GERMANY. 
promote a general reconciliation among the princes of 
the empire. His exertions for this purpoie were 
crowned with fiiccefs : they unaniniou.ny refolved to 
ftipport his interelts, and acted with fuch extraordinary 
gallantry in liis defence, that a numerous army of Hun¬ 
garian invaders were repulfed with prodigious llaugh- 
ter ; tile Vandals aifo, who had made an inroad into the 
empire, were almoft exterminated on the coafts ot the 
Baltic ; and the Dalmatians, Bohemians, Abotrites, and 
Sclavonians, were compelled to lay down tiieir arms. 
His greateft druggie was with the Thuringians, with 
whom he at length concluded a truce. Charles the 
Simple lie drove from th.e banks of the Rhine; and, at- 
ter fome conferences, the two princes concluded the 
treaty called PaElum Ronnefe, which conllitutes a famous 
epocli in hiftoiy. An alfembly, compoled of feveral 
French and German prelates, was lieid foon afterwards 
at the place now called Coblentz, where this treaty was 
confirmed ; and, among other regulations, it was en¬ 
acted that no layman fhould receive tythes, which were 
entirely ecclefialHc, and that no marriage (hould be fo- 
lemnized between relations within the fixth degree of 
confanguinityl 
Henry now turned his attention to the regulation and 
improvement of his dominions. Accordingly he pub- 
lifhed a general amnefty in favour of the robbers and 
banditti, witli which defeription of men every part of 
Germany at that time abounded, and he aftually per- 
fuaded them to engage in fervice of their country. 
■He alfo took excellent precautions for the ellablifhment 
and regular fupply of magazines of corn, tliat the in¬ 
habitants might never be didrell'ed by a fcarcity of pro- 
vifions. Nor were the exertions of this prince confined 
to the difeharge of liisimpeiial duties; but liis zeal in¬ 
duced liim to undertake the propagation of the Ciiriftian 
religion; and, after appointing the firlt hilltop in Hol- 
Ifein to declare the glad tidings of the golpcl to the 
recently fubdiied Vandals, lie had the latisfadtion to 
witnefs, in the year 927, the converllon of the king of 
the Abotrites, whole territories bordered upon Bulga¬ 
ria, in that part of Dacia contiguous to the Danube. 
Henry now received a prelTing invitation into Italy, 
to receive tlie holy undlion from the hands of the pope. 
This induced Iiim to undertake that journey; but, 
being feized with an apoplexy on the road, he was com- 
pciled to return to the place nov/ called Manlleben, 
where, with the confent of the Itates, he fettled tlie 
fuccelTion bn his Ion Otho, and expired in the lixtieth 
year of his age, and the feventeenth of his reign. 
1 1 was relerved for the emperor Henry I. to re-eftablilh 
the authority of tlie imperial crown, which had luffered 
a great decline. To preferve the conneblion of Bavaria 
with the empire, after the introdiidtion of Chriftiaiiity, 
he made a lacrifice, in granting to the dukes of that 
coxintry the authority over the bifiiops of it, which was 
coiifidered as a part of the royal power. Whether this 
was deligned merely as a perlonal prerogative conferred 
on the tlien duke, or intended for ail the fucceeding 
dukes of Bavaria, is a quellion which is Hill dilputed, 
particularly by the Bavarian and Salzburg writers. 
The union wliicii had been formed between Lorrain and 
Germany, in the years 923 and 935, was now reliored, 
by more than one treaty with the king of France, to its 
former Hate. 
“ We are principally indebted (fays the learned 
Piitter) to this reign for tlie change which took place 
in the interior parts of Germany, by drawing the inha¬ 
bitants Iroiii the woods, and laying the foundation of 
the German towns. Before this period, excepting the 
calUes on the mountains, the feats of the nobility, and 
convents which happened to be furrounded with walls, 
there were only lonely farms and villages. A few peo¬ 
ple might poliibly have erected fome houfes in the 
neighbourhood of a caftle or church; but ail thefe 
places were open and defencelefs. 
