely  new  path 
in  the  sixteenth  century.  The  system  of  this  great  physician 
and  philosopher  was  as  far  removed  from  that  of  the  human- 
ists, the  Hippocratic  physicians,  as  from  that  of  the  ancient 
scholastics.  He  was  taught  by  self-gained  experience,  not  by 
ancient  assertions.  The  success  of  his  cures,  his  simplifica- 
tion of  medicaments,  and  his  abolition  of  innumerable  abuses 
gained  him  immense  popularity  during  his  continual  journeys 
through  Germany,  and,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  the 
older  physicians,  numbers  of  the  medical  students  followed  in 
his  steps.  He  completely  upset  the  prevalent  system  of  natu- 
ral philosophy  and  reduced  the  four  elements,  hitherto  ac- 
cepted, to  three,  corresponding  with  the  three  primitive  ele- 
ments in  chemistry,  mercurius,  sulphur,  and  sal,  so  termed 
after  the  productions  most  nearly  resembling  them,  quicksilver, 
brimstone,  and  salt.  It  was  according  to  this  theory  that  he 
divided  the  whole  of  the  natural  world,  and,  regarding  man  as 
an  epitome  (microcosm)  of  the  universe  (macrocosm),  reduced 
medicine  to  a  sympathetic  and  antipathetic  system.  Every 
thing  in  the  universe,  according  to  him,  affected  man  either 
mentally,  spiritually,  or  physically;  consequently,  the  great 
study  of  the  physician  was  the  detection  of  whatever  was  in- 
jurious or  beneficial  in  its  efiect  in  every  case.  Imperfect  as 
his  theory  was,  it  greatly  advanced  the  study  and  practice  of 

*  Philip  Aureolus  Theophrastus  Paracelsus  Bombastus  ab  Hohenheim, 
bom  at  Einsiedeln,  in  Switzerland.  His  family  came  from  Hohenheim, 
near  Stuttgard. 


,  THE  ERUDITION  OF  THE  UNIVERSITIES.  433 

.  jnedicine  by  promoting  the  comparative  study  of  nature,  by 
'Tjnniplifying  medicaments  and  by  laying  down  as  a  general 
[  rule  the  choice  of  the  remedy  according  to  the  symptoms  of 
fthe  disease.  Art  was  at  that  period  still  so  completely  in  her 
^infancy,  that  Paracelsus  was  led  from  a  belief  in  the  syinpa- 
'.thetic  affinity  pervading  all  nature  to  ascribe  a  corresponding 
■[^^quality  to  the  stars ;  and  one  of  his  pupils,  CroUius,  supposed 
the  external  resemblance  between  the  remedy  and  the  symp- 
^toms  of  the  disease  to  be  a  sign  of  their  internal  correspond- 
ence, and  attempted,  for  instance,  to  cure  the  jaundice  with 
;  saffron,  diseases  of  the  brain  with  poppy  buds,  etc.  These 
.errors  were,  however,  founded  upon  truth,  and,  even  at  the 
.present  day,  Paracelsus  is  allowed  by  the  faculty  to  have 
greatly  promoted  science  by  his  introduction  of  the  use  of 
,jbaths,  mercury,  etc. ;  much  of  his  system  is  still  irrefutable, 
'  and  many  of  his  remedies  are  still  in  general  use.  He  died 
i  in  1541,  at  Salzburg,  and,  during  the  raging  of  the  cholera, 
"^  in  the  present  century,  the  people  went  in  crowds  to  pray  at 
^  his  grave.  The  most  celebrated  among  his  numerous  pupils 
^  was  Thurneiser  of  Basle,  who  was  born  A.  d.  1530.  He  was 
■',  one  of  the  most  enterprising  spirits  of  the  age,  began  life  as 
^  a  soldier,  and  was  in  turn  a  miner,  a  great  traveller,  pri- 
^^  vate  physician  to  John  George,  elector  of  Brandenburg,  trea- 
^^  surer  to  several  princes,  and,  at  the  same  time,  financier, 
^  alchymist,  physician,  printer,  and  engraver  in  wood.  He  first 
..  brought  the  calendar,  adorned  with  wood-cuts,  into  general 
^  use.  Aflter  accumulating  an  enormous  fortune,  he  was  seized 
1^  with  home-sickness  and  returned  to  Basle,  where  he  was  ac- 
Y  cused  of  practising  the  black  art  and  only  escaped  the  stake  by 
^.  the  sacrifice  of  the  whole  of  his  property  and  by  a  hasty  flight 
,.  into  Italy.  He  died,  a.  d.  1595,  in  a  monastery  at  Cologne. 
^  Erast  of  Heidelberg  was  Paracelsus's  most  noted  opponent. 
/  The  followers  of  Paracelsus,  undeterred  by  opposition,  pur- 
^  sued  his  system  throughout  the  whole  of  the  sixteenth  attd  part 
g  of  the  seventeenth  centuries,  gaining  knowledge  by  their  own 
■f  experience ;  for  instance,  Crato  von  Kraftheim,  Schenk  von 
t  Grafenberg,  Plater,  the  Dutchmen,  Foreest  and  Fyres,  the 
;  great  anatomist,  Vesalius  of  Brussels,  the  first  surgeons  of 
note,  Braunschweig  and  Wiirz,  the  first  great  oculist,  Bartiscfa, 
^  the  first  accoucheur,  Roesslin.  Wyerus  rendered  great  service 
to  his  age  by  his  philanthropical  work  against  the  belief  in 

VOL.  II.  2  p 


434  THE  ERUDITION  OF  THE  UNIVERSITIES. 

the  existence  of  witches.     George  Agricola  was   the  first 
mineralogist  in  Saxonj,  where  the  mines  were  industriously 
worked.    John  von  Gmiinden  gained  great  repute  at  Vienna 
as  an  astronomer ;  his  pupils,  Peurhach  and  Regiomontanus, 
became  equally  celebrated.     In  the  beginning  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  Fabricius  of  East  Frizeland  discovered  the 
spots  in  the  sun ;  Simon  Mayer,  the  satellites  of  Jupiter ;  but 
the  great  Kepler,  a  Swabian  in  the  service  of  the  emperor 
Rudolph  n.,  gained  undying  fame.     After  the  discovery  of 
the  revolution  of  the  earth  with  all  the  other  planets  around 
the  sun,  in  1545,  by  the  Pole,  Ck>pemicus,  Kepler  discovered 
the  laws,  known  by  his  name,  regulating  the  distances  between 
the  planets,  and  their  course.     He  also  wrote  the  ''  Harmony 
of  the  Universe,"  in  which  he  reduced  numbers,  tones,  and 
forms  to  a  universal  law.     The  merit  of  this  extraordinary 
man  was  but  ill*appreciated  by  his  contemporaries.     Mathe- 
matics and  mechanics  were  studied  with  great  success  by  Re- 
giomontanus in  the  fifteenth  century,  and  by  the  celebrated 
painter,  Diirer.     These  sciences  were  afterwards  chiefly  pro- 
moted by  the  Jesuits,  who  sought  by  their  means  to  replace  the 
deficiency  in  studies  demanding  freedom  of  thought.     In  the 
sixteenth  century,  Adam  Riese  of  Annaberg  in  Saxony  wrote 
a  general  account-book  for  the  people,  which  was  extensively 
circulated. 

The  era  of  the  Reformation  was  remarkable  for  discoveries 
and  inventions.  The  invention  of  gunpowder  had  been  dis- 
covered shortly  before  ;  in  the  fifteenth  century,  printing  was 
discovered;  in  the  sixteenth,  clocks  were  invented.  In 
Nuremberg,  thousands  of  watches,  called  Nuremberg  e^s, 
were  made  after  Peter  Hele's  invention.  Homelius  con- 
structed a  curious  astronomical  clock  for  the  emperor,  Charles 
V.  In  1540,  the  surveyor's  table  was  invented  by  Gemma. 
In  1590,  the  telescope  and  microscope  were  invented  by  Za- 
chariail  Jansen ;  and,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  the  latema 
magica  by  father  Kircber.  The  first  spinning-wheel  was 
made  in  Brunswick  in  1530,  by  Master  JUrgen. 

OCX VII.   The  dark  sciences. — SuperstUion. 

The  power  of  Satan  upon  earth  had  long  been  an  article 
of  faith,  but  it  was  not  until  the  Reformation  that  it  became 


THE  DARK  8CIENCB8.  435 

the  general  belief,  and  that  attempts  were  made  to  exordae 
spirits  and  to  make  use  of  demoniacal  powers  for  the  attain- 
ment of  human  aims.  The  studies  of  the  humanists  had  led 
to  a  nearer  acquaintance  with  the  magic  of  the  ancients  and 
had  produced  a  sort  of  partiality  for  ancient  heathen  practices. 
The  principal  source  to  these  dark  desires,  however,  laj  in 
the  Beformation.  The  bolt  launched  by  Luther  against  St 
Peter's  chair  at  Rome  drove  the  faith  of  the  times  into  two 
opposite  extremes ;  the  soldier  and  the  savant  confessed  the 
infidelity  of  the  heathen  philosopher,  and  the  mass  of  the  peo- 
ple was  enslaved  by  the  grossest  superstition.  The  two  ez* 
tremes,  nevertheless,  met.  The  devil,  the  powers  of  darkness, 
the  horror  of  the  one,  were  diligently  sought  for  by  the  other. 
There  were  some  bold  spirits,  who,  firmly  persuaded  of  the 
power  of  Satan,  instead  of  fljdng  from,  bound  themselves  to 
him  for  the  purpose  of  attaining  power,  wealth,  etc.,  or  of 
guarding  themselves  against  evil.  Soldiers,  consequently,  be- 
Ueved  in  the  Fassau  art,  which  was  supposed  to  render  them 
invulnerable,  in  the  power  of  free-bullets,  which  never  missed 
their  aim,  in  the  virtue  of  mandragore,  spirits  in  crystal,  the 

lucky  penny,  love-potions,  etc.,  etc. The  fool-hardy  spirit 

which  led  the  lawless  soldier  and  the  lost  female  to  invoke  the 
powers  of  hell  for  the  attainment  of  some  low  and  worldly 
sim  took  a  higher  direction  among  the  savants,  and  the  well- 
known  tale  of  Doctor  Faust  is  founded  upon  a  general  fact. 
There  were,  in  those  wild  times,  speculative  minds,  which, 
rejecting  the  ancient  belief  in  revelation,  sought  to  resolve 
their  doubts,  not  indirectly,  by  application  to  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, but  directly,  by  intercourse  with  the  world  of  spirits 
and  with  nature,  as,  for  instance.  Bacon  of  Verulam  in  England, 
and  Agrippa  of  Nettesheim  in  Germany.  Although  free 
fifom  the  vulgar  belief  in  the  devil,  they  hoped  by  means  of 
the  correspondence  between  microcosm,  the  little  world  within 
man,  and  macrocosm,  the  great  universe,  nature  and  the 
world  of  spirits,  to  find  out,  either  by  raising  spirits  or  by  the 
discovery  of  the  secret  powers  and  primitive  elements  of  na- 
^e,  the  secrets  of  the  universe.  It  was  from  attempts  of 
^  nature,  which  gave  birth  to  the  most  extravagant  mis- 
conceptions on  the  part  of  the  people,  which  were  countenanced 
^  the  clergy,  whose  credit  had  fallen,  that  the  legend  of  Faust 
arose,  in  which  the  hatred  of  the  monks  against  the  inventor 
2  F  2 


436  THE  DARK  SCIENCES. 

of  printing  is  evidently  mixed  up,  that  art  having  been  also 
ascribed  by  them  to  the  devil. 

As  the  study  of  natural  philosophy  advanced,  the  devil  and 
his  agents  were  discarded,  although  the  hope  of  finding  out 
.the  secret  of  their  original  connexion  with  external  nature  by 
the  discovery  of  natural  magic,  of  making  gold,  and  of  the 
universal  elixir,  still  prevailed.  Alchyiny,  or  the  art  of 
making  gold,  was  exercised  as  early  as  the  commencement  of 
the  fifteenth  century  by  some  pupils  of  Basilius  Yalentinus, 
and  avarice  cherished  the  hope  of  making  gold  from  a  primi- 
tive matter,  the  philosopher's  stone,  whence  all  other  matters 
were  derived,  which  had  been  sought  for  by  Basilius. .  Bar- 
bara, the  infamous  consort  of  the  emperor  Sigmund,  was  the 
first  who  retained  a  court-alchymist,  John  von  Laaz,  in  her 
service.  Her  example  was  followed  at  Bayreuth  by  Albert 
Achilles,  and  by  John,  elector  of  Brandenburg,  who,  in  the 
hope  of  discovering  the  primitive  matters  of  which  gold  was 
composed,  melted  their  wealth  in  the  crucible.  Alchymy  be- 
came the  rage.  Almost  every  court  had  its  alchymist.  Hans 
von  Doernberg  reigned  at  the  conclusion  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury with  uncontrolled  power  over  Hesse,  under  the  Land- 
grave Henry  and  his  son  William.  The  matter  even  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  learned,  of  the  celebrated  historical  com- 
mentator Trithemius,  of  the  philosopher  Agrippa  von  Nettes- 
heim,  and  of  Theophrastus  Paracelsus,  who  sought,  not  gold, 
but  the  philosopher's  stone.  This  art  was  rendered  general 
throughout  Germany  by  the  emperor,  Rudolph  II.,  who  was 
termed  the  prince  of  alchymists.  The  adepts  flocked  to  his 
court,  and  even  princes  vied  with  each  other  in  the  search. 
Augustus,  elector  of  Saxony,  occupied  his  whole  life  with  this 
futile  art ;  Christian  II.  displayed  equal  zeal  and  sentenced 
the  unfortunate  Setonius,  who  was  generally  believed  by  his 
contemporaries  to  possess  the  secret,  to  the  wheel.  Setonius's 
sole  confidant,  Sendivogius,  was,  like  his  master,  chased  from 
one  court  to  another.  He  was  thrown  into  prison  by  Fre- 
derick, duke  of  Wurtemberg ;  all  the  princes  wanted  gold, 
and  the  charlatans  were  no  longer  secure  of  their  lives.  The 
rage  for  discovering  this  secret  was  so  excessive,  that  a  cer- 
tain potter  seriously  asserted  that  gold  could  be  extracted 
from  the  Jews ;  that  the  bodies  of  twenty-four  Jews,  reduced 
to  ashes,  would  produce  one  ounce  of  gold.     Thomas  Liber 


THE  DARK  SCIENCES.  437 

[a.  d.  1583]  first  strenuouslj  opposed  the  prevailuig  supersti- 
tion. Societies  of  alchymists  were  also  natnraUj  formed, 
either  for  the  thing  itself  or  for  appearance'  sake,  the  secret 
forming  an  irresistible  attraction ;  and  a  mystical  work  was 
pablished,  which  set  forth  that  the  order  of  the  Golden  Fleece, 
instituted  by  Philip  of  Burgundy,  had  originally  the  object 
and  the  symbols  of  alchymy.  In  the  beginning  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  Valentin  Andrea  founded  in  Swabia  the  order 
of  the  Bosicrucians,  who  propagated  the  practices  of  the  adepts 
and  the  mystical  ideas  of  Paracelsus.  The  hope  of  discover- 
ing the  universal  medicine  and  the  elixir  of  life  was  confined 
to  some  of  the  physicians  of  the  time ;  the  general  thirst  was 
more  for  gold  than  for  prolongation  of  life.  It  was  asserted 
of  the  adept  Trautmannsdorf,  a.  d.  1609,  that  he  had  prolonged 
bis  existence  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  years. 

Astrology  was,  equally  with  alchymy,  encouraged  by  the 
great  and  powerful.  Rudolph  11.  and  Wallenstein  were  its 
principal  patrons.  Paracelsus  was  firmly  persuaded  of  the 
infiuence  exercised  by  the  stars  on  man's  every  action  ;  nor 
was  Kepler  free  from  a  similar  superstition,  which  bad,  how- 
ever, the  good  result  of  promoting  his  study  of  astronomy 
and  of  leading  to  scientific  investigation,  more  particularly 
since  the  invention  of  the  telescope  in  Holland,  A.  D.  1600. 

Chiromancy,  or  the  presaging  of  fate  from  the  lines  of  the 
hand,  and  sympathetic  cure  were  the  most  celebrated  among 
the  other  dark  sciences.  The  investigation  of  the  lines  of  the 
hand,  which  was  allied  with  that  of  the  physiognomy  and  of  the 
general  appearance  of  the  whole  person,  proves  that  the  adepts 
were  possessed  of  an  extraordinary  quickness  of  perception, 
unknown  at  the  present  day ;  and  the  sympathetic  cures  are  so 
much  the  more  important,  owing  to  their  being  a  remains  of 
the  ancient  popular  mode  of  cure  practised  by  the  heathens, 
which  has,  in  our  times,  produced  the  theory  of  animal  mag- 
netism. Many  ailments  were  ascribed  to  the  power  of  Satan, 
and  spiritual  measures  were  resorted  to  for  their  cure,  such  as 
exorcism  or  expulsion  of  the  devil,  amulets,  relics,  etc.  A 
peculiar  healing  property  was  ascribed  to  certain  saints  and 
holy  places.  Almost  every  member  of  the  body  had  its  patron 
saint.  Mental  aberration  was  especially  regarded  as  demo- 
niacal possession.  In  1451,  George,  bishop  of  Lausanne,  was 
persuaded  of  the  potency  of  a  spiritual  anathema  for  driving 


438  THE  DAEK  SCIENCES. 

awaj  grasshoppera  and  mice,  and,  not  long  afterwards,  a  bishop 
of  Chur  resorted  to  the  same  means  for  the  riddance  of  cock- 
chafers. 

Ancient  mysticism  was  also  transformed  by  this  novel  and 
fantastical  natural  philosophy.  Nicolas  von  Cusa,  a  country- 
man of  Treves,  formed  [▲.  d.  1462]  the  transition  from  scho- 
lastic theosophy  to  natural  philosophy  by  a  mystic  numeration, 
a  system  of  the  universe  harmonioasly  regulated  by  niAnbers, 
the  principles  of  all  things.  He  was  succeeded  by  Paracelsus, 
who  completed  the  vague  numerical  system  of  Cusanus  by 
declaring  the  principles  divine  effluences  and  living  powers.  As 
all  numbers  proceeded  from  one,  so  did  the  whole  universe 
from  God ;  as  all  numbers  corresponded  with  each  other,  so 
did  all  things  in  the  world.  From  the  unity  of  Grod  proceeded 
the  primitive  powers,  mercurius,  sulphur,  and  sal,  which,  al- 
though separated  into  a  spiritual  and  an  earthly  sense,  there 
as  soul,  mind,  and  body,  here  as  water,  air,  and  earth,  never- 
theless corresponded,  and,  consequently,  there  was  nothing  in 
man  that  had  not  its  great  antitype  in  nature.  Valentin 
Weigel  of  Saxony  [a.  d.  1588]  pursued  a  similar  idea  and 
founded  an  extremely  simple  system,  which  was  afterwards 
improved  upon  by  Spinoza  and  Schelling,  the  identity  of  the 
two  great  and  universal  antitheses,  of  the  mind  and  body,  of 
light  and  darkness,  of  good  and  bad,  etc.,  which,  ever  exter- 
nally at  war,  were  united  in  God.  The  two  Swabians,  Se- 
bastian Frank  and  Gutmann,  the  former  of  whom  was  an 
Anabaptist,  the  latter  a  Rosicrucian,  and  Ehunrath,  whose 
mania  for  mystery  led  him  astray  in  the  cabalistics  of  the 
ancient  Jews,  are  less  clear  and  profound.  In  the  seven- 
teenth century,  the  Moravian,  Amos  Ck)menius,  produced  a 
system  which  reunited  the  doctrine  of  Weigel  with  that  of  Pa- 
racelsus, by  an  endeavour  to  unite  the  two  universal  antitheses, 
body  and  mind,  by  a  third,  light.  He  was  the  first  who  at- 
tributed great  importance  to  light,  both  outward  and  inward. 
We  also  owe  to  him  an  account  of  an  extremely  curious 
malady,  with  which  a  Bohemian  girl,  Christina  Poniatovia, 
was  visited.  She  was  a  somnambulist  and  had  visions,  which 
he  has  described  with  such  accuracy  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of 
the  coincidence  of  the  symptoms  with  those  of  modern  mag- 
netism. The  celebrated  physician,  von  Helmont,  who  re- 
garded nature  as  an  effluence  of  spiritual  powers  and  recog- 


SUPERSTITION.  439 

nised  a  pure  spiritaal  cause  in  all  her  works,  also  flourished 
during  the  seventeenth  century. 

A^ppa  von  Nettesheim  [a.  d.  1535]  stands  alone.  The 
foe  of  scholasticism  and  of  theological  controversy,  an  utter 
infidel,  he  hoped  to  attain  to  higher  knowledge  by  means  of 
magic,  and  for  that  purpose  adjured  all  earthly  and  unearthly 
powers.  During  his  restless  wanderings  over  Europe,  he 
Studied  every  thing,  saw  every  thing,  took  a  degree  in  every 
faculty,  practised  theology  at  Paris,  the  law  at  Metz,  physic  at 
Freiburg  in  Switzerland,  became  private  physician  to  the 
queen  of  France,  and  finally  historiographer  to  Margaret, 
stadtholderess  of  the  Netherlands.  He  travelled  over  the 
whole  of  Spain,  Italy,  France,  and  England,  "  seeking  rest  and 
finding  none,"  and  at  length  published  a  work  "  On  the  Un- 
certiunty  and  Vanity  of  all  Scientific  Research,"  with  which  he 
bade  a£eu  to  the  world.  At  an  earlier  period,  when  resting 
his  hopes  on  magic,  he  had  written  a  work  "  On  Secret  Philo- 
sophy," and,  in  spite  of  his  later  contempt  for  the  world  and 
for  all  that  therein  is,  he  left  another,  entitled  "  De  Nobilitate 
Sexus  Foeminini." 

Quite  otherwise,  unvisited  by  fortune  or  by  learning, 
without  knowledge  of  the  world,  bom  beneath  a  lowly  roof, 
where  he  passed  the  whole  of  his  life,  in  the  obscurity  of  a 
little  town  and  of  a  miserable  occupation,  the  shoemaker  of 
Ooerlitz,  Jacob  Boehme,  [a.  d.  1624,]  placed  an  implicit  con- 
fidence in  Heaven  and  found  the  eternal  wisdom  which  the 
proud  Agrippa  had  vainly  sought  for  throughout  the  world. 
The  truths  that  escaped  the  perception  of  the  great  philoso- 
pher were  clear  as  day  to  his  pure  and  child-like  mind,  which, 
although  untaught  and  uncultivated,  was  extraordinarily 
profound  and  comprehensive.  Jacob  Boehme  stands  far  above 
the  rest  of  the  mystics,  all  of  whose  various  systems  he  has, 
in  his  own,  formed  into  an  harmonious  whole.  In  him  meet 
the  three  great  founders  of  mysticism  of  the  twelfth  century, 
for  in  him  are  united  the  heroic  morality,  the  chivalric  self- 
sacrificing  love  of  Hugo  de  St.  Victoire,  the  eternal  harmony 
and  beauty  of  nature  of  Honorius  Augustodensis,  and  the  his- 
torical world  of  Rupert  von  Duiz.  He  also  carried  the  doc- 
trine of  Paracelsus  still  higher,  by  seeking  God  in  history  as 
Well  as  in  nature.     He  was  so  wonderfully  fertile  in  ideas, 


440  WirCHCRAFT. 

that  later  phikMophen  bave  raiaed  new  systeins  on  mere  firag- 
meots  of  the  one  founded  bj  him. 

CCXVin.   WUtkeraJt 

Thx  burning  of  witches  formed  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
features  of  the  age  of  the  Beforroation.  It  commenced  at  an 
earlier  period,  but  first  became  a  general  practice  in  the  six- 
teenth and  seventeenth  centuries.  The  belief  in  witchcraft, 
universal  before  the  migrations  at  the  worst  period  of  the 
Boman  empire,  had  disappeared  before  the  light  of  Chris- 
tianitj,  and  was  more  particularly  discouraged  by  the  Ger- 
man wanderers.  Rotharis  the  Longobard,  in  his  l^slative 
code,  espedallj  prohibited  the  trial  of  witches,  witchcraft 
being  impossible.*  Charlemagne  was  equally  enlightened.  In 
1310,  the  belief  in  the  existence  of  witches  was  condemned  by 
the  council  of  Treves,  and  the  nightly  expeditions  of  witches 
was  declared  a  fabulous  invention.l  This  belief  was  little 
general  during  the  middle  ages,  but  suddenly  gained  force  in 
the  fifteenth  century. 

Sprenger,  a  notorious  Dominican  inquisitor,  is  accused  of 
having  first  disseminated  this  fearful  superstition  in  Con- 
stance ;  the  executions  at  the  stake,  until  lus  time,  of  rare  oc- 
currence, becoming  thenceforward  extremely  frequent.  His 
work  "  The  Witches'  Hammer,"  (Malleus  Maleficarum,)  at- 
tracted general  attention  and  inspired  half  Europe  with  a 
dread  of  witchcraft  hitherto  unknown;  he  also  persecuted 
witches  on  principle,  and  is  said  to  have  burnt  upwards  of  a 
hundred  old  women.  On  being  bitterly  reproached  for  his 
cruelty,  he  appealed  to  the  pope,  and  [a.  d.  1485]  Innocent 
VIIL,  by  a  bull,  affirmed  the  existence  of  witches  and  the 
necessity  of  their  persecution.  It  was  in  vain  that  Sigmund, 
archduke  of  the  Tyrol,  caused  a  protest  to  be  written  by 
Ulric  Miiller  of  Constance  and  declared  the  belief  in  the 

*  NuUus  praesumat  aldiam  aut  ancillam  quasi  strigam  aut  mascam 
occidere,  quod  Christianis  mentibus  nullatenus  credendum  est  aut  pos- 
sibile. 

t  Nulla  mulier  se  nocturnis  horis  equitare  cum  Diana  dea  paganorum 
Tel  cum  Herodiana  imiumera  mulierum  multitudine  profiteatur.  Hiec 
enim  demoniaca  est  iilusio. — Mariene  Thes.  Anecd,  IV. 


1 


WITCHCEAFT.  441 

existence  of  witches  a  mere  superstitious  delusion ;  the  voice 
o£  the  Dominican,  supported  by  the  authority  of  the  pope,  was 
alone  heeded.  On  the  commencement  of  the  Reformation,  this 
belief  was  recognised  as  a  superstition,  but,  notwithstanding, 
continued  to  spread.  Old  women  were  more  fanatically  per- 
secuted as  suspected  witches  by  the  Lutherans  than  they  had 
been  by  the  Inquisition ;  the  devil,  in  those  times  of  terror, 
was  present  to  every  imagination  and  was  portrayed  on 
every  wall. 

Malignant  females  were  supposed  to  conclude  a  bond  with 
the  devil,  from  whom  they  learnt  the  art  of  raising  storms,  of 
depriving  their  neighbours'  cows  of  their  milk,  of  carrying  off 
their  neighbours'  corn  through  the  air,  of  striking  men  and 
cattle  dead  or  with  sickness  with  the  evil  eye,  of  brewing 
love-potions,  of  awaking  unnatural  hate  or  love,  etc.     Almost 
all  the  women,  accused  of  these  practices,  confessed,  under 
torture.  Most  of  the  trials  coincide  in  this  point,  that  they  had 
learnt  the  art  from  some  other  old  woman,  who  had  been 
taught  by  the  devil  himself  in  the  form  of  a  handsome  young 
man,  from  whom  she  had  received  the  witches'  salve,  which, 
when  smeared  over  the  whole  body,  gave  her  the  power  of 
flying  up  the  chimney  seated  astride  on  either  a  broom,  a 
spinning-wheel,  a  spit,  a  goat,  or  a  cat,  to  the  great  witches' 
sabbath,  held  during  tValpurgU  night,  that  of  the  1st  of  May, 
on  the  Blocksberg,  where  all  the  witches  met,  danced  in  a 
misty  circle  back  to  back,  and  worshipped  a  great  black  goat, 
which  at  length  caught  fire  of  itself  and  was  reduced  to 
ashes,  which  were  collected  by  the  witches  for  magical  pur- 
poses, and  each  one,  remounting  her  steed,  whisked  home. 
From  this  moment  they  were  in  partnership  with  the  devil, 
who  marked  them  as  his  own  and  gave  them  power  to  work 
harm,  but  treated  them  harshly  and  kept  them  in  abject  po- 
verty.    This  formed  the  substance  of  most  of  the  depositions. 
The  accused  was,  in  some  instances,  found  lying  stiff  and  ap- 
parently dead  on  the  ground,  and  confessed,  on  regaining  her 
senses,  that  she  had  been,  during  her  state  of  torpor,  absent 
at  a  witches'  meeting.     This  proves  a  somnambulistic  state. 
It  has,  at  a  more  modem  period,  been  believed,  that  the  whole 
tale  had  been  drawn  by  means  of  torture  from  women,  who, 
in  their  agony,  confessed  themselves  guilty  of  any  thing  laid 
to  their  charge ;  much,  nevertheless,  still  remains  that  is  ut- 


442  WITCHCRAFT. 

terlj  inexplicable^  particularly  in  reference  to  the  somnambu- 
liBtic  visions,  and,  in  ihe  face  of  so  many  authentic  proo&, 
there  no  longer  exists  a  doabt  bat  that  the  belief  in  all  this 
nonsense  was  general  among  women,  and  that  these  ideas  had 
become  an  epidemy,  a  contagions  mania  among  them.  Was  it 
not  natural  that  at  a  period  when  the  worst  qualities  of  the 
human  heart  had  been  excited  and  had  actufdly  gained  the 
mastery,  when  men  boldly  cited  the  devil,  that  the  worst  por- 
tion of  the  female  sex  should  also  give  way  to  horrid  desires 

and  imaginations  ? The  belief  in  the  existence  of  witches 

was,  however,  evidently  the  offspring  of  ancient  pagan  super- 
stition. The  night  of  the  1st  of  May  coincides  with  the  great 
festival  of  Spring,  which  was  anciently  solemnized  on  the 
mountains.  The  burning  of  the  goat,  the  symbol  of  fruitful- 
ness»  is  an  ancient  heathen  sacrifice.  The  transformation  of 
the  witches  into  cats  or  wolves  is  also  a  pagan  notion. 

As  this  superstition  gained  ground,  every  imaginable  evil, 
such  as,  scarcity,  damage  done  by  the  weather,  loss  of  cattle, 
sicknesses,  robbery,  losses,  etc.,  was  ascribed  to  the  witches, 
and  suspicion  generally  fell  on  the  oldest  woman  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. Envy  and  unneighbourly  grudge  had  full  play, 
and  revenge  for  suffered,  or  fear  of  future,  evil,  created  a  bit- 
terness and  rage  which  at  once  demanded  and.  justified  the 
ill-treatment  of  witches.  The  church,  the  state,  and  public 
opinion  were  generally  unanimous  in  declaring  that  no  means 
were  to  be  left  untried  for  the  annihilation  of  the  power  of 
Satan  upon  earth.  The  form  of  trial  was  almost  every  where 
similar.  The  accused  was  subjected  to  the  ordeal,  that  is,  her 
hair,  even  her  eye-brows,  was  entirely  shaven  off  in  order  to 
discover  the  devil's  mark,  and  woe  to  her  if  a  mole  or  a 
mother's  mark  were  discovered.  It  was  also  a  popular  notion, 
that  by  depriving  a  witch  of  her  hair  the  devil  lost  his  power 
over  her.  The  second  and  more  celebrated  ordeal  consisted 
in  tying  the  witch's  right  thumb  to  the  left  great  toe,  and  the 
left  thumb  to  the  right  toe,  and  throwing  her  into  the  water. 
If  she  swam  it  was  a  certain  proof  of  her  being  a  witch. 
The  third  was  by  weight,  witches  being  believed  to  be  as  light 
as  a  feather.  They  were  accordingly  tried  by  a  certain  mea- 
sure, which,  if  it  proved  too  heavy,  condemned  the  unhappy 
woman  to  be  tortured  until  she  confessed,  which  inevitably 
doomed  her  to  the  stake,  fire  being  the  means  by  which  witch- 


WITCHCRAFT.  443 

craft  could  alone  be  totally  extirpated  and  the  world  be  pnrified 
from  the  incantations  of  the  deyiL 

The  suspicion,  and  the  confession,  wrong  by  torture,  were 
often  equally  ridiculous.     The  most  harmless  things  were  at- 
tributed to  the  power  of  witchcraft.     Luther  once  advised 
that  a  sick  child  of  twelve  years  of  age,  who  had  an  unnatural 
appetite,  should  be  thrown  into  the  Mulda.     At  Freudenstadt, 
in  the  Black  Forest,  a  monthly  nurse  was  accused  of  having 
murdered  a  hundred  children  and  of  having  laid  changelings 
in  their  cribs.     At  Frankfurt  on  the  Maine,  in  1536,  a  girl 
was  accused  of  being  in  correspondence  with  the  devil,  by 
whom  she  had  been  endowed  with  the  power  of  extracting 
gold  from  walls.   At  Wienerisch-Neustad^  in  1562,  the  sexton 
was  burnt   alive  for  having  boiled  a  child  and  spread  the 
plague  by  mixing  some  of  the  earth  from  the  infected  graves 
with  the  broth.     During  the  same  year,  a  hailstorm  at  Esslin- 
geu  caused  a  severe  persecution  of  witches,  in  which  the 
parish-priest  and  the  executioner  discovered  equal  zeal  and 
bade  defiance  tp  the  more  humane  and  enlightened  town- 
council.     At  Horb,  in  the  Black  Forest,  in  1578,  nine  women 
were  sentenced  to  the  stake  in  consequence  of  a  hailstorm. 
At  Quedlinburg,  in  1589,  a  hundred  and  thirty-three  witches 
were  burnt  in  one  day  for  having  danced  on  the  Blocksberg 
and  for  having  emptied  the  cellars  of  fourteen  of  the  wealthiest 
people  in  the  neighbourhood  of  their  wine  on  the  occasion  ; 
all  were  put  to  death  except  four  of  the  most  beautiful,  whom 
the  devil,  always  in  the  shape  of  a  handsome  young  man,  is 
said  to  have  carried  away.     At  Spandau,  in  1595,  a  great 
number  of  people  were  possessed,  from  having  picked  up  gold, 
rings,  buttons,  hemp,  etc.,  dropped  by  the  devil  in  the  streets. 
At  Naumburg  on  the  Saal,  in  1604,  a  witch  was  burnt  for 
depriving  an  absent  person  of  one  of  his  eyes  by  magic.     At 
Hildesheim,  in  1615,  a  boy  suffered  the  same  death  for  hav- 
hig  transformed  himself  into  a  cat.     At  Strassburg,  in  1633, 
a  boy  was  also  burnt  for  carrying  letters  by  night  to  the  Je- 
suits in  a  carriage  drawn  by  six  cats.     At  Solothum,  in  1549, 
a  woman  was  sent  to  the  stake  for  having  ridden  on  a  wolf 
through  the  forest.     In  1725,  a  reward  of  five  florins  was 
offered  at  Hechingen  to  the  captor  of  a  cobold,  a  nix,  etc. 

Neither  old  age  nor  tender  youth  escaped.     At  Wolfen- 
^iittel,  in  1591,  a  woman  a  hundred  and  six  years  of  age 


1 


444  WITCHCRAFT. 

was  burnt;  in  Augsburg,  a.  d.  1688»  a  girl  aged  twenty, 
who  was  accused  of  having  practised  magic  since  her  sixth 
jear ;  and,  A.  D.  16d4,  a  woman  aged  eighty-four,  since  her 
tenth.  These  accusations  were  generally  made  for  the  pur- 
pose of  gain,  eitlier  by  confiscation  of  property  or  by  perqui- 
sites. The  trial  of  witches  was  equally  profitable  to  the 
judge,  the  advocate,  and  the  executioner.  A  deacon  of  May- 
ence  caused  upwards  of  three  hundred  people  in  the  villages 
of  Crotzenburg  and  Biirgel  to  be  sent  to  the  stake  on  a  charge 
of  witchcraft  for  no  other  purpose  than  that  of  adding  their 
property  to  his  cathedral.  Executions  in  the  mass  were  of 
frequent  occurrence.  Julius  of  Brunswick  boasted  of  having 
planted  a  whole  forest  of  stakes,  near  Wolfenbiittel,  for  the 
execution  of  witches.  John,  archbishop  of  Treves,  sentenced 
the  women  in  such  numbers  to  the  stake,  in  1585,  that  in  two 
districts  but  two  remained ;  in  1589,  he  condemned  Flade, 
the  rector  of  the  university  of  Treves,  as  a  sorcerer,  and,  in 
1593,  thirty  witches  at  Montabaur.  Adolf,  bishop  of  Augs- 
burg, [a.  d.  1627,]  sentenced  forty-two  women  to  be  burnt 
on  one  occasion,  and,  during  the  whole  of  his  government^ 
sent  two  hundred  and  nineteen  witches  and  wizards,  among 
which  were  four  canons,  eight  vicars,  one  doctor,  eighteen 
little  schoolboys,  a  blind  girl,  another  girl  nine  years  of  age, 
with  her  infant  sister,  to  the  stake.  The  bishop  of  Bam- 
berg condemned  six  hundred  witches,  the  archbishop  of  Salz- 
burg ninety-seven,  in  1678,  to  be  burnt,  on  account  of  a  great 
epidemic  among  the  cattle.  One  of  the  curators  of  the  bishop 
of  Freisingen  extirpated  almost  all  the  women  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  castle  of  Werdenfels.  In  1651,  one  hundred 
and  two  people  were  burnt  at  Zuckmantel  in  Silesia ;  among 
others,  children  of  one  to  six  years  of  age,  who  were  said  to 
be  the  ofispring  of  the  devil. 

