125 



ALEXANDER. 



ALEXANDER. 



126 



victories one over the Swedes, and another over the united order of 

 the Livonian and Teutonic Knights of the Sword. A crusade against 

 the Russians had been instigated by Pope Gregory IX., who, by a bull 

 of 1229, enjoined the bishops of Lvibeck, Linkjbping, and Livlond, to 

 prohibit all intercourse and commerce with the schismatic Russians, 

 as long as they should resist the conversion of the apostate Finlanders. 

 This however was only a negative measure ; but the bull of the 14th 

 of May, 1237, by which the Livonian and Esthonian Knights of the 

 Sword were united to the Teutonic order, evidently by way of strength- 

 ening them for a Russian crusade, tended in a more direct and positive 

 manner towards the destruction of the Greek Church in the north-east 

 of Europe. The Roman Court also opened negociations with Eric XI., 

 king of Sweden, who, at the Pope's instigation, gladly sent an army 

 ntrainst the Finlanders, which landed near the mouth of the Neva, on 

 the spot where St. Petersburg has since been built. Alexander marched 

 against this army, and, on the 15th of July, 1240, totally defeated it 

 at the confluence of the Ishora and the Neva. By this victory he 

 obtained the honourable surname of Nevgkoj, or Alexander of the 

 Neva. While he was thus engaged, the Knights of the Sword, com- 

 manded by their chief, Hermann von Balk, had taken Pleskow. Early 

 in the year 1241, Alexander marched against them from Novogorod, 

 and drove them out of Pleskow ; but having allowed his army to dis- 

 perse iu the autumn, he next winter saw the enemy again in the 

 field. The Knights of the Sword had advanced within thirty versts of 

 the city of Novogorod. With great speed Alexander again collected 

 his army, pursued the retreating enemy, and on the 5th of April, 1242, 

 fought them on the ice of the lake of Peipus, where he gained a deci- 

 sive victory : four hundred Teutonic Knights were slain, and fifty 

 were taken prisoners ; those of the prisoners who were Germans were 

 pardoned, but the Esthonians Alexander ordered to be hanged, con- 

 sidering them as Russian rebels. Alexander returned in triumph to 

 Pleskow, having liberated that city and its commerce, which at that 

 time was considerable, from the yoke of foreigners. 



Arms proving unavailing, the Roman Court had recourse to diplo- 

 macy OB a surer means for converting Alexander. Several attempts 

 of this kind had been made in vain with his predecessors, by the popes 

 Innocent III., Honorius III., and Gregory IX. Innocent IV. made a 

 new trial, and in the year 1251 sent two cardinals, who in Russian 

 chronicles are called Gald and Gemont, as ambassadors to Alexander 

 Nevskoj ; they brought a letter from this pope, dated January 23, 1248, 

 probably so long antedated in order to show how long his Holiness had 

 been big with the scheme of the embassy, but Alexander remained 

 inflexible, and the cardinals returned without effecting anything for 

 the Church of Rome. 



Though Alexander was successful against the Pope, he continued a 

 vassal of the Tartars as long as he lived. It does not however appear 

 that Russia was, during his reign, actually invaded or plundered by 

 them. 



He repaired to the great horde three times, and died on his return 

 from tho last of these journeys at Kassimcow in 1263; from that 

 place his body was removed to Vladimir, and there interred. It is a 

 tradition that shortly before his death he took holy orders ; but it 

 probably has no good foundation. Alexander's wife was a daughter 

 of Wrateslaw, Prince of Polotsk, by whom he had four sons Vassilj, 

 Dmitrij, Andrej, and Danilo. It is uncertain whether the valiant 

 Jueje (George) who ruled over Novogorod till 1270, was also his son. 

 The foundation of St. Petersburg in 1703, on the very spot where the 

 national hero had gained such an important victory, naturally recalled 

 the memory of Alexander Nevskoj in a lively manner. The Czar 

 Peter on this occasion instituted St. Alexander Nevskoj's Order of 

 Knighthood, but did not himself give that decoration to any man ; 

 this was first done after his death by his consort Catharine. There is 

 also in 8k Petersburg a St. Alexander-Nevskoj Monastery, which is well 

 endowed, to which is attached a seminary for the education of young 

 divines, called St. Alexander-Nevskoj's Academy. 



ALEXANDER, Emperor of Russia, called by his countrymen 

 Alexander Paulowitsch (that is, the son of Paul), was born on the 23rd 

 of December, 1777. He was the son of the emperor Paul and of Maria, 

 daughter of Prince Eugene of Wiirtemberg. From his infancy he was 

 distinguished for a gentle and affectionate disposition, and a superior 

 capacity. His education was directed not by his parents, but by his 

 grandmother the reigning empress, Catharine II., who lived until he 

 had attained his nineteenth year. Under her superintendence he was 

 carefully instructed by La Harpe and other able tutors in tho different 

 branches of a liberal education, and in the accomplishments of a 

 gentleman. 



