T ^K #. ^^> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 7 ^ A Zr ^ 1.0 t}^ III I.I 2.5 us 2.2 2.0 1.8 11^25 11.4 ill 1.6 ■I • Vi ^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN ". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre fiim^s d des taux de reduction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour etre reproduit en un seui cliche, il est filmi^ 6 partir de I'angib supArieur gauche, de gaiiche 6 droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nicessaire. Les diagram mes suivants illustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 r ^i^^pp -s / 1^- I 1 « HISTORY OF THB REVOLUTIONS IN EUROPE, FROM THE SUBVERSION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN THE WEST, TO TBI CONGRESS OF VIENNA. FROM THE FRENCH OF CHRISTOPHER WILLIAM KOCH. WITH A CONTINUATION TO THE YJBJAR 181(1^ BYM. SCHCELI^ REVISED AND COKRECTED 117 J. O. OOCnWKLL WITH A SKETCH OF THE LATE REVOLUTIONS IN FRANCE, BELGIUM, POLAND, AND GREECE. Smbf UCi4et[ kltb Snoisbtnflt. IN TWO VOLUMBBL VOL. t i^x PUBLISHED BY HUNT AND CO. roa GEOEOE C. TBEMAINE, KINGSTON, U. 0. 18«1. ^1 § M. smu CONTENTS OF VOLUME L Publisher's Notice, . . . . < • • • • • 5 Author's Preface, .•••••••••••••• 7 Life of Koch, • • • 13 Cbapteb L Introduction, ••••••••• 17 Chapter II.— Pehiod I. From the Invasion of the Roman Empire in the West, by * the Barbarians, to the tim«! of Charlemagne, A. D. 406->800, 41 * Chapter III. — Period II. From Charlemagne to Otto the Great, A. D. 800—902, . . 63 Chapter IV. — Period III. From Otto the Great to Gregory the Great, A. D. 963—107^ 79 Chapter V. — Period IV. From Pope Gregory VIII. to Boniface VIII. A. D. 1074—1300, 101 Chapter VI. — Period V. From Pope Boniface VIII. to the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, A. D. 1300—1453, les Chapter VII.— Period VI. From the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, to the peace of Westphalia, A. D. 1453—1648, ....... ^, , 807 liMi / II Ill^li^pM ma CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. a I \\ Chapter VIII.— -Period VII. From the Peace of Westphalia to that of Utrecht, A. D. 1648—1713, . 8 Chapter IX. — Period VIII. From the Peace of Utrecht to the French Revolution, A. D. .713—1789, 67 Chapter X. — Period IX. 1 From the commencement of the French Revolution, to the downfall of Buonaparte, A. D. 1789—1815, .... 140 Chapter XI. The Military Predominance of France, under the sway of Napoleon Buonaparte, A. D. 1802—1810, 198 Chapter XII. , The Decline and Downfall of the Empire of Buonaparte, A. D. 1810— 1815, 258 Appendix. From the second Restoration of the Bourbons, A. D 1815, to the French Revolution in July, 1830, 303 Revolution in Belgium, A. P. 1830, 328 Revolution in Poland, A. D. 1830, . 329 Revolution in Greece, A. D. 1821—1827, 341 War between Russia and Turkey, A. D. 1828 and 1829, . 361 England, from A. D. 1816, till the passing of the Reform Bill in 1832, 365 Notes, 877 ♦.» • ;\ * ' ' ' "■ u ru* 67 140 198 258 1^ L Nj 303 328 329 341 361 %,■■ 365 J77 r d V I I L r AUTHOR'S PREFACE, Thk work hero presented to the public, is a summary of the Revolutions, \)Oth general and particular, which have happened in Europe since the oxtincticn of the Roman Empire in the fifth century. As an elementary Look, it will be found useful to those who wish to have a concise and ge- neral view of the successive revolutions that have changed the aspect of states and kingdoms, and given birth to the existing policy and establish- ed order of society in modern times. '; • W ithout some preliminary acquaintance with the annals of these revo- lutions, we can neither study the history of our own country to advantage, nor appreciate the influence which the different states, formed from the wreck of the ancient Roman Empire, reciprocally exercised on each other. Allied as it were by the geographical position of their territories, by a conformity in their religion, language, and manners, these states contract- ed new attachments in the ties of mutual interests, which the progress of civilization, commerce, and industry, tended more and more to cement and confirm. Many of them whom fortune had elevated to the summit of power and prosperity, carried their laws, their arts and institutions, both civil and military, far beyond the limits of their own dominions. The extensive sway which the Romish hierarchy held for nearly a thou- sand years over the greater part of the European kingdoms, is well kn.'^m to every reader of history. This continuity of intercourse and relationship among the powers of Europe, became the means of forming them into a kind of republican sys- tem ; it gave birth to a national law and conventional rights, founded on the agreement of treaties, and the usages of common practice. A lauda- ble emulation sprung up among contemporary states. Their jealousies, and even their competitions and divisions, contributed to the progress of civilization, and the attainment of that high state of perfection to which all human sciences and institutions have been carried by the nations of modern Europe. It is these political connexions, this reciprocal influence of kingdoms and their revolutions, and especially the varieties of system which Europe has experienced in the lapse of so many ages, that require to be developed ( K ■' H 'lWW,lf»*i^ ■^nijIP^jp mgS riH PRBFACB. in a general view, such as that which professes to be the object of the pre- sent work. The author has here remoddled his " Views of the Revolutions of the Middle Ages," (published in 1790,) and extended or abridged the different periods according to circumstances. In continuing this work down to the present time, he has deemed necessary to conclude at the French Revolution, as the numerous results of that great event are too much in- volved in uncertainty to be clearly or impartially exhibited by contempo- rary writers.* The work is divided into eight periods of time,t according with the principal revolutions which have changed, in succession, the political state of Europe. At the head of each period, is placed either the desig- nation of its particular revolution, or that of the power or empire which held the ascendancy at the time. In limiting his treatise solely to the Revolutions of Europe, the writer has not touched upon those of Asia and the East, except in so far as they have had immediate influence on the destinies of Europe. Conscious also that the distinguishing characteristic of an hlstoriaa is veracity, and that the testimony of a writer who has not himself been an eye-witness of the events he records, cannot be relied on with impli'^it confidence, the author has imposed on himself the inva- riable rule of citing, with scrupulous care, the principal authorities and vouchers of each period and country that have guided him during his researches, in selecting and examining his materials by the torch of pa- tient criticism. Without this labour and precaution, thft work would have been of no avail as an elementary help to those who were desirous of acquiring a more minute and solid knowledge of history. As a useful and subsidiary accompaniment, an Introduction has been prefixed, in which are given some general remarks on history and geogra- phy, as also on genealogy and chronology, which may be regarded as auxiliary sciences. These preliminary notices are followed by a short outline of ancient history, down to the time of the Barbarian invasion in the fiflh century. With this grand era the present work properly com- mences, when a new series of kingdoms and governments sprimg up in Europe. * In the edition of 1823, from which (he present translation 1« made, the Tableau has been continned by the Editor, M. Bchoell, down to the 90th ofNorember, 181& t Nine in tlM iMt edltioQab inoladlof the eontinaalln. J i LIFE OF KOCH. •'/■ CiiRisTOPHEn WiLLiAivi KocH, equally distinguished as a lawyer and a learned historian, was Uorn on the 9th of May 17S7 at Bo'jxwilier, a small town in the sei^'niory of Lichtenber;7 in Alsace, which then belonged to the Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt. His father, .vho was a member of the Chamber of Finance under that prince, sent him to an excellent school in his native place, where he received the rudiments of his education. At the age of thirteen, he went to the Protestant Univer-^ity of Strasbourg, where he prosecuted his studies under the celebrated Schcepflin. Law was the profession to which he was destined; but he showed an early predilection for the study of hii'iory, and the sciences connected with it, such as Diplomatics, or the art of deciphering and verifying ancient writs and chartularies^ Genedof^y, Chroiiolog7j, &c. Schnepflin was not slow to appre- ciate the rising merit of his pupil, and wished to make him the companion of his labours. He admitted him to his friendship, and became the means of establishing him as his successor in that famous political academy, which liis reputation had formed at Strasbourg, by attracting to that city the youth of the first families, and from all parts of Europe. Koch devoted much of his time to the Canon Law, and soon gave a prooi of the pro- gress he had made in that branch of study, by the Academical Dissertation which he published in 1761, under the title of Commentatio de Collatione dignitatnm et heu^ficiorum ecclesi- asticorum in imperio Ro^nano-Gf^manico. This treatise v/as a prelude to his Commentary on the Pragmatic Sa?ictio)i, which he published in 17S9 — a work which excited an extra- ordinary sensation in Catholic Germany, and procured the author the ftivorrable notice of such prelates as were most eminent for learning and piety. After taking his academic degree, Koch repaired to Paris in 1762, where he staid a year ; honoured with the society of the most distinguished literati in the capital, and frequenting the Royal Library, wholly occupied in those researches which pre- pared him for the learned labours in which he afterwards en gaged. On his return to Strasbourg, he wrote the continua- tion of the Historia Zaringo-Badensis, of which the first volume only was drawn up by Schoepflin. All the others are entirely the work of Koch, though they bear the name of the master who had charged him wich the execution of this task. Schc^pfiin bequeathed to the city cf Strasbourg, in 1766, his valuable vol,, T. 2 ■ v. -IT , 14 LIFE OF KOCH. library and his cabiret of antiques, on condition that Koch should be appointed keeper; which he was, in effect, on the - V death of the testator in 1771. He obtained, at the same time, the title of Professor, which authorized him to deliver lectures ; for the chair of Schoepflin passed, according to the statutes of the University, to another professor, — a man of merit but inca- pable of supplying his place as an instructor of youth in the study of. the political sciences. The pupils of Schoepflin were thus transferred to Koch, who became the head of that diplo- matic school, which, for sixty years, gave to the public so great a number of ministers and statesmen. In 1779 the Government of Hanover offered him the chair of jmblic German Law in the University of Gottingen, which he declined. Next year the Emperor Josepeh II., who knew well how to distinguish merit, complimented him with the dignity of Knight of the Empire, an intermediate title between that o baron and the simple rank of noblesse. About the same perioa he obtained the chair of Public Law at Strasbourg, which he held until that University was suppr^issed at the French Revolu- tion. Towards the end of 1789, the Protestants of Alsace sent him as their envoy to Paris, to solicit from the King and the Constitutional Assembly, the maintenance of their civil and re- ligious rights, according to the faith of former treaties. He succeeded in obtaining for them the decree of the 17th of August 1790, which sanctioned these rights, and declared that the ecclesiastical benefices of the Protestants were not included among those which the decree of the 1st of November prece- ding, had placed at the disposal of the nation. The former decree was moreover extended and explained by an act, bearing date December 1st 1790. Both of these were approved and ratified by the King. Meantime, the terrors and turbulence of the Revolution had dispersed from Strasbourg that brilliant assemb'lage of youth, which the reputation of the professors, and the natural beauties of the place, had attracted from all quarters. These disastrous events interrupted the career of Koch, at a time when he was capable of rendering the most imp'^^tant services to his country. From that moment he devoted h ^elf to public affair?. Being appointed a Member of the first juegislative Assembly, he op- posed the faction which convulsed the nation, and ultimately subverted the throne. When President of the Committee of ihat Assembly, he exerted himself for the maintenance of peace ; and, in a Report which he made in 1792, he foretold the cala mities which would over elm France, if war should be declared against Austria. I'h" republican faction, by thei« s LIFE OF KOCH. Iff that Koch ?ct, on the same time, r lectures ; statutes of t but inca- »th in the pflin were hat diplo- c so great le chair of which he :new well le dignity- en that o ntie perioa which he 1 Revolu- Isace sent ■ and the il and re- ies. He I 17th of ired that included er prece- 3 former bearing ved and tion had youth, beauties sastrous he was •ountry. Being he op- imately ittee of peace ; le cala uld be y theif clamours, silenced the remonstrances of Koch, when, on the 20th of April, he spoke in opposition to a measure wh5ch proved so fatal to France. An official letter which he addressed, 10th of August, to the constituted authorities of the Lower Rhine, sufficiently expressed the horror with which that day's proceed- ings had inspired him. He procured, moreover, the concurrence of his fellow-citizens in a resistance, which he had then some reason to hope woulc be made a common cause by the other provinces. This letter drew down upon him the persecution of the ruling party. He was immured in a prison, where he languished for eleven months, and from which he had no pros- pect of escape, except to mount the scaffold. The revolution of the 9th Thermidor restored him to liberty, when he was ap- pointed, by the voice of his fellow-citizens, to the Directory of their provincial department. He endeavoured by all means in his power to defeat the measures that were taken to injure his constituents ; and had influence enough, it is said, to prevent the sale of the funds belonging to manufactories and hospitals. He then resumed with pleasure those functions which he had unwillingly accepted; in 1795, he recommenced his professorship of public law, and returned with new zeal to his literary labours, which had been too long interrupted. Six years he spent in these useful occupations ; from which, however, he was once more detached by a decree of the Senate, which nominated him a member of the Tribunal. This nomination Koch accepted, in the hope of being useful to his Protestant countrymen, and to the city of Strasbourg, in obtaining the re* establishment of the reformed religion, and its restoration in the University. He did, in effect, exert himself much in behalf of religion, ac- cording to the confession of Augsburg, as well as of the Pro- testant Academy at Strasbourg, which was suppressed at this period. The Tribunal having been suppressed, Koch declined all places of trust or honour which were offered him ; and only requested permission to retire, that he might have a short interval for him- self between business and the grave. A pension of 3000 francs was granted him, without any solicitation on his part. In 1808, he returned to Strasbourg, where he continued to devote him- self to letters, and in administering to the public good. About the end of 1810, the Grand-master of the University of France conferred on him the title of Honorary Rector of the Academy of Strasbourg. His health, which had been prolonged by a life of great temperance and regularity and the peace which results from a good conscience, became disordered in .1812, when he fell into a state of languor, which terminated his life on the 25th » LIFE OF K6CB. I i I i^ of October 1813. His colleagues, the professors of Slrarbourg, erected to his memory a monument of white marble in the churca of St. Thomas, near those of Schoepflin and Oberlin ; which was executed by M. Ohnmacht, an eminent sculptor in Strasbourg^ One of his biographers has pronounced the fol- lowing eulogium on Koch : — " A noble regard for justice and truth, a penetration beyond common, a diligence unrivalled in historical researches, a remarkable talent in arranging and illus- trating his subject, an incorruptible integrity of principle, and unclouded serenity of mind, with a zealous desire of rendering his researches, his information and activity, useful to his spejcies — these were the prominent features of the mind and character of this amiable man." In addition to this, it has been remarked, that although Professor Koch had not the art of a graceful or even a fluent elocu.' .n, no man ever possessed in a higher de- gree the talents and qualifications of a public instructor. Like Socrates, he had a manner peculiar to himself. He was no* so much a teacher of sciences, as of the means of acquirng them. He could inspire his scholars with a taste for labour, and knew how to call forth their several powers and dispositions. Though a man of the most domestic habits, and a lover of children, Koch never married. Two lives of this celebrated professor have been written by foreigners. The one is by M. Schweighceuser junior, a profes- sor at Strasbourg; and the other is prefixed to the new edition of the Histoire des Traites de Paix, by M. Schcell, the editor and continuator of several of our author's works. This latter biographer has accompanied his sketch with a descriptive cata- logue of all Koch's works, the principal of which are the fol- lowing : — 1. Tables Gefisalogigues des Maiso7is Souveraines du 3Iidi et de r Quest de r Europe. 2. Sanctio Pragmaticu Get' vmnorum illustrata. 3. AbregS de VHistoire des TraiUs d' Paix cntre les Puissances de VEurope. A new edition of this work appeared in 1818, enlarged and continued by M. Schcell down to the Congress of Vienna and the Treaty of Paris, 1815. 4. Table des Traites entre la France et les Puissances Etran- geres, depuis la Paix de Westphalie, ^c. 5. Tableau des Revo' lutions de VEurope, <^c. 6. Tables Genealogiques des Maisons Souveraines de VEst et du Nord de I'Europe. This work was published, after the author's death, by M. S.hcell. Besides these, Koch left various manuscripts, containing memoirs of hi« own life ; and several valuable papers on the ancient ecclesias lical history and literature of his native province. A. C. ^ ^■- '• CHAPTER History has rery properly been considered as that particulat branch of philosophy, which teaches, by examples, now men ought to conduct themselves in all situations of life, both pub- lie and private. Such is the infirmity and incapacity of the human mind, that abstract or general ideas make no lasting impression on it ; and often appear to us doubtful or obscure, — at least if they be not illustrated i confirmed by experience and observation. ' * It is from history alone, which superadds to our own expe- rience that of other men and of other times, that we learn to conquer the prejudices which we have imbibed from education, and which our own experience, often as contracted as our edu- cation, tends in general rather to strengthen than to subdue or destroy. " Not to know," says Cicero, " what happened before we were born, is to remain always a child ; for what were the life of Tiian, did we not combine present events with the recol- lections of past ages V* There are certain principles or rules of conduct that hold true in all cases ; because they accord and consist with the in- variable nature of things. To collect and digest these, belongs to the student of history, who may, in this way, easily form to himself a system, both of morals and politics, founded on the combined judgment of all ages, and confirmed by universal ex- perience. Moreover, the advantages that we reap from the Btudy of history are preferable to those we acquire by our own experience ; for not only does the knowledge we derive from this kind of study embrace a greater number of objects, but it is purchased at the expense of others, while the attainments we make from personal experience often cost us extremely dear. " We may learn wisdom," says Polybius, *' either from our own misfortunes, or the misfortunes of others. The knowledge," adds that celebrated historian, " which we acquire at our own expense, is undoubtedly the most efficacious ; but that which we learn from the misfortunes of others is the safest, in as much as we receive instruction without pain, or danger to ourselves." This knowledge has also the advant'»L"' of being in general more accurate, and more c .mplete tha.. '» which we derive from individual experience. To history alone it belongs to judge with impartiality of public characters and political mea 2* i'TV'«"o destruction of the Enstorn empire, brought iiIomr' with it the ri'vivnl of littrnturo and the fine arts, and the rouovniion of civil socicly iu Europe. Although ancient history does not enter into the plan of tho following work, nevertheless it appeared necessary to pivo hero a brief sketch of it to the reader, with the view of coimecting the order of time, and tho chain of tiio great events that have occurred from the remotest ages to the present day. Wo have divided it into three periods,. the first o( which embraces 3000, the second 1000, and tho third 500 years. ^ The first period, which comprises thirty centuries, is almost wholly fabulous. The notices of it that have been trnnsmitted to us are very imperfect. The order of liiiu' camiot bo estab- lished on any solid foundation. Even the authenticity of the famous Parian marbles, has been called in question as spurious ; and there is no other chronology that can guide our steps through this dark labyrinth of profane history. The only lite- rary monuments that are left us of these remote) and obscure nges, are the books of Moses and the Jews. Herodotus, the earliest profane historian, wrote more than a thousand yean after Moses, and about 4/50 before Christ. He had been prece- ded several centuries by Sanchoniathon the PhoDuician ; but the work of this latter historian is lost, and there exists only a few scattered fragments of it in Porphyry and Eusebius. It oppears, therefore, that of the 4c')00 years that fall within the compass of ancient history, tho first thirty centuries may, without inconvenience, be retrenched. Amidst the darkness ot those ages, we discover nothing but the germs of societies, gov- ernments, sciences and arts. The Egyptians, the Israelites, the Ph«?nioians, ihe Assyrians, the Babylonians, or Chaldeans, made then the most conspicuous figure among the nations of Asia and Africa. The Egyptians and Chaldeans were the first who cultivated astronomy. Egypt was long the nursery of arts and sciences. The Phcenicians, without any other guide than the stars, boldly traversed unknown seas, and gave a vast extent of intercourse to their commerce and navigation. They founded many celebrated colonies, such as Carthage in Africa, rnd Malaga and Cadiz on the shores of Spain. The history of Europe, which is utterly unknown during the first two thousand years, begins to exhibit in the third millenarjr, a few slight notices of ancient Greece. A multitude of petty states had then taken root ; most of which, as Argos, Athens and Thebes, had been founded by colonies from Egypt. Tha INTEOOUCTION. 3» Greeks, tn imitation of tho Pha>ni(tian8, applied ihomselves to arts, nHvif^iilion, ntul coiriiimrco. They ••HliibliNhed niirncroufi coloiiifs, not only on the const of Asiu Minor, but on those of liiily iiinl Sicily. Thiit in lovv<>r Italy or Cuhihria, was kiiown by the niiino of Miignu (Jnuciii. It was durinj^ thi) second pc^riod of ancient history, or in the foiiiih millenary, that ^reat and powerful monarchies uroso ; which contributed to the projjfrens of arts and civilization, and the perfection of .society. These are commonly reckoned five, vi/. the Egyptian, the Assyrian, the IVrsian, the Macedonian, and the Komun ; ail of which successively established them selves on the ruins of each other. 'J'he history of tho two fir.st monarch ies is enveloped m mystery and doubt. Of the ancient Egyj)tians, nothinf^ now remains but their pyramids, their temples, and obelisks, — njonu- mants which can only attest the power and grandeur of the ancient sovereigns of Egypl* As to the Assyrian anlKjuilies, the contradictions that we find between the narratives of Herodotus and Ctesias, cannot fail to make us reject, as fabulous, tho details of the latter, respecting the magnificence of Ninus, Semiramus, and Sardanapalus, the supposed monarchs of Assyria and Babylon. Nothing certain is known of this empire, or the concjuests of these kings, beyond what we find recorded in the annals of the Jews. SImlmaneser, King of Assyria, subdued the kingdom of Sama- ria or Israel, about the year of the Avorld 3270 ; and Nebu- chadnezzar, one of his successors, conquered that of Judah and Jerusalem, about the year 3403. Tho Persian monarchy was founded by Cyrus, who put an end to the dominion of the Assyrians and Babylonians, by taking tho city of Babylon, about the year of the world 3463. The empire, when at its greatest height, under Darius Hystaspes, comprehended all that part of Asia which stretches from the Indus to the Caspian Sea, and from the Euxine to the shores of the Mediterranean. Egypi in Africa, and Thrace in Europe, were subject to its laws. A iter a duration of nearly two centuries^ it was finally destroyed by the Macedonians in the year 3672. Greece, which was at first divided into several petty king- doms, changed its condition towards the commencement of the fourth millenary ; when its principal cities, till then governed by kings, formed themselves into detached republics. An en- thusiasm for liberty spread over all Greece, and inspired every bosom with the love of glory. Military bravery, as well as arts, and talents of all kinds, were fostered and encouraged by public games, the principal of which were the Olympic. Two cities, ',J>>"'»P'»>~ . "^^^T^li^ ™ 84 CHAPTER I. Athens and Lacedemon, fixed upon themselves for a time ^» eyes of all Greece. Solon was the legislator of the former, t^ad Lycurgus of the latter. To these two republics ail the rest suc- cumbed, either as allies, or by right of conquest. Athens has rendered herself immortal by the victories which she gained over the Persians, at the famous battles of Marathon, Salamis, and Plr • ''ought a. m. 3512, 35221 and 3523. The dency which these victories procued the Atheni- ans over t rest of the Greek states, excited the jealousy of the Lacedemonians, and became the principal cause of the famous civil war which arose in 3572, between these two repub- lics, and which is known by the name of the Peloponnesian war. This was followed by various other civil wars ; and these dis- asters contributed to greatly exhaust the Greeks, and to break that union which had been the true source of their prosperity and their glory. Philip, King of Macedon, had the address to turn these unhappy divisions to his own advantage, and soon made himself master of all Greece. The battle of Chaeronea, which he gained over the Athenians about the year of the world 3664, completed the conquest of that country. Alexander the Great, son of Philip, afterwards attacked the Persian empire, which he utterly overthrew, in consequence of the three victories which he gained over Darius Codomannus, the last of the Persian kings, at the passaee of the Granicus in 3668, at Issus in 3669, and near Arbela in 3672. The monarchy founded by Alexander fell to pieces after his death. From its wreck were formed, among others, by three of his generals, the three kingdoms of Macedon, Syria and Egypt; all of which were conquered in succession by the Ro- mans, A. M. 3835, 3936, and 3972. Greece itself had been reduced to a Roman province, after the famous sack of Corinth, and the destruction of the Achsean league, a. m. 3856, or 144 years before Christ. The empire of the Greeks was succeeded by that of the Romans, which is distinguished from all its predecessors, not more by its extent and duration, than by the wisdom with which it was administered, and the fine monuments of all kinds which it has transmitted to posterity. The greatness of this em- pire was not, however, the achievement of a single conqueror, but the work of ages. Its prosperity must be chiefly ascribed to the primitive constitution of the Republic, which inspired the Romans with the love of liberty, and the spirit of patriotism — which animated them to glory and perseverance, and taught them to despise dangers and death. Their religion, likewise, served as a powerful engine to restrain and direct the multitude, according to the views and designs of the government. '■% tmm INTRODUCTION. 36 The earlier part of the Roman history may be divided into mree periods. The first of these represents Rome under the government of kings ; from the time of its foundation, about the year of the world 3249, to the expulsion of Tarquin the Proud, and the establishment of the Republic, in 3193. The second extends from the establishment of the Republic, in the year of Rome 245, to the first Punic war, in the year of the City 490, and of the world 3738. The third commences \Vith the first Punic war, and terminates at the battle of Actium. which put an end to the Republican government, and re-estab- lished monarchy under Augustus, in the year of Rome 723. During the first of these periods, the Romans had to sustain incessant wars with their neighbours, the petty states of Italy. They subdued the whole of that peninsula in course of ihe second period ; and it was not till the third, that they carried their arms beyond their own country, to conquer the greater portion of the then known world. The first two periods of the Roman history, are full of obscure and uncertain traditions. In those remote ages, the Romans paid no attention to the study of letters. Immersed entirely in the business of war, they had no other historical records than the annals of their pontiffs, which perished in the sack of Rome, at the time of its invasion by the Gauls, in the year of the City 365. The most ancient of their historians was Fabius Pictor, who wrote his Annals in the sixth century after the foundation of Rome, or about the time of the second Punic war. These Annals, in which Fabius had consulted both tradition and foreign authors, are lost; and we possess no information on these two periods of Roman history, except what has been left us by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, and Titus Livius, who both wrote in the reign of Augustus, and whose narratives often re- semble a romance rather than a true history. The cultivation of letters and arts among the Romans, did not, properly speaking, commence until the third period; and after they had had intercourse with civilized nations, as the Carthaginians and Greeks. It was not until 484 years after the building of the city, that they struck their first silver coinage ; and ten years afterwards, they equipped their first fleet against the Carthaginians. It is at this period, also, that truth begins to dawn upon their history, and to occupy the place of fable and tradition. Besides their native historians, Titus Livius, Floras, and Velleius Paterculus, several Greek authors, as Po- lybius, Plutarch, Appian of Alexandria, Dion Cassius, &c. have ''urnished useful memorials on this period. The history of Polybius, especially, is a work of the highest merit. The .iiiiwimi^l^i^iii 36 CHAPTER S. - i atatesman will there find lessons on politics and government and the soldier instructions in the art of war. A long series of foreign wars put '.he Romans in possession of the Isles of the Mediterranean, Spain, Northern Africa, Egypt, Gaul, Illyria, Macedonia, Greece, Thrace, and all Asia, as far as the Euphrates. The destruction of the powerful re- public of Carthage was the grand cast of the die that decided the empire of the world in favour of the Romans. Carthage was a colony which the ancient Phenicians had founded on the coast of Africa, near the modern city of Tunis, in the year of the v/orld 3119, and 130 before the founding of Rome. In imitation of their mother country, the Carthaginians rendered themselves famous by their merchandise and their marine. The extent to which they carried their commerce, and the force necessary for its protection, rendered their arms every where victorious. They gradually extended their conquests along the shores of Africa, in Spain, and the islands of the Mediterranean. The attempts which they had made to get possession of Sicily, was the occasion of embroiling them in a war with the Romans. For nearly two hundred years, Rome and Carthage disputed between them the empire of the world; and it was not until these two mighty rivals had, more than once, made; each other tremble for their independence, that the Carthaginians yielded to the yoke of the conqueror. Their capital, after a siege which lasted nearly three years, was completely laid in ruins by the famous Scipio jEmilianus, the scholar of Polybius. No monument of the Carthaginians now remains to point out the ancient splendour of that republic. Their national archives, and all the literary treasures they contained, perished with the city, or were destroyed by the Romans. The destruction of Carthage happened in the year of Rome 608, and of the world 3856, the same year that witnessed the sack of Corinth. The fall of Carthage, and more especially the conquest of Greece, Egypt, and the Asiatic kingdoms, occasioned a wonder- ful revolution in the manners and government of the Romans The riches of the East, the arts and institutions of the van- quished nations, brought them acquainted with luxuries lliev had never known, which soon proved the fatal harbingers of vice. Their patriotism and love of liberty insensibly declined, and became extinct : powerful and ambitious citizens fomented insurrections and civil wars, which ended in the subversion of the republican government, and the establishment of monarchy. Two triumvirates appeared in succession. The first consisted wJ Pompey. Caesar, and Crass us, and was dissolved in cons(^ INTRODtTCTIOW, 37 ernment W )ssession I Africa, all Asia, erful re- decided ians had f Tunis, nding of aginians nd their erce, and ns every onquests s of the ssion of ivith the Carthage I it wa? e.. mad€! aginians , after & laid in olybius. oint out rchives, v'ith the ction of e world juest of ivonder- omans he vail' es tliev gers of eclined, mented sion of narchv. •nsislcd quence of the civil war that arose among the triumvirs. Ccesar, having conquered Pompey at the battle of Pharsnlia, in the year of Rome 706, became master of the empire, under the title of perpetual dictator. This new elevation of fortune he did not long enjoy ; he was assassinated in the senate by a band of conspirators, at the head of whom was Brutus, in the year of Rome 710, and 42 before the birth of Christ. A second triumvirate was formed between Mark Antony, CsBsiir Octavianus, and Lepidus. Many thousands of illustri- ous Romans, and among others Cicero, were at this time pro- scribed, and put to death by order of the triumvirs. Jealousy having at length disunited these new tyrants, Octavianus stripped Lepidus of his power, and defeated Mark Antony in the famous naval battle which took place near the promontory of Actium, in the year of Rome 723. Antony having been assass'nated in Egypt, immediately after his defeat, CfEsar Ocjavianus became sole master of the empire, which he afterwards ruled with sovereign authority under the name of Augustus. At this time the Roman empire comprehended the finest countries of Europe and Asia ; with Egypt and all the northern part of Africa. It was bounded on the west by the Rhine and the Danube, and on the east by the Euphrates. The successors ^ of Augustus added the greater part of Britian to the empire. M Trajan carried his victorious arms beyond :he Danube ; he con- ■^ quered the Dacians, who inhabited those countries known at present under the name of Hungary, Transylvania, Moldavia, Walachia, and Bessarabia. In the East this prince extended the limits of the empire beyond the Euphrates, having subdued Mesopotamia, Assyria, Armenia, Colchis and Iberia, (or Geor- gia;) but the conquests of Trajan were abandoned by his sue- 'I cessors, and the empire again shrunk within the bounds pr^j- I scribed by Augustus. This empire, which extended from north to south nearly six hundred leagues, and more than a thousand from east to west, viz. from the 24° to the 56° of latitude, comprised a total oi 180,000 square leagues. The population, during its mjst flourishing state, may be estimated at about 120,000,000, — a population which equals that of modern Europe, with the ex- ception of Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Russia and Turkey. The government which had been introduced, was an absolute monarchy, only clothed with the forma of the ancient republic. Under the populai titles of consul, tribune of the people, gene- ral, grand pontiff, censor, &c. the prince united in himself all the various attributes of supreme power. The senate indeed enjoyed extensive prerogatives; the legislative power, which VX)L. I. 4 CHAPTER I. had been reserved at first for the people, was afterwards trans- ferred to this body ; but as the military were wholly subordinate to the prince, and as he had also at his commana a numerous guard, it is easy to perceive that the authority of the senate was but precarious, and by no means a counterpoise to that of the prince. A government so constructed could not insure the welfare and happiness of the people, except under princes as humane ai Titus, as just and enlightened as Trajan and the Anlonines ; or 80 long as the forms introduced by Augustus should be respect- ed. It could not fail to degenerate into arbitrary power, under tyrants such as Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, and Domitian ; and the senate must then have been but a servile instrument in the hands of the prince, employed by him to facilitate the means of satiating his passions and his tyranny. The maxims of absolute power soon became the fashionable and favourite doctrine. Civilians began to teach publicly, that all the authority of the senate and the people was transferred to the prince ; that he was superior to the laws ; that his power extended to the lives and fortunes of the citizens ; and that he might dispose of the state as his own patrimony. These en- croachments of despotism, joined to the instability of the imperial throne, the decay of military discipline, the unbridled license of the troops, the employing whole corps of barbarians in their wars, must all be reckoned among the number of causes that hastened the downfall of the Roman empire. Constantine the Great, was the first of the emperors that em- braced Christianity, and made it the established religion of the state in 324. He quitted the city of Rome, the ancient residence of the Caesars, and fixed his capital at Byzantium, in 330, which took from him the name of Constantinople. Anxious to provide for the security of his new capital, he statioried the flower of his legions in the East, dismantled the frontiers on the Rhine and the Danube, and dispersed into the provinces and towns, the troops who had heretofore encamped on the borders of these gteat rivers. In this way he secured the peace and tranquillity of the interior, and infused, for a time, a new vigour into the government ; but he committed a great mistake in giving the first example of making a formal division of the state between his sons, without regard to the principle of unity and indivisi- bility which his predecessors had held sacred. It is true, this separation was not of long continuance ; but it was renewed afterwards by Theodosius the Great, who finally divided the empire between his two sons in the year 395 ; Arcadius had the eastern, and Honorius the western part of the empire. This 4 I .1 ■M INTHODtrCTTON. i atter comprehended Italy, Gaul, Britain, Spain, Northern Afri- ca, Rhetia, Vindelicia, Noricum, Pannonia, and Illyria. It was during the reign of Honurius, and under the administration of his minister Stilicho, iliat the memorable invasion of the barba- rians happened, which was followed shortly after, by the de- struction of the Western Empire. It is with this great event, which gave birth to a variety of new states and kingdoms, that the followingHistory of the Revo- lutions of Europe commences. It is divided into nine sections or periods of time, according to the successive changes which the political system of Europe experienced from the fifth to the nineteenth century. In the first, which extends to the year 800, the barbarians, who invaded the Western Empire, formed new states in Spain, Gaul, and Italy; and produced a complete revolution in the governments, laws, manners, letters, and arts of Europe. It was during this period ttiiit the Franks gained the ascendency over the other European nations; that the Popes laid the ground- work of their secular power ; that Mahomet founded a new re- ligion in Asia, and an empire which extended through Africa into Spain. In the second period, which extends from 800 to 9G2, a vast empire was erected, and again dismembered, after enjoying a short-lived splendour. • From its wreck were formed new king- doms, which have served as the basis for several states of mo- dern times. Others were established by the Normans, Russians, and Hungarians. In the third period, which terminates with the year 1072, Germany became the preponderating power, and began to de- cline, through the abuse of the feudal system. The House ol Cap«t mounted the throne of France ; and the Normans achiev- ed the conquest of England. The Northern nations, converted to Christianity, began to make some figure in history : the mo- narchy of Russia became great and powerful ; while the Greek empire, and that of the Romans, fell into decay. During \.