At  Noerdlingen,  between  1590  and  1594,  thirty-two  inno- 
cent women  were  burnt  as  witches  at  the  instigation  of 
Pferinger,  the  fanatical  burgomaster.  The  case  of  Rebecca 
Lemp,  a  paymaster's  wife,  who  was  universally  honoured  as  a 
virtuous  wife  and  mother,  excited  the  greatest  compassion ; 
her  trial  and  touching  letters  have  been  published  by  Weng. 
The  representations  of  her  husband,  the  entreaties  of  her 
tender  children  as  they  clung  around  her,  the  testimony  of  her 
neighbours,  were  alike  unavailing ;  she  was  condemned  to  the 


WITCHCKAFT.  445 

Stake.     The  whole  of  these  unfortunates  steadily  denied  the 
truth  of  the  accusation  until  forced  bj  the  rack  to  assent  to 
all  the  questions  put  to  them  by  the  executioner.     The  thirty- 
third^  Maria  Holl,  the  wife  of  an  innkeeper,  however,  hero- 
ically withstood  fifty-six  tortures  of  the  most  painful  descrip- 
tion without  confessing ;  the  people  rose  in  her  favour  and 
even  the  clergy  prohibited  the  continuance  of  this  scene  of 
horror ;    the  lawyers  finally,  but  very  unwillingly,  yielded, 
and  the  city  of  Ulm,  of  which  Maria  Holl  was  a  native,  inter- 
ceding for  her  in  the  diet,  she  was  restored  to  her  friends.* 
Similar  cruelties  are  to  be  met  with  in  the  history  of  Sieg- 
burg,  where  the  fanatical  Dr.  Baumann  conducted  the  trials 
from  1636  to  1638.     Nails  were,  for  instance,  thrust  into  the 
moles  and  other  fiesh  marks  discovered  on  the  bodies  of  the 
unfortunate  women,  in  order  to  deprive  the  devil  of  his  power 
over  them. The  Jesuit,  Frederick  Spec,  saw  such  a  num- 
ber of  witches  burnt  in  Paderbom  that  he  was  struck  with 
horror,  and  his  hair  is  said  to  have  turned  white  in  one  night 
from  sorrow  for  the  fate  of  one  of  the  victims,  whom  he  had 
accompanied  as  spiritual  adviser  to  the  pile.     In  1631,  he 
published  a  work,  in  which  he  exhorted  all  the  princes  and 
people  in  authority  to  put  a  stop  to  these  horrors.     One  single 
judge  belonging  to  this  district  had  condemned  five  hundred 
witches  to  the  stake. 

Cornelius  Loos,  the  priest  of  Mayence,  who  declared  the 
belief  in  witchcraft  an  error,  was  compelled  by  close  imprison- 
ment to  retract,  but,  unable  to  overcome  the  dictates  of  his 
conscience,  reiterated  his  entreaties  for  mercy  towards  the 
wretched  women,  whose  innocence  he  again  asserted,  and  was 
once  more  incarcerated.  Tanner,  the  Bavarian  Jesuit,  was, 
on  discovering  a  similarly  humane  spirit,  denounced  as  a 
wizard.  The  Dutchmen,  Wyerus  and  Bekker,  were  unable 
to  check  the  prevailing  superstition  of  the  age.  The  piles 
smoked  until  far  into  the  eighteenth  century.  In  1701,  seven 
witches  and  one  wizard  were  burnt  at  Zurich ;  in  1714,  on 
the  Heinzenberg  in  tho  Grisons,  a  girl  sixteen  years  of  age 
suffered  ;  in  1725,  there  was  an  execution  at  Hechingen ;  in 
1731,  nine  corpses  were  burnt  at  Olmiitz  owing  to  a  notion  of 
their  being  vampires,  who  sucked  the  blood  of  sleepers ;  in 
1744,  five  witches  were  chained  in  a  great  tun,  tortured  and 
•  Weng,  The  Trial  of  the  Witches  at  Noerdlingen. 


446  POBTBY  AND  AKT. 

burnt,  at  Tepperbuden,  near  Eolditz,  in  Lower  Silesia;  in 
1750,  Benate  Senger,  prioress  of  the  convent  of  UnterzeU  in 
Wurzbarg,  was  beheaded  and  burnt  as  a  witch ;  in  1754^ 
a  g;irl  of  thirteen  was  beheaded  for  a  witch  in  Bavaria ;  in 
1755,  another,  aged  fourteen,  suffered  at  Landshut.  In  the 
same  year,  twenty  corpses  were  burnt  in  Moravia,  and  [a.  d. 
1783]  Anna  Gkeldlin,  the  last  of  the  witches,  was  burnt  at 
Gkrus  in  Switserland. 

CCXIX.  Poetry  and  Art 

On  the  fall  of  the  Hohenstaufen,  poetry  declined,  and  the 
song  of  the  Minnesinger  ceased  with  the  breath  of  the  youth- 
ful Conradin.  The  enthusiastic  feelings  of  the  poet  of  olden 
times  ill  suited  an  atmosphere  imbued  with  egotism  and  gro* 
veiling  policy.  The  Grerman,  since  the  days  of  the  emperor 
Rudolph,  had  been  reduced  to  the  prose  of  every-day  life. 

At  the  close  of  the  fourteenth  century,  chivalric  poetry 
ceased  with  Teichner  and  Suchenwirt,  two  noble  Austrians, 
attached  to  the  court.  Hugo  von  Montfort  and  Wolfensteiner 
the  Blind,  a  noble  Tyrolese,  are,  up  to  the  fifteenth  century, 
the  last  of  this  school.  The  Minnesingers  were  succeeded  by 
the  civic  master-singers,  who  carried  on  verse-making  pro- 
fessionally in  the  cities  and  regulated  the  art  according  to 
prescribed  laws.  The  characteristics  of  master-singing  are 
pedantry  and  want  of  taste  whenever  the  poet  attempts  a 
more  elevated  flight,  whilst  it  ever  more  nearly  attains  excel- 
lence as  it  assimilates  itself  to  the  popular  style.  Most  of  the 
popular  ballads  that  were  sung  in  the  streets,  and  some  of 
which  bear  the  impress  of  high  antiquity,  became  general  after 
the  Reformation  on  the  gradual  dissolution  of  the  master- 
singing  guilds ;  these  ballads,  often  vulgar,  but  still  oftener  of 
infinite  pathos  and  harmony,  are  the  best  specimens  of  the 
poetry  of  the  age.  The  composers  of  most  of  them  were  ob- 
scure travelling  students  or  soldiers.  To  these  belong  the 
lays  sung  by  the  Flagellants,  and  numerous  sacred  songs, 
either  original  or  translated  from  the  Latin,  borrowed  from 
the  Hussites  and  collected  by  Luther,  who  added  to  them 
some  fine  productions  of  his  own.  The  whole  of  these  songs 
were  unrestricted  by  the  rules  prescribed  by  the  guilds. 

The  first  master-singers,  Henry  von  Muglin  and  Musca- 


1 


POETRY  AND  ART.  447 

blut,  had  namerons  followers.    Almost  every  town  had  its 
singer  guild,  and  the  most  celebrated  among  the  masters  in- 
Tented  melodies  or  measures,  which  thej  distinguished  by 
pompous  epithets,  and  which  merely  aimed  at  the  accurate 
measurement  of  the  syllables.     An  inflated  allegory,  a  pedan- 
tic moral,  enigmas  and  sometimes  ribaldry,  formed  their  con- 
tents.    The  martial  deeds  of  the  time,  even  the  most  glorious, 
those  of  the  Swiss  and  Ditmarses,  were  sung  in  the  same 
wearisome  measure  and  were  disfigured  by  the  pedantic  versi- 
fication composed  in  their  praise.    The  Swiss  ballads  of  Vitus 
Weber  form  an  exception,  and,  like  those  of  Ulric  von  Hut- 
ten  of  later  date,  breathe  the  free  spirit  of  the  mountains. 
The  Thewrdank  of  Melchior  Pfinzing  proves  the  utter  failure 
of  the  master-singers  in  epic  poetry.     The  idea  of  describing 
Maximilian,  emperor  of  Germany,  who  was  ever  helplessly 
entangled  in  the  political  intrigues  of  the  day,  as  a  knight  of 
the  olden  time  of  fable  and  romance,  was  an  anachrontic  af- 
fectation.    False  sublimity  became  for  the  first  time  inherent 
in  German  poetry.     The  peasants'  war,  the  feuds  of  Nurem- 
berg, those  of  Wurtemberg,  were  feebly  sung.     The  legends, 
in  which  the  spirit  of  the  Minnesinger  is  still  perceptible,  are 
somewhat  better ;  for  instance,  the  Apollonius  of  Tyrlandt  by 
Henry  von  Neustadt,  the  French  king's  daughter  by  Biihler, 
the  Moorish  girl  by  Hermann  von  Sachsenheim,  etc.,  above 
&U,  the  collection  of  amusing  legends  under  the  tiUe  of  ^*  The 
Seven  wise  Masters,"  and  those  of  Dr.  Faust,  of  Fortunatus, 
and  of  the  Venusberg,  so  characteristic  of  the  age.     The  ever 
increasing  lust  for  wealth  and  pleasure  is  well  and  tragically 
^presented  in  these  last-mentioned  legends.     There  were,  be- 
sides these,  numerous  older  legends  from  the  book  of  heroes, 
of  the  holy  Graal,  etc.,  which  were  reduced  to  prose,  and  in 
^is  age  appeared  all  the  little  popular  books,  which,  in  homely 
prose,  repeated  the  contents  of  the  finest  of  the  ancient  heroic 
l>&llads.     Modem  romances  and  novels  in  prose  made  their 
first  appearance  in  Swabia.     Nicolas  von  Wile,  town-clerk  of 
^^ngen,  and  Albert  von  £yb  were  the  first  translators  or 
writers  of  love-tales  in  prose,  to  which  they  were  prompted 
^y  j'^neas  Sylvius,  in  imitation  of  Italian  literature.     Spec,  a 
lyric  poet  in  the  spirit  of  the  old  Minnesingers,  appeared  at  a 
^ter  period  [a.  d.  1635]  in  Bavaria. 

The  transition  to  learned  poesy  caused  the  Dutch  Redery- 


448  POBTRY  AND  ART. 

I 

kertf  (rhetoricians,)  who  had  already  acquired  a  false  taste  fon 
classical  refinement,  to  compose  didactic  and  satirical  poems 
in  the  spirit  of  the  Reformers.  They  formed  themselves  intM 
chambers,  which,  for  some  time,  had  an  extremely  democratief 
bias.  John  of  Leyden  was  one  of  these  Rederyker.  Anna! 
Byms,  on  the  other  hand,  gained  for  herself  the  title  of  tbej 
Sappho  of  Brabant  by  her  coarse  satires  against  Luther.  I 

Just  van  den  Vondel  was  the  best  Dutch  poet. The  learned 

humanists  imitated  the  poetry  of  the  ancients.     These  Latin 
university  and  court-poets  deemed  themselves  far  superior 
to  all  others  and  pretended  to  the  borrowed  Italian  custom  of  i 
being  crowned  with  laurel.     This  ceremony  was  performed  i 
either  by  the  emperor  in  person,  or  by  his  proxy,  the  Pfalz-i 
grave.     But  few  among  these  poets  laureate  deserved  the^ 
honour.     Even  the  celebrated  Celtes  was  distinguished  more 
by  his  inclination  for  the  study  of  the  ancients  than  for  his  i 
poetry.     The  rest  of  the  laureates  have  been  with  justice  con- 
signed to  oblivion.     Their  stilted  Latin  verses  are  unreadable  ^ 
and  merely  show  the  gulf  that,  even  at  that  period,  separated  { 
the  princes  and  the  learned  world  from  the  people,  and  the  ( 
foolish  assumption  of  princes  in  dispensing  fame  that  public  ( 
opinion  can  alone  bestow.     The  poets  laureate  were  sensible  ( 
of  the  fallacy  of  their  position  ;  they  perceived  the  necessity  oiy 
assimilating  themselves  with  the  people,  and,  under  the  cele-  ^ 
brated  Opitz,  again  began  to  sing  in  German,  but  still  retained  i 
their  antique  forms,  ideas,  and  imagery.     This  was  the  com-  ( 
men  cement  of  modern  poetry.     One  Latin  poet  alone,  the  \ 
Dutchman,  Johannes  Secundus,  A.  d.  1536,  distinguished  him- 
self by  his  verses  in  imitation  of  Ovid.     Among  the  literary  - 
follies  of  the  day  were  the  poems  of  Pierius,  one  of  which,  in  i 
honour  of  Christ,  was  composed  of  words  commencing  with  C ; 
the  other,  in  honour  of  the  emperor  Maximilian,  of  words 
commencing  with  M.  i 

The  satirical  poems  against  papacy,  foreign  policy,  the  loose  i 
morality  and  hypocrisy  of  the  age,  are  the  best  that  appeared 
during  the  Reformation.  Sarcasm  and  ridicule  were  the  only 
weapons  with  which  more  elevated  minds  could  attack  the 
general  depravity.  The  master-singer,  Hans  Rosenplut,  who 
delineated  a  '^  king  in  his  bath  ^  and  an  *'  amorous  priest,"  was 
one  of  the  earliest  of  the  satirical  writers  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury.     An  extremely  popular  work,    "Liber  Vagatorum," 


POETEY  AND  ABT.  449 

irned  the  begging  orders  into  ridicule.  A  collection  of 
'  Merry  Tales  of  the  Parson  of  the  Calenberg  "  showed  the 
triest  as  a  man  and  a  boon  companion.  The  Reformation 
ame  and  added  force  to  the  sarcasms  hurled  against  the 
hrgy.  Alberus  wrote  the  Alcoran  of  the  begging  monks ; 
ilischart,  the  Roman  Beehive.  ^The  latter  translated  Rabe- 
IBS  from  the  French,  with  numerous  additions  in  an  original 
|fyL.#higbly  genial  in  the  midst  of  its  bombast  Ulric  von 
ftiiften  was  also  the  author  of  several  excellent  satires.  The- 
jfegical  coarseness  and  commonplace,  however,  crept  in  at  a 
U&r  period,  as  may  he  seen  in  the  "Monk's  Ass **  of  Albanus, 

|tc. The  time  for  political  satires  had  not  yet  arrived,  the 

frinces  being  exclusively  occupied  with  politics,  the  people 
Hth  religion  and  morality.  The  age  of  the  Reformation, 
lonsequently,  produced  merely  one  political  satire,  hut  one  that 
kas  not  been  yet  surpassed,  the  famous  Reinecke  de  Yos, 
|Eeinecke  Fuchs,)  a  fahle,  in  which  King  Lion  holds  his  court, 
md  the  cunning  fox  (Italian  policy)  contrives  to  manage 
iffairs  with  such  clever  malice,  that  right  and  innocence  are 
^ver  oppressed,  and  violence  and  cunning  ever  triumph.  The 
Siaterials  of  this  fahle  are  old  and  are  derived  from  the 
heathen  fable.  They  were  first  transformed  into  a  satirical 
^m,  in  the  Netherlands,  during  the .  twelfth  century,  and 
krere  several  times  afterwards  translated  and  revised ;  but  it 
ras  not  until  the  sixteenth  century,  when  the  taste  for  sa- 
Krical  poetry  increased,  that  it  was  made  generally  known,  by 
Kicolas  Baumann's  translation  from  the  Dutch  of  William  de 
lladoc  into,  low  German,  when  it  became  a  national  work. 
Sebastian  Brand  amusingly  descrihed  all  the  follies  of 

Eihlic  and  private  life  in  his  time,  in  his  celebrated  "  Ship  of 
ools,"  and  Erasmus  published,  in  Latin,  his  "  Praise  of 
S'olly."  In  Lower  Saxony,  the  Koher  (the  quiver  full  of 
Ihafts  of  wit)  appeared,  and  Burkhard  Waldis  distinguished 
himself  by  his  fables  ;  Pauli  collected  merry  tales,  A.  d.  1578. 
Agricola  of  Berlin  acquired  great  note  by  a  collection  of  Ger- 
man proverbs.  The  humanists  also  brought  imitations  of  the 
ancient  satires  into  vogue.  Homer's  War  between  the  Frogs 
and  Mice  was,  for  instance,  copied  in  Rollenhagen's  "  Frosch- 
mceuslery^  and  in  Schnurr's  "  War  between  the  Ants  and  Flies ;" 
Rollenhagen,  in  his  "Italian  Travels,'*  also  attempted  an 
imitation  of  the  fabulous  narrations  of  Lucian  ;  "  The  Merry 

VOL.  II.  2  o 


450  POETRY  AND  ART. 

Journej  of  the  Sparrow-hawk  Knight,"  may  also  be  cited. 
The  increasing  coarseness  of  the  sixteenth  century,  conse- 
quent on  the  religious  contest,  gradually  infected  satire  with 
low  obscenity,  and  there  appeared  a  Latin  "  Fleaad,"  a  Grer- 
man  "  Fleabait,**  an  **  Ass-king,"  an  '*  Asinine  Nobility  and 
the  Triumph  of  the  Sow,"  etc.  Dedekind's  "  Grobianus,"  a 
satire  levelled  against  the  coarseness  and  vulgarity  of  the  age, 
best  describes  this  period.  The  celebrated  Lalenborfc  of 
1597  is  a  capital  satire  upon  the  little  imperial  free  to.riis. 
The  peasantry  was  even  an  object  of  satire.  Rosenpldt,  the 
civic  master-singer,  ridiculed  the  '*  wealthy  peasant,"  who 
strove  to  raise  himself  above  his  station,  and  Reithart  published 
his  merry  "  Frolics  with  the  Peasants."  The  peasants,  how- 
ever, took  up  the  lash  in  their  turn,  and  the  reaction  of  peasant 
wit  against  the  higher  classes  gave  rise,  in  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, to  the  famous  popular  work  *^  The  Eulenspiegel,"  a  col- 
lection of  witty,  coarse,  often  obscene  anecdotes,  attributed  to 
a  waggish  boor,  whose  original  may  perhaps  have  in  reality 
existed.  The  force  of  this  unpretending  but  cutting  satire 
lay  in  the  natural  sagacity  with  which  the  over-wisdom  of 
the  merchants,  professors,  doctors,  judges,  clergy,  nobilily, 
and  princes  was  unmasked  and  derided,  and  the  low  malice 
contained  in  it  is  merely  the  national  expression  of  a  hatred 
naturally  felt  by  the  peasant  in  his  state  of  degradation. 

Theatrical  representations  had  come  into  vogue  since  the 
council  of  Constance.  At  first  they  merely  consisted  of  mys- 
teries, biblical  scenes,  and  allegories  ;  afterwards,  of  profane 
plays,  during  the  carnival.  The  master-singer  corporation  of 
Nuremberg  particularly  distinguished  itself  in  the  latter.  It 
was  here  that  Rosenpliit,  or  the  fly-catcher,  and  Hans  Volz 
flourished.  Hans  Sachs,  the  cobbler  of  Nuremberg,  a.d.  1576, 
who  left  behind  him  five  folio  volumes,  chiefly  filled  with  di- 
alogues, comedies,  and  tragedies,  however,  surpassed  all  the 
rest.  He  was  a  friend  of  Luther,  was  replete  with  talent,  and 
unshackled  by  prejudice.  Biblical  and  universal  history, 
ancient  mythology  and  German  legend,  every-day  life  and 
allegory,  were  the  rich  materials  on  which  he  worked ;  but 
in  his  pieces  the  scenes  follow  with  startling  rapidity,  the 
dialogue  is  comparatively  meagre,  and  the  whole  more  resem- 
bles a  rapid  succession  of  tableaux  vivants  than  a  play.  With 
the  exception  of  the  little  and.generally  highly-finished  farces 


POETRY  AND  ART.  451 

and  dia]<^ue8,  which  contain  but  few  characters,  all  his  great 
historical  pieces  are  simply  sketches ;  their  happj  choice  and 
management,  and  the  charm  that  ever  lay  in  the  subject, 
whether  the  composition  were  more  or  less  elaborate,  render* 
ed  them,  nevertheless,  highly  popular.  Sachs  had  numerous 
imitators,  the  most  celebrated  of  whom,  -towards  the  close  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  was  Jacob  Ayrer  of  Nuremberg,  who, 
however,  shared  the  increasing  grossness  of  the  taste  of  the 
times  and  delighted  in  scenes  of  blood  and  obscenity  (Opus 
Theatricum,  1618).  Henry  Julius,  the  poetical  duke  of 
Brunswick,  his  contemporary,  greatly  advanced  the  German 
stage. ^Political  comedies  also  took  the  place  of  the  carni- 
val farces  in  the  republican-spirited  imperial  free  towns. 
The  depravity  of  the  courts  was,  for  instance,  derided  in  the 
'*  Court  Devil,**  the  scholastics,  in  the  "  Academical  Devil,"  the 
sale  of  dispensations,  in  the  "  Tetzelocramia,"  the  intemperance 
and  immorality  of  German  manners  at  that  period,  in  the 
'*  German  Glutton."  National  history  was  also  brought  upon 
the  stage.  The  "  Siege  of  Weinsberg "  or  "  Woman's  Faith ; " 
** Luther's  Life;"  the  "Christian  Knight  of  Eisleben ;"  the 
"Muntzer  Peasant  War;"  the  "Clausensturm"  or  "The 
Victory  of  the  Elector  Maurice  over  the  Emperor ;"  and  a 
tragedy,  "  Wallenstein  and  Gustavus,"  were  represented.  The 
Lutherans  ridiculed  the  Calvinists  in  a  "  Calvinistic  Post-boy." 
During  the  thirty  years'  war,  the  promotion  of  unity  among 
the  Protestants  was  attempted  by  a  "  Swedish  Treaty,"  and, 
in  1647,  "Peace-wishing  Germany,"  an  intimation  to  the 
ambassadors  at  Osnabruck  and  Miinster  to  accelerate  the  pro- 
clamation of  peace,  was  publicly  represented.  Pastoral  poetry, 
in  imitation  of  Guarini,  the  Italian  poet,  who  had  followed  in 
the  footsteps  of  Theocritus,  was,  at  that  period,  also  generally 
cultivated,  the  imagination,  in  those  warlike  and  disturbed 
times,  dwelling  with. delight  on  ideal  scenes  of  innocence  and 
peace.  The  German  stage  was,  however,  unfortunately  neg- 
lected on  that  account  by  the  most  distinguished  literati  of  the 
day.  The  celebrated  Frischlin,  Naogeorg,  and  other  savants 
of  the  sixteenth  century  composed  elegant  Latin  plays. 

External  life  lost  much  of  its  former  beauty.  The  mode  of 
dress  became  more  and  more  bizarre  and  foreign.  The 
Spaniard  introduced  the  stiff  collar  and  pointed  hat ;  the  Swiss, 

2  g2 


452  POETRY  AND  ART. 

puffs,  plaits,  and  slashes;  and  the  Frenchman,  the  allonge 
peruke,  an  ell  in  length. 

The  fine  creations  of  Grothic  architecture  remained  in  an 
unfinished  state.  The  religious  enthusiasm  that  had  founded 
those  wondrous  edifices  had  died  away  before  their  comple- 
tion. The  mighty  Col<^ne  cathedral  stood  incomplete ;  of 
the  Strassburg  minster  one  tower  had  been  finished  in  1439 
by  John  Hiilz,  the  other  was  forsaken.  Ulm  cathedral  shared 
the  same  fate.  Merely  the  richest  towns,  particularly  those 
in  the  Netherlands,  completed  their  unfinished  churches  ;  and, 
under  the  pious  Habsburgs,  the  great  tower  of  St.  Stephen  at 
Vienna  was  first  begun,  in  1407,  by  Anton  Pilgram.  The  se- 
cond tower  is  still  unbuilt.  The  taste  for  building  passed  away 
with  the  Reformation ;  more  zeal  was  displayed  in  robbing 
and  destro3dng,  than  in  raising,  churches.  The  church  had 
become  the  slave  of  the  court,  and  the  faithful  Jesuits  were, 
by  court-favour,  alone  in  a  position  to  build  great  temples 
and  palaces  in  a  bad  Italian  style,  devoid  of  sublimity  or 
harmony,  which  was  also  adopted  in  the  castles  of  the 
princes. 

Painting  rose  as  architecture  declined.  Human  nature  and 
earthly  objects  were  studied  instead  of  the  supernatural  and 
divine.  In  the  Netherlands,  in  the  commencement  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  John  van  Eyk,  the  inventor  of  oil  painting, 
and  his  brother  Hubert,  surpassed  all  the  artists  of  their  time. 
Besides  depth  and  strength  of  colouring,  they  first  gave  in- 
creased life  to  their  figures  and  richness  to  their  groups.  These 
brothers  were  succeeded  by  Hans  Hemling,  an  artist  of  great 
merit ;  in  the  sixteenth  century,  by  Schoreel,  Lucas  von  Ley- 
den,  and  Quintin  Messis,  a  smith,  who,  for  love  for  an  artist's 
daughter,  studied  her  father's  art,  in  which  he  attained  great 
excellence.  A  high  German  school,  closely  allied  with  the 
Dutch,  and  in  which  Albert  Dtirer  in  Nuremberg,  [a.  d. 
1608,]  Hans  Holbein  in  Basle,  [a.  d.  1554,]  and  gentle  Lu- 
cas Cranach,  the  staunch  friend  of  the  true-hearted  elector  of 
Saxony,  [a.  d.  1553,]  surpassed  all  other  contemporary  art- 
ists, was  formed  at  this  period.  The  religious  feeling  of  the 
age  is  impressed  on  the  productions  of  all  these  artists,  and 
the  epic  character  of  the  pictures  of  earlier  date,  which, 
crowded  with  innumerable  dwarf-like  forms,  contained^  like 


POETRY  AND  ART.  453 

the  earlier  theatrical  representations,  a  whole  historj  from 
beginning  to  end,  was  gradually  lost. 

Painting  on  glass  was  also  carried  to  perfection  in  the  fif- 
teenth century.  This  art  was  cultivated  exclusively  in  Grer- 
many,  more  particularly  in  the  Netherlands,  whence  the 
artists  were  summoned  to  adorn  the  dark  domes  of  other  coun- 
tries with  their  magic  creations.  Franz  was,  in  1486,  sent 
for  from  LUbeck  for  the  purpose  of  ornamenting  the  churches 
of  Florence  with  painted  glass. 

When  art  flourished  at  Nuremberg,  when  Hans  Sachs  sang 
and  Diirer  painted,  sculpture  was  raised  to  a  higher  degree  of 
perfection  by  Kraft  and  Peter  Vischer. 

The  religious  struggle  had  been  unfavourable  to  art.  What 
the  iconoclast  had  respected  had,  during  the  thirty  years'  war, 
almost  without  exception,  been  destroyed  by  the  soldiery. 
The  wealthy  Dutch  alone  cultivated  art,  but  their  style  had 
become  entirely  profane,  and,  generally  speaking,  vulgar. 
Nature  suddenly  threw- off  the  shackles  imposed  by  the  church. 
The  great  artist,  Peter  Paul  Rubens,  [a.  d.  1640,]  took  his 
models  from  life,  gave  warmth  and  vigour  to  his  colouring, 
and  preferred  battle-pieces  and  voluptuous  scenes.  Although 
the  founder  of  the  profane  Flemish  school,  he  surpasses  all  his 
successors  in  vigour  and  warmth. 

The  art  of  engraving  was  invented  about  the  middle  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  it  is  uncertain  whether  in  Italy  or  Germany. 
Israel  of  Mechlin  was  one  of  the  first  engravers ;  to  him  suc- 
ceeded Martin  Schoen ;  the  celebrated  painter,  Albert  Diirer, 
was  also  distinguished  as  an  engraver,  besides  Golzius,  MUller, 
Vischer,  etc.,  and  Merian. 

A  school  of  music  as  well  as  of  painting,  the  precursor  to 
the  great  Italian  school  of  the  sixteenth  century,  was  founded 
in  the  Netherlands  in  the  fifteenth  century.  The  greatest 
master  was  John  Ockeghem,  (Ockenheim,)  who  died  at  a  great 
age,  in  1513.  He  greatly  improved  counter-point  composi- 
tion. Besides  him,  Jacob  Hobrecht  and  Bernhardt  the  Ger- 
JJoan,  who,  in  1470,  invented  the  pedal  to  the  organ,  flourished 
at  Venice.  Since  their  time,  numbers  of  German  musicians 
crossed  the  Alps  and  taught  the  Italians,  as,  for  instance, 
Henry  the  German,  (Arrigo  Tedesco,)  chapel-director  to 
Maximilian  I.  In  Germany,  Adam  of  Fulda,  Hermann  Fink, 
and  the  blind  Paulmann,  flourished  at  Nuremberg.     In  the 


454  HISTORIES  AND  TRAVELS. 

commencement  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Dutchman,  Adrian 
Willaert,  greatly  advanced  the  art  by  his  compositions  on  a 
more  extensive  scale  for  voices,  the  first  step  towards  the 
opera.  Italy  was,  however,  again  the  scene  of  this  triamph, 
and,  shortly  afterwards,  Palestrina  raised  sacred  music,  and 
Montaverde  that  of  the  opera,  to  their  present  state,  and  the 
merit  of  their  German  teachers  was  obscured  by  the  brilliancy 
of  their  fame.  Grood  masters  were,  notwithstanding,  not 
wanting  in  Germany.  Luther  promoted  church-music,  and 
the  princes  patronized  the  opera.  In  1628,  Sagittarius 
(Schiitz)  composed  the  first  German  opera.  Daphne,  a  trans- 
lation from  the  Italian,  for  the  elector  of  Saxony.  The  Ger- 
man courts  were  at  this  period  overrun  with  Italian  singers 
and  chapel-directors. 

CCXX.  Histories  and  Travels. 

The  discovery  of  the  art  of  printing  had,  as  early  as  the 
fifteenth  century,  given  a  great  impulse  to  historical  writing. 
The  monk  no  longer  wrote  in  his  lonely  cell ;  the  princes  took 
historiographers  into  their  service  for  the  purpose  of  handing 
down  their  deeds  to  posterity  or  of  eternalizing  the  renown 
of  their  house  and  of  defending  its  claims ;  the  cities  luxuriated 
in  their  great  records,  and  history  was  begun  to  be  taught  as 
a  science  at  the  universities. 

Universal  Chronicles  were  written  in  the  fourteenth  century 
by  John  von  Winterthur  and  Albert  of  Strassburg ;  in  the 
fifteenth,  by  Engelhusen,  Edward  Dynter,  an  Englishman, 
author  of  the  celebrated  Chron.  Belgicum  Magnum,  Gobeli- 
mus  Persona,  Werner  Rolewink,  John  ab  Indagine,  (Hagen,) 
Schedel,  Steinhcevel,  Nauclerus,  Cuspinianus ;  in  the  six- 
teenth, by  Amandus  von  Ziriksee  and  Sebastian  Frank,  the 
Anabaptist.  The  last  Universal  Chronicle,  ornamented  with 
engravings,  a  popular  work,  was  written  by  Gottfried.  The 
first  systematic  Manual  of  Universal  History,  the  celebrated 
Carionis  Chronicon,  also  appeared.  Megerlein  of  Basle  treated 
universal  history  in  a  religious  point  of  view ;  Boxhorn,  the 
Dutchman,  in  a  political  one.  Reineccius  of  Helmstsedt,  the 
first  historical  critic,  introduced  the  mode  of  historical  writ- 
ing, of  encumbering  the  text  with  notes  and  citations,  that 
was  afterwards  generally  adopted. The  collections  of  old 


HISTOBIBS  AND  TRAVELS.  455 

historical  works  also  began  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the 
Scriptores  Rerum  Germanicarum,  the  first  by  Hervagius,  the 
Basle  printer,  [a.  d.  1532,]  which  was  followed  by  those  of 
Schardius,  Reuberus,  Pistorius,  Ur8tisius(Wur8tisen),  and  Lin- 
denbrog ;  in  the  seventeenth  century,  by  those  of  Goldast,  who 
wrote  the  history  of  Swabia  and  on  the  affairs  of  the  empire, 
and  Freber,  who  also  reviewed  all  the  German  historians. 
Separate  portions  of  the  earlier  histories  were  also  revised. 
Trithemius,  the  abbot  of  Hirsau,  besides  writing  the  Chroni- 
cle of  his  monastery,  important  in  reference  to  the  history  of 
Swabia,  threw  great  light  upon  the  earlier  history  of  the 
Franks.  In  the  fifteenth  century,  Riixner  wrote  the  great 
Tournament  Book,  whence  may  be  collected  a  history  of  the 
different  noble  houses  of  Germany ;  in  the  seventeenth,  Zink- 
greff  published  an  amusing  collection  of  historical  anecdotes, 
Apophthegmata,  or  witty  German  sayings. 

Notwithstanding  the  numerous  historians  of  the  times,  the 
accounts  of  the  most  important  events  remained  buried  in  the 
archives.     Theodore  von  Niem  produced  a  biography  of  the 
pope,  John  XXIII.    Ulric  von  Beichenthal,  Gebhard  Dacher, 
and  Vrie  wrote  upon  the  council  of  Constance ;  Uttenheim, 
upon  that  of  Basle ;  Windeck  wrote  the  Life  of  Sigmund ; 
Boregk  and  Hageck,  Petrus  Abbas,  de  Weitmiihl,  the  History 
of  Bohemia ;  Theobald,  Cochlaeus,  Brzezina,  in  particular,  on 
the  Hussite  war.     The  writings  of  -^neas  Sylvius  supply 
rich  matter  for  history,  particularly  the  long  reign  of  Frede- 
rick III. ;  Grumbech  also  gave  an  account  of  this  emperor, 
and  Eitelwolf  von  Stein  one  of  the  Venetian  war.     On  being 
complimented  for  his  fine  description  of  this  war,  he  replied, 
"If  only  it  had  been  better  conducted  I"     Pirckheimer  wrote 
on  the  Swiss  war.     The  histories  of  Charles  V.  and  of  the 
commencement  of  the   Reformation  have   been   most  ably 
penned  by  Sleidanus  von  Sleida.     Seckendorf  and  Chytraeus 
treated  of  the  diet  of  Augsburg  and  the  Augsburg  Confession  ; 
Spalatinus,  on  the  share  taken  by  Saxony  in  the  Reform- 
ation.    The  autobiographies  of  Gcetz  von  Berlichingen  and 
Sebastian  Schertlin  are  highly  worthy  of  remark,  as  well 
as  von  Reisner*s  Life  of  George  von  Frundsberg.     The  most 
important  histories  of  the   sixteenth  century  are  those  of 
I*aulus  Jovius,  Perizonius,  Surius,  and  the  celebrated  French- 
man  Thuanus  (da  Thou).      The  thirty  years*  war   found 


456  HISTORIES  AND  TRAVELS. 

numerous  commentators,  all  of  whom,  however,  are  silent  as  to 
the  most  important  facts.  The  principal  works  on  this  period 
are,  the  Annales  Ferdinandei,  by  Count  Khevenhiller;  the 
Swedish  War,  by  Chemnitz ;  the  Theatrum  Europseum,  com- 
menced by  Gottfried ;  the  history  Fersecutionis  Bohemiese,  the 
"  History  of  the  League,"  the  "Laurel  Wreath  of  War,"  Le 
Soldat  Suedois  of  Spanheim,  Burgi  Mars  Sueo-Germanicas, 
Arlanisaei  arma  Suecica,  Gualdo,  Lotichius,  Lundorpius, 
Piasecius,  Langwitzer,  and  Waffenberg,  who  surnamed  him- 
self the  d^rman  Florus.  On  Frederick  of  Bohemia,  see  £bla- 
nius  and  the  French  Memoirs  of  Fontenoy ;  on  Ferdinand  II., 
the  Status  Regni  Ferd.  and  Father  Lamormain  ;  on  Wallen- 
stein,  Priorato  and  the  Perduellonis  Chaos ;  on  Tilly,  Liborius 
Vulturnus ;  on  Gustavus  Adolphus,  Burgus,  Hallenberg,  and 
the  contemporary  Swedish  historians.  Yolmar  wrote  the 
Diary  of  the  Peace  of  Westphalia.  As  early  as  the  sixteenth 
century,  Hasenmiiller  had  written  a  History  of  the  Jesuits. 
There  were,  moreover,  innumerable  pamphleteers. 

