GERMANY AND THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, 843-1002

[Dana Carleton Munro, The Middle Ages, 395-1272 (New York: The Century Company, 1921), pp. 150-160]

Kingdom of Lewis the German. BY the provisions of the treaty of Verdun, in 843, Lewis received the eastern part of the Carolingian empire. Contrasted with the central portion, the empire of Lothair, or the western portion, the kingdom of Charles, his share might seem to have been poor; in particular he had comparatively few cities. His subjects were, on the whole, less civilized, for only a few parts of his territory had been included in the old Roman Empire. In reality, Germany, as we may now begin to call the kingdom of Lewis, was to prove the strongest of the three divisions; practically all the inhabitants were Germans and their vigor was less impaired and their customs less changed than those of their brethren in the west.

Division and Reunion. At first the fortunes of Germany were closely associated with those of the other Carolingian territories, as.described in the preceding chapters. Lewis, following the traditional policy of his family, planned to divide his kingdom among his sons. After his death there were for a time three separate kingdoms, but the barrenness of the Carolingian stock and the deaths which ensued so rapidly soon brought all together again, under Charles the Fat. After he had been deposed on account of his incapacity, Germany was less involved in the fortunes of the other kingdoms.

German Kingship Elective. As there was no Carolingian heir of legitimate birth, except the boy who later was known as Charles the Simple, the German nobles proceeded to elect a king. By their act the old German principle of electing a ruler, which had so long been in abeyance, was again made prominent; and from this time on election was frequently practised, as it gave more power to the nobles and at the same time made it possible to secure a strong ruler in any emergency.

Arnulf and the Danes. The nobles elected Arnulf, an illegitimate grandson of Lewis the German, who had already shown his ability as a ruler in the little territory which had been assigned to him. During the twelve years that he was king, 887-899, Arnulf fully justified the wisdom of the nobles' choice. The greatest danger was from the marauding expeditions of the Danes, who made their last great attack upon German territory in 89I. At first they were successful, but Arnulf, although far distant, came hastening to the rescue. He drove them back to their fortified camp at Louvain on the river Dyle, which they believed to be impregnable, as it was placed between the river and a marsh and could not be approached by cavalry. But Arnulf, dismounting, led the attack in person and the Germans with their huge battle-axes were soon within the breastworks. The Danes were obliged to flee and their position made escape difficult; most of them were forced into the river, where they were drowned. This victory added greatly to Arnulf's prestige both in his own kingdom and among the neighboring peoples.

Moravians and Hungarians. On the east too Arnulf had to strive against invaders, for the Moravians under the leadership of Svatopluk had founded a strong empire and were threatening the German frontiers. In 892-893 Arnulf invaded their lands, but with little success. The following year Svatopluk died and the Moravian empire gradually crumbled to pieces, so that it was no longer a source of danger to the Germans. But in order to get aid in his expedition against the Moravians Arnulf had hired a band of Hungarian warriors. The latter continued to make raids upon the Moravians on their own account, and extended their plundering expeditions even into Italy. For the next half century they were a serious menace, especially to the Germans, on whose villages and monasteries they were continually swooping down. They were horsemen and skilful archers, but were seldom able to capture cities or fortified places.

Arnulf and Italy. Because he had been successful in suppressing disorder in his own kingdom and in securing it against invaders, Arnulf was recognized as the ablest ruler in the north, and the other kings in the Carolingian territories sought recognition from him and seem to have regarded him as a kind of overlord. Consequently it was natural that one of the rival claimants for the throne of Italy, who had been defeated, should seek his aid in 894. In a rapid campaign Arnulf secured recognition as overlord in northern Italy. Then the longing for the imperial crown seized upon him and the following year he made a second expedition into Italy and forced his way down to Rome, which closed its gates against him. He took the Leonine city by storm; then the gates of Rome were opened and he was crowned emperor by Pope Formosus. But Arnulf, like so many other German conquerors of Italy, was stricken with disease and had to hasten back to Germany. The vandalism of some of his followers and his own severity had alienated the Romans, so that the opposition got control in Rome and Arnulf was never able to return to restore order.