\ie fourth period, which ends with the year 1300,' the Roman Pontiffs acquired an immense sway. This is also the epoch of the Crusades, which had a powerful influence on the aocial and political state of the European nations : The dark- ness of the middle ages began gradually to disappear; the esta- blishment of communities, and the enfranchisement of the serfs, gave birth to new ideas of liberty. The Roman jurisprudence was restored from the neglect and oblivion into which it had fallen, and taught in the universities : Italy was covered with a multitude of republics, and the kingdom of the two Sicilies, and W" i^i'i^i' 40 OHAPTIB I. of Portugal were founded: The inquisition wa^ established in France, and Magna Charta in England : The Moguls in the east raised, by their conquests, a powerful and extensive empire. 'Y\\Q fifth period, which ends at tiie taking of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, witnessed the decline of the Pontifical jurisdiction : Learning and science made some progress, and various important discoveries prepared the way for still greater improvements : Commerce began to flourish, and extend its in- tercourse more widely: The European states assumed their present form ; while the Turks, an Asiatic race, established their dominion in Europe. The sixth period, from 1153 to 1648, is the epoch of the re- vival of the belles lettres, and the fine arts ; and of the discovery Ameiica: It is also that of the Reformation of religion accom- J 'ished in Germany; the influence of which has extended over all the countries in the world. It was likewise during this period that Europe was desolated by religious wars, which eventually must have plunged it again into a state of barbarism. The peace of Westphalia became the basis of the political sys- tem of Europe. In the seventh period, from 1648 to 17 13, this federal system was turned against France, whose power threatened to overturn the political balance of Europe. The peace of Utrecht set bounds to the ambition of its aspiring monarchs, while that of Oliva adjusted the contending claims of the North. The European states, delivered from the terror of universal dominion, began to think the establishment of it an impossibility ; and losing conceit of the system of political equipoise, they sub- stituted in its place maxims of injustice and violence. The eighth period, which comes down to 17S9, is an epoch of weakness and corruption, during which the doctrines of a libertine and impious philosophy led the way to the downfall of thrones and the subversion of social order, [The consequences of this new philosophy bring us to the niiith period, during which, Europe was almost entirely revolu- tionized. The present history terminates with the year 1815, which forms a natural division in this revolutionary epoch ; the final results of which can be known only to posterity ] ished in the east ipire. ntinople ontifical ess, and greater d its in- ed their led their ' the re- iscovery , accom- led over ing this !, which rbarism. leal sys- I system overturn cht set that of niversal sibility; ley sub- 1 epoch les of a mfall of 1 to the revolu- ir 1815, ch; the OP TUB REVOLUTIONS OF EUROPE. CHAPTER II PERIOD I. Frovi the Invasio?i of the Roman Empire in the West hy the Barbarians, to the lime of Charlemagne, a. d. 406 — 800. TiiR Roman empire had, for many years, been gradually tending towards its downfall. Its energies were exhausted ; and it required no great eflbrts to lay prostrate that gigantic power which had almost lost its strength and activity. The vices of the government, the relaxation of discipline, the ani- mosities of faction, and the miseries of the people, all announced the approaching ruin of the empire. Divided by mutual jea- lousies, enervated by luxury, and oppressed by despotism, the Romans were in no condition to withstand the numerous swarms of barbarians from the North, who, unacquainted with luxury, and despising danger and death, had learne' to conquer in the ranks of the Imperial armies. Several of the Emperors, guided by a short-sighted policy, had received into their pay entire battalions of foreigners ; and to recompense their servicies, had assigned them sett'enients in the frontier provinces of the empire. Thus the Franks obtained, by way of compensation, territories in Belgic Gaul; while simi- lar grants were made in Pannonia and in Thrace, to the Vandals, Alans, Goths, and other barbarians. This liberality of the Ro- mans, which was a true mark of weakness, together with the vast numbers of these troops which they employed in their wars, at length accustomed the barbarians to regard the empire as their prey. Towards the close of the year 406, the Vandals, the Suevi, and the Alans, sounded the tocsin of that famous inva- sion which accelerated the downfall of the Western empire. The example of these nations was soon followed by the Visi- goths, the Brrgundians, the Alemanns,' the Franks, the Huns, the Angles, the Saxons, the Heruls, the Ostrogoths, and the Lombards. All these nations, with the exception of the Huos were of German origin. 4# '|iw»il>""'»j JWf ii*P^sp«Tip"l^,'''.™'-!'P«*' "'■» i«(».'«!!TfliP!lw»TBW^'PW»- 42 CUAPTSR II. The Vandals, it appears, were originally settled in that part of northern Germany which lies between the Elbe and the Vis- tula. They formed a branch of the ancient Suevi, as did also the Burgundians and the Lombards. After the third century, and under the reign of the Emperor Probus, we find them, with the Burgundians, engaged in warring against the Romans on the Rhine. In the time of Aureliah, ('*I72) they established them- selves in the western part of Dacia, that is, in Transylvania, and a part of modern Hungary. Oppressed in these districts by the Golhs, they obtained from Constantino the Great, settlements in Pannonia, on condition of rendering military service to the Romans. They remained in Pannonia, until the commencement of the fifth century, when they set out on their emigration to- . wards Gaul. It was on this occasion that they associated them- selves with the Alans, a people originally from Mount Caucasus, and ancient Scythia ; a branch of which, settled in Sarmatia near the source of the Borysthenes or Dnieper, had advanced as far as the Danube, and there made a formidable stand against the Romans. In their passage through Germany, the Vandals and the Alans joined a body of the Suevi, who also inhabited the banks of the Danube, eastward of the powerful nation of the Alemanns. United in this rude confederacy, they entered Gaul, plundering and destroying wherever they went. Mayence, Worms, Spire, Strasbourg, and many flourishing cities of Gaul, were pillaged by these barbarians. The Goths,' the most powerful of these destructive nations, began to rise into notice in the third century, after the time of the Emperor Caracalla. They th^n inhabited the country be- tween the Vistula, the Dniester, the Borysthenes, and the Tanais oi Don. It is not certain whether ihey were originally from those regions, or whether, in more remote times, they Inhabited Scandinavia, from which, according to Jornandes, a Gothic au- thor, they emigrated at an early period. It is however certain, that they were of German extraction ; and that, in the third and fourth centuries,, they made the Ca3sars tremble on their thrones. The Emperor Aurelian was compelled (274) to abandon the pro* vmce of Dacia to their dominion. This nation, the first of the German tribes that embraced the Christian religion,' was divided, in their ancient settlements beyond the Danube, into two principal branches. They who inhabited the districts towards the east and the Euxine Sea, between the Dniester, the Borysthenes, and the Tanais, were called Ostrogoths ; the Visigoths were the branch which extend- ed westward, and occupied ancient Dacia, and the regions situ- ated between the Dniester, the Danube and the Vistula. At- f 1$ ™ PERIOD 1, A. D. 406 — 800. 43 tacked in these vast countries by the Huns, (375) some were subjugated, and others compelled to abandon their habitations. A part of liie Visigoths then fixed their abode in Thrace, in IJsesia, and the frontiers of Dacia, with consent of the emperors ; who granted also to the Ostrogoths settlements in Pannonia. At length the Visigoths, after having twice ravaged Italy, sacked and plundered Rome, ended their conquests by establishing themselves in Gaul and in Spain. One branch of these Goths appears to have been the Thuringians, whom we find in the fifth century established in the heart of Germany, where they erected a very powerful kingdom. The Franks were probably a confederacy which the German tribes, situated between the Rhine, the Maine, the Weser, and the Elbe, had formed among themselves, in order to maintain their liberty and independence against the Romans. Tacitus, who wrote about the commencement of the second century, did not know them under this new name, which occurs for the first time in the historians of the third century. Among the German tribes who composed this association, we find the Chauci, the Sicambri, the Chamavi, the Cherusci, the Bructeri, the Catti, the Ampsivarii, the Ripuarii, the Salii, &oc.* These tribes, though combined for the purposes of common defence, under the general name of Franks, preserved, nevertheless, each their laws and foi'm of government, as well as their particular chiefs, and the names of their aboriginal tribes. In the fourth^ and towards the beginning of the fifth century, the whole country lying within the Rhine, the Weser, the Maine, and the Elbe, was called Francia. Another confiederation of the German tribes, was that of the At.emanns; unknown also to Tacitus. It took its origin about the commencement of the third century. Their territories ex- tended between the Danube, the Rhine, the Necker, the Main, and the Lahn. On the east, in a part of Franconia and modern Suabia, they had for their neighbours and allies the Suevi, who, after having long formed a distinct nation, were at length blended with the Alemanns, and gave their country the name of Suabia. The Alemanns rendered themselves formidable to the Romans, by their frequent inroads into Gaul and Italy, in the third and fourth centuries. The Saxons, unknown also to Tacitus, began to make a figure in history about the second century, when we find their* settled beyond the Elbe, in modern Holstein, having for theif neighbours the Angles, or English, inhabiting Sleswick Proner These nations were early distinguished as pirates and ire* booters ; and, while the Franks and the Alemanns spread thc» di 44 CHAPTER n. selves over the interior of Gaul, the Saxons infested the coasts and even extended their incursions into Britain. The Franks having penetrated into Gaul with their main forces, the Saxons passed the Elbe, and in course of time, occupied, or united in alliance with them, the greater part of ancient Francia, which took from them the name of Saxony. There they subdivided themselves into three principal branches; the Ostphalians to the east, the Westphaliaiis to the west, and the Angrians or Angrivarians, whcse territories lay between the other two, along the Weser, and as far as the confines of Hesse. The Huns, the most fierce and sanguinary of all the nations which overran the Roman Empire in the fifth century, came from the remote districts of northern Asia, which were altogether unknown to the ancient Greeks and Romans. From the de- scriptions which the historians of the fifth and sixth centuries have given us of them, we are led to believe, ihat they were Kalmucks or Monguls originally. The fame of their arms had begun to spread over Europe so early as the year 375 of the Christian era. Having subdued the Alans, and crossed the Tanais, they subverted the powerful monarchy of the Goths, and gave the first impulse to the great revolution of the fifth cen- tury, which changed the face of all Europe. The Eastern empire first felt the fury of these barbarians, who carried fire and sword wherever they went, rendered the Emperors their tributaries, and then precipitated themselves on the West under the conduct of the famous Attila.* Several of the nations we have now enumerated, divided among themselves the territories of Gaul. This province, one of the richest and most important in the Western empire, was repeatedly overrun and devastated by the barbarous hordes of the fifth century. The Visigoths were the first that formed settle- ments in it. On their arrival under the command of King Atulf or Adolphus, (412,) they took possession of the whole country lying within the Loire, the Rhine, the Durance, the Mediter- ranean, and the Alps. Toulouse became their capital, and the residence of their kings. The Burgundians, a people, it would appear, originally from the countries situated between the Oder and the Vistula, fol- lowed nearly in the track of the Visigoths ; as we find them, about the year 413, established on the Upper Rhine and in Switzerland. After the dissolution of the empire, they suc- ceeded in establishing themselves in those parts of Gaul, known by the names of the Sequanois, Lyonnois, Viennois and Nar- bonnois, viz. in those districts which formed, in course of time, the two Burgundies, the provinces of Lyonnois, Dauphiny and ■*«?'"^ n<^i;ff9"y.V'l>'"ni>flf*">lfVfi'7 ' JunvniVl! b.' fitWIi .^wnpi' '? PERIOD I. A. D. 406 — 800. i9 Provence on this side of the Durance, Savoy, the Pays de Vaud^, the Valais and Switzerland/ These couiitrjes then assumed the name of the Kingdom of the Burgundians. The Alemanni and the Suevi became flourishing nations on the banks of the Upper Rhine and the Danube. They invaded those countries in Gaul, or the Germania Prima of the Romans, known since under the names of Alsace, the Palatinate, May- ence, &c, ; and extended their conquests also over a considerable part of Rhetia and Vindelicia. At length the Franks, having been repulsed in different ren- counters by the Romans, again passed the Rhine (430,) under the conduct of Clodion their chief; made themselves masters of the greater part of Belgic Gaul, took possession of Toumay, Cambray and Amiens ; and thus laid the foundation of the new kingdom of France in Gaul. The Romans, however, still main- tained their authority in the interior of that province, and the brave iEtius their general made head against all those hordes of barbarians who disputed with him the dominion of Gaul. It was at this crisis that the Huns made their appearance on the theatre of war. The fierce Attila, a man of great military talents, after having overthrown various states, conquered Pan- nonia, and dift'erent provinces of the Eastern empire on the right bank of the Danube, undertook his famous expedition into Gaul. Marching along the Danube from Pannonia, at the head of an innumerable army,' he passed the Rhine near the Lake of Con- stance, pillaged and ravaged several places, and spread the terror of his arms over all Gaul. The Franks and the Visigoths united their forces with those of the Roman General, to arrest the progress of the barbarian. A bloody and obstinate encounter took place (451,) on the plains of Chalons-sur-Marne, or Mery- Bur-Seine, according to others. Thierry, King of the Visigoths, and more than a hundred and sixty thousand men, perished on the field of battle. Night separated the combatants ; and Attila, who found his troops too much exhausted to renew the combat, resolved to retreat. The following year he made a descent on Italy, and committed great devastations. This proved his last expedition ; for he died suddenly on his return, and the monarchy of the Huns expired with him. The defeat of the Huns did not re-establish the shattered and ruinous affairs of the Romans in Gaul. The Salian Franks," under their kings, Meroveus and Childeric I., the successors of Clodion, extended their conquests more and more ; till at length Clovis, son of Childeric I., put an end to the dominion of the Romans in that country, by the victory which he gained in 486, at Soissons, over Syagrius, the last of the Roman generals^ who m- ■' » A«Hipi«V>fii!J| U^U||pi,Hi(W< ','•'«'' t\.|pi!''-i''P"iP,"«fL"viW«'-W,v»1\'(!?.Wf||W/'W|| €6 CHAPTER IL died of a broken heart in consequence of this defeat. The AI(!- manns afterwards having disputed with him the empire of the Gauls, he routed them completely (496,) at the famous battle of Tolbiac or Zulpich f seized their estates, and soon after em- braced Christianity. Emboldened by his new creed, and backed by the orthodox bishops, he attacked the Visigoths, who were of the heretical sect of Arius, defeated and killed their king-, Alaric II., in the plains of Vougld, near Poitiers, (507,) and stripped them of all their possessions between the Loire and the Pyrenees.'" Gaul became thus, by degrees, the undisputed possession of the Franks. The descendants of Clovis added to their conquests the kingdom of the Burgundians (534,) which they totally overthrew. • These same princes increased their possessions in the interior of Germany, by the destruction of the powerful kingdom of the Thuringians (531,) comprising those vast countries between the Werra, the Aller, the Elbe, the Saal, the Mulda, and the Danube ; and whxh are now known under the names of Saxony, Thu ringia, Franconia, the Upper Palatinate," &c. This kingdom they divided with their allies the Saxons, who obtained the nor them part of it, situated between the Unstrut and the Saal. While the Visigoths, the Burgundians, the Franks and the Alemanns, were disputing with each other the conquest of Gaul, the Vandals, the Suevi, and the Alans, turned their ambitious views towards Spain. After having settled some years in Gaul, these tribes passed the Pyrenees (409,) to establish themselves in the most fertile regions of Spain. The Vandals seized Bop- tica, and a part of Gallicia ; the Suevi seized the rest of Gal- licia; while the Alans took possession of Lusitania, and the province of Carthagena. The Alans afterwards submitted to the sway of Gonderic, King of the Vandals (420,) while the Suevi preserved their native princes, who reigned in Gallicia and Lusitania ; this latter province having been abandoned by the Vandals, (427,) when they passed into Africa. Meanwhile new conquerors began to make their appearance in Spain.' The Visigoths, pressed by the Romans, in Gaul, took the resolution of carrying their arms beyond the Pyrenees. Under the conduct of their King, Adolphus, they made them- selves masters of the city of Barcelona (in 415.) Euric, one of* the successors of this prince, took from the Romans (472) all that yet remained of their possessions in Spain ; and Leovigi'd, another of their kings, completed the conquest of all that coun- try (584,) by reducing the kingdom of the Suevi. The mo-. narchy of the Visigoths, which in its flourishing state comprised, besides the continent of Spain, Septimania or Languedoc in j|P PERIOD I. A. D. 406 — 800. Gaul, and IVIauritania Tingitana in Africa, maintained its exist- ence until the commencement of the eighth century ; when, as we shall afterwards see, it was finally overthrown by the Arabs. Northern Africa, one of the finest possessions of the Romans, was wrested from them by the Vandals. Count Boniface, who had the government of that country, having been falsely accused at the court of the Emperor Valentinian III., and believing him- self ruined in the esteem of that prince, invited the Vandals over to Africa; proposing to them the surrender of the provinces intrusted to his command. Genseric was at that time king of the Vandals. The preponderance which the Visigoths had ac- quired in Spain, induced that prince to accept the ofTer of the Roman General; he embarked at the port of Andalusia, (427,) and passed with the Vandals and the Alans into Africa. Mean- time, Boniface having made up matters amicably with the Impe- rial court, wished to retract the engagements which he had made with the Vandals. Genseric nevertheless persisted in his enterprise. He carried on a long and obstinate war with the Romans ; the result of which turned to the advantage of the barbarians. Genseric conquered in succession all that part of Africa pertaining to the Western empire, from the Straits of Cadiz as hi as Cyrenaica, which was dependent on the empire of the East. He subdued likewise the Balearic Isles, with. Sardinia, Corsica and a part of Sicily. The writers of that age who speak of this invasion, agree in painting, in the most lively colours, the horrors with which it was accompanied. It appears that Genseric, whose whole sub- jects, including c'd men and slaves, did not exceed eighty thou- sand persons, being resolved to maintain his authority by terror, caused, for this purpose, a general massacre to be made of the ancient inhabitants of Africa. To these political severities were added others on the score of religion ; being devoted with all his subjects to the Arian heresy, he as well as his successors became the constant and implacable persecutors of the orthodox Christians. This prjnce signalized himself by his maritime exploits, and by the piracies vvhich he committed on the coasts of Italy and the whole Roman empire. Encouraged, as is supposed, by the Empress Eudoxia, who wished to avenge the death of her hus- band Valentinian III., he undertook an expedition into Italy, (455,) in which he made himself master of Rome. The city- was pillaged during fifteen days by the Vandals, spoiled of all its riches and its finest monuments. Innumerable statues, orna- ments of temples, and the gilded cupola of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, were removed in order to be transported to Africa j 43 enApTEH If. #!»' together witn many thousands of illustrious captives. A yeVs«< loaded with the most precious monuments of Rome, perished in the passage. The dominion of the Vandals in Africa'lasted about a hundred years. Their kingdom was destroyed by the Emperor Justinian, who reunited Africa to the empire of the East. Gilimer, the last king of the Vandals, was conquered by Belisarius, (534,) and conducted by him in triumph to Constantinople. Britain, inaccessible by its situation to most of the inraders that overran the Western empire, was infested, in the fifth cen- tury, by the northern inhabitants of that island, — the free Brftons, known by the name of Caledonians or Picts, and Scots. The Romans having withdrawn their legions from the island ^46,) to employ them in Gaul, the Britons, abandoned to theipjown strength, thought proper to elect a king of their own nation, named Vortigem ; but rinding themselves still too weak to resist the incursions of the Picts and Scots, who, breaking over the wait of Severos, pillaged and laid waste the Roman province, they took the imprudent resolution of calling in to their succour the Anglefi, Saxons, and Jutlanders, who were already dis- tinguished for their maritime incursions. A body of these An- glo-Saxons arrived in Britain (450,) in the first year of the reign of the Emperor Marcian, under the command of Hengist and Horsa. From being friends and allies, they soon became ene- mies of the Britons ; and ended by establishing their own do- minion in the island. The native* islanders, after a protracted struggle, were driven into the province of Wales, where they succeeded in maintaining their independence against their new conquerors. A number of these fugitive Britons, to escape from the yoke of the invaders, took refuge in Gaul. There they were received by the Franks into Armorica and part of Ly- ^nnois, to which they gave the name of Brittany. Tl^e Anglo-Saxons founded successively seven petty king- doms in Britain, viz. Kent, Sussex, Wessex, Essex, Northum- berland, East Anglia, and Mercia. Each of these kingdoms had severally .their own kings ; but they were all united in a political association, known by the name of the Heptarchy. One of the seven kings was the common chief of the confede- racy ; and there was a general convention of the whole, called wittenageinotf or the assembly of the wise men. Each king- dom was likewise governed by its own laws, and had its sepa- rate assemblies, whose power limited the royal authority. This federal system continued till the ninth century, when Eg- bert the Great succeeded in abolishing the Heptarchy (827,) and raised himself to be King over all j^r^^'and ■■■■ ^^ mm % . ■ <■ *' H Fl'g/,t of Mahomet. Vol. 1, p. 60. Crowning of Charlemagne. Vcl. 1, p. f5. ir ,i«.' » 1«W ' ^^ 7 -* . .1 1 . .,. ■J, ^ -«fe*'7 .& ■<(■ PERIOD I. A. D. 406—800. 49 :i * M In the midst of this general overthrow, there were still to he seen in Italy the phantoms of the Roman emperors, feebly sup- porting a dignity which had long since lost its splendour. This fine country had been desolated by the Visigoths, the Huns, and the Vandals, in succession, without becoming the fixed re- sidence of any one of these nations. The conquest of that an- cient seat of the first empire in the world, was reserved for the Heruls and the Rugians. For a long time, these German na- tions, who are generally supposed to have emigrated from the coasts of the Baltic Sea, had been approaching towards the Danube. They served as auxiliaries to the Romans in Italy, after the example of various other tribes of their countrymen. Being resolved to usurp the dominion of that country, they chose for their king Odoacer, under whose conduct they seized Ravenna and Rome, dethroned Romulus Momyllus AugustU' lus, the last of the Roman Emperors (476,) and put an entire end to the empire of the West. The Heruls did not enjoy these conquests more than seven- teen years, when they were deprived of them in their turn by the Ostrogoths. This nation then occupied those extensive countries on the right bank of the Danube, in Pannonia, Illy, ria, and Thrace, within the limits of the Eastern empire. They had rendered themselves formidable to the Romans in that quarter, by their frequent incursions into the very heart of the empire. The Emperor Zeno, in order to withdraw these dan- gerous neighbours from his frontiers, encouraged their king Theodoric, as is alleged, to undertake the conquest of Italy from the Heruls. This prince immediately penetrated into the country ; he defeated the Heruls in several actions ; and at length forced Odoacer to shut himself up in the city of Ravenna (489,) where, after a siege of three years, he fell into the hands of the conqueror, who deprived him at once of his throne and his life. Theodoric deserves not to be confounded with the other bar- barous kings of the fifth century. Educated at the court of Constantinople, where he passed the years of his youth, he had lea>'ned to establish his authority by the equity of his laws, and the wisdom of his administrations. He ruled an empire which, besides Italy, embraced a great part of Pannonia, Rhetia, Noricum, and Illyria. This monarchy, formidable as it was, did not exist beyond the space of sixty years : after a sanguinary warfare of eigh- teen years, it was totally subverted by the Greeks. The Em- peror Justinian employed his generals, Belisarius " and Nar ses, in recovering Italy and Sicily from the hands of the Gotha This nation defended their possessions with determined obsti VOL. 1. 5 60 CHAPTER II. [ nacy. Encouraged by Totila, one of their last kings, they maintained a protracted struggle against the Greeks, and with considerable success. It was auring this war that the city of Rome was pillaged afresh, and at length (517,) dismantled by the Goths. Totila sustained a complete defeat at the foot of the Apennines in Umbria (552,) and died of the wounds which he had received in the action. His successor Teias was by no means so fortunate in military affairs. In a bloody battle which he fought with Narses, in Campania (553,) he was vanquished and slain. His dominions passed into the hands of the Greeks, with the exception of that part of Rhetia and Noricum which the Alemanns occupied, and which, during the war between the Greeks and the Goths, had become the possession of the Franks. " A new revolution happened in Italy, (568,) by the invasion of the Lombards. This people, who originally inhabited the northern part of Germany on the Elbe, and formed a branch of the great nation of the Suevi, had at length fixed themselves in Pannoniu (527,) after several times changing their abode. They then joined with the Avars, an Asiatic people, against the Gepidae, who possessed a formidable dominion in ancient Dacia, on the left bank of the Danube. This state was soon over- turned by the combined forces of the two nations, and the whole territories of the GepidsB passed (565) under the dominion of the Avars. The Lombards also abandoned to them their pos- sessions in Pannonia, and went in quest of new settlements into Italy. It was in the spring of 568 that they began theii -Toute, under the conduct of their King Alboin, who, without coming to regular combat with the Greeks, took from them, in succession, a great number of cities and provinces. Pavia, which the Goths had fortified with care, was the only town that opposed him with vigorous resistance ; and it did not sur- render till after a siege of three years, in 572. The Lombard kings made this town the capital of their new dominions, which, besides Upper Italy, known more especially by the name o/ Lombardy, comprehended also a considerable part of the middle and lower districts, which the Lombards gradually wrested from the Greeks. The revolution of which we have just now given a summary view, changed the face of all Europe ; but it had a more par- ticular influence on the fate of ancient Germany. The Ger- manic tribes, whose former boundaries were the Rhine and the Danube, now extended their territories beyond these rivers. The primitive names of those nations, recorded by Tacitus, fell into oblivion, and were replaced by those of five or six grand confederatious, viz. the Franks, Saxons, Frisians, Alemanns, m ^^^^^^ PERIOD I. A. D. 406—800. 61 grand Suabians, and Bavarians," which embraced all the regions af- terwards comprehended under the name of Germany. The Alemanns, and their neighbours the Suabians, occupied, along with the Bavarians, the greater part of what i? called Upper Germany, on both sides of the Danube as far as the Alps. The Franks, masters of a powerful monarchy in Gaul, preserved, under their immediate dominion beyond the Rhine, a part of ancient France, together with the territories of which they had deprived the Alemanns'^ and the Thuringians. In short, in all Lower Germany, no other names were to be found than those of the Thuringians, Saxons, and Frisians ; and as to the eastern part, situated beyond the Saal and the Elbe, as it had been deserted of inhabitants by the frequent emigrations of the German tribes, and by the total destruction of the kingdom of the Thuringians, it was seized in turn by thwSlavi, or Slavo- nians, a race distinguished from the Germans by their language and their manners. This nation, difTerent colonies of which still occupy a great part of Europe, did not begin to figure ir history until the fourth century of the Christian era. Jornandes, a Gothic writer of the sixth century, is the first author who mentions them. He calls them Slaviy or Slavina ; and distinguishes them into three principal branches, the Venedi, the Slavi, and the Antes, whose numerous tribes occupied the vast countries on the north of the Euxine Sea, between the Vistula, the Niester, the Nie- per, &c. It was after the commencement of the sixth century that these nations emigrated from their ancient habitations, and spread themselves over the east and south of Europe. On the one side, they extended their colonies as far as the Elbe and the Saal ; on the other, they crossed the Danube, and penetra- ted into Noricum, Pannonia, and Illyria; occupying all those countries known at this day under the names of Hungary, Sclavonia, Servia, Bosnia, Croatia, Dalmatia, Carniola, Carin- thia, Stiria, and the march of the Venedi. The history of the sixth century, presents nothing more memorable than the bloody wars which the emperors of the East had to maintain against the Slavians of the Danube. Those colonies of them who first distinguished themselves on the Elbe, the Harel, the Oder, and in the countries situated to the north of the Danube, were the Czechi, or Slavi of Bo- hemia; the Sorabians inhabiting both sides of the Elbe, be- tween the Saal and the Oder, in the countries now known under the names of Misnia, Saxony, Anhalt and Lower Lusace ; the Wilzians, or Welatabes, and the Abotrites, spread over Bran- denburg, Pomerania, and Mecklenburg proper ; and, lastly, the CILAPTIR IT. Moravi. or Moravians, settled in Moravia, and in a part of mo* dcrn Hungary. We find, in the seventii century, a chief named Samo, who ruled over many of these nations. He fought suc- cessfully against the armies of King Dagobert. It is supposed that this man was a Frank merchant, whom several of the Sla- vian tribes had elected as their chief. There is one thing which, at this period, ought above all to fix our attention,. and that is the influence which the levolulion of the hfth century hnd on the governments, laws, manners, sciences, and arts ot Eurojie. The German tribes, in establish- ing themselves in the provinces of the Western empire, mtro- duced along v/ith them the political institutions by ivhich they had been governed in their native country. The governments of ancient Germany were a kind of military democracies, under generals or chiefs, with the prerogatives of kings. All matters of importance were decided in their general assemblies, com- posed of freemen, having the privilege of carrying arms, and going to war.^^ The succession to the throne was not heredi- tary ; and though it became so in fact in most of the new German states, still, on the accession of their princes, they were atten- tive to preserve the ancient forms, which evinced the primitive right of election that the nation had reserved to itself. The political division into cantons {gaiv,) long used in ancient Germany, was introduced into all the new conquests of the Ger- man tribes, to facilitate the administration of justice. At the head of every canton was a justiciary officer, called Grav, in Latin Comes, who held his court in the open air, assisted by a certain number of assessors or sheriflfs. This new division caused a total change in the geography of Europe. The ancient names of the countries were every where replaced by new ones ; and the alterations which the nomenclature of these divisions underwent in course of time, created no small embarrassment in the study of the history and geography of the middle ages Among the fr '^men who composed the armies of the German nations, we fir randees and nobles, who were distinguished by the nu'' ' men-at-arms, or freemen, whom they carried in their They all followed the king, or common chief, of the e\ .xcion, not as mercenaries or regular soldiers, but as volunteeris who had come, of their own accord, to accompany him. The booty and the conquests which they made in war, they regarded as a common property, to which they had all an equal right. The kings, chiefs, and grandees, in the division of their territories, received larger portions than the other mili- tary and freemen, on account of the greater efforts they had made, and the greater 'number of warriors who had followed PBBIOD I. A. D. 406—800. 03 ages I them to the field. These lands were given them as p^perty in every respect free ; and although an obligation was implieii of their concurring in defence of the common cause, yet it was rather a sort of consequence of the territorial grant, and not im- posed upon them as a clause, or essential condition of the tenure. Ii is therefore wrong to regard this division of lands as having given rise to fiefs. War was the favourite occupation, the only honourable rank, and the inalienable prerogative of a German. They were soldiers not of necessity or constraint, but of their own free will, and because they despised every other employ- ment, and every other mode of life. Despotism wm, therefore, never to be apprehended in a government like this, where the •teat body of the nation were in arms, sat in their general as- semblies, and marched to the field of war. Their kings, ho«v- ever, soon invented an expedient calculated to shackle the national liberty, and to augment their own influence in the pub- lic assemblies, by the number of retainers which they found means to support. This expedient, founded on the primitive manners of the Germans, was the institution of fiefs. It was long a custom among the ancient Germans, that their chiefs should have, in peace as well as in war, a numerous suite of the bravest youths attached to their person. Besides provi- sions, they supplied them with horses and arms, and shared with them the spoil which they took in war. This practice subsisted even after the Germans had established themselves in the pro- vinces of the Western Empire. The kings, and, after their example, the nobles, continued to entertain a vast nurnber of companions and followers ; and the better to secure their alle- giance, they granted them, instead of horses and arms, the enjoy- ment of certain portions of land, which they dismembered from their own territories. These grants, known at first by the name of benefices, and afterwards ofjiefs, subjected those who received them to personal services, and allegiance to the superiors of whom they held them. As they were bestowed on the individual possessor, and on the express condition of personal services, it is obvious that originally fiefs or benefices were not hereditary ; and that they returned to the superior, when the reason for which they had been given no longer existed. The laws and jurisprudence of the Romans were in full prac- tice through all the provinces of the Western Empire, when the German nations established themselves there. Far from super- seding or abolishing them, the invaders permitted the ancient inbabitants, and such of their new subjects as desired it, to live conformably to these laws, and to retain them in their courts of MM -TTSP- •w^ CHAPTER n. justice. Nevertheless, without adopting this system of juris* prudence, which accorded neither with the rudenes:? of their manners, nor the imperfection of their ideas, they took great care, after their settlement in the Roman provinces, to have their ancient customs, to which they were so peculiarly attached, di- gested and reduced to writing. The Codes of the Salian and Ripuarian Franks, those of the Visigoths, the Burgundians, the Bavarians, the Anglo-Saxons, the Frisians, the Alemanns, and the Lombards, were collected into one body, and liberty given to every citizen to be governed according to that code of laws which he himself might choose. All these laws wore the impress of the military spirit of the Germans, as well as of their attachment to that personal liberty an^i independer which is the true characteristic of human nature in its primitive state. According to these laws, every ''erson was judged by his peers ; and the right of vengeance was reserved to the individuals, or the whole family, of those who had received injuries. Feuds, which thus became heredi- tary, vere not however irreconcilable. Compromise w^as allow- ed for all private delinquencies, which could be expiated, by paymg to the injured party a specified sum, or a certain jiumber of cattle. Murder itself might be expiated in this manner; and every part of the body had a tax or equivalent, which was more or less severe, according to the different rank or condition of the offenders. Every freeman was exempt from corporal punishment ; and in doubtful cases, the law obliged the judges to refer the parties to single combat, enjoining them lo decide their quarrel sword in hand. Hence, we have the origin of the Judgments of God, as well as of Challenges and Duels}^ These customs of the German nations, and their singular resolution in persisting in them, could not but interrupt the good order of society, encou- rage barbarism, and stamp the same character of rudeness on all their conquests. New wants sprung from new enjoyments while opulence, and the contagion of example, taught them to contract vices of which they had been ignorant, and which they did not redeem by new virtues. Murders, oppressions, and rob- beries, multiplied every day ; the sword was made the standard of honour, the rule of justice and injustice ; cruelty and perfidy became every where the reigning character of the court, the nobility and the people. Literature, with the arts and sciences, felt above all the bane- ful effects of this revolution. In less than a century after the first invasion of the barbarians, there scarcely remained a smgle trace of the literature and fine arts of the Romans. Learning, illi L 'y»''T?vr'''iP'''*-''J'yW'll?i»!'''^l.!'