The  greater  portion  of  historical  works  and  by  far  the  most 
important  among  them  were  the  provincial  histories.  On 
Austria,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  wrote  Wolfgang  Lazius, 
De  Roo,  Cuspinianus  (Spiesshammer),  Fugger,  the  author  of 
the  Austrian  Mirror  of  Chivalry,  Pesel,  that  of  the  Siege  of 

Vienna. On  Bavaria,  in  the  fourteenth  century,  Volcmar ; 

in  the  fifteenth,  Aventinus  (Thurnmayer),  Andreas  Pres- 
byter, an  unknown  chronicler  in  PoUingen,  an  annalist  of 
Tegernsee  and  Hoffman;  in  the  sixteenth,  Welser,  Hund, 
Baderus  (Bavaria  sacra);  in  the  seventeenth,  Brunner  and 
Adlzreiter  (Vervaux).  On  the  Tyrol,  in  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury, Goswin  ;  in  the  sixteenth,  Kirchmayr ;  during  the  thirty 
years'  war,  Burglechner,  (the  Tyrolean  Eagle,)  Maximilian, 
Count  von  Mohr,  and  two  brothers.  Barons  von  Wolkenstein. 
On  Swabia  appeared,  besides  Goldast's  Collection  of  Ger- 
man Historians,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  Lyrer's  fabulous  Swa- 
bian  Chronicle,  a  History  of  Augsburg  by  Gx>ssenprot,  and 
one  of  the  city  of  EUwangen  ;  in  the  sixteenth  century,  Cru- 
sius's  great  Swabian  Chronicle,  a  History  of  Augsburg  by 
Gosser,  another  of  the  city  of  Constance  by  Manlius,  and 

Bebel's  Praise  of  Swabia. On  Switzerland  wrote,  in  the 

fifteenth  century,  HaBmmerlin  and  Etterlyn,  Frickhard  pub- 
lished "  The  Struggle  with  the  Despots,"  Schilling,  his  ad- 


HISTORIES  AND  TRAVELS.  457 

mirable  account  of  the  Burgundian  War,  and  Justinger,  the 
Bernese  Chronicle,  continued  bj  Tschachtlan;  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  appeared  the  great  Chronicles  of  Tschudi  and 
Stumpf,  a  History  of  Berne  by  Eysat,  of  St.  Gall  by  Vadia- 
nus,  of  the  Orisons  by  Anhorn,  Pachaly,  and  Guler  von  Wei- 
neck,  of  Basle  by  Wurstisen,  and  a  Chronicle  by  Stettler. 

On  the  History  of  Franconia,  we  find,  in  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tary,  Riedefel's  Chronicle  of  Hesse,  Koenigshoven's  Alsace, 
Gensbein's  admirably  written  Limburg  Chronicle,  the  cele- 
brated account  of  the  Holy  City  of  Cologne,  printed  in  1499 ; 
and,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  the  good  Chronicle  of  Spires 
by  Lehmann,  and  an  excellent  work  upon  Treves  by  Browerus. 
In  respect  to  the  history  of  the  Netherlands,  appeared  the 
writings  of  Olivier  de  la  Marche,  Castellarius,  Heuterus  and 
Plancher  on  Burgundy,  those  of  de  Smet  and  Meyerus  on 
Flanders,  of  Haraeus  on  Brabant,  of  Snoi  and  Scriverius  on 
Holland.  The  war  of  liberation  in  the  Netherlands  has 
been  related  by  Bor,  Beydt,  Leo  ab  Aitzema,  Meteren,  van 

Hooft,  Strada,  Guicciardini,  and  Bentivoglio. Beninga, 

Ubbo  Emmius,  and  Siccama,  who  published  the  Laws  of  An- 
cient Friesland,  wrote  upon  that  country,  and,  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  Neocorus  published  a  History  of  the  Ditmarses.  The 
principal  works  upon  Lower  Saxony  were,  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  the  Chronicle  of  Hermann  Cornerus  of  Liibeck ;  in 
the  fifteenth,  Botho's  Chronicles  of  the  Sassen,  and  Albert 
Crantz's  Saxonia  et  Yandalia ;  in  the  sixteenth,  the  History 
of  Detmar  and  Reimar  by  Koch  of  Liibeck,  that  of  Cleve  by 
Teschenmacher,  that  of  Brunswick  in  the  fifteenth  century  ; 
that  of  Stadtwig  by  Propendyk  and  the  Liineburg  Chronicle. 
Pomarius,  Reineccius,  and  Meibomius  were  the  historiogra- 
phers of  Upper  Saxony ;  Albinus  and  Broutuff  wrote  upon 
Meissen  in  the  sixteenth  century,  Spangenberg  upon  Mans- 
feld,  Torquatus  and  Pomarius  (Baumgarten)  upon  Magde- 
burg.  In  the  fifteenth  century,  appeared  Von  Rothe's  ad- 
mirable Chronicle  of  Thuringia.  In  the  sixteenth  century, 
Eisenloher  of  Breslau  published  a  History  of  Silesia,  and  in 
the  seventeenth,  Schickfuss  and  Henelius.  On  Mecklenburg, 
see  Mylius's  History  in  the  sixteenth  century,  Hederich's 
History  of  Schwerin,  and  Lindenbrog's  of  Rostock.  On  Po- 
merania,  see  Kanzaw's  fine  Chronicle,  a  work  by  Bugen- 
hagen,  an  excellent  Chronicle  of  Stralsund  by  Berkmann ;  in 


458  HISTORIES  AND  TRAVELS. 

the  seventeenth  century,  the  History  of  Pomerania  by  Micne^ 
liu8.  On  Prussia,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  see  John  von  Lin- 
denblatt ;  in  the  sixteenth,  Runovius,  Caspar  Schiitz,  and 

Lucas  David. On  Livonia,  in  the  thirteenth  century,  Dit- 

leb  von  Altneke ;  in  the  sixteenth,  Riissowen  and  Hiasme ; 
in  the  seventeenth,  Strauch  and  Menius.  Kelch  wrote  a 
Chronicle  of  Dorpat  Petrejus's  History  of  Moskow  may 
also  be  included. 

The  German  travellers  who  enriched  Grermany  with  their 
descriptions  of  distant  parts  of  the  globe  next  come  under 
consideration.  The  Holy  Land  was  at  first  diligently  ex- 
plored. Rauwolf,  Baumgarten,  Breuning  von  Buchenbach, 
and  Porsius,  who  wrote  an  account  of  a  Persian  war  in  verse, 
penetrated,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  farther  eastward,  some 
of  them  as  far  as  Persia ;  in  the  seventeenth  century,  Gentius 
examined  all  the  libraries  in  Constantinople  and  for  the  first 
time  translated  Saadi's  Gulistan  from  the  Persian ;  there  were 
also  Olearius,  the  Holstein  ambassador,  who  crossed  Russia 
to  Persia,  Troilo,  and  Strauss.  Peter  Heyling  of  LUbeck 
penetrated  into  Abyssinia,  where  he  married  a  near  relative 
of  the  king,  and,  in  1647,  translated  the  Gospel  of  St.  John 
into  the  Amhar  tongue. At  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, the  Dutch  first  circumnavigated  the  world.  Van  Noort 
in  1598,  Schouten  in  1615,  etc.  They  were  accompanied  by 
other  Germans,  who  often  gave  an  account  of  their  voyages  to 
the  world,  as,  for  instance,  George  von  Spielberg  in  1614, 
and  Deker  of  Strassburg  in  1626.  These  voyages  round  the 
world  became,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  regular  commercial 
trips  to  the  East  Indies  ;  see,  for  instance,  those  of  Van  der 
Brock,  Matelief,  Bonteku,  Saar,  etc.  Numerous  other  Ger- 
man travellers,  Wurfbain  of  Nuremberg,  a  Baron  von  Man- 
delslohe  from  Mecklenburg,  von  Boy  of  Frankfurt,  Merklin, 
Kirwitzer,  Vogel,  and  Ziegenbalk  also  visited  the  East.  The 
German  Jesuits  also  penetrated  as  far  as  China,  where  they 
gained  many  converts,  and,  by  their  adroitness,  the  favour  of 
the  lord  of  the  Celestial  Empire.  The  first  of  that  order 
who  visited  China  was  Adam  Schall,  the  most  celebrated, 
Verbiest,  A.  D.  1668.  John  Gruber  published  an  account  of 
China  in  1661. 

One  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  great  western  dis- 
coverers was  Martin  Behaim  of  Nuremberg,  who  enjoyed 


HISTORIES  AND  TRAVELS.  45S 

^eat  repute  aa  a  mathematician  at  the  court  of  John,  king  of 
Portugal,  ira  proved  the  astrolabe  for  the  use  of  mariners,  and 
was  a  friend  of  Columbus,  whose  faith  in  the  existence  of  a 
continent  in  the  West  he  greatly  tended  to  strengthen.  Be- 
haim  made  voyages  of  discovery  to  the  African  coast,  was 
knighted  by  the  king  and  became  a  wealthy  landed  proprietor 
in  the  island  of  Fayal,  one  of  the  Azores,  by  a  marriage  with 
the  daughter  of  a  Dutchman,  Jobst  von  Hurter,  who  held  that 
island  in  fee,  and  founded  there  the  city  named  after  him, 
Villa  da  Horto.     One  of  Behaim's  globes  is  still  shown  at 

Nuremberg. The  new  continent  discovered  by  Columbus 

received  the  name  of  America  in  Germany,  from  a  certain 
Wal^seemiiller  of  Freiburg  in  the  Breisgau,  who  studied  geo- 
graphy at  St.  Die  in  Lorraine,  under  the  protection  of  the 
Duke  Rene,  and,  ignorant  of  the  existence  of  Columbus,  pub- 
lished four  voyages  of  Amerigo  Vespucci,  whose  name  ac- 
quired celebrity  as  that  of  the  discoverer  of  the  new  continent, 

before  the  Spaniards  became  aware  of  the  circumstance.* 

Shortly  after  the  discovery  of  the  sea  passage  to  the  East 
Indies,  and  after  that  of  America,  some  wealthy  Augsburg 
merchants  made  great  commercial  trips  thither.  The  Fuggers, 
as  early  as  1505,  sent  a  fleet  to  Calicut  in  the  East  Indies. 
In  1528,  the  Welsers  sent  another  to  explore  the  western 
coasts  of  America,  hitherto  uninvestigated,  and  their  servant, 
Dalfinger  of  Ulm,  became  the  founder  and  the  first  governor 
of  Valparaiso.  Bartholemy  Welser,  grandfather  to  the  ce- 
lebrated Philippina,  was  invested  by  the  emperor  Charles  V. 
With  the  eastern  coast  of  America,  in  return  for  a  loan  of 
twelve  tons  of  gold.  Dalfinger,  hearing  that  an  immense  pa- 
lace of  pure  gold  had  been  built  in  the  interior  of  the  country, 
went  in  search  of  it,  during  his  visit  exercised  unheard-of 
cruelties  upon  the  natives,  and  was,  on  his  return,  slain  by 
a  poisoned  arrow.  Almost  the  whole  of  his  followers  fell 
victims  to  the  Indians  and  to  the  climate.  The  Welser, 
nevertheless,  retained  possession  of  Chili  until  the  German 
colony  was  driven  out  by  the  Spanish. Philip  von  Hutten 

*  Vespucci  was  totally  ignorant  of  the  honour  that  had  been  paid  to  him. 
He  was  a  man  of  unpretending  character,  extremely  devoted  to  Colum- 
0^,  from  whose  merit  he  was  far  from  wishful  to  detract.  Waldsee- 
nmller  cannot  either  be  blamed,  for  he  had  never  heard  of  Columbus. — 
Bumboldt 


460  HISTORIES  AND  TRAVELS. 

of  Swabia  and  George  of  Spires,  whose  accounts  are  still  ex- 
tant, assisted  at  the  same  time  to  conquer  Mexico  ;  Schmidel 
of  Straubing,  who  published  his  extraordinary  adventures, 
aided  in  raising  Buenos  Ajres,  1535.  The  account  given  by 
the  Jesuit,  Strobel,  of  his  sojourn  among  the  Patagonians,  at 
the  southernmost  point  of  America,  is  equally  interesting. 
Marggravius  wrote  an  account  of  the  natural  wonders  of  the 
Brazils,  A.  d.  1644,  and  Appollonius  another  of  Florida  and 
Peru.  Fritz,  the  German  Jesuit,  drew  out,  in  1690,  an  ex- 
cellent map  of  the  river  Amazon,  where  he  established  the 
first  mission  of  his  order. 

The  study  of  geography  was,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  greatly 
promoted  by  Schweinheim  of  Mayence,  whose  charts  were 
published  [a.  d.  1478]  by  Bucking,  in  a  Ptolemsean  edition  at 
Rome.  They  are  the  first  printed  maps  on  record.  Martin 
Behaim's  globe  and  maps  of  the  world  were  anterior  to  the 
discovery  of  America.  The  sixteenth  century  boasted  of 
Apianus  (Bienewitz)  Gremma,  Loritus,  Sebastian  Miinster,  but 
above  all,  of  the  Dutchman,  Mercator,  who  introduced  the 
division  of  maps  into  degrees  ;  the  seventeenth,  of  Cluver 
of  Dantzig,  who  greatly  facilitated  the  study  of  ancient  geo- 
graphy. Merian,  the  indefatigable  engraver  of  Basle,  A.  d. 
1651,  who  published  copious  accounts  of  the  principal  coun- 
tries of  Europe,  adorned  with  cx>pper-plates,  was  the  best  topo- 
grapher of  the  age. 


FOURTH  PERIOD. 
MODERN  TIMES. 


PAKT  XX.    THE  AGE  OF  LOUIS  THE  FOURTEENTH. 
CCXXI.     Louis  the  Fourteenth. 

The  century  subsequent  to  the  peace  of  Westphalia  is  distin- 
guished as  the  age  of  Louis  the  Fourteenth,  that  monarch  being 
the  sun  by  which  it  was  illumined,  and  whose  splendour  was 
reflected  by  all  the  courts  of  Europe.     The  first  revolution 
against  the  middle  ages  was  accomplished  in  him,  by  his  sub- 
jection of  the  interests  of  the  aristocratic  and  inferior  classes 
beneath  his  despotic  rule.     He  said  with  truth  "  Tetat  c'est 
Dioi,"  for  entire  France,  the  country  and  the  people,  their  arms, 
and  even  their  thoughts,  were  his.     The  sole  object  of  the 
^hole  nation  was  to  do  the  will  of  their  sovereign ;  "  car  tel 
«8t  notre  plaisir"  was  the  usual  termination  to  his  commands. 
The  magnificent  chateau  of  Versailles,  the  abode  of  this  terres- 
trial deity,  was  peopled  with  mistresses  and  a  countless  troop 
of  parasites,  on  whom  the  gold,  drawn  from  the  impoverished 
and  oppressed  people,  was  lavished.     The  nobility  and  clergy, 
long  subject  to  their  lord  and  king,  shared  the  licence  of  the 
court  and  formed  a  numerous  band  of  courtiers,  whilst  men  of 
the  lower  classes,  whose  superior   parts  had  brought  them 
into  note,  were  attached  as  philosophers,  poets,  and  artists,  to 
the  court,  the  monarch  extending  his  patronage  to  every  art 
«ad  science  prostituted  by  flattery. 

The  French  court,  although  externally  Catholic,  was  solely 
guided  by  the  tenets  of  the  new  philosophy,  which  were 
spread  over  the  rest  of  the  world  by  the  sonnets  of  ana- 
creontic poets  and  the  bon-mots  of  court  savants.     This 


462  LOUIS  THE  FOURTEENTH. 

philosophy  set  forth  that  egotism  was  the  only  quality  natural 
to  man,  that  virtues  were  but  feigned,  or,  when  real,  ridi- 
culous. Freedom  from  the  ancient  prejudices  of  honour  or 
religion,  and  carelessness  in  the  choice  of  means  for  the  attain- 
ment of  an  object,  were  regarded  as  proofs  of  genius.  Im- 
morality was  the  necessary  accompaniment  of  talent.  Virtue 
implied  stupidity;  the  grossest  licence,  the  greatest  wit. 
Vice  became  the  mode,  was  publicly  displayed  and  admired. 
The  first  duty  imposed  upon  knighthood,  the  protection  of 
innocence,  was  exchanged  for  seduction,  adultery,  or  nightly 
orgies,  and  the  highest  ambition  of  the  prince,  the  courtier,  or 
the  officer  was  to  enrich  the  chronique  scandaleuse  with  his 
name.  A  courtier's  honour  consisted  in  breaking  his  word, 
in  deceiving  maidens,  and  cheating  creditors,  in  contracting 
enormous  debts  and  in  boasting  of  their  remaining  unpaid, 
etc. ;  nor  was  this  demoralization  confined  to  private  life. 
The  cabinet  of  Versailles,  in  its  treatment  of  all  the  Eu- 
ropean powers,  followed  the  rules  of  this  modern  philosophy, 
as  shown  in  the  conduct  of  the  Parisian  cavalier  towards 
the  citizens,  their  wives  and  daughters,  by  the  practice  of 
rudeness,  seduction,  robbery,  and  every  dishonourable  art.  It 
treated  laws,  treaties,  and  truth  with  contempt,  and  ever  in- 
sisted upon  its  own  infallibility. 

The  doctrine  that  a  prince  can  do  no  wrong  had  a  ma- 
gical effect  upon  the  other  sovereigns  of  Europe ;  Louis 
XIV.  became  their  model,  and  the  object  to  which  most  of 
them  aspired,  the  attainment,  like  him,  of  deification  upon 
earth.  Even  Germany,  impoverished  and  weakened  by  her 
recent  struggle,  was  infected  with  this  universal  mania,  and 
[a.  d.  1656]  John  George  II.  began  to  act  the  part  of  a 
miniature  Louis  XIV.,  in  starving  and  desolate  Saxony. 
A  splendid  guard,  a  household  on  a  more  extensive  scale, 
sumptuous  flutes,  grandes  battues,  lion-hunts,  theatricals, 
Italian  operas,  (a  new  mode,  for  which  singers  were,  at  great 
expense,  imported  from  Italy,)  regattas  and  fireworks  on  the 
Elbe,  the  formation  of  expensive  cabinets  of  art  and  of  mu- 
seums, were  to  raise  the  elector  of  Saxony  on  a  par  with  the 
great  sovereign  of  France,  and,  in  1660,  the  state  becoming  in 
consequence  bankrupt,  the  wretched  Estates  were  compelled 
to  wrest  the  sums  required  to  supply  the  pleasures  of  the 
prince  from  his  suffering  people.     To  him  succeeded  [a.  d. 


LOUIS  THB  FOURTEENTH.  463 

1680]  John  George  III.,  who  spent  all  he  possessed  on  his 
troops;  then  [▲.  d.  1691]  John  George  IV.,  who  reigned 
until  1694,  and  whose  mistress,  Sibylla  von  Neidschiitz,  reign- 
ed conjointly  with  her  mother  over  the  country  and  plun- 
dered the  people,  whilst  his  minister,  Count  von  Hoymb, 

openly  carried  on  a  system  of  robbery  and  extortion. In 

Bavaria,  [a.  d.  1679,]  Ferdinand  Maria  followed  the  example 
of  Saxony.  The  miseries  endured  by  the  people  during  the 
thirty  years'  war  were  forgotten  by  the  elector,  who  erected 
Schleisheim  (Little  Versailles)  and  Nymphenburg  (Little  Mar- 
ly), and  gave  theatrical  entertainments  and  fetes,  according  to 
the  French  mode. He  lived  in  most  extraordinary  splen- 
dour. Two  hundred-weight  and  nineteen  pounds  of  gold 
were  expended  on  the  embroidery  alone  of  his  bed  of  state. 
His  consort,  Adelheid,  a  daughter  of  Victor  Amadeus  of  Sa- 
voy, an  extremely  bigoted  princess,  surpassed  his  extrava- 
gance in  her  gifts  to  the  churches.  She  long  remained  child- 
less, and,  on  the  birth  of  that  traitor  to  Germany,  Maximilian 
Emanuel,  caused  the  celebrated  Theatin  church  at  Munich  to 
be  built  by  an  Italian  architect.  She  died  before  its  comple- 
tion, and  it  was  consequently  finished  on  a  less  magnificent 
scale  than  the  original  plan. 

Ancient  Spanish  dignity  was  still  maintained  in  the  old  im- 
perial house.  Ferdinand  III.  closed  the  wounds  inflicted  by  the 
thirty  years'  war  and  zealously  endeavoured  at  the  diet,  held 
at  Nuremberg,  [a.  d.  1653,]  to  regulate  the  affairs  of  the  em- 
pire, the  imperial  chamber,  etc. ;  but  life  could  no  longer  be 
breathed  into  the  dead  body  of  the  state,  and  no  emperor, 
since  Ferdinand,  has  since  presided  in  person  over  the  diet. 

This  monarch  fell  sick  and  died  shortly  after  of  fright, 

occasioned  by  the  fall  of  one  of  his  guards,  who  had  snatched 
up  the  youngest  prince  in  order  to  save  him  from  a  fire  that 
had  burst  out  in  the  emperor's  sick  chamber.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son,  Leopold  *^  with  the  thick  lip,"  who  was 
then  in  his  eighteenth  year.  This  prince,  whose  principal 
amusement  during  his  childhood  had  been  the  erection  of 
miniature  altars,  the  adornment  of  figures  and  pictures  of 
saints,  etc.,  had,  under  the  tuition  of  the  Jesuit  Neidhart, 
grown  up  a  melancholy  bigot,  stifi^,  unbending,  punctilious, 
and  grave,  devoid  of  life  or  energy. 

The  advantages  gained  by  iSuis  XIV.,  by  the  treaty  of 


n 


464  LOUIS  THE  FOURTEENTH. 


Westphalia,  merely  inspired  him  with  a  desire  for  the  acqui- 
sition of  still  greater.  He  even  speculated  upon  gaining  pos- 
session of  the  imperial  throne,  and,  with  that  intent,  bribed 
several  of  the  princes,  the  elector,  Charles  Louis,  of  the  Pfalz, 
(who  was  at  that  time  enraged  at  the  loss  of  the  Upper  Pfalz, 
and,  consequently,  lent  a  willing  ear  to  the  perfidious  counsels 
of  France,)  with  a  gift  of  110,000  dollars,  and  Bavaria,  Co- 
logne, and  Majence  with  sums  similar  in  amount.  SaiLony 
and  Brandenburg,  however,  withstood  the  temptation,  and  the 
German  crown  was  rescued  from  the  disgrace  of  adorning  the 
brow  of  a  foreign  despot,  of  Germany's  most  inveterate  foe, 
to  be  placed  on  Leopold's  peruke,  a  miserable  substitute  for 
the  golden  locks  of  the  Hohenstaufen. 

Louis,  in  revenge,  formed  [a.  d.  1658]  an  anti-imperial 
confederacy,  the  Lower  Rhenish  alliance.     John  Philip  von 
Schoenborn,  elector  of  Mayence  and  archchancellor  of  the 
empire,  and  his  influential  minister,  Boineburg,  who,  bribed 
by  every  court,  played  a  double  game,  were  paiticularly  ac- 
tive in  forwarding  his  views,  and  conscientiously  compensated 
France  for  the  part  they  had  taken  in  the  election  of  the  em- 
peror, by  the  Rhenish  confederation.  The  elector  of  Cologne, 
the  bishop  of  Munster,  the  princes  of  Brunswick-Luneburg 
and  Hesse-Cassel  were  equally  regardless  of  their  honour,  and 
with  Eberhard  of  WUrtemberg  (notwithstanding  the  opposi- 
tion of  his  patriotic  provincial  Estates)  countenanced  the  pre- 
datory schemes  of  the  French  monarch.     The  conduct  of  the 
Guelphs  at  that  period  was  still  more  notoriously  base.     The 
sons  of  George  von  LUneburg,  who  had  succeeded  him  in 
Calenberg  and  Goettingen,  and  their  uncle,  Frederick,  [a.  d. 
1648,]  in  Liineburg-Celle,  divided  these  provinces  between 
them,  the  eldest,  Christian  Louis,  taking  Liineburg-Celle,  the 
second,  George  William,  Calenberg- Goettingen.     The  latter 
was  generally  out  of  the  country,  in  Italy  or  in  France,  where 
he  imbibed  all  the  vices  of  the  court  of  Versailles.     Both  the 
brothers  were  drawn  over  to  the  Gallo-papal  party  by  their 
third  brother,  John  Frederick,  who  made  a  public  profession  of 
Catholicism  at  Assisi  and  held  a  conference  with  lus'elder  bro- 
thers [a.  d.  1652]  in  Perugia.    Li  1665,  he  came  to  Germany 
and  received  Hanover,  in  exchange,  from  George  William. 
The  Catholic  form  of  service  was  instantly  re-established.    The 
rianoverian  Estates  were  dismissed  with  the  words,  "  I  am 


LOUIS  THE  FOUETEENTH.  465 

emperor  in  my  territories."  He  received  a  monthly  pension 
from  France  of  10,000  dollars.  The  fourth  brother,*  Ernest 
Augustus,  who  afterwards  succeeded  to  the  whole  of  the  fa- 
mily possessions,  was  the  only  one  faithful  to  the  imperial 
cause.  The  object  of  the  Rhenish  alliance  was  to  hinder  the 
emperor  from  interfering  with  the  projects  of  France  upon  the 
Spanish  ^Netherlands,  and  with  those  of  Sweden  upon  Branden- 
burg. The  attention  of  the  youthful  emperor  was,  moreover, 
also  at  the  instigation  of  France,  occupied  with  a  fresh  attack 
on  the  part  of  Turkey.  Louis  had  thus  spread  his  net  on  all 
sides. 

His  first  acquisition  was  a  portion  of  the  Netherlands,  which 
he  annexed  [a.  d.  1653]  to  France.    The  war  between  France 
and  Spain  had  been  renewed  with  great  vigour  in  1653.    The 
great  Conde,  at  that  time  at  strife  with  the  still  omnipotent 
minister,  Mazarin,  and  supported  by  the  Duke  of  Lorraine, 
had  rebelled,  had  been  defeated  by  Turenne,  and  had  fled  to 
I  the  Netherlands,  where  he  fought  at  the  head  of  the  Spaniards 
;  (as  once  Charles  de  Bourbon)  against  his  countrymen.     His 
invasion  of  Picardy  was  checked  by  Turenne.     Spain  robbed 
herself  of  a  faithful  confederate  in  Charles  of  Lorraine,  who 
lived  riotously  at  Brussels,  where  he  gained  such  popularity  as 
to  excite  the  jealousy  of  the  Spanish  authorities ;  this  greatly 
diverted  him,  and  he  purposely  gave  them  offence,  upon  which 
Count  Fuendelsagna,  forgetful  of  the  fidelity  with  which  he 
;  had  long  served  against  France,  caused  him  to  be  arrested 
and  to  be  sent  to  Spain,  A.  d.  1654.     Louis  instantly  rose  in 
his  defence,  attacked  the  Netherlands  and  entered  into  alli- 
ance with  Cromwell,  who  was  then  at  the  head  of  the  English 
;  republic,  against  Spain.     Conde  was  victorious  at  Valen- 
ciennes, A.  D.  1656,  but  the  empire  offered  no  aid  to  the 
Netherlands.      The  French  besieged   Dunkirk  (which   had 
fallen  into  their  hands  in  1646  and  had  been  again  ceded  by  the 
treaty  of  Westphalia)  for  England,  as  the  price  of  Cromwell's 
alliance  ;  Conde  attempted  to  relieve  the  city,  but  was  sur- 
prised and  defeated  by  Turenne  in  the  dams,  a.  d.  1658. 

*  When  a  poor  prince,  he  married  [a.  d.  16581  Sophia,  the  daughter 
of  the  winter-king,  Frederick,  and  of  the  beautiful  Elisabeth  Stuart, 
whose  brother,  Charles  I.>  was  beheaded.  And  yet  Ernest  Augustus 
ii^erited  the  whole  of  the  possessions  of  his  childless  brothers,  and  his 
son,  George,  shortly  afterwards  mounted  the  throne  of  England. 

VOL.    II.  2  H 


TOb  LOUIS  THE  FOURTEENTH. 

The  treaty  of  the  Pyrenees  followed,  by  which  Arras,  BTesdin,  1 
and  other  towns  were  ceded  to  France,  the  Infanta,  Maria  I 
Theresa,  of  Spain  was  given  in  marriage  to  Louis,  ^w^ith  a] 
dowry  of  three  hundred  thousand  crowns  of  gold,  and  the 
Duke  of  Lorraine,  who  naturally  ever  afterwards  sided  with 
France,  was  restored  to  liberty.  Dunkirk  fell  to  England, 
but,  on  Cromwell's  death,  was  purchased  by  Louis  from 
Charles  IL  and  strongly  garrisoned  with  French  ;  and  Dun- 
kirk,* as  the  name  proves,  a  genuinely  German  town,  the 
western  frontier  town  on  the  Northern  Ocean,  with  its  splen- 
did harbour,  was  thus  lost  to  Germany  and  sold  by  one  foreign 
sovereign  to  another.  ^ 

Li  Sweden,  the  Queen  Christina,  a  voluptuous  and  fantas- 
tical woman,  had,  from  vanity  and  a  love  of  eccentricity, 
turned  Catholic,  voluntarily  abdicated  [a.  d.  1654]  in  favour 
of  Charles  Gustavus,  prince  of  Pfalz-Zweibriicken-Birkenfeld, 
who  had,  during  the  thirty  years'  war,  acquired  great  popu- 
larity among  the  Swedes,  and  fixed  her  residence  at  Rome. 
Oh.  reaching  Innspruck,  on  her  way  thither,  she  unblushingly 
made  a  public  profession  of  Catholicism.  She  entered  Rome 
in  a  triumphal  procession,  borne  in  a  sumptuous  litter,  accom- 
panied by  the  archdukes,  Ferdinand  Charles  and  Sigmund 
Francis,  on  horseback ;  the  papal  legate,  who  had  come  to 
her  rencontre  in  order  to  welcome  her  to  the  bosom  of  the 
holy  church,  was  an  adventurer  from  Hamburg,  named  Lucas 
Holstein.  She  afterwards  laid  her  crown  and  sceptre  on  the 
shrine  of  the  Virgin  at  Loretto,  observing  of  her  crown,  as  she 
did  so,  '<Ne  mi  bisogna,  ne  mi  basta."  On  the  death  of 
Charles  Gustavus  she  attempted  to  reascend  the  Swedish 
throne. 

Charles  Gustavus,  ambitious  of  earning  a. fame  equal  to 
that  of  his  great  predecessor,  Gustavus  Adolphus,  immediately 
on  his  accession  declared  war  against  Poland,  but  had  scarcely 
landed  ere  the  Russians,  under  their  Grand-duke  Michael,  in- 
vaded Livonia.     Dantzig  resisted  the  Swedes,  whilst  Riga, 

*  The  Diineny  or  dams,  are  high,  broad  walls  of  sand  that  protect  the 
damp  bank  against  the  violence  of  the  waves.  Stakes  are  nin  into  the 
ground,  and  osiers,  branches,  and  wisps  of  straw  are  woven  between 
Uiem.  The  sea-sand  gradually  settles  in  the  interstices,  and  a  second 
layer  is  then  raised.  Sea-grass,  which  quickly  springs  up  and  binds  the 
sand  with  its  roots,  is  then  sown  on  the  wall  top. 


LOUIS  THE  FOUETEBNTH.  467 

the  natural  maritime  city  of  Poland,  with   which  she  was 
closely  allied  by  her  material  interests,  made  a  valiant  de* 
fence   against  the  Russians,  who,  being  finally  compelled  to 
raise  the  siege,  revenged  their  disgrace  by  treating  the  coun- 
try  people  with  the  most  atrocious  cruelty.     Women  and 
cfajldren  were  roasted  alive,  mutilated,  and  spitted  on  pikes, 
etc.      Courland  was  garrisoned  by  Charles  Gustavus,  who 
advanced  into  Poland.     Frederick  William,  elector  of  Bran- 
denburg, actuated  by  a  hope  of  gaining  possession  of  Swedish 
Pomerania,  at  first  aided  Casimir  of  Poland,  but  fortune  no 
sooner  declared  in  favour  of  Sweden,  than  the  wily  elector 
ranged  himself  on  that  side  and  assisted  Charles  Gustavus  in 
defeating  the  Poles  near  Warsaw,  immediately  after  which 
he  again  offered  peace  and  his  alliance  to  Casimir  on  con- 
dition of  that  monarch's  relinquishing  his  feudal  right  over 
the  duchy  of  Prussia.     A  treaty  was  concluded  [a.  d.  1667] 
to  this  effect  at  Welau,  and  the  elector,  in  order  to  secure  him- 
self from  the  vengeance  of  the  Swedes,  incited  the  Danes  and 
Dutch  to  attack  them  and  entered  into  alliance  with  the  em- 
peror, Leopold,  who  despatched  General  Montecuculi  to  his 
aid,  and  the  new  allies  took  possession  of  Swedish  Pomerania, 
whilst  Charles  Gustavus  crossed  the  Belt  on  the  ice,  (two  com- 
panies alone  were  drowned,)  besieged  Copenhagen  and  com- 
pelled Denmark  to  sign  a  treaty  of  peace,  [a.  d.  1658,]  which, 
on  his  return,  was  instantly  infringed,  Denmark  finding  a 
new  and  potent  ally  in  Holland,  which  beheld  the  naval  power 
of  Sweden  with  jealousy,  and  whose  victorious  fleet,  com- 
manded by  de  Ruyter,  forced  its  way  through  the  Sound  and 
almost  annihilated  that  of  Sweden  under  the  eye  of  the  king, 
who  viewed  the  engagement  from  the  fortress  of  Kronen - 
burg.      This  disaster  proved  fatal  to  him.     The  treaty  of 
Oliva  was  concluded  shortly  after  his  death,  A.  d.  1660.     The 
terms  of  this  treaty  were,  notwithstanding,  favourable  to  Swe- 
den and  prove  the  respect  universally  felt  for  her  power, 
Livonia,  Esthonia,  and  (Esel  remaining  in  her  possession,  and 
the  great  elector  being   compelled  to    relinquish   Swedish 
Pomerania.     Charles  Gustavus  had  also  succeeded  in  separ- 
ating the  Gottorp  branch  of  the  Danish  (Oldenburg)  house 
from  the  royal  line  of  Denmark.     Christian  Albert,  duke  of 
Schleswig-Holstein,  formerly  vassal  to  his  cousin,  the  Danish 
monarch,  raised  himself,  with  Sweden's  aid,  to  sovereign  power. 

2  H  2 


468  THE  SWISS  PEASANT  WAR. 

The  Rhenish  alliance,  against  which  Frederick  William 
had  energetically  and  publicly  protested,  was  invalidated  by 
the  conclusion  of  peace.  Frederick  William,  in  his  manifesto, 
called  upon  the  Germans  to  protect  Poland  *'  as  one  of  the 
bulwarks  of  the  empire."  His  actions,  however,  little  ac- 
corded with  his  words — he  aided  to  ruin  that  country  for  the 
sake  of  a  trilling  advantage. 

France,  increasing  in  her  endeavours  to  disturb  the  peace 
of  Germany,  again  incited  Turkey  to  the  attack,  and  [a.  d. 
1663]  the  grand  visir,  Kiuprili,  penetrated  as  far  as  Olmutz 
in  Moravia,  laying  the  country  waste  as  he  advanced.  For- 
tune had,  however,  given  the  emperor  an  admirable  general 
in  Montecuculi,  by  whom  the  Turkish  army  was  completely 
routed  in  a  pitched  battle  near  St.  Gotthard,  a.  d.  1664. 
Montecuculi's  favourite  saying  was,  "  Three  things  alone  in- 
sure victory,  gold,  gold,  gold ! "  and  by  this  means  he  cer- 
tainly succeeded  in  enchaining  her  to  his  banner. 

CCXXII.   The  Swiss  Peasant  War. 

The  thirty  years'  war  had  excited  the  passions  of  the  Swiss 
without  producing  any  immediate  or  open  demonstration. 
The  wealth  brought  for  security  into  the  Alps  by  the  innu- 
merable German  refugees  had  introduced  luxuries  among  the 
mountaineers,  which  were  favoured  by  the  more  speculative 
inhabitants  of  the  cities,  who  lent  the  peasant  money  on  his 
land,,  and,  by  making  him  their  debtor,  and,  consequently, 
personally  dependent,  destroyed  his  political  liberty.  On  the 
termination  of  the* thirty  years'  war  and  the  consequent  return 
of  the  German  refugees  to  their  native  country,  money  became 
gradually  more  scarce,  and  the  situation  of  the  peasantry  more 
deplorable.  Jacob  Wagenmann  of  Sursee  wrote  at  this  pe- 
riod, "  consequently,  driven  to  despair,  war  appeared  to  them 
to  offer  the  only  means  by  which  they  could  at  once  and  com- 
pletely wipe  off  their  debts.  A  pretext  was  not  long  wanting. 
They  declared  that  the  provincial  governors  were  too  severe, 
which  was  sometimes  the  case,  and  that  the  laws  favoured  the 
interests  of  their  rulers  more  than  justice  and  the  public  weal." 
The  people  of  Entlibuch,  who  were  dependent  on  Lucerne, 
and  those  of  the  Emmenthal,  who  were  subservient  to  Berne, 
were,  moreover,  jealous  of  the  privileges  enjoyed  by  their 


THE  SWISS  PEASANT  WAR.  469 

nearest  neighbours  in  Unterwalden  and  Schwyz,  to  which  they 
claimed,  o^ng  to  their  similarity  in  descent  and  occupation 
and  their  close  vicinity,  an  equal  right.  The  prevalence  of 
this  feeling  among  the  people  was  apparent  on  the  first  ap- 
pearance of  the  Entlihuch  insurgents,  who  were  headed  hy 
three  athletic  men,  dressed  in  the  ancient  costume,  as  Walther 
Furst,  Stauffacher,  and  Melchthal. 