Lewis "The Child". When Arnulf died in 899, he left his kingdom to his son, Lewis, "the Child," who had been born in 893. There seems to have been no thought of an election. There was only one other son; he was illegitimate and was not able to maintain order in Lotharingia, which had been given to him by his father. When he died, fighting against his own subjects, Lotharingia also passed under the rule of Lewis. The latter had the support of the most powerful churchman in Germany, Hatto, archbishop of Mainz, who attempted to carry on the government as regent for the infant king. All Germany soon fell a prey to anarchy; the nobles fought with one another; the freemen had to seek protection and became vassals of the powerful nobles. At the same time, the Northmen, especially the Danes, and also the Wends and the Hungarians harassed the frontiers; the last named even invaded Bavaria, Swabia, and Thuringia, spreading terror everywhere. As one of the contemporary bishops wrote, " Never could it be said more truly, ' Woe to the country of which a boy is king! "

The Duchies. The great difficulty in the kingdom of Germany was the lack of organization and centralization. The old divisions among the tribes had always persisted to a greater or less extent. Charles the Great had done what he could to weaken the hereditary rulers but the national divisions persisted in spite of all his efforts. During the reign of Lewis the Child certain duchies came into prominence, these were to some degree the continuation of the old duchies, but also partly new creations. Bavaria had always preserved its own identity and had been recognized as a kingdom under one of the sons of Lewis the German; at the beginning of the tenth century a new dynasty was established there. The boundaries of the duchy were the Alps, Bohemia, and the rivers Lech and Enns. To the westward of Bavaria extended the duchy of Alamannia or Swabia, which stretched along both banks of the Rhine from the Alps to Strassburg or beyond; here also in the early years of the tenth century a new duchy was established. North of Swabia was Franconia, which included the banks of the Main and of the lower Neckar; for the possession of this duchy there was a long and continuous contest waged during the early years of the tenth century. The strongest of all the duchies was Saxony, which included most of the northern part of Germany; for the Saxons, although conquered by Charles the Great, had never lost their sense of nationality. Lorraine, or Lotharingia, was sometimes a part of the German kingdom and sometimes was connected with the West Frankish kingdom. When it was subject to the German ruler it formed a hfth duchy of coordinate rank with the other four. Each of these duchies was practically a petty kingdom, and its ruler had within his territory almost all the powers of a king, wit'n his own court, officials, and army; national assemblies continued to be called by him. This last point and the general feeling of common nationality were the great sources of the power of the dukes.

The Marches. These duchies were subdivided, just as the empire of Charles had been, into counties, and the counts exercised a delegated jurisdiction. The most important were the counts of the border lands, the margraves or markgrafen. Thus Bavaria had charge of two marches, that of the east which later was to become Austria, and the march of Carinthia. The Slavs formed the greatest danger and in order to protect Germany from the invasions of the Czechs the march of Bohemia had been established. In similar manner in the north to protect the country from the Sorbs, who were Slavs, the marches of Thuringia, Sorabia, Misnia, and Lusatia. The Saxon march protected against incursions from other Slavs and out of it grew Nordmark, Altmark, Mittelmark, Neumark, which later formed the elements of Brandenburg; against the Danes the march of Dania, known also as the march of Schleswig. Finally in the south there was the march of Rhaetia. At times the rulers of the more important of these marches had almost as great power as the dukes. For their defense able administrators were selected who not only held the country intrusted to them, but frequently extended its limits.

Conrad of Franconia 911-918. The duchies had been established or had grown strong during the lifetime of the child Lewis. At his death in 9II Conrad, the duke of Franconia, was elected king, but had no authority over any part of Germany except his own duchy. The dukes of Saxony and Swabia had consented to his election but did not feel bound to defer in any way to his wishes, and most of his reign was spent in warfare against the ruler of Saxony. When he died, in 9I8, according to the Saxon chronicler Widukind, he magnanimously considered that the insignia of the royal office should be sent to his life-long antagonist, and that Franconia should give its aid in the election to Saxony.