#'i''!lkJi»w'w«l«IS" llll.,«i>»i.lP'"i' iL. riiT":- PEBIOD I. A. D. 406 — 800. Wi Aquitain, and Provence, were considered as dependencies of this latter kingdom. Dagobert II., King of Austrasia, having been assassinated, in 678, the King of Neustria, Thierry III., would in all probability have reunited the two monarchies ; but the Austrasians, who dreaded and detested Ebroin, Mayor of Neustria, elected a mayor of their own, under the nominal authority of Thierry. This gave rise to a sort of civil war between the Austrasians and the Neustrians, headed by Pepin Heristal, Mayor of Austrasia, and Bertaire, Mayor of Neustria, who succeeded Ebroin. The battle which Pepin gained at Testry, near St. Quentin (687,) decided the fate of the empire ; Bertaire was slain, and Thierry III. fell under the power of the conqueror. Pepin afterwards confirmed to Thierry the honours of royalty, and contented him- self with the dignity of mayor, and the title of Duke and Prince of the Franks ; but regarding the throne as his own by right of conquest, he vested in himself the sovereign authority, and granted to the Merovingian Prince, nothing more than the mere externals of majesty, and the simple title of king. Such was the revolution that transferred the supreme authority of the Franks to a new dynasty, viz. that of the Carlovingians, who with great moderation, still preserved, during a period of sixty- five years, the royal dignity to the Merovingian princes, whom they had stripped of all their power." Pepin d'Heristal being dead (714,) the partizans of the ancient dynasty made a last effort to liberate the Merovingian kings from that dependence under which Pepin had hold them so long. This prince, in transferring the sovereign authority to his grand- son Theodwald, only six years of age, had devolved on his widow, whose name was Plectrude, the regency and guardian- ship of the young mayor. A government so extraordinary emboldened the factious to attempt a revolution. The regent, as well as ber grandson, were divested of the sovereignty, and the Neustrian grandees chose a mayor of their own party named Rainfroy ; but their triumph was only of short duration. Charles Martel, natural son of Pepin as is supposed, having escaped from the prison where he had been detained by the regent, passed into Austrasia, and then caused himself to be proclaimed duke, after the example of his father. He engaged in a war against Chilperic II. and his mayor Rainfroy ; three successive victories which he gained, viz. at Stavelo, Vinci near Cambray, and Soissons, in 716-17-18, made him once more master of the throne and the sovereign authority. The Duke of Aquitain having delivered up King Chilperic to him, he confirmed anew the title of royalty to that prince; and 'Jl!*. r/trr^miCV" fiS ,..'*'; CHAPTEE n. fihortly after raised his glory to its highest pitch, by the hrilhant victories which he gained over the Arabs (732-737,) in the plains of Poitiers and Narbonne. Pepin le Bref, (or the Short) son and successor of Charles Martel, finding his authority established both within and with- out his dominions, judged this a favourable opportunity for re- uniting the title of royalty to the power of the sovereign. He managed to have himself elected King in the General Assem- bly ofthe Franks, which was convened in the Champ-de-Mars, in the neighbourhood of Soissons. Childeric III. the last of the Merovingian kings, was there deposed (752,) and shut up in a convent. Pepin, with the intention of rendering his person sacred and inviolable, had recourse to the ceremony of corona- tion ; and he was the first King who caused himself to bo solemnly consecrated and crowned in the Cathedral of Sois- sons, by St. Boniface, first archbishop of Mayence.^ The example of Pepin was followed soon after by several princes and sovereigns of Europe. The last conquest he added to his da- minion was the province of Languedoc, which he took (759) from the Arabs. ? , The origin of the secular power of the Roman pontiffs com- mences with the reign of Pepin. This event, which had so peculiar an influence on the religion and government of the Euro- pean nations, requires to be detailed at some length. At the period of which we write, there existed a violent con- troversy between the churches in the East, and those in the West, respecting the worship of images. The Emperor Leo the Isaurian had declared himself against this virorship, and had proscribed it by an imperial edict (726.) He and his successors persisted in destroying these objects of idolatry, as well as in persecuting those who avowed themselves devotees to this heresy. This extravagant zeal, which the Roman pontiflfa blamed as excessive, excited the indignation of the people against the Grecian Emperors.^ In Italy, there were frequent rebellions against the imperial officers that were charged with the execution of their orders. The Romans especially, took occasion, from this, to expel the duke or governor, who resided in their city on the part of the emperor ; and they formally erected themselves into a republic (730,) under the pontificate of Gregory II., by usurping all the rights of sovereignty, and, at the same time, reviving the ancient names of the senate and the Roman people. The Pope was recognised as chief or head of this new republic, and had the general direction of all affairs, both at home and abroad. The territory of this republic, formed of the dutchy of Rome, extended, from north to south, from '^ PERIOD I. A. D. 406 — 800. f Viterbo as far as Terracina ; and from east to west, from Nam! to the mouth of the Tiber. Such was the weakness of the Eastern empire, tha* all the efforts of the emperors to reduce the Romans to subjection proved unavailing. The Greek vice- roy — the Duke of Naples, who had marched to besiege Rome, was killed in battle, together with his son ; and the exarch him- self was compelled to make peace with the republicans. This state of distress to which the Grecian empire was re- duced, afforded the Lombards an opportunity of extending their possessions in Italy. Aistolphus their king attacked the city of Kavenna (751,) where the exarchs or governors-general of the Greeks had fixed their residence ; and soon made himself master of it, as well as the province of the exarchate,'-^ and the Pen- tapolis. The exarch Eutychius was obliged to fly, and took shelter in Naples. This surrender of the capital of Grecian Italy, emboldened the Lombard King to extend his vievirs still farther ; he demmded the submission of the city and dutchy of Rome, which he con- s dered as a dependency of the exarchate. Pope Stephen II. bocame alarmed, and began to solicit an alliance with the Greek empire, whose distant power seemed to him less formi- dable than that of the Lombards, his neighbours ; but being closely pressed by A.istolphus, and finding that he had no suc- co ir to expect from Constantinople, he determined to apply for protection to the Franks and their King Pepin. The Franks, at that time, held the first rank among the na- tions of Europe ; their exploits against the Arabians had gained them a high reputation fnv valour over all the West. Stephen repaired in person to France, and in an interview which he had with Pepin, he found means to in*«^rest that prince in his cause. Pepin did not yet regard himself as securely established on a throne which he had so recently usurped from the Merovingijin princes ; more especially as there ill existed a son of Childeric III., named Thierry, and a formidable rivalry ii. the puissant dukes, of Aquitain, who were cadets of the same family. He had no other right to the crown than that of election ; and this title, instead of descending to his sons, might perhaps serve as a pretext for depriving them of the sovereignty. Anxious to render the crown hereditary, he induced the Pope to renew the ceremony of his coronation in the Church of St. Denis ; and, at the same time, to consecrate his two sons, Charles and Car- loman. The Pope did more ; he disengaged the King from the oath which he had taken to Childeric, and bound all the nobility of the Franks, that were present on the occasion, in the name of Jrsus Christ and St. Peter, to preserve the royal dignitvin • '. iv CHAPTER n. the right of Pepin and his descendants; and lastly, that he might the more effectually secure the attachment of Pepin and hif 80^8,' and procure for himself the title of beings their pro- tected, he publicly conferred on them the honour of being patri- cians of Rome. So great condescension on the part of the Pope could not but excite the gratitude of Pepin. He not only promised him suc- cour against the Lombards ; he engaged to recover the exarchate from their hands, and make a present of it to the Holy See ; he even made him a grant of it by anticipation, which he signed at the Castle of Chiersi-sur-l'Oise, and which he likewise caused to be signed by the princes his sons.'-^ It was in fulfilment of these stipulations that Pepin undertook (755 J6) two successive expeditions into Italy. He compelled Aistolphus to acknowledge himself his vassal, and deliver up to him the exarchate with the Pentapolis, of which he immediately put his Holiness in possession. This donation of Pepin served to confirm and to extend the secular power of the Popes, which had already been augmented by various grants of a similar kind. The original document of this singular contract no longer exists ; but the names of the places are preserved which were ceded to the pontifical hierarchy.^ In the conclusion of this period, it may be proper to take some notice of the Arabs, commonly called Saracens,'^ and of their irruption into Europe. Mahomet, an Arab of noble birth, and a native of Mecca, had constituted himself a prophet, a legisla tor, and a conqueror, about the beginning of the seventh century of the Christian era. He had been expelled from Mecca (622) on account of his predictions, but afterwards returned at the head of an army ; and having made himself master of the city, he succeeded by degrees, in subjecting to his yoke the numerous tribes of Arabia. His successors, known by the name of Ca- liphs, or vicars spiritual and temporal of the prophet, followed the same triumphant career. They propagated their religion wherever they extended their empire, and overran with their conquests the vast regions both of Asia and Africa. Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Barca, Tripoli, and the whole northern coasts of Africa, were won from the Greek empire by the Caliphs ; who at the same time (651) overthrew the powerful monarchy of the Persians ; conquered Charasm, Transoxiana, and the In- dies, and founded an empire more extensive than that of the Romans had been. The capital of the Caliphs, which had ori- ginally been at Medina, and afterwards at Cufa, was transferred (661) by the Caliph Moavia I. to Damascus in Syria ; and by the Caliph Almanzor, to Bagdad in Irak-Arabia, (766) which wjp, founded by that prince. . I & \it^. . ^.•.^^r4i'i ■V .'^:'^"i4i' .'. . J I : Y ^ .«^ "fi*:^ iiidiflwi^^ I i Rome plundered hy the Vandals* Vol 1, p. 47* Avgh Saaom landirg in En^Jaud Vol. 1, p. 48. t iA*fiMiMMi^MH PERIOD I. A. D. 406 — 800. «l It was under the Caliphate of Walid (711,) that the Arabs first invaded Europe, and attacked the monarchy of the Visigoths ill Spain. This monarchy had already sunk under the feeble- ness of its kings, and the despotic prerogatives which the gran- dees, and especially the bishops, had arrogated to themselves. These latter disposed of the throne at their pleasure, having declared it to be elective. They decided with supreme authority in the councils of the nation, and in all affairs of state. Muza at that time commanded in northern Africa, in name of the Ca- liph Walid. By the authority of that sovereign, he sent into Spa'in one of his generals, named Taric or Tarec-Abenzara, who, having made a descent on the coasts of Andalusia, took his station on the hill which the ancients called Calpe, and which has since been known by the name of Gibraltar (Gibel-Taric,) or the hill of Taric, in commemoration of the Arabian general. It was in the neighbourhood of the city Xeres de la Frontera, in Andalusia, that Taric encountered the army of the Visigoths, commanded by their King Roderic. The battle was decisive, as the Visigoths sustained a total defeat. Roderic perished in the flight; and Muza, the Arabian govarnor, having arrived to second the efforts of Taric, the conquest of all Spain followed as a consequence of this victory.^ Septirnania, or Languedoc, which then made a part of the Visigothic monarchy, passed ?.*, the same time under the dominion of the Arabs. These fierce invaders did not limit their conquests in Europe to Spain aifd Languedoc ; the Balearic Isles, Sardinia, Corsica, part of Apulia and Calabria, fell likewise under their dominion : they infested the sea with their fleets, and more than once car- ried terror and desolation to the very gates of Rome. It is pro- bable even that all Europe would ha* e submitted to their yoke, if Charles Martel had not arrested the career of their victories. He defeated their numerous and warlike armies in the bloody battles which were fought near Poitiers and Narbonne (732- 737,) and at length compelled them to- shut themselves up within the province of Languedoc. The unity of the empire and the religion of '^'^ahomet, did not long remain undivided. The first dynasty oi the Caliphs, that of the Om .niades, was subverted ; and all the princes of that family ma^^sacred bv the Abassides (749,) who seized the caliphate."' A sblitj^iy^escendant of the Ommiades, named Ab- dalraham, grandson of the fifteenth Caliph Huscham, was saved in Spain, and fixed his residence at Cordova ; and beincr acknowledged as Caliph by the Mussulmans there, he detached that province from the great empire of the Arabians. ^756.) This revolution, afld the confusion v/ith wiiich it was acconr* VOL. I. ^ v» 6 w 62 CHAPTER n. pnnied, gave fresh courage to the small number of Visigoths, who, to escape the Mahometan yoke, had retired to the moun- tains of Asturias. Issuing from their retreats, they retaliated on the Infidels ; and towards the middle of the eighth century, they laid the foundation of a new Christian state, called after- wards the kingdom of Oviedo or Leon. Alphonso I., sur- named the Catholic, must be regarded as the first founder of this new monarchy.^" The Franks, likewise, took advantage of these events, to ex- pel the Arabs from Languedoc. Pepin took possession of the cities of Nismes, Maguelonne, Agde, and Beziers (752,) which were delivered up to him by a noble Goth, named Osmond. The reduction of Narbonne was by no means so easy a task. For seven years he continued to blockade it ; and it was not until 759 that he became master of the city, and the whole of Languedoc. The loss of Spain, on the part of the Abassides, was soon after followed by that of Northern Africa. Ibrahim Ben-Aglab, naving been sent thither as governor by the Caliph of Bagdad, Haroun Alrashid (800,) he found means to constitute himself sovereign prince over the countries, then properly termed Afri- ca ; of which Tripoli, Cairoan, Tunis, and Algiers, formed a part. He was the founder of the dynasty of the Aglabites ;^' while another usurper, named Edris, having conquered Numi- dia and Mauritania, called by the Arabs Mogreb, founded that of the Edrissiles. These two dynasties were overturned (about 908) by Aboul Cassem Mohammed, son of Obeidallah, who claimed to be descended from Ali, by Fatima, daughter of the prophet ; he subjected the whole of Northern Africa to his yoke, and took the titles of Mahadi and Caliph. From him ivere descended the Caliphs, called Fatimites, who extended their conquests to Egypt, and laid there the foundation of Ka- herah, or Grand Cairo (968,) where they established the seat of their caliphate, which, in the twelfth contury, was destroyed by the Ayoubides. The irruption of the Arabs into Spain, disastrous as it was, did not fail to produce t ffects beneficial to Europe, which owes its civilization partly to this circumstance. The Abassidian Caliphs, aspiring to be the irotectors o£,,letters and arts, began to found schools, and to encourage trSftshitions of the most eminent Greek authors into the Arabic language. Their ex- ample was followed by the Caliphs of Cordova, and even by the Fatimites, who held the sovereignty of Egypt and Northern Africa. In this manner a taste for learning was communicated to ail the Mahometan states. From Bagdad it passed to Cairo ; II f tW Wm PERIOD 11. A. D. 800 — 962. 63 and from the banks of the Euphrates and the Nile, it spread itself as far as ihe Tagus. Mathematics, " Astronomy, Che- mistry, Medicirn, Botany, and Materia Medica, were the sci- ences which the Arabians affected chiefly to cultivate. They excelled also in poetry, and in the art of embodying the fictions of imagination in >he most agreeable narratives. Rhazes, Aver- roes, Aviceima, are among the number of their celebrated phi- losophers and physicians. Elmacin, Abulfeda, Abulpharagius, and Bohadin, as historians, have become famous to all posterity. Thus Spain, under the Mahometans, by cultivating many sciences little known to the rest of Europe, became the semi- nary of the Christians in the West, who resorted thither in crowds, to prosecute in the schools of Cordova the study of learning and the liberal arts." The use of the numerical cha- racters, the manufacture of paper, cotton, and gun-powder, were derived to us from the Arabians,. and especially from the Arabians of Spain. Agriculture, manufactures, and naviga- tion, are all equally indebted to the Arabians. They gave a new impulse to the commerce of the Indies ; from the Persian Gulf they extended their trade along the shores of the Mediter- ranean, and to the borders of the Black Sea. Their carpets, and embroideries in gold and silver, their cloths of silk, and their manufactures in steel and leather, maintained for years a ce- lebrity and a perfection unknown to the other nations of Europe. M m CHAPTER III. H PERIOD II. From Charlemagne to Otho the Great, a. d. 800 — 962. The reign of Charles the Great forms a remarkable epoch in the history of Europe. That prince, who succeeded his father Pepin (768,) eclipsed all his predecessors, by the superiority of his genius, as well as by the wisdom and vigour of his admin- istration. Under him the monarchy of the Franks was raised to the highest pinnacle of glory. He would have been an ac- complished prince, and worthy of being commemorated as the benefactor of mankind, had he known how to restrain his im- moderate thirst for conquest. ' ', " ;. •^, He carried his victorious arms into the centre of Germany ; and subdued the warlike nation of the Saxons, whose territories extended from the Lower Rhine, to the Elbe and the Baltic sea After a bloody war of thirty-three years, he compelled them to receive his yoke, and to embrace Christianity, by the pin*) 04 cHAPTEa m. I peace which he concluded with them (803) at Sahz on the Saal. The bishoprics of Munster, Osnaburg, Mindcn, Pader- born, Verden, Bremen, Hildesheim, and Halberstadl, owe their origin to this prince. Several of the Slavonian nations, the Abotrites (789,) the Wilzians (805,) the Sorabians (806,) the Bohemians (811,) &c., acknowledged themselves his tributaries; and by a treaty of peace which he concluded with Hemming, King of Jutland, he fixed the river Eyder, as the northern limit of his empire against the Danes. Besides these, the powerful monarchy of the Avars,' Avhich comprehended all the countries known in modern times by the names of Austria, Hungary, Transylvania, Sclavonia, Dahnatia and Croatia, was completely subverted by him (791 ;) anu he likewise despoiled the Arabians of all that part of Spain which is situated between the Pyrenees and the Ebro (796,) as also of Corsica, Sardinia, and the Balearic Isles. In Spain he established military com- manders under the title of Margraves. Of these conquests, the one that deserves the most particu- lar attention is that of Italy, and the kingdom of the Lombards. At the solicitation of Pope Adrian I., Charles undertook an ex- pedition against the last of the Lombard kings. He besieged that prince in his capital at Pavia; and having made him pri- soner, after a long siege, he shut him up in confinement for the rest of his days, and incorporated his dominions with the mo- narchy of the Franks. T.'.a Dukes of Benevento, who, as vassals of the Lombard kings, then occupied the greater part of Lower Italy, were at the same time compelled to acknowledge the sovereignty of the conquerors, who allowed them to exer- cise their hereditary rights, on condition of their paying an annual tribute. The only places in this part of Italy that re mained unsubdued, were the maritime towns, of which the Greeks still found means to maintain the possession. In order to secure the conquest of this country, as well as to protect it against the incursions of the Arabians, Charles estab- lished several marches and military stations, such as the marches of Friuli, Tarento, Turin, Liguira, Teti, &c. The dov/nfall of the Lombards, put an end to the republican govern- ment of the Romans. During the blockade of Pavia, Charles having gone to Rome to be present at the feast of Easter (774,) was received there with all the honours due to an Exarc». and a Patrician ; and there is incontestable proof that he after- wards received, under that title, the rights of sovereignty over Rome and the Ecclesiastical States. The Patrician dignity, instituted by Constantino the Great, ranked, in the Greek empire, next after that of emperor. It was ■,">■ ''4 t ■■1 ■■■Ill* TfBPW PERIOD II. A. D. 800 — 962. of such consideration, that even barbarian kings, the destroyers of ihe attcient Roman empire in the West, became candidates for this honour at the Court of Constantinople. The exarchs of Ravenna were generally invested with it, and exercised under this title, rather than that of exarch or governor, the authority which they enjoyed at Rome. Pope Stephen II. had, twenty years before, con rred the patriciate on Pepin and his sons; although these prv.ices appear never to have exercised the right, regarding it merely as an honorary title, so long at least as the kingdom of the Lombards separated them from Rome and the States of the Church. Charles no sooner saw himself master of that kingdom, than he affected to add to his titles of King of the Franks and Lombards that of Patrician of the Romans ; and oegan to exercise over Rome and the Ecclesiastical States those rights of supremacy which the Greek emperors and exarchs had enjoyed before him. This prince returned lu Rome towards the end of the year 800, in order to inquire into a conspiracy which some Oi the Roman nobility had concerted against the life of Pope Leo III. The whole affair having been discussed in his presen-ie, and the innocence of the Pope dearly established, Charles went to * assist at the solemn mass which was celebrated in St. Peter's Church on Christmas day (800.) The Pope, anxious to show 4 him some public testimony of his gratitude, chose the moment I when the prince was on his knees at the foot of the grand altar, ■f to put the imperial crown on his head, and cause him to be pro- 1 claimed to the people Emperor of the Romans. 1 From this affair must be dated the revival of the Roman Em- § pire in the West, — a title which had been extinct for three hun- ;| dred years. The emperors of the East who, during that inter- val, had continued exclusively in the enjoyment of that title, appeared to have some reason for opposing an innovation which might eventually become prejudicial to them. The contest which arose on this subject between the two emperors, was at length ^803) terminated by treaty. The Greek emperors recog- nised the new dignity of Charles (812 ;) and on these conditions they were allowed to retain those possessions, which they still held by a feeble tenure in Italy. In thus maintaining the imperial dignity against the Greek emperors, Charles added nothing to his real power ; he acquired f;om it no new right over the dismembered provinces of the Western empire, the state of which had, for a long time past, been fixed by specific regulations. He did not even augment his authority over Rome, where he continued to exercise the 6* ,"';■ ^ "nrnr 66 CHAPTER III. I! same rights of superiority under the title of emperor, which he had formerly done under that of patrician. This prince, whose genius soared beyond his age, did not figure merely as a warrior and a conqueror ; he was also a le- gislator, and a -Tiealous patron of letters. By the laws which he published under the title of Capitularies, he reformed several abuses, and introduced new ideas of order and justice. Com- missioners nominated by himself, were charged to travel through the provinces, to superintend the execution of the laws, listen to the complaints of the people, and render jui?tice to each without distinction and without partiality. He conceived like- wise the idea of establishing a uniformity of weights and mea- sures throughout the empire. Some of the laws of that great man, however, indicate a disposition tinctured with ^he barba- rism and superstition of his age. The Judgments of God are expressly held by him to be legal tests of right and wrong, and the greater part of crimes expiable by money. By a general law, which he passed in 779, introducing the payment of eccle- siastical tithes, and which he extended to the vanquished Saxons (791,) he alienated the affections of that people; and the code which he dictated on this occasion, is remarkable for its atrocity ; which their repeated revolts, and frequent returns to paganism, cannot justify. As to his patronage and love of letters, this is attested by the numerous schools which he founded, and the encouragenr. nls he held out to them ; as well as the attention he showed in in- viting to his court, the most celebrated learned men from every countrj' in Europe. He formed them into a kind of academy, or literary society, of which he was himself a member. When at cr. advanced age, he received instruction in rhetoric, logic and astronomy, from the famous Alcuin, an Englishman, to whom he was much attached. He endeavoured also to improve his vernacular tongue, which was the Teutonic, or lingua Francica, by drawing up a grammar of that language, giving German names to the montns and the winds, which had not yel received them ; and in making a collection of the military songs of the ancient Germans. He extended an equal protection t( the arts, more especially architecture, a taste for which he had imbibed in Italy and Rome. Writers of those times speak with admiration of the palaces and edifices constructed by his orders, at Ingelheim, near Mentz, at Nimeguen, on the left bank of the Waal, and at Aix-la-Chapelle. These buildings were adorned with numerous paintings, as well as marble and mosaic work, which he had brought from Rome and Ravenna. The empire of Charlemagne, which may bear a comparison ■>:■ PKRIOD U. A. D. 800 — 062. 67 id not o a le- lich he evera! Com- irough listen each like- mea- code as to its extent with the ancient empire of the West, embraced the principal part of Europe. All Gaul, Germany, and Spain as far as the Ebro, Italy to Benevento, several islands in the Mediterranean, with a considerable part of Pannonia, composed ihis vast empire, which, from west to east, extended from the Ebro to the Elbe and the Raab ; and from south to north, from the dutchy of Benevento and the Adriatic Sea to the River Ey- der, which formed the boundary between Germany and Denmark. In defining- the limits of the empire of Charlemagne, care must be taken not to confound the provinces and states incor- I porated with the empire with those that were merely tributary. ^ The former were governed by officers who might be recalled at i the will of the prince ; while the latter were free '^^ates, whose f only tenure on the empire was by alliance, and the ontributions they engaged to pay. Such was the policy of this prince, that, besides the marches or military stations which he had established on the frontiers of Germany, Spain, and Italy, he chose to retain '; on different points of his dominions, nations wb^, under the name of tributaries, enjoyed the protection of the Franks, and ;» might act as a guard or barrier against the barbarous tribes of I the east and north, who had long been in the habit of making T incursions into the western and southern countries of Europe. # Thus the dukes of Benevento in Italy, who were simply vas- * sals and tributaries of the empire, supplied as it were a rampart or bulwark against the Greeks and Arabians; while the Scla- vonian nations of Germany, Pannonia, Dalmatia, and Croatia, I though feudatories or vassals of France, were governed, never- ? theless, by their own laws, and in general did not even profess the Christian religion. From this brief sketch of the reign of Charlemagne, it is easy to perceive, that there was then no single power in Europe for- midable enough to enter into competition with the empire of the Franks. The monarchies of the north, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and those of Poland and Russia, were not then in ex- istence ; or had not emerged from the thick darkness that still covered those parts of continental Europe. England then pre- sented a heptarchy of seven confederate governments, the union of v;hich was far from being well consolidated. The kings of this confederacy were incessantly engaged in war with each other ; and it was not until several years .after Charlemagne, that Egbert the Great, king of Wessex, prevailing in the contest constituted himself King of all England, in 827. The Mahometan part of Snain, after it was separated from I the great empire of the Calipi. j, was engaged in perpetual war- f fare with the East. The Ommiades, sovereigns of Cordova W'll .1^ii\JWmtff 66 CHAPTER III. far from provoking their western neighbours, whose valour they had already experienced, showed themselves, on the contrary, attentive to preserve peace and good understanding with ihem. The Greek emperors, who were continually quarrelling with the Arabs and Bulgarians, and agitated by factions and intestine commotions, could no longer be an object of suspicion or rivalry to the monarchy of the Franks. Thus did the empire of Charlemagne enjoy the glory of being the ascendant power in Europe ; but it did not long sustain its original splendor. It would have required a man of extraordi- nary talents, to manage the reins of a government so extensive and so complicated. Louis-le-Debonnaire, or the Gentle, the son and successor of Charles, did not possess a single qualifi- cation proper to govern the vast dominions which his father had bequeathed to him. As impolitic as he was weak and super= stitious, he had not the art of making himself either loved or feared by his subjects. By the imprudent partition of his domi- nions between his sons, which he made even in his lifetime, he >,) planted with his own hand those seeds of discord in his family, which accelerated the downfall of the empire. The civil wara which had commenced in his reign continued after his death. Louis, surnamed the German, and Charles the Bald, combined against their elder brother Lothaire, and defeated him at the fa- mous battle of Fontenay in Burgundy (841,) where all the flower of the ancient nobil ity perished Louis and Charles, victorious in this engagement, obliged their brother to take refuge in Italy. They next marched to Strasbourg, wnere they renewed their alli- ance (842,) and confirmed it by oath at the head of their troops.* These princes were on the point of dividing the whole mo- narchy between them, when, by the interfert.. > of the nobility, they became reconciled to their elder brother, and concluded a treaty with him at Verdun (843,) which finally completed the division of the empire. By this formal distribution Lothaire retained the imperial dignity, with the kingdom of Italy, and the provinces situated between the Rhone, the Saone, the Meuse, the S'.Leld, the Rhine, and the Alps. Louis had all Germany beyond the Rhine, and on this side of the river, the cantons of Maysuce, Spire, and Worms ; and, lastly, all that part of Gaul which extends from the Scheld, the Meuse, the Saone, and the Rhone, to the Pyrenees, fell to the lot of Charles, whose division also comprehended the March of Spain, consisting of the pro- vince of Barcelona, and the territories which Charlemagne had conquered, beyond the Pyrenees. ^ It is with this treaty, properly speaking, that modern France commences, which is but a department of the ancient empire of n * ■:P M ■/^y^^ WJ^W !'.'»W*H»"*WWWM(S".'i*«" '*>i PERIOD II. A. D. 800 — 962. 69 the Franks, or monarchy of Charlemagne. For a long time it retained the boundaries which the conference at Verdun had assigned it ; and whatever it now possesses beyond these limits, was the acquisition of conquests which it has made since the four- teenth century. Charles the Bald was in fact then the first King of France, and it his from him that the series of her kings com- mences. It was moreover under this prince that the govern- ment of the Neustrians or Western Franks assumed a new aspect. Before his time it was entirely of a Frankish or German constitution ; the manners and customs of the conquerors of Gaul every where predominated ; their language (the lingua Francica) was that of the court and the government. But after ihe dismemberment of which we have spoken, the Gauls im- ported it into Neustria or Western J^rance ; the customs and popular language were adopted by the court, and had no small influence on the government. This language, which was then known by the name of the RoTnan or Romance, polished by the refinements of the court, assumed by degrees a new and purer form, and in course of time became the parent of the modern French. It was therefore at this period, viz. the reign of Charles the Bald, that the Western Franks began, properly speaking, to be a distinct nation, and exchanged their more ancient appellation for that of French; the name by which they are still known. At this same period Germany was, for the first time, embo- died into a monarchy, having its own particular kings. Louis the German, was the first monarch of Germany, as Charles the Bald was of France. The kingdom of Louis for a long time was called Eastern France, to distinguish it from the Western kingdom of that name, which henceforth exclusively retained the name of France. The empire of Charlemagne, which the treaty of Verdun had divided, was for a short space reunited (884) under Charles surnamed the Fat, younger son of Louis the German, and King of Germany ; but that prince, too feeble to support so great a weight, was deposed by his German subjects (887,) and their example was speedily followed by the French and the Italians The vast empire of the Franks was thus dismembered for eve (888,) and besides the kingdoms of France, Germany, and Italy, it gave birth to three new States — the kingdoms of Lorraine, Burgundy, and Navarre. The kingdom of Lorraine took its name from Lothaire II., younger son of the Emperor Lothaire I., who, in the division which he made of his estates among his sons (855,) gave to this Lothaire the provinces situated between the Rhine, the Meuse ^^ 10 CHAPTER ra. and the Scheld, known since under the name of Lorraine, Al- sace, Treves, Cologne, Juliers, Liege, and the Low Countries. At the death of Lothaire II., who left no male or legitimate heirs, his kingdom was divided by the treaty of Procaspis (870,) into two equal portions, one of which was assigned to Louis the German, and the other to Charles the Bald.^ By a subse- quent treaty, concluded (879) between the sons of Louis, sur- named the Stammerer, King of France, and Louis the Young, King of Germany, the French division of Lorraine was ceded to this latter prince, who thus reunited the whole of that king- dom. It remained incorporated with Germany, at the time when the last dismemberment of that monarchy took place, (895,) on the deposition of Charles the Fat. Arnulph, King of Germany, and- successor of Charles, bestowed the kingdom of Lorraine on Swentibald his natural son, who after a reign of five years, was deposed by Louis, surnamed the Infant, son and successor of Arnulph. Louis dying without issue, (912,) Charles the Sim- ple, King of France, took advantage of the commotions in Ger- many, to put himself in possession of that kingdom, which was at length finally reunited to the Germanic crown by Henry, surnamed the Fowler. Two new kingdoms appeared under the name of Burgundy, viz. Provence or Cisjurane Burgundy, and Transjurane Bur gundy. The founder of the former was a nobleman named Boson, whose sister Charles the Bald had espoused. Elevated by the king, his brother-in-law, to the highest dignities in the state, he was created, in succession. Count of Vienna, Duke of Provence, Duke of Italy, and Prime Minister, and even obtained in marriage the Princess Irmengarde,. daughter of Louis II., Emperor and King of Italj\ Instigated by this princess, he did not scruple to raise his ambitious views to the throne. The death of Louis the Stammerer, and the troubles that ensued, afforded him an opportunity of attaching to his interest most of the bishops in those countries, intrusted to his government. In an assembly which he held at Mantaille in Dauphim?, (879,) he engaged them by oath to confer on him the royal dignity. The schedule of this election, with the signatures of the bishops affix- ed, informs us distinctly of the extent of this new kingdom, which comprehended Franche-Comte, Ma9on, Chalons-sur-Sa- one, Lyons, Vienne and its dependencies, Agde, Viviers, Usez, with their dependencies in Languedoc, Provence, and a part of Savoy. Boson caused himself to be anointed king at Lyons, by the archbishop of that city. He maintained possession of his usurped dominions, in spite of the combined efforts which were made by the kings of France and Germany tc reduce him to subjection. life PERIOD II. A. D. 800 — 962. 71 The example of Boson was followed soon after by Rodolph, j|rovernor of Transju ^ne Burgundy, and related by the female side to the Carloviiig.., .is. He was proclaimed king, and crown- ed at St. Maurice in the Valais ; and his new kingdom, situa- ted between Mount Jura and the Penine Alps, contained Swit- zerland, as far as the River Reuss, the Valais, and a part of Savoy. The death of Boson, happening about this time, fur- nished Rodolph with a favourable opportunity of extending his frontiers, and seizing a part of the country of Burgundy. These two kingdoms were afterwards (930) united into one. Hugo, king of Italy, exercised at that time the guardianship of the young Constantine, his relation, the son of Louis, and grand- son of Boson. The Italians, discontented under the government of Hugo, and having devolved their cro\vn on Rodolph II., king of Transjurane Burgundy, Hugo, in order to maintain himself on the throne of Italy, and exclude Rodolph, ceded to him the district of Provence, and the kingdom of his royal ward. Thus united in the person of Rodolph, these two kingdoms passed to his descendants, viz. Conrad, his son, and Rodolph III., his grandson. These princes are styled, in their titles, sometimes Kings of Burgu7idy ; sometimes Kings of Viemie or Aries; sometimes Kings of Provence and Allemania. They lost, in course of time, their possessions beyond the Rhone and the Saone ; and in the time of Rodolph III., this kingdom had for its boundaries the Rhine, the Rhone, the Saone, the Reuss, and the Alps. Navarre, the kingdom next to be mentioned, known among the ancients under the name of Vascojiia, was one of the pro- vinces beyond the Pyrenees, which Charlemagne had conquered from the Arabs. Among the counts or wardens of the Marches, called by the Germans Margraves, which he established, the most remarkable were those of Barcelona in Catalonia, Jacca in Arragon, and Pampeluna in Navarre. All these Spanish Marches were comprised within Western France, and within the division which fell to the share of Charles the Bald, on the dismemberment of that monarchy among the sons of Lguis the Gentle. The extreme imbecility of that prince, and the calam ties of his reign, were the causes why the Navarrese revolted from France, and erected themselves into a free and indepen- dent state. It appears also, that they were implicated in the defection of Aquitain (853,) when it threw off the yoke of Charles the Bald. Don Garcias, son of the Count Don Gar- cias, and grandson of Don Sancho, is generally reckoned the first of their monarchs, that usurped the title of Ki?ig of Parri' Veluna, (85S.) He and his successors in the kingdom of Na /'l -WIB.WP^jRIf «i 7/. CHAPTER III. varre, possessed, at the same time, the province of Jacca in Arragon. The Counts of Barcelona were the only Spanish dependencies that, for many centuries, continued to acknowledge the sovereignty of the Kings of France. On this part of our subject, it only remains for us to point our the causes that conspired to accelerate the downfall of the em- pire of the Franks. Among these we may reckon the inconve- niences of the feudal system, — a system as unfitted for the pur- poses of internal administration, as it was incompatible with the maxims that ought to rule a great empire. The abuse of fiefs was carried so far by the Franks, that almost all property had become feudal ; and not only grants of land, and portions of large estates, but governments, dukedoms, and counties, were conferred and held under the title of fiefs. The consequence of this was, that the great, by the allurement of fiefs or benefices, became devoted followers of the kings, while the body of the nation sold themselves as retainers of the great. Whoever re- fused this vassalage was despised, and had neither favour nor honour to expect.'' By this practice, the liberty of the subject was abridged without augmenting the ro3'al authority. The nobles soon became so powerful, by the liberality of their kings, and the number of their vassals they found means to procure, that they had at length the presumption to dictate laws to the sovereign himself. By degrees, the obligations which they owed to the- state were forgotten, and those only recognised which the feudal contract imposed. This new bond of alliance was not long in opening a door to licentiousness, as by a natural consequence, it was imagined, that the feudal superior might be changed, whenever there was a possibility of charging him with a violation of his engagements, or of that reciprocal fidelity which he owed to his vassals. A system like this, not only overturned public order, by plant- ing the germs of corruption in every part of the internal admi- nistration ; it was still more defective with regard to the external operations of government, and directly at variance with all plans of aggrandizement or of conquest. As war was carried on by means of slaves or vassals only, it is easy to perceive that such armies not being kept constantly on foot, were with difficulty put ill motion ; that they could neither prevent intestine rebellion, nor be a protection against hostile invasion ; and that conquests made by means of such troops, must be lost with the same faci- lity that they are won. P, permanent military, fortresses and garrisons, such as we fina j\ modern tactics, were altogether unknown among the Franks. These politic institutions, indis- pensable in great empires, were totally repugnant to the genius f 1 PEHIOD II. A. D. 800 — 962. of the German nations. They did not even know what is meant by finances, or regular systems of taxation. Their kings had no other pecuniary resource than the simple revenues of their demesnes, which served for the maintenance of their court. Gratuitous donations, the perquisites of bed and lodging, fines, the third of which belonged to the king, rights of custom and toll, added but little to their wealth, and could not be reckoned among the number of state resources. None but tributaries, or conquered nations, were subjected to the payment of certain im- posts or assessments ; from these the Franks were exempted : they would have even regarded it as an insult and a blow struck at their national liberty, had they been burdened with a single imposition. It is obvious, that a government like this, so disjointed and incoherent in all its parts, in spite of the advantages which ac- crued to it from nourishing a spirit of liberty, and opposing a sort of barrier against despotism, was nevertheless far from boing suitable to an empire of such prodigious extent as that of the Franks. Charlemagne had tried to infuse a new vigour into the state by the wise laws which he published, and the military stations which he planted on the frontiers of his empire. Raised, by the innate force of his genius above the prejudices of the age in which he lived, that prince had formed a system capable of giving unity and consistency to the state, had it been of longer duration. But this system fell to pieces and vanished, when no longer animated and put in execution by its author. Disorder and anarchy speedily paralyzed every branch of the government and ultimately brought on the dismemberment of the empire. Another cause which accelerated the fall of this vast empire, was the territorial divisions, practised by the kings, both of the Merovingian, and the Carlo vingian race. Charlemagne and Louis the Gentle, when they ordered the empire to be divided among their sons, never imagined this partition would terminate in a formal dismemberment of the monarchy. Their intention was rather to preserve union and amity, by means of certain rights of superiority, which they granted to their eldest sons, whom they had invested with the Imperial dignity. But this subordination of the younger to their elder brothers was not of long continuance; and these divisions, besides naturally weak- ening the state, became a source of perpetual discord ; and reduced the Carlovingian princes to the necessity of courtmg the grandees, on every emergency , and gaining'their interest by new gifts, or by concessions which went to sap the founda- tion of the throne. This exorbitant power of the nobles, must also be reckoned VOL. I. 7 ^ 11.11 .l||lf|l|pU..