“ The mournful experience, tliat fo few were able, 
in fucli fituations, to make effectual provifion againft 
the incrcafuig diflrefs occafioned by the incurfions of 
foreign nations, firft fuggefted the idea to Henry, that it 
woulil be more conducive to the public fecurity if there 
were towns furrounded with wails, with towers and 
gates ; and not only large enough to contain a greater 
number of inhabitants, but capable of affording pro- 
tetlion to their effects, and thofe of their neighbours 
wlio might take refuge there in times of ncceflity. Any 
other motives than thofe of neceffity would have availed 
but little to divert the people of their avcifion to live 
in towns ; but the experience of other advantages which 
this inrtitution produced, foon taught tliem to change 
tlieir opinion ; and of courfe therefore the number of 
towns continually increafed. 
‘‘ But how was it pollibie to accomplirti this innova¬ 
tion at firft ? The method which Henry adopted was, 
tliat every ninth man fliotild remove from the country, 
«nd iettle in tlie towns, and that all public meetings, 
(hould be held there ; a plan wliich certainly merits the 
highert approbation. We have no particular account of 
any other regulation which might have been made, to 
encourage the population of the towns, and promote 
tlieir trade ; much lefs are we acquainted with the num¬ 
ber and lituation of the particular towns then founded. 
It is probable tliat many of them owed their origin to 
buildings which happened to be already in the neigh¬ 
bourhood of epifcopal churches and cloifters, or elfe 
adjoining caftles wliicli were furrounded by extenfive 
walls. The divifion of the ftreets miift naturally have 
depended upon accident, by one houle by degrees being 
added to ariotlier. Even where the towns were built 
entirely from the ground, one cannot be I'urprized that 
there was fo little regularity obferved, and lb little ap¬ 
plication of that refined policy which we imagine to be 
requifite in a town at prefent ; partly as this event re¬ 
lates to an age of the groffeft ignorance, and partly be- 
caiile there was only the Ihort period of nine years, 
during which Henry had made a truce with the Thurin* 
gians, allotted for the purpofe. In fuch circumrtaiices 
it is rather a wonder that (o muen was performed, and 
that a nation which was before fo exceedingly averfe to 
this mode of living, could fo foon be prevailed upon to 
refide in towns. But the greateft proof of this having 
really been the cale was, that, after the dangers which 
they were expofed to from the Thuringians were over, 
their number continually increafed in tlie towns. 
“With refpebt to the manner of life of the inhabi. 
tants of thefe new towns, and amongft other things the 
particular diftinblion of rank which prevailed, we ituift 
not form our ideas of them from the (late of our modern 
towns. Every one of the original inhabitants knew 
wliat rank he was of, and whether he was free or not. 
In the firft generation, it is probable that the people 
feldom married perlons of any other rank than their 
own. At that time, the mere abode in a town was not 
a fufficient reafon for conftituting a particular rank or 
order of men; and this is the caufe that even in the 
prefent day there are noble families in many ancient ci¬ 
ties, who have preferved their rank from time immemo¬ 
rial. It was not till feveral generations afterwards that 
the inhabitants of cities, wliofe anceftors were freemen, 
no longer fcrupled to intermarry with perfons whofe 
wealth and perfonal accomplilhments made them wil¬ 
lingly forget that their anceitors perhaps were originally 
(laves, or came firft into the town in the capacity of 
menial fervants. 
“ In the fame manner, likewife, the averfion which 
the people in general had to merchandife and mecha¬ 
nical employments, was by degrees deftroyed. Thofe 
indeed who continued to keep up their lioufes in the old 
ftyle in the country, foon laid claim to precedency, be- 
caul'e they (till complied with the cu(toms of their an¬ 
ceftors, by principally occupying theuifelves in the cha(e 