Catharine was succeeded, in 1796, by her son Paul, whose mad reign 

 was put an end to by his assassination on the 24th of March, 1801. 

 No doubt can be entertained tliat Alexander, as well as his younger 

 brother Constantino, was privy to the preparations which were made 

 for the dethronement of his father, whicli had indeed become almost a 

 measure of necessity ; but all the facts tend to make it highly impro- 

 bable that he contemplated the fatal issue of the attempt. The imme- 

 diate sequel of this tragedy was a slight domestic dispute, occasioned 

 by a claim being advanced by the widow of the murdered emperor to 

 the vacant throne, who had not been admitted into the conspiracy. 

 After a short altercation she was prevailed upon to relinquish her 

 pretensions ; and the Grand Duke Alexander waa forthwith proclaimed 



Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias. This collision docs not 

 seem to have left any unpleasant traces on the mind either of Alex- 

 ander or his mother, to whom during his life he always continued to 

 show respect and attachment. The Empress Maria survived her sou 

 about three years. 



The history of tho reign of Alexander is the history of Europe for 

 the first quarter of the present century. We can here only attempt a 

 slight outline of the course of events during that busy time, with a 

 reference to the movements of the Russian emperor. When Alexander 

 came to the throne he found himself engaged in a war with England, 

 which had broken out in the course of the preceding year. He imme- 

 diately indicated the pacific character of his policy by taking steps to 

 bring about a termination of this state ^)f things, which was already 

 seriously distressing the commerce of Russia ; and a convention was 

 accordingly concluded between the two powers, and signed at St. 

 Petersburg on the 17th of June, 1801. The general peace followed on 

 the 1st of October, and lasted till the declaration of war by England 

 against France on the 18th of May, 1803. Meanwhile Georgia, hitherto 

 under the protection of Persia and Turkey, had been occupied, on the 

 invitation of the people themselves, by the troops of Russia, and incor- 

 porated with that empire. Alexander also, during this interval, showed 

 his disposition to extend the influence of Russia iu another direction, 

 by entering into a uegociation with France respecting the compensa- 

 tion to be granted to certain of the minor powers of Germany, with 

 which country he was connected both through his mother and through 

 his father, who was born head of the house of Holsteiu-Gottorp. It 

 was in the course of these negociations that he had his first interview 

 with the king of Prussia, which is understood to have laid the founda- 

 tion of an intimate friendship between the two sovereigns, and to have 

 established a concurrence of views which powerfully influenced the 

 future policy of each. In a dispute with Sweden, with regard to the 

 frontier of Finland, although hostilities were averted by the con- 

 cession of the Swedish king, the extensive military preparations which 

 were immediately made by Russia, showed how little that power waa 

 disposed to allow the invasion of any of her rights. 



Alexander did not immediately join England in the war against 

 France; but even in the early part of 1804 symptoms began to appear 

 of an approaching breach between Russia and the latter country. On 

 the llth of April, '1805, a treaty of alliance with England was con- 

 cluded at St Petersburg, to which Austria became a party on tho 

 9th of August, and Sweden on the 3rd of October following. This 

 league, commonly called the third coalition, speedily led to actual 

 hostilities. The campaign was eminently disastrous to the allifd 

 powers. A succession of battles, fought between the 6th and the 1 8th 

 of October, almost annihilated the Austrian army before any of the 

 Russian troops arrived. Alexander made his appearance at Berlin on 

 the 25th, and there, in a few days after, concluded a secret convention 

 with the king of Prussia, by which that prince, who had hitherto pro- 

 fessed neutrality, bound himself to join the coalition. Before leaving 

 the Prussian capital, Alexander, in company with the king and queen, 

 visited a* midnight the tomb of the great Frederick, and, after having 

 kissed the coffin, is said to have solemnly joined hands with his brother 

 sovereign, and pledged himself that nothing should ever break their 

 friendship. He then hastened by way of Leipzig and Weimar to 

 Dresden, from whence he proceeded to Olmutz, and there, on tlie 18th 

 of November, joined the emperor of Austria. On the 2nd of the fol- 

 lowing month, the Austrian and Russian troops, commanded by the 

 two emperors in person, were beaten hi the memorable and decisive 

 battle of Austerlitz. The immediate consequences of this great defeat 

 were the conclusion of a convention between France and Austria, and 

 Alexander's departure to Russia with the remains of his army. 



Although Alexander did not accede either to the convention between 

 France and Austria, or to the treaty of Presburg, by which it waa 

 followed, he thought proper, after a short time, to profess a disposition 

 to make peace with France, and negociations were commenced at Paria 

 for that object. But after a treaty had been signed on the 20th of 

 July, 1806, he refused to ratify it, on the pretence that his minister 

 had departed from his instructions. The true motive of his refusal 

 no doubt was, that by this time arrangementa were completed with 

 Prussia and England for a fourth coalition ; and it is even far from 

 improbable that the negociations which led to the signature of tho 

 treaty had from the first no other object beyond gaining time for 