Henry the Fowler 919-936. Whether this actually took place as stated is uncertain; but at all events the Saxon duke was elected king of Germany and the Saxon house held the throne from 9I9 to I024. Henry I, later sometimes called the Fowler, was the first of these Saxon kings, and under him the power of the monarchy was greatly developed. He had owed his election only to Franconia and Saxony; consequently it was necessary for him to force the other dukes to recognize his authority. This was a matter which was soon decided, because Henry placed himself at the head of his forces and reduced first Alamannia and then Bavaria to submission. The ruler in Lorraine also became his vassal. The real test of Henry's ability was, howevert, the way in which he met the danger of invasion and the problem of his unruly and semi-independent vassals. The Hungarians were the greatest difficulty, as they were constantly making incursions far into German territory. Their attacks were always unexpected and consequently difficult to meet; they did not attempt to hold the country but sought only plunder. Henry felt the impossibiliy of a decisive conflict without sufficient preparation, and accordingly, in 924, concluded a peace of nine years with the Hungarians. These years were utilized in the preparation of a strong army, so that when the peace came to an end he was ready. In two great battles the Hungarians were defeated and Germany was freed from their attacks during the remainder of Henry's life-time. In the other portion of his task Henry was not equally successful, and at his death Germany did not constitute a centralized monarchy, but merely a kind of confederation in which the dukes ruled their duchies and the king's authority was limited to his own duchy and to such other matters as the other dukes were willing to intrust to him. 8

Otto the Great, 936-973. Henry was succeeded by his son Otto, usually called the Great because under him the Saxon house reached its greatest period of glory. His long reign of thirty-seven vears enabled him to carry out the tasks for which his father had paved the way. Fortunately for Otto, Henry had not followed the old German custom of division of the kingdom, but instead had followed the principle of the ducal houses of transmitting the power to one son. Otto had two brothers, one older and one youngerthe older, although illegitimate, had expected the heirship because of his seniority; the younger, who had been born after his father had become king, claimed the succession because he was of royal blood, while Otto, who had been born before his father's accession to the throne, he held to be of inferior birth. The widow of the emperor favored the youngest son; the dukes in the other duchies were not inclined to recognize Otto's authority any more than they could possibly help. Both of his brothers attempted revolts and the first five years of his reign were occupied in putting down rebellions and in consolidating his power. But while the open strife was ended by 94I, Otto was not satisfied until he had completely crushed the dynasties of dukes, who were always a source of danger and weakness. After his brother Henry had been subdued and had proved himself faithful, he received the duchy of Bavaria. One of his daughters Otto married to Conrad the Red, whom he put at the head of Lorraine; another daughter was married to the man whom he placed at the head of Franconia. One of his sons was married to the heiress of Swabia and inherited through her the duchy. Saxony Otto administered by his own faithful officials. Thus all Germany was under the rule of members of Otto's family and this same policy was influential in his foreign relations; the two most powerful men in France, the king and his rival, Hugh the Great, were his brothers-in-law. Later, in order to secure a claim on Italy and the Empire, Otto himself married Queen Adelaide of Italy. Still later, in order to make an alliance with Constantinople, he sought a Grecian princess as a bride for his oldest son. This policy of control by family alliances was very effective in Otto's case, but was hardly adapted to the permanent maintenance of a strong monarchy. In fact, only a strong personality could have accomplished what Otto did. The descriptions of him which his contemporaries have left all show that his appearance and character were equally forceful; he was tall and strong and of royal bearing.

Hungarians and Slavs. The invasions had been renewed as soon as the death of Henry had become known to the Hungarians, who were flushed with the successes which they had won in a triumphant pillaging expedition into France and Italy. In fact, they had gotten plunder from as far as Aquitaine in the former country and Naples in the latter. The war against them was taken up with great spirit by Otto and after minor engagements they were finally routed on the river Lech, in 955. After this there was no great Hungarian invasion, but the Slavs to the northeast and east were a constant source of danger. The representatives of Otto attempted to check their advance, by slaughtering them when conquered and by planting in their territory German colonies. During his reign Otto won a number of victories against these Slavs and annexed a considerable portion of their territory, but he did not succeed in crushing them, as he had crushed the Hungarians.

