BRANDENBURG, ELECTORS OF. 



BRANT6ME. 



910 



between the Baltic and the Rhine and Danube. In the time of the 

 Emperor Augustus, Drusus, his stepson, compelled the Suevi, who 

 dwelt in what was afterwards called the 'Middle Mark,' and the 

 Langobardi, who peopled the districts subsequently termed the ' Old 

 Mark,' to accept Vannius as their ruler. A few years after the birth 

 of Christ, the Langobardi were subjugated by Maroboduus, king of 

 the Marcomanni, at that time sovereign of Bohemia; and A.D. 17, we 

 find the Semnones, a branch of the Suevi, seeking protection against 

 their oppressor from Arminius, leader of the Cherusci. At the period 

 of the great movement of the northern nations to the south, both 

 the Langobardi and Suevi abandoned their native country and broke 

 into Italy, where they established the Lombardic empire. Their 

 deserted home now fell into the hands of the Vandals or Slavonians, 

 one race of whom, the Vilzes, settling in the Middle Mark, founded 

 several towns, of which Brennabor or Brandenburg was one. These 

 new settlers were subsequently subdued by the Franks, from whom 

 desceuded Prince Sunna, who reigned over the country in the 

 beginning of the 2nd century, and Prince Brando, who founded the 

 new town of Brandenburg in 230. Thirty years afterwards, the 

 Vandala having regained their superiority, repossessed themselves of 

 the country, and maintained themselves iu it for the next 500 years ; 

 but in 789 they fell under the sway of Charlemagne after a severe 

 contest ; and in SOS he appointed a count to act as his vicegerent in 

 Brandenburg. His successor also sent two princes in S23 to fill the 

 same office. He had likewise conquered the Vilzes, but his successors 

 were unable to maintain the conquest or prevent them from making 

 repeated inroads into Saxony and Thuringia. At last, Henry I., 

 king of Germany, brought the Vandals under complete subjection, and 

 in ' 1 appointed certain counts to watch over the Saxon borders. 