The  revolt  hroke  out  [a.  d.  1 653 J  in  Entlihuch,  on  Em- 
menegger's  protest  against  the  depreciation  of  the  small  coin, 
and  on  the  threat  of  Krebsinger,  the  president  of  the  council  of 
Berne,  ^'  that  he  would  place  five  hundred  invulnerable  Italians 
on  the  necks  of  the  rebellious  peasantry."     The  outrages  com- 
mitted by  the  soldiery  during  the  thirty  years'  war  were  still 
fresh  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  the  impression  produced 
by  this  threat  is  therefore  easily  conceivable.     The  first  out- 
burst of  their  rage  was  vented  on  the  Lucerne  bailiffs,  whom 
they  expelled  the  valley.     They  then  flew  to  arms  and  struck 
such  terror  into  the  citizens  that  messengers  of  peace  were 
instantly  sent  to  recall  them  to  obedience  and  to  represent  to 
them  that  "  their  authority  was  from  God,"  to  which  Krum- 
menacher,  a  powerful-looking  peasant,  growled  out  in  reply, 
"  Yes,  it  is  from  God,  when  you  act  justly,  but  from  the  devil 
when  you  act  with  injustice."     The  city  made  some  conces- 
sions, and  a  reconciliation  took  place.     The  aristocracy  of 
Berne,  ever  on  the  alert,  had,  meanwhile,  prepared  for  war, 
and,  by  their  over-caution,  drew  upon  themselves  the  cala- 
mity they  sought  to  avoid  ;  the  Bernese  arriere-ban  refusing 
to  take  the  field  against  the  people  of  Entlihuch,  and  their  dis- 
obedience affording  the  Bernese  peasantry  an  opportunity  for 
revolt.     Two  parties,  the  Moderates,  {Linden^)  and  the  Radi- 
cals, {Harten^)  sprang  up  ;  the  latter  formed  themselves  into 
a  provincial  assembly,  and  placed  Niklaus  Leuenberg,  a  man  of 
great  eloquence,  at  their  head.    The  aristocracy  of  Basle  now 
committed  a  blunder  similar  to  that  of  Berne  by  sending  five 
hundred  soldiers  across  the  Jura  to  Aarau.  Their  numbers,  in- 
creased by  rumour,  spread  terror  through  the  country ;  the  Aar- 
gau  rose  in  self-defence  and  gained  an  easy  victory.  Berne  was, 
notwithstanding,  restored  to  tranquillity  by  the  intervention 
of  the  copfederation.     Some  disturbances  also  took  place  in 
Solothurn,  where  the  government  willingly  made  concessions. 
Basle  granted  the   demands  of  the  insurgent  peasantry  of 


470  THE  SWISS  PEASANT  WAR. 

Liestaly  and  peace  and  confidence  were  apparently  restored  on 
all  sidea. 

The  contest,  however,  broke  out  afresh.  Wagenmann,  the 
peasants'  foe,  relates,  that  "the  village  magnates  of  Entlibuch, 
whose  authority  had  lasted  two  months,  resolved  not  to  part 
with  the  power  they  had  gained.  The  people  of  Willisau  de- 
clared that  they  had  been  unable,  owing  to  the  trumpets  hav- 
ing been  sounded  purposely  at  the  moment  when  the  treaty 
was  read,  clearly  to  comprehend  the  purport  of  its  fifth  article, 
by  which  all  offices  were  placed  in  the  gift  of  the  government,** 
and  a  proclamation  published  at  the  same  time  by  the  deliber- 
ative council,  in  which  the  peasants  were  designated  as  rebels, 
and  charged  with  the  whole  blame,  rendered  them  extremely 
distrustful  of  the  sincerity  of  their  governments  in  subscrib- 
ing to  the  articles  of  peace,  and  the  aristocracy  in  all  the  can- 
tons being  apparently  ranged  in  opposition  to  them,  the  whole 
of  the  peasantry  confederated  and  invited  their  brethren  in 
all  the  cantons,  without  reference  to  religion,  to  assemble  on 
the  2drd  of  April,  1653,  in  the  forest  of  Sumis  in  the  canton 
of  Berne.  Leuenberg  was,  against  his  will,  compelled  to 
preside  over  the  meeting.  Their  first  object,  ai)  alliance  with 
the  ancient  confederated  peasantry  in  the  original  cantons, 
failed  ;  the  haughty  peasants  of  Uri  refusing  to  have  aught 
in  common  with  the  herdsmen  of  Entlibuch.  Leuenberg's 
despatches  were  scornfully  returned. 

The  dread  of  the  arrival  of  foreign  troops  now  revived  with 
redoubled  force,  and  the  apprehensions  of  the  peasantry  being 
strengthened  by  the  discovery  of  some  grenades  on  board  a 
vessel,  laden  with  iron-ware,  seized  by  them  on  the  Aar,  they 
took  up  arms,  in  order  to  defend  themselves  against  their 
imaginary  foes. 

The  governments,  hereupon,  prepared  in  earnest  for  op- 
position, and,  taking  advantage  of  a  letter  addressed  by  the 
French  ambassador  to  Leuenberg,  in  which  he  declared  him 
responsible  in  case  the  Austrians  seized  the  opportunity,  pre- 
sented by  the  disturbed  state  of  the  country,  to  cross  the  fron- 
tier, converted  the  question,  until  now  simply  internal  and 
aristocratic,  into  an  external  and  patriotic  one,  and  designated 
the  peasants,  not  as  foes  to  the  aristocracy,  but  as  traitors  to 
their  country.  The  peasants,  half-conscious  of  being  outwit- 
ted, were,  consequently,  more  highly  infuriated,  and  war  was . 


THE  SWISS  PEASANT  WAR.  471 

rendered  inevitable  bj  the  formidable  preparations  made  by 
Berne,  Liuceme,  Basle,  and  Zurich,  to  which  the  peasantry  on 
the  lake  caused  great  alarm. 

A  stratagem,  favoured  by  chance,  opened  the  passes  occu- 
pied by  the  peasantry  to  the  government  troops  and  frus- 
trated their  plan  of  warfare.    The  steward  of  a  Bernese  noble, 
whom   curiosity  had  led  too  close  to  the  scene  of  oper- 
ations, was  taken  prisoner  by  the  peasants,  and,  by  accident, 
overheard   a   conference  between  Leuenberg  and  his  com- 
mander-in-chief, Schybi,  and,  on  regaining  his  liberty,  laid 
Schybi's  well-schemed  plan  of  battle  before  the  Zurichers. 
About  six  thousand  Bernese  troops,  coming  from  Yaud,  be- 
ing stopped  by  Leuenberg  at  the  pass  near  Giimmenen,  Diir- 
heim,  the  Bernese  provincial  governor,  craftily  spread  a  re- 
port, that  Ijeuenberg  and  the  whole  of  his  troops  had  embraced 
Catholicism  and  that  the  sole  object  of  the  insurgents  was  to 
betray  the  Bernese  to  the  pope.     The  Protestant  peasants 
guarding  the  pass,  terrified  at  this  rumour,  fled,  and  the  pass 
was  instantly  occupied  by  the  Bernese.     The  government  of 
Lucerne,  with  equal  subtlety,  retained  their  hold  over  their 
bigoted  Catholic  subjects  by  publishing  a  manifesto  from  the 
clergy,  in  which  the  war  against  the  insurgent  peasantry  was 
declared  agreeable  to  the  Divine  will. 

General  WerdmUller  of  Zurich  at  length  took  the  field  at 
the  head  of  some  well-disciplined  troops,  with  a  fine  body  of 
cavalry  and  a  park  of  artillery,  against  the  numerous  but  ill- 
armed  peasantry.     At  Ottmarsingen,  in  the  vicinity  of  Lenz- 
burg,  he  came  up  with  a  body  of  about  fifteen  hundred  armed 
insurgents,  posted  in  a  wood,  and  strongly  barricadoed.  Werd- 
miiller  halted  his  troops,  and,  some  of  the  peasant  leaders 
coming  forward,  he  demanded,  "Why  they  had  taken  up 
arms?"  They  replied  that,  "peace  was  their  greatest  desire; 
that  they  would  instantly  lay  down  their  arms  on  the  restora- 
tion of  the  privileges  and  rights  they  had  enjoyed  for  a  cen- 
tury past,  and  of  which  they  had  been  deprived,  and  that  they 
would  oppose  violence  by  violence.     Death  could  happen  but 
once!"  A  pitched  battle  was  fought  a  few  days  afterwards  at 
Wohlenschwyl.     The  peasantry  defended  the  burning  village 
^nder  a  heavy  cannonade,  until  late  at  night,  when  both 
parties  retreated  to  their  camps.     The  peasantry,  however, 
perceiving  their  inabiUty  to  cope  with  regular  troops  and  ar- 


472  THE  SWISS  PEASANT  WAB. 

tiUery  acceded  [a.  d.  1653]  to  the  terms  of  peace  proposed  bj 
the  general,  which  deceitfully  provided  that  ''  any  thing  re- 
lating further  to  the  government  or  to  their  subjects,  should, 
in  ddault  of  an  amicable  arrangement,  be  regulated  by  the 
kw."  This  article  inspired  the  peasantry  with  the  vain  hope 
of  an  amicable  adjustment  of  differences,  whilst  it  reserved  to 
the  cities  the  power  of  refusing,  and  also  that  of  referring  to 
the  law,  that  is,  to  the  penal  code.  The  peasants  were  at  first 
treated  with  great  apparent  friendship,  and  Leuenberg  dined 
in  public  with  the  general.  Vengeance,  nevertheless,  did  not 
tarry. 

The  peasantry  of  Entlibuch,  mistrusting  the  peace,  advised 
their  Bernese  brethren  not  to  accede  to  the  terms,  and,  find- 
ing themselves  unheeded,  withdrew.  Although  surrounded 
on  every  side,  they  defended  themselves  in  Entlibuch  with 
most  unflinching  bravery,  but  were  finally  compelled  to  yield. 
Their  leaders  were  thrown  into  prison. 

Some  of  the  Bernese  peasantry  having  marched  to  the  as- 
sistance of  their  brethren  in  Entlibuch,  but  without  taking 
part  in  the  contest,  the  government  seized  the  opportunity  to 
infringe  the  treaty  of  Wohlenschwyl  and  to  take  their  revenge 
on  the  Bernese,  who  had  been  greatly  weakened  by  the  defeat 
of  the  people  of  Entlibuch,  and,  in  order  to  strike  them  with 
terror,  von  Erlach  marched  with  a  considerable  force  from 
Berne  to  Wangen,  burning,  murdering,  plundering,  etc.,  like 
a  horde  of  barbarians.  Leuenberg  instantly  wrote  a  letter  to 
Werdmiiller,  in  which  he  called  upon  him  to  maintain  the 
treaty  and  charged  him  and  Erlach  with  the  crime  of  renew- 
ing the  war.  He  then  took  the  field  with  five  thousand  Em- 
menthal  peasants  against  Erlach,  but,  ill-armed  and  over- 
powered by  numbers,  they  suffered  a  total  defeat,  and  he  was 
shortly  afterwards  betrayed  by  a  peasant,  who  was  conse- 
quently pardoned,  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies. 

Werdmiiller  vainly  endeavoured  to  interpret  the  treaty, 
concluded  by  him  at  Wohlenschwyl,  in  the  peasants'  favour  ; 
the  city-councils  wer  intent  upon  revenge,  and  a  fearful  tri- 
bunal was  held  in  every  place  where  the  peasants  had  been 
captured.  Torture,  hanging,  beheading,  quartering,  splitting 
of  tongues  and  ears,  slavery  on  the  Venetian  galleys,  long 
imprisonment  and  hard  labour,  were  the  modes  of  punish- 
ment resorted  to.     Basle,  although  exposed  to  little  danger 


HOLLAND  IN  DISTRESS.  473 

daring  the  war,  acted  with  the  greatest  severity,  and  Solo- 
thorn  with  the  greatest  lenity  intermixed  with  baseness,  the 
lives  of  the  peasantry  of  that  canton  being  spared  on  pay- 
ment of  an  enormous  fine.  The  council  of  Solothurn,  ever 
greedy  of  gain,  also  entered  at  that  time  into  a  separate  alli- 
ance with  France.  The  popular  leaders  were  treated  with 
peculiar  barbarity.  The  gallant  Schybi,  a  handsome  athletic 
man,  endured  the  severest  torture  without  a  murmur.  Leu- 
enberg's  head  was  stuck,  with  the  letter  of  confederation,  on 
the  gallows,  and  his  quartered  body  was  hung  up  in  four  parts 
of  the  country. 

The  treaty  of  Wohlenschwyl  was  partially  recognised  by  a 
court  of  arbitration  formed  by  the  confederation,  and  a  few 
concessions  were  assured  to  the  peasantry ;  the  different  go- 
vernments, nevertheless,  delayed  their  confirmation  under 
various  pretexts.  The  patience  of  the  Entlibuch  peasantry 
was  at  length  exhausted,  and  the  three  Tells,  the  men  who, 
on  the  first  rising  of  the  people  of  Entlibuch,  had  personated 
the  three  ancient  Swiss  patriots  of  the  Griitli,  waylaid,  in  imi- 
tation of  William  Tell,  some  Lucerne  councillors,  when  pass- 
ing along  a  deep  road,  shot  one  and  wounded  the  rest.  Their 
arrest  being  attempted,  they  desperately  defended  themselves 
within  their  cottage  and  were  at  length  shot  by  their  assailants. 
This  incident,  however,  induced  Lucerne  at  length  to  an- 
nounce the  stipulated  coqcessions  to  Entlibuch. 

Success  increased  the  arrogance  of  the  cities,  which  haugh- 
tily extended  their  claims  even  over  the  free  peasantry  of  the 
original  cantons.  It  was  no  longer  with  a  purely  religious 
motive  that  Zurich  and  Berne  took  the  part  of  some  families 
expelled  on  account  of  their  faith  from  Schwyz,  prescribed 
laws  to  that  canton,  and,  at  length,  declared  war  against  it ; 
fanatical  zeal  had  cooled,  the  proud  citizen  solely  took  up  arms 
for  the  reduction  of  his  peasant  brother.  The  Catholics, 
lievertheless,  confederated,  [a.  d.  1656,]  and  the  Reformers 
were  totally  routed  at  Villmergen. 

CCXXIII.  Holland  in  distress. 

Holland,  actuated  by  commercial  jealousy,  wasted  her 
strength  in  a  ruinous  contest  with  England  instead  of  setting  a 
limit  to  the   encroachments  of  France.      The  stadtholder, 


474  HOLLAND  IN  DISTEESa 

William  of  Orange,  [a.  d.  1647,]  depended  upon  thesoldieiy 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  prosperity  of  the  country ;  the  re- 
publican party,  upon  commerce  and  the  navy.    At  the  head  of 
this  party  stood  Jacob  de  Witt,  who,  together  with  five  other 
members  of  the  states-general,  was  arrested  at  William's  com- 
mand, A.  D.  1660 ;  but  William  expiring  shortly  afterwards, 
and  his  son,  William,  being  bom  eight  days  after  his  death, 
the  republican  party,  headed  by  John,  the  son  of  Jacob  de 
Witt,  regained  their  former  power.     John,  at  that  time  com- 
pelled to  carry  on  a  severe  contest  with  England,  neglected  to 
take  the  necessary  precautions  against  France,  to  keep  up  the 
fortresses  and  to  maintain  the  army.  The  passing  of  Cromwell's 
Navigation  Act,  [a.  d.  1651,]  by  which  foreign  vessels,  laden 
with  native  produce,  were  alone  allowed  to  enter  English 
ports,  caused  great  detriment  to  Holland,  which  at  that  time 
monopolized  almost  the  whole  of  the  continental  trade,  and  a 
struggle  consequently  ensued  between  her  and  England  for 
the  rule  of  the  sea.     Holland  was  still  at  the  height  of  her 
power.     She  numbered  ten  thousand  merchantmen,  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-eight  thousand  sailors.   Her  admirals  were  the 
veteran  Tromp,  the  brave  de  Ruyter,  who  had  commenced 
life  as  a  poor  sailor,  the  proud  Comeliusson  de  Witt,  who  had 
renounceid  the  mild  doctrines  of  the  Mennonites,  in  which  he 
had  been  educated,  for  the  sake  of  thrashing  a  person  who 
had  insulted  him ;  the  brothers  Evertsen  and  van  Galen.  The 
English  admirals  were  Blake,  Monk,  Askew,  and  Appleton. 
The  great  naval  war  began  a.  d.  1651.     Tromp  was  vic- 
torious off  Dover,  de  Ruyter  off  Plymouth,  but  both  were, 
in  a  third  engagement,  defeated,  owing  to  a  disagreement  be- 
tween them  and  de  Witt.     In  1652,  Tromp  gained  a  brilliant 
victory  over  the  English  under  Blake  and  fixed  a  broom  at 
his  mast-head,  in  sign  of  his  having  swept  the  sea  clear  from 
every  foe.     The  English  now  exerted  their  utmost  strength, 
and,  in  a  fresh  engagement,  that  took  place  in  the  ensu- 
ing year,  victory  was  claimed  by  both  sides.     Van  Cralen, 
however,  succeeded  in  beating  Appleton  off  Livomo.     He 
was  struck  with  a  cannon-ball  and  expired,  exclaiming,  *'  It 
is  easy  to  die  for  one's  country,  when  crowned  with  victory!" 
The  veteran  Tromp,  the  father  of  the  navy,  was  defeated  and 
killed  off  Dunkirk.     Eight  captains  and  several  lieutenants, 
whose  negligence  had  mainly  caused  this  misfortune,  were 


HOLLAin)  IN  DISTRESS.  475 

punished  with  repablican  seyeritj,  some  of  them  being  thrice 
keelhauled,  the  punishment  always  inflicted  bj  Van  Tromp 
upon  cowards. 

Peace  was  concluded  [▲.  d.  1654]  between  England  and 
Holland,  whose  common  interests  led  them  to  oppose  the 
princes,  and  the  reigning  faction  in  Holland  resolved,  for  the 
better  preservation  of  the  democracy,  that,  for  the  future,  no 
Prince  of  Orange  should  rule  as  stadtholder  over  Holland  ;  but, 
on  the  restoration  of  the  Stuart  dynasty  in   England,  the 
Orange  party  rose  again  in  Holland,  repealed  the  decree  of 
1654,  and  elected  William  as  their  future  stadtholder.     John 
de  Witt  yielded,  and  dreading,  at  this  period  of  universal  re- 
action, to  disoblige  the  English  monarch,  delivered  up  to  him 
some  English  members  of  parliament,  who  had  formerly  voted 
for  the  execution  of  Charles  I.     The  war,  nevertheless,  again 
broke  out.      The  commercial  interests  of  the  English  and 
Butch  were  opposed  to  each  other  in  every  quarter  of  the 
globe,  and   the  former,  numerically  superior,   regarded  the 
colonies  of  the  latter  with  a  covetous  eye.     These  important 
colonies  lay  too  scattered  to  be  easily  maintained.    During  the 
short  peace  between  Holland  and  England,  Charles  II.,  who  had 
wedded  a  Portuguese  princess,  brought  about  a  treaty  with  Por- 
tugal, to  which  Holland  ceded  the  Brazils,  after  losing  almost 
the  whole  of  her  fleet.  The  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  colonized  [a.  d. 
1648]  by  Riebeck,  so  important  for  the  trade  with  the  East  In- 
dies, was,  on  the  other  hand,  raised  to  a  higher  degree  of  pros- 
perity, and  the  Dutch,  after  extending  their  trade  along  the 
Malabar  coast  as  far  as  Persia,  took  possession  of  Ceylon,  etc. 
Holland,  after  the  cession  of  the  Brazils,  being  unable  to  re- 
solve upon  that  of  her  colonies  in  North  America,  whose  posses- 
sion was  coveted  by  England,  war  again  broke  out  between  the 
rival  powers  in  1664.     England  seized  the  Dutch  colonies  on 
the  eastern  coast  of  North  America  and  converted  the  city  of 
New  Amsterdam  into  that  of  New  York.    Wasenaar  was  de- 
feated on  the  English  coast,  and  his  ship  blown  into  the  air. 
Be  Ruyter  was  at  that  time  absent  in  Africa.  The  naval  power 
of  Holland  rose  on  his  return,  and  a  fearful  revenge  was  taken 
[a.  d.  1666]  in  an  engagement  off  the  English  coast,  which 
lasted  four  days,  and  in  which  the  English,  with  whom  the  Pfalz- 
grave  Rupert  fought,  lost  twenty-three  ships  ;  six  thousand 
nien  were  killed,  and  three  thousand  made  prisoners.    This  was 


476  HOLLAND  IN  DISTRESS. 

de  Ruyter*8  most  difficult  and  greatest  triumph,  in  which  he 
was  aided  hy  the  younger  Tromp  and  (Cornelius  Evertson,  the 
latter  of  whom  fell  and  was  replaced  by  his  brother  John, 
who  had  retired  into  private  life,  and  whose  father,  son,  and 
four  brothers  had  already  fallen  for  their  country,  a  fate  he 
himself  shared  in  the  next  engagement.  In  the  ensuing  year, 
de  Ruyter  and  Cornelius,  John  de  Witt's  brother,  sailed  up 
the  Thames,  laid  waste  the  coast  almost  as  far  as  London,  the 
English  having  been  driven  from  the  sea,  and  burnt  several 
English  ships  at  Chatham,  taking  possession  of  the  Thames 
from  the  North  Foreland  and  Margate  as  far  as  the  Nore. 
The  English  were  compelled  to  accede  to  the  terms  of  peace 
proposed  by  her  victorious  rival,  at  Breda,  A.  d.  1667,  and 
the  Navigation  Act  was  suspended  in  regard  to  Dutch  cargoes. 
France  beheld  these  disputes  between  her  neighbours,  which 
she  stimulated  to  the  utmost  in  her  power,  with  delight,  and, 
meanwhile,  projected  the  seizure  of  the  Spanish  Netherlands. 
Spain  was  rapidly  on  the  decline.  The  system  pursued  by 
Philip  IL  had  been  productive  of  evil  to  his  successors.  The 
monarch  slumbered  in  the  arms  of  the  church,  the  navy  fell  to 
pieces,  the  army  into  rags.  The  provincial  Estates  in  the 
Netherlands  had  remained  unconvoked  since  1600.  The 
spirit  of  the  people  had  sunk.  These  provinces  were  also 
externally  unprotected.  The  Rhenish  princes  had  been  gain- 
ed by  Louis  XIV.,  who  also  won  over  Holland  by  fraudulently 
proposing  the  partition  of  the  Spanish  Netherlands,  to  which 
John  de  Witt  as  fraudulently  assented  for  the  sake  of  gaining 
time,  conquests  by  land  not  laying  in  his  plan,  and  a  weak 
neighbour  (Spain)  being  preferred  by  him  to  a  powerful  one 
(France).  He  has  been  groundlessly  charged  with  having 
been  actually  in  alliance  with  France,  whom  he  in  reality 
merely  deceived,  and  against  whom  he  raised  a  powerful 
league,  tlie  triple-alliance  between  Holland,  England,  and 
Sweden,  which  instantly  opposed  the  attempted  extension  of 
the  French  territory  on  the  seizure  of  the  Netherlands  by  Tu- 
renne  under  pretext  of  the  non-payment  of  the  dowry  of  the 
Infanta  Maria  Theresa,  and  Louis  was  compelled  to  accede 
to  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  [a.  d.  1668,]  and  to  content 
himself  with  the  possession  of  twelve  towns,  Doornik,  Eyssel, 
Cortryk,  Oudenarde,  etc.  Grermany  looked  on  with  indif- 
ference. 


HOLLAND  IN  DISTRESS.  477 

Louis  XIV.,  enraged  at  the  duplicity  practised  by  John  de 
Witt,  now  intrigued  against  Holland,  and,  in  order  to  guard 
against  a  second  surprise,  entered  into  negotiation  with  the 
neighbouring  powers,  with  the  view  of  completely  isolating 
the   Dutch   republic.     A  fresh  alliance  was  concluded  with 
Switzerland,  A.  d.  1663 ;  the  governments  were  flattered  and 
bribed  and  a  number  of  mercenaries  drawn  from  them,  whilst 
the  betrayed  people  were  treated  with  insolent  contempt  and 
their  petitions  for  the  removal  of  the  restrictions  upon  com- 
merce on  the  frontier  left  unnoticed.     Lorraine  was  speedily 
mastered.    Francis,  the  duke's  brother,  had,  in  1662,  defended 
the  country  against  Louis,  and  the  duke,  Charles,  who  had,  in 
1667,  with  great  unwillingness  allowed  his  troops  to  coalesce 
with  those  of  France,  refused  to  come  to  a  further  under- 
standing.     The  country  was  instantly  occupied  with  French 
troops,  the  duke  expelled,  [a.  d.  1670,]  Nancy  pillaged  and 
the  booty  carried  to  Paris.     This  scandalous  robbery,  com- 
mitted in  peace-time  on  a  Grerman  province,  remained  un- 
punished.    The  empire  offered  no  interference.    The  imperial 
towns  in  Alsace,  Strassburg  excepted,  had  been  compelled, 
[a.  d.  1665,]  in  a  similar  manner,  to  swear  allegiance  to 
France.    Vain  was  the  address  of  a  patriot  (Gallus  ablegatus) 
to  the  diet,  "  Awake,  ye  princes  of  Germany,  arise  I   France 
has  seized  Lorraine,  the  Rhine  lies  open.     Awake !  shake  off 
your  slumbers,  seize  your  arms !    Beware  of  the  Egonists ! 
March  forward !  Choose  whether  you  would  be  eagles  under 
the  eagle  or  chickens  under  the  cock  !  *'  The  Egonists  (a  play 
upon  the  word  egotist  and  the  three  brothers  von  Fursten- 
berg,  Francis  Egon,  bishop  of  Strassburg,  Ferdinand  Egon, 
master  of  the  household  at  Munich,  and  William  Egon)  had 
universal  rule,  more  particgjlarly  William,  who  blindly  led  the 
elector,  Maximilian  Henry  of  Bavaria,  and  was  Louis's  prin- 
cipal agent  in  Germany,  by  which  he  gained  the  soubriquet 
of  "Ze  eher  ami  de  France,^     Cologne  and  the  bishop  of 
Miinster,  Bernard  von  Galen,  furnished  the  French  monarch 
with  troops,  in  which  they  were  imitated  by  John  Frederick 
of  Hanover,  who  took  a  French  general  into  his  service  for 
the  purpose  of  teaching  his  subjects  the  French  exercise  and 
lived  in  his  impoverished  country  with  the  senseless  pomp  of 
a  little  Louis.     Christian  of  Mecklenburg- Schwerin  was  in- 
tected  with  a  similar  mania,  made  a  public  profession  of  Ca- 


478  HOLLAND  IN  DISTRESS. 

tholicism  at  Paris,  [a.  d.  1663,]  took  the  name  of  Louis  and 
always  subscribed  himself  "  knight  of  the  order  of  the  most 
Christian  king."   Others  among  the  German  princes  remained 
neatral.     Ferdinand  Maria,  elector  of  Bavaria,  whom  Louis 
had  surrounded  with  licentious  French  courtiers,  and  who  Tvas 
completely  led  by  a  brother  of  William  von  Fiirstenberg  and 
by  the  Jesuit  Privigniani,  the  creature  of  France ;  Eberhard 
of  Wurtemberg,  who  sided  with  France  through  dread  of 
losing  Miimpelgard,  and  who,  on  that  account,  gave  his  son 
the  name  of  Louis  and  begged  the  French  king  to  stand  god- 
father ;  Mayence,  where  a  whisper  from  France  sufficed  to 
overthrow  the  minister,  Boineburg,  who,  for  a  moment,  ap- 
peared to  favour  Grermany ;  Treves,  exposed  to  every  attack, 
and  the  rest  of  the  petty  Rhenish  princes.     A  Count  Solms, 
the  only  one  who  refused  to  yield,  was  beaten  to  death  by 
order  of  Turenne.     Bitter  complaints  and  satires  abounded, 
but  Louis  XIV.  had  German  authors,  among  others,  the  cele- 
brated Conring,  in  his  pay,  who  lauded  France  to  the  skies, 
defended  his  claim  upon  the  conquered  territory,  and  loaded 
German   patriotism  with  ridicule.     Finally,  aided  by  the 
princes  of  Lobkowitz,  (who,  like  Lichtenstein,  CoUeredo,  Gal- 
las,  and  Piccolomini,  had  risen  to  note  during  the  thirty  years' 
war,  and  who  held  the  principality  of  Sagan  in  fee,)  whom  he 
had  bribed,  he  deluded  the  emperor  into  an  alliance  [a.  d.  1761] 
for  the  pretended  extermination  of  the  heretics.     This  secret 
treaty  was  shown  by  France  to  the  elector  of  Brandenburg, 
partly  with  a  view  of  striking  him  with  terror,  partly  with 
that  of  dissipating  his  inclination  to  ally  himself  with  Austria. 
Germany  was,  by  these  means,  secured,  and,  on  the  confirm- 
ation of  the  alliance  between  Louis  and  Charles  IL,  king  of 
England,  the  fate  of  Holland  appeared  inevitable.     Louis,  in 
order  to  colour  his  designs,  pretended  to  act  in  the  name  of  his 
brother  sovereigns  and  to  avenge  the  monarchical  principle  on 
the  insolent  republic.   A  medal  was  struck,  representing  Louis 
in  a  haughty  attitude,  and,  on  the  reverse,  Holland  humbled, 
with  the  inscription,  "Ultor  Regum." 

Leibnitz,  the  great  philosopher,  formed  at  that  time  the 
whimsical  plan  of  diverting  the  French  from  the  conquest  of 
Holland  by  that  of  Egypt,  and  of  preserving  the  tranquillity 
of  Germany  by  means  of  a  quarrel  between  France  and  Tur- 
key.    John  Philip,  the  intriguing  elector  of  Mayence,  under- 


HOLLAND  IN  DISTRESS.  479 

took  the  management  of  this  affair,  which  was  treated  with 
ridicule  bj  Loais,  who  laugliingly  observed,  that  'crusades 
were  no  longer  in  vogue." 

The  French  king  entered  Holland  at  the  head  of  two 
hundred  thousand  men,  whilst  the  bishop  of  Munster  made  a 
simultaneous  attack  on  the  opposite  side  with  a  force,  twenty 
thousand  strong,  which  found  the  states-general  unprepared. 
The  fortresses  were  in  a  state  of  dilapidation,  and  the  army 
scarcely  mustered  twenty  thousand  men.'    The  French,  con- 
sequently, made  rapid  progress,  took  Wesel  and  Rheinsberg, 
(which,  although  appertaining  to  Brandenburg,  had  been  long 
garrisoned  as  security  against  the  Spanish,  by  the  Dutch,)  cut 
Holland  off  from  any  aid  that  might  offer  from  Germany,  and, 
ere   long,  occupied  Oberyssel,  Gueldres,  and  Utrecht.     The 
only  opposition  offered  to  the  Dutch  was  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Yssel,  where  the  great  Conde  was  wounded.  The  mercenaries 
were  spiritless,  their  commanders  often  traitors,  the  people 
ignorant  of  the  use  of  arms  and  taken  by  surprise.  In  Wesel, 
the  viromen  refused  to  allow  their  husbands  to  expose  them- 
selves to  the  enemy's  fire  and  insisted  upon  capitulation.    The 
citizens  of  Nimwegen,  Bommel,  Deventer,  and  Elburg,  on  the 
other  hand,  displayed  the  greatest  courage,  but  were  unable, 
owing  to  the  cowardice  of  their  officers,  who  deserted,  to 
maintain  themselves  against  the  besieging  army.     Several 
undecisive  engagements  also  took  place  between  the  fleets  of 
England  and  Holland,  A.  d.  1672. 

The  Dutch,  who  had  for  so  long  deemed  themselves  secure 
from  every  hostile  attack,  were  panic-struck,  and  the  cry  of 
^'  Holland  is  in  distress  "  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth.  Their 
courage,  however,  speedily  returned,  and,  on  the  proposal  of 
a  negotiation  with  France  being  made  to  the  states-general 
by  John  de  Wit^  some  of  the  city  deputies,  among  others,  the 
burgomaster  of  Amsterdam,  John  von  der  Poll,  Valckenier, 
Hop,  and  Hasselaar,  made  an  ineffectual  opposition ;  the 
assembled  provincial  Estates  of  Zealand,  notwithstanding, 
passed  the  noble-spirited  resolutions, — First,  We  ought  to  and 
will  defend  our  religion  and  our  liberty  to  the  utmost  of  our 
ability  and  with  the  last  drop  of  our  blood.  Secondly,  We 
will  on  no  account  consent  to  any  contract  or  negotiation, 
which  may  have  been  or  may  be  entered  into  by  Holland  or 


480  HOLLAND  IN  DISTRESS. 

by  any  of  the  other  provinces  with  France.  Thirdly,  We 
will,  without  delay,  send  a  deputation  to  our  sovereign,  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  entreating  him  to  aid  and  defend  us  with 
his  allies.  Fourthly,  In  so  far  as  we  may  be  unable  to  with- 
stand the  overwhelming  forces  of  the  enemy,  we  prefer  sub- 
mitting to  the  king  of  £ngland  than  to  the  king  of  France.  This 
example  electrified  the  people,  and  defence  was  unanimously 
resolved  upon.  John  de  Witt  lost  all  his  influence  and  was 
loudly  blamed  for  having  neglected  the  defences  of  the  coun- 
try and  for  having,  shortly  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  war, 
allowed  the  exportation  of  saltpetre  to  France.  His  exclu- 
sion of  the  house  of  Orange  from  the  stadtholdership  in  1667, 
and  his  subsequent  abolition  of  that  dignity  by  the  "Eternal 
Edict,"  had  excited  the  enmity  of  William  of  Orange,  who 
now  imitated  the  revenge  taken  by  his  ancestor,  Maurice,  on 
Olden  Bameveldt.  De  Witt  was  falsely  accused  of  having 
acted  upon  a  secret  understanding  with  France.  An  attempt 
was  made  to  assassinate  him,  and  one  de  Graaf  dealt  him  a 
wound  which  confined  him  to  his  sick  chamber.  The  people 
rose  simultaneously  throughout  the  country  ;  de  Witt's  party 
fell,  and  every  eye  was  turned  upon  William  of  Orange,  then 
in  his  22nd  year,  who  actively  superintended  the  afiairs  of 
Holland  and  was  seen  in  every  quarter,  encouraging  the 
people  and  restoring  tranquillity.  "  Orange  boven!^  Up 
with  Orange  !  was  the  general  cry  ;  orange-coloured  ribbons 
fluttered  on  every  hat,  and  from  every  tower  waved  flags  of 
similar  hue,  bearing  the  inscription, 

"  Orange  boyen  en  Wit  onder, 

Die  *t  andera  meent,  sla  de  Bonder." 

The  dams  were  again  pierced,  and  a  great  portion  of  the 
country  was  flooded.  The  besieged  cities  still  held  out 
Marshal  d'Ancre  was  compelled  to  raise  the  siege  of  Aarden- 
burg,  where  the  women  and  children  vied  with  the  men  in  de- 
fending the  walls,  and  Groningen  covered  herself  with  glory 
by  repelling  the  twenty  thousand  episcopal  troops  from  Cologne 
and  Miinster.  The  bishop  was  equally  unsuccessful  before  Coe- 
verden,  where  fourteen  hundred  of  his  men  were  carried  away 
by  a  flood,  occasioned  by  the  bursting  of  a  dam  which  he 
had  intended  to  open  upon  the  town.     The  citizens  of  Block- 


THE  GREAT  ELECTOR.  481 

sijl  shot  their  cowardly  commandant  and  maintained  their 
town,  unaided  by  the  military.  Louis  returned  in  disap- 
pointment to  France,  leaving  Turenne  to  watch  the  country. 

The  unfortunate  John  de  Witt,  when  scarcely  recovered 
from  his  wounds,  had  been,  meanwhile,  put  to  the  rack  at  the 
Hague,  and,  at  length,  cut  to  pieces,  together  with  his  invalid 
brother,  Cornelius,  by  the  infuriated  multitude,  who  after- 
wards publicly  hawked  their  limbs  about  the  town.  Tichelaar, 
the  instigator  of  this  hideous  deed,  was  rewarded  by  William 
of  Orange  with  an  office  and  a  pension. 

CCXXIV.   The  great  Elector. 

The  influence  of  Frederick  William,  the  great  elector  of 
Brandenburg,  who,  apprehensive  for  his  territory  of  Cleve,  at 
length  induced  the  emperor  to  give  up  his  alliance  with 
France,  had  also  essentially  contributed  to  the  evacuation  of 
I  Holland  by  the  French.     The  representations  made  by  France 
I  and  the  pope  to  the  emperor  against  his  unconscientious  union 
I  with  heretics,  Brandenburg  and  Holland,  (as  if  France  had 
■  never  sought  the  alliance  of  both  Sweden  and  Turkey,)  were, 
,  nevertheless,  far  from  ineffectual,  and  Montecuculi,  although 
'  sent  to  the  aid  of  Holland,  was  regulated  in  his  movements  by 
the  orders  and  counter-orders  of  Lobkowitz,  the  tool  of  France. 
'  When  on  the  point  of  forming  a  junction  with  the  great  elector 
«nd  of  driving  the  French  out  of  Holland,  he  suddenly  re- 
ceived orders  to  march  to  Frankfurt  and  there  to  remain  in 
•  state  of  inactivity,  upon  which  Turenne  instantly  threw  him- 
self on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine,  for  the  purpose  of  cutting 
off  his  communication  with  the  Netherlands  and  with  Cleve. 
-  Montecuculi,  however,  also  crossing  the  Rhine  at  Mayence 
<^d  threatening  to  invade  France,  Turenne  recrossed  the 
fihine  with  such  precipitation  at  Andemach,  that  a  thousand 
'^  of  his  plundering  soldiery  were  left  behind  and  were  killed 
in  the  Westerwald  by  the  peasantry. 