Coronation of Otto. When Henry the Fowler was crowned it is said that he rejected the anointing by the church. although the archbishop of Mainz had been anxious to participate in the coronation. Henry said, " Enough for me that I am raised so far above my forefathers as to be called and designated as king, through the grace of God and your devotion: let the unction and the diadem be reserved for better men than I am. I do not think myself worthy of so great an honor." Otto took an entirely different position at the time of his coronation. The ceremony took place in the cathedral at Aachen. The archbishop of Mainz met him as he entered the church and hailed him as " the man chosen by God, formerly designated by our lord Henry, and now made king by all the princes." After the people had declared their adhesion to Otto the archbishop gave to him in turn the various insignia of royalty. First the sword, saying, "Receive this sword and with it drive out all the enemies of Christ, heathens and evil Christians alike, by the divine authority granted to you by the poxver over the whole kingdom of the Franks, to the lasting peace of all Christians." Then, as he placed upon Otto the roval mantle, he said, "The border of this mantle, trailing upon the earth, is to remind you that however fiery your zeal for the faith may be, you are to endure until the end in preserving peace." Lastly with the scepter and the staff he charged the ruler, " Let these be to you a warning that you use a fatherly discipline towards all who are subject to you; and above all reach out the hand of pity to the ministers of God, to all widows and orphans, and may the oil of mercy never be wanting to your head, that you may be crowned with an eternal crown both in this life and the life to come." After he had received the various insignia, Otto participated in the service of the mass.

Otto and the Clergy. This procedure at the coronation was significant of the position which Otto intended to maintain. He intended to use the clergy in order to check the growing power of the feudal nobles; but as the members of the clergy held fiefs or benefices, like the other nobles, they were required to perform all the feudal duties. On the other hand they were especially honored by the king and most of the administrative offices were given to bishops or abbots. In order to maintain his control over the church Otto used the same policy as he had done with regard to the duchies; his brother was made archbishop of Cologne and chancellor of the kingdom; and one of his sons was made archbishop of Mainz. In this way, while he strengthened the church, Otto intended that it should serve him.

Otto Becomes Emperor. The position which Otto had won for himself in Germany made him the natural object of appeal from Adelaide of Italy. She was the nineteen-year-old widow of one of the two rival kings in Italy and her husband's rival was now determined to marry her. From the prison into which he had thrown her to break her spirit she appealed to Otto for aid. The latter made a triumphant expedition into Italy, rescued and married the queen, in 95I, but was unable to carry out his purpose of visiting Rome as he was recalled by rebellions in Germany. Ten years later he made a second expedition to Italy because he had been asked for aid by the discontented in Rome. The pope was an entirely unworthy man and had alienated most of the inhabitants of the city. No one had received the imperial title since the death of Berengar, in 924, now it seemed best to many that the office should be restored and Otto was the logical candidate. He was quite willing, and in 96I he went to Rome, and was recognized as emperor on February 2, 962; with him Adelaide was crowned as empress. After the coronation the Roman constitution of Otto and the so-called donation were drawn up and signed. [This is now generally believed to be genuine, although it has been the subject of long controversies ] In these documents Otto renewed the grants of Pippin and Charlemagne, but at the same time stipulated that popes in the future should be canonically elected, and the pope-elect should not be consecrated until he had taken an oath "in the presence of our legates, or of our son, or of the general council."

Emperor and Pope. The pope had joined in the summons of Otto because he had felt the need of protection. Soon after Otto left the city the pope again began to lead the dissolute life which had previously alienated his subjects. When Otto learned this, he returned to Rome and summoned a synod to try the pope. The latter was absent and made no defense against the charges of murder, perjury, robbery, and other grave crimes. As he had refused to return to Rome even under a safe conduct from Otto and denied the competence of the court, he was finally deposed in his absence. He seems to have taken the matter rather quietly, but when he received the message telling him of the action, he replid that if the members of the council attempted to elect any one else pope, he would excommunicate them. When the council sent a second messenger to him, the latter could not find him, as he had gone hunting. Under these circumstances another pope was elected in his place. From this time on, for about forty years, the choice of the pope was determined by the emperors, although the latter were careful to observe all the formalities.

"Roman Empire of the German Nation". The empire of which Otto had been crowned emperor was thought to be, of course, the continuation of the old Roman Empire. Otto was regarded as the successor of Augustus and Trajan and Constantine and Charles the Great. But in reality the empire was something quite different from any that had existed before. The name by which it was later known, " the Roman Empire of the German Nation," was very fitting, because it was really the union of the Roman imperial position with the kingship of Germany. Some of the lands included in it had lain outside of the Roman Empire. In comparison with the empire of Charles the Great it was much less extensive, including only Germany and about two-thirds of Italy. If to these there should be added the kingdoms which were more or less in subjection to Otto, the territorial extent would be greatly increased; but there would be little real addition to his power. In his ideals as emperor Otto also differed greatly from Charles; he did not think of himself as the representative of the divinity and as having a special duty to watch over the morals of his subjects. His empire was not as firmly organized as the Carolingian. It would have been impossible for him to employ missi and he did not attempt it; what could be done to weld the nation together by his own personality he accomplished, but that was all.