 These were the first markgraves of Lower Saxony, or the Vandal- 

 mark ; they were also denominated markgraves of Stade, the mark 

 Imvii - passed into the hands of the earls of Stade. The Vandals 

 continued to struggle for their independence in this quarter until the 

 year 1144, when the emperor Lotharius confirmed the North-mark 

 as well as the Salzwedel-mark on Albert the Handsome (also called 

 the Hear), count of Ascania or Anhalt, the line of Stade havingbecome 

 extinct. This prince, who extinguished the dominion of the Vandals 

 in these parts, was the first who assumed the title of Markgrave of 

 Brandenburg ; he made himself also master of the Middle-mark, 

 Ucker-mark, and Priegnitz, either founded Berlin or raised it to the 

 rank of a city, and built Stendal and other towns. His sou Otho I., 

 received Pomerania as a fief in addition, and was the first arch- 

 chamberlain of the German empire. His wife was interred in a 

 vault of the cathedral church of Brandenburg, and the stone under 

 which her remains are deposited has the words * Judith, the gem of 

 the Polacks,' still legible upon it His successors increased their 

 patrimony by the acquisition of the New-mark, Lebus, Sternberg, 

 Lower Lusatia, and other districts ; and they were the first who set 

 about reclaiming the wastes and swamps of their dominions and 

 cultivating them. Their line terminated in the person of Markgrave 

 Henry, in 1320, whose death threatening tho dismemberment of 

 Brandenburg by conflicting claimants, Lewis of Bavaria, then 

 emperor, declared it a lapsed fief of the empire, and bestowed it 

 upon hia son, Lewis the elder. This prince was succeeded by his 

 brother Otho, who obtained from the emperor Charles IV. a recognition 

 of hia descendants' right of succession to the electorate of the Mark, a 

 dignity to which Charles raised it in the golden bull, declaring it the 

 seventh electorate of the holy Roman empire. In consequence of 

 Otho's indolence and incompetence, Charles in 1373 bestowed the 

 electoral Mark upon \Venzel, his eldest son, king of Bohemia ; and 

 when Wenzel was raised to the dignity of king of the Romans, he 

 made it over to Sigismuud, his second sou. This prince's non- 

 reaidence and unconcern involved the country in confusion, and its 

 affairs growing worse after he had ascended the imperial throne of 

 Germany, he made over the electoral Hark to his cousins, Jobst and 

 Procopius, princes of Moravia, and the New Mark to the Teutonic 

 order, in pawn for monies lent. In 1417, on the death of Jobst, 

 Sigismund gave the electorate to Frederic, margrave of Nuruberg, 

 with whom began a race of sovereigns whose talents and wisdom have 

 elevated Brandenburg and its subsequent acquisitions to a dis- 

 tinguished rank among the monarchies of Europe. Having under the 

 name of Frederic I. made himself respected both at home and abroad 

 for 23 years, Frederic was, in 1440, succeeded by Frederic II. ' of the 

 Iron Teeth,' his son, who got back the New Mark from the Teutonic 

 knights for 100,000 guldens, and not only added the towns and 

 dependencies of Kottbus, Pritz, Somersfield, Bobersberg, Storkow, and 

 Berskow, to his dominions, but established his right as lord paramount 

 of Pomerania and as heir to the Mecklenburg domains. In 1471 he 

 was succeeded by his brother Albert Achilles or Ulysses, one of the 

 most distinguished commanders of his day ; but in 1486 Albert's 

 ill state of health induced him to transfer the electoral dignity, 

 together with the mark of Brandenburg, to his son, John Cicero ; 

 Ansbach. to another son, and Baireuth to a third. The last dying 

 without issue, his share fell to his brother Frederic of Ansbach, who 

 was the founder of the elder line of the markgraves of Brandenburg, 

 in Francouia. John Cicero was noted as much for his learning as for 

 his wisdom and economical habits, and no less for the enormous size 

 to which he grew; he died in 1499, and was followed by his son, 



Joachim (Nestor) I., a prince equally distinguished for his erudition 

 and prudence, though a fierce persecutor of the Jews, as well as hostile 

 to the Reformation. The earldom of Ruppiu devolved to him by 

 inheritance. _ It was reserved for Joachim (Hector) II., his son, who 

 succeeded him in 1535, to introduce the reformed religion into his 

 states ; he was a great patron of learning, founded the university of 

 Frankfurt-on-the-Oder, erected Spandau into a fortress, built a new 

 palace at Berlin, and became joint lord paramount over the duchy of 

 Prussia. He was followed by John George in 1571, who inherited the 

 new mark and principality of Crossen from his uncle, and under 

 whom Brandenburg enjoyed continued trp -.quillity. To this prince 

 succeeded, in 159S, another equally paternal sovereign, Joachim 

 Frederic, his son, who was bishop of Havelberg, Lebus, and Branden- 

 burg, and incorporated the possessions of his diocese with the 

 electorate. He founded the gymnasium of Joachimsthal, now one of 

 the best public schools in Berlin. His reign lasted from 1598 to 1608. 

 John Sigismund, his son and successor, inherited not only a moiety of 

 the domains of Juliers, Cleves, and Berg, but shortly before his death, 

 the duchy of Prussia, which was at that time a Polish fief. From the 

 year 1618, therefore, this duchy became part of the electorate, and 

 Brandenburg and Prussia thenceforward rank as a single state. John 

 Sigismund embraced the Protestant reformed religion, but not without 

 exciting some serious commotions in Berlin. In 1619 he was 

 succeeded by George William, who inherited a flourishing patrimony, 

 but by his weak conduct during the Thirty years' war and the double 

 dealing of Von Schwarzeuberg, his minister, bequeathed it to his son 

 the ' great elector,' Frederic William, in the most deplorable condition, 

 exhausted and devastated by the inroads of the Swedes and their 

 contests with the imperialists. Frederic William, who succeeded his 

 father in 1640, speedily restored his dominions to a state of order and 

 prosperity, and added largely to their extent. [FREDERIC WILLIAM OF 

 PRUSSIA.] At the time of his death, 1688, this illustrious prince left 

 the electorate in a state of renovated prosperity, and greatly 

 augmented power and extent. His son Frederic III., assumed the 

 regal dignity in 1701, under the style and title of Frederic I., king of 

 Prussia. [FREDERIC I. OF PRUSSIA.] 