The  seat  of  war  was,  by  this  means,  removed  from  Holland 
to  the  Middle  Rhine,  where  the  Rhenish  league,  in  the  in- 
^rest  of  France,  threw  every  difficulty  in  the  path  of  the  pa- 
triotic elector.  All  the  princes  of  the  empire,  through  whose 
i  territory  the  Brandenburg  troops  passed,  protested  against  the 
'violation  and  demanded  reparation .   Saxony,  supported  by  the 

VOL.    II.  2  I 


482  THE  GEKAT  ELECTOB. 

elector  of  Majence,  leagued  with  Hanover  and  Sweden  against 
Brandenburg,  and  the  behaviour  of  the  imperial  court  was,  at 
the  same  time,  so  equivocal,  that  the  elector,  apprehensive  of 
losing  Cleve,  was  compelled  to  conclude  peace  at  Vossem, 
without  delay,  with  France,  ▲.  D.  1673. 

Louis,  once  more  confident  of  success,  now  sent  the  Mar- 
shal de  Luxemburg  to  the  frontiers  of  Holland,  where  he  gave 
his  soldiers  licence  to  plunder,  burn,  and  murder.  The  most 
frightful  atrocities  were  committed.  In  the  spring  of  1673, 
the  French  king  took  the  field  in  person  with  a  design  of  com- 
pleting the  conquest  of  Holland.  De  Ruyter,  however,  beat- 
ing the  English  fleets  in  three  successive  engagements,  Charles 
II.  was  compelled  bj  the  English  parliament  to  renounce  his 
base  alliance  with  France ;  Austria  also  at  length  exerted 
herself;  Lobkowitz  was  dismissed  ;  Montecuculi  advanced  to 
the  Rhine,  and,  at  Cologne,  seized  the  traitor,  William  von 
Furstenberg,  who  had  impudently  assumed  the  title  of  French 
ambassador  without  previously  renouncing  his  allegiance  to 
the  empire.  Treves  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  French.  An 
indecisive  engagement  took  place  between  William  of  Orange 
and  the  French  at  Senef,  and,  in  1664,  Turenne  was  sent  to 
the  Upper  Rhine,  where  the  imperialists  under  Bournonville, 
a  Frenchman,  who  was  either  ill-adapted  for  the  command  or 
in  the  pay  of  France,  were  defeated  at  Ensisheim,  before  the 
elector  of  Brandenburg,  who  had  again  ranged  himself  on  the 
emperor's  side,  could  join  them  with  his  troops.  Charles  Louis, 
elector  of  the  Pfalz,  who,  from  his  castle  of  Friedricksbarg, 
beheld  the  smoking  cities  and  villages  wantonly  set  in  flames 
by  Turenne,  sent  that  commander  a  challenge,  which  was  re-- 
fused, Turenne  returning  his  customary  excuse  for  his  con- 
duct, "These  things  always  happen  in  war  time."  The 
veteran  duke,  Charles  of  Lorraine,  unaided,  attacked  and  de^ 
feated  the  French  under  Crecqui,  near  Treves,  a.  d.  1675. 
The  duke  of  Vaudemont,  governor  of  Burgundy,  also  long 
and  gallantly  stood  his  ground  in  Besan^on,  but  no  succour 
being  afforded  to  him,  that  province  was  again  lost.  Charles 
of  Lorraine  vainly  implored  the  imperialists  and  Brandon^ 
burg  to  coalesce  for  the  defence  of  the  frontier  provinces; 
Bournonville  refused  to  move  until  he  was  at  length  attacked 
at  Muhlhausen  and  thrown  back  upon  the  great  elector,  by 
whom  the  French  were  defeated  at  Tiirkheim.     The  Swedes, 


THE  GREAT  ELECTOB.  483 

meanwhile,  instigated  by  Louis,  suddenly  invaded  Branden- 
burg, and  the  elector  hastily  returned  to  defend  his  demesnes. 
Charles  of  Lorraine  died  of  rage  and  sorrow. 

Montecuculi,  notwithstanding  the  absence  of  the  elector  of 
Brandenburg,  was  again  victorious  on  the  Upper  Rhine.  Tu- 
renne  fell  in  the  battle  of  Sasbach,  a.  d.  1675.  The  French 
were  driven  back  on  every  side,  and,  being  a  second  time  de- 
feated on  the  Saar,  retreated  beyond  Treves.  They  defended 
themselves  in  this  city,  under  Crecqui,  for  some  time,  but 
were  at  length  compelled  to  capitulate.  The  greater  number 
of  them  were  cut  to  pieces  on  the  entrance  of  the  imperial- 
ists, who  mistook  the  explosion  of  some  grenades  for  an  attack. 
A  brilliant  victory  was  gained  at  the  same  time,  [a.  d.  1676,] 
at  the  foot  of  Etna,  by  the  Dutch  fleet  over  that  of  France  ; 
De  Buyter,  who  was  killed  in  this  engagement,  was  buried  at 
Syracuse. 

The  French  king  now  withdrew  his  forces  for  a  while, 
leaving  the  fortresses,  remaining  in  his  hands,  strongly  forti- 
fied. These  garrisons  systematically  plundered  and  destroyed 
the  country  in  their  vicinity,  Berg-Zabem,  where  numbers 
of  the  inhabitants  were  burnt  to  death,  Brucksal,  and  numer- 
ous villages  were  laid  in  ashes.  The  capture  of  Philippsburg, 
one  of  the  principal  fortresses,  by  the  imperialists,  merely  in- 
cited the  French  to  greater  violence,  and  the  year  1677 
opened  amid  all  the  horrors  of  war.  Conflagrations  spread 
far  and  wide.  St.  Wendel,  SaarbrUck,  where  the  incendiaries 
were  besieged  in  the  castle,  taken  and  slain,  Hagenau,  Zwei- 
briicken,  Elsass-Zabem,  Buschweiler,  Ottweiler,  Liitzelstein, 
Veldenz,  Weissenburg,  and  four  hundred  villages  were  re*- 
dnced  to  heaps  of  ruins.  The  Dachsburg,  the  strongest  fort 
in  the  Pfalz,  fell  by  treachery.  The  valuable  library  of  the 
Pfalzgrave  of  Zweibriicken  was  carried  to  Paris.  La  Broche, 
the  captain  of  the  incendiary  bands,  was  taken  by  the  impe- 
rialists and  shot.  He  was  succeeded  by  Montclas,  who,  after 
some  bloody  skirmishes  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Strassburg, 
crossed  the  Ebine,  set  thirty  villages  around  Breisach  in 
flames,  and  took  Freiburg  in  the  Breisgau  by  surprise,  where 
he  maintained  his  position,  the  emperor,  deluded  by  his  coun- 
sellors, the  tools  of  France,  no  longer  making  any  effort  for 
the  preservation  of  the  empire.  The  Swiss,  instead  of  aiding 
their  German  brethren,  restricted  themselves  to  the  defence 

2  I  2 


484  THE  GREAT  ELECTOR. 

of  their  frontiers,  whence  they  repulsed  the  duke  of  Lorraine, 
who  sought  refuge  within  their  territory.  Germany  oifered 
but  trifling  resistance,  and  the  war  became  a  succession  of 
petty  skirmishes. The  Netherlands  were  also  greatly  ha- 
rassed by  the  French  garrison  of  Maestricht.  Tangern  and 
a  number  of  villages  were  burnt  down  by  the  Marshal  de 
Luxemburg,  who  pillaged  the  country  so  systematically  that 
not  a  single  head  of  cattle  remained  in  the  territory  within 
his  reach. 

The  elector  of  Brandenburg  had,  in  the  mean  time,  hurried 
home  to  defend  his  territory  from  the  Swedes,  who,  instigated 
by  Vitry,  the  French  ambassador,  were  there  renewing  all 
the  horrors  of  the  thirty  years'  war.  The  elector's  army, 
numerically  weak  and  worn  with  fatigue,  was  opposed  by 
one  superior  in  number  and  accustomed  to  victory,  under 
Waldemar,  the  brother  of  the  celebrated  Gustavus  WrangeL 
The  emperor,  deluded  into  a  belief  that  the  invasion  of  Bran- 
denburg by  the  Swedes  merely  masked  an  intention  on  both 
parts  to  coalesce  for  the  purpose  of  invading  Silesia,  refused 
his  aid.  The  warlike  bishop  of  Munster,  formerly  Branden- 
burg's foe,  now  became  his  sole  ally,  and,  arming  in  his  de- 
fence, held  Hanover,  which  showed  an  inclination  to  assist  the 
Swedes,  in  check.  The  active  mind  of  the  elector  and  the 
fidelity  of  his  people,  however,  proved  his  best  defence.  The 
peasants,  cruelly  abused  by  the  Swedes,  rose  throughout  the 
country  in  his  name,  and  the  elector,  secretly  aided  by  the  citi- 
zens of  Bathenow,  succeeded  in  surprising  and  killing  almost 
every  Swede  within  the  walls.  The  few  that  escaped  fell  back 
upon  a  strong  detachment  stationed  at  Fehrbellin,  which  be- 
ing, without  the  elector's  permission,  attacked  by  the  youthful 
Landgrave,  Frederick  of  Hesse-Homburg,  the  former  was 
compelled  to  hasten  to  his  aid  with  his  cavalry,  the  infantry 
being  unable  to  come  up  in  time.  He  gained  a  complete  vic- 
tory, partly  owing  to  the  experience  and  fidelity  of  Marshal 
Derflinger,  who  was  originally  a  tailor's  apprentice.  Der- 
fiinger  had  also  conducted  the  surprise  of  Bathenow.  Several 
of  the  old  Swedish  regiments,  habituated  to  victory,  refused 
either  to  save  themselves  by  flight  or  to  yield,  and  were  cut 
down  almost  to  a  man.  The  gallant  Landgrave  was  pardoned 
for  the  rashness  of  his  attack.  Brandenburg's  equerry,  Fro- 
ben,  observing,  during  the  engagement,  that  the  Swedes  aimed 


THE  GREAT  ELECTOR.  485 

at  the  grey  horse  ridden  by  the  duke,  begged  of  him  to  change 
horses  with  him,  and  was,  a  few  seconds  after,  shot  by  the 
enemy,  a.  i>.  1675.  The  elector  and  Derflinger  were,  in  the 
ensuing  canapaign,  again  successful;  the  Swedes  were  de- 
feated at  Wolgast ;  Stettin  was  taken  after  a  determined  re- 
sistance ;  Stralsund,  which  had  so  long  resisted  Wallenstein, 
and  Greifswald,  fell  into  their  hands.  In  the  winter  of  1678, 
the  Swedes  invaded  Prussia,  but  were  repulsed  by  the  elector, 
who  pursued  them  in  sledges  across  the  gulf  of  Courland  and 
again  defeated  them  in  the  vicinity  of  Riga,  whence  famine 
and  the  severity  of  the  cold  compelled  him  to  return.  The 
Dutch,  under  the  younger  Tromp,  also  beat  the  Swedes  at 
sea,  and  Wismar  was  taken  by  Brandenburg  and  by  his 
Danish  allies.  This  war,  the  result  of  foreign  influence  in 
Germany,  again  emptied  the  vial  of  wrath  on  the  heads  of  the 
people.  How  came  Stettin  and  Wismar  to  fight  for  a  foreign 
ruler  ? 

The  fall  of  Ghent  and  Ypern  and  the  defeat  of  William  of 
Orange  at  St.  Omer,  inclined  the  Dutch  to  peace.  This  in- 
gratitude filled  their  former  allies  with  disgust.  The  imbecile 
emperor,  in  the  mean  time,  taught  to  regard  Brandenburg, 
who  had  covered  himself  with  glory  by  his  successes  in  the 
North,  as  more  dangerous  to  his  repose  than  France,  and  sup- 
ported by  the  futile  perfidy  of  the  Dutch,  concluded,  without 
regard  for  the  critical  state  of  the  empire,  a  hasty  and  shame- 
ful treaty  at  Nimwegen,  [a.  d.  1678,]  by  which  Brandenburg 
was  expressly  excluded  from  all  participation  in  the  advantages 
of  the  peace.*  A  useless  but  splendid  victory  was  gained  by 
William  at  Mons,  before  the  news  of  the  conclusion  of  peace 
reached  the  Dutch  camp.  Freiburg  in  the  Breisgau  was,  by 
this  treaty,  ceded  by  the  emperor,  Burgundy  and  the  twelve 
frontier  towns  in  the  Netherlands  by  Spain,  to  France,  who, 
«i  her  part,  restored  Lorraine,  which  she,  notwithstanding, 
provisionally  occupied  with  her  troops.  The  traitor,  William 
von  Furstenberg,  instead  of  being  beheaded  Hke  the  Hun- 
garian rebels  who  suffered  at  that  time,  was  loaded  with  every 

*  A  medal  of  Louis  XIV.,  struck  on  this  occasion,  represents  Peace, 
accompanied  by  Pain  and  Pleasure,  descending  from  heaven,  and  Hol- 
land iwelcoming  her  with  open  arms,  whilst  the  imperial  eagle  vainly 
attempts  to  hold  her  back  by  her  robes. 


1 


486  THE  GREAT  ELECTOR. 

mark  of  lionoar,  restored  to  liberty,  and  afterwards  rewarded 
with  the  bishopric  of  Strassburg  and  a  cardinal's  hat. 

Brandenburg  was  condemned  to  restore  his  conquests  to 
Sweden.  A  French  army,  under  Crecqui,  advanced  [a.  d. 
1679]  against  the  Danes,  Brandenburg's  allies,  laid  Cologne, 
Juliers,  and  Oldenburg  under  heavy  contribution,  without  the 
empire  being  able  to  protect  herself  from  the  insult,  and  with- 
drew, after  compelling  the  elector,  deserted  by  the  emperot 
and  the  empire,  to  accede  to  the  terms  of  the  peace  and  to 
restore  his  Pomeranian  conquests  to  Sweden.  Had  he  and 
the  gallant  Montecuculi  been  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  Ger- 
many, how  different  might  have  been  her  fate  ! 

The  elector  now  turned  his  attention  to  Prussia,  where,  as 
a  Calvinist,  he  found  the  Lutherans,  and,  as  an  absolute 
sovereign,  the  ancient  noblesse,  citizens,  and  provincial  Estates 
ranged  in  opposition  to  him.  His  first  step  was  the  erection 
of  the  fortress  of  Friedrichsburg,  whose  cannons  commanded 
the  city  of  Koenigsberg.  Rhode,  the  president  qf  the  bench 
of  aldermen  in  that  city,  too  zealously  defending  her  an- 
cient privileges,  was  arrested  and  condemned  to  death,  a 
sentence  that  was  afterwards  commuted  to  imprisonment  for 
life.  An  opportunity  was  offered  to  him  to  ask  for  pardon, 
of  which  he  haughtily  refused  to  take  advantage.  The  Frei- 
herr  von  Kalkstein  violently  opposing  the  elector's  measures 
at  the  head  of  the  provincial  Estates,  was  also  arrested,  but 
being  allowed  a  certain  degree  of  liberty  on  parole,  escaped  to 
Warsaw,  where  he  was  privately  seized  by  the  elector's 
agents  and  carried  to  Memel,  where  he  was  executed,  A.  d. 
1672.  The  elector  was  also  sometimes  forced  by  necessity  to 
have  recourse  to  arbitrary  measures  in  Brandenburg,  such  as 
striking  a  false  currency,  levying  duties  and  heavy  taxes  for 
the  payment  of  his  troops,  on  whom  he  depended  for  the  pre- 
servation of  his  position  in  the  empire.  He  was  also  compelled 
to  suppress  several  ancient  and  distinct  local  privileges  for 
the  sake  of  increasing  the  unity  and  strength  of  his  dominions. 
The  excessive  intolerance  of  the  Lutheran  clergy  received  a 
severe  check  ;  the  elector,  enraged  at  their  obstinacy,  com- 
pelling them  to  bind  themselves  by  oath  to  obey  every  electoral 
edict  without  reservation.  The  church  was,  by  this  means, 
rendered  subservient  to  every  caprice  on  the  part  of  the  so- 


THE  GREAT  ELECTOR.  487 

yereign.  The  Lutheran  pastor  at  Berlin,  Paul  Gerhard  the 
poet,  was  the  only  one  among  the  Lutheran  clergy  who  pre- 
ferred banishment  to  servility. 

The  intrigues  carried  on  simultaneously  by  the  great  elector 
with  Sweden,  Poland,  France,  and  Austria,  and  his  despotic 
rule  over  his  subjects,  are  partly  excused  by  his  position  and 
by  the  perfidy  of  his  opponents.     Frederick  William  used  his 
utmost  endeavours  not  only  to  raise  the  power  of  his  house, 
but  also  to  free  Grermany  from  foreign  influence.     In  his  old 
age,  actuated  by  his  dislike  of  the  Habsburg,  and  guided  by  his 
second  wife,  Dorothea,  a  princess  of  Holstein,  who  sought  to 
substitute  her  children  for  the  heir-apparent,  he  declared  in  fa- 
vour of  France.     The  emperor,  besides  betraying  him  by  the 
treaty  of  Nimwegen  and  robbing  him  of  the  fruits  of  his  con- 
test with  Sweden,  had,  on  the  decease  of  William,  the  last 
duke  of  Leignitz,  Brieg,  and  Wohlau,  deprived  him  of  his 
rightful  inheritance  and  compelled  him  to  rest  content  with 
the   possession  of  the  district  of  Schwiebus,  ▲.  n.  1675. 
Frederick,  the  heir-apparent,  unable  to  support  the  tyranny  of 
his  step-mother,  abandoned  the  country,  and  his  doting  father 
was  induced  to  bequeath  the  whole  of  his  possessions,  Cour- 
land  alone  excepted,  to  the  sons  of  Dorothea.     His  will  was, 
on  his  decease,  annulled  by  the  court  of  Vienna,  which  had 
taken  the  prince  under  its  protection  on  condition  of  his  bind- 
ing himself  to  restore  Schwiebus  on  his  father's  death. 

The  attempt  made  by  the  great  elector  to  found  a  naval 
power  is  worthy  of  remark.  The  subsidies,  promised  to  him 
by  Spain  on  Louis's  first  invasion,  remaining  unpaid,  he  sent 
out  a  small  fleet  under  Cornelius  van  Bevern,  a.  d.  1679, 
who  waylaid  and  seized  the  rich  Spanish  galleons,  and,  in 
1687,  he  formed  an  African  society,  which  sent  out  a  fleet 
under  von  der  Groeben  and  founded  Gross-Friedrichsburg  on 
the  coast  of  Guinea.  The  existence  of  this  colony  being  en- 
^ngered  by  the  jealousy  of  the  English  and  Dutch,  it  was  sold 
to  the  latter,  a.  d.  1780. 

CCXXV.  lU-treatment  of  the  imperial  cities. — The  loss  of 
Strassburg. 

Louis  XIV.,  while  carrying  on  his  attacks  externally  against 
the  empire,  exerted  every  effort  for  the  destruction  of  the 


488  THE  ILL-TREATMENT  OF 

remaining  internal  liberties  of  Germany.  His  inyasion  of  Hol- 
land had  been  undertaken  under  the  plausible  pretext  (intended 
as  a  blind  to  the  princes)  of  defending  the  monarchical  prind- 
pie,  and,  whilst  secretly  planning  the  seizure  of  Strassburg,  he 
sought  to  indispose  the  princes  towards  the  free  imperial  cities. 
He,  accordingly,  flattered  Bavaria  with  the  conquest  of  Nurem- 
berg, Ratisbon,  Augsburg,  and  Ulm ;  Bavaria  was,  however, 
still  apprehensive  of  the  emperor  and  contented  herself  with 
retaining  possession  of  the  old  imperial  city  of  Donauwcerth, 
notwithstanding  the  peace  of  Westphalia,  by  which  the  free- 
dom of  that  city  had  been  guaranteed.  In  1661,  French 
troops  aided  the  bishop,  van  Galen,  in  subjugating  the  pro- 
vincial town  of  Munster  and  in  depriving  her  of  all  her 
ancient  privileges.  In  1664,  French  troops,  in  a  similar  man- 
ner, aided  the  electoral  prince  of  Mayence  to  place  the  city  of 
Krfurt  under  subjection.  Erfurt  belonged  originally  to  May- 
ence, but  had  long  been  free  and  Protestant,  and  stood  under 
the  especial  protection  of  Saxony.  The  demand  made  by  the 
elector  of  being  included  in  the  prayers  of  the  church,  being 
refused  by  the  Protestant  citizens,  the  emperor,  who  beheld 
the  affair  in  a  Catholic  light,  put  the  city  out  of  the  bann  of 
the  empire,  wliich  was  executed  by  Mayence,  backed  by  a 
French  army,  whilst  Saxony  was  pacified  with  a  sum  of  money. 
The  unfortunate  citizens  opposed  the  Mayence  faction  within 
the  city  with  extreme  fury,  assassinated  Kniephof,  the  presi- 
dent of  the  council,  and  beheaded  Limprecht,  one  of  the  chief 
magistrates,  but  were,  af^er  a  gallant  defence,  compelled  to 
capitulate. 

In  166^,  Louis  reduced  the  imperial  cities  of  Alsace,  Strass- 
burg excepted,  to  submission.  In  1666,  the  Swedes,  under 
Wrangel,  made  a  predatory  attack  upon  Bremen  and  bom- 
barded the  town,  but  withdrew  on  a  protest  being  made  by 
the  emperor  and  the  empire.  In  the  same  year,  Frederick 
William  of  Brandenburg  annihilated  the  liberties  of  the  city 
of  Magdeburg,  the  archbishopric  having,  on  the  death  of  Au- 
gustus of  Saxony,  fallen,  in  consequence  of  the  peace  of  West- 
phalia, under  the  administration  of  Brandenburg.  In  1671, 
the  ancient  city  of  Brunswick  had  been  seized  by  Rudolph 
Augustus,  duke  of  Wolfenbiittel,  and  robbed  of  all  her  privi- 
leges. Most  of  the  merchants  emigrated.  In  1672,  Cologne 
was  subjugated  by  the  elector,  the  city  having,  at  an  earher 


THE  IMPERIAL  CITIES.  489 

period,  favoured  the  Dutch.  The  citizens,  tyrannized  over  by 
the  council  dependent  on  the  elector,  revolted,  but  were  re- 
duced to  submission,  A.  D.  1689.  The  rebellious  citizens  of 
Liege  were  also  reduced,  by  the  aid  of  the  elector  of  Cologne, 
and  deprived  of  their  ancient  privileges,  A.  D.  1684.  A  simi- 
lar insurrection  caused  [a.  d.  1685]  at  Brussels,  by  the 
heavy  imposts,  was  suppressed  by  force. 

In  East  Frizeland,  Count  Rudolph  Christian,  who  had  been 
murdered  during  the  thirty  years*  war,  had  been  succeeded  by 
his  brother,  XJlric,  whose  son,  £nno  Louis,  had,  in  1654,  been 
created  prince.     George  Christian,  Enno*s  brother  and  suc- 
cessor, was  involved  in  a  dispute,  on  account  of  the  heavy 
imposts,   with  the  city  of  Emden,  and  in  a  vexatious  suit 
"With  his  niece,  the  wife  of  one  of  the  princes  Lichtenstein, 
who  claimed  Harlingerland  in  right  of  her  mother.     This  suit 
was  terminated  by  the  invasion  of  Frizeland  by  an  imperial 
army  under  Bernard  van  Galen,  bishop  of  Munster,  who  im- 
posed a  heavy  line,  by  way  of  compensation,  on  the  count 
On  the  death  of  Grcorge  Christian,  in  1665,  his  widow,  a 
princess  of  Wiirtemberg,  carried  on  the  government  in  the 
name  of  her  infant  son,  Christian  Eberhard,  whose  guardian, 
Ernest   Augustus,   duke   of    Brunswick,   rendered    himself 
highly  unpopular,  and,  on  his  departure,  the  bishop  of  Miin- 
ster,  to  whom  the  princess  had  promised,  by  way  of  compens- 
ation, a  share  in  the  city  of  Emden,  reappearing,  the  citizens 
took  up  arms  in  their  defence,  but,  subsequently,  made  terms 
with  the  bishop  and  were  supported  by  Brandenburg  against 
the  princess,  whose  despotic  rule  was  formally  opposed  by  the 
Estates.     Tranquillity  was  restored  on  the  accession  of  the 
young  prince  in  1690. 

Hamburg  had  been  a  scene  of  disturbance  since  1671,  on 
account  of  the  narrow-minded  despotism  of  the  aristocratic 
council,  which,  in  1673,  fraudulently  obtained  a  decision,  the 
Windischgraetz  convention,  from  the  emperor,  who  rebuked 
the  complaining  citizens  and  recommended  them  to  submit. 
The  syndic,  Garmer,  who  had  been  principally  implicated  in 
the  aifair  of  the  convention,  intriguing  with  Denmark,  became 
suspected  by  the  emperor  and  was  compelled  to  fly  from 
Hamburg,  a.  d.  1678.  The  burgomaster,  Meurer,  was  also 
expelled.  The  convention  was  repealed,  and  Meurer  was  re- 
placed by  Schliiter,  who  was  assisted  by  two  honest  citizens, 


490  LOSS  OF  STEASSBURG. 

SchnitgerandJastram.  The  Danes,  on  the  failure  of  Garmer*8 
intrigues,  sought  to  seize  Hamburg  by  surprise  and  to  annex 
that  city,  under  pretence  of  its  having  formerly  appertained 
to  Holstein,  to  Denmark.  The  citizens  were,  however,  on 
the  watch ;  Brandenburg  hastened  to  their  aid,  and  the  Danes 
were  repulsed.  The  ancient  aristocratic  faction  now  rose  and 
falsely  accused  Schnitger,  Jastram,  and  Schluter,  of  a  design 
to  betray  the  city  to  Denmark ;  the  two  former  were  quarter- 
ed, the  third  was  poisoned  in  prison ;  Meurer  was  reinstated  in 
his  office,  and  the  Windischgretz  convention  reinforced.  The 
ancient  pride  of  the  Ebnsa  had  for  ever  fallen.  In  1667,  the 
Dutch  pursued  the  English  merchantmen  up  to  the  walls  of 
Hamburg,  captured  them,  and  injured  the  city,  which,  in  order 
V>  escape  war  with  England,  compensated  the  English  mer- 
chants for  their  losses. 

Strassburg,  the  ancient  bulwark  of  Grermany,  was,  how- 
ever, destin^  to  a  still  more  wretched  fate,  and,  deserted  by 
the  German  princes,  was  greedily  grasped  by  France.  The 
insolence  of  the  French  monarch  had  greatly  increased  since 
the  treaty  of  Nimwegen.  In  1680,  he  unexpectedly  declared 
his  intention  to  hold,  besides  the  territory  torn  from  the  empire, 
all  the  lands,  cities,  estates,  and  privileges  that  had  thereto 
appertained,  such  as,  for  instance,  all  German  monasteries, 
which,  a  thousand  years  before  the  present  period,  had  been 
founded  by  the  Merovingians  and  Carlovingians,  all  the  dis- 
tricts which  had,  at  any  time,  been  held  in  fee  by,  or  been 
annexed  by  right  of  inheritance  to,  Alsace,  Burgundy,  or  the 
Breisgau,  and,  for  this  purpose,  established  four  chambers  of 
reunion  at  Besan^on,  Breisach,  Metz,  and  Doomik,  composed 
of  paid  literati  and  lawyers,  commissioned  to  search  for  the 
said  dependencies  amid  the  dust  of  the  ancient  archives. 
The  first  idea  of  these  chambers  of  reunion  had  been  given  by 
a  certain  Ravaulx  to  Colbert,  the  French  minister,  and  the 
execution  of  their  decrees  was  committed  to  bands  of  incen- 
diaries, who,  in  Alsace,  the  Netherlands,  and  the  Pfalz,  tore 
down  the  ancient  escutcheons  and  replaced  them  with  that  of 
France,  garrisoned  the  towns,  and  exacted  enormous  contri- 
butions &om  the  citizens,  with  which  Louis  purchased  three 
hundred  pieces  of  artillery  for  the  defence  of  the  territory 
thus  arbitrarily  seized. 

The  whole  of  the  empire  was  agitated,  but,  whilst  a  tedious 


LOSS  OF  STRA6SBUBO.  491 

discussion   was  as  usual  being  carried  on  at  Ratisbon,  the 
French  carried  their  schemes  into  execution  and  suddenly 
seized  Strassburg  bj  treachery.     This  city,  according  to  her 
historian,  Friese,  had  made  every  effort  to  maintain  her  liberty 
against  France.     The  citizens  had,  since  the  thirty  years'  war, 
lived  in  a  state  of  continual  apprehension,  maintained  and 
strengthened  their  fortifications,  kept  a  body  of  regular  troops, 
and,  in  tEeir  turn,  every  third  day  had  mounted  guard.     For 
sixty  years,  they  had  been  continually  on  the  defensive,  and 
immense  sums  had  been  swallowed  up  in  the  necessary  outlay. 
Trade  and  commerce  declined.     The  bishop  of  Spires  levied  a 
high  duty  on  the  goods  of  the  Strassburg  merchants  when  on 
their  way  through  Lauterburg  and  Philippsburg  to  the  Frank- 
furt fairs,  whilst  France  beheld  the  sinking  credit  of  the  city 
with  delight,  exercised  every  system  of  oppression  in  her  power, 
and  promoted  disunion  among  the  citizens.     There  were  also 
traitors  among  the  Lutheran  clergy.     The  loyalty  of  the  citi- 
zens was,  however,  proof  against  every  attempt,  and  Louis 
expended  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  the  creation  of  a 
small  party.     Terror  and  surprise  did  the  rest.     The  city  was 
secretly  surrounded  with  French  troops  at  a  time  when  num- 
bers of  the  citizens  were  absent  at  the  Frankfurt  and  other 
fairs,  September,  1680,  and  the  traitors  had  taken  care  that 
the  means  of  defence  should  be  in  a  bad  condition.     The  citi- 
zens, deluded  by  promises  or  shaken  by  threats,  yielded,  and 
Strassburg,  the  principal  key  to  Germany,  the  seat  of  German 
learning  and  the  centre  of  German  industry,  capitulated,  on 
the  thirteenth  of  October,  to  the  empire's  most  implacable 
foe.      Louis  made  a  triumphal  entry  into  the  city  he  had 
won  by  perfidy  and  was  welcomed  by  Francis  £gon  von 
Fiirstenberg,  the  traitorous  bishop,  in  the  words  of  Simeon, 
"Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  for 
mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation  ! "    The  city  was  strongly 
garrisoned  by  the  Frenchj^  and  the  fortifications  were  rapidly 
improved  to  such  a  degree  as  to  render  it  one  of  the  strongest 
places  in  Europe.     The  great  cathedral,  belonging  to  the 
^Protestants,  was  reclaimed  by  the  bishop,  and  the  free  exercise 
of  religion  was,  contrary  to  the  terms  of  capitulation,  restricted. 
All  the  Lutheran  officials  were  removed,  the  clergy  driven 
into  the  country.    The  Protestants  emigrated  in  crowds.    The 
chief  magistrate,  the  venerable  Dominicus  Dietrich,  fell  a  vie- 


492  VIENNA  BESIEGED  BY  THE  TURKS. 

tim  to  private  enmity  and  was  cited  to  appear  before  Loais 
at  Paris,  where  he  was  long  detained  prisoner.  Louvois,  on 
his  steady  refusal  to  recant,  sent  him  into  the  interior  of 
France,  where  he  was  long  imprisoned.  He  was,  towards  the 
close  of  his  life,  allowed  to  return  to  Strassburg,  where  he 
expired,  a.  d.  1794.  His  memory  has  been  basely  calumnied 
by  many  German  historians.  Numbers  of  French  were  sent 
to  colonize  Strassburg,  Alsace,  and  Lorraine.  Many  of  the 
towns  and  districts  received  fresh  names ;  the  German  cos- 
tume was  prohibited,  and  the  adoption  of  French  modes  en- 
forced. 

The  elector  of  Brandenburg,  influenced  by  his  wife,  enter- 
ing into  alliance  with  France,  and  the  Turks,  at  Louis's  insti- 
gation, invading  Austria,  that  monarch  found  himself  without 
an  opponent,  and,  after  conquering  Luxemburg,  destroyed 
Genoa,  which  still  remained  faithful  to  the  empire,  by  bom- 
barding her  from  the  sea,  A.  d.  1684.  The  emperor,  harassed 
by  the  Turks  and  abandoned  by  the  princes,  was  again  com- 
pelled [a.  d.  1685]  to  sign  a  disgraceful  peace,  by  which 
France  retained  her  newly-acquired  territory,  besides  Strass- 
burg and  Luxemburg.  Among  all  the  losses  suffered  by  the 
empire,  that  of  Strassburg  has  been  the  most  deeply  felt.  The 
possession  of  that  powerful  fortress  by  France  has,  for  almost 
two  centuries,  neutralized  the  whole  of  Upper  Germany  or 
forced  her  princes  into  an  alliance  with  their  natural  and 
hereditary  foe. 

CCXXVL    Vienna  besieged  by  the  Turks. 

Louis,  whibt  thus  actively  eipployed  in  the  "West,  inces- 
santly incited  the  sultan,  by  means  of  his  ambassadors  at 
Constantinople,  to  fall  upon  the  rear  of  the  empire.*  In 
Hungary,  the  popular  disafiection,  excited  by  the  despotic  rule 
of  the  emperor,  had  risen  to  such  a  height  that  the  Hungarian 
Christians  demanded  aid  from  the  Turk  against  their  Ger- 
man   oppressors.      A  conspiracy  among  the   nobility  was 

*  Ssviebat  Reiinionum  pestis  ad  Occasum,  dum  alia  ad  Ortum  mgru- 
eret.  Ut  enim  socius  socio  fidem  praestaret,  Gallus  et  Tufca,  Christianis- 
simus  et  Antichristianissimus,  novus  Pylades  atque  Orektes,  par  nobile 
amiconim  in  vetita  juratoram,  junctis  consiliis  ancipiti  malo  Germaniam 
premebant,  alter  Gallicafide,  Graeca  alter. — FeeioHs  Ga//tM,lG89. 


VIENNA  BESIEGED  BY  THE  TURKS.  493 

discovered   in    1671,  and  the  chiefs,  Frangipani,  (the  Inst 
of  this  house  raised  by  treason,)  Nadasdi,  Xrinj,  and  Tatten- 
bach,  safiered  death  as  traitors  at  Neustadt.     Xrinj  was  the 
grandson  of  the  hero  of  Sigeth.     His  wife  died  mad.     No 
mercy  was  extended  to  the  heretics  by  the  triumphant  Jesuits 
and  by  the  soldiers  of  fortune  educated  in  their  school.     The 
magnates  were  induced  by  fear  or  by  bribery  to  recant.     The 
people  and  tbeir  preachers,  however,  resisted  every  effort 
made  for  their  conversion,  and  a  coup  d'etat  was  the  result. 
In  1674,  the  whole  of  the  Lutheran  clergy  was  convoked  to 
Presburg,  was  falsely  accused  of  conspiracy,  and  two  hundred 
and  fifty  of  their  number  were  thrown  into  prison.   These  cler- 
gymen were  afterwards  sold,  at  the  rate  of  fifty  crowns  per 
head,  to  Naples,  were  sent  on  board  the  galleys  and  chained  to 
the  oar.     Part  of  them  were  set  at  liberty  at  Naples,  the  rest  at 
Palermo,  by  the  gallant  Admiral  de  Ruyter  shortly  before  his 
death.      The  defenceless  communes  in  Hungary  were  now 
consigned  to  the  Jesuits.     The  German  soldiery  were  quar- 
tered on  them,  and  the  excesses  committed  by  them  were  coun- 
tenanced, as  a  means  of  breaking  the  spirit  of  the  people. 
The  banner  of  revolt  was  at  length  raised  by  the  Lutheran 
Count  Tokbly,  but  the  unfortunate  Hungarians  looked  around 
in  vain  for  an  ally  to  aid  them  in  struggling  for  their  rights. 
The  only  one  at  hand  was  the  Turk,  who  offered  chains  in 
exchange  for  chains.     The  emperor,  alarmed  at  the  impend- 
ing danger,  yielded,  and  [a.  d.  1681]  granted  freedom  of 
conscience  to  Hungary,  but  it  was  already  too  late. 