| 74 CHAPTER III. among the number of causes that hastened the decline of the empire. Dukes and Counts, besides being intrusted with the justice and police of their respective governments, exercised, at the same time, a military power, and collected the revenues of the Exchequer. So many and so different jurisdictions, united in one and the same power, could not but become dangerous to the royal authority ; while it facilitated to the nobles the means of fortifying themselves in their governments, and breaking, by degrees, the unity of the state. Charlemagne had felt this in- convenience; and he thought to remedy the evil, by succes- sively abolishing the great dutchies, and dividing them into several counties. Unfortunately this policy was not followed out by his successors, who returned to the ancient practice of creating dukes ; and besides, being educate* and nurtured in superstition by the priests, they put themselves wholly under dependence to bishops and ecclesiastics, who thus disposed of the state at their pleasure. The consequence was, that govern- ments, at first alterable only by the will of the King, passed eventually to the children, or heirs, of those who were merely administrators, or superintendents, of them. Charles the Bald, first King of France, had the weakness to constitute this dangerous principle into a standing law, in the parliament which he held at Chiersi (877,) towards the close of his reign. He even extended this principle generally to all fiefs ; to those that held immediately of the crown, as well as to those which held of laic, or ecclesiastical superiors. This new and exorbitant power of the nobles, joined to the injudicious partitions already mentioned, tended to sow fresh discord among the diflTerent members of the state, by exciting a multitude of civil wars and,domestic feuds, which, by a neces- sary consequence, brought the whole body-politic into a state of decay and dissolution. The history of the successors of Charle- magne presents a sad picture, humiliating and distressing to humanity. Every page of it is filled with insurrections, devas- tations, and carnage : princes, sprung from the same blood, armed against each other, breathing unnatural vengeance, and bent on mutual destruction : the royal authority insulted and despised by the nobles, who were perpetually at war with each other, either to decide their private quarrels, or aggrandize them- selves at the expense of their neighbours ; and, finally, the citi- zens exposed to all kinds of oppression, reduced to misery and servitude, without the hope or possibility of redress from the government. Such was the melancholy situation of the States that composed the Empire of Charlemagne, when the irruption of new barbarians, the Normans from the extremities of the ^jM to ~^^^ to 'Wm G( '^^^m lai ifl th ^^H an ;;^-ii.t^~^^!. PERIOD 11. A. D. 800 — 962. 75 North, and the Hungarians from the back settlements of Asia, exposed it afresh to the terrible scourge of foreign invasion. The Normans, of German origin, and inhabiting ancient Scandinavia, that is to -?ay, Sweden, Denmark, and modern Norway, began, towards the end of the eighth century, to cover the sea with their ships, and to infest successively all the mari- time coasts of Europe.* During the space of two hundred years, they continued their incursions and devastations, with a fierce- ness and perseverance that surpasses all imagination. This phe- nomenon, however, is easily explained, if we attend to the state of barbarism in which the inhabitants of Scandinavia, in general, were at that time plunged. Despising agriculture and the arts, they found themselves unable to draw from fishing and the chase, the necessary means even for their scanty subsistence. The comfortable circumstances of their neighbours who culti- vated their lands, excited their cupidity, and invited them t8 acquire by force, piracy, or plunder, what they had not sufficient skill to procure by their own industry. They were, moreover animated by a sort of religious fanaticism, which inspired them with courage for the most perilous enterprise. This reckless superstition they drew from the doctrines of Odin, who was the god of their armies, the re warder of valour and intrepidity in war, receiving into his paradise of Valhalla, the brave who fel. beneath the swords of the enemy ; while, on the other hand, the abode of the wretched, called by them Helveie, was pre- pared for those who, abandoned to ease and effeminacy, prefer- red a life of tranquillity to the glory of arms, and the perils of warlike adventure. This doctrine, generally diffused over all the north, inspired the Scandinavian youth with an intrepid and ferocious courage, which made them brave all dangers, and consider the sangui- nary death of warriors as the surest path to immortality. Often did it happen that the sons of kings, even those who were already destined as successors to their father's throne, volun- teered as chiefs of pirates and brigands, under the name of Sea Kings, solely for the purpose of obtaining a name, and signaliz- ing themselves by their maritim? exploits. These piracies of the Normans, which at first were limited to the seas and countries bordering on Scandinavia, soon ex- tended over all the western and southern coasts of Europe. Germany, the kingdoms of Lorraine, France, England, Scot- land, Ireland, Spain, the Balearic Isles, Italy, Greece, and even the shores of Africa, were exposed in their turn to >he insults and the ravages of these barbarians.^ France more especially suflfered f^om their incursions, under .IU"PVI» ipiliilll m CHAPTER in. the feeble reigns of Charles the Bald, and Charles the Fat. Not content with the havoc which they made on the coasts, they ascended the Seine, the Loire, the Garonne, and the Rhone, carrying fire and sword to the very centre o\ the kingdom. Nantes, Angers, Tours, Blois, Orleans, Mons, Poitiers, Bour- deaux, Rouen, Paris, Sens, Laon, Soissons, and various other cities, experienced ihe fury of these invaders. Paris was three times sacked and pillaged by them. Robert the Strong, a scion of the royal House of Capet, whom Charles the Bald had created (861,) Duke or Governor of Neustria, was killed in battle (866,) ■while combating with success against the Normans. At length, the terror which they had spread every where was such, that the French, who trembled at the very name of the Normans, had no longer courage to encounter them in arms ; and in order to rid themselves of such formidable enemies, they consented to purchase their retreat by a sum of money; a wretched and feeble remedy, which only aggravated the evil, by inciting the invaders, by the hope of gain, to return to the charge. It is not however at all astonishing, that France should have been exposed so long to these incursio'r'*, since, besides the in- efficient state of that monarchy, she had no vessels of her own to protect her coasts. The nobles, occupied solely with the care of augmenting or confirming their growing power, ofl^ered but a feeble opposition to the Normans, whose presence in the kingdom caused a diversion favourable to their views. Some of them even had no hesitation in joining the barbarians, when they happened to be in disgrace, or when they thought they had reason to complain of the government. It was in consequence of these numerous expeditions overall the seas of Europe, that the monarchies of the North were formed, and that the Normans succeeded also in founding several other states. It is to them that the powerful monarchy of the Russians owes its origin ; Ruric the Norman is allowed to have been its founder, towards the middle of the ninth century.''' He and the grand dukes his successors, extended their conquests from the Baltic and the White Sea, to the Euxine ; and during the tenth century they made the emperors of the East to trem- ble on their thrones. In their native style of piratical warfare, they embarked on the Dnieper or Borysthenes, infested with their fleets the coasts of the Black Sea, carried terror and dismay to the gates of Constantinople, and obliged the Greek emperors to pay them large sums to redeem their capital from pillage. Ireland was more than once on the point of being subdued by the Normans, during these piratical excursions. Their first in* vasion of this island is stated to have been in the year 795 1 ,4 an( PRRIOD 11. A. D. 800 — 962. JH Gieat ravages were committed by the barbarians, who conquer- ed or founded the cities of Waterford, Dublin, and Limerick, which they formed into separate petty kingdoms. Christianity was introcfuced among them towards the middle of the tenth century; and it was not till the twelfth, the time of its invasion by the English, that they succeeded in expelling them from the island, when they were dispossessed of the cities of Waterford and Dublin (1170) by Henry II. of England. Orkney, the Hebrides, the Shetland and Faroe Islands, and the Isle of Man, were also discovered and peopled by the Nor- mans.^ Another colony of these Normans peopled Iceland, where they founde<' a republic (874,) which preserved its inde- pendence till nearly the middle of the thirteenth century, when' that island was conquered by the Kings of Norway.'' Norman- dy, in France, also received its name from this people. Charles the Simple, wishing to put a check on their continual incur- sions, concluded, at St. Clair-sur-Epte (892,) a treaty with Rollo or Rolf, chief of the Normans, by which he abandoned to them all that part of Neustria which reaches from the rivers Andelle and Aure to the ocean. To this he added a part of Vexin, lituated between the rivers Andelle and Epte ; as also the ter- ritory of Bretagne. Rollo embraced Christianity, and received the baptismal name of Robert. He submitted to become a vas- sal of the crown of France, under the title of Duke of Norman- dy ; and obtained in marriage the princess Gisele, daughter of Charles the Simple. In the following century, we shall meet with these Normans of France as the conquerors of England, and the founders of the kingdom of the two Sicilies. The Hungarians, a people of Turkish or Finnish origin, emigrated, a^ is generally supposei^, from Baschiria, a country lying to the north of the Caspian Sea, between the Wolga, the Kama, and Mount Ural, near the source of the Tobol and the Jaik, or modern Ural. The Orientals designate them by the generic name of Turks, while they denominate themselves Magiars, from the name of one of their tribes. After having been long dependent on the Chazars,^*^ a Turkish tribe to the north of the Palus Maeotis, they retired towards the Danube, to avoid the oppressions of the Patzinacites ;^^ and established themselves (887) in ancient Dacia, under the auspices of a chief named Arpad, from Avhom the ancient sovereigns of Hungary derive their origin. Arnulph, King of Germany, employed »hese Hungarians (892) against the Slavo-Moravians,who pos- sessed a flourishing state on the banks of the Danube, the Morau, and the Elbe.^- While engaged in this expedition, they were attacked again in their Dacian possessions by the Patzina- ■'% 9# CHAPTER in. ^ife' cites, who succeeded at length in expelling them from these territories.^^ Taking advantage afterwards of the death of Swiatopolk, king of the Moravians, and the troubles conse* quent on that event, they dissevered from Moravia all the coun* try which extends from the frontiers of Moldavia, Wallachia and Transylvania, to the Danube and the Morau. They con- quered, about the same time, Pannoi»««, w««.h a part of Noricum, which they had wrested from the Uermans ; and thus laid the foundation of a new state, known since by the name of Hungary No sooner had the Hungarians established themselves in Pannonia, than they commenced their incursions into the prin- cipal states of Europe. Germany, Italy, and Gaul, agitated by faction and anarchy, and even the Grecian empire in the East, became, all in their turn, the bloody scene of their ravages and devastations. Germany, in particular, for a long time felt the effects of their fury. AH its provinces in succession were laid waste by these barbarians, and compelled to pay them tribute. Henry I., King of Germany, and his son Oiho the Great, at length succeeded in arresting their destructive career, and de- livered Europe from this new yoke which threatened its in- dependence. • ' It was in consequence of these incursions of the Hungarians and Normans, to which may be added those of the Arabs and Slavonians, that the kingdoms which sprang from the empire of the Franks lost once more the advantages which the political institutions of Charlemagne had procured them. Learning, which that prince had encouraged, fell into a state of absolute languor ; an end was put both to civil and literary improvement, by the destruction of convents, schools, and libraries ; the po- lity and internal security of the states were destroyed, and commerce reduced to nothing. England was the only excep- tion, which then enjoyed a transient glory under the memora- ble reign of Alfred the Great. That prince, grandson of Egbert who was the first king of all England, succeeded in expelling the Normans from the island (887,) and restored peace and tran- quillity to his kingdom. After the example of Charlemagne, he cultivated and protected learning and the arts, by restoring the convents and schools which the barbarians had destroyed ; inviting philosophers and artists to his court, and civilizing his subjects by literary institutions and wise regulations.^* It is to be regretted, that a reign so glorious was so soon followed by new misfortunes. After the Normans, the Danes reappeared in England, and overspread it once more with turbulence and desolation. During these unenlightened and calamitous times, we hnd m M- iMHi PBAioo lit. A. D. 063 — 1074. Hr the art of navigation making considerable progress. The Nor- mans, traversing the seas perpetually with their fleets, learned to construct their vessels with greater perfection, to become better skilled in wind and weather, and to use their oars and sails with more address. It was, moreover, in consequence of these invasions, that more correct information was obtained re- garding Scandinavia, and the remote regions of the North. Two Normans, Wolfstane and Other, the one from Jutland, and the other from Norway, undertook separate voyages, in course of the ninth century, principally with the view of mak- ing maritime discoveries. Wolfstane proceeded to visit that part of Prussia, or the Esthonia of the ancients, which was re- nowned for its produce of yellow amber. Other did not con- fine his adventures to the coasts of the Baltic ; setting out from the port of Heligoland, his native country, he doubled Cape North, and advanced as far as Biarmia, at the mouth of the Dwina, in the province of Archangel. Both he and Wolfstane communicated the details of their voyages to Alfred the Great, who made use of them in his Anglo-Saxon translation of Orosius. Besides Iceland and the Northern Isles, of which we have already spoken, we find, in the tenth century, some of the fugi- tive Normans peopling Greenland ; and others forming settle- ments in Finland, which some suppose to be the island o^^ Newfoundland, in North America.^* CHAPTER IV, '■''•'. ^ > PERIOD III. • From Otho the Great to Gregory the Great. ^ a. d. 962 — 1074. While most of the states that sprang from the dismembered empire of the Franks, continued to be the prey of disorder and anarchy, the kingdom of Germany assumed a new form, and for several ages maintained the character of being the ruling power in Europe. It was erected into a monarchy at the peace of Verdun (843,) and had for it", first king Louis the German, second son of Louis the Gentle. At that time it comprised, besides the three cantons of Spire, Worms, and Mayence, on this side the Rhine, all the countries and pro- vinces beyond that river, which had belonged to the empire of the Franks, from the Eyder and the Baltic, to the Alps and the confines of Pannonia. Several of the Slavian tribes, also, were its tributaries. From the first formation of this kingdom, *.he roy.al authority •H PERIOD III. A. D. 962 — 1074. the wish of Adelaide, that Otho agreed to enter into lernris of accommodation with Berenger, and to ratify the compact which Conrad, Duke of Lorrain, and son-in-law of the Emperor, had made with that prince. Afterwards, however, he lent a favour- able ear to the complaints which Pope John XII., and some Italian noblemen had addressed to him against Berenger and his son ; and took occasion, on their account, to conduct a new army into Italy (961.) Berenger, too feeble to oppose him, re- tired a second time within his fortifications. Otho marched from Pavia to Milan, and there caused himself to be crowned King of Italy ; from thence he passed to Rome, about the com- mencement of the following year. Pope John XII., who had himself invited him, and again implored his protection against Berenger, gave him, at first, a very brilliant reception; and re- vived the Imperial dignity in his favour, which had been dor- mant for thirty-eight years. It was on the 2d of February 962, that the Pope consecrated and crowned him Emperor ; but he had soon cause to repent of this proceeding. Otho, immediately after his coronation at Rome, undertook the siege of St. Leon, a fortress in Umbria, where Berenger and his Queen had taken refuge. While en- gaged in the siege, he received frequent intimations from Rome of the mi-^' mduct and immoralities of the Pope. The remon- strances wj.xh he thought it his duty to make on this subject, oflended the young Pontiff", who resolved, in consequence, to break off union with the Emperor. Hurried on by the impe- tuosity of his character, he entered into a negotiation with Adel- bert; and even persuaded him to come to Rome, in order to concert with him measures of defence. On the first news of this event, Otho put himself at the head of a large detachment, with which he marched directly to Rome. The Pope, however, did not think it advisable to wait his approach, but fled with the King, his new ally. Otho, on arriving at the capital, exacted a ;: olemn oath from the clergy and the people, that hencefortb they would elect no pope without his counsel, and that of the Emperor and his successors.- Having then assembled a coun- cil, he caused Pope John XII. to be deposed ; and Leo VII was elected in his place. This latter Pontift' was maintains i in the papacy, in spite of all the efforts which his adversary made to regain it. Berenger II., after having sustained a long siege at St. Leon, fell at length (964) into the hands of the con- queror, who sent him into exile at Bamberg, and compelled his son, Adelbert, to take refuge in tne court of Constantinople. All Italy, to tlte extent of the ancient kingdom of the Lotn- bards, fell under the dominion of the Germans : only a few .0^ j'/flp'" 84 CHAPTER IT. maritime towns in Lower Italy, with the greater part of Apulia and Calabria, still remained in the power of the Greeks. This kingdom, together with the Imperial dignity, Otho transmitted to his successors on the throne of Germany. From this time the Germans held it to be an inviolable principle, that as the im- perial dignity was strictly united with the royalty of Italy, kings elected by the German nation should, at the same time, in virtue of that election, become kings of Italy and Emperors. The practice of this triple coronation, viz. of Germany, Italy, and Rome, continued for many centuries ; and from Otho the Grea% till Maximilian I. (1508,) no king of Germany took the title of Emperor, until after he had been formally crowned by the Pope. The kings and emperors of the house of Saxony, did not terminate their conquests with the dominions of Lorrain and Italy. Towards the east and the north, they extended them be- yond the Saal and the Elbe. All the Slavonian tribes between the Havel and the Oder • the Abotrites, the Rhedarians, the Wilzians, the Slavonians on the Havel, the Sorabians, the Dale- mincians, the Lusitzians, the Milzians, and various others ; the dukes also of Bohemia and Poland, although they often took up arms in defence of their liberty and independence, were all re- duced to subjection, and again compelled to pay tribute. In order to secure their submission, the Saxon kings introduced German colonies into the conquered countries ; and founded there several margravates, such as that of the North, on this side of the Elbe, afterwards called Brandenburg ; and in the East, those of Misnia and Lusatia. Otho the Great adopted measures for promulga- ting Christianity among them. The bishopric of Oldenburg in Wagria, of Havelberg, Brandenburg, Meissen, Merseburg, Zeitz; those of Posnania or Posen, in Poland, of Prague in Bo- hemia; and lastly, the metropolis of Magdeburg, all owe their origin to this monarch. His granuson, the Emperor Otho III., founded (in 1000) the Archbishopric of Gnesna, in Poland, to which he subjected the bishoprics of Colberg, Cracow, and Breslau, reserving Posen to the metropolitan See of Magdeburg. The Saxon dynasty became extinct (1024) with tho Emperor Henry II. It was succeeded by that of Franconia, commonly called the ^alic. ' Conrad II.. the first emperor of this house, united to the German crown, the kingdom of Burgundy; or, as it is sometimes called, the kingdom of Aries. This monarchy, eituate between the Rhine, the Reuss, Mount Jura, ♦he Soane, the Rhone, and the Alps, had been divided among a certain number of counts, or governors of provinces, who, in conse- quence of the weakness of their last kings, Conrad and Rodolph 1II.1 liad converted their temporary jurisdictions into hereditary I % I PERIOD III. A. D. 962 — 1074. 85 and and patrimonial offices, after the example of the French nobility, who had already usurped the same power. The principal and r.iost puissant of these Burgundian nobles, were the Counts ot Provence, Vicnne, (afterwards called Dauphins of Vienne,) Sa- voy, Burgundy, and Montbelliard ; the Archbishop of Lyons, Besancon, and Aries, and the Bishop of Basle, &c. The con- tempt in which these powerful vassals held the royal authority, induced Rodolph to apply for protection to his kinsmen the Emperors Henry 11. and Conrad II., and to acknowledge them, by several treaties, his heirs and successors to the crown. It was in virtue of these treaties, that Conrad II. took possession of the kingdom of Burgundy (1032) on the death of Rodolph III. He maintained his rights by force of arms against Eudes, Count of Champagne, who claimed to be the legitimate suc- cessor, as being nephew to the last king. This reunion was but a feeble addition to the power of the German emperors. The bishops, counts, and great vassals of the kingdom they had newly acquired, still retained the au- thority which they had usurped in their several departments ; and nolhinn: was left to the emperors, but the exercise of their feudal and proprietory rights, together with the slender remains of the demesne lands belonging to the last kings. It is even probable, that the high rank which the Burgundian nobles en- joyed, excited the ambition of those in Germany, and emboldened them to usurp the same prerogatives. The emperors Conrad II. (1033) and Henry III. (1038,) were both crowned Kings of Burgundy. The Emperor Lothaire cmferred the viceroyalty or regency on Conrad Duke of Zah- ringen, who then took the title of Governor or Regent of Bur- gundy. Berthold IV., son of Conrad, resigned (1156,) in fiivour of the Emperor Frederic I., his rights of viceroyalty over that part of the kingdom situate beyond Mount Jura. Switzerland, at that time, was subject to the Dukes of Zahringon, w^ho, in order to retain it in vassalage to their government, fortified Morcfes, Mouden, Yverdun, and Berthoud ; and built the cities of Fri- bourg and Berne. On the extinction of the Zahringian dukes, (1191,) Switzerland became an immediateprovinceof the empire. It was afterwards (1218) formed into a republic , and the other parts of the kingdom of Burgundy or Aries were gradually united to France, ix^i we shall see in course of our narrative. The Hungarians, since their first invasion under Louis I'En- fant, had wrested from the German crown all its possessions in Pannonia, with a part of ancient Noricum ; and the boundaries of Germany had been contracted within the river Ens in Bava- ria. Their growing preponderance afterwards enabled the Ger- VOL. I. S ^ ■:r"---T' 'i^Ffm' ■s! H'B »• ' K CHAPTER IV* ^ , mans to recover from the ^lungarians a part of their conquests They succeeded in expelling them, not only from Noricum, but even from that part of Upper Pannonia which lies between Mount Cetius, or Kahlenberg as it is called, and the river Leita. Henry III. secured the possession of these territories by ihe treaty of peace which he concluded (1043) with Samuel, sur- named Aba, King of Hungary. This part of Hungary was annexed to the eastern Margravate, or Austria, which then be- gan to assume nearly its present form. Such then was the progressive aggrandizement of the German empire, from the reign of Henry I. to the year 1043. Under its most flourishing state, thai is, under the Emperor Henry III., it embraced nearly two-thirds of the monarchy of Charlemagne. All Germany between the Khine, the Eyder, the Oder, the Leita, and the Alps ; all Italy, as far as the confines of the Greeks in Apulia and Calabria; Gaul, from the Rhine to the Scheldt, the Mouse, and the Rhone, icknowledged the supremacy of the emperors. The Dukes of Bohemia and Poland, were their tri- butaries ; a dependence which continued until the commotions which agitated Germany put an end to it in the thirteenth century. Germany, at this period, ranked as the ruling power in Europe j and this preponderance was not owing ao much to the extent of her possessions, as to the vigour of h r government, which still maintained a kind of system of political unity. The emperors may be regarded as true monarchs, dispensing, at their pleasure, all dignities, civil and ecclesiasical — possessing very large do- mains in ail paL i of the empire — and exercising, individually, various branches of the sovereign power ; — only, in affairs of great importance, asking the advice or consent of the grandees. This greatness of the German emperors gave rise to a system of polity which the Popes took great care to support with all their credit and authority. According to this system, the whole of Christendom composed, as it were, a single and individual republic, of v.hich the Pope was the spiritual head, and the Emperor the secular. The duty of the latter, as head and patron of the Church, was to take cognizance that nothing should be done contrary to the general welfare of Christianity. It was his part to protect the Catholic Church, to be the guardian of its preservation, to convocate its general councils, and exercise such rights as the nature of his office and the interests of Christianity Vicmed to demand. It was in virtue of this ideal system that the emperors enjoyed a precedency over other monarchs, with the exclusive right of elect- ing kings ; and that they had bestowed on them the title of mas- ters of tlie world, and sovereign of sovereigns. A more impor- di ti( th( as Itc lut abs the clir anc for PERIOD III. A. D. 962—1074. 87 tant_prerog^tive was that which they possessed in the election of the Popes. From Olho the Great to Henry IV., all the Roman pontiffs were chosen, or at least confirmed, by the emperors. Henry III. deposed three schismatical popes (1046,) and sub- stituted in their place a German, who took the name of Clemt;nt II. The same emperorafterwards nominated various other popes of his own nation. However vast and formidable the power of these monarchs seemed to be, it was nevertheless far from being a solid and durable fabric ; and it was easy to foresee that, in a short time, it would crumble and disappear. Various causes conspired to accelerate its downfall ; the first and principal of which necessa- rily sprang- from the constitution of the empire, which was faulty in itself, and incompatible with any scheme of aggrandizement or conquest. A great empire, to prolong its durability, requires a perfect unity of power, which can act with despuich, and com- municate with facility from one extremity to the other ; an armed force constantly on foot, and capable of maintaining the public tranquillity; frontiers well defended against hostile inva- sion ; and revenues proportioned to the exigencies of the state. All these characteristics of political greatness were wanting in the Geman empire. That empire was elective; the states co-operated jointly with the emperors in the exercise of the legislative power. Thcie were neither permanent armies, nor fortresses, nor taxation, nor any regular system of finance. The government was without vigour, incapable of protecting or punishing, or even keeping m subjection, its remote provinces, consisting of nations who differed in language, manners, and legislation. One insurrec- tion, though quelled, was only the forerunner of others ; and the conquered nations shook off the yoke with the same facility as they received it. The perpetual wars of the emperors in Italy, from the first conquest of that country by Olho the Great, prove, in a manner most evident, the strange imbecility of the government. At every change of reign, and every liftie revo- lution which happened in Germany, the Italians rose in arms, and put the emperors again to the necessity of reconquering that kingdom ; which undoubtedly it was their interest to have abandoned entirely, rather than to lavish tor so many centuries their treasures and the blood of their people to no purpose. The climate of Italy was also disastrous to the Inoerial armies ; and many successions of noble German families found there a foreign grave. An inevitable consequence of this vitiated constitution, was he decline of the royal authority, and the gradtial increase cf •OB CHAPTER IV. the power ok the nobility. It is important, however, to remark that in Germany the progress of the feudal system had hecii much less rapid than in France. The dukes, counts, and mar- graves, that is, the governors of provinces, and wardens of the marches, continued for long to be regarded merely as imperial officers, without any pretensions to consider their governments as hereditary, or exercise the rights of sovereignty. Even fiefs remained for many ages in their primitive state, without being perpetuated in the families of those to whom they had been originally granted. A total change, however, took place towards the end of the eleventh century. The dukes and counts, become formidable by the extent of their power and their vast possessions, by de- grees, constituted themselves hereditary officers; and not content with the appropriation of their dutchies and counties, they took id vantage of the weakness of the emperors, and their quarrels with the popes, to extort from them new privileges, or usurp tho orerogatives of royalty, formerly reserved for the emperors alone. The aristocracy, or landed proprietors, followed tho example of the dukes and counts, and after the eleventh century, they all began to play the part of sovereigns, styling them- selves, in their public acts. By the Grace of God. At length fiefs became also hereditary. Conrad 11. was the first emperor that permitted the transmission of fiefs to sons and grandsons ; the succession of collateral branches was subsequently introduced. The system of hereditary feudalism became thus firmly esta- blished in Germany, and by a natural consequence, it brought on the destruction of the imperial authority, and the ruin of the empire. Nothing, however, was more injurious to this authority than the extravagant power of the clergy, whom the emperors of the Saxon line had loaded with honours and benefactions, either from a zeal for religion, or with the intention of using them as a counterpoise to the ambition of the dukes and secular nobility. It was chiefly to Otho the Great that the bishops of Germany were indebted for their temporal power. That prince bestowed on them large grants of land from the imperial domains ; he gave them towns, counties, and entire dukedoms, with the pre- rogatives of royalty, such as justiciary powers, the right of coin- ing money, of levying tolls and other public revenues, &c. These rights and privileges he granted them under the feudal law, and on condition of rendering him military servitude. Nevertheless, as the disposal of ecclesiastical dignities belonged then to the crown, and fiofs had not, in general, become heredi- Uiry, the Emperor still retained possession of those which ho I 1 i An lipl ate and Val dov PERIOD 111. A. D. 962 — 1074. 89 3 M conferred on the clergy ; these he bestowed on whomsoever he judged proper ; using them, however, always in conformity with his own views and interests. The same policy that induced Otho to transfer to the bishops a large portion of his domains, led him also to intrust them with the government of cities. At that time, there was a distinction of towns into royal and prefectorial. The latter were dependent on the dukes, while the former, subject immediately to the king, gave rise to what has since been called imperial cities. It was in these royal cities that the German kings were in the practice of establishing counts and burgomasters or magistrates, to ex- ♦••rcise in their name the rights of justice, civil and criminal, the .evying of money, customs, &c. as well as other prerogatives usually reserved to the King. Otho conferred the counties, or governorships of cities where a bishop resided, on th3 bishops themselves, who, in process of time, made use of this n 3W power to subject these cities to their own authority, and render them mediate and episcopal, instead of being immediate and royal as they were originally. The successors of Otho, as impolitic as himself, imitated his example. In consequence of this, the possessions of the crown were, by degrees, reduced to nothing, and the authority of the emperors declined with the diminution of their wealth. The bishops, at first devoted to the emperon , both from necessity and gratitude, no sooner perceived their own strength, than they were tempted to make use of it, and to join the secular princes, in order to sap the imperial authority, as well as to consolidate »heir own power. To these several causes of the downfall of .le empire must be added the new power of the Roman pontiffs, the origin of which is ascribed to Pope Gregory VII. In the following Period, this matter will be treated more in detail; meantime, we shall proceed to give a succinct view of the other states that figured during this epoch on the theatre of Europe. The dynasty of the Ommiades in Spain, founded about the middle of the eighth century, was overturned in the eleventh. An insurrection having happened at Cordova against the Ca- liph Hescham, that prince was dethroned (1030,) and the caliph- ale ended with him. The governors of cities and provinces, and the principal nobility o^ the Arabs, formed themselves into independent sovereigns, under the title of kings ; and as many petty Mahometan States rose in Spain as there had been prin- cipal cities. The most considerable of these, were the king- doms of Cordova, Seville, Toledo, Lisbon, Saragossa, Tortosa, V^alencia, Murcia, &c. This partition of the caliphate of Cor- dova, enabled the princes of Christendom to aggrandize their 8* 00 CHAPTER ir. power at the expense of the Mahometans. Besides the Ving- doms of Leon and Navarre, there existed in Spain at the com- mencement of the eleventh century, the county of Castille, which had been dismembered from the kingdorn of Leon, and the county of Barcelona, which acknowledged the sovereignty of the Kings of France. Sancho the Great, King of Navarre, had the fortune to unite in his own family all these different sovereignties, with the ex^ /cpiion of Barcelona; and as this occurred nearly at the same time with the destruction of the caliphate of Cordova, it would have been easy for the Christians to obtain a complete ascen- dency over the Mahometans, if they had kept their forces united. But the King of Navarre fell into the same mistake that had been so fatal to the Mahometans ; he divided his dominions among h"s sons (1035.) Don Garcias, the eldest, had Navarre, and was *he ancestor of a long line of Navarrese kings ; the last of whom, John d'Albert was deposed (1512) by Ferdinand the Catholic. From Ferdinand, the younger son, King of Leon and Castille, were descended all the sovereigns of Castille and Loon down to Queen Isabella, who transferred these kingdoms .(1474,) by marriage, to Ferdinand the Catholic, Lastly, Don Ramira, natural son of Sancho, was the stem from whom sprung all the kings of Arraj on, down to Ferdinand, who by his mar- riage with Isabella, he ppened to unite all the different Christian States in Spain; ami put an end also to the dominion of the Arabs and Moors in 'hat peninsula. In France the royal authority declined more and more, from the rapid progress which the feudal system made in that king- dom, after the feeble reign of Charles the Bald. The Dukes and the Counts, usurping the rights of royalty, made war on each other, and raised on every occasion the standard of revolt. The kings, in order to gain over some, and maintain others in their allegiance, were obliged to give up to them in succession every branch of the royal revenue ; so that the last Carlovin- gian princes were reduced to such a state of distress, that, far from being able to counterbalance the power of the nobility, they had hardly left wherewithal to furnish a scanty subsistence for their court. A change of dynasty became then indispensable ; and the throne, it was evident, must fall to the share of the most powerful and daring of its vassals. This event, which had long Deen foreseen, happened on the death of Louis V., surnamed the Slothful (987,) the last of the Carlovingians, v/ho died childless at the age of twenty. Hugh Capet, great-grandson of Robert the Strong, possessed at that time the central parts of the kingdom. He was Count :i»«:. ^'^¥ PERIOD III. A. D. 962 — 1074. 