Results for Germany and Italy. The connection with Italy and Rome brought to the Germans a higher civilization than they had known before. It also brought about a political relation with the Italian peninsula which was destined to influence the course of history for many generations. It prevented either Germany or Italy from becoming a strong and united nation, as Germany exhausted her men and resources in the attempt to maintain the imperial power in Italy, and Italy was unable to develop a nationality of its own, because of its subjection to the foreign emperor.

Otto II, 973-983. The latter years of Otto the Great were busy ones, but contained few incidents which had a lasting influence upon the civilization of Europe. When Otto II succeeded, in 973, he devoted his attention mainly to Italy. He was a son of Adelaide, the Italian queen. He had received as good an education as could be obtained in Germany, and this was vastly better under Otto the Great than it ever had been before; for under his rule learning was made much of at the royal court. Consequently Otto II, when he became king at eighteen years of age, was filled with visions of the glory of Rome and with a desire to carry out the conquest of southern Italy which his father had begun; but in 982 he was disastrously defeated and escaped capture only by a lucky chance. He died the following year, twenty-eight years of age, and left a son who was only three years old.

Otto III, 983-1002. Fortunately Otto the Great had done his work so thoroughly that his grandson was recognized as the heir to the throne without serious opposition. This Otto was grandson of the Italian queen and son of a Greek princess, the daughter of the emperor Romanus. He had inherited all of the Byzantine ideas of the imperial power. Both the grandmother and the mother were learned and pious women, and they did all in their power to train the young boy for his task. His mother took it for granted that he was to be emperor and that she herself was the empress. As Imperatrix Augusta she controlled Italy until her son became of age in 996, that is, when he was sixteen years old. At that time he was as well educated as the best teachers had been able to make him; he knew Greek, Latin, and German; he praised himself for his Greek subtlety, in comparison with the German barbarism. He had had as his tutor Gerbert, the most learned man of the age, and soon became known as the " wonder of the world," because of his wide learning and great ambitions. His ideal was to have his capital at Rome, but he did not neglect the struggle against the Slav invaders, and he paid considerable attention to German administration. Yet his main interests centered in Rome, although he was usually ill when in Italy. His great ideal was his predecessor Charlemagne, and in the year IOOO he is said to have solemnly opened the tomb of the latter and to have looked with emotion upon the figure of the great emperor; from the finger of Charles he is said to have taken a ring which he always wore until his death.

Otto III and the Papacy. Almost as soon as he began to rule in person he had his cousin Bruno elevated to the papacy and the latter took the title of Gregory V. The election of Bruno marks a change in the history of the papacy. For two hundred and fifty years there had been only two popes who were not born in Rome or the immediate vicinity, but from this time on, although the Roman Church generally supplied most of the candidates, a pope might be chosen from any part of the Christian world. The change emphasized the universal character of the papacy and did much to restrict the power of the nobles in Rome. Gregory V immediately crowned Otto emperor, and the latter proceeded to put down the Roman noble Crescentius, who had been ruling the city for over ten years. He was taken and hanged and the rebellion ended. After the death of Gregory V, Otto selected Gerbert, his old tutor, who had previously been archbishop of Reims and archbishop of Ravenna. The latter took the name of Sylvester II, and seems to have hoped that Otto III would follow the example of Constantine and renew the latter's gift to a second Sylvester. Otto, however, had no intention of resigning control over the city, and a contest between the emperor and pope was averted only by their close friendship.

Death of Otto and of Gerbert. Otto proudly bore the titles of Italicus, Saxonicus, Romanus, serves Spostolorum, and serves J. Christi. And in reality he gave almost his whole attention to Rome and his administration elsewhere suffered greatly. Invasions by the Danes and the Slavs again began to trouble Germany; the Hungarians refused tribute; France became independent of all German control; Italy was troubled by the pretensions of a rival claimant. When Otto died, in 1002, Germany was greatly weakened; and when Sylvester died, the following year, the papacy lost much of the strength which it had gained from the association of the German emperors and the Roman Church.