Louis  XIV.  redoubled  his  efforts  at  the  Turkish  court  and 
at  length  succeeded  in  persuading  the  sultan  to  send  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty  thousand  men  under  the  grand  visir,  Kara 
Mustapha,  into  Hungary,  whilst  he  invaded  the  western  fron- 
tier of  the  empire  in  person.  Terror  marched  in  the  Turk- 
ish van.  The  retreat  of  the  weak  imperial  army  under  the 
duke,  Charles  of  Lorraine,  under  whom  the  Margrave,  Louis 
of  Baden,  who  afterwards  acquired  such  fame,  served,  became 
a  disorderly  flight.  The  Turks  reached  the  gates  of  Vienna 
unopposed.  The  emperor  fled,  leaving  the  city  under  the  com- 
mand of  RUdiger,  Count  von  Stahrenberg,  who,  for  two  months, 
steadily  resisted  the  furious  attacks  of  the  besiegers,  by  whom 
the  country  in  the  vicinity  was  converted  into  a  desert  and 
eighty-seven  thousand  of  the  inhabitants  were  dragged  into 


494  VIENNA  BB6IEGBD  BY  THB  TURKS. 

slavery.  Stahrenberg,  although  severely  wounded,  was  daily 
carried  round  the  works,  gave  orders,  and  cheered  his  men. 
The  Turkish  miners  blew  up  the  strongest  part  of  the  waDs, 
and  the  whole  city  was  surrounded  with  ruins  and  heaps  of 
rubbish,  still  the  Viennese,  unshaken  by  the  wild  cries,  the  fo- 
rious  atttacks,  and  immense  numbers  of  the  enemy,  gallantty 
resisted  every  attempt  The  wounded  were  tended  by  the 
Bishop  Kolonitsch,  who  so  zealously  fulfilled  his  dufy  as  to 
draw  a  threat  from  the  grand  visir  tlmt  he  would  deprive  him 
of  his  head.*  The  numbers  of  the  garrison,  meanwhile,  ra- 
pidly diminished,  and  the  strength  of  the  citizens  was  worn 
out  by  incessant  duty.  Stahrenberg  was  compelled  to  punish 
the  sleepy  sentinels  with  death.  Famine  now  began  to  add  to 
the  other  miseries  endured  by  the  wretched  Viennese,  who, 
reduced  to  the  last  extremity,  fired,  during  a  dark  night,  a 
radius  of  rockets  from  the  tower  of  St.  Stephen's,  as  a  signal 
of  distress  to  the  auxiliary  forces  supposed  to  be  advancing 
behind  the  Leopold  and  Kahlenberg.  The  aid  so  long  awaited 
was,  fortunately,  close  at  hand.  The  vicinity  and  greatness  of 
the  danger  had  caused  an  imperial  army  to  be  assembled  in  an 
unusually  short  space  of  time ;  the  emperor  had  twenty  thou- 
sand men  under  Charles,  duke  of  Lorraine ;  the  electors  of 
Bavaria  and  Saxony  came  in  person  at  the  head  of  twelve 
thousand  men  each.  Swabia  and  Franconia  sent  nine  thou- 
sand into  the  field.  John  Sobieski,  the  chevaleresque  king  of 
Poland,  brought  an  auxiliary  troop  of  eighteen  thousand 
picked  men  from  the  North.  The  German  princes  ceded  to 
him  the  command  of  their  united  forces,  and,  on  Saturday,  the 
1 1th  of  September,  [a.  d.  1683,]  he  climbed  the  Kahlenberg, 
whence  he  fired  three  cannon  as  a  signal  to  the  Viennese  of 
their  approaching  deliverance,  and  on  the  following  morning 
fell  upon  the  camp  of  the  Turks,  who  had  thoughtlessly  omit- 
ted taking  the  precautionary  measure  c^occupjdng  the  heights, 
and  who,  confident  in  their  numerical  strength,  continued  to 
carry  on  the  siege  whilst  they  sent  too  weak  a  force  against  the 
advancing  enemy.  The  Grermans,  consequently,  succeeded  in 
pushing  on ;  the  imperial  troops  on  the  left  wing,  the  Saxons 

*  Kara  M ustapha  was  subsequently  strangled  on  account  of  his  (ie- 
feat,  and  his  head,  found  on  the  takmg  of  Belgrade,  was  sent  to  the 
bishop,  who  sullied  his  fame  by  his  cruelty  towards  the  Hungarian  Pro- 
testants. 


VIENNA  BESIEGED  BY  THE  TURKS.  495 

and  Bavarians  in  the  centre,  leaving  the  right  wing,  oompoeed 
of  Poles,  behind.  The  Germans  halted  and  were  joined  at 
Dombach  hj  the  Poles.  A  troop  of  twenty  thousand  Turkish 
cavalrj,  the  indecision  of  whose  movements  betrayed  their 
want  of  a  leader,  was  routed  by  Sobieski's  sudden  attack,  and 
the  Grermans,  inspirited  by  this  success,  fell  upon  the  Turkish 
camp.  Thirty  thousand  Christian  prisoners  were  instantly 
murdered  by  command  of  the  enraged  visir,  who,  histead  of 
turniog  his  whole  force  against  the  new  assailants,  poured  a 
shower  of  bombs  and  balls  upon  Vienna.  The  Turks,  already 
discontented  at  the  contradictory  orders,  refused  to  obey  and 
were  easily  routed.  The  grand  visir's  tent  and  an  immense 
treasure  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Poles ;  the  whole  of  the 
Turkish  artillery  into  those  of  the  Germans.  The  secret  cor- 
respondence between  Louis  XIV.  and  the  Porte  was  disco- 
vered among  the  grand  visir's  papers.  Forty-eight  thousand 
Turks  fell  during  the  siege  ;  twenty  thousand  in  the  battle. 

On  the  following  day,  the  Polish  king  entered  Vienna  on 
horseback  and  was  greeted  by  crowds  of  people,  who  thronged 
around  him  to  kiss  his  stirrup.  The  emperor,  who  had  taken 
into  deep  consideration  the  mode  in  which  a  meeting  with 
8obieski  could  be  arranged  without  wounding  his  own  dig- 
nity, had  at  length  resolved  to  come  to  his  rencontre  mount^ 
on  horseback,  and,  after  bestowing  an  amicable  greeting  upon 
his  deliverer,  remained  stiffly  seated  in  his  saddle,  nor  even 
raised  his  hat,  on  his  hand  being  kissed  by  Sobieski's  son  or 
on  the  presentation  of  some  of  the  Polish  nobles.  The  Polish 
army  was  also  ill-provided  for,  and  the  Poles  evinced  an  in- 
clination to  return ;  Sobieski,  however,  declared  his  intention 
to  remain,  even  if  abandoned  to  a  man,  until  the  enemy  had 
been  entirely  driven  out  of  the  country,  and  unweariedly 
pursued  the  Turks,  twenty  thousand  of  whom  again  fell  at 
Parkan,  until  they  had  completely  evacuated  the  country, 
when  he  returned  to  Poland. 

Charles  of  Lorraine,  aided  by  Louis  of  Baden,  carried  on 
the  war  during  the  ensuing  year  and  attempted  to  regain 
Hungary.  Still,  notwithstanding  the  fate  of  Kara  Mustapha, 
who  had,  at  the  sultan's  command,  been  strangled  at  Belgrade, 
and  the  inability  of  his  successors,  who  were  either  too  deeply 
absorbed  in  the  intrigues  of  the  seraglio  or  too  unskilled  in 
war  to  take  the  command  of  a  second  expedition,  the  Turkish 


496  VIENNA  BESIEGED  BY  THE  TURKS. 

commandants  and  garrisons  retained  possession  of  the  Hiin«J 
garian  fortresses  and  offered  a  brave  and  obstinate  resistance^ 
Eyerj.attempt  against  Ofen  failed,  notwithstanding  the  de- 
feat of  the  relieving  army  at  Handzabek  by  Duke  Charlc 
Ibrahim,  sumamed  Satan,  maintained  the  city  during  a  pro- 
tracted siege,  which  cost  the  Germans  twenty-three  thousand 
men,  ▲.  d.  1684. ^In  the  ensuing  campaign,  Caprara,  field- 
marshal  t)f  the  imperial  forces,  besieged  the  fbrtress  of  Nea- 
bausel,  which,  after  being  desperately  defended  by  Zarub,  a 
Bohemian  nobleman,  who  had  embraced  Islamism  and  been 
created  a  pacha,  was  finally  taken  by  storm.  The  whole  o€ 
the  garrison,  the  pacha  included,  fell.  The  whole  of  Upper 
Hungary  fell  into  Caprara's  hands.  The  unfortunate  Count 
Tokoly  was  carried  off  in  chains  by  the  Turks,  and  his  valiant 
wife,  a  daughter  of  the  decapitated  Xriny  and  the  widow  of  a 
Ragoczy,  long  defended  her  treasures  in  the  rocky  fastness  of 
Muncacz.  Most  of  her  husband's  partisans,  however,  went 
over  to  the  triumphant  imperialists,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 

fortified  towns  capitulated,  A.  d.  1685. Ofen,  defended  by 

Abdurrhaman  pacha  and  by  a  garrison,^  ten  thousand  strong, 
who  were  favoured  by  the  inhabitants,  all  of  whom  were  Turis, 
was  again  besieged  by  the  elector  of  Bavaria,  whilst  Charles 
of  Lorraine  marched  against  the  Turkish  army  advancing  to 
its  relief.  The  contest  was  carried  on  with  equal  fury  on 
both  sides.  The  Germans  were  repulsed  with  a  loss  of  three 
to  four  thousand  men.  The  grand  visir  was,  meanwhile,  kept 
in  check  by  Duke  Charles,  and  Ofen,  after  a  terrific  struggle, 
was  finally  taken  by  storm,  September  the  2nd,  1686,  with- 
out an  effort  being  made  on  the  part  of  the  terror-stricken 
visir.  The  Turks  defended  themselves  even  in  the  courts 
and  apartments  of  the  ancient  castle,  where  they  were  slain 
together  with  their  women  and  children.  The  brave  Abdur- 
rhaman fell.  Two  thousand  men,  who  had  taken  refuge  in 
one  of  the  castle  squares,  alone  received  quarter.  The  grand 
visir  fled.  A  fearful  revenge  was  taken  by  the  emperor  upon 
Hungary.  A  tribunal,  known  as  the  slaughter-house  of  Epe- 
ries,  was  held  by  General  Caraffa.  Every  Hungarian,  suspect- 
ed of  having  sided  with  Tokoly,  was  thrown  into  prison  and 
cruelly  tortured,  and  a  great  number  were  executed.  Venge- 
ance fell  upon  all  who  refused  implicit  obedience  to  Austria ; 
the  national  right  of  election  was  annulled,  and  the  hereditary 


FRENCH  DEPREDATIONS.  497 

right  of  the  house  of  Habsburg  proclaimed  throughout  Hun- 
gary. Charles  of  Lorraine  was  again  victorious  over  the 
Turks  at  Mohacz,  a.  d.  1687.  He  was  succeeded  in  the  com- 
nuind  by  Louis,  Margrave  of  Baden,  who,  in  1691,  again  beat 
the  Turks  at  Szalankemen,  but  was  compelled  to  yield  his 
post  to  Frederick  Augustus,  elector  of  Saxony.  The  inability 
of  this  prince  induced  the  emperor  to  bestow  the  command 
on  Eugene,  prince  of  Savoy,  whom  Louis  XIV.  had,  by  per- 
sonal ridicule,  rendered  his  most  implacable  foe..  Eugene, 
whose  diminutive  person,  half  concealed  beneath  an  immense 
peruke  and  mounted  on  a  tall  horse,  bore  a  most  ludicrous 
appearance,  was  one  of  the  greatest  generals  of  his  time  and 
was  idolized  by  his  soldiery,  whom  he  ever  led  to  victory.  In 
the  battle  of  Zenta,  he  entirely  broke  the  power  of  the  Turks ; 
he  took  Belgrade,  and,  by  the  peace  of  Carlowitz,  confirmed 
Austria  in  the  possession  of  the  whole  of  Hungary.  Ragoczy 
[a.  d.  1699]  again  set  up  the  standard  of  rebellion  in  Hungary, 
but  was  reduced  to  submission,  and  the  next  emperor,  Joseph 
L,  sought  to  conciliate  the  people  by  a  greater  show  of  lenity. 

CCXXVII.   French  depredations. 

The  edict  of  Nantes,  published  by  Louis  XIV.,  had  driven 
eight  hundred  thousand  Reformers  out  of  France.  Servile 
Switzerland  repulsed  them  from  her  inhospitable  frontiers, 
and  they  emigrated  to  Holland,  England,  and,  more  particu- 
larly, to  Brandenburg,  where  they  were  permitted  by  the 
great  elector  to  settle  at  Berlin,  a.  d.  1685.  Their  gradual  in- 
termixture with  the  natives  produced  the  peculiarly  boastful 
and  shrewd  character  for  which  the  people  of  Berlin  are  pro- 
verbial. Louis,  at  the  same  time,  continued  his  encroachments^ 
seized  Treves,  harassed  Lorraine  and  Alsace,  and  erected  the 
fortress  of  Hiiningen,*  opposite  to  Basle.  The  Swiss  mur- 
mured, but,  ever  mercenary,  furnished  him  with  all  the  con- 
tingents he  required,  and,  during  the  subsequent  war,  their 
number  amounted  to  twenty-eight  thousand  seven  hundred 

•  Over  the  gateway  stood  the  following  inscription,  "  Ludovicus  Mag- 
nus, rex  Christianissimus,  Belgicus,  Seguanicust  GermanictiSy  pace  £u- 
ropae  concessft,  Huningam  arcem,  sociis  tutelam,  hostibus  terrorem,  ex- 
stnixit.**  Louis  carried  his  contempt  of  the  Baselese  so  far  as  to  have  a 
cannon  founded  for  this  fortress,  with  the  inscription,  *'  Si  tu  te  remues, 
B^le,  Je  te  tue." 

VOL.   II.  2  k 


498  FEENCH  DEPREDATIONS. 

men.  Valckenier,  the  Datch  envoy  to  Switzerland,  at  the 
same  time,  succeeded  in  raising  eight  thousand  five  hondred 
men  from  the  Reformed  cantons. 

The  possession  of  the  Pfalz  had  long  been  the  principal  ob- 
ject of  Louis's  ambition.  The  Pfalzgrave,  Charles  Louis,  who 
had  been  deprived  of  his  inheritance  by  French  intrigue,  la- 
boured throughout  the  whole  of  his  life  to  reconcile  the  various 
religious  sects.  At  Friedrichsburg  he  built  a  church,  named 
by  him  the  Temple  of  Concord,  in  which  he  had  the  service 
successively  performed  according  to  the  three  Christian  forms 
of  worship,  the  Catholic,  the  Lutheran,  and  the  Calvinistic. 
He  also  abolished  the  severe  laws  against  the  Anabaptists. 
His  toleration  drew  colonists  from  every  part  of  Cermany,  who 
again  cultivated  his  wasted  lands  and  rapidly  restored  Mann- 
heim, in  particular,  to  a  state  of  prosperity.  The  capricious 
conduct  of  his  consort,  Charlotte  of  Hesse-Cassel,  provoked  a 
divorce,  and  he  married  Mademoiselle  Louise  von  Degenfeld, 
by  whom  he  had  thirteen  children,  who,  on  account  of  the 
inequality  of  their  mother's  birth,  were  excluded  from  the  suc- 
cession. Of  his  two  children  by  his  former  wife,  the  prince 
died  early,  and  his  daughter,  Elisabeth  Charlotte,  he  was,  in 
1671,  persuaded  by  Louis  XIV.  to  bestow  upon  Philip  of 
Orleans,  as  security  against  all  further  attacks  on  the  part  of 
France.  Louis's  insolence  was,  however,  thereby  increased, 
and,  under  pretext  of  Charles  Louis's  having  aided  in  again 
depriving  him  of  Philippsburg,  he  demanded  150,000  florins  by 
way  of  reparation  and  sent  troops  to  Neustadt  in  order  to 
enforce  payment.  Germersheim  was  declared  dependent  upon 
France,  and  the  unfortunate  elector,  unsupported  by  the  em- 
pire, died  of  chagrin,  ▲.  d.  1685. 

Louis  instantly  claimed  the  inheritance  for  Philip,  Charlotte's 
husband,  without  regard  to  the  right  of  the  house  of  Wittels- 
bach.  The  Grerman  princes,  who  had  unscrupulously  deserted  the 
imperial  free  towns  and  the  nobility  of  the  empire  in  Alsace, 
and  the  Dutch  republic  were,  at  length,  roused  by  this  inso- 
lent attack  on  their  hereditary  rights,  and,  entering  into  a 
close  confederacy,  formed  [a.  d.  1686]  the  great  alliance  of 
Augsburg  against  France.  Even  Maximilian  of  Bavaria, 
who,  under  the  guidance  of  Marshal  Yillars  and  of  bis  mis- 
tresses, imitated  all  the  vices  of  the  French  court,  saw  his 
family  interests  endangered  by  the  destruction  of  the  Pfalz, 
ranged  himself  on  the  emperor's  side,  and  dismissed  Villars, 


FRENCH  DEPREDATIONS.  499 

'  who,  on  quitting  him,  loaded  him  with  ahuse.    The  pope  also^ 
terrified  at  the  audacity  of  the  French  monarch,  once  more 
pronounced  in  favour  of  Crermany.     Each  side  vied  with  the 
other  in  diplomatic  wiles  and  intrigue.     On  the  demise  of 
Maximilian  Henry  of  Cologne,  William  von  Furstenherg,  who 
had,  by  Louisas  influence,  been  presented  with  a  cardinal's 
hat,  had  been  elected  archbishop  of  Cologne  by  the  bribed 
chapter  and  resided  at  Bonn  under  the  protection  of  French 
troops.     The  citizens  of  Cologne,  however,  closed  the  gates 
against  him  and  were  aided  by  Brandenburg  troops  from 
Cleve  and  by  the  Bavarians.     The  election  was  abrogated  by 
the  emperor,  the  empire,  and  the  pope,  by  whom  Prince  Jo- 
seph Clement  of  Bavaria  was  installed  as  archbishop  of  C^ 
logne  instead  of  the  cardinal.     The  great  league  was  [a.  d. 
1688]  considerably  strengthened  by  the  accession  of  Wil- 
liam of  Orange  to  the  throne  of  England  in  the  place  of  his 
Catholic  father-in-law,  James  I.,  who  took  refuge  in  France. 
Louis  XIY.,  foreseeing  the  commencement  of  a  fresh  and 
great  struggle,  hastened  to  anticipate  the  league,  and,  in  the 
autumn  of  1688,  sent  fifty  thousand  men,  under  General 
Montclas,  into  the  Pfalz,  which  was  left  totally  unprotected 
by  the  empire.     The  cities  were  easily  taken ;  Treves,  Spires, 
Worms,  Oflenburg,  Mayence,  and  the  fortress  of  Philippsburg, 
which  ofiered  but  a  short  resistance,  also  fell.     The  elector- 
ates of  Treves  and  Mayence  were  overrun  and  plundered. 
Coblentz  and  the  castle  of  Heidelberg  alone  withstood  the 
siege.     Louis,  meanwhile,   unsatisfied  with  occupying  and 
plundering  these  countries,  followed  the  advice  of  his  minister, 
Louvois,  and,  as  far  as  was  in  his  power,  laid  waste  the  Pfalz 
and  the  rest  of  the  Rhenish  and  Swabian  frontier  provinces, 
partly  to  avenge  his  non-acquisition  of  these  fertile  territories, 
partly  with  a  view  of  hindering  their  occupation  by  a  Ger- 
man army.     Montclas  and  Melac,  the  latter  of  whom  boasted 
that  he  would  fight  for  his  king  against  all  the  powers  of 
heaven  and  of  hell,  zealously  executed  their  master's  com- 
mands.   Worms,  Spires,  Frankenthal,  Alzei,  Oberwesel,  An- 
dernach,  Kochheim,  and  Kreuznach  were  reduced  to  ashes, 
the  inhabitants  murdered  or  dragged  into  France  and  com- 
pelled to  recant.     In  Spires,  the  imperial  vaults  were  broken 
open,  and  the  remains  of   the  emperors  desecrated.      Si- 
milar scenes  were  enacted  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Rhine. 

2  K  2 


500  FRENCH  DEPREDATIONS. 

Mannheim,  Oppenheim,  Ladenbnrg,  Weinheim,  Heppenhemiy ' 
Darlach,  BruchBal,  Rastadt,  Grennaheim,  Baden,  Bretten, 
Pforzheim,  were  burnt  to  the  ground.  Heidelbei^  greatlj 
suffered ;  the  castle  held  out  The  French  advanced  thenoe 
up  the  Neckar,  plundered  HeUbronn,  Esaiingen,  Swabian 
Hall,  took  the  Asberg  and  plundered  the  arsenal,  but  were 
repulsed  from  Goeppingen  and  Schomdorf,  where  the  women 
inspirited  the  men  by  their  example.  Wurzbui^,  Bamberg, 
Nuremberg,  etc.  were  threatened  with  destruction  and  heavilj 
mulcted.  Frankfurt  a  M.,  Botenburg  on  the  Tauber,  the  latter 
of  which  was  surrounded  bj  seventeen  villages  in  flames,  made 
a  valiant  defence.  Feuqui^res  was  routed  before  Ulm,  and  num- 
bers of  the  fugitive  French  were  slain  by  the  enraged  peasantry. 
Ehingen  was,  in  retaliation,  burnt  to  the  ground.  Tubingen 
was  taken  and  sacked  by  Montclas,  who  was,  in  his  turn,  de- 
prived of  his  booty  before  Freudenstadt  by  the  peasants  of  the 
Black  Forest.  The  authorities  of  Stuttgard,  struck  with 
terror,  opened  the  gates  to  the  French  against  the  wishes  of 
the  people,  who  loudly  demanded  arms.  Melac  attempted  to 
fire  the  city,  but  was  expelled  by  the  infuriated  peasantry  and 
by  the  Swabian  Landwehr,  under  Charles,  duke  of  Baden, 
and  succeeded  with  difficulty  in  carrying  off  his  booty  and 
the  hostages  he  had  taken  as  security  for  the  payment  of  the 
fine  imposed  by  him  upon  the  city.  The  French  also  pene- 
trated into  Upper   Swabia  and  burnt  Villingen. ^They 

overran  the  Lower  Bhine,  laid  the  territories  of  Liege,  Ju- 
liers,  etc.  waste,  and  burnt  Siegburg,  where  they  practised 
every  atrocity. A  list  of  twelve  hundred  cities  and  vil- 
lages, that  still  remained  to  be  burnt,  was  exhibited  by  these 
brigand  bands.  In  the  spring,  the  Bohemian  cities,  Traute- 
nau,  Braunau,  Klattau,  were  completely  destroyed,  and,  on  the 
21st  of  June,  four  hundred  bouses  were  burnt  in  Prague. 
Five  of  the  incendiaries  were  taken,  and,  before  their  execu- 
tion, confessed  that  the  authors  of  the  conflagration,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  in  number,  were  accompanied  by  a  Bohemian  cap- 
tain and  by  a  merchant,  the  secret  emissaries  of  France.  With 
such  tools  did  Louis  work.  He  attempted  the  life  of  William 
of  Orange,  the  newly-elected  monarch  of  England,  a.  d.  1689. 
The  phlegmatic  emperor  was  at  length  roused  and  hurried 
the  long-delayed  levy  of  imperial  troops.  The  great  elector 
was  dead,  and  his  son,  Frederick,  unable  to  cause  his  will,  by 


FBENCH  DEPREDATIONS.  501 

which  his  possessions  were  divided  among  his  other  children, 
to  be  invalidated  without  the  concurrence  of  the  emperor, 
openly  declared   against  France  and  ceded  the  district  of 
Schwiebus  to  the  emperor.     The  petty  princes,  alarmed  for 
their  ancient  privileges,  now  threatened  to  be  trodden  under 
foot  by  the  despotic  French  monarch,  also  followed  the  general 
impulse  for  defence,  and  hence  originated  the  decree  of  the 
Ratisbon  diet,  which,  with  unusufd  energy,  expelled  [▲.  d. 
16893  e^eiy  French  agent  from  Germany  and  prohibited  the 
reception  of  French  servants  and  intercourse  of  any  descrip- 
tion with  France,  the  emperor  adding  these  words,  "  because 
France  is  to  be  regarded  not  only  as  the  empire's  most  in- 
veterate foe,  but  as  that  of  the  whole  of  Christendom,  nay,  as 
even  worse  than  the  Turk."    Leopold,  for  the  sake  of  pro- 
moting the  unity  of  Germany,  even  laid  aside  his  ancient  re- 
ligions prejudices  and  bestowed  the  eighth  electoral  dignity 
upon  Ernest  Augustus,  duke  of  Brunswick-Hanover,  which 
placed  the  Protestant  electors  on  an  equal  footing  with  their 
Catholic  brethren  ; — Saxony,  Brandenburg,  Hanover — Bohe- 
mia, Bavaria,  and  the  Pfalz,  the  new  elector  of  the  Pfalz,  Philip, 
belonging  to  the  Catholic  branch  of  Neuburg.    Wolfenbiittel, 
actuated  by  fraternal  jealousy,  protested  against  the  elevation 

of  Hanover  to  the  electoral  dignity. The  emperor  also 

turned  to  Switzerland  and  revived  the  memory  of  her  former 
connexion  with  the  empire ;  how  easily  might  she  not  have 
prevented  the  devastation  of  the  Rhenish  province  by  falling 
upon  the  enemy's  flank !  But  she  no  longer  sympathized  with 
her  German  kindred  and  even  threatened  the  emperor  in  case 
he  refused  to  draw  his  troops  off  her  frontiers  to  the  Upper 
Rhine,  whilst  she  continued  to  furnish  the  French  king  with 
his  most  valuable  soldiery.  Dr.  Fatio,  who  [a.  d.  1691] 
raised  a  rebellion  against  the  bribed  and  tyrannical  govern- 
ment of  Basle,  was  arrested,  cruelly  tortured,  and  executed 
with  two  of  his  companions. 

The  war  commenced ;  but  the  dulness  and  disunion  of  the 
great  league  threw  every  advantage  on  the  side  of  Louis. 
William  of  Orange,  occupied  in  confirming  his  possession  of 
the  English  crown,  neglected  Holland  with  a  view  of  flatter- 
ing his  new  subjects.  The  states-general  remained  devoted 
to  him  both  under  their  president  Fagel,  who  died  a.  d. 
1688,  and  his  successor,  Heinsius;  these  men  were,  how- 


502  FRENCH  D£PBSDATIONS. 

ever»  no  mUitaiy  leaders,  nor  was  the  princelj  Count  von 
Waldeck,  the  Dutch  commander-in-chief;  and  the  emperor, 
intent  upon  following  up  his  success  in  Hungary,  had  sent 
thither  his  best  generals  and  troops.  Caprara,  whom  he  de- 
spatched into  Holland,  fell  into  a  dispute  with  Schoening,  the 
Brandenburg  marshal,  and  thej  were,  consequently,  merely  in 
each  other's  way.  The  elector  of  Bavaria,  insincere  in  his 
precessions,  held  back,  and  even  when  elected  stadtholder  of 
the  Spanish  Netherlands  discovered  equal  indifference.  The 
elector  of  Saxony  regained  Mayence,  but  died  in  camp,  and 
Mayence  fell  under  the  command  of  General  Thungen,  the 
greatest  patriot  of  the  day,  who,  in  order  to  strike  terror  into 
the  French  emissaries,  condemned  the  first  French  incendia- 
ries, who  fell  into  his  hands,  to  be  burnt  alive.  Schoening,  in 
conjunction  with  Saxony,  drove  the  French  out  of  Heilbronn ; 
and  Frederick,  elector  of  Brandenburg,  aided  by  the  Dutch, 
took  Bonn,  [a.  d.  1689,]  that  had  been  ceded  by  the  arch- 
bishop of  Cologne  to  France.  Waldeck  was,  nevertheless, 
defeated  [a.  d.  1690]  at  Fleurus,  by  a  French  force,  his  su- 
perior in  number,  under  the  Marshal  de  Luxemburg;  and 
Cornelius  Evertsen,  the  son  of  the  Evertsen  who  fell  in  1666, 
was  also  beaten  off  Bevesier  by  a  superior  French  fleet  under 
Tourville,  who  was,  in  his  turn,  defeated  [ad.  1691]  by  the 
English  under  Allmonde ;  notwithstanding  which,  the  French 
took  Namur  and  bombarded  Liege.  In  1692,  the  Dutch 
gained  a  brilliant  victory  at  La  Hogue,  but  William,  who  had 
returned  from  England,  was  defeated  by  the  Marshal  de  Lux- 
emburg at  Steenkerken,  and  the  French  under  Cati'nat  were, 
at  the  same  time,  victorious  in  Savoy  and  again  penetrated 
into  and  devastated  Swabia,  turning  their  chief  rage  upon 
Heidelberg  and  the  splendid  castle,  commanding  that  city, 
the  residence  of  the  Pfalzgrave,  whose  mighty  towers  were 
blown  up  and  converted  into  the  ruin  now  the  delight  of  the 
traveller.  The  incendiary  bands  then  mounted  the  Neckar. 
The  duke,  Charles  Frederick,  the  administrator  of  Wurtem- 
berg,  was  taken  captive ;  his  ransom  was  fixed  at  half  a  million 
livres.  The  mother  of  the  infant  duke,  Eberhard,  was  threat- 
ened in  Stuttgard,  which  mainly  owed  its  preservation  to  the 
courage  of  the  peasantry ;  the  whole  of  the  country  was  plun- 
dered ;  the  magnificent  monastery  of  Hirschau,  the  cities  of 
Calw,  Marbach,  Nuenburg,  Vaihingen,  etc.,  were  laid  in  ashes, 


FRENCH  DEPREDATIONS.  503 

and  numbers  of  hostages,  taken  as  security  for  the  payment  of 
the  enormous  sums  levied  upon  the  inhabitants,  were  starred 
to  death  on  account  of  the  delay  in  the  payment  of  the  money. 
These  predatory  incursions  were  renewed  in  the  ensuing  year, 
and  Winnenden,  Bakhang,  etc  were  burnt.     Rheinfels,  nobly 
defended  by  the  Hessians,  was  long  and  fruitlessly  besieged. 
Numbers  of  the  French  fell.     Louis,  Margrave  of  Baden,  was 
now  sent  by  the  emperor  from  Hungary  to  the  Rhine,  and  that 
general  instantly  invaded  Alsace,  but,  on  attempting  to  pene- 
trate into  the  heart  of  France,  [a.  d.  1693,]  the  imperial  troops, 
more  particularly  the  Saxons,  refused  to  follow,  and  he  was 
compelled  to  return.     William  of  Orange  also  suffered  a  second 
defeat  in  the  Netherlands,  near  Neerwinden.  Villeroi  followed 
in  the  steps  of  Luxemburg,  who  had  bombarded  and  almost 
entirely  destroyed  Brussels.    The  allies  regained  Namur,  ▲.  d. 
1694,  but,  nevertheless,  gradually  displayed  less  energy. 

The  French,  on  the  other  hand,  made  considerable  progress 
in  Spain,  where,  notwithstanding  the  gallant  defence  made  by 
George,  Landgrave  of  Hesse-Darmstadt,  they  took  Barcelona. 
Savoy  was  also  compelled  to  «ue  for  peace.     Mayence  was 
again  attacked,  and  a  popular  insurrection,  caused  by  the 
heavy  war-taxes,  took  place  simultaneously  at  Amsterdam, 
A..  i>.  1696.     A  disgraceful  peace  was,  consequently,  concluded 
at  Ryswick,  a.  d.  1697,  by  which  Louis  XIV.,  besides  Lor- 
raine, the  Pfalz,  Breisach,  Freiburg,  and  Philippsburg,  retained 
all  his  conquests,  among  others  Strassburg.     It  is  worthy  of 
remark  that  the  French  language  was,  at  this  period,  made 
use  of  in  transacting  all  diplomatic  affairs,  the  French  ambas- 
sadors no  longer  tolerating  the  use  of  Latin. 

Philip  of  the  Pfalz  instantly  enforced  the  maxim,  "  Cujus 
regio,  ejus  religio,"  throughout  his  new  possessions  and  emu- 
lated Louis  XIV.  in  tyranny  towards  the  Protestants,  who 
emigrated  in  great  numbers  ;  and  Louis,  notwithstanding  the 
peace,  marched  troops  into  the  Wurtemberg  county  of  Miim- 
pelgard,  where  he  established  the  Catholic  form  of  service, 
A.  D.  1699.  The  Jesuits,  at  the  same  time,  recommenced  the 
persecution  of  the  heretics  in  the  imperial  provinces,  and 
numbers  of  Silesians  abandoned  their  native  soil. 

The  complete  neglect  of  the  imperial  fortresses  on  the  Upper 
Rhine  was,  after  such  cruel  experience,  perfectly  in  accordance 
with  the  spirit  of  the  age. 


604         GERMAN  PRINCES  ON  FOREIGN  THRONES 


1 


CCXXVlLL  German  princes  on  foreign  thrones. 

Whilst  Germany  was  thus  a  prey  to  external  foes,  a  num- 
ber of  the  reigning  families  in  Europe  became  extinct,  and,  by 
a  strange  whim  of  fate,  bequeathed  their  thrones  to  Grerman 
princes.  This  circumstance,  however,  far  from  proving  bene- 
ficial to  the  German  empire,  greatly  contributed  to  estrange 
her  native  princes  and  to  render  their  hereditary  provinces 
dependent  upon  their  new  possessions. 

The  house  of  Oldenburg  had  long  reigned  in  Denmark  and 
directed  its  policy  against  the  empire.  Schleswig  and  Hol- 
stein  were,  as  provinces  subordinate  to  Denmark,  governed  by 
a  prince  of  this  house  in  the  Danish  interest  similarly  with 
Oldenburg,  when,  in  1666,  the  elder  branch  became  extinct 

In  Sweden,  the  Pfalzic  dynasty,  raised  [a.  d.  1654]  to  the 
throne,  also  pursued  an  anti-German  system,  that  of  Oxen- 
stiema,  for  the  aggrandizement  of  the  North. 

The  house  of  Orange  was  no  sooner  seated  [a.  d.  1688]  on 
the  throne  of  England,  than  the  interests  of  Germany  were 
sacrificed  to  those  of  Great  Britain. 

Frederick  Augustus,  brother  to  John  George  lY.,  elector 
of  Saxony,  travelled  over  the  half  of  Europe  during  his  youth. 
A  giant  in  size  and  strength,  he  took  delight  in  the  dangers 
and  pleasures  pursued  by  the  French  gallants  of  that  period. 
On  his  arrival  at  Madrid,  he  mingled  with  the  combatants  in 
a  bull-fight,  seized  the  most  savage  of  the  bulls  by  the  horns 
and  dashed  him  to  the  ground.  No  woman  withstood  his 
seductions,  and,  after  escaping  all  the  dangers  with  which  he 
was  threatened  by  the  jealous  Southerns,  he  returned  to  Sax- 
ony, where  [a.  d.  1694]  he  succeeded  his  brother  on  the 
electoral  throne.  Louis  XIY.  was  his  model,  and,  aided  by 
his  favourite,  Flemming,  on  whom  he  had  bestowed  the  title 
of  Count,  he  began  to  subvert  Saxony.  The  extravagance  of 
his  predecessor  was  economy  when  compared  with  his.  One 
mistress  supplanted  another;  all  cost  incredible  sums.  His 
household  was  placed  upon  an  immense  footing ;  palaces, 
churches,  retreats  (as,  for  instance,  Morizburg,  the  Saxon 
Versailles,  notorious  for  its  wanton  fdtes)  were  erected ;  the 
most  costly  chef-d'oBuvres  were  purchased  with  tons  of  gold ; 
the  '^  green  vaults,**  a  collection  of  useless  treasures^  was  swell- 


OE&MAN  FRmCBS  ON  FOREIGN  THRONBS.         505 

e^  witb  fresh  valuables  and  cariosities  of  every  description. 
And  for  all  this  his  little  territory  paid.  Not  a  murmur 
escaped  the  people  until  the  elector,  instead  of  raising  his 
numerous  army  as  usual  from  volunteers,  levied  recruits  by 
force,  and  a  revolt  ensued,  a.  d.  1626.  *  The  rebellion  was 
quelled,  and  the  recruits  were  forced  by  the  infliction  of  tor- 
ture to  swear  fealty  to  the  colours. 

The  ensuing  year  found  the  elector  at  the  summit  of  his 
ambition.  He  was  elected,  by  means  of  bribing  the  Waiwodes 
and  gaining  Russia  and  the  emperor  of  Germany  over  to  his 
interests,  king  of  Poland.  Russia  was  at  that  period  under  the 
rule  of  Peter  the  Great,  who  raised  her  power  to  a  height,  des- 
tined at  a  future  period  to  endanger  Europe.  Sweden  was  at 
that  time  Russia's  most  formidable  opponent,  and  Peter,  with 
the  view  of  paralysing  the  influence  of  that  monarchy  over 
Poland,  favoured  the  elevation  of  the  elector  of  Saxony.  •  The 
emperor  was  won  over  by  the  recantation  of  the  new  sove- 
reign. The  reception  of  the  successor  of  John  Frederick,  the 
sturdy  opponent  to  Catholicism,  into  the  bosom  of  the  ancient 
churdi  was  indeed  a  triumph.  Shortly  previous  to  this  event, 
Augustus  had  been  involved  in  some  intrigues  at  Vienna, 
where  he  is  said  to  have  watched  unseen  the  raising  of  an  ap- 
parition intended  to  work  upon  the  imagination  of  the  arch- 
duke, afterwards  the  emperor,  Joseph  I.,  and  to  have  thrown 
the  priest,  who  personated  the  ghost,  out  of  the  window  into 
the  palace  court.  He  also  gained  over  the  Jesuits  by  favour- 
ing their  establishment  in  Poland.  The  elevation  of  the  house 
of  Saxony,  on  the  other  hand,  deprived  it  of  its  station  as  the 
head  of  the  Protestant  princes  and  of  all  the  advantages  it  had 
thereby  gained  since  the  Reformation,  and  Brandenhurg  be- 
came henceforward  the  champion  of  Protestantism  and  the 
first  Protestant  power  in  Germany. 