91 of Paris, Duke of France and Neustria; and his brother Henry was master of the dutchy of Burgundy. It was not difficult for Hugh to form a party ; and under their auspices he got himsell prochiimed king at Noyon, and crowned at Rheims. Charles Duke of Lorrain, paternal uncle of the last king, and sole legiti- mate heir to the Carlovingian line,'* advanced his claims to the crown ; he seized, by force of arms, on Laon and Rheims ; but being betrayed by the Hishop of Laon, and delivered up lo his rival, he was confined in a prison at Orleans, where he ended his days (991.) Hugh, on mounting the throne, restored to the possession of Uie crown, the lands and dojninions which had belonged to it between the Loire, the Seine, and the Mouse. His power gave a new lustre to the royal dignity, which he found means to ren- der hereditary in his family ; while at the same time he per* milted the grandees to transmit to their descendants, male and female, the dutchies and counties which they held of the crown, reserving to it merely the feudal . oeriority. Thus the feudal government was firmly established in France, by the hereditary tenure of the great fiefs ; and that kingdom was in consequence divided among a certain number of powerful vassals, who ren- dered fealty and homage to their kings, and marched at their command on military expeditions ; but who nevertheless were nearly absolute masters in their own dominions, and often dic- tated the law to the sovereign himself. Hugh was the progeni- tor of the Capetian dynasty of French kings, so called from his own surname of Capet. England, during tlie feeble reigns of the Anglo-Saxon prmces,' successors lo Alfred the Great, had sunk under the dominion of priests and monks. The consequence was, the utter ruin of its finances, and its naval and military power. This exposed the kingdom afresh to the attacks of the Danes (991,) who imposed on the English a tribute or tax, known by the name of Danegelt. Under the command of their kings Sueno or Sweyn L, and Ca- nute the Great, they at length drove the Anglo-Saxon kings from' their thrones, and made themselves masters of all England (1017.) But the dominion of the Danes was only of short con- tinuance. The English shook oft' their yoke, and conferred their crown on Edward the Confessor (1042) a prince of the royal blood of their ancient kings. On the death of Edward, Harold, Earl of Kent, was acknowledged King of England (1066 ;) but he met with a formidable conipetitor in the person of William Duke of Normandy. This prince had no other right to the crown, than that founded on a verbal promise of Edward the Confessor, and confirmed by aa I 'I' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // 1.0 I.I 1.25 ■-IIIIIM IIIIM lIT Em ^ 1^ ill 2-0 llr I 8 U IIII.6 V] <^ /A 'c^l a >> ^># > ■^^ ,A ^'^ //^ >^ '/ Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. I4S80 (716) 872-4503 *^ A \ \\ 9) 6^ % ■X CHAPTER ir. oath which Harold had given him while Earl of Kent. William landed in England (October 14ih 1066,) at the head of a conside- rable army, and having offered battle to Harold, near Hastings in Sussex, he gained a complete victory. Harold was killed in the action, and the conquest of all England was the reward of the victor. To secure himself in his new dominions, William constructed a vast number of castles and fortresses throughout all parts of the kingdom, which he took care to fill with Nor- man garrisons. The lands and places of trust of which he had deprived the English, were distributed among the Normans, and other foreigners who were attached to his fortunes. He intro- duced the feudal law, and rendered fiefs hereditary ; he ordered the English to be disarmed, and forbade them to have light in their houses after eight o'clock in the evening. He even at- tempted to abolish the language of the country, by establishing numerous schools for teaching the Norman-French; by pub- lishing the laws, and ordering the pleadings in the courts of justice to be made iii that language ; hence it happened that the ancient British, combined with the Norman, formed a new sort of language, which still exists in the modern English. William thus became the common ancestor of the kings of England, whose right to the crown is derived from him, and founded on .he Conquest. About the time that William conquered England, another co- lony of the same Normans founded the kingdom of the two Sicilies. The several provinces of which this kingdom was composed, were, about the beginning of the eleventh century, divided ar^ong the Germans, Greeks, and Arabians,** who were incessantly waging war with each other. A band of nearly a hundred Normans, equally desirous of war and glory, landed in t!iat country (1016,) and tendered their services to the Lombard princes, vassals of the German empire. The bravery which T.hey displayed on various occasions, made these princes desirous of retaining them in their pay, to serve as guardians of their frontiers against the Greeks and Arabians. The Greek princes very soon were no less eager to gain their services ; and the Duke of Naples, with the view of attaching them to his interest, ceded to them a large territory, where they built the city of Aversa, three leagues from Capua. The emperor Conrad II. erected it into a county (1038,) the investiture of which he granted to Rainulph, one of their chiefs. At this same period the sons of Tancred conducted a new colony from Normandy into Lo\7er Italy. Their arrival is gen- erally referred to the year 1033 ; and tradition h>is assigned to Tancred a descent from RoUo or Robert I. Duke of Normandy I it *■ mi tisl rel ace rel ■^1 «IW iipflV PERIOD m. A. D. 962 — 1074. 03 '■4- These new adventurers undertook the conquest of Apulia (1041,) which they formed into a county, the investiture of which they obtained from Henry III. Robert Guiscard, one of the sons of Tancred, afterwards (1047) completed the conquest of that pro- vince ; he added to it that of Calabria, of which he had also deprived the Greeks (1059,) and assumed the title of Duke of Apulia and Calabria. To secur-T himself in his new conquests, as veil as in those which he yet meditated from the two empires, Robert concluded a treaty the same year with Pope Nicholas II., by which that Pontiff confirmed him in the possession of the dutchies of Apulia ind Calabria ; granting him not only the investiture of these, but promising him also that of Sicily, whenever he should expel the Greeks and Arabians from it. Robert, in his turn, acknow- ledged himself a vassal of the Pope, and engaged to pay him an annual tribute of twelve pence, money of Pavia, for every pair of oxen in the two dutchies.^ Immediately after this treaty, Robert called in the assistance of his brother Roger, to rescue Sicily from the hands of the Greeks and Arabs.^ No sooner had he accomplished this object, than he conquered in succession the principalities of Bari, Salerno, Amalfi, Sorrento, and Bene- vento; this latter city he surrendered vO the Pope. Such is the origin of the dutchies of Apulia and Calabria; which, after a lapse of some years, were formed into a kingdom under the name of the Two Sicilies. As to the kingdoms of the North, the light of history scarcely began to dawn there until the introduction of Christianity, which happened about the end of the tenth or beginning of the eleventh century.' The promulgation of the Gospel opened a way into the North for the diffusion of arts and letters. The Scandina- vian states, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, which before that time were parcelled out among independent chiefs, began then to form plans of civil government, and to combine into settled monarchies. Their new religion, however, did not inspire these nations with its meek and peaceable virtues, nor overcome their invincible propensity to wars and rapine. Their heroism was a wild and savage bravery, which emboldened them to face all dangers, tp undertake desperate adventures, and to achieve sud- den conquests, which were lost and won with the same rapidity. Harold, surnamed Blaata7id, or Blue teeth, was the first sole monarch of the Danes, who with his son Sweyn received bap- tism, after being vanquished by Otho the Grc ^965.) Sweyn relapsed to paganism ; but his son Canute the Great, on his accession to the throne (1014,) made Christianity the established religion of his kingdom. He sent for monks from other coun- 94 CHAPTER IV. ;V tries, founded churches, and divided the kingdom into diocesses. Ambitious to distinguish himself as a conqueror, he afterwards subdued England and Norway (1028.) To these he added a part of Scotland and Sweden; and conferred in his own life- time on one of his sons, named Sweyn, the kingdom of Nor- way, and on another, named Hardicanute, that of Denmark. These acquisitions, however, were merely temporary. Sweyn was driven from Norway (1035;) while England and Scotland also shook off the Danish yoke (1042,) on the death of Hardi- canute ; and Magnus King of Norway, even made himself mas- ter of Denmark, which did not recover its entire independence until the death of that princ. (1047.) The ancient dynasty of Kings who occupied the throne of Denmark from the most remote ages, is known by the name of Skioldiings, because, according to a fabulous tradition, they were descended from Skiold, a pretended son of the famous Odin who, from being the conqueror, was exalted into the deity of the North. The kings who reigned after Sweyn II. were called EstrithideSi from that monarch, who was the son of Ulf a Danish nobleman, and Estrith, sister to Canute the Great. It was this Swevn that raised the standard of revolt against Mag- nus King of Norway (1044,) and kept possession of the throne until his death. In Sweden, the kings of the reigning family, descended, as is alleged, from Regner Lodbrok, took the title of Kings of Upsal, the place of their residence. Olaus Skotkonung changed this title into that of King of Sweden. He was the first monarch of his nation that embraced Christianity, and exerted himself to propagate it in his kingdom. Sigefroy, Archbishop of Yorli, who was sent into Sweden by Ethelred King of England, bap- tized Olaus and his whole family (1001.) The conversion cf the Swedes would have been more expeditious, had not the zeal of Olaus been restrained by Ihe Swedish Diet who decided for full liberty of conscience. Hence the strange mixture, both of doctrine and worship, that long prevailed in Sweden, where Je- sus Christ was profanely associated with Odin, and the Pagan goddess Freya confounded with the Virgin. Anund Jacques, son of Olaus, contributed much to the progress of Christianity; and his zeal procured him the title of Most Christian King. In Norway, Olaus I., surnamed Tryggzieson, towards the end of the tenth century, constituted himself the apostle and mis- sionary of his people, and undertook to convert them to Chris- tianity by torture and punishment. Iceland and Greenland ' were likewise converted by his efforts, and afterwards became his tributaries (1029.) One of his successors, Olaus II., called •^ PERIOD 111. A. D. 962 — 1074 95 the Fat, and also the Saint, succeeded in extirpating paganisra Worn Norway (1020 ;) but he used the cloak of religion to *•?• lyblish his own authority, by destroying- several petty kings who before this time possessed each their own dominions. Christianity was likewise instrumental in throwing some ray- Of light on the history of the Sclavonian nations, by imparting to them the knowledge of letters, and raising them in the scale of importance among the civilized nations of Europe. The Sclavonians who were settled north of the Elbe, had been sub- dued by the Germans, and compelled to embrace Christianity. The haughtiness and rigour of Thierry, Margrave of the North, nduced them to shake off the yoke, and to concert a general insurrection, which broke out in the reign of Otho II. (982., The episcopal palaces, churches and convents, were destroyed ; and the people returned once more to the superstitions of pagan- ism. Those tribes that inhabited Brandenburg, part of Pome- rania and Mecklenburg, known formerly under the name of Wilzians and Welatabes, formed themselves into a republican or federal bodj'-, and took the name of Liiitizia?is. The Abo- trites, on the contrary, the PoU-bes, and the Wagrians,'-^ were decidedly for a monarchical government, the capital of which was fixed at Mecklenburg. Some of the princes or sovereigns of these latter people were styled Kings of the Yenedi. The result of this general revolt was a series of long and bloody wars between the Germans and Sclavonians. The latter defended their civil and religious liberties with a remarkable courage and perseverance ; and it was not till after the twelfth century, that they were subdued and reduced to Christianity by the continued efTorts of the Dukes of Saxony, and the Margraves of the North, and by means of the crusades and colonies which the Germans despatched into their country. '° The first duke of Bohemia that received baptism from the hands, as is supposed, of Methodius, bishop of Moravia (894,) was Borzivoy. His successors, however, returned to idolatry ; and it was not till near the end of the tenth century, properly speaking, and in the re'gn of Boleslaus II., surnamed the Pious, that Christianity became the established religion of Bohemia (999.) These dukes were vassals and tributaries of the German empire ; and their tribute consisted of 500 silver marks, and 120 oxen. They exercised, however, all the rights of sovereignty over the people ; their reign was a system of terror, and they seldom took the opinion or advice of their nobles and grandees. The succession was hereditary in the reigning dynasty ; and the system of partition was in use, otherwise the order of suc- cession would have been fixed and permanent. Over a numbei 1^ 1» 98 CHAPTER 17. **• of these partitionary princes, one was vested with certain righti of superiority, under the title of Grand Prince, according to a cu'jtom found very prevalent among- the half civilized rations of the north and east of Europe.^^ The greater proportion r.i the inhabitants, the labouring classes, artisans, and domestics, were serfs, and oppressed by the tyrannical yoke of their mas- ters. The public sale of men was even practised in Bohemia ; the tithe, or tenth part of which, belonged to the sovereign. The descendants of Borzivoy possessed the throne of Bohemia until 1306, when the male line became extinct. The Poles were a nation whose name does not occur in his- tory before the middle of the tenth century ; and we owe to Christianity the first intimations that we have regarding this people. Mieczislaus I., the first duke or prince of the Poles of whom we possess ani' authentic accounts, embraced Christianity (966,) at the solicitation of his spouse Dambrowka, sister ot Boleslaus II., duke of Bohemir.. Shortly after, the first bish- opric in Poland, that of Posen, was founded by Otho the Great. Christianity did not, however, tame the ferocious habits of the Poles, who remained for a long time without the least progress in mental cultivation. '^ Their government, as wretched as that of Bohemia, subjected the great body of the nation to the most debasing servitude. The ancient sovereigns of Poland were hereditary. They ruled most despotically, and with a rod of iron ; and, although they acknowledged themseives vassals and tributaries of the German emperors, they repeatedly broke out into open rebellion, asserted their absolute independence, and waged a successful war against their masters. Boleslaus, son of Mieczislaus I., took advantage of the troubles which rose in Germany on the death of Olho III., to possess himself of the Marches of Lusatia and Budissin, or Bautzen, which the Em- peror Henry II. afterwards granted him as fiefs. This same prince, in despite of the Germans, on the death of Henry II. (1025,) assumed the royal dignity. Mieczislaus II., son of Bo- leslaus, after having cruelly ravaged the country situate between the Oder, the Elbe, and the Saal, was compelled to abdicate the throne, and also to restore those provinces which his father had wrested from the Empire. The male descendants of Mieczis- laus I. reigned in Poland until the death of Casimir the Great (1370.) This dynasty of kings is known by the name of the Piasts, or Piasses, so called from one Piast, alleged to have been its founder. Silesia, which was then a province of Poland, received the light of the Gospel when it first visited that kingdom ; and had for its apostle, as is supposed, a Rcnish priest named Geoffry, who is reckoned the first bishop of Smogra (966.) A'/'S II He ■"1 ^!j' ^wi'yii^iiiFH ..•mi^!iiyi!V^.*M" PERIOD III. A. D. 962 — 1074. 97 In Russia, Vladimir the Great, great-grandson of Ruric, was the first grand duke that emhraced Christianity, (988.) He was baptized at Cherson in Taurida, on the occasion of his marriage with Anna Romanowna, sister of Basil II. and Constantine VIII., Emperors of Constantinople. It was this prince that introduced the Greek ritual into Russia, and founded several schools and convents. The alphabet of the Greeks was imported into Rus- sia along with their religion ; and from the reign of Vladimir, that nation, more powerful and united than most of the other European states, carried on a lucrative commerce with the Greek empire, of which it became at length a formidable rival. At the death of that prinee (1015,) Russia comprehended those vast regions which, from east to west, extend from the Icy Sea and the mouth of the Dwina, to the Ni^men, the Dniester, and the Bug ; and south wp-d of this last river, to the Carpathian ]\Iountains, and the cohnnes of Hungary and Moldavia. The city of Kiow on the Dnieper, was the capital of the empire, and the residence of the Grand Dukes. This period also gave rise to those unfortunate territorial partitions which, by dividing the Russian monarchy, exposed it to the insults and ravages of ihe neighbouring nations. Jaroslaus, one of the sons of Vladirnir, made himself famous as a legislator, and supplied the Novogo- fodians with laws to regulate their courts of justice. No less the friend and protector of letters, he employed himself in trans- lating Greek books into the Sclavonian language. He founded a public school at Novogorod, in which three hundred children were educated at his sole expense. His daughter Anna married Henry I., King of France; and this princess was the common mother of all the kings and princes of the Capotian dynasty. Hungary was divided, in the tenth century, among several petty princes, who acknowledged a common chief, styled the Grand Prince, whose limited authority was reduced to a simple pre-eminence in rank and dignity. Each of these princes as- sembled armies, and made predatory excursions, plundering and ravaging the neighbouring countries at their pleasure. The East and the West suffered long under the scourge of these atro- cious pillagers. Christianity, which was introduced among them about the end cf the tenth century, was alone capable of soft- ening the manners, and tempering the ferocity of this nation Peregrine, bishop of Passau, encouraged by Otho the Greai, and patronized by the Grand Prince Geisa, sent the first mis- sionaries into Hungary (973.) St. Adelbert, bishop of Praguo, had the honour to baptize the son of Geisa, called Waic (994,) but WHO received then the baptismal name of Stephen. This latter prince, having succeeded his father (997,) changea VOL. I. 9 vjfi 93 CHAPTEK IV. entirely the aspect of Hungary. He assumed the royal dignity, with the consent of Pope Sylvester II., who sent him on this occasion the Angelic CrowtiP as it is called ; 'he same, accord- ing to tradition, which the Hungarians use to this day in the coronation of their kings. At once th • apostle and the law- giver of his country, Stephen I. combined politics with justice, and employed both severity and clemency in reforming his Siih- jects. He founded several bishoprics, extirpated idolatry, banibh- ed anarchy, and gave to the authority of the sovereign, a vigour and efficiency which it never before possessed To him like- wise is generally ascribed the political division of Hungary into counties, as also the institution of palatines, and great officers of the crown. He conquered Transylvania, about 1002-3, ac- cording to the opinion of most modern Hungarian authors, and formed it into a distinct government, the chiefs of which, called Vaivodes, held immediately of his crown. The history of the Greek empire presents, at this time, nothing but a tissue of corruption, fanaticism and perfidy. The throne, as insecure as that of the Western empire had been, was filled alternately by a succession of usurpers ; most of whom, rose from the lowest c nditions of life, and owed their elevation solely to the perpetration of crime and parricide. A supersti- tion gross in its nature, bound as with a spell the minds of the Greeks, and paralyzed their courage. It was carefully cherished by the monks, who hud found means to possess themselves of the government, by procuring the exclusion of the secular clergy from the episcopate; and directing the attention of princes to those theological controversies, often exceedingly frivolous, which were produced and re-produced almost without inter- missionJ'^ Hence originated those internal commotions and distractioiis, those schisms and sects, which more than once divided the empire, and shook the throne itself. These theological disputes, the rivalry between the two pa- triarchs of Rome and Constantinople,'-^ and the contests respect- ing the Bulgarian converts, led to an irreparable schism between the churches of the East and the West. This controversy was most keenly agitated under the pontificate of John VIII., and when the celebrated Photius was patriarch of Constantinople; and in spite o( the efforts which several of the Greek emperors and patriarchs afterwards made to effect a union with the Eomiish See, the animosity of both only grew more implacable, and ended at last in a final rupture between the two churchci?. A government so weak and so capricious as that of Constantinople could not but be perpetually exposed to the inroads of foreign enemies. The Huns, Ostrogoths, Avars, Bulgarian's, Russians PERIOD m. A. D. 962 — 1074. 99 Hungarians, Chazars, and Patzinacites, harassed the empire on the side of the Danube ; while the Persians'" were incessantly exhausting its strength in the East, and on the side of the E\j- phrales. All these nations, however, were content with merely desolating the frontiers of the empire, and imposing frequent contributions on the Greeks. It was a task reserved for the Lombards, the Arabs, the Normans, and the Turks, to detach from it whole provinces, and by degrees to hasten its downfall. The Lombards were the first that conquered from the Greeks the greater part of Italy. Palestine, Syria, and the whole pos- sessioas of the Empire in Greater Asia, as well as Egypt, Nor- thern Afiica, and the Isle of Cyprus, were seized in the seventh century by the Arabs, who made themselves masters of Sicily, and three times laid siege to Constantinople (669, 717, 719.) They would have even succeeded in taking this Eastern capital, and annihilating the Greek empire, had not the courag^e of Leo the Isaurian, and the surprising effects of the Gregeois, or Greek Fire,'^ rendered their efforts useless. At length, in the eleventh century, the Normans conquered all that remained to the Greeks in Italy ; while the Seljuk Turks, who must not be confounded with the Ottoman Turks, deprived i!iem of the greater part of Asia Miiior. Turk is the generic appellation for all the Tartar nations, ^^ mentioned by the ancients under the name of Scythians. Their original country was in those vast regions situate to the north of Mount Caucasus, and eastward of the Caspian Sea, beyond the.Tihon, or Oxus of the ancients, especially in Charasm, Tran- soxiana, Turkestan, &c. About the eighth century, the Arabs Lad passed the Oxus, and rendered the Turks of Charasm and Transoxiana their tributaries. They instructed them m the re- Ijoion and laws of Mahomet ; but, by a transition ratber extra- ordinary, it afterwards happened, that the vanquished imposed the yoke on their new masters. rhe empire of the Arabs, already enfeebled by the territorial losses which have been mgitioned, declined more and more, from about the middle of the ninth century. The Caliphs of Bagdad had committed the mistake of trusting their persons to a military guard of foreigners,'^ viz. the Turks, who, taking ad- vantage of the effeminacy of these princes, soon arrogated to themselves the whole authority, and abused it so far, as to leave the Caliphs entirely dependent on their will, and to vest in them- selves the hereditary succession of the government. Thus, in itie very centre of the caliphate of Bagdad, there rose a multi- tude of new sovereignties or dynasties, the heads of which, under the title of Emir or Commander, exercised the supreme ',- 100 'V CHAPTER TV. power ; leaving nothing more to the Caliph than a pre-eminence of dignity, and that rather of a spiritual than a temporal nature. Besides the external marks of homage and respect which were paid him, his name continued to be procicimed in the mosfiuos, and inscribed on the coined money. By him were granted ali letters-patent of investiture, robes, swords, and standards, accom- panied with high-sounding titles ; which did not, however, pre- vent these usurpers from maltreating their ancient masters, insulting their person, or even attt.npting their lives, whenever it might serve to promote their interest. A general revolution broke out un-!^ the caliph Rahdi. That prince, wishing to arrest the progress of usurnation, thought ot creating a new minister, whom he invested with the title of Emir-al-Omra, or Commander of Commanders ; and conferred on him powers much more ample than those of his vizier. This minister, whom he selected from the Emirs, officiated even in the grand mosque of Bagdad, instead of the caliph ; and his name was pronouncetl with equal honours in the divine service throughout the empire. This device, which the caliph employ- ed to re-establish his authority, only tended to accelerate its destruction. The Bowides, the most powerful dynasty among the Emirs, arrogated to themselves the dignity of Chief Com- mander (945,) and seized both the city and the sovereignty of Bagdad. The Caliph, stripped of all temporal power, was then only grand Iman, or sovereign-ponlifTof the Mussulman religion, under the protection of the Bowidian prince, who kept him as his prisoner at Bagdad. Such was the sad situation of the Arabian empire, fallen from its ancient glory, when a numerous Turkish tribe, from the contre of Turkestan, appeared on the stage, overthrew the dominions of the Bowides ; and, after imposing new fetters on the caliphs, laid the foundation of a powerful empire, known by the name of the Seljukldes. This roving tribe, which took its name from Seljuk a Mussulman Turk, after having \vandered for some time with their flocks^ in Transoxiana, passed the Jihon to seek pasturage in the province oi Chorasan. Rein- forced by new Turkish colonies from Transoxiana, this coali- tion became in a little time so powerful, that Togrul Beg, grandson of Seljuk, had the boldness to cause himself to be proclaimed Sultan in the city of Niesa^ur,^ the capital of Cho- rasan, and formally announced himself as a conqueror (1038.) This prince, and the sultans his successors, subdued by de- grees most of the provinces in Asia, which formed the caliphate of Bagdad.^^ They annihilated the power of the Bowides reduced the Caliphs to the condition of dependents, and at iength attacked also the possessions of the Greek ennpiro. * Af W( th€ PERIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300. M k r AIp-Arslan, the nephew and immediate successor of Togrul Beg, gained a signal victory in Armenia, over the Emperor Romanus Diogenes (1071) who w there taken prisoner. The confusion which this event caused in the Greek empire, was favourable to the Turks, who seized not only what re- mained to the Greeks In Syria, but also several provinces in Asia Minor, such as Cilicia, Isauria.Pamphylia, Lycia, Pisidia, Lycaonia, Cappadocia, Galatia, Pontus, and Bythinia. The empire of the Seljukides was in its most flourishing state under the sultan Ma'ek Sjiah, the son and successor of Alp-Arslan. The caliph Caj^em, in confirming to this prince ♦,he title of Sultan and Chief Commander, added also that of Commander of the Faith fid, •Vi\i\c\i before that time had never been conferred but on the caliphs alone. On the death of Ma- lek (1092,) the disputes that rose among his sons occasioned a civil war, and the partition of the empire. These vast territories were divided among three principal dynasties descended from Seljuk, those of Iran, Kerman, and Ronm, or Rome. This latter branch, which ascribes its origin to Soliman, great-grand- son of Seljuk, obtained the provinces of Asia Minor, which the Seljukides had conquered from the Greeks. The princes of this dynasty are known in the history of the Crusades by the name of Sultans of Iconium or Cogni, a city of Lycaonia, where the sultans established their residence after being de- prived by the crusaders of the city of Nice in Bythinia. The most powerful of the three dynasties was that of the SeJjukidec of Iran, whose sway extended over the greater part of Upper Asia. It soon, however, fell from its grandeur, and its states were divided into a number of petty sovereignties, over which the Emirs or governors of cities and provinces usurped the supreme power.^'^ These divisions prepared the way for the conquests of the crusaders in Syria ani Palestine; and fur- nished also to the Caliphs of Bagdad the means of shaking off the yoke of the Seljukides (1152,) and recovering the sove- reignly of Irak- Arabia, or Bagdad. CHAPTER V. PERIOD IV. From Pope Gregory VII. to Boniface VIII. a. d. 1074 — 1300. A NEW and powerful monarchy rose on the ruins of the Ger- man empire, that of the Roman Pontiffs ; which monopolized both spiritual and temporal dominion, and extended its influ- 9 # 102 CHAPTER V. ence over all the kingdoms of Christendom. This supremacy whose artful and complicated mechanism is still an object oj astonishment to the most subtle politicians, was the work of Pope Gregory VII., a man born for great undertakings, as re- markable for his genius, which raised him above his times, as for the austerity of his manners and the boundless repch of his ambition. Indignant at the depravity of the age, which was immersed in ignorance and vice, and at the gross injmoraiity which pervaded all classes of society, both laymen and ecclesi- astics, Gregory resolved to become the reformer of morale, and the restorer of feligion. To succeed in this project, it was ne- cessary to replace the governmerrt of kings, which had totally lost its power and efficiency, by a new authority, whose salutary restraints, imposed alike on the high and the low, might restore vigour to the laws, put a stop to licentiousness, and impose a reverence on ail by the sanctity of its origin. This authority was the spiritual supremacy of the Pope, of which Gregory was at once the creator and inventor. This extraordinary person, who was the son of a carpenter at Saona in Tuscany, named Bonisonc, or according to others, descended of a Roman family, had paved the way to his futm-e greatness under the preceding pontifls, whose counsels he had directed under the title of Cardinal Hildebrand. While Cardi- nal, he engaged Pope Nicolas II. to enter into a treaty with Robert Guiscard (1059,) for procuring that brave Norman as an ally and a vassal of the Holy See. Taking advantage, like- wise of the rrinority of Henry IV., he caused, this same year, in a council held at Rome, the famous decree to be passed, which, by reserving the election, of the pontiffs principally to the cardinals, converted the elective privileges which the em- perors formerly enjoyed in virtue of their crown rights, into a personal favour granted by the Pope, and emanating from the court of Rome. On the death of Pope Nicolas II., Cardinal Hildebrand pro- cured the election of Alexander II., without waiting for the or- der or concurrence of the Imperial court; and he succeeded in maintaining him in the apostolical chair against Pope Honorius II., whom the reigning empress had destined for that honour. At length, being raised himself to the pontifical throne, scarce- ly had he obtained the Imperial confirmation, when he put in execution the project which he had so long been concerting and preparing, viz. the erecting of a spiritual despotism,^ extend- ing to priests as well as kings ; making the supreme pontiff the arbiter in all affairs, both civil and ecclesiastical — the bestower of favours, and the dispenser of crowns. The basis of this .:^. ^^Wff""^ ,f7f""" -T-^ WV'i"'*9IPt PERIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300. 103 «cy I i dominion was, that the Vicar of Jesus Christ ought to be su- perior to all human power. The better to attain his object, he began by withdrawing himself and his clergy from the autho- rity of the secular princes. At that time the city of Rome, and the whole ecclesiastical states, as well as the greater part of Italy, were subject to tho kings of Germany, who, in virtue of their being kings of Italy and Roman emperors, nominated or confirmed the popes, and inbtalled the prefects of Rome, who there received the power of the sword in their name. They sent also every year commis- sioners to Rome, to levy the money due to the royal treasury. The popes used to date their acts from the years pf the empe- ror's reign, and to stamp their coin with his name ; and all the higher clergy were virtually bound and subject to the secular power, by the solenm investiture of the ring and the crosier. This investiture gave to the emperors and the other sovereigns the right of nominating and confirming bishops, and even of de- posing them if they saw cause. It gave them, moreover the right of conferring, at their pleasure, those fiefs and royal pre- rogatives which the munificence of princes had vested in the Church. The emperors, in putting bishops and prelates in possession of these fiefs, used the symbols of the ring and the crosier, which were badges of honour belonging to bishops and abbots. They made them, at the same time, take the oath of fidelity and allegianfte ; and this was the origin of their depen- dence, and their obligation to furnish their princes with troops, atid to perform military service. Gregory VII. prohibited, under pain of excommunication, all sovereigns to exercise the :ghts of investiture, by a formal de- cree which he published in a council assembled at Rome in 1074. There was more than the simple ceremony of the ring and the crosier implied in this interdict. He aimed at depriving princes of the right of nominating, confirming, or deposing prelates, as well as of receiving their fealty and homage, and exacting military service. He thus broke all those ties by which the bishops were held in allegiance and subordination to princes ; making them, in this respect, entirely independent. In suppressing ii> vestitures, the pontiff had yet a more important object in view. It was his policy to withdraw both himself and his successors, as well as the whole ecclesiastical state, from the power of the German kings ; especially by abolishing the right which these princes had so long exercised of nominating and confirming the Popes. He saw, in fact, that if he could succeed in rendering the clergy independent of the jiecular power, it would follow, by a natural consequence, that the Pope, as being supreme head of .»'> > 104 CHAPTER V. the clerjjy, would no longer be dependent on the emperors, while the emperor, excluded from the nomination and investi- ture of bishops, would have still less right to interfere in the election of pontiffs. This affair, equally interestmg to all sovereigns, was of the utmost importance to the kings of Germany, who had committed the unfortunate error of putting the greater part of their domains into the hands of ecclesiastics ; so that to divest those princes of the right to dispose of ecclesiastical fiefs, was in fact to de- prive them of nearly the half of their empire. The bishops, vainly flattering themselves with the prospect of an imaginary liberty, forgot the valuable gifts with which the emperors had loaded them, and enlisted under the banners of the Pope. They turned against the secular princes those arms which the latter had imprudently trusted in their hands. There yet subsisted another bond of union which connected the clergy with the civil and political orders of society, and gave them an interest in the protection of the secular authority, and that was, the marriages of the priests ; a custom in use at that time over a great part of the West, as it still is in the Greek and Eastern Churches. It is true, that the law of celibacy, al- ready recommended strongly by St. Augustine, had been adopted by the Romish Church, which neglected no means of introducing it by degrees into all the churches of the Catholic communion. It had met with better success in Italy and the south of Europe than in the northern countries ; and the priests continued to marry, not only in Germany, England, and the kingdoms of the North, but even in France, Spain, and Italy, notwithstanding the law of celibacy, which had been sanctioned in vain by a multitude of councils. Gregory VII., perceiving that, to render the clergy completely dependent on the Pope, it would be necessary to break this powerful connexion, renewed the law of celibacy, in a council held at Rome (1074;) enjoining the married priests either to quit their wives, or renounce the sacerdotal order. The whole clergy murmured against the unfeeling rigour of this decree, which even excited tumult and insurrection in several countries of Germany ; and it required all the firmness of Gregory and his successors to abolish clerical marriages, and establish the law of celibacy throughout the Western churches.^ In thus dissolving the secular ties of the clergy, it was far from the in- tention of Gregory VII. to render them independent. His designs wero more politic, and more suitable to his ambition. He wished to make the clergy entirely subservient to his own elevation, and even to employ them as an instrument to humble and subd the power of the princes. I k.i til PERIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300. 105 rrs, sti- ihe The path had already been opened up to him by the False Dficretals, as they were called, forged about the beginning of the ninth century, by the famous impostor Isidore, who, with the view of diminishing the authority of the metropolitans, advanced in these letters, which he attributed to the early bishops of Rome, a principle whose main object was to extend the rights of the Romish See, and to vest in the popes a jurisdiction till tlun unknown in the chuich. Several Popes before Gregory Vli. had already availed themselves of these False Decretals ; ^ and they had even been admitted as true into different collec- tions of canons. Gregory did not content himself with rigidly enforcing the principles of the impostor Isidore. He went even farther ; he pretended to unite, in himself, the plenary exercise both of the ecclesiastical and episcopal power ; leaving nothing to the archbishops and bishops but the simple title of his lieu- tenants or vicars. He completely undermined the jurisdiction of the metropolitans and bishops, by authorizing in all cases an appeal to the Court of Rome ; reserving to himself exclusively the cognizance of all causes termed major — including more es- pecially the privilege of judging and deposing of bishops. This latter privilege had always been vested in the provincial councils, who exercised it under the authority, and with the consent of the secular powers. Gregory abolished this usage ; and claimed for himself the power of judging the bishops, either in person or by his legates, to the exclusion of the Synodal Assemblies. He made himself master of these assemblies, and even arroga- ted the exclusive right of convocating Generai Councils. This pontiff", in a council which he held at Rome (1079,) at length prescribed a new oath, which the bishops were obliged to take ; the main object of which was not merely canonical obedience, but even fealty and homage, such as the prelates, as lieges, vowed to their sovereigns; and which the pontiff' claimed for himself alone, bearing that they should aid and defend, against the whole world, his new supremacy, and what he called the roT/al rights of St. Peter. Although various sovereigns maintained possession of the homage they received from their bishops, the oath imposed by Gregory nevertheless retained its full force; it was even augmented by his successors, and ex- tended to all bishops without distinction, in spite of its incon- sistency with that which the bishopry swore to their princes. Another very effectual means which Gregory VII. made use of to confirm his new authority, was to send, more frequently than his predecessors had done, legates into the different sfates and kingdoms of Christendom. He made them a kind of gov- ernors of provinces, and invested them with the riiost ample 1 (to ^1D6 CHAPTETl V. powers These legates soon obtained a knowledge of all the affairs of the provinces delegated to their care ; Avhich greatly impaired the authority of the metropolitans and provincial coun- cils, as well as the jurisdiction of the bishops. A clause \va? also inserted, in the form of the oath imposed on the bishops, which obliged them to furnish maintenance and support for these legates ; a practice which subsequently gave place to fre- quent exactions and impositions on their part. While occupied with the means of extending his power over the clergy, Gregory did not let slip any opportunity of makinjj encroachments on the authority of princes and sovereigns, which he represented as subordinate to that of the Church an 1 the Pope. As supreme head of the Church he claimed a right of inspection over all lings and their governments. He deemr-d himself authorized to address admonitions to them, as to the method of ruling their kingdoms; and to demand of them an account of their conduct. By and by, he presumed to listen to the complaints of subjects against their princes, and claimed the right of being a judge or arbiter between them. In 'his capacity he acted towards Henry IV., emperor of Germany, who en- joy ecf the rights of sovereignty over Rome and the Pope. He summoned him to Rome (1076,) for the purpose of answering before the synod to the principal accusations which the nobles of Saxony, engaged in disputes with that prince, had referred to the Pope. The emperor, burning with indignation, and hurried on by the impetuosity of youth, instantly convoked an assembly of bishops at Worms, and there caused the pontift'to be deposed. No sooner was this sentence conveyed to Rome, and read in presence of the Pope in a council which he had assembled, that) Gregory ventured on a step till then quite unheard of. He ini' mediately thundered a sentence of excommunication and depo- sition against the Emperor, which was addre-^sed to St. Petei; and couche'd in the following terms : — " In the name of Almighty God, I suspend and interdict from governing the kingdom of Germany and Italy, Henry, son of the emperor Henry, who, with a haughtiness unexampled, has dared to rebel against thy church. I absolve all Christians whatever from the oath which they have taken, or shall here- after take, to him ; a d henceforth none shall be permitted to do him homage or service as king; for he who would disobey the authority of thy Church, deserves to lose the dignity with which he is invested. And seeing this prince has refused to submit as a 'Christian, and has not returned to the Lord whom he hath forsaken, holding communion with the excommunicated, and despising the advice which I tendered him for the safety oi hn anc over also earl trem ble. youi he h; hy the shou lives the H fail pern obla elec J"- ^C' 4 ** PERIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300. 