BRANTOME, the common designation of the French writer Pierre 

 de Bourdeilles, who was Lord Abbot of Brantome in Guienne. Very 

 little is known of the life of Brantome, beyond the brief and general 

 sketch given by himself iu an epitaph which lie left to be inscribed 

 on his tomb. He was a younger son of au ancient and distinguished 

 family of Perigord, where he appears to have been born about the year 

 1540. Having served his apprenticeship in arms under Francis of 

 Guise, ho eventually obtained two companies of foot from Charles IX. 

 That king, with whom he was a great favourite, also made him a 

 Chevalier of the Order of St. Michael ; that of Habito de Christo was 

 bestowed upon him by Don Sebastian of Portugal. He is supposed 

 to have visited iu the early part of his life most of the countries of 

 Europe, either in a military capacity or as a traveller. After the 

 accession of Henry III. he appears to have retired to his estate of 

 Richemont in his native province. It is supposed to have been after 

 this that he wrote his various works. He died at Richemont, on the 

 15th of July 1614. 



By his last will he charged his heirs with the publication of his 

 works, or memoirs, as they are often collectively called, ordering that 

 the necessary funds should be provided from the revenues of his 

 estate; although he has known, he adds, the booksellers pay for 

 liberty to publish books not half so interesting or so likely to be well 

 received by the public. They did not however appear till the year 

 1666, when they were printed in eight 16mo volumes, according to 

 the title-page, " at Leyden, by John Satnbix the younger," but in 

 reality, it is said, at the Hague, by the brothers Steucker. The works, 

 were sent to the press by Claude de Bourdeilles, comte de MontrtSsor, 

 grand-nephew of the author. Another edition appeared in 1699, and 

 another in 1722. But the most complete edition of Brantome is that 

 of 1740, in 15 vols. 16mo, which bears the impress of the Hague on 

 the title-page, but is said to have been actually printed at Rou*n. No 

 printer's or bookseller's name appears. A reprint of it in the same 

 number of volumes appeared in 1779 at Maastricht (but with the 

 impress of London) ; and it was once more reproduced in 8 vols. Svo 

 in 17S7, by Bastien, as a part of the collection entitled 'Memoires 

 pour servir & 1'Histoire de France.' 



Of the fifteen volumes, the first contains ' Les Vies des Dames 

 Illuetres Franchises et Jitrangeres ; ' the second and third, ' Les Vies 

 des Dames Galantes ; ' the fourth and fifth, ' Les Vies des Hommes 

 Illustres et Grands Capitaines Strangers ; ' the sixth, seventh, eighth, 

 ninth, and tenth, 'Les Vies des Hommes Illustres et Grands Capitaines 

 Francois;' and the eleventh, 'Discours sur les Duels.' The remaining 

 four volumes consist of pieces which had not been previously pub- 

 lished. The twelfth contains a collection entitled ' Rhodomontades 

 et Geutilles Rencontres Espagnolles," which is stated to have been 

 written by Brantome in Spanish, and translated into French by Marc 

 Phrasendorp; and two dissertations, the first 'Sur les Sermens et 

 Juremens Espagnols,' the other ' Sur les Belles Retraites d'Armdes de 

 diverses Nations.' The thirteenth contains the author's ' Opuscules 

 Divers,' seventeen in number, the last being hia Testament, a very 

 curious document, extending to about 50 pages. To these is added a 

 piece entitled 'Maxima et Avis du Maniemeut de la Guerre,' by Audrd 



