GERMANY 



181 



rarily extended German supremacy over Bohemia, 

 Denmark, aiil Hungary, while lie repressed the 

 in-oleiiee iiinl despotism of the great nobles of 

 Germany. And while his stern piety moved him 

 to interfere with force in the Htrife over the pupal 

 chuir, lie also Alined the respect of IUK contemjM) 

 i.uies by his xi-al for justice and his valour in the 

 Held. The minority of his son und successor, 

 Henry IV. (1056-1106), enabled the nobles to 

 recover much of their former power, ami to apply 

 a check to the further consolidation of the imperial 

 authority, which had been considerably extended 

 under the two preceding reigns. Henry's constant 

 quarrels with the astute (Jregory VII. entangled 

 him in diUiculties und mortifications, which culmi- 

 nated in his humiliation at Canossa, and only 

 ended with his life, and which plunged Germany 

 into anarchy and disorder. The emperor's most 

 formidable rival, Kudolph of Swabia, was defeated 

 and slain in 1080. With his son and successor, 

 Henry V. ( 1 106-25 ), who made peace with the 

 papacy by the Concordat of Worms in 1122, the 

 male Hue of the Franconian dynasty became ex- 

 tinct; and after the crown had been worn (1125- 

 37 ) by Lothair of Saxony, who made a lx>ld 

 attempt to recover some of the prerogatives of 

 which at his election the empire had been deprived 

 through papal intrigues, the choice of the electors, 

 after a season of dissension and intrigue, fell upon 

 Conrad III. (1138-52), Duke of Franconia, the 

 first of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. His reign, in 

 which the civil wars of the Guelphs (<|.v.) and Ghibel- 

 lines began, was distracted by the dissensions of the 

 great feudatories of the empire, while the strength 

 of Germany was wasted in the disastrous Crusades, 

 in which Conrad took an active part. On his 

 death the electoral college for the first time met 

 at Frankfort, which retained the honour of being 

 the place at which the sovereign was elected and 

 crowned till the dissolution of the empire in the 

 19th century. Frederick I. (1152-90), surnamed 

 Barbarossa, Duke of Swabia, was, at the recom- 

 mendation of his uncle Conrad, chosen as his 

 successor, and the splendour of his reign fully 

 warranted the selection. By the force of his 

 character Frederick acquired an influence over 

 the diets which had not been possessed by any of 

 his immediate predecessors, and during his reign 

 many important changes were effected in the 

 mutual relations of the great duchies and counties 

 of Germany, while we now for the first time hear 

 of the hereditary right possessed by certain princes 

 to exercise the privilege of election. Unfortunately 

 for Germany, this great monarch suffered the 

 interests of his Italian dominions to draw him 

 away from those of his own country, whilst his 

 participation in the Crusades, in which both he 

 and the Mower of his chivalry perished, was only 

 memorable for the misfortunes which it entailed on 

 the empire. The interval between the death of 

 Frederick Barbarossa (1190) and the accession of 

 Rudolf I. (1273), the first of the Hapsburg line, 

 which, through a female branch, still reigns in 

 Austria, was one of constant struggle, internal 

 dissension, and foreign wars. Individually, the 

 princes of the Hohenstaufen dynasty were popular 

 monarchs, their many noble and chivalrous quali- 

 ties having endeared them to the people, while 

 one of the race, Frederick II. (1212-50), was, 

 after Charlemagne, perhaps the most remarkable 

 sovereign of the middle ages ; but their ambitious 

 de-i-n;, on ItaK, and their constant but futile 

 attempts to destroy the papal power, were a source 

 of misery to Germany, and with Frederick II. 

 ended the glory of the empire, till it was partially 

 revived by the Austrian House of Hapsburg. His 

 son, Conrad IV. (1250 54), with whom the Hohen- 

 staufen line ended in Germany, was succeeded, 



after a brief and troubled reign, by variou* 

 piince-, who in turn, or in tome cases contem- 

 poraneously, bore the imperial title without .< 

 i-i -in- its legitimate function- or authority. Tin- 

 Mason of anarchy (known as the Great interreg- 

 num i wax terminated at the accewtion of Rudolf I. 

 ( l'_'7.'{ 01 ), who, by the destruction of the Htrong- 

 hold- of the nobles, and the stringent enforcement 

 of the laws, restored order. His chief effort* were, 

 however, directed to the aggrandisement of his 

 Austrian possessions, which embraced Styria, 

 Carinthia, Carniola, and Tyrol. 



For the next 200 years the history of the German 

 empire presents very few features of interest, and 

 may be briefly passed over. Adolf of Nassau, who 

 was elected to succeed Rudolf, was compelled in 

 1298 to yield the crown to the son of the latter, 

 Albert I. (1298-1308), whose reign is chiefly 

 memorable as the period in which three Swiss 

 cantons, Unterwalden, Schwyz, and Uri, estab- 

 lished their independence. After the murder of 

 Albert the throne was occupied in rapid succes- 

 sion by Henry VII. (1308-13), who added Bohemia 

 to the empire, and, conjointly, by Frederick III. of 

 Austria and Ludwig IV. of Bavaria (1313-47). 

 Charles IV. (1347-78) of Luxemburg was the 

 successful candidate among many rivals ; and, al- 

 though he attended specially to the interests of 

 his hereditary possessions of Bohemia, Moravia, 

 Silesia, and Lusatia, he did not entirely neglect 

 those of the empire, for which he provided by a 

 written compact, known as the Golden Bull (1356), 

 which regulated the rights, privileges, and duties of 

 the electors, the m<xle of the election and coronation 

 of the emperors, the coinage, customs, and com- 

 mercial treaties of the empire, and the rights and 

 obligations of the free cities. His son, Wenceslaus 

 (1378-1400), who was finally deposed, brought the 

 royal authority into contempt, from which it was 

 scarcely redeemed by Rupert of the Palatinate 

 (1400-iO). The nominal reign of Sigmund ( 1410- 

 37 ), the brother of Wenceslaus, would demand no 

 notice were it not for his connection with the 

 Council of Constance in 1414, at which Huss was 

 condemned, and which was followed by the dis- 

 astrous Hussite wars. The readiness with which 

 Sigmund lent himself to the interests of Henry V. 

 of England, and of all other princes who ministered 

 to his love of personal display, brought discredit 

 on the imperial dignity, while his dishonourable 

 desertion or Huss will ever attach ignominy to his 

 name. Albert II. of Austria ( 1438-39 ), after a reign 

 of less than two years, in which he gave evidence 

 of great capacity "for governing, was succeeded by 

 his cousin, Frederick IV. (1440-93), an accom- 

 plished but avaricious and indolent prince, whose 

 chief object seemed to be the aggrandisement of 

 the House of Hapsburg, with wliich the title of 

 emperor had now become permanently connected 

 (see AUSTRIA), while he neglected the interests 

 of Germany collectively, and suffered the Turks 

 to make unchecked advances upon its territory. 

 Maximilian I. (1493-1519), the son and successor 

 of Frederick, resembled him in few respects, for he 

 was active, ambitious, and scheming, but deficient 

 in steadiness of purpose. His marriage with Mary, 

 the rich heiress of her father, Charles the Bold 

 of Burgundy, involved him in the general politics 

 of Kurope, while his opposition to the reformed 

 faith preached by Luther exasperated the reli- 

 gious differences which disturbed the close of his 

 reign. Maximilian had, however, the merit of 

 introducing many improvements in regard to the 

 internal organisation of the state, by enforcing 

 the better administration of the law, establishing 

 a police and an organised army, and introducing 

 a postal system. With him originated, moreover, 

 the special courts of jurisdiction known as the 