107 soul, I load him with curses in thy name, to the end that peo- ple may know, even by experience, that thou art Peter, and that on this rock the Son of the living God has built his church; and that the gates of hell shall never prevail againet it." This measure, which seemed at first to have been merely the effect of the pontiff's impetuosity, soon discovered of what im- portance it was for him to persevere, and what advantage he might derive from it. In humbling the emperor, the most pow- erful monarch in Europe, he might hope that all the other sovereigns would bend before him. He omitted nothing, there- fore, that might serve to justify his conduct, and endeavoured to prove, by soph' -ies, that if he had authority to excommuni- cate the emperor, he might likewise deprive him of his dignity ; and that the right to release subjects from their oath of allegi- ance was an emanation and a natural consequence of the power of the Keys. The same equivocal interpretation he afterwards made use of in a sentence which he published against the same prince (lOSO,) and which he addressed to the Apostles St. Petor and St. Paul, in these terms : " You, fathers and princes of the apostles, hereby make known to the whole world, that if you can bind and unbind in heaven, you can much more, on wrth, take from all men empires, kingdoms, principalities, dutchics, marquisates, counties, and possessions, of whatsoever nature they may be. You have often deprived the unworthy of patri- archates, primacies, archbishoprics, and bishoprics, to give them to persons truly religious. Hence, if you preside over spiritual affairs, does not your jurisdiction extend a fortiori to temporal and secular dignities? and if you judge the angels who rule over princes and potentates, even the haughtiest, will you not also judge their slaves ? Let then the kings and princes of the earth learn how great and irresistible is your power ! Let them tremble to conremn the commands of your church ! And do you, blessed Peter, and blessed Paul, exercise, from this time forward, your judgment on Henry, that the whole earth may know that he has been humbled, not by any human contingencies, but solely by your power." Until that time, the emperors had exercised the right of confirming the Popes, and even of deposing them, should there be occasion ; but, by a strange reverse of preroga- tives, tho popes now arrogated to themselves the confirmation ot the emperors, and even usurped the right of dethroning them. However irregular this step of the pontiff might be, it did not full to produce the intended effect. In an assembly of the Im- perial States, held at Tribur (1070,) the emperor could only obtain their consent to postpone their proceeding to a new election, and that on the express condition of his submitting < v 108 ^ \ '• -Am. ■ •*? CHJfMER V. •1^.> himself to the judgment of the Pope, and being absolved imme diately from the excommunication he had incurred. In ^onse quence of this decision of the States, Henry crossed the Alps. in the middle of winter, to obtain reconciliation with the Pope, who then resided with the famous Coantess Matilda, at her Castle of Canossa, in the Modenese territory. Absolution was not granted him, however, except under conditions the most hu- miliating. He was compelled to do penance in an outer court of the castle, in a woollen shirt and barefooted, for three suc- cessive days, and afterwards to sign whatever terms the pontiflf chose to prescribe. This extraordinary spectacle must have spread conoternation among the sovereigns of Europe, and made them tremble at the censures of the Church. After this, Gregory VH. exerted his utmost influence to en- gage all sovereigns, without distinction, to acknowledge them- selves his vassals and tributaries. "Let not the emperor imagine," says he, in a letter which he wrote to the German nation, " that the church is subject to him as a slave, but let him know that she is set over him as a sovereign." From that time the pontiff regarded the empire as a fief of his church ; and after^rds when setting up a rival emperor to Henry IV., in the person of Hermann of Luxemburg, he exacted from him a formal oatl' of vassalage. Gregory pursued the same conduct in regard lo the other sovereigns of Europe. BolesJaus II., King of Po nd, having killed Stanislaus Bishop of Cracow, who had ventured to excommunicate him, the pontiff took oc- casion from this to depose that prince; releasing all his sub- jects from their oath of fidelity, and even prohibiting the Polish bishops henceforth to crown any king without the express con- sent of the Pope. This aspiring pontiff stuck at nothing ; he regarded nothing, provided he could obtain his object. However contrary the customs of former times were to his pretensions, he quoted them as examples of authority, and with a boldness capable of imposing any thing on weak and ignorant minds. It was thus that, in order to oblige the French nation to pay him the tax of one penny each house, he alleged the example of Charlemagne, and pretended that that prince had not merely paid this tribute, but even granted Saxony as a fief to St. Peter ; as he had con- quered it with the assistance of that apostle. In writing to Philip I. of France, he expressed himself in these terms: " Strive to please St. Pet-^r, who has thy kingdom as well as thy soul in his power; p id who can bind thee, and absolve, in heaven as well as on earth." And in a letter which he addressed to the Princes of Spain, he attempted to persuade them, that the Alps *ope, her Dcatk ofJocn nj Arc. Vol. 1, p. IP. The F^tiglink inliuinarify Murned this Heroine as a Sorceress. -A Death of Constaniine XV in defending Constan- tinople Vol. 1, 206 I • I i,igwiia|pp«^i«T.i>n^Wf)IJi« I lipii IVtmifMI PERIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300 109 kingdom of Spain, being originally the property of the Holy See, they could not exonerate themselves from paying him a tax on all the lands they had conquered from the Infidels. He affirmed to Solomon, King of Hunj^ary, that Stephen I., on receiving his crown at the hands of Pope Silvester II., hud surrendt ed his kingdom as free property to the Holy See ; and that, in virtue of this donation, his kingdom was to be considered us a part of the domain of the church. He wrote in exactly the same style to Geysa his immediate successor. In one of his letters to Sueno, King of Denmark, he enjoins him to deliver up his kingdom to the power of the Romish See. He refused (1076,) to grant the royal dignity to Demetrius Swinimir, Duke of Croatia and Dalmatia, except on the express condition, that he should do him homage for his kingdom, and engage to pay the Pope an annual tribute of two hundred golden pieces of By- zantium. This pontiff had the art of disguising his ambition so dexterously, under the mask of justice and piety, that he pre- vailed with various other sovereigns to acknowledge th'^mseives his vassals. Bertrand, Count of Provence, transferred to him his fealty and homage, to the prejudice of those feudal^obliga- tions he owed to the Empire. Several princes of Italy and Ger many, in^.uenced by artifice or intimidation, abandoned the emperor, and put themselves under submission to the Pope. His efforts were not eqirally successful with William the Con- queror, King of England, whom he had politely invited b> letter, to do him homage for his kingdom, after the manner of his royal predecessors. That prince, too wise to be duped by papal im- position, replied, that he was not in a humour to perform homage which he had never promised, and which he was not aware naa ever been performed by any of his predecessors. The successors of Gregory VII., followed in the path he had opened up ; giving their utmost support to all his maxims and pre- tensions. In consequence, a very great number of the princes of Christendom, some intimidated by the thunders of ecclesias- tical anathemas, others with a view to secure for themselves the protection of the Holy See, acknowledged these usurped powers of the Popes. The Kings of Portugal, Arragon, England, Scotland, Sardinia, the two Sicilies, and several others, became, in course of time, vassals a.,i tributaries to the Papal See ; and there is not a doubt, that the universal monarchy, the scheme of which Gregory VII. had conceived, would have been com- pletely established, if some of his successors had been endowed with his vast ambition, and his superior genius- In every other respect, circumstances were such as to hasten End facilitate the progress of this new pontifical ipremacy. It VOL. I. ^^ ■ »ll»m^ ]J0 CHAPTER V. had commenced in a barbarous age, when the whole of the Western world was covered with the darkness of ignorance, and when mankind knew neither the just rights of sovereignty, nor the bounds which reason and equity should have set to the authority of the priesthood. The court of Rome was then ihe only school where politics were studied, and the Popes the only monarchs that put them in practice. An extravagant supersti- tion, the inseparable companion of ignorance, held all Europe in subjection; the Popes were reverenced with a veneration resembling that which belongs only to the Deity ; and the whole world trembled at the utterance of the single word Excoinmu- nication. Kings were not sufficiently powerful to oppose any successful resistance to the encroachments of Rome ; their au- thority was curtailed and counteracted by that of their vassals, who seized with eagerness every occasion which the Popes offered them, to aggrandize their own prerogatives at the expense of the sovereign authority. The Emperor of Germany, who was alone able to countervail this new spiritual tyranny, was at open war with his grand vas- sals, whose usurpations he was anxious to repress; while they, disrespecting the majesty of the throne, and consulting only their own animosity against the emperor, blindly seconded the pretensions of the pontiff. The emperor, however, did all in his power to oppose a barrier to this torrent of ecclesiastical despotism ; but the insolence of Gregory became so extrava- gant, that, not content to attack him with spiritual weapons, he set up rival emperors, and excited intestine Avars against him ; and his successors even went so far as to arm the sons against their own father. Such was the origin of the contests which arose between the Empire and the Papacy, under the reign of Henry IV., and which agitated both Germany and Italy for a period of several centuries. They gave birth, also, to the two factions of the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, the former Imperial, nnd the other Papal, who for a long course of time tore each other to pieces with inconceivable fury. Henry V., son and successor of Henry IV., terminated the grand dispute about the investitures of the ring and the crosier. By the Concordat which he concluded at Worms (1122) with Pope Calixtus II., he renounced the ceremony of the ring and the cross ; and granting to the churches free liberty of election, he reserved nothing to himself, except the privilege of sending commissioners to the elections, and giving to the newly elected prelates, after consecration, the investiture of the regalian rights, by means of the sceptre, instead of the ring and crosier. The ties of vassalage which connected the bishops with the empe* 'Twpr.w^x^lippi 'V PERIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300. lU rors, were still preserved by this transaction, contrary to the in- tentions of Gregory VII. ; but the emperors beint,' oblifred to approve of the persons whom the Church should hereafter pre- sent, lost their chief influence in the elections, and were no lonjrer entitled, as formerly, to grant or refuse investiture. These broils with the court of Rome, the check which they gave to the Imperial authority, joined to the increasing abuses of the feudal system, aflforded the princes and states of the Em- pire the means of usurping the heritable succession of their dutchies, counties, and fiefs ; and of laying the foundations of a new power, which they afterwards exercised under the name of territorial superiority. Frederic II., compelled by the pressure of events, was the lirst emperor that sanctioned the territorial rights of the states by charters, which he delivered to several princes, secular and ecclesiastic, in the years 1220 and 1232. The Imperial dignity thus lost its splendour with the power of the emperors ; and the constitution of the Empire was totally changed. That vast monarchy degenerated by degrees into a kind of federal system ; and the Emperor, in course of time, became only the common chief, and superior over ^ae numerous vassals of which that association was composed. The extra- ordinary efTorts made by the Emperors Frederic I. and II. of the house of Hohenstaufen,'* to re-establish the tottering throne of the empire, ended in nothing; and that House, one of the most powerful in Europe, was deprived of all its crowns, and perse- cuted even to the scafTold. The empire this fell into gradual decay, while the pontifical - power, rising on its ruins, gained, day by day, new accessions of strength. The successors of Gregory VII. omitted nothing that policy could suggest to them, in order to humble more and more the dignity of the Emperors, and to bring them into a state of absolute dependence, by arrogating to themselves the express right of confirming, and even of deposing them ;^ and com- pelling them to acknowledge their feudal superiority. Being thus no longer obliged to submit their election to the arbitration of the Imperial court, the ambitious pontifTs soon aspired to absolute sovereignty. The custom of dating their acts, and coining their money with the stamp and name of the emperor, disappeared after the time of Gregory VII. ; and the authority which the empe- rors had exercised at Rome, ceased entirely with the loss of the prefecture or government of that city ; which Pope Innocent III. look into his own hands (1198,) obliging the prefect of Rome to swear the usual oath of homage to the Apostolic See, which that magistrate owed to the emperor, from whom he received wr m^" •^™j» "»« 113 CHAPTBR V. the prefecture. Hence it happened, that the chiefs of the Em- pire, obliged to compromise with a power which they hud learned lo dread, had no longer any difficulty in recognising the entire independence of the Popes ; even formally renouncing the rights of high sovereignly which their predecessors had enjoyed, not only over Rome, but over the Ecclesiastical States. The domains of the church were likewise considerably increased by the acquisitions which Innocent III. made of the March of Ancona, and the dutchy of Spoleio; as well as by the per- sonal property or Patrimony of the Countess Matilda,^ which the Emperor Frederic II. ceded to Honorius III. (1220,) and which his successors in the Apostolic chair formed into the pro- vince known by the name of the Patrimony of St. Peter. One of the grand means which the Popes employed for the advancement of their new authority, was the multiplication of Religious Orders, and th'j way in which they took care to man- age these corporations. Before the time of Gregory VII., the only order known in the West was that of the Benedictines, divided into several (amilies or congregations. The rule of St, Benedict, prescribed at the Council of Aix-la-Chapelle (817) to all monks within the empire of the Franks, was the only one allowed by the Romish Church ; just as that of St. Basil was, and still is, the only one practised in the East by the Greek Church. The first of these newly invented orders was that of Grammont in Limosin (1073,) authorized by Pope Gregory VII. This was followed, in the same century, by the order of Char- treux, and that of St. Antony.' The Mendicant orders took their rise under Innocent III., near the end of the twelfth, and beginning of the thirteenth century. Their number increased in a short time so prodigiously, that, in 1274, they could reckon twenty-three orders. The complaints v/hich were raised on this subject from all parts of Christendom, obliged Pope Gregory to reduce them, at the Council of Lyons, to four orders, viz. the Hermits of St. William or Augustines, Carmelites, the Minor or Franciscan friars, and the Preaching or Dominican friars. The Popes, perceiving that they might convert the monastic orders, and more particularly the mendicants, into a powerful engine for strengthening their own authority, and keeping the secular clergy in subjection, granted by degrees to these frater- nities, immunities and exemptions tending to withdraw them from the jurisdiction of the bishops, and to emancipate them from every other authority, except that of their Heads, and the Popes. They even conferred on them various privileges, such as those of preaching, confession, and instructing the young ; 5»3 being the most likely means to augment their credit and their mmmm . -I -klu: J.W. PERIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300. 113 influence. The consequence was, that the monks were fre- (juently employed by the Popes in quality of legates and mis- sionaries ; they were feared and respected by sovereipfns, sin- gularly revered by the people, and lei slip no occasion of exalting a power to which alone they owed their promotion, their re- spectability, and all the advantages they enjoyed. Of all the successors of Gregory VH., he who resembled him most in the superiority of his genius, and the extent of his knowledge, was Innocent III., who was of the family of the Counts of Segni, and elevated to the pontificate at the age of 37. He was as ambitious as that pontiff, and equally fertile in resources ; and he even surpassed him in the boldness of his plans, and the success of his enterprises. Innocent an- nounced himself as the successor of St. Peter, set up by God to gover?i not only the Church, but the whole xoorld. It was this Pope who first made use of the famous comparison about the sun and the moon : As God, says he, has placed tioo great luminaries hi the firmament, the one to ride the day, and the other to give light by night, so has he established two grand powers, the pontifical and the royal ; and as the moon receices her light from the sun, so does royalty borroio its splendour from the Papal authority. Not content to exercise the legislative power as he pleased, by m-jans of the numerous decretals which he dispersed over all Cliristendom, this pontifT was the first that arrogated to him- self the prerogative of dispensing with the laws themselves, in virtue of what he termed the plenitude of his power. It is to him also that the origin of the Inquisition is ascribed, that terrible tribunal which afterwards became the firmest prop of sacerdotal despotism ; but what is of more importance to re- mark, is, that he laid the foundations of that exorbitant power, which his successors have since exercised in collating or pre- senting to ecclesiastical dignities and benefices. The secular princes having been deprived of their rights of nomination and confirmation, by the decrees of Gregory VII. and his successors, the privilege of electing bishops was re- stored to the clergy and congregation of each church, and to the chapters of convents ; the confirmation of the elected pre- lates belonged to their immediate superiors ; and collation to the other ecclesiastical benefices was reserved for the bishops and ordinaries. All these regulations were chansfed towards the end of the twelfth century. The canons of cathedral churches, authorized by the Court of Rome, claimed to them- selves the right of election, to the exclusion of the clergy and the people ; while the Popes, gradually interfering with elec- lO'if ■T'W^^*^ 114 CHAPTER V. tions and collations, found means to usurp the nomination anj collation to almost all ecclesiastical benefices. The principle of these usurpations was founded on the false decretals; accord- ing to 'vhich all ecclesiastical jurisdiction emanates from the court of Rome, as a river flows from its source. It is from the Pope that archbishops and bishops hold that portion of authori- ty with which they are endowed ; and of which he does not divest himself, by the act of communicating it o them ; but is rather the more entitled to co-operate with them in the exercise of that jurisdiction as often as he may judge proper. This principle of a conjunct authority, furnished a very plau- sible pretext for the Popes to interfere in collation to benefices. This collation, according to the canon law, being essential to the jurisdiction of bishops, it seemed natural that the Pope, who concurred in the jurisdiction, should also concur in the privileges derived from it, namely, induction or collation t. be- nefices. From the right of concurrence, therefore, Innocent III. proceeded to that o^ preve?iHon,heing the first pontiff that mad«» use of it. He exercised that right, especially with regard *o benefices which had newly become vacant by the death of their incumbents, when at the Court of Rome; in which cases it was easy to anticipate or get the start of the bishops. In the same manner, this right was exercised in remote dioceses, by means of legates a latere^ which he dispersed over the difl!erept provinces of Christendom. From the right of prevention were derived the provisional mandates, and the Graces Expectatives, (reversionary grants or Bulls) letters granting promise of church livings before they became vacant. The Popes not having legates every where, and wishing, besides, to treat the bishops with some respect, began by addressing to them letters of recommendation in fa- vour of those persons for whom they were anxious to procure benefices. These letters becoming too frequent and importu- nate, the bishops ventured to refuse their compliance ; on which the Popes began to change their recommendations into orders or mandates ; and appointed commissioners to enforce their execution by means of ecclesiastical censures. These man- dates were succeeded by the Graces Expectatives, which, pro- perly speaking, were nothing else than mandates issued for be- nefices, 'vhose titulars or incumbents were yet alive. Lastly appeared the Reservations, which were distinguished into ge- neral and special. The first general reservation was that of benefices becoming vacant by the incumbents dying at the Court of Rome. This was introduced by Pope Clement IV. in 1265, in order to exclude for ever the bishops from the right of concurrence and prevention in benefices of thHt kind. '-T PERIOD IV. A. D. 1074—1300. 115 This first reservation was the forerunner of several others, such as the reservation of all cathedral churches, abbeys, and priories; as also of the highest dignities in cathedral and colle^ giate churches; and of all collective benefices, becoming vacant during eight months in the year, called the Pope's months, so that only four months remained for the ordinary collators; and these too, encroached upon by mandates, expectatives, and re- servations. The Popes having thus seized the nomination to episcopal dignities, it followed, by a simple and natural process, that the cor^rmation of all prelates, without distinction, was in like manner reserved for them. It would have even been reck- oned a breach of decorum to address an archbishop, demanding from him the confirmation of a bishop nominated by the Pope j so that this point of common right, which vested the confirma- wion of every prelate in his immediate superior, was also anni- hilated ; and the Romish See was at length acknowledged over the whole Western world, as the only source of all jurisdictionf and all ecclesiastical power. An extraordinary event, the oflfspring of tha* superstitious age served still more to increase the power of the Popes ; and that was the Crusades, which the nations of Europe undertook, at their request and by their orders, for the conquest of Palestine or the Holy Land. These expeditions, known by the name of Holy Wars, because religion was made th° pretext or occasion of them, require a somewhat particular detail, not merely of the circumstances that accompanied them, but also of the changes which they introduced into the moral and political condition of society. Pilgrimages to Jerusalem, which were in use from the earliest ages of Christianity, had become very frequent abont the beginning of the eleventh century. The opinion which then very generally prevailed, that the end of the world was at hand, induced vast numbers of Christians to sell their possessions in Europe, in order that they might set out for the Holy Land, there to await the coming '^f the Lord. So long as the Arabs were masters of Palestine, they protected these pilgiimages, from which they derived no small emoluments. But when the Seljukian Turks, a barbarous and ferocious people, had con- quered that country (1075) under the Caliphs of Egypt, the pil- grims saw themselves exposed to every kind of insult and op- pression.^ The lamentable accounts which they gave of these outrages on their return to Europe, excited the general indigna- tion, and gave birth to the romantic notion of expelling thet, Infidels from the Holy Land. Gregory VII. was the projector of this grand scheme. Ho addressed circular letters to all the sovereigns o Ekirape, and /■ •(Jl^ 'W^ • wwf,"^r, f '''•" 116 CHAPTER V. invited them to make a general crusade against the Turlcftr. Meantime, however, more pressing interests, and his quarrels with the Emperor Henry IV., obliged him to defer the projected enterprise; but his attention was soon recalled to it by the re- presentation of a pilgrim, called Peter the Hermit, a native of Amiens in Picardy. Furnished with letters from the Patriarch of Jerusalem to the Pope and the princes of the West, this ardent fanatic traversed the whole of Italy, France, and Germa- ny ; preaching every where, and representing, in the liveliest colours, the profanation of the sacred places, and the miserable conditioji of the Christians and poor pilgrims in the Holy Land. It proved no difficult task for him to impart to others the fanati- cism with which he was himself animated. His zeal was pow- erfully seconded by Pope Urban II., who repaired in person to France, where he convoked the council of Clermont (1095,) and pronounced, in full assembly, a pathetic harangue, at the close of which they unanimously resolved on the Holy War. It was decreed, that all who should enrol their names in this sacred militia, should wear a red cross on their right shoulder : that they should enjoy plenary indulgence, and obtain remission of all their sins. From that time the pulpits of Europe resounded with exhor- tations to the crusades. People of every rank and condition were seen flocking in crowds to assume the signal of the cross ; and, in the following year, innumerable bands of crusaders, from the different countries of Europe, set out, one after another, on this expedition to the East.^ The only exception was the Ger- mans, who partook but feebly of this universal enthusiasm, on account of the disputes which then subsisted between the Em- peror and the court of Rome.^*^ The three or four first divisions of the crusaders, under the conduct of chiefs, who had neither name nor experience, marched without order and without disci- pline; pillaging, burning, and wasting the countries through which they passed. Most of them perished iVom fatigue, hun- ger, or sickness, or by the sv/ord of the exasperated nations, whose territories they had laid desolate. ^^ To these unwarlike and undisciplined troops succeeded regu- lar armies, commanded by experienced officers, and powerful princes. Godfrey of Bouillon (1096,) Duke of Lorrain, accom- panied by his brother Baldwin, and his cousin Baldwin of Bourg, with a vast retinue of noblemen, put himself at the head of the first body of crusaders. He directed his march through Ger- many, Hungary, and Bulgaria, towards Constantinople, and was soon followed by several French princes, such as Hugh the Great, brother of Philip I. King of France ; Robert Duke of iMl -'^^mm'Htt^fJU'^^^^^t'l' W)M«wi'J .i«iiiwn(»»HP«pji-7>'-«^.-.T"7^. ' S^ |pi i m>ipi| i t ' imiiiMwyiw y ^T ' * PKRiOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300. 119 i '•SI I concluded with the Sultan of Egypt, he obtained the restoration of Jerusalem and several other cities of Palestine ; although they did not long continue in his possession. The Carizniian Turks, oppressed by the Moguls, seized on the Holy Land (1244,) and pillaged and burnt Jerusalem. That famous city, together with the greater part of Palestine, fell afterwards under the dominion of the Sultans of Egypt. The seventh and last grand crusade, was undertaken by Louis IX. King of France (1248.) He conceived it necessary to be- gin his conquests by that of Egypt; but his design completely miscarried. Being made prisoner with his army after the action at Mansoura (1250,) he only obtained his liberty by restoring Damietta, and paying a large ransom to the Sultan of Egypt. The unfortunate issue of this last expedition, slackened the zeal r' ^ Europeans for crusading. Still, however, they retained 1 important places on the coast of Syria, the cities of Tyre anU Piolemais. But these places having been conquered by the Mamelukes (1291,) there was no longer any talk about crusades to the East ; and all the attempts of the Court of Rome to revive them proved ineffectual- It now remains for us btiefly to notice the effects which re- sulted from the crusades, with regard to the social and political state of the nations in Western Europe. One consequence of these, was the aggrandizement of the Roman Pontiffs, who, during the whole period of the crusades, played the part of su- preme chiefs and sovereign masters of Christendom. It was at their request, as we have seen, that those religious wars, were undertaken ; it was they who directed them by means of their legates, — who compelled emperors and kings, by the terror of their spiritual arms, to march under the banner of the Cross — \vho taxed the clergy at their pleasure, to defray the expenses of these distant expeditions, — who took under their immediate protection the persons and effects of the Crusaders, and eman- cipated them, by means of special privileges, from all depend- ence on any power, civil or judiciary. The wealth of the clergy was considerably increast^d during the time of which we speak, both by the numerous endowments which took place, and by the acquisition which the Church made of the immense landed properly which the pious owners sold them on assuming the badge of the Cross. These advantages w^hich the See of Rome drew from the cru'^ades in the East, were inducements to undertake similar expeditions in the West and North of Europe. In these quar- ter* we find that the wars of the cross were carried on, 1. Against the Mahometans of Spain and Africa. 2 Against the /■ 130 CBAPTER r. Emperors and Kings who refused obedience to the orders of the Topes.** 3. Against heretical or schismatic j^inces, such as the Greeks and Russians. 4. Against the Slavonians and other Pagan nations, on the coasts of the Baltic. 5. Against the Waldenses, Albigenses, and Hussites, who were regarded as heretics. 6. Against the Turks. If the result of the crusades was advantageous to the hier- archy, if it served to aggrandize the power of the Roman Pop tiffs, it must, on the contrary, have proved obviously prejudicial to the authority of the secular princes. It was in fact during this period that the power of the emperors, both in Germany and Italy, was sapped to tl^ very foundation ; that the royal nouse of Hohenstaufen sunlljunder the determined efforts of the Court of Rome ; and that th^ederal system of the Empire gained gradual accessions of strepgth. In England and Hungary, we observe how the grandees seized on the opportunity to increase their own power. The former took advantage of their sove- reign's absence in the Holy Land, and the latter of the protec- tion which they received from the Popes, to claim new privi- leges and extort charters, such as they did from John of England, and Andrew II. of Hungary, tending to cripple and circumscribe the royal authority. In France, however, the result, was difl^erent. There, the kiwgs being freed, by means of the crusades, from a crowd of restless and turbulent vassals who often threw the kingdom into a state of faction and discord, were left at liberty to extend their prerogatives, and turn the scale of power in their own favour Thty even considerably augmented their royal and territorial ♦revenues, either by purchasing lands and fiefs fro.m the proprie- tors who had armed in the cause cf the cross ; or by annexing to the crown the estates of those who died in the Holy Land, without leaving feudal heirs ; or by seizing the forfeitures ol others who were persecuted by religious fanaticism, as heretics or abettors of heresy. Finally, the Christian kings of Spain, the sovereigns of the North, the Knights of the Teutonic order, and of Livonia, joined the crusades recommended by the Popes, tiom the desire of conquest ; the former, to subdue the Ma- hometans in Spain, and the others to vanquish the Pagan nations of the North, the Slavonians, Finns, Livonians, Prus- sians, Lithuanians, and Courlanders. It is to the crusades, in like manner, that Europe ovi'es the use of surnames, as well as of armorial bearings, and heraldry. '^ It is easy to perceive, that among these innumerable armies of crusaders, composed of different nations and languages, some mark or symbol was necessary, in order to distinguish particular mmam ^m 13 m ^^^- "^ V » > ' ■ , ># •N* 4' -r* •*• » $ Landing of Columbus. Vcl. 1 — p. HO- Luther burning the Pope''s IhilL \o\. 2. [k .01. . f r PBBIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300. 121 nations, or signalize their commanders. Surnames and conts of arms were employed as these distinctive badges ; the latter especially were invented to serve as rallying points, for the vas- sals and troops of the crusading chiefs. Necessity first intro- duced them, and vanity afterwards caused them to be retained. These coats of arms were hoisted on their standards, the knights got them emblazoned on their shields, and appeared with them at tournaments. Even those who had never been at the cru- sades, became ambitious of these distinctions ; which may be considered as permanently established in families, from about the middle of the thirteenth century. The same enthusiasm that inspired the Europeans for the crusades, contributed in like manner to bring tournaments into vogue. In these solemn and military sports, the young noblesse were trained to violent exercises, and to the management of heavy arms ; so as to gain them some reputation for valour, and to insure their superiority in war. In order to be admitted to these tournaments it was necessary to be of noble blood, and to show proofs of their nobility. The origin of these feats is ge- nerally traced back to the end of the tenth, or beginning of the eleventh century. Geoffrey of Preuilly, whom the writers of the middle ages cite as being the inventor of them, did no more, properly speaking, than draw up their code of regula- tions. France was the country from which the practice oi tournaments diffused itself over all other nations of Europe. They were very frequent, during all the time that the crusading mania lasted, To this same epoch belongs the institution of Religious and Military Orders. These were originally established for the purpose of defending the new Christian States in the East, for protecting pilgrims on their journey, taking care of them when sick, &c.; and the vast wealth which they acquired in most of the kingdoms of Europe, preservsd their existence long after the loss of the Holy Land ; and some of these orders even made a conspicuous figure in the political history of the Western nations. Of all these, the first and most distinguished was the Ordej of St. John of Jerusalem, called afterwards the Order of Mal- ta. Prior to the first crusade, there had existed at Jerusalem a church of the Latin or Romish liturgy, dedicated to St. Mary, and founded by some merchants of Amalfi in the kingdom of Naples. There was also a monastery of the Order of St. Be- nedict, and a hospital for the relief of the poor or afflicted pil- grims. This hospital, the directors of which were appointed by the Abbot of St. Mary's, having in a very short time become VOL. I. ^11 .,¥-> 129 CHAPTER V. immeiiselv rich by numerous donations of lands and seignories both in £urope and Palestine, one of its governors named Ge- rard, a native of Martigues in Provence, as is alleged, took the regular habit (1100,) and formed with his brethren a distinct congregation, under the name and protection of St. John the Baptist. Pope Pascal II., by a bull issued in 1114, approved of this new establishment, and ordained, that after the death of Gerard, the Hospitallers alone should have the election of their superintendent. Raymond du Puy, a gentleman from Dau- phine, and successor to Gerard, was the first that took the title of Grand Master. He prescribed a rule for the Hospitallers ; and Pope Calixtus II., in approving of this rule (1120,) divided the members of the order into three classes. The nobles, called Knights of Justice, were destined for the profession of arms, making war on the Infidels, and protecting pilgrims. The priests and chaplains, selected from the respectable citizens, were intrusted with functions purely ecclesiastical ; while the serving brethren, who formed the third class, were charged with the caro of sick pilgrims, and likewise to act in the capacity of soldiers. These new knights were known by the name of Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, and were dis- tinguished by wearing a white octagon cross on a black habit. After the final loss of the Holy Land, this order established themselves in the Isle of Cyprus. From this they passed into . Rhodes, which they had conquered from the Infidels (1310.) This latter island they kept possession of till 1522 ; and being then expelled by Soliman the Great, they obtained (1530) from Charles V., the munificent grant of the Isle of Malta, under the express terms of making war against the Infidels. C f this place they were at length deprived by Buonaparte in 1798. The order of Templars followed nearly that of St. John. Its first founders (1119) were some French gentlemen; the chief of whom were Hugo de Payens, and Geoffrey de St. Omer. Having made, a declaration of their vows before the Patriarch of Jerusalem, they took upon themselves the special charge of maintaining free passage and safe conduct for the pilgrims to the Holy Land. Baldwin, king of Jerusalem, assigned them an apartment in his palace, near the temple whence they took the name of Knights of the Temple, and Templars. They ob- tained from Pope Honorius II. (1120) a rule, with a white habit; to which Eugene III. added a red cross octagon. This order, after accumulating vast wealth and riches, especially in France, and distinguishing themselves by their military exploits for nearly two centuries, were at length suppressed by the Council of Vienna (1312.) * K PERIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300. 