^he  frustration  of  the  schemes  of  Louis  XIY.  upon  Poland 
and  the  ignominious  retreat  of  the  Prince  de  Conti,  the  French 
competitor  for  that  throne,  after  the  expulsion  of  his  fleet  un- 
der John  Barth  from  the  harbour  of  Dantzig,  were  the  sole 
advantages  gained  on  this  occasion  by  Germany.  Augustus 
was  [a.  d.  1697]  elected  king  of  Poland.  Still,  notwithstand- 
ing his  knee  being  kissed  in  token  of  homage  by  the  whole  of 
X  the  Polish  nobility  and  the  magnificence  of  his  state,  (his  royal 
robes  alone  cost  a  million  dollurs,)  he  was  compelled  to  swear 


506         GERMAN  PRINCES  ON  FOREIGN  THRONES. 

to  tome  extremely  humiliating  pacta  conventa  and  to  refrain 
from  bringing  his  consort,  who  steadily  refused  to  embrace 
the  Catholic  fiuth,  into  the  country.  The  privileges  of  the 
Poles  were  secured ;  Saxony  was  taxed  to  meet  the  expenses 
incurred  by  her  sovereign  and  was  compelled  to  furnish  Poland 
with  money  and  troops,  whilst  the  Catholic  prince,  £gon  von 
Fiirstenberg,  the  stadtholder  during  the  absence  of  her  sove- 
reign, drained  the  coffers  of  the  Protestants,  and,  these  sources 
proving  insufficient,  some  of  the  hereditary  demesnes  were 
told,  among  others,  the  ancestral  castle  of  Wettin.  Augustus 
was  finally  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  issuing  a  debased  coin- 
age. Alchymists  were  also  had  recourse  to.  One,  named 
^ettenberg,  was  beheaded  for  failing  in  the  discovery  of 
gold ;  another,  Boettger,  whilst  imprisoned  at  Kosnigstein,  in- 
vented porcelain,  by  the  fabrication  of  which  the  elector  real- 
ized immense  sums. The  loss  of  the  inheritance  of  Saxon- 

Lauenburg,  whose  last  duke,  Julius  Francis,  expired  a.  d. 
1689,  was  severely  felt  by  Saxony.  The  house  of  Anhalt, 
a  branch  of  that  of  Lauenburg,  had  the  first  claim,  but  was 
too  weak  to  compete  for  its  right.  That  of  Saxony  had  been 
confirmed  by  the  emperor,  Maximilian  I.,  but  John  George, 
neglecting  to  take  possession  of  it,  was  superseded  by  Geoi^ 
William  of  Brunswick-Celle,  who  occupied  the  duchy  with  his 
troops,  and  Augustus,  too  much  occupied  with  Poland  to  assert 
his  claim,  consented  to  receive  an  indemnity  of  1, 100,000  fiorina. 
On  the  death  of  the  great  elector  of  Brandenburg  [a.  d. 
1688]  his  will  was  declared  invalid  by  his  son,  Frederick,  who 
maintained  the  indivisibility  of  the  territory  of  Brandenbui^ 
against  the  claims  of  the  children  of  his  step-mother,  Dorothea, 
on  whom  he  bitterly  avenged  himself.  Frederick's  mean  and 
misshapen  person,  the  consequence  of  an  accident  in  his  in- 
fancy, gained  for  him  the  sobriquet  of  the  royal  JS^^.  His 
government  was  at  first  highly  popular.  Dankelmann,  his 
prime  minister,  who  had  formerly  saved  his  life,  was  severe 
but  just.  The  elector  had,  however,  a  taste  for  pomp  and 
luxury,  in  which  he  was  encouraged  by  his  favourite,  von 
Kolbe,  who  placed  his  wife  in  his  master's  arms.  This  noto- 
rious person  was  the  daughter  of  a  publican  at  Emmerick,  and, 
notwithstanding  the  title  of  Countess  von  Wartenberg,  be- 
stowed  upon  her  by  the  elector,  often  caused  him  extreme 
embarrassment  by  the  coarseness  of  her  manners.     It  was  by 


QEBMAN  PRINCES  ON  FOREIGN  THRONES.         507 

her  means  that  her  husband  succeeded  in  his  base  machina- 
tions. Dankelmann  was  suddenly  arrested  and  thrown  into  a 
dnngeon  at  Spandau,  and  Kolbe  succeeded  him  as  minister, 
with  anlunited  authority,  under  the  name  of  Count  Ton  War- 
tenberg.  Ignorant  and  mean,  he  solely  retained  his  office  by 
Mattering  the  weak  vanity  and  ambition  of  the  elector.  The 
elevation  of  William  of  Orange  to  the  throne  of  England,  and 
of  Augustus  of  Saxony  to  that  of  Poland,  roused  Frederick's 
jealousy^  of  which  Kolbe  took  advantage  to  inspire  him  with 
a  desire  for  the  possession  of  a  crown,  and  the  transformation 
of  the  duchy  of  Prussia,  then  no  longer  a  Polish  feof,  into  a 
kingdom  was  resolved  upon,  and  its  recognition  was  effected 
by  means  of  six  million  dollars.  The  Jesuits  in  Vienna  re^ 
ceived  two  hundred  thousand.  They  treated  the  petty  king- 
dom with  ridicule,  but  Prince  Eugene,  who  foresaw  that  the 
successors  of  this  new  monarch  would  increase  in  power  and 
arrogance,  said,  "  Those  ministers  by  whom  the  king  of  Prus- 
sia has  been  recognised  deserve  to  be  hanged."  The  pope  also 
strongly  protested  against  the  weak  concession  made  by  the 
emperor. 

A  solemn  coronation  and  the  creation  of  the  order  of  the 
black  eagle  took  place  [a.  d.  1701]  at  Koenigsberg.  Fre- 
derick placed  the  crown  on  his  own  brow,  and  then  on  that  of 
bis  consort.  This  princess  favoured  the  Pietists  and  had  placed 
the  celebrated  Franke,  the  founder  of  the  Orphan  Asylum  at 
Halle,  near  her  person.  He  was,  however,  dismissed  by  the 
king,  who  declared  salvation  to  be  the  natural  prerogative  of  the 
kings  of  the  earth.  Frederick  aped  the  stiff  etiquette  of  the 
Spanish  court  and  surrounded  his  person  and  his  palace  with 
Swiss  guards,  whilst  the  ceremonious  attitude  of  his  court,  like 
the  altar  service  in  the  Catholic  churches,  proclaimed  the  ma- 
jesty of  this  terrestrial  deity,  who  merely  laid  aside  his  dignity 
in  his  smoking-room.  The  royal  dignity  cost  enormous  sums. 
Kolbe,  who  at  the  same  time  filled  his  own  purse,  invented  the 
most  extraordinary  taxes  in  order  to  extract  money  from  the 
people,  as,  for  instance,  on  wigs,  dresses,  hogs'  bristles,  etc. 
Alchymy  was  also  had  recourse  to.  An  alchymist,  who  had 
assumed  the  title  of  Don  Dominico  Caetano,  Conte  de  Rug- 
giero,  and  had  grossly  deceived  the  king,  was  hanged  on  a  gilt 
gallows  in  a  Roman  toga  made  of  gold  paper.  The  fading 
beauty  and  increasing  impudence  of  the  Countess  von  War- 


608  THE  NORTHERN  WAR. 

tenberg  also  led  to  KolWs  downfal,  and  a  dispute  arisii^ 
between  him  and  one  of  his  creatures,  Count  Wittgenstein,  on 
account  of  the  large  sums  taken  bj  the  latter  from  the  fire- 
insurance  office,  the  whole  of  his  criminal  proceedings  were 
discovered,  and  he  and  his  accomplices  were  punished.  Kolbe 
and  his  infamous  wife,  however,  escaped  with  honourable  ban- 
ishment and  a  pension  of  twenty-four  thousand  dollars.  A 
new  palace  was  built  at  Berlin,  where  the  citizens,  whose  taste 
was  in  some  degree  influenced  by  the  French  settlers,  vied 
with  the  courtiers  in  luxury  and  splendour. 

CCXXIX.   The  Northern  war.— Charles  the  Twelfth. 

On  the  accession  of  Charles  XIL,  in  his  seventeenth  year, 
to  the  throne  of  Sweden,  the  neighbouring  powers,  deeming 
the  moment  favourable,  attempted  to  humble  the  power  of  that 
kingdom.  The  league  entered  into  [a.  d.  1699]  by  Russia, 
Denmark,  and  Saxon-Poland,  was  brought  about  by  Patkul,  a 
patriotic  Livonian,  who  had  been  greatly  ill-treated  by  ^e 
Swedes.  The  rights  and  privileges  of  the  Livonians  had  been 
infringed  by  Charles  XL,  and  a  deputation  from  the  Estates, 
in  which  Patkul  was  included,  had,  notwithstanding  the  safe- 
conduct  granted  by  the  king,  been  abused.  Patkul  fled  and 
was  sentenced  to  death  in  contumaciam.  Peter,  the  czar  of 
Russia,  sent  him  as  his  ambassador  to  Saxon-Poland,  and 
took  advantage  of  the  quarrel  between  Livonia  and  Sweden 
to  extend  his  sovereignty  along  the  Gulf  of  Finland  to  the 

detriment  of  Sweden. The  hostility  of  the  Danes  had  been 

also  roused  by  the  voluntary  annexation  of  Schleswig-Holstein 
to  Sweden.  In  1684,  an  attempt  made  by  Christian  V.  of 
Denmark  to  reannex  Schleswig  with  Denmark  was  frustrated 
by  the  intervention  of  the  neighbouring  powers.  Christian 
Albert  of  Schleswig-Holstein  expired  a.  d.  1694.  His  son, 
Frederick,  married  Hedwig  Sophia,  the  sister  of  Charles  XIL, 
with  whom  he  formed  so  strict  a  friendship  as  to  allow  his 
territory  to  be  occupied  by  Swedish  troops. 

On  the  formation  of  the  league  against  Sweden,  the  Danes 
invaded  Holstein,  and  Augustus,  king  of  Poland,  overran 
Swedish  Livonia  and  unsuccessfully  besieged  Riga.  Narwa 
also  withstood  the  Russian  hordes,  which,  partly  armed  with 
arrows  and  clubs  and  in  wild  disorder,  were  driven  to  the  as- 


CHARLES  THB  TWELFTH.  509 

sanlt  by  the  terror  of  the  knout.     The  allies  had,  however, 
falsely  judged  the  youthful  scion  of  the  house  of  Wittelsbach. 
Charles  XII.  unsheathed  his  sword  never  again  to  restore  it  to 
the  scabbard.   Suddenly  invading  Denmark,  he  bomharded  Oo* 
penbagen,  compelled  the  king  to  accede  to  his  terms  of  peace, 
and,  in  the  winter  of  1700,  crossed  over  to  Livonia.     With- 
out awaiting  the  arrival  of  reinforcements,  he  advanced  hastily 
f^ainst  the  czar,  and,  with  merely  nine  thousand  men,  de- 
feated forty  thousand  Russians,  or,  as  some  have  it,  one  hun- 
dred thousand  with  eight  thousand,  at  Narwa.    After  driving 
the  Russians  out  of  the  country,  he  attacked  the  Saxons  and 
Poles  on  the  DUna,  where,  marshalling  his  troops  in  the  midst 
of  the  stream  as  they  were  beaten  from  the  bank,  he  again  led 
them  to  victory.     Augustus  sent  the  beautiful  Aurora  von 
Koenigsniark  to  him  in  the  hope  of  entangling  him  in  an  in- 
trigue, but  Charles  refused  to  see  her,  and,  on  meeting  her 
accidentally  in  a  hollow  way,  whence  there  was  no  retreat, 
merely  bowed,  and,  without  uttering  a  syllable,  turned  his 
horse's  head  and  rode  away.     He  was,  during  the  whole  of 
his  life,  remarkable  for  his  abhorrence  of  women  and  wina. 
An  army  was  vainly  brought  into  the  field  by  Riese,  the  licen- 
tious Saxon  generaJ,  whose  effeminacy  rendered  him  an  object 
of  contempt  to  the  Poles.     Charles  was  every  where  vic- 
torious ;  in  1702,  at  Clissow,  where  he  captured  five  hundred 
ladies  belonging  to  the  Polish  court,  whom  he  sent  home  un- 
harmed.  His  brother-in-law,  Frederick  of  Holstein,  fell  on  this 
occasion.     A  broken  leg,  which  retained  Charles  at  Cracow, 
retarded  the  campaign,  notwithstanding  the  sharp  pursuit  of 
Augustus  for  four  days  by  the  Swedes  under  Reinschild,  from 
whom  he  eventually  escaped.     Charles  was,  meanwhile,  again 
compelled  to  oppose  the  Russians,  who  invaded  Finland,  and 
Poland  remained  in  tranquillity  until  1705,  when  he  again 
entered  that  country  and  took  Warsaw,  where  he  condemned 
the  Saxon  general,  Paykul,  who  is  said  to  have  .defended  that 
<aty,  as  a  Livonian  by  birth  and  a  Swedish  subject  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  enemy,  to  death.     Had  Charles,  instead  of  direct- 
ing his  attention  almost  solely  upon  Poland  and   Saxony^ 
turned  the  whole  of  his  forces  at  first  against  Russia  and  fol- 
lowed up  the  victory  of  Narwa  by  the  destruction  of  the  bud- 
^ng  creations  of  Peter  the  Great  on  the  Gulf  of  Finland,  his 
fate,  and  probably  that  of  Europe,  might  have  been  more  for- 


510  CHARLES  THB  TWELFTH. 

timate.  Hib  thoughts  were,  however,  solelj  directed  to  the 
elevation  of  another  sovereign  on  the  throne  of  Poland,  and 
young  Sohieski  having  heen  surprised  by  Augustus  at  Ohlau 
in  Silesia  and  carried  into  Saxony,  Stanislaus  Lesczinsky  vras 
elected  in  his  stead  by  the  partisans  of  Sweden  and  Poland. 
The  Swedes  were,  meanwhile,  kept  in  check  at  Punitz  by  the 
Saxon  general.  Count  von  der  Schulenburg,  who  procrasti- 
nated the  war  by  his  skilful  manoeuvring.  His  retreat  across 
the  Oder  is  celebrated  in  the  annals  of  warfare.  The  czar 
being  again  driven  out  of  Lithuania  by  Charles,  and  Schulen- 
burg, on  advancing  to  his  aid,  being  completely  routed  by 
Beinschild  at  Fraustadt,  [▲.  d.  1706,]  Augustus  fell  back 
upon  Russia,  whilst  Charles  seized  the  opportunity  to  march 
rapidly  through  Silesia  into  Saxony,  where  he  was  hailed  as 
the  defender  of  the  Protestant  faith,  with  an  enthusiasm 
scarcely  inferior  to  that  with  which  Gustavus  Adolpbus  had 
formerly  been  welcomed.* 

This  bold  step  struck  Augustus  with  terror,  and  he  in- 
stantly sent  his  counsellors,  Imhof  and  Pfingsten,  from  Poland 
with  full  powers  to  conclude  peace  with  the  successful  Swede, 
and  a  treaty  was  hastily  concluded  between  them  and  Charles^ 
which  alone  required  the  ratification  of  the  Polish  monarch. 
But  Augustus,  who  had  kept  his  allies  in  ignorance  of  the 
pending  negotiations,  had,  meanwhile,  been  compelled  to  aid 
the  Russians  in  an  engagement  at  Calisch  against  the  Swedes, 
in  which  the  former  proving  victorious,  he  entered  Warsaw 
in  triumph  and  declared  the  report  of  peace  having  been  con- 
cluded by  him  with  Charles,  false.  Charles  was,  however,  al- 
ready in  possession  of  Saxony,  and  Augustus  was  speedily 
compelled  by  necessity  to  abandon  his  Russian  ally  and  to  sue 
for  the  peace  he  had  just  denied.  A  conference  was  held 
between  the  two  monarchs,  whose  personal  appearance  con- 
trasted as  strikingly  as  their  characters ;  Augustus,  gigantic 

*  Augustus  had  rendered  himself  highly  unpopular  in  Saxony  by  his 
tyranny  and  still  more  so  by  his  secession  from  the  Protestant  church. 
He  was  represented  in  a  caricature  of  the  times,  driving  Saxony  into 
Poland  on  a  wheelbarrow.    The  popular  song, 

"  O  du  lieber  Augustin 

AUes  ist  hin 

Polen  ist  weg," 
«lso  belongs  to  this  period. 


CHARLES  THE  TWELFTH.  511 

in  person,  magnificently  but  effeminately  attired  in  false  and 
curling  locks  and  cloth  of  gold ;  Charles,  less  in  stature,  but  a 
thorough  soldier,  with  a  small  hat  on  his  closely  shaven  head, 
(a  style  that  was  afterwards  imitated  by  Frederick  the  Great 
and  Napoleon,)  dressed  in  a  coat  of  coarse  blue  cloth  with  cop- 
per buttons,  with  enormous  boots  and  a  long  sword.  Peace 
was  concluded  at  Altranstadt.  Augustus  renounced  the 
throne  of  Poland  and  delivered  up  young  Sobieski  and  the 
unfortunate  Patkul,  who,  although  at  that  time  Russian  am- 
bassador at  Dresden,  was  claimed  by  Charles  as  a  Livonian,  a 
Swedish  subject  by  birth,  and  barbarously  put  to  the  rack. 
According  to  Patkul's  own  account,  Augustus  delivered  him 
up  in  revenge  for  his  having  once  ventured  to  reproach  him 
for  having  spent  a  large  sum  of  money,  intended  for  the  levy 
of  troops,  on  his  mistresses  and  in  the  purchase  of  jewelry. 
Flemming,  who  was  also  demanded  by  Charles,  knew  his 
master  too  well  to  j;rust  him  and  withdrew  awhile  into  Prus- 
sia. Augustus,  in  order  to  appease  the  indignation  displayed 
by  Russia  on  the  conclusion  of  this  peace,  threw  his  unfor- 
tunate counsellors,  Imhof  and  Pfingsten,  under  a  false  charge 
of  having  overstepped  their  authority,  into  prison. 

The  residence  of  Charles  XII.  in  Saxony  [a.  d.  1706]  was 
very  remarkable.  On  his  march  through  Silesia,  the  perse- 
cuted Protestants  in  that  country  supplicated  his  aid.  He  earn- 
estly addressed  the  emperor  on  their  behalf,  sent  four  regi- 
ments up  the  country  with  orders,  in  case  of  necessity,  to 
retake  possession  of  the  churches,  of  which  the  Protestants 
had  been  deprived  by  the  Jesuits,  by  force,  and  compelled  the 
emperor,  who,  at  that  time  occupied  with  France,  avoided 
raising  a  fresh  antagonist,  to  restore  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  churches  to  the  Lutherans  and  to  permit  six  new  ones  to  be 
built ;  but  Charles  no  sooner  quitted  the  country  in  order  to  pene- 
trate into  the  steppes  of  Russia  than  Joseph  published  a  severe 
edict  against  the  increasing  apostacy,  on  account  of  the  num- 
bers of  Protestants  who  now  avowed  their  faith  and  crowded  to 
the  new  churches.     Banishment  for  life  and  confiscation  were 

the  punishments  awarded  to  every  apostate  Catholic. 

Charles  fixed  his  head-quarters  at  Altranstadt  in  Saxony, 
where,  as  sovereign  of  the  country,  he  levied  contributions 
and  recruited  his  army.  Whilst  here,  he  received  a  visit  from 
Marlborough,  the  celebrated  English  general,  who  persuaded 


512  CHABLES  THE  TWELFTH. 


1 


bim  to  grant  peace  to  Grermanj,  tben  harassed  hy  France,  and 
to  turn  his  arms  against  Russia.  An  alliance  between  France, 
Sweden,  and  Turkey,  at  that  period,  would  haye  ruined  the 
empire* 

▲•  D.  1709,  Charles  invaded  Russia  at  the  head  of  forty 
thousand  men,  most  of  whom  had  been  raised  in  Grermany, 
crossed  the  Beresina  (Napoleon  followed  in  his  steps)  at 
Borissow,  took  the  Russian  fortifications  at  Holowczyn  (swim- 
ming the  river  Wabis,  in  which  he  sank  up  to  his  neck,)  by 
storm,  at  one  time  fell  among  the  Calmucks,  numbers  of 
whom  he  slew  with  his  own  hand,  and  pursued  the  flying 
enemy  until  he  was  himself  lost  among  the  wide  forests  and 
morasses.  The  artillery  sank  in  the  swamps,  the  men  perish- 
ed for  want  of  food.  General  Lowenhaupt,  when  attempting 
to  join  him  with  a  fresh  body  of  troops  from  Sweden,  was 
waylaid  and  defeated,  after  a  desperate  conflict  that  lasted 
three  days,  by  the  czar  at  Liesna,  notwithstanding  which,  he 
succeeded  in  joining  him  with  six  thousand  men.  Charles, 
after  long  and  vainly  endeavouring  to  overtake  the  retreating 
enemy,  who  (as  during  Napoleon's  invasion)  laid  the  country 
waste  through  which  he  advanced,  now  led  his  wearied  army 
southward  in  order  to  form  a  junction  with  Mazeppa,  the 
Hetman  of  the  Cossacks,  who  hoped  by  his  aid  to  shake  off 
the  Russian  yoke.  The  country  through  which  the  Swedish 
monarch  passed  had  been  converted  into  a  desert  by  the  flying 
Russians,  and,  in  order  to  gain  better  winter-quarters,  he  ad- 
vanced, in  the  depth  of  the  winter  of  1708-9,  as  far  as  Gra- 
ditsch.  Thousands  perished  of  cold  on  the  way  thither,  and,  in  the 
spring  and  summer,  his  army  was  so  much  reduced  in  strength 
that  the  Russians  regained  courage  and  ventured  with  their 
overwhelming  numbers  to  attack  him  as  he  lay  before  Pultowa. 
The  Russian  army  had  been,  moreover,  disciplined,  and  was  at 
the  time  commanded  by  Germans  (Ronne,  Goltz,  Pflog,  Bauer, 
and  Kruse).  Charles,  who  had  been  wounded  in  the  foot 
whilst  incautiously  exposing  himself  to  the  fire  from  the  walls, 
was  borne  about  in  a  litter,  which,  during  the  engagement, 
was  shattered  by  the  Russian  artillery.  The  Swedes,  whose 
ranks  had  been  thinned  by  cold  and  starvation,  were,  notwith- 
standing their  bravery,  completely  put  to  the  rout,  and  Charles 
escaped  with  extreme  difficulty.  The  last  salvo  was  given  by 
Prince  Maximilian  Emanuel  of  Wurtemberg,  who  commanded 


CHARLES  THB  TWELFTH.  513 

a  Swedidb  regiment.  He  was  taken  prisoner  and  was  received 
with  great  honour  bj  the  czar.  Charles  fled  with  a  few  of 
his  followers  into  Turkey.  The  division  of  the  Swedish 
army  under  Lowenhaupt  was  overtaken  and  captured  by  the 
Russians  on  the  Dnieper, 

The  fugitive  monarch  was  royally  welcomed  by  the  Porte 
and  allowed  to  fix  his  residence  at  Bender,  whence  he  con- 
ducted a  Turkish  war  against  Russia.  The  grand  visir  had 
already  taken  the  field  at  the  head  of  two  hundred  thousand 
men  and  had  closely  shut  up  the  czar  in  the  Crimea.  Charles, 
to  whom,  to  his  great  mortification,  the  command  of  the  army 
had  not  been  intrusted,  galloped  impatiently  into  the  camp, 
but  arrived  too  late  to  hinder  the  czar's  escape.  From  this 
day  dates  the  prosperity  of  Russia.  The  plans  of  the  Swedish 
monarch  were  frustrated  by  a  German  woman,  Martha,  a  native 
of  Rinteln  in  Esthonia,  a  Lutheran,  the  maid-servant  of  a 
clergyman  of  Marienburg.  She  married  a  Swedish  dragoon, 
was  carried  off  by  the  Russians,  became  successively  slave 
and  mistress  to  Scheremetoff,  Menzikoff,  and  the  czar,  and, 
under  the  name  of  Catherine,  czarina  and  empress  of  all  the 
Russias.  With  her  jewels  she  bribed  the  grand  visir  to  allow 
the  Russians  to  escape.  Her  ring  was  afterwards  discovered 
among  the  treasures  of  the  murdered  visir. 

Livonia  and  Esthonia,  until  now  belonging  to  Sweden,  al- 
though by  right  German,  fell,  on  the  defeat  of  the  Swedes  at 
Pultowa,  under  the  rule  of  Russia.  Riga  capitulated  [a.  d. 
1710]  after  an  heroic  defence,  and  Courland  was  acquired  by 
Peter,  who  married  the  last  duke  of  that  country  to  his  niece, 
Anna,  and  killed  him  with  excessive  drinking.  On  Dantzig, 
of  which  he  also  coveted  the  possession,  he  imposed  a  tribute 
of  400,000  dollars. 

Peter  next  attacked  Pomerania  with  a  view  of  completely 
annihilating  the  power  of  Sweden.  Russia,  Denmark,  and 
Poland,  where  Augustus  had  reascended  the  throne,  again 
coalesced.  An  anti-league,  known  as  the  alliance  of  the  Hague, 
was  formed  for  the  maintenance  of  peace  and  for  the  protec- 
tion of  Sweden  against  her  neighbours,  by  England,  Holland, 
and  the  emperor.  Little  energy  was,  however,  displayed  on 
her  behalf.  The  Danes  who  had  invaded  Sweden  were,  it  is 
true,  compelled  to  retire,  but  were  allowed  to  take  possession 
of  the  bishoprics  of  Bremen  and  Verden,  in  which  they  were 

VOL.    II.  2    L 


514  CHARLES  THE  TWELFTH. 

aided  bj  an  insurrection  of  the  inhabitants,  occasioned  by  the 
tyranny  of  the  Swedish  governors.  Stade  was  burnt  down. 
The  Saxons  seized  the  whole  of  Poland  on  the  departure  of 
Stanislaus,  who,  abandoned  by  his  partisans,  took  refuge  with 
Charles  in  Turkey.  In  1 7 1 2,  the  allied  powers  of  Saxony  and 
Russia  took  possession  of  Swedish  Pomerania,  Stralsund  and 
Wismar  alone  excepted.  Stenbock,  who  had  brought  a  fresh 
body  of  sixteen  thousand  men  from  Sweden,  defeated  the  allies 
at  Gadebusch,  but  incurred  the  detestation  of  the  Germans  by 
the  cruelty  with  which,  during  the  severe  winter  of  1713,  he 
burnt  down  the  city  of  Altona,  which  belonged  to  Denmark, 
in  revenge  for  the  destruction  of  Stade.  The  inhabitants,  ten 
thousand  in  number,  driven  out  of  the  burning  city,  were 
denied  a  refuge  in  Hamburg,  and  numbers  of  them  perished  of 
cold  and  hunger.  Stenbock  was  shortly  afterwards  shot  up  near 
Toenning  by  the  enemy  and  forced  to  yield.  (Capitulation  of 
Olden woth,  a.  d.  1713.)  The  czar  avenged  Altona,  on  whose 
unfortunate  inhabitants  he  bestowed  a  thousand  rubles,  by 
burning  Garz  and  Wolgast  to  the  ground  and  treating  their 
inhabitants  with  horrid  barbarity.  These  successes  decided 
Prussia,  until  now  vacillating,  to  join  the  anti- Swedish  league, 
A.  D.  1714,  for  which  she  was  rewarded  by  the  promise  of  the 
future  possession  of  Stettin. 

Turkey,  although  threatened  by  the  rising  power  of  the 
Russian  empire,  was  a  prey  to  the  petty  intrigues  of  the  se- 
raglio, and  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  remonstrances  of  Charles 
XIL,  who  urged  the  necessity  of  carrying  on  the  war.  He 
received  a  hint  to  quit  the  country,  but,  instead  of  compljring, 
barricadoed  his  house,  which  he  defended  against  several  thou- 
sand Turks,  numbers  of  whom  fell  by  his  hand,  but  was  at 
length  seized  and  carried  out  of  the  country.  With  equal  ob- 
stinacy, he  remained  for  ten  months  in  bed  at  Demotika.  He 
had,  notwithstanding,  succeeded  in  successively  overthrowing 
four  grand  visirs,  and  his  long  stay  in  Turkey  was  fully  justi- 
fied by  the  hope  of  placing  himself  at  the  head  of  a  powerful 
Turkish  army.  After  having  exhausted  every  means  of  per- 
suasion in  his  negotiations  to  that  effect  with  the  Porte,  he 
once  more  mounted  on  horseback,  and,  solely  accompanied  by 
Colonel  During,  made  in  sixteen  days  a  circuit  through  Hun- 
gary, Austria,  Bavaria,  the  Pfalz,  Westphalia,  and  Mecklen- 
burg to  Stralsund,  in  order  to  avoid  the  Saxons  and  Prussians, 


CHARLES  THE  TWELFTH.  515 

and  passing  on  his  way  through  Gassel,  where,  notwithstanding 
the  marriage  that  had  lately  taken  place  between  his  second 
sister,  Ulrica  Eleonore,  and  Frederick,  hereditary  prince  of 
Hesse-Cassel,  he  preserved  a  strict  incognito.  The  conduct 
of  the  newly-married  pair,  who  had,  during  his  absence, 
deeply  intrigued  with  the  Swedish  nobility,  who,  in  the  event 
of  Charles's  death,  projected  the  establishment  of  an  oligar* 
chical  government,  had  greatly  displeased  the  king,  who  had 
frustrated  Frederick's  hopes  of  succeeding  to  the  throne  by 
declaring  the  young  duke  of  Holstein,  his  elder  sister's  son, 

his  lawful  heir. Charles  reached  Stralsund  during  a  dark 

November  night,  A.  D.  1714.  The  city  was  at  the  time  be- 
sieged by  his  numerous  opponents,  and,  after  gallantly  defend- 
ing it  for  some  months,  he  was  at  length  compelled  to  fly  to 
Sweden.     Wismar  also  fell. 

The  war  was  subsequently  carried  on  at  sea,  generally  to 
the  prejudice  of  Sweden,  and  Charles  made  some  attempts 
upon  Norway.  Goertz,  the  minister  of  Holstein,  who  entered 
into  a  close  compact  with  Charles,  and,  by  his  diplomatic  arts, 
endeavoured  to  dissolve  the  anti- Swedish  league,  neverthe- 
less displayed  the  greatest  energy.  The  jealousy  of  Denmark 
being  roused  by  a  slight  advantage  gained  by  the  Russian  fleet 
over  that  of  Sweden,  Goertz  seized  the  opportunity  to  open 
secret  negotiations  with  the  czar,  and  a  treaty  was  set  on  foot 
by  which  Russia  was  to  retain  her  conquests  on  the  Gulf  of 
Finland,  and  Stanislaus  was  to  be  replaced  on  the  throne  of 
Poland.  An  alliance  was  also  proposed  between  Charles  and 
Peter's  daughter,  the  Grand-Duchess  Anna.  The  whole  of 
the  negotiations  were,  however,  detected  by  the  seizure  of  a 
Swedish  despatch  by  the  Danes.  Denmark  naturally  viewed 
an  alliance  between  Sweden  and  Russia  with  dread  ;  Saxony 
beheld  Poland  slipping  from  her  grasp;  Hanover  saw  the 
downfal  of  her  projects  upon  Bremen  and  Verden,  and 
Pnissia  that  of  hers  upon  Stettin  ;  Charles's  marriage  en- 
dangered alike  the  succession  of  Frederick  of  Hesse  and  that 
of  the  young  duke  of  Holstein  to  the  throne,  whilst  the  power 
he  thereby  acquired  gave  a  death-blow  to  the  aspirations  of 
the  Swedish  aristocracy,  and  his  assassination,  before  Goertz's 
arrival  in  Sweden  with  the  treaty  already  signed  by  the  czar, 
was,  consequently,  resolved  upon.  The  leader  of  this  con- 
spiracy and  the  number  of  his  accomplices  are  still  unknown, 

2  L  2 


516  '  CHARLES  THE  TWELFTH. 

but  it  appears  that  foreign  powers,  besides  a  faction  in  Sweden, 
were  implicated  in  this  affair.  A  small  Swedish  force  under 
Armfeldt  had  perished  from  cold  whilst  crossing  the  moun- 
tains that  separate  Norway  from  Sweden  ;  and  another,  com- 
manded by  Charles  in  person,  was  besieging  the  fortress  of 
Friedrichshall  in  the  south  of  Norway,  when  the  king  wa» 
shot  through  the  head  whilst  leaning  over  the  redoubt,  Dec. 
11,  1718.  Frederick  of  Hesse-Cassel  instantly  placed  him- 
self at  the  head  of  the  council  of  war,  divided  the  whole  con- 
tents of  the  military  chest  among  the  superior  officers,  and 
hastily  withdrew  to  Sweden  to  make  terms  with  the  aristo- 
cracy, on  whose  favour  his  accession  to  the  throne  solely  de- 
pended. The  duke  of  Holstein,  who  had  also  helped  himself 
to  the  contents  of  the  military  chest,  was  excluded  from  the 
succession,  and  Schleswig  was,  without  his  concurrence, 
ceded  by  Sweden  to  Denmark,  in  order  to  pacify  her  foreign 
neighbours.  The  czar  was  richly  indemnified  for  the  frustra- 
tion of  his  projected  alliance  by  the  cession  of  the  whole  of 
Livonia  and  Esthonia,  whilst  Saxony  was  confirmed  in  the 
possession  of  Poland,  Hanover  in  that  of  the  bishoprics  of 
Bremen  and  Verden,  besides  receiving  an  indemnity  of  a 
million  dollars,  and  Prussia  was  gratified  with  the  gift  of 
Stettin,  the  whole  of  the  tract  of  country  lying  between  the 
Oder  and  the  Peene,  and  three  million  dollars.  Goertz  fell  a 
sacrifice  to  this  peaceful  policy  and  was  sentenced  to  the  block 
by  the  Swedish  war-council.    . 

Northern  Pomerania  and  its  capital,  Stralsund,  now  com- 
prised the  whole  of  the  Swedish  possessions  on  this  side  the 
Baltic.  The  power  of  Sweden  had  deeply  fallen.  On  the 
demise  of  Frederic  of  Hesse  in  1751,  Adolf  Frederick  of 
Holstein-Gottorp  mounted  the  throne,  but  was  powerless 
against  the  aristocracy,  which  ere  long  fell  under  Russian  in- 
fluence. 

Russia  had  now  supplanted  Sweden  as  the  greatest  north- 
em  power.  In  1700,  the  city  of  Petersburg  had  been  built 
on  the  Gulf  of  Finland  by  the  czar,  who  had  drawn  thither 
a  number  of  German  artificers,  introduced  a  superior  style  of 
discipline  into  his  army  and  created  a  navy.  The  German 
Livonians  also  aided  his  endeavours  for  the  extension  of  the 
power  of  Russia  to  the  prejudice  of  their  fatherland.  Russian 
ambassadors  bent  the  courts  of  Sweden^  Denmark,  and  Poland 


CHARLES  THE  TWELFTH.  517 

to  his  interests.  The  Russian  force  under  Menzikoff  re- 
mained stationary  in  Germany  and  perpetrated  the  most 
shameful  acts  of  violence.  Hamburg  was  compelled  to  pay  a 
contribution  of  200,000  dollars,  Liibeck  100,000  silver  marcs. 
In  Mecklenburg,  they  seized  Posto  under  pretext  of  aiding 
the  duke,  Charles  Leopold  of  Schwerin,  against  his  rebellious 
Estates.  The  nobility  fled  the  country.  A  part  of  the  Rus- 
sian troops  subsequently  returned  home,  leaving  a  body  of 
16,000  men  under  General  Weide  to  vex  the  country,  nor  was 
it  until  the  conclusion  of  peace  in  1719  that  they  were  finally 
driven  across  the  frontier  by  the  Hanoverian  troops  after  an 
obstinate  defence  at  Walsmiihlen.  Charles  Leopold  was  de- 
posed and  his  brother.  Christian  Louis,  placed  at  the  head  of 
the  government.  Charles  fled  to  Dantzig,  where  he  formed 
a  conspiracy  against  his  brother's  life,  which  was  discovered, 
and  several  of  his  accomplices  were  put  to  the  wheel,  hanged, 
or  beheaded,  A.  D.  1724.  He  afterwards  attempted  to  re- 
volutionize and  regain  possession  of  the  country  by  force,  and 
for  that  purpose  collected  several  thousand  of  the  peasantry, 
but  was  defeated  at  Neustadt  and  a  second  time  expelled, 
A.  D.  1733. 

The  issue  of  the  Northern  war  produced  a  melancholy  re- 
action in  Poland.  The  restoration  of  Augustus  to  the  throne, 
by  Russia,  had  greatly  imbittered  the  Poles,  and  the  Saxons 
fell  frequent  victims  to  secret  assassination.  Augustus,  in 
revenge,  sought  to  curb  the  spirit  of  the  people  by  the  most 
violent  measures  and  placed  them  totally  under  the  control 
of  the  Jesuits.  In  1724,  the  citizens  of  Thorn  being  com- 
pelled to  bend  the  knee  during  a  passing  procession  by  the 
Jesuits,  by  whom  some  innocent  persons  were  moreover 
treated  with  horrible  cruelty,  the  populace  revolted,  rescued 
one  of  their  prisoners,  and  destroyed  part  of  the  Jesuit  col- 
lege. The  burgomaster,  Roesner,  together  with  eight  of  the 
citizens,  were,  in  revenge,  sentenced  to  the  block  by  a  criminal 
court,  established  for  that  purpose  by  the  king.  The  execu- 
tioner, tearing  the  heart  from  the  palpitating  bosom  of  one  of 
the  victims,  exclaimed,  "  Behold  a  Lutheran's  heart."  Eighty 
of  the  citizens  were  thrown  into  prison,  the  Lutheran  church 
was  given  up  to  the  Jesuits,  and  a  heavy  contribution  laid 
upon  the  city. 