133 The Teutonic order, according to the most probable opinion, took its origin in the camp before Acre, or Ptolemaic. The honour of it is ascribed to some charitable citizens of Bremen and Lubec, who erected a hospital or tent with the sails of their vessels, for the relief of the numerous sick and wounded of their nation. Several German gentlemen having joined in this esta- blishment, ihey devoted themselves by a vow to the service of the sick ; as also to the defence of the Holy Land against the Infidels. *. This order, known by the name of the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary of Jerusalem, received confirmation from Pope Celestin III. (1192,) who prescribed for them the rule of the Hospital of St. John, with regard to their attendance on the sick ; and with regard to chivalry or knighthood, that of the order of Templars. Henry Walpott de Passenheim was the first grand master of the order; tnd the new knights assumed ihe white habit, with a black cross, to distinguish them from the other orders. It was under their fourth grand master, Hermann de Saltza (1230,) that they pasf 1 into Prussia, which they conquered (1309.) They fixed their chief residence at Marien- burg; but having lost Prussia in consequence of a change in the religious sentiments of their grand master, Albert de Bran- denburg (1528,) they transferred their capital to Mergentheim, in Franconia. A fourth order of Hospitallers founded in the Holy Land, viras that of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem, who had for their principal object the treatment of lepers ;^^ and who, in process of time, from a medical, became a military order. After having long resided in the East, where they distinguished themselves in the Holy wars, they followed St. Louis into France (1254,) and fixed their chief seat at Boigny, near Orleans. Pope Gregory XIII. united them with the order of St. Maurice, in Savoy; and Henry IV. with that of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in France. On the model, and after the example of these four military orders, several others were founded in succession, in various kingdoms of Europe. ^^ All these institutions contri- buted greatly to the renown of chivalry, so famous in the Middle Ages. The origin of this latter institution is earlier than the limes of which we now speak, and seems to belong to the tenth, or the beginning of the eleventh century. The anarchy of feu- dalism being then at its height, and robberies and private quar- rels every where prevailing, several noble and distinguished individuals, devoted themselves, by a solemn vow, according to the genius of the times, to the defence of religion and its minis> ters ; as also of the fair sex, and of every person suffering from distress or oppression From the end of the eleventh century, 124 CHAPTEB T. to the time when the crusades began, we find chivalry, with itn pomp and its ceremonies, established in ail the principal states of Europe. This salutary institution, by inspiring the minds of men with new energy, gave birth to many illustrious cha- racters. It tended to repress the disorders of anarchy, to revive order and law, and establish a new relationship among the na- tions of Europe. In general, it may be said, that these ultra-marine expeditions prosecuted with obstinacy for nearly two hundred years, hasten- ed the progress of arts and civilization in Europe. The cru- saders, journeying through kingdoms better organized than their own, and observing greater refinement in their laws and manners, were necessarily led to form new ideas, and acquire new information with regard to science and politics. Some vestiges of learning and good taste had been preserved in Greece, and even in the extremities of Asia, where letters had been encouraged by the patronage of the Caliphs. The city of Con- stantinople, which had not yet suffered from the ravages of the barbarians, abounded in the finest monuments of art. It pre- sented to the eyes of the crusaders, a spectacle of grandeur and magnificence that could not but excite their admiration, and call forth a strong desire to imitate those models, the sight of which at once pleased and astonished them. To the Italians especially, it must have proved of great advantage. The continued inter- course which they maintained with the East and the city of Constantinople, afforded them the means of becoming familiar with the language and literature of the Greeks, of communica- ting the same taste to their own countrymen, and in this way advancing the glorious epoch of the revival of letters. About the same time, commerce and navigation were making considerable progress. The cities of Italy, such as Venice, Genoa, Pisa, and others, \r assisting the Crusaders in their ope- rations, by means of the transports, provisions, and warlike stores with which they furnished them, continued to secure for them- selves important privileges and establishments in the seaports of the Levant, and other ports jn the Greek empire. Their example excited the industry of several maritime towns in France, and taught them the advantage of applying their atten- tion to Eastern commerce. In the North, the cities of Ham- burgh and Lubec, formed, about the year 1241, as is generally supposed, their first commercial association, which afterwards became so formidable under the name of the Hanseatic LeagtieJ^ The staple articles of these latter cities, consisted in marine stores, and other productions of the North, which they exchanged for the spicerics of the East, and the manufactures of Italy and the Low Countries. k '.-■ ir PERIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300. 1S5 Tho progress of industry, the protection which sorereigns extended to it, and the pains they took to check the disorders of feudalism, contributed to the prosperity of towns, by daily aug- menting their population and their wealth. This produced, about the times wa are speaking of, an advantageous change in the civil and social condition of the people. Throughout the principal st:«tes of Europe, cities began, after the twelfth centu ry, to erect themselves into political bodies, and to form, by de grees, a third order, distinct from that of the clergy and nobility Before this period, the inhabitants of towns enjoyed neither civil nor political liberty. Their condition was very liitle better than that of the peasantry, who were all serfs, attached to the soil. The rights of citizenship, and the privileges derived from it, were reserved for the clergy and the noblesse. The Counts, or governors o( cities, by rendering their power hereditary, had appropriated to themselves the rights that were originally at- tached to their functions. They used them in the most arbi trary way, and loaded the inhabitants with every kind of oppres • sion that avarice or caprice could suggest. At length, the cities which were either the most oppressed, or the most powerful, rose in rebellion against this intolerable yoke. The inhabitants formed themselves into confederations, 10 which they gave the name of Conwiunes or Free Corpora- tions. Either of their own accord, or by charters, obtained very often on burdensome terms, they procured for themselves a free government, which, by relieving them from servitude, and all impositions and arbitrary exactions, secured them personal liberty and the possession of their effects, under the protection of their own magistrates, and the institution of a militia, or city guard. This revolution, one of the most important in Europe, first took place in Italy, where it was occasioned by the frequent inter- regnums that occurred in Germany, as well as by the distur- bances that rose between the Empire and the priesthood, in the eleventh century. The anathemas thundered against Henry IV., by absolving the subjects from the obedience they owed their sovereign, served as a pretext to the cities of Italy for shaking off* the authority of the Imperial viceroys, or bailiffs, who had become tyrants instead of rulers, and for establishing free and republican governments. In this, they were encoura- ged and supported by the protection of the Roman pontiff's, whose sole aim and policy was the abasement of the imperial authority. Before this period, several maritime cities of Italy, such as Naples, Amalfi, Venice, Pisa, and Genoa, emboldened by the advantages of their situation, by the increase of their population 11*= '^^■j: \2d CUAPTEa V. and tneir commerce, had already emancipated themselves from the Imperial yoke, and erected themselves into republics. Their example was followed by the cities of Lombardy and the Vene- tian territory, especially Milan, Pavia, Asti, Cremona, Lodi, Como, Parma, Placentia, Verona, Padua, dec. All these cities, animated with the enthusiasm of liberty, adopted, about the be- ginning of the twelfth century, consuls and popular forms of government. They formed a kind of military force, or city guard, and vested in themselves the rights of royalty, and the power of making, in their own name and authority, alliances, wars, and treaties of peace. From Italy, this revolution ex- tended to France and Germany, the Low Countries, and Eng- land. In all these different states, the use of Communes, or boroughs, was established, and protected by the sovereigns, who employed these new institutions as a powerful check against the encroachments and tyranny of the feudal lords. In France, Louis the Fat, who began his reign in 1108, was the tirsi king that granted rights, or constitutional charters, to certp.in cities within his domain, either from political motives, er the allurement of money. The nobility, alier his example, eagerly sold liberty tc their subjects. Th3 revolution became general; the cry for liberty was raised every where, and inte- resiled every mind. Throughout all the provinces, the mhabi- bants of cities solicited charters, and sometimes without waiting for tbem, they formed themselves voluntarily into communities, electing magistrates of their own choice, establishing companies of militia, and taking charge themselves of the fortifications and wardenship of their cities. The magistrates of free cities in northern France, were usually called mayors, sheriffs, and liv- erymen ; while, in the south of France, they were called syndics and consuls. It soon became an established principle, that kings alone had the power to authorize the erection of corporate towns. Louis VIII. declared that he regarded all cities in which these corporations were established, as belonging to his domain. They owed military service directly and personally to the king ; while such cities as had not these rights or charters, were obliged to follow their chiefs to the war. In Germany, we find the emperors adopting the same policy as the kings of France. The resources which the progress of commerce and manufactures opened to the industry of the in- habitants of cities, and the important succours which the empe- rors, Henry IV. and V., had received from them in their quar- rels with the Pope and the princes of the Empire, induced them to lake these cities under their protection, to augment their num- ber, aud multiply their privileges. Henry V. was the first em- ,1 I PERIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300. '4^ 137 peror that adopted this line of policy. He granted freeaom to the inhabilanta of several cities, even to artisans and tradesmen ; whose condition, at that time, was as degraded and debased os that of serfs. He extended to them the rank and privileges of citizens, and thu!> gave rise to the division of cities into classes and corporations of trades. This same prince set about repair- ing the fault which the emperors of the house of Saxony had committed, of giving up to the bishops the temporal jurisdiction in all the cities wherein they resided. He gradually superse- ded these rights, by the new privileges which he granted to the inhabitants of cities. The emperors, his successors, followed his example; in a little time, several of these cities threw oft the yoke of their bishops, while others extricated themselves from' the jurisdiction of their superiors, or provosts, whether imperial or feudal, and adopted, in imitation of the cities in Ital j- and France, magistrates of their own choosing, a republica. form of government, and a municipal polity. Th.'s liberty in cities, gave new vigour to industry, multiplied the sources of labour, arid created means of opulence and power, till then unknown in Europe. The population of these cities increased with their wealth. Communities rose into political consequence ; and we find them su -cessively admitted to the diets and national assemblies, in all the principal states of Eu- rope. Enirland set an example of this ; and though English authors are not agreed as to the precise time when the Commons of that kingdom were called into Parliament, it is at least cer- tain that their first adn^.^.sion belongs to the reign of Henry III. (about 1265 or 1266,) and that the formal division of the Par' liament into two houses, is as late as the reign of Edward III." France followed the example of England; the convocation of the states, by Philip the Fair (1303,) on the subject of his dis- Eutes with Pope Boniface VIII., is considered as the first assem- ly of the States-general, composed of the three orders of the kingdom. As to Germany, the first diet in which the cities of the Empire appeared in the form of a third order, was that of Spire (1309,) convoked by the Emperor Henry VII., of the house of Luxembourg. Afterwards, we find these ciiies exer- cising a decisive or deliberative voice at the diet of Frankfott (1344,) under Louis the Bavarian. In all these states, we find the sovereigns protecting more es- pecially those free cities which aided them in checking the de- vastations, and putting a stop to the fury of private or intestine wars. The most powerful of the feudal chiefs, finding every where cities in a capacity to defend themselves, became less en- terprising in their ambition ; and even the nobles of inferior H I nw mi^ifm ' 128 CHAPTER V. rank learned to respect the power of these communities. The royal authority was thereby strengthened ; and the cities, natu- rally inclining to the sovereigns that protected them, served as n counterpoise in the general assemblies, to the power of the clergy and the noblesse, and were the means of obtaining those subsidiary supplies neceasary for the exigencies of the state. The liberty which the inhabitants of cities had thus procured by the establishment of these communities, or corporate bodies, extended itself to the inhabitants of the country, by way of en- franchisements. Various circumstances concurred to render the use of these more frequent, after the twelfth century. The sovereigns, guided by the maxims of sound policy, set the first example of this within their own demesnes ; and they were speedily imitated by the feudal lords and nobles, who, either out of courtesy to their sovereigns, or to prevent the desertion of their vassals, or acquire new dependents, were compelled to grant liberty to the one, and mitigate the servitude of the other. The communities, or chartered cities, likewisd seconded and promoted these enfranchisements, by the protection which they granted to the serfs against their feudal superiors. In Italy, we perceive these enfranchisements following as an immediate consequence of the institution of communities. The continual feuds that arose among the numerous republics which had lately thrown off the yoke of authority, made the liberty of the serfs a measure absolutely necessary, in order to augment the numberofcitizensqualified to bear arms, and hold places of trust. Bonacurso, Captain of Bologna (1256,) pro- posed to his fellow-citizens, and carried the law of enfranchise- ment. All thooe who had serfs were obliged to present them before the Podesta, or Captain of the people, who affranchised them for a certain sum or tax, which the republic paid to the owner. The feudal superiors, finding that these enfranchise- ments had a powerful support in the liberty of the free cities, were obliged either to meliorate the condition of their serfs, or grant them liberty. In France, after the twelfth century, and the reign of Louis the Fat, these enfranchisements began to be frequent. The son and successor of that prince, Louis VII., by royal letter (1180,) affranchised all the serfs which the crown possessed at Orleans, and within five leagues of it. Louis X. passed a general law (1315,) for the enfranchisement of all serfs belonging to the crown. He there made a positive declaration, that slavery was contrary to nature, which intended that all men by birth should be free and equal ; that, since his kingdom was dentininated the kingdom of the Franks^ or Freemen, it appeared just and hn to del ab( sir .r^. L ■PV'V'"' » 'i'W'pJHI'^Wp'PiPP^ PBRIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300. 189 right thai the fact should correspond with the name. He invited, at the same time, all the nobility to imitate his example, by grantinor liberty to their serfs. That prince v/ould have en- nobled the homage he paid to nature, if the gift of liberty had been gratuitous on his part ; but he made it a mere object of finance, and to gratify those only who could afford to pay for it ; whence it happened, that enfranchisements advanced but very slowly ; and examples of it are to be found in history, so late as the reign of Francis I. In Germany, the iiumber of serfs diminished in like manner, after the twelfth century. The crusades, and the destructive wars which the Dukes of Saxony and the Margraves of the North carried on with the Slavian tribes on the Elbe and the Baltic, having depopulated the northern and eastern parts of Germany, numerous colonies from Brabant, the Netherlands, Holland and Friesland, were introduced into these countries, where they formed themselves into establishments or associa- tion;; of free cultivators of the soil. From Lower Germany the custom of enfranchisements extended to the Upper provinces, and along the banks of the Rhine. This was encouraged by the free cities, which not only gave a welcome reception to the serfs who had fled to shelter themselves from oppression within their walls, but they even granted protection, and thp ijghts of citizenship, to those who had settled within the precincts or liberties of the town ;^^ or who continued, without changing their habitation, to reside on the lands of their feudal superiors. This spirited conduct of the free cities put the nobles of Ger- many to the necessity of aiding and abetting, by degrees, either the suppression or the mitigation of slavery. They reimbursed themselves for the loss of the fine or tax which they had been in the habit of levying, on the death of their serfs, by an aug- mentation of the quit-rent, or annual cess which they exacted from them on their being affranchised. In the Low Countries, Henry II., duke of Brabant (1218,) in his last will, granted liberty to all cultivators of the soil ; — he affranchised them on the right of mortmain, and ordained, that, like the inhabitants of free cities, they should be judged by no other than their own magistrates. In this manner, liberty by degrees recovered its proper rights. It assisted in dispelling the clouds of ignorance and superstition, and spread a new lustre over Europe. One event which contributed essentially to give men more exact notions on government and jurispru- dence, was the revival of the Roman law, which happened about the time we now speak of. The German tribes that de- stroyed the Western Empire in the fifth century, would natu- '■PIUPIUJI "W"!!"'. ■ " IJ"W" 130 CHAPTER v.- rally despise a system of legislation, such as that of the Romans, which neither accorded with the ferocity of their manners, nor the rudeness of iheir ideas. In consequence, the revolution which occasioned the downfall of that empire, brought at the same time the Koman jurisprudence into desuetude over all ihe Western world.'® A lapse of several centuries, however, was required, to rec- tify men's ideas on the nature of society, and to prepare them for receiving the laws and institutions of a civilized and re- fined government. Such was the general state and condition of political knowledge, when the fame of a celebrated civilian, called Irnerius, who taught the law of Justinian publicly at Bologna, about the commencement of the twelfth century, at- tracted to that academy the youth of the greater part of Europe. There they devoted themselves with ardour to the study of this new science. The pupils, instructed by Irnerius and his suc- cessors, on returning home, and being employed in the tribunals and public offices of their native country, gradually carried into practice the principles which they had imbibed in the school ot Bologna. Hence, in a short time, and without the direct inter- ference of the legislative authority, the law of Justinian was adopted by degrees, as a subsidiary law in all the principal states of Europe. Various circumstances contributed to acce- lerate the progress of this revolution. People had felt for a long time the necessity of a new legislature, and the insuffi- ciency of their national laws. The novelty of the Roman laws, as well as their equity and precision, arrested the atten- tion of all Europe ; and sovereigns found it their interest to protect a jurisprudence, whose maxims were so favourable to royalty and monarchical power, and which served at once to strengthen and extend their authority. The introduction of the Roman jurisprudence was soon fol- lowed by that of the Canon law. The Popes, perceiving the rapid propagation of this new science, and eager to arrest its progress, immediately set themselves to the work of raising that vast and astonishing edifice the Canon law, as an engine to pro- mote the accomplishment of their own greatness. Gratian, a monk of Bologna, encouraged by Pope Eugenius III., compiled a collection of Canons, under the title of the Decret, which he arranged in systematic order, to serve as an introduction to the study of that law. This compilation, extracted from different authors who had preceded him, recommended itself to the world by its popular method, which was adapted to the genius of the times. Pope Eugenius III. gave it his approval in 1152. and ordained that it should be read and explained in the schools ■I rei ^s^wiwiwppw muKj^^mrv 'mt^wf iiJMfw^llip*'^ "T"^ ' ww^ PERIOD IV. A. D, 1074 — 1300. lai This collection of Gratian soon obtained a wide and most suc- cessful reception ; from the schools it passed to the public tri- bunals, both civil and ecclesiastical. A t length, Pope Gregory IX., in imitation of the Emperor Justinian, who had caused a collection of his own statutes, and those of his predecessors, to be made by Tribonian, ordered his chaplain Raymond de Pen- nafort to compile and digest, in their proper order, all the deci- sions of his predecessors, as well as his own ; thus extending to common practice, what had been originally established but for one pi. ce, and for particular cases. He published his collection (1235) under the name of Decretals, with an injunction, thai it should be employed both in the tribunals and in the schools. If this new system of jurisprudence served to extend the juris- diction, and strengthen the temporal power of the Popes, it did not fail at the same time to produce salutary effects on the governments and manners of Europe. The peace, or tritce of God, which some bishops o^ France, in the eleventh century, had instituted as a check on the unbridled fury of private quar- rels and civil discord, was established, by the Decretals, into a general law of the church.^ The J2idgme?its of God, till then used in the tr.biif als of justice, trial by single combat, by hoi iron, hot and coiJ water, the cross, &c. were gradually abolished. The restraints of the Canon law, added to the new information which had diffused its light over the human mind, were instru- mental in rooting out practices which served only to cherish and protract the ancient ferocity of manners. The spirit of order and method vvhich prevailed in the new jurisprudence, soon communicated itself to every branch of legislation among the nations of Europe. The feudal law was reduced to syste- matic order; and the usages and customs of the provinces, till then local and uncertain, were collected ard organized into a regular form.'-^^ Jurisprudence, having now become a complicated science, demanded a long and laborious course of study, which could no onger be associated with the profession of arms. The sword was then obliged by degrees to abandon the courts of justice, and give place to the gown. A new class of men thus arose, that of the law, who contributed by their influence to repress the overgrown power of the nobility. The rapid progress which the new jurisprudence made, must be ascribed to the recent foundation of universities, and the en couragements which sovereigns granted these literary corpora- tions. Before their establishment, the principal public schools were those which were attached either to monasteries, or cathe- dral and collegiate churches. There were, however, only a few ■'f»^<«W' .«M(HW iAaY_.i,j > ♦ 150 CHAPTER V. intestine ways. Edward I., son and successor of Henry III., as determined and courageous as his father had been weak and indolent, restored tranquillity to England, and made his name illustrious by the conquest which he made of the principality ot Wales. This district, from the most remote antiquity, was ruled by its own native princes, descended from the ancient British kings. Although they had been vassals and tributaries of the kings of England, they exercised, nevertheless, ine rights of sovereignty in their own country. Lewellyn, prince of Wales, having es- poused the cause of the insurgents in the reign of Henry III., and made some attempts to withdraw from the vassalage "f the English crown, Edward I. declared war against him (1282;) and in a battle fought near the Menau, Lewellyn was defeated and slain, with two thousand of his followers. David, his bro- ther and successor, met with a fate still more melancholy. Hav- ing beeti taken prisoner by Edward, he was condemned to death, and executed like a traitor (1283.) The territory of Wales was annexed to the crown; the king created his eldest son Edward, Prince of Wales ; a title which has since been borne by the eldest sons of the kings of England. At this period, the kingdoms of the North presented, in gen- eral, little else than a spectacle of horror and carnage. The warlike and ferocious temper of the Northern nations, the want of fixed and specific laws in the succession of their kings,^** gave rise to innumerable factions, encouraged insolence, and foment- ed troubles and intestine wars. An extravagant and supersti- tious devotion, by loading the church with wealth, aggravated still more the evils with which these kingdoms were distracted. The bishops and the new metropolitans,^^ enriched at the ex- pense of the crown-lands, and rendered bold by their power, and the strength of their castles, domineered in the senate and the assemblies of the states, and neglected no opportunity of encroaching on the sovereign's authority. They obtained, by compulsion, the introduction of tithes, and the immunity of the ecclesiastics ; and thus more and more increased and cemented the sacerdotal power.^ This state of trouble and internal com- motion tended to abate that ardour for maritime incursions which had so long agitatv^d the Scandinavian nations. It did not, however, prevent the kings of Denmark and Sweden from undertaking, from time to time, expeditions by sea, under the iianr.e of Crusades, for the conversion of the Pagan nations of he North, whose territories they were ambitious to conquer. The Siavians, who inhabited the coasts of the Baltic, were then constantly committing piracies, in imitation of the ancient su citi ma po\ ed Ho Ru tir na^ intj fer v« r . PERIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300. 151 Normans, plundering and ravaging the provinces and islands of Denmark. Valdemar I., wishing to put an end to these de- vastations, and thirsting moreover for the glory of converting to Christianity those nations against whom all the efibrts of the Germans had failed, attacked them at different times with his numerous flotillas. He took and pillaged several of their towns, such as Arcona and Carentz or Gariz, in the isle of Rugen (1168,) Julin, now called Wollin, and Stettin, two seaports in •^omerania (1175-6.) He made the princes of Rugen his vas- sals and tributaries, and is generally regarded as the founder of Dantzic (1165,) which originally was merely a fort constructed by the Danes. Canute VL, son and successor of Valdemar I., followed the example of his father; he reduced the princes of Pomerania (1183) and Mecklenburg (1186,) and the Counts of Schwerin (1201,) to a state of dependence ; he made himself master of Hamburg and Lubec, and subdued the whole of Hol- stein. Valdemar II. assumed the title of King of the Slavians, and Lord of Nordalbingia. He added Lauenburg, a part of Prussia, Esthonia, and the Isle of Oesel, to the conquests of his predecessors, and became the founder of the cities of Stralsund and Revel (1209 and 1222.) This prince, master of nearly the whole southern coast of the Baltic, and raised to the summit of prosperity by the superiority of his commercial and maritime power, commanded for a time the attention of all Europe ; but an unforeseen event eclipSed his glory, and deprived him of all the advantages of his victories and his conquests. Henry, Count of Schwerin, one of the vas- ■ sals of Valdemar, wishing to avenge an outrage which he pre- tended to have received from him, seized that prince by surprise (1223,) and detained him for three years prisoner in the castle of Schwerin. This circumstance aroused the courage of the oiher vanquished nations, who instantly took to arms. Adol- phus. Count of Schauenburg, penetrated into Holstein, and subdued the princes of Mecklenburg and Pomerania, with the cities of Hamburg and Lubec. Valdemar, restored to liberty, made several efforts to rec'^quer his revolted provinces ; but a powerful confederacy being lormed against him, he was defeat- ed in a battle fought (1227,) at Bornhoevet, near Se^eberg, in Holstein. Of all his conquests, he retained only tne Isle of Rugen, Esthonia, and the town of Revel, which, in course of time, were lost or abandoned by his successors. Sweden, which had been governed in succession by the dy- nasties of Slenkil, Swerkar, and St. Eric, was long a prey to internal dissensions, which arose principally fromihe two dif- ferent forms of worship professed and authorized by the folate. r 10 153 OHAPTEtt V. The whole nation, divided in their religious sentimenlg, saw themselves arranged into two factions, and under two reigning families, mutually hating and exasperated against each other, for nearly half a century. Two, and sometimes more, princes were seen reigning at once from 1080 till 1133, when the throne began to be occupied ultimately by the descendants of Sweyn and St. Eric. During all this time, violence usurped the place of right, and the crown of Sweden was more than once the prize of assassination and treason. In the midst of these intestine disorders, we find the Swedes even attempting foreign conquests. To these they were insti- gated both by the genius of the age, which encouraged crusades and military missions, as well as by the desire of avenging the piracies which the Finlanders, and other Pagan tribes of the North, committed from time to time on the coasts of Sweden. St. Eric became at once the apostle and the conqueror of Fin- land (1157;) he established also a Swedish colony in Nyland, and subdued the provinces of Helsingland and Jamptland. Charles I., son of Swerkar, united the kingdom of Gothland to Sweden, and was the first that took the title of these two king- doms. Eric, surnamed Laspe, or the Llsper, resumed the cru- sading system of warfare ; and, in the character of a missionary, conquered Tavastland and the eastern part of Bothnia. Birger, a prince of the Folkungian dynasty, who ascended the throne of Sweden in 1250, conquered, under the same pretext, Carelia and Savolax, and fortified Viburg. He compelled the inhabit- ants of these countries to embrace the Christian religion (1293,) and annexed them to Finland. We find, also, several of the Swedish kings undertaking missionary expeditions against their Pagan neighbours the Esthonians, who, from time to time, com- mitted dreadful ravages on the coasts of Sweden. These ex- peditions, which were always esteemed sacred, served as an excuse for the sovereigns of the North in avoiding the crusades to the Holy Land, in which they took no part.^^ Prussia and the Prussians are totally unknown in history be- fore the end of the tenth century.^ The author of ihe Life of St. Adelbert of Prague, who suflTered martyrdom in Prussia in the reign of Otjio III., is the first that mentions them under this new na; le (997.) Two hundred years after, the Abbe of Oliva, surnamed the Christian, became the apostle of the Prussians, and was appointed by Pope Innocent III. the first bishop o! Prussia (1215.) This idolatrous nation, haughty and indepen- dent, and attached to the reigning superstition, having repulsed all the eflforts that were repeatedly made to convert them to Christianity, Pop« Honorius III., in the true spirit of his age, -\iv PERIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300. 18) published a Crusade against them (1218,) to proselytize them by force. Armies of crusaders were poured into Prussia, and overran the whole country with fire and sword. The Prussians took cruel vengeance on the Polonese of Masovia, who had made common cause against them with the crusaders of the East. At length, Conrad, duke of Masovia, finding himself too weak to withstand the fury of the Prussians, called in the Teu- tonic knights to his aid ; and, anxious to secure for ever the as- sistance and protection of that order, he made them a grant of the territory of Culm ; and moreover, promised them whatever lands he might conquer from the common enemy (1226.) This contract having been sanctioned by the Emperor Frederic II., the knights speedily came into possession of their new domin- ions (1230.) They extended themselves by degrees over all Prussia, after a long and murderous war, which they had car- ried on against the idolatrous natives. That country, which had been peopled by numerous German colonies in succession, did not submit to the yoke of the Teutonic order, until the greater part of its ancient inhabitants had been destroyed. The Knights took care to confirm their authority and their religion in Prussia, by constructing cities and forts, and founding bishoprics and convents. The city of Koninsberg *^ on the Pregel, was built in 1255; and that of Marienburg on the No- gat, which became the capital of the Order, is supposed to have been founded in 1280. The Teutonic knights completed the conquest of that coun- try (1283,) by the reduction of Sudavia, the last of the eleven provinces which composed ancient Prussia. We can scarcely conceive how a handful of these knights should have been able, in so short a time, to vanquish a warlike and powerful nation, inspired with the love of liberty, and emboldened by fanaticism to make the most intrepid and obstinate defence. But we ought to take into consideration, that the indulgences of the court of Rome allured continually into Prussia a multitude of crusaders from all the provinces of the Empire; and that the knights gained these over to their ranks, by distributing among them the lands which they had won by conquest. In this way, their numbers were incessantly recruited by new colonies of cruse- ders, and the nobles flocked in crowds to their standard, to seek territorial acquisitions in Prussia. The increase of commerce on the Baltic, in the twelfth cen- tury, led the Germans to discover the coasts of Livonia. Some merchants from Bremen, on their way to Wisby, in the island of Gothland, a seaport on the Baltic very much frequented at ^hat time, were thrown by a tempest on the coast near the mouth 154 CHAPTER V* of the Dwina (1168.) The desire o<* gam induced them to enter Into a correspondence with the natives of the country ; and, from a wish to give stability to a branch of commerce which might become very lucrative, they attempted to introduce tho Christian religion into Livonia. A monk of Segeberg in Hol- .stcin, named Mainard, undertook this mission. He was the first bishopof Livonia (1192,) and fixed his residence at the castle of Uxkull, which he strengthened by fortifications. Berthold, hia successor, wishing to accelerate the progress of Christianity, as well as to avoid the dangers to which his mission exposed him„ caused the Pope to publish a crusade against the Livonians. This zealous prelate perished sword in hand, fighting against the people whom he intended to convert. The priests, after this, were either massacred or expelled from Livonia ; but, in a short time, a new army of crusaders marched into the country, under the banner of Albert, the third bishop, who built the city of Riga, (1200) which became the seat of his bishopric, and after- wards the metropolitan see of all Prussia and Livonia. The same prelate founded the military order of the Knights of Christ or Sword-bearers, to whom he ceded the third of all the coun- tries he had conquered. This order, confirmed by Pope Inno- cent III. (1204,) finding themselves too weak to oppose the Pagans of Livonia, agreed to unite with the Teutonic order (1237,) who, at that time, nominated the generals or provincial masters in Livonia, known by the names of Heermeister and Landmeister. Pope Gregory IX., in confirming the union of these two orders, exacted the surrender of the districts of Revel, Wesemberg, Weisenstein, and Hapsal, to Valdemar II., which the knights, with consent of the Bishop of Dorpat, had taken froni him during his captivity. This retrocession was made by an act pass- ed at Strensby, (1238.) Several documents which still exist in the private archives of the Teutonic order at Koningsberg, and especially two, dated 1249 and 1254, prove that, at this period, the bishops of Riga still exercised superiority, both temporal and spiritual, over these Knights Sword-bearers, although they were united with the Teutonic order, which was independent of these bishops. The combination of these two orders rendered them so powerful, that they gradually extended their conquests over all Prussia, Livonia, Courland, and Semigaliia; but they could never succeed farther than to subject these :>ations to a rigorous servitude, under pretence of conversion. Before we speak of Russia and the other Eastern countries of Europe, it will be necessary to turn our attention for a little to the Moguls, whose conquests and depredations extended, in the thirteenth century, from the extremity of northern Asia, over i in w sar th ■b\ to - th i of PERIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300. 1^ Russia and the greater part of Europe. The native country of thi.5 people is found to be those same regions which they still inhabit in our day, and which arc situated to the north of the great wall of China, between Eastern Tartary and modern Bulc- haria. They are generally confounded with the Tartars, from whom they differ essentially, both in their appearance and man- ners, as well as in their religion and political institutions. This nation is divided into two principal branches, the Elutlis or Oelots, better known bv the name of Calmucs, and the Moguls, properly so called, l^hese latter, separated from the Calmucs by the mountains of Altai, are now subject to the dominion of China. The Moguls, scarcely known at present in the history of Eu- rope, owe their greatness to the genius of one man — the famous Zinghis Khan. This extraordinary person, whose real name was Temudgin, or, according to Pallas, Danrntschin, was born in the year 1163, and originally nothing more than the chief of a particular horde of Moguls, who I.ad settled on the banks of the rivers Onon and Kerlon, and were tributary to the empire of Kin. His first exploits were against the other hordes of Mo- guls, whom he compelled to acknowledge his authority. Em boldened by success, he conceived the romantic idea of aspiring to be the conqueror of the world. For this purpose, he assem- bled near the source of the river Onon, in 1206, all the chiefs of the Mogul hordes, and the generals of his armies. A certain pretender to inspiration, whom the people regarded as a holy man, appeared in the assembly, and declared that it was the will of God th.vt Temudgin should rule over the whole earth, — that all nations should submit to him, — and that henceforth he should bear the title of Tschinghis-Khari, or Most Great Emperor.*^ In a short time, this new conqueror subdued the two great empires of the Tartars ; one of which, called also the empire of Kin, embraced the whole of Eastern Tartary, and the northern part of China ; the other, that of Kara-Kitai, or the Khitans, ex- tended over Western Tartary, and had its capital at Kaschgar in Bukharia.^'' He afterwards attacked the Carismian Sultans who ruled over Turkestan, Transoxiana, Charasm, Chora- san, and all Persia, from Derbent to Irak-Arabia and the Indies. This powerful monarchy was overturned by Zinghis-Khan, in the course of six campaigns ; and it was during this war that the Moguls, while marching under the conduct of Toushi, the eldest son of Zinghis-Khan, against the Kipzacs or Capchacs, to the north of the Caspian Sea, made their first inroad into the Russian empire. Zinghis, after having subdued the whole of Tangout, died in the sixty-fifth year of his age (1227.) His- 166 CHAPTEK V. torians have remarked in him the traits of a great man, born to command others, but whose noble qualities were tarnished by the ferocity of his nature, which took delight in carnage, plun- der, and devastation. Humanity shudders at the recital of the inexpressible horrors exercised by this barbarian, whose maxim was to exterminate, without mercy, all who offered the least re- sistance to his victorious arms. The successors of this Mogul conqueror followed him in his career of victory. They achieved the conquest of all China, overturned the caliphate of Bagdat, and rendered the sultans of iconium their tributaries.^ Octai-Khan, the immediate succes- sor of Zinghis, despatched from the centre of China two pow- erful armies, the one against Corea, and the other against the nations that lie to the north and north-west of the Caspian Sea. This latter expedition, which had for its chiefs Gayouk, son of Octai, and Batou, eldest son of Toushi, and grandson of Zinghis- Khan, after having subdued all Kipzak, penetrated into Russia, which they conquered in 1237. Hence they spread over Poland, Silesia, Moravia, Hungary, and the countries bordering on the Adriatic Sea; they plundered cities, laid waste the country, and carried terror and destruction wherever they went.^^ All Europe trembled at the sight of these barbarians, who seemed as if they wished to make the whole earth one vast empire of desolation. The empire of the Moguls attained its highest point of elevation under Cublai, grandson of Zinghis, towards the end of the 13th century. From south to north, it extended from the Chinese Sea and the Indies, to the extremity of Siberia ; and from east to west, from Japan to Asia Minor, and the fron- tiers of Poland in Europe. China, and Chinese Tartary formed the seat of the empire, and the residence of the Great Khan ; while the other parts of the dominions were governed by princes of the family of Zinghis Khan, who either acknowledged the Great Khan as their supreme master, or had their own particular kingi. and chiefs that paid him tribute. The principal subordi- nate Khans of the race of Zinghis, were those of Persia, Zagatai, and Kipzac. Their dependence on the Great Khan or emperor of China, ceased entirely on the death of Cublai (1294,) and the power of the Moguls soon became extinct in China.^® As for the Moguls of Kipzac, their dominion extended over all the Tartar countries situated to the north of the Caspian and the Euxine, as also over Russia and the Crimea. Batou-Khan, eldest son of Toushi, was the founder of this dynasty. Being addicted to a wandering life, the Khans of Kipzac encamped on the banks of the Wolga, passing from one place to another with their tents and flocks, according to the custom of the Mogu' and «, * » ■^i PERIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300. 167 born edby plun- f the axim St re- Tartar nations.*"^ The principal sect of these Khans was called the Grand or Golden Horde or the Horde of Kipzac, which was long an object of the greatest terror to the Russians, Poles, Lithuanians and Hungarians. Its glory declined towards the end of the fourteenth century, and entiiely disappeared under the last Khan Achmet, in 1481. A few separate hordes were all that remained, detached from the grand horde, such as those of Cassan, Astracan, Siberia and the Crimea ; — all of which were in their turn subdued or extirpated by the Russians."*^ A crowd of princes, descendants of Vlademir the Great, had shared among them the vast dominions of Russia. One of these princes invested with the dignity of Grand Duke, exercised cer- tain rights of superiority ov the rest, who nevertheless acted the part of petty sovereigns, and made war on each other. The capital of these Grand Dukes was Kiow, which was also regard- ed as the metropolis of the empire. Andrew I. prince of Suzdal, having assumed tlie title of Grand Duke (1157,) fixed his resi- dence at Vlademir on the rivtr Kliazma, and thus gave rise to a kind of political schism, the consequences of which were most fatal to the Russians. The Grand Dutchy of Kiow, with its dependent principalities, detached themselves by degrees from the rest of the empire, and finally became a prey to the Lithu- anians and Poles. In the midst of these divisions and intestine broils, and when Russia was struggling with difficulty against the Bulgarians, Polowzians,'*^ and other barbarous tribes in the neighbourhood, she had the misfortune to be attacked by the Moguls under Zinghis Khan. Toushi, eldest son of that conqueror, having marched round the Caspian, in order to attack the Polowzians, encountered on his passage the Princes of Kiow, who were allies of that people. The battle which he fought (12ii3,) on the banks of the river Kalka, was one of the most sanguinary lecorded in history. The Russians were totally defeated ; six of their princes perished on the field of battle ; and the whole of Western Russia was laid open to the conqueror. The Mo- guls penetrated as far as Novogorod, wasting the whole country on their march with fire and sword. They returned by the same route, hut without extending their ravages farther. In 1237 they made a second invasion, under the conduct of Baton, son of Toushi, and governor of the northern parts of the Mogul empire. This prince, after having vanquished the Polow- zians and Bulgarians, that is, the whole country of Kipzac, enter ' he north of Russia, where he took Rugen and Moscow, and cut to pieces an army of the Russians near Kolomna. Several other towns in this part of Russia were sac!,*8d by iho \%^ r. 14 ^» .^^T '*i^. IBB CHAPTER V. Moguls, in the commencement of the following year. Th« family of the Grand Duke, Juri II., perished in the sack of Via* demir; and he himself fell in tiie battle which he fought with the Moguls near the river Sita. Batou extended his conquests in Northern Russia as far as the city Torshok, in the territory of Novogorod. For some years he continued his ravages over the whole of Western Russia ; where, among others, he took Kiow, Kaminiec in Podolia, Vlademir and Halitsch. From this we may date the fall of the Grand Dutchy of Kiow, or Western Russia, which, with its dependent principalities in the following century, came into the possession of the Lithuanians and Poles. As for the Grand Dutchy of Vlademir, which comprehended Eastern and Northern Russia, it was subdued by the Moguls or Tartars, whose terrible yoke it wore for more than tvve hundred years.^ An extraordinary person who appean d at this disastrous crisis, preserved that part of Russia from sinking into total ruin. This was Prince Alexander, son of the Grand Duke, Jaroslaus II., who obtained the epithet or surname of Newski, from a victory which he gained over the Knights of Livonia near the Neva, (1241.) Elevated by the Khan Batou, to the dignity of Grand Duke (1245,) he secured, by his prudent con- duct, his punctuality in paying tribute, and preserving his al- legiance to the Mogul emperors, the good will of these new masters of Russia, during his whole reign. When this great prince died in 1261, his name was enrolled in their calendar of saints. Peter the Great built, in honour of his memory, a con- vent on the banks of tl Neva, to which he gave the name of A^lexander Newski ; and the Empress Catherine L, instituted an order of knighthood that was also called after the name of that prince. Poland, which was divided among several princes of the Piast dynasty, had become, at the time of which we speak, a prey to intestine factions, and exposed to the incursions of the neighbouring barbarians. These divisions, the principal source of all the evils that afflicted Poland, continued down to the death of Boleslaus II. (1138,) Avho, having portioned his es- tates among his sons, ordered that the eldest should retain the district of Cracow, under the title of Monarch, and that he should exercise the rights of superiority over the provincial dukes and princes, his brothers. This clause, which might have prevented the dismemberment of the state, served only lo kindle the flame of discord among these coUegatory princes. Ifladislaus, who is generally considered as the eldest of these sons, having attempted to dispossess his brothers (1146,) ihev -»* PEHIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300. 159 two rose in arms, expelled him from Poland, and obliged his de- scendants to content themselves with Silesia. His sons founded, in that country, numerous families of dukes and princes, who introduced German colonies into Silesia ; all of which, in course of time, became subject to the kings of Bohemia. Conrad, son of Casimir the Just, and grandson of Boleslaus III., was lh»» ancestor of the Dukes of Cujavia and Masovia. It was this prince who called in the assistance of the Teutonic Knights against the Pagans of Prussia, and established that order in the territory of Culm (1230.) The Moguls, after having vanquished Russia, took posses- sion of Poland (1240.) Having gained the victory at the battle of Schiedlow, they set fire to (Cracow, and then marched to Lignitz in Silesia, where a numerous army of crusaders were assembled under the command of Henry, duke of Breslau. This prince was defeated, and slain in the action. The whole of Silesia, as well as Moravia, was cruelly pillaged and deso- lated by the Moguls. Hungary, at this period, presented the spectacle of a warlike and barbarous nation, the ferocity of whose manners cannot be belter attested than by the laws passed in the reigns of Ladis- laus and Coloman, about the end of the eleventh and beginning of the twelfth century. Crimes were then punished either with the loss of liberty, or of some member of the body, such as the eye, the nose, the tongue, &c. These laws were published in their general assemblies, which were composed of the king the great officers of the crown, and the representatives of the clergy and the free men. All the other branches of the execu- tive power pertained to the kings, who rnadc \yar and peace at their pleasure ; while the counts r governors of provinces claimed no power either personal or hereditary.^* Under a government so despotic, it was easy for the kings of Hungary to enlarge the boundaries of their states. Ladis- laus took from the Greeks the dutchy of Sirmium (1080,) com- prising the lower part of Sclavonia. This same prince extend- ed his conquests into Croatia, a country which was governed for several ages by the Slavian princes, who possessed Upper Sclavonia, and ruled over a great part of ancient Illyria and Dalmatia, to which they gave the name of Croatia. Dircislaus was the first of these princes that took the title of king (in 984.) Demetrius Swinimir, one of his successors, did homage to the Pope, in order to obtain the protection of the Holy See (1076.) The line of these kings having become extinct some time after, Ladislaus, whose sister had been married to Demetrius Swini- mir, took advantage of the commotion that had arisen in Croatia, «*•- *••' 160 ■ CnAPTER V. and conquered a great part of that king-dom (1091,) and es- pecially tipper Sclavonia, which was one of its dependencies. Colornan completed their conquest in 1102, and the same year he was crowned at Belgrade king of Croatia and Dalmatia. In course of a few years, he subdued the maritime cities of Dal- matia, such as Spalatro, Trau, and Zara, which he took from the republic of Venice.^^ The kingdom of Rama or Bosnia, fell at the same time under his power. He took the title of King- of Rama (,1103;) and Bela II., his successor, made over the dutchy of Bosnia to Ladislaus, his younger son. The so- vereignty of the Kings of Hungary was also occasionally ac- knowledged by the princes and kings of Bulgaria and Servia, and even by the Russian princes of Halitsch and Wolodimir. These conquests gave rise to an pV ase which soon proved fatal to Hungary. The kings claimed for themselves the right of disposing of the newly conquered provinces in favour of their younger sons, to whom they granted them under the title of dutchies, and with the rights of sovereignty. These latter made use of their supreme power to excite faction.sand stir up civil wars. The reign of King Andrew II. was rendered remarkable by a revolution which happened in the government (1217.) This prince h-iving undertaken an expedition to the Holy Land, which he equipped at an extravagant and ruinous expense, the nobles availed themselves of his absence to augment their own power, and usurp the estates and revenues of the crown. Corruption had pervaded every branch of the administration ; and the king, after his return, made several ineffectual efforts to remedy the disorders of the government, and recruit his exhausted finances. At length he adopted the plan of assembling a general Diet (1222,) in which was passed the famous decree or Golden Bull which forms the basis of that defective constitution which pre- vails in Hungary at this day. The property of the clergy and the noblesse were there declared exempt from taxes and military cess; the nobles acquired hereditary possession ot the royal grants which they had received in recompense for their services ; they were freed from the obligation of marching at their own expense on .any expedition out of the kingdom ; and even the right of resistance was allowed them, in case the king should infringe any article of the decree. It was this king also (An- drew II.) that conferred several important privileges and immu- nities on the Saxons, or Germans of Transylvania, who had been invited thither by Geisa II. about the year 1142. Under the reign of Bela IV. (1241,) Hungary was suddenly inundated with an army of Moguls, commanded by several chiefs, the principal of whom were Baton, the son of Toushi, and Ga- m aft cit^ \.h an; ga" coi ■^ r 1- PERIOD IV. A. D. 1074 — 1300 m ':4 > youk, son of the great Khan Octai. The Hunganans, sunk in •»ffeminacy and living in perfect security, had neglected to prO' .ide in time for their defence. Having at length rallied round the banner of their king, they pitched their camp very negli- gently on the banks of the Sajo, where they were surprised by the Moguls, who made terrible havoc of them. Coloman, the king's brother, was slain in the action; and the king himself succeeded with difficulty in saving himself among the isles oi Dalmalia. The whole of Hungary was now at the mercy of the conqueror, who penetrated with his victorious troops into Sclavonia, Croatia, Dalmatia, Bosnia, Servia, and Bulgaria; ev«sry where glutting his fury with the blood of the people, vnich he shed in torrents. These barbarians seemed determin- ed to fix their residence in Hungary, when the news of the death of the Khan Octai, and the accession of his son Gayouk to the throne of China, induced them to abandon their conquest in less than three years, and return to the East loaded with immense booty. On hearing this intelligence, Bela ventured from his place of retreat and repaired to Hungary, where he assembled the remains of his subjects, who were wandering in the forests, or concealed among the mountains. He rebuilt the cities that were laid in ashes, imported new colonies from Croatia, Bohe- mia, Moravia, and Saxony; and, by degrees, restored life and vigour to the state, which had been almost annihilated by the Moguls. The Empire of the Greeks, at this time, was gradually verg- ing towards its downfall. Harassed on the east by the Selju- kian Turks, infested on the side of the Danube by the Hunga- rians, the Patzinacites, the Uzes and the Cumans;**'' and torn to pieces by factious and intestine wars, that Empire was making but a feeble resistance to the incessant attacks of its enemies, when it was suddenly threatened with entire destruction by the efTecls of the fourth crusade. The Emperor Isaac Angelus had been dethroned by his brother, Alexius III. (1195,) who had cruelly caused his eyes to be put out. The son of Isaac, called also Alexius, found means to save his life ; he repaired to Zara, in Dalmatia (1203,) to implore the aid of the Crusaders, who, after having assisted the Venetians to recover that rebellious city, were on the point of setting sail for Palestine. ■ The young 41exius offered to indemnify the Crusaders for the expenses of any expedition which they might undertake in his favour ; he gave them reason to expect a reunion of the two churches, and considerable supplies, both in men and money, to assist them in reconquering the Holy Land. Yielding to these solicitations, the allied chiefs, instead of passing directly to Syria, set sail fcr 14 » ■>^i-»f[(T 1«8 CHAPTER V. • » Constantinople. They immediately laid siege to the city, ex- pelled the usurper, and restored Isaac to the throne, in conjunc- tion with his son Alexius. . Scarcely had the Crusaders quitted Constantinople, when a new revolution happened there. Another Alexius, surnamed Mourzoujle, excited an insurrection among the Greeks ; and having procured the death of the Emperors Isaac and Alexius, he made himself master of the throne. The Crusaders imme- diately returned, again laid siege to Constantinople, which they took by assault ; and after having slain the usurper, they elected a new Emperor in the person of Baldwin, Earl of Flanders, and one of the noble Crusaders. ^ This event transferred the Greek Empire to the Latins (1204.) It was followed by a union of the two churches, which, however, was neither general nor per- manent, as it terminated with the reign of the Latins at Con stantinople. Meantime, the Crusaders divided among themselves the pro- vinces of the Greek Empire, — both those which they had al- ready seized, and those which yet remained to be conquered. The greater part of the maritime coasts of the Adriatic, Greece, the Archipelago, the Propontis, and the Euxine ; the islands of the Cyclades and Sporades, and those of the Adriatic, were ad- judged to the republic of Venice. Boniface, Marquis of Mont- ferrat, and commander-in-chief of the crusade, obtained for his share the island of Crete or Candia, and all that belonged to the Empire beyond the Bosphorus. He afterwards sold Candia to the Venetians, who took possession of it in 1207. The other chiefs of the Crusaders had also their portions of the dismem- bered provinces. None of them, however, were to possess the countries that were assigned them, except under the title of vas- sals to the Empire, and by acknowledging the sovereignty of Baldwin. In the midst of this general overthrow, several of the Greek princes attempted to preserve the feeble remains of their Em- pire. Theodore Lascaris, son-in-law of the Emperor Alexius III., resolved on the conquest of the Greek provinces in Asia. He had made himselF master of Bithynia, Lydia, part of the coasts of the Archipelago, and Phrygia, and was crowned Em- peror at Nice in 1206. About the same period, Alexius and David Commenus, grandsons of the Emperor Andronicus I., having taken shelter in Pontus, laid there the foundation of a new Empire, which had for its capital the city of Trebizond. At length Michael Angelus Commenus took possession of Durazzo, which he erected into a considerable state, extending from Durazzo to the Gulf of Lepanto, and comprehending Epi *u PERIOD IV. A. i). 1074 — 1300. 169 rus, Acarnania, Etolia, and part of Thessaly. All these princes assumed the rank and dignity of Emperors. The most power- ful among them was Theodore Lascaris, Emperor of Nice. His successors found little difficulty in resuming, by degrees, their superiority over the Latin Emperors. They reduced them at last to the single city of Constantinople, of which Michael Pa- leologus, Emperor of Nice, undertook the siege ; and, with the assistance of the Genoese vessels, he made himself master of it 1261. Baldwin II., the last of the Latin Emperors, fled to m the Isle of Negropont, whence he passed into Italy; and his conqueror became the ancestor of all the Emperors of the House of Paleologus, that reigned at Constantinople until the taking ot ^at capital by the Turks in 1453. It now remains for us to cast a glance at the revolutions of Asia, closely connected with those of Europe, on account of the crusades and expeditions to the Holy Land. The Empire of the Seljukian Turks had been divided into several dynasties or distinct sovereignties ; the Atabeks of I.ak, and a number of petty princes, reigned in Syria and the neighbouring countries ; the Fatimite Caliphs of Egypt were masters of Jerusalem, and part of Palestine, when the mania of the crusades converted that region of the East into a theatre of carnage and devastation. For two hundred years Asia was seen contending with Europe, and the Christian nations making the most extraordinary efforts to maintain the conquest of Palestine and the neighbouring states, against the arms of the Mahometans. At length there arose among the Mussulmans a man of su- perior genius, who rendered himself formidable by his warlike prowess to the Christians in the East, and deprived them of the fruits of their numerous victories. This conqueror was the famous Saladin, or Salaheddin, the son of Ayoub or Job, and founder of the dynasty of the Ayoubites. The Atabek Noured- din, son of Amadoddin Zenghi, had sent him into Egypt (1168) to assist the Fatimite Caliph against the Franks, or Crusaders of the West. While there, he was declared vizier and general of the armies of the Caliph ; and so well had he established his power in that country, that he eflfected the substitution of the Abassidian Caliphs in place of the Fatimites ; and ultimately caused himself to be proclaimed Sultan on the death of Noured- din (1171,) under whom he had served in the quality of lieu- tenant. Having vanquished Egypt, he next subdued the dominions of Noureddin in Syria ; and, after having extended his victories over this province, as well as Mesopotamia, Assyria, Armenia and Arabia, he turned his arms against the Christians in Palestine, whom he had hemmed in« as it were, with his «W"IJ" 164 CHAPTER V. conquests. These princes, separated into petty sovereignties, divided by mutual jealousy, and a prey to the distractions of anarchy, soon yielded to the valour of the heroic Mupsulman. The battle which they fought (1187,) at Hittin, near Tiberias (or Tabaria,) was decisive. The Christians sustained a total defeat ; and Guy of Lusignan, a weak prince without talents, and the last King of Jerusalem, fell into the hands of the con- queror. All the cities of Palestine opened their gates to Saladin, either voluntarily or at the point of the sword. Jerusalem sur- rendered after a siege of fourteen days. This defeat rekindled the zeal of the Christians in fehe West ; and the most powerful sovereigns in Europe were again seen conducting innumerable armies to the relief of the Holy Land. But the talents and bravery of Saladin rendered all their efforts unavailing ; and it was not till after a murderous siege for three years, that they succeeded in retaking the city of Ptolemais or Acre ; and thus arresting for a short space the total extermination of the Chris- tians in the East. On the death of Saladin, whose heroism is extolled by Chris tian as well as Mahometan authors, his Empire was divided among his sons. Several princes, his dependants, and known by the name of Ayoubites, reigned afterwards in Egypt, Syria^ Armenia, and Yemen or Arabia the Happy. These princes quarrelling and making war with each other, their territories fell, in the thirteenth century, under the dominion of the Mame lukes. These Mamelukes (an Arabic word which signifies a slave) were Turkish or Tartar captives, whom the Syrian mer- chants purchased from the Moguls, and sent into Egypt under the reign of the Sultan Saleh, of the Ayoubite dynasty. That prince bought them in vast numbers, and ordered them to be trained to the exercise of arms in one of the maritime cities of Egypt.''^ From this school he raised them to the highest offices of trust in the state, and even selected from them his own body guard. In a very short time, these slaves became so numerous and so powerful, that, in the end, they seized the government, after having assassinated the Sultan Touran Shah, (son and successor bf Saleh, )*^who had in vain attempted to disentangle himself of their chains, and recover the authority which thsy had usurped over him. This revolution (1250) happened in the very presence of St. Louis, who, having been taken prisoner at the battle of Mansoura, had just concluded a truce often years with the Sultan of Egypt. The Mameluke Ibeg, who was at first appointed regent or Atabek, was soon after proclaimed Sul- tan of Egypt. The dominion of the Mamelukes existed in Egypt for the PERIOD V, A. D. 1300 — 1453. 160 space of 263 years. Their numbers being constantly recruited by Turkish or Circassian slaves, they disposed of the throne of Egypt at their pleasure ; and the crown generally fell to the suare of the most audacious of the gang, provided he was n na- tive of Turkistan. These Mamelukes had even the courage to ittack the Moguls, and took from them the kingdoms of Damas- cus and Aleppo in Syria (1210,) of which the latter had dispos- ressed the Ayoubite princes. All the princes of this latter dynasty, with those of Syria and Yemen, adopted the expedient of submitting to the Mamelukes; who, in order to become mas- ters of all Syria, had only to reduce the cities and territories which the Franks, or Christians of the West, still r?;tained in their possession. They first attacked the principality of Antioch, which they soon conquered (1268.) They next turned their anas against the county of. Tripoli, the capital of which they took by assault (1289.) The city of Ptolemais shared the same fate ; after an obstinate and murderous siege, it was carried sword in hand. Tyre surrendered on capitulation ; and the Franks were entirely expelled from Syria and the East in the year 1291. CHAPTER VI. PERIOD V. From Pope Boniface VIII. to the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, a. d. 1300—1453. At the commencement of this period, the Pontifical power was in the zenith of its grandeur. The Popes proudly assumed the title of Masters of the World ; and asserted that their author- ity, by divine right, comprehended every other, both spiritual and temporal. Boniface VIII. w^ent even farther than his pre- decessors had done. According to him, the secular power was nothing else than a mere emanation fron^ the ecclesiastical ; and this double power of the Pope was ev£n m^de an article ot belief, and founded on the sacred scripturee. " God has in- trusted," said he, " to St. Peter and his su'^essors, two swords, the one spiritual, and the other temporal. The former can be exercised by the church alone; the other, by the secular princes^ for the service of the church, and in submission to the will ot the Pope. This latter, that Is, the temporal sword, is subordi- nate to the former; and all temporal authority necessarily de- pends on the spiritual, which judges it; whereas God alone can judge the spiritual power. Finally," added he, " it is absolutely >-. 166 CHAPTER VI. indispensable to salvation, that every human creature be subject to the Pope of Rome." This same Pope published the tirst Jubilee (1300,) wiih plenary indulgence for all who should visit the churches of St. Peter and St. Paul at Rome. An immense crowd from all parts of Christendom flocked to this capital of the Western world, and filled its treasury with their pious contributions.^ The spiritual power of the Popes, and their jurisdiction over the clergy, was moreover increased every day, by means of dispensations and appeals^ which had multiplied exceedingly since the introduction of the Decretals of Gregory IX. They disposed, in the most absolute manner, of the dignities and be- nefices of the Church, and imposed taxes at their pleasure on all the clergy in Christendom. Collectors or treasurers were established by them, who superintended the levying of the dues they had found means to exact, under a multitude of dif- ferent denominations. These collectors were empowered, by means of ecclesiastical censure, to proceed against those who should refuse to pay. They were supported by the authority of the legates who resided in the ecclesiastical provinces, and seized with avidity every occasion to extend the usurpation of the Pope. Moreover, in support of these legates appeared a vast number of Religious and Mendicant Orders, founded in those ages of ignorance ; besides legions of monky dispersed over all the slates of Christendom. Nothing is more remarkable than the influence of the papal authority over the temporalities of princes. We find them in- terfering in all their quarrels — addressing their commands to all without distinction — enjoining some to lay down their arms — receiving others under their protection — rescinding and annulling their acts and proceedings — summoning them to their court, and acting as arbiters in their disputes. The history of the Popes is the history of all Europe. They assumed the privilege of legitimating the sons of kings, in order to qualify them for the succession ; they forbade sovereigns to tax the clergy; they claimed a feudal superiority over all, and exer- cised it over a very great number ; they conferred royalty on those who were ambitious of power ; they released subjects from their oath of allegiance ; dethroned sovereigns at their pleasure ; and laid kingdoms and empires under interdict, to avenge their own quarrels. We find them disposing of the states of excommunicated princes, as well as those of hereiics and their followers ; of islands and kingdoms newly discovered; of the property of infidels or schismatics ; and even of Catholics who refused to bow before the insolent tyranny of the Popes.' .V exer- PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 — 1463. t< vf/Bl^L opes. Thus, it is obvious that the Court of Rome, at the time of which we speak, enjoyed a conspicuous preponderance in the political .«vstem of Europe. But in the ordinary course of human af- fairs, this power, vast and formidable as it was, began, from the fourteenth century, gradually to diminish. The mightiest em- pires have their appointed term ; and the highest stage of their elevation is often the first step of their decline. Kings, be- coming more and more enlightened as to their true interests, learned to support the rights and the majesty of their crowns, against the encroachments of the Popes. Those who were vassals and tributaries of the Holy See, gradually shoolc off' the yoke ; even the clergy, who groaned under the weight of this spiritual despotism, joined the secular princes in repressing these abuses, and restraining within proper bounds a power which was making incessant encroachments on their just prerogatives. Among the causes which operated the downfall of the Pon- tifical power, may b? ranked the excess of the power itself, and the abuses of it made by the Popes. By issuing too often their anathemas and interdicts, they rendered them useless and contemptible ; and by their haughty treatment of the greatest princes, they learned to become inflexible and boundless in their own pretensions. An instance of this may be recorded, in the famous dispute which arose between Boniface VIII. and Philip the Fair, King of France. Not content with constituting him- self judge between the King and his vassal the Count of Flan- ders, that PontiflT maintained, that ihe King could not exact subsidies from the clergy without his permission ; and that the fight of Regale (or the revenues of vacant bishoprics) which the Crowr,' enjoyed, was an abuse which should not be tolera- ted.^ He treated as a piece of insanity the prohibition of Philip against exporting either gold or silver out of the king- iom ; and sent an order to all the prelates in France to repair ixi person to Rome on the 1st of November, there to advise measures for correcting the King and reforming the State. He declared, formally, that the King was subject to the Pope, as well in temporal as spiritual matters ; and that it was a fool- ish persuasion to suppose that the King had no superior on earth, and was not dependent on the supreme I^ontiflf. Philip ordered the papal bull which contained these ex- travagant assertions to be burnt , he forbade his ecclesiastics to leave the realm ; and having twice assembled the States-Ge- neral of the kingdom (1302 — 3,) he adopted, with their advice and approbation, measures against these dangerous pretensions of the Court of Rome. The Three Estates, who appeared for ihe first time in these Assemblies, declared themselves strongly 16S CUAPTIiU VI. in favour of the King, and the independence of the crown. In consequence, the excornniunication which iho Pope hud threat- ened against the King proved ineffoctual. Philip made his appeal to a future assembly, to which the three orders of the State adhered.'* The Emperor Louis of Bavaria, a prince of superior merit, having incurred the censures of the Church for defending the rights and prerogatives of his crown, could not obtain absolu- tion, notwithstanding the most humiliating condescensions, and the offer which he made to resign the Imperial dignity, and surrender himself, his crown and his property, to the discretion of the Pope. He was loaded \vi4h curses and anathemas, after a series of various proceedings which had been instituted against him. The bull of Pope Clement VI., on this occasion, far surpassed all those of his predecessors. " May God (said he, in speaking of the Emperor) smiie him with madness and disease ; may heaven crush him with its thunderbolts ; may the wrath of God, and that of St. Peter and St. Paul, fall on him in this world and the next; may the whole universe com- bine against him; may the earth swallow him up alive; may his name perish in the first generation, and his memory disap- pear from the earth ; may all the elements conspire against him ; may his children, delivered into the hands of liis enenues, be massacred before the eyes of their father." The indignity of such proceedings roused the attention of the princes and states of the Empire ; and on the representation of the Electo- ral College, they thought proper to check these boundless pre- tensions of the Popes, by a decree which was passed at the Diet of Frankfort in 133S. This decree, regarded as the fundan)en- tal law of the Empire, declared, in substance, that the Imperial dignity held only of God ; that he whom the Electors had chosen emperor by a plurality of sufTrages, was, in virtue of that election, a true king and emperor, and needed neither confirma- tion nor coronation from the hands of the Pope ; and that all persons who should maintain the contrary, should be treated as guilty of high treason. Among other Events prejudicial to the authority of the Popes, one was, the translation of the Pontifical See from Rome to Avignon. Clement V., archbishop of Bordeaux, having been advanced to the papacy (1305,) instead of repairing to Rome, had his coronation celebrated at Lyons ; and thence he trans- ferred his residence to Avignon (1309,) out of complaisance to Philip the Fair, to whom he owed his elevation. The suc- cessors of this Pope continued their court at Avignon until 1367, when Gregory XI. again removed the See to Rome. aut end Gre (137 the VII. . w „., ««:■■ .i. >i2rr* PERIOD V. A. D. 1300-1453. 169 This sojourn at Avignon tended to weaken the »uthoriiy of the Popes, and diminish the respect and veneration which till ther had been paid them. The prevailing opinion beyond the Alps admitted no other city than that of Rome for the true capital o St. Peter ; and they despised the Popes of Avignon as aliens who, besides, were there surrounded with powerful princes, t« whose caprice they were often obliged to yield, and to make condescensions prejudicial to the authority they had usurped This circumstance, joined to the lapse of nearly seventy years caused the residence at Avignon to be stigmatized by the Italians under the name of the Babylonish Captivity. It occasioned alsc the diminution of the papal authority at Rome, and in the Ec clesiastical States. The Italians, no longer restrained by the presence of the sovereign pontiffs, yielded but a reluctant obe- dience to their representatives ; while the remembrance of their ancient republicanism induced them to lend a docile ear to those who preached up insurrection and revolt. The historian Rienzi informs us, that one Nicolas Gabrini, a man of great eloquence, and whose audacity was equal to his ambition, took advantage of these republican propensities of the Romans, to constitute himself master of the city, under the popular title of Tribune (1347.) He projected the scheme of a new government, called the Good Estate, which he pretended would obtain the accepta- tion of all the princes and republics of Italy ; but the despotic power which he exercised over the citizens, whose liberator and lawgiver he affected to be, soon reduced him to his original in- significance; and the city of Rome again assumed its ancient form of government. Meantime the Popes did not recover their former authority ; most of the cities and states of the Ecclesi- astical dominions, after having been long a prey to faction and discord, fell under the power of the nobles, who made an easy conquest of them ; scarcely leaving to the Pope a vestige of the sovereign authority. It required all the insidious policy of Alexander VI., and the vigilant activity of Julius II., to repair the injury which the territorial influence of the Pontiffs had suf- fered from their residence at Avignon. Another circumstance that contributed to h:iimble the papal authority, was the schisms which rent the Church, towards the end of the fourteenth, and beginning of the fifteenth century. Gregory XL, who had abandoned Avignon for Rome, being dead (1378,) the Italians elected a Pope of their own nation, who took the name of Urban VI., and fixed his residence at Rome. The French cardinals, on the other hand, declared in favour ot the Cardinal Robert of Geneva, known by the name of Clemen VII., who fixed his capital at Avignon. The whole of Chris VOL. I. 15 170 CHAPTER VI. tendom was divided between these two Popes ; and this grand schism continued from 1378 till 1417. At Rome, Urban VI. was succeeded b}-^ Boniface IX., Innocent VII., and Gregory XII.; while Clement VII. had Benedict XIII. for his successor at Avio-non. In order to terminate this schism, every expedient was tried to induce the rival Popes to give in their abdication ; but both having refused, several of the Cardinals withdrew their allegiance, and assembled a council at Pisa (1409,) where the two refractory Popes were deposed, and the pontifical dignity conferred on Alexander V., who was afterwards succeede(l by John XXIII. This election of the council enly tended to in- crease the schism. Instead of two Popes, there arose three ; and if his Pisan Holiness gained partisans, the Popes of Rome and Avignon contrived also to maintain each a number ef sup- porters. All these Popes, wishing to maintain their rank and dignity with that splendour and magnificence which their pre- decessors had displayed before the schism^ set themselves to invent new »^ ,ans of oppressing the people ; hence the immense number of abuses and exactions, which subverted the discipline of the -church, and roused the exasperated nations against the court of Rome. A new General Council was convoked at Constance (1414) by order of the Emperor Sigismund ; and it was there that the maxim of the unity and permanency of Councils was established, as well as of its superiority over the Pope, in all that pertains to matters of faith, to the extirpation of schism, and the refor- mation of the church both in its supreme head, and in its subor- dinate members. The grand schism was here terminated by the abdication of the Roman pontiff, and the deposition of those of Pisa r.nd Avignon. It was this famous council that gave their decision against John Huss, the Reformer of Bohemia, and a follower of the celebrated Wickliff His doctrines were condemned, and he himself burnt n.t Constance; as was Jerome of Prague, one of his most zealous partisans. As to the mea- sures that were taken at Constance for effecting the reformation of the Church, they praciically ended in nothing. As their main object was to reform tlie court of Rome, by supprcs^itio' or limiting the new prerogatives which the Popes lor sevoial centuries had usurped, and which referred, among other things, tj tiie subject of benefices and pecuniary exactions, all those Avho had an interest in maintaining these abuses, instantly set themselves to defeat the proposed amendments, and ckule re- dress. The Council had fornied a '!ommittce, composed of th-i deputies of different nations, to advise means for accomplishing this reformation, which the whole world so ardently desned. I rand gave PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 — 1453. 171 This committee, known by the name of the College of Reformers, had already made considerable progress in their task, when a question was started, Whether it was proper to proceed to any reformation without the consent and co-operation of the visible Head of the Church ? It was carried in the negative, through the intrigues of the cardinals; and, before they could accomplish this salutary work of reformation, the election of a new Pope had taken place (1417.) The choice fell on Otho de Colonna, who assumed the name of Martin V., and in conformity with a pievious decision of the council, he then laid before them a scheme of reform. This proceeding having been disapproved by the different nations of Europe, the whole matter was remitted to the next council ; and in the meanwhile, they did nothing more than pass some concordats, with the new Pope, as to what steps they should take until the decision of the ap- proaching council. This new council, which was assembled at Basle (1431) by Martin V., resumed the suspended work of reformation. The former decrees, that a General Council vvas superior to the Pope, and could not be dissolved or prorogued except by their own free consent, were here renewed ; and the greater part of the reserves, reversions, annats, and other exactions of the Popes, were regularly abolished. The liberty of appeals to the Court of Rome, was also circumscribed. Eugenius IV., successor to Martin V., alarmed at the destruction thus aimed at his author- ity, twice proclaimed the dissolution of the Council. The first dissolution, which occurred on the 17th of December 1431, was revoked, at the urgent application of the Emperor Sigismund, by a bull of the same Pope, issued on the 15th of December 1433. In this he acknowledged the validity of the Council, and annulled all that he had formerly done to invalidate its au- thority. The second dissolution took place on