518  THE  SPANISH  WAR  OF  STTCCESSION. 

CCXXX.    The  Spanish  war  of  Succession. 

Qk  the  Rhine,  a  fresh  war  with  France,  more  fearful  in 
character  than  any  of  its  predecessors,  was  carried  on  simul- 
taneoaslj  with  that  in  the  North,  which  caused  little  disturb- 
ance to  Germany.  Charles  II.,  the  last  of  the  Habsburg 
djnastj  in  Spain,  expired,  a.  d.  1700,  leaving  two  daughters, 
Maria  Theresa,  consort  of  Louis  XIY.,  and  Margaretha  The- 
resa, consort  of  the  emperor,  Leopold  I.  The  Spanish  throne 
being  hereditary  also  in  the  female  line,  the  agnati,  the  male 
branch  of  the  Habsburgs  in  Austria,  were,  consequently,  ex- 
cluded from  the  succession,  which  fell  to  Maria  Theresa  as 
the  eldest  daughter  of  the  deceased  monarch,  but  she,  prior  to 
her  union  with  Louis,  having  solemnly  renounced  her  right, 
it  passed  to  her  younger  sister,  the  German  empress.  The 
French  ambassadors  and  the  pope,  who  once  more  favoured 
France  against  Germany,  had,  nevertheless,  induced  the  weak- 
minded  Spanish  monarch  to  declare  in  his  will  the  renuncia- 
tion of  Maria  Theresa  null,  and  Philip,  duke  d'Anjou,  bis  suc- 
cessor. This  will  was  protested  against  by  the  emperor.  The 
Spaniards  were,  even  at  this  period,  too  degraded  to  give  force 
to  public  opinion  and  looked  on  with  indifference,  whilst 
Austria  and  France  strove  for  the  rich  prize,  which,  besides 
Spain,  comprehended  Naples,  Sicily,  Milan,  the  Netherlands, 
and  a  large  territory  in  America,  and  a  furious  contest,  in 
which  all  the  powers  of  Western  Europe  declared,  as  their  in- 
terests dictated,  in  favour  either  of  France  or  Austria,  ensued. 

England  and  Holland,  the  hereditary  foes  of  France,  sided 
with  Austria.  William  of  Orange  returned  from  England  in 
ill  health  and  expired  at  Loo,  A.  d.  1702,  after  zealously  for- 
warding the  league  against  France.  He  was  succeeded  on 
the  English  throne  by  Anne,  the  sister  of  his  deceased  con- 
sort, Mary,  one  of  the  daughters  of  the  deposed  king,  James 
II.  The  widow  of  George,  prince  of  Denmark,  she  was  already 
in  league  with  the  Protestant  party  and  had  no  other  alter- 
native than  to  pursue  the  policy  of  her  predecessor  on  the 
throne  of  England,  by  which  she  at  once  secured  the  affection 
of  her  subjects.  Marlborough,  the  husband  of  the  queen's 
friend  and  companion,  was  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  England, 
and  Heinsius  at  the  head  of  those  of  Holland.  Both  of  these, 
statesmen  followed  in  the  steps  of  William  of  Orange.  Prussia 


THE  SPANISH  WAR  OF  SUCCESSION.  519 

was  won  over  by  Austria  by  being  elevated  to  a  kingdom, 
and  Hanover  by  the  gift  of  the  electoral  hat.  Saxony  was 
too  deeply  occupied  with  Poland  to  take  part  in  the  war  with 
France ;  her  king,  however,  subsidied  by  Holland  and  Eng- 
land, sent  troops  with  meagre  pay  into  the  field  and  pocketed 
the  overplus. 

Joseph  Clement,  elector  of  Cologne,  notwithstanding  the 
protestation  of  his  chapter,  and,  on  this  occasion,  also  his 
brother  Maximilian  'Emanuel,  elector  of  Bavaria,  whom 
France  had  promised  to  confirm  in  the  hereditary  possession 
of  the  ^Netherlands,  unmoved  by  the  urgent  entreaties  of  his 
Estates,  again  embraced  the  French  cause.  Antony  Ulric  of 
Wolfenbiittel,  jealous  of  the  electoral  hat  bestowed  upon  the 
house  of  Lunebilrg-Hanover,  raised  troops  for  France,  in 
which  he  was  imitated  by  the  petty  duke  of  Grotha.  Both 
of  these  princes  were  speedily  ^sarmed.  The  Swabian  and 
Franconian  circles,  awed  by  Strassburg,  declared  themselves 
neutral.  In  Italy,  Louis  XIV.  was  favoured  by  Victor 
Amadous,  duke  of  Savoy,  whose  daughter  he  had  united  to 
his  grandson  Philip,  the  Spanish  usurper,  by  Charles,  duke 
of  Mantua,  and  by  the  pope,  who  dreaded  the  preponderance 
of  the  imperial  house  in  case  of  its  accession  to  Milan,  Na- 
ples, and  Spain.  Ragoczy,  supported  by  the  Jesuits  and  by 
French  gold,  again  rose  in  Hungary. ' 

The  campaign  was  opened  by  the  French  in  Italy,  a.  d. 
1701.  Marshal  Catinat  took  possession  of  Lombardy  and 
occupied  all  the  Alpine  passes,  notwithstanding  which.  Prince 
Eugene,  the  commander  of  the  imperial  forces,  eluded  his 
vigilance  by  leading  his  army  across  the  frightful  and  hither- 
to impassable  rocks  of  the  Val  Fredda.  The  artillery  and 
baggage  were  borne  on  the  shoulders  of  the  men  or  drawn 
along  by  ropes.  Passing  through  the  pathless  Sette  Com- 
muni,  seven  remarkable  ancient  German  communes  planted 
in  the  midst  of  Italians,  he  descended  near  Vicenza  into  the 
plains  of  Lombardy,  to  the  terror  and  surprise  of  Catinat, 
who  instantly  retired  and  formed  a  junction  with  Villeroi. 
They  were  signally  defeated  at  Chiari  in  the  vicinity  of  Bres- 
cia. The  two  armies  kept  each  other  in  check  throughout 
the  winter.  On  the  1st  of  February,  A.  d.  1702,  at  three  A.  m., 
Eugene  forced  his  way  into  Cremona,  surprised  the  sleeping 
French,  and  took  Villeroi,  who  had  not  long  before  boasted 


520  THE  SPANISH  WAB  OF  SUCCESSION. 

that  he  would  set  some  of  t^e  Austrian  priuces  dancing  on 
Shrove-tide,  prisoner.  Cremona  proved  untenable,  and  the 
French  jestingly  thanked  the  prince  for  haying  deUirered 
them  from  so  bad  a  general  as  Yilleroi,  whom  Yend6me,  a 
man  of  great  talent,  was  sent  to  replace  by  Louis  XIY.,  at  the 
head  of  a  large  body  of  reinforcements,  and  Eugene,  whom 
the  imperial  military  council  ever  left  ill  provided  with 
money  and  ammunition,  was  compelled  to  retire,  but,  notwith- 
standing the  manoeuvres  of  the  enemy,  he  contrived  to  main- 
tain his  footing  in  Lombardy,  and,  seizing  his  opportunity, 
succeeded  in  surprising  and  beating  the  superior  forces  of  his 
opponents  at  Luzara.  The  want  of  troops  disabled  him  from 
following  up  his  advantage,  and  in  the  ensuing  year,  a.  d. 
1703,  he  was  called  into  Hungary  to  take  the  field  against 
Ragoczy,  and  Italy  once  more  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
French.  • 

In  the  Netherlands,  which  had,  simultaneously  with  Italy, 
been  invaded  by  the  French,  the  fortresses  had  been  thrown 
open  to  them  by  the  perfidious  stadtholder,  the  elector  of  Ba- 
varia, whose  example  was  imitated  by  his  brother  of  Cologne. 
They  were,  however,  actively  opposed  by  the  English  and 
Dutch.  Marlborough's  genius  as  a  commander  was  still  in 
the  bud.  In  1702,  he  contented  himself  with  the  occupation 
of  the  territory  of  Liege  ;  in  1703,  with  that  of  Cologne  and 
with  keeping  the  enemy  in  check.  The  elector  of  Cologne, 
who,  in  1702,  had  overrun  the  upper  country  with  French 
troops  and  boasted  that  not  a  single  peasant  existed  within 
twenty  miles  in  that  province,  was  compelled,  after  losing 
Bonn,  to  seek  refuge  in  France. 

On  the  Upper  Rhine,  the  imperial  army,  with  which  was 
the  emperor's  son,  the  Roman  king,  Joseph,  was  commanded 
by  the  venerable  Turkish  conqueror,  Louis,  Margrave  of  Ba- 
den. The  honour  of  taking  Landau,  which  had  been  fortified 
on  Yauban's  new  plan,  was  deemed  impregnable  by  the  French 
and  was  defended  by  Melac,  was  committed  to  the  young 
prince,  who  acted  according  to  the  advice  of  his  veteran  mar- 
shal, and  the  place  capitulated  on  the  9th  of  September,  1702, 
the  very  day  on  which  Ulm  was  treacherously  seized  by  the 
elector  of  Bavaria,  and  a  dangerous  diversion  was  created  to 
the  rear  of  the  imperialists.  In  October,  the  French  crossed 
the  Rhine  at  Hliningen,  in  order  to  form  a  junction  with  the 


THE  SPANISH  WAR  OF  SUCCESSION.  521 

electoral  troops,  but  were  beaten  back  at  Friedlingen  by  the 
Margrave,  who,  in  the  ensuing  campaign,  [a.  d.  1703,]  again 
confined  himself  to  the  defensive  and  sought  by  his  manoeu- 
vres to  prevent  the  invasion  of  Germany  by  the  French  and 
their  junction  with  the  Bavarian  troops,  a  division  of  whom, 
under  Count  Arco,  attempting  to  advance  upon  Hiiningen, 
were  forced  by  General  Styrum  to  retreat  upon  Waldshut. 
Marshal  Yillars,  nevertheless,  succeeded,  in  May,  in  stealing 
through  the  narrow  passes  of  the  Black  Forest  to  Tuttlingen, 
where  he  joined  the  Bavarian  army  on  its  return  up  the 
Danube.     Maximilian  and  Yillars  met  as  ancient  friends,  but 
the  impatience  of  the  German  elector  was  ere  long  roused  by 
the  arrogance  of  the  French,  and,  although  their  united  forces 
might  have  enabled  them  to  cope  with  the  imperialists  and  to 
invade  Austria,  a  separation  was  resolved  upon  ;  Yillars  un- 
dertook to  watch  the  movements  of  the  imperialists,  and  the 
elector  entered  the  Tyrol,  through  which  Marshal  Vend6me 
was  advancing  from  Italy.   The  junction  of  the  French  armies, 
at  that  time  divided  by  the  Alps,  was  of  the  highest  import- 
ance for  their  mutual  support  and  for  bringing  their  forces  to 
bear  with  redoubled  strength  on  any  given  point. 

In  June,  the  elector  entered  the  Tyrol  at  the  head  of  six- 
teen thousand  men.  The  fortress  of  Kufstein  surrendered, 
but  was  burnt  with  the  whole  of  the  garrison,  the  command- 
ant, who  held  the  keys,  being  absent,  and  no  one  being  able 
to  get  out.  Innspruck,  the  capital  of  the  Tyrol,  also  fell,  and 
a  squadron  of  Bavarians,  under  General  Nouvion,  marched 
thence  up  the  Inn,  whilst  the  elector  mounted  the  Brenner 
with  the  main  body.  Signal-fires  shone  during  the  night  on 
every  mountain,  and  the  brave  Tyrolese,  headed  by  Christian 
Koill  of  Kutzbuhel  and  the  postmaster,  Aufschneider,  of 
Weydra,  flew  to  arms.  The  struggle  commenced  in  the  valley 
of  the  Upper  Inn.  Martin  Stertzinger,  sheriff  of  Landeck, 
awaited  Nouvion's  squadron  behind  the  broken  bridge  of  Pont- 
laz,  where  the  road  mounts  to  the  Finstermlinzthal.  The  Ba- 
varians vainly  attempted  to  cross  the  water  and  to  disperse 
the  bold  sharpshooters  on  the  opposite  bank,  who  spread  death 
among  their  ranks.  On  a  sudden,  a  terrific  crash  was  heard 
to  thieir  rear,  the  mountains  seemed  to  be  falling  on  their 
heads,  and  enormous  stones  and  trunks  of  trees,  set  in  motion 
by  the  concealed  peasantry,  rolled  with  frightful  rapidity  upon 


622  THE  SPANISH  WAB  OF  SUCCESSION. 

their  serried  ranks,  casting  both  horses  and  riders  into  the 
rushing  stream.  The  peasants  had  also  fabricated  cannons, 
capable  of  bearing  ten  rounds,  out  of  hollowed  fir-stems. 
Nouvion  fled  with  the  remnant  of  his  forces,  but  found  the 
bridge  at  Zaras  broken  down  and  was  compelled  to  yield. 

General  Portia  fell  beneath  the  peasants'  hatchets. The 

elector  had,  meanwhile,  marched  up  the  Brenner  along  the 
high  road  towards  Italy.  But  he  was  awaited  above,  behind 
their  fortifications,  by  fresh  troops  of  peasantry,  and,  before 
it  was  possible  for  him  to  attack  them,  the  news  arrived  of  the 
insurrection  to  his  rear.  Greneral  Yerrito,  whom  he  had  left 
at  Hall,  which  he  had  strongly  fortified,  had  been  attacked  by 
the  peasants  called  to  assist  in  the  works  and  killed  by  the 
blows  of  their  hammers  (he  having  spread  a  report  of  his 
invulnerability).  The  whole  of  the  Bavarian  garrison  had 
been  slain,  and  all  the  other  Bavarian  posts  to  his  rear  raised. 
The  treasures  in  the  castle  of  Ambras,  which  the  elector  had 
caused  to  be  packed  ready  for  removal,  were  retaken  by  the 
peasantry.  Innspruck  revolted.  The  loss  of  the  Schamitz, 
the  most  important  of  the  mountain  passes  between  the  Tyrol 
and  Bavaria,  which  was  seized  by  an  officer,  named  Heindl, 
belonging  to  the  imperial  army,  with  the  assistance  of  the 
Bavarians,  threatened  the  elector  with  the  greatest  danger. 
This  pass  and  that  of  Hall  in  the  valley  of  the  Inn,  the  only 
paths  by  which  he  could  retreat,  were  closed  by  the  Tyrolese, 
in  the  hope  of  shutting  him  in  and  taking  him  and  his  whole 
army  prisoners ;  but,  after  a  terrible  mMee  at  Zirl,  in  which 
Count  Arco  was  shot  close  to  his  side  by  a  Tyrolean  sharp- 
shooter, who  mistook  him,  owing  to  the  richness  of  his  garb^ 
for  the  elector,  he  succeeded  in  forcing  his  way  to  the  Schar- 
nitz.  Out  of  sixteen  thousand  Bavarians,  five  thousand  alone 
regained  their  native  country.  Yenddme  had  merely  succeeded 
in  reaching  Trident,  whence  he  was  repulsed,  and  the  whole 
plan  of  the  campaign  was  thus  frustrated  by  the  native 
valour  of  the  people.  Had  the  circle  of  Swabia,  Franconia, 
the  Rhine,  and  Burgundy  risen  en  masse,  like  their  T3rrolese 
brethren,  how  speedily  might  not  the  French  invader  have  been 
chased  across  the  frontier ! 

Their  example  remained  unfortunately  unimitated,  and  Yil- 
lars  was  allowed  unopposed  to  lay  Swabia  waste.  Landau 
again  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  and  a  bold  advance  of 


THE  SPANISH  WAR  OF  SUCCESSION.  523 

the  Margrave  of  Baden  upon  Augsburg  with  the  design  of 
aiding  that  citj  against  the  Bavarians,  miscarried  through  the 
jealousy  and  ill-will  of  Styrum,  who  allowed  himself  to  be 
surprised  and  defeated  at  Hochstadt.  Augsburg  was  laid  under 
contribution  by  the  Bavarians.  Brcisach*  was  also  pusilla- 
nimously  yielded  by  the  Counts  Arco  and  Marsigli  to  the 
French. 

The  war  was  carried  on  with  great  spirit  in  the  campaign 
of  1704.  Prince  Eugene  returned  from  Hungary,  leaving 
General  Heister  to  keep  Ragoczy,  whom  he  had  beaten  at  Tir* 
nau,  in  check,  and  joined  his  forces  with  those  of  Louis  of 
Baden.  Marlborough  also,  deceiving  Marshal  Villeroi,  who 
had,  on  his  liberation,  been  sent  to  oppose  him  in  the  Nether- 
lands, hastened  to  Heilbronn  to  form  a  junction  with  his  allies, 
who  now  took  up  a  concentrated  position,  whilst  the  French 
forces  lay  scattered  in  various  directions.  Villeroi,  who  had 
hastened  in  pursuit  of  Marlborough,  joined  Tallard  at  Strass- 
burg,  but  was  prevented  by  Eugene,  who  threw  himself  in  his 
way,  from  accompanying  him  through  the  Kinzigthal  across 
the  Black  Forest  to  the  Danube  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a 
junction,  in  which  Tallard  succeeded,  with  Maximilian  and  Yil- 
lars  at  Hochstadt.  Marlborough  and  Louis,  however,  drove 
the  Bavarians  under  Arco,  who  had  again  taken  up  an  isolated 
position,  from  the  Schellenberg,  and  Eugene's  unexpected  ar- 
rival before  Villeroi  could  set  off  in  his  pursuit,  placed  it  in 
their  power  to  shut  Villars,  Tallard,  and  Maximilian  up  in 
Hochstadt.  The  obstinacy  of  the  old  Margrave,  who  refused 
to  hazard  an  engagement,  threatened  to  frustrate  the  plan,  had 
not  Eugene  and  Marlborough,  well  acquainted  with  his  weak 
point,  occupied  him  with  the  siege  of  Ingolstadt,  whilst  they, 
at  the  head  of  merely  fifty-two  thousand  men,  attacked  the 
enemy,  fifty-eight  thousand  strong,  so  unexpectedly  at  Hoch- 
stadt on  the  13th  August,  1704,  as  almost  to  annihilate  him. 
The  French  lost  twenty  thousand  dead  and  wounded  ;  fifteen 
thousand  under  Marshal  Tallard  were  cut  off  and  taken  pri- 
soners ;  the  Bavarians  alone  escaping  across  the  Danube  to- 
wards the  Rhine.  The  Swiss  mercenaries  under  General  Zur- 
lauben  displayed  extreme  bravery  and  repulsed  three  attacks. 

*  The  following  words  were  placed  over  the  bridge-gate  of  Breisach : 
"  Limes  eram  Gallis,  nunc  pons  et  janua  fio, 
Si  pergunt,  Gallis  ntdlUn  limes  erit." 


1 


624  THB  SPANISH  WAR  OF  SUCCESSION. 

The  General  was  taken  prisoner  after  receiving  seven  wounds. 

The  news  of  this  glorious  victory  spread  joj  throughout 

Germany.  Marlborough  received  the  lordship  of  Mindelheim 
in  fee  and  was  created  Prince  of  the  German  empire.  Eugene 
took  possession  of  Bavaria.  Augsburg  and  Ulm  were  liber- 
ated. The  old  Margrave  marched  to  the  Rhine  and  retook 
Landau  and  Treves,  Villeroi  retreating  in  dismay.  Hagenau 
was  so  actively  besieged  by  Thiingen  that  the  French  garrison 
fled,  panic-struck,  during  the  night.  An  attack  upon  Brei* 
sach  failed. 

Unfortunately,  however,  instead  of,  after  the  retreat  of  the 
French  depredators,  conciliating  the  Germans  and  once  more 
reuniting  them  in  their  trae  interests,  the  Bavarians  were 
cruelly  forced  to  atone  for  the  guilt  of  their  prince.  Prince 
Eugene  is,  nevertheless,  free  from  reproach.  He  expressly 
warned  against  every  ill-treatment  of  the  people.  The  emperor 
annexed  all  the  country  between  Passau  and  Salzburg  to  his 
hereditary  provinces,  left  the  rest  of  Bavaria  under  the  care  of 
a  regency,  and  enrolled  all  the  young  men  in  his  army.  The 
nobility  and  the  public  oflScers  placed  themselves  under  the 
Austrian  rule,  as  the  safest  mode  of  bearing  the  crisis,  and  were 
consequently  spared.  The  whole  weight  of  the  emperor's 
wrath  fell  upon  the  wretched  peasantry,  who,  laden  with  ex- 
orbitant dues  and  ground  to  the  dust  with  the  heavy  charge 
for  the  quartering  of  soldiery,  assembled,  and,  in  a  public 
address  to  the  diet  at  Ratisbon,  declared  that  they  were  com- 
pelled by  necessity  to  take  up  arms.  The  imperial  govern- 
ment at  Munich,  on  the  other  hand,  declared  that  every  peasant, 
taken  with  arms  in  his  hand,  should  be  punished  *'  with  the 
gallows  and  the  sword,  the  banishment  of  his  children,  and 
the  confiscation  of  the  whole  of  his  property ; "  that  the  vil- 
lages of  the  rebels  should  be  burnt  down ;  that  parents,  whose 
children  had  taken  up  arms,  should  share  the  punishment 
awarded  to  them,  etc.  Of  the  Bavarian  recruits  who  might 
join  the  peasantry  only  every  fifteenth  man  should,  "  through 
especial  clemency,"  be  put  to  death. 

Two  students,  Plinganser  and  Meindl,  and  the  postmaster, 
Hirner,  meanwhile,  led  the  peasants  to  the  field  and  were 
every  where  victorious.  But,  on  the  formation  of  a  superior 
council  under  the  title  of  "  defence  of  the  country,"  they  were 
joined  by  numbers  of  the  nobility,  who  merely  betrayed  and 


THE  SPANISH  WAR  OF  SUCCESSION.  525 

mined  their  cause.  It  was  in  vain  that  the  latter  took 
Braunau  and  Schaerding,  formed  themselves  into  regiments 
under  different  colours,  and  compelled  the  Austrians  to  en- 
ter into  negotiation ;  the  nohles  interfered  in  the  confer- 
ences, kept  the  peasants  either  in  the  dark  or  attempted  to 
lead  them  astray  and  into  disputes  among  themselves,  and 
played  into  the  emperor's  hands.  When  the  peasantry,  en- 
raged at  the  procrastination,  attempted  to  seize  Munich  by 
surprise,  they  were  betrayed  by  a  public  officer,  CEttlinger, 
who  had  hypocritically  set  himself  up  as  their  adviser.  The 
imperial  general,  Kriechbaum,  was  sent  with  all  speed  to 
Munich.  The  peasantry  were,  notwithstanding,  beforehand 
with  him.  The  suburb  Au  rose  in  open  insurrection ;  Balthes, 
the  smith,  a  giant,  sixty-one  years  of  age,  under  the  cry  of 
"  Save  the  children,"  (the  Bavarian  princes,  who,  it  was  be- 
lieved, were  to  be  carried  into  Austria,)  forced  the  city  gate, 
dashed  out  the  brains  of  the  Austrian  sentinel  with  his  club, 
and  opened  a  way  for  the  peasantry,  who  got  part  of  the  city 
into  their  hands,  but  CEttlinger,  who  managed  the  communi- 
cation between  the  principal  body  of  the  peasantry,  purposely 
either  withheld  or  spread  false  news,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  party  that  had  forced  its  way  into  the  city  was  left  with- 
out reinforcements  and  was  soon  placed  between  two  fires, 
being  attacked  in  front  by  General  Wendt,  who  made  a  sally 
from  the  town,  whilst  General  Kriechbaum  fell  upon  their 
rear.  Fighting  at  disadvantage  on  foot,  continually  charged 
by  the  enemy's  horse,  they  retreated  to  Sendling,  where  the 
survivors,  headed  by  a  Frenchman,  named  Gautier,  intrenched 
themselves  in  the  churchyard,  which  they  defended  to  the 
last.  Fifteen  hundred  were  slain,  last  of  all  the  brave  smith, 
A.  D.  1705.  The  wounded  were  dragged  back  to  Munich  and 
left  to  freeze  in  their  blood  in  the  open  street  during  the 
whole  of  the  winter  night,  Christmas,  "  as  a  terrible  example 
to  all  faithless  subjects."  Colonel  Truchsess  of  the  imperial- 
ists had,  meanwhile,  taken  the  town  of  Kelheim  by  surprise 
and  put  the  mandate  into  terrible  execution.  The  main  body 
of  the  peasantry  was  still  of  imposing  strength,  but  had  se- 
parated for  the  purpose  of  opposing  the  various  divisions  of 
the  enemy;  several  of  the  leaders,  moreover,  were  traitors. 
Prielmayr,  d'Oksfort,  Zelli  purposely  misled  their  follow- 
ei'B.     Hoffman,   being  suddenly  attacked   by   Kriechbaum^ 


526  THE  SPANISH  WAB  OF  SUCCESSION. 

lost  his  presence  of  mind  and  suffered  a  terrible  defeat  at 
Aitenbach,  where  foar  thousand  peasants  felL  Oksfort  de- 
serted to  the  Austrians  and  betrayed  Braunau  into  their 
hands.  The  remainder  of  the  divided  and  betrayed  peasantry, 
under  Plinganser  and  Meindl^  deemed  themselves  too  weak 

to  keep  the  field  and  dispersed. ^A  fearful  revenge  was 

taken.  Eight  hundred  peasants,  who  capitulated  in  Cham, 
were  almost  all  cut  to  pieces,  and  numbers  of  the  prisoners 
were  put  to  a  cruel  death.  All  the  ringleaders  were  either 
hanged  or  quartered,  and  a  fourfold  tax  was  laid  upon  the 
whole  country. 

The  aged  emperor,  Leopold,  meanwhile,  expired,  a.  d.  1705. 
His  son,  Joseph  I.,  commenced  his  reign  with  the  restoration 
of  religious  liberty  to  Hungary,  which  had  more  effect  in 
quelling  Ragoczy's  insurrection  than  even  the  victories  gained 
by  General  Heister.  The  implicit  confidence  reposed  by  the 
emperor  upon  Eugene  also  put  a  temporary  stop  to  the  dis- 
orders of  the  court  military  council,  which  had,  up  to  this 
period,  regularly  left  the  imperial  army  unprovided  with  mo- 
ney, provisions,  and  other  necessaries,  winked  at  fraud  and 
negligence  of  every  description,  and  so  carefully  regulated 
the  movements  of  the  commanders-in-chief  that  success  was 
often  frustrated,  or  victories  were  sometimes  obliged  to  be 
gained,  against  its  express  commands.  This  evil  system  was 
now  put  an  end  to.  Eugene  was  given  unlimited  power. 
Joseph  also  acted  with  a  justice,  too  long  procrastinated,  al- 
though solely  at  the  expense  of  Bavaria,  towards  the  imperial 
free  towns.  Donauworth  was  again  declared  free;  Augs- 
burg and  Ulm  received  compensation  for  their  losses.  The 
electoral  princes  of  Bavaria  and  Cologne  were,  as  the  dukes 
of  Mantua  and  Savoy  had  formerly  been,  also  solemnly  put 
out  of  the  ban  of  the  empire. 

Prince  Eugene  hastened  to  re-conquer  Italy,  where  Ven- 
d6me  had,  until  now,  retained  the  mastery  and  by  his  arro- 
gance and  violence  deeply  offended  the  duke  of  Savoy,  who 
once  more  turned  to  the  emperor.  yend6me,  however,  dis- 
armed the  whole  of  the  Savoy  troops,  and  Victor  Amadeus, 
who  was  merely  supported  by  a  small  Austrian  corps  under 
Stahremberg,  was  unable  to  keep  the  field.  The  emperor 
was,  nevertheless,  grateful  for  his  accession,  ceded  to  him 
some  of  the  frontier  districts  of  Lombardy  and  the  ducby  of 


THE  SPANISH  WAB  OF  SUCCESSION.  527 

Mantaa,  and,  as  France  had  formerly  done,  flattered  him  with 
the  royal  diadem.  Eugene  took  the  field,  but  was  met  by  the 
French  with  such  superior  forces  that  the  first  battle,  near 
Casano,  remained  undecided,  and  the  second,  near  Grovardo, 
ended  in  his  defeat,  nor  was  it  until  the  recall  of  Yend6me  in 
1706,  and  the  nomination  of  the  duke  of  Orleans  as  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  French,  that  Eugene,  pushing  rapidly 
forwards,  finally  joined  Victor  Amadeus  and  hastened,  Sept. 
7,  1706,  to  prepare  a  surprise,  similar  to  that  of  Hochstadt, 
for  the  French,  who  were,  at  that  conjuncture,  occupied  with 
the  siege  of  Turin.  The  heroic  valour  of  Prince  Leopold  of 
Anhalt-Dessau,  who  commanded  eight  thousand  Prussians,  of 
General  Behbinder  with  the  Pfalzers,  and  of  William,  duke 
of  Grotha,  decided  the  victory.  The  French  lost  one  hundred 
and  sixty-four  cannons,  and  their  power  in  Italy  was  so  com- 
pletely annihilated,  [a.  d.  1707,]  that  they  agreed  to  a  treaty, 
by  which  they  consented  to  evacuate  Italy,  on  condition  of 
their  garrisons,  left  in  the  fortresses,  being  allowed  free 
egress.  Eugene  instantly  despatched  General  Daun  to  the 
conquest  of  Naples.  The  pope,  Clement  XI.,  violently  pro- 
tested against  this  step  and  even  provisionally  excommuni- 
cated the  whole  of  the  German  army ;  the  time  when  the 
papal  anathema  struck  terror  had,  however,  long  passed  by. 
The  Germans  entered  Naples,  where  the  French  and  Spaniards 
were  equally  unpopular,  in  triumph,  and  the  women  and  girls 
presented  each  of  the  men  with  a  wreath  of  flowers  and  a 
goblet  of  wine.  The  Bohemian,  Martinitz,  became  viceroy.* 
An  attempt,  made  by  Eugene,  to  penetrate  into  the  south  of 
France,  failed,  like  its  predecessors.  He  laid  siege,  it  is  true, 
to  Toulon,  but  was  unsuccessful ;  the  gallant  duke  of  Gotha 
fell  in  the  trenches,  [a.  d.  1708,]  and  he  was,  through  fear 
of  being  cut  aS,  compelled  to  retreat. f    Italy  was,  however, 

*  Neapolitan  diplomacy  had  many  a  ridiculous  feature.  According  to 
ancient  usage,  the  kings  of  Naples,  on  their  investiture,  presented  the 
pope  with  a  white  palfrey.  On  the  present  occasion,  both  pretenders, 
Charles  and  Philip,  endeavoured  to  obtain  this  favour  from  the  pope, 
who,  not  daring  to  make  the  decision,  refused  to  accept  the  palfrey  from 
either  competitors.  The  French,  hereupon,  secretly  introduced  a  palfrey 
into  his  palace-yard  and  pretended  that  he  had  accepted  it,  although  it 
had,  by  his  orders,  been  beaten  out  of  the  yard.  Austria  made  a  solemn 
protest,  A.  D.  1701.    Eugene's  success  put  an  end  to  these  follies. 

t  During  the  siege  of  FenestreUe,  he  climbed  a  tree  in  order  to  take 


528  THE  SPANISH  WAR  OF  SUCCESSION. 

maintained  by  the  emperor,  and  an  attack  made  bj  the  papal 
troops  near  Ferrara  was  glorioaslj  repulsed. 

Whilst  the  war  was  thus  energetically  prosecuted  by  Eugene 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Alps,  it  was  but  lamely  conducted  in 
Germany.  Louis  of  Baden,  instead  of  joining  Marlborough 
on  the  Moselle,  procrastinated  with  the  weakness  of  age,  and 
the  imperial  army  under  his  command  fell  a  prey,  owing  to 
the  ill-will  and  indolence  of  some  of  the  Estates  of  the  empire, 
to  disunion  and  want.  One  prince  sent  his  contingent  too 
late ;  another,  not  at  alL  One  recalled  his  men ;  another  re- 
fused to  allow  his  to  advance.  One  left  the  soldiers  without 
food  or  clothing ;  another  protested  against  the  charge  for  bil- 
leting. Louis  was,  consequently,  unable  to  maintain  himself  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine,  and,  on  crossing  the  riyer,  was  in- 
stantly followed  by  the  French  under  Yillars,  who  again  laid 
the  Pfalz  waste  and  Swabia  under  contribution.  Thiingen 
alone  recrossed  the  Rhine  and  pillaged  the  country  to  their 
rear.  On  the  death  of  the  old  Margrave,  in  1707,  Prince 
Eugene  exerted  his  interest  in  favour  of  ThUngen's  nomina- 
tion to  the  chief  command,  but  the  oldest  of  the  princes  of  the 
empire,  Christian  Ernest,  Margrave  of  Anspach  and  Bay- 
reuth,  a  man  of  known  incapacity,  who  allowed  himself  to  be 
again  driven  from  the  lines  of  SchoUhofen,  and  ten  thousand 
sacks  of  flour,  demanded  by  Villars  under  the  threat  of  a  re- 
newal of  the  former  scenes  of  atrocity  practised  by  the  French, 
to  be  carried  through  his  camp  into  that  of  the  enemy. 

In  the  Netherlands,  Marlborough  gained  another  brilliant 
victory  over  the  ill-fated  Villeroi  at  Ramilies,  where  the 
French  lost  twenty  thousand  men,  killed,  wounded,  and  pri- 
soners, and  eighty-eight  cannons,  a.  d.  1706.  The  Dutch, 
notwithstanding,  refused  to  take  part  in  his  projected  invasion 
of  France,  the  reigning  burgher  families  deeming  themselves 
already  secure  on  that  side  and  dreading  the  expenses  of  the 
war.  Marlborough  was,  consequently,  reduced  to  a  state  of 
inactivity,  [a.  d.  1707,]  and  occupied  himself  with  carrying 
on  negotiations  of  an  important  character.  Charles  XII. 
was,  at  that  conjuncture,  at  Altranstadt.  The  prevention  of 
a  dangerous  alliance  between  Sweden  and  France,  and  the 

a  sketch  of  the  fortress.  A  cannon-ball  carried  away  the  bough  against 
Mrhich  he  leant,  but,  unmored  by  the  accident,  he  calmly  finished  the 
sketch  ere  he  descended* 


THE  SPANISH  WAB  OF  SUCCESSION.  529 

acquisition  of  the  aid  of  the  powers  of  Northern  Germany  in 
the  war  against  the  latter  country,  were  intrusted  to  Marl* 
borougb,  who  fulfilled  his  mission  with  his  habitual  success, 
and  Charles  XII.  was  persuaded  once  more  to  evacuate  Ger- 
many. Frederick  I.  of  Prussia  was  gained  by  Marlborough's 
mingling  with  his  servants  as  he  sat  at  table  and  ofifering  him 
the  napkin,  and  George  of  Hanover  by  being  nominated 
generalissimo  of  the  imperial  forces  in  the  place  of  Christian 
Ernest  of  Bayreuth,  who  had  laid  down  the  command.  The 
new  generalissimo  made  his  appearance  with  a  brilliant  suite, 
gave  balls  and  wasted  enormous  sums  in  useless  festivities, 
complaining,  meanwhile,  that  the  other  Estates  of  the  empire 
contributed  nothing  towards  the  maintenance  of  the  army. 
Matters  went  on  in  the  old  routine.  The  imperial  commander, 
Mercy,  gained  a  victory  by  surprise,  during  a  thick  fog,  over 
the  French  under  Villars,  A.  d.  1708,  notwithstanding  which, 
George  remained  with  the  main  body  in  a  complete  state  of 
inactivity. 

A  junction  again  taking  place  between  Eugene  and  Marl- 
borough, and  Ouverkerk,  the  Dutch  general,  being  also  drawn 
into  their  interests,  the  war  reassumed  a  more  serious  aspect. 
Both  sides  assembled  their  forces  for  a  decisive  engagement, 
which  took  place  at  Oudenarde,  where,  owing  to  the  good 
understanding  between  Eugene  and  Marlborough,  a  complete 
victory  was  gained  over  Vend6me.*  Both  sides  again  assem- 
bled their  forces,  and,  in  the  ensuing  year,  a  still  bloodier  en- 
gagement, the  most  important  fought  during  this  war,  took 
place  at  Malplaquet,  where  Eugene  and  Marlborough  were 
again  victorious  over  Villars.  The  Prussians,  who  fought 
"  like  devils  "  under  Dessau,  decided  the  day,  which  was,  on 
the  side  of  the  French,  merely  disputed  by  the  Swiss. f  In 
this  battle,  the  killed  and  wounded  amounted  to  forty-five 
thousand.  George  still  effectuated  nothing  on  the  Upper 
Rhine,  although  Mercy  allowed  himself  to  be  surprised  and 
defeated  at  Rumersheim.  George  resigned  the  command  in 
the  ensuing  year,  a.  d.  1709. 

*  An  attempt  was  at  this  time  made  to  remove  Eugene  by  means  of 
a  poisoned  letter,  sent  to  him  either  by  the  French  or  by  the  Jesuits. 

t  Several  of  the  Swiss  regiments  lost  all  their  officers.  This  battle  took 
place  on  the  11th  of  September,  the  day  on  which  [a.  d.  1697]  Eugene 
had  beaten  the  Turks  at  Zeuta,  ajid  [a.  d.  1701]  the  French  at  Chiari. 

VOL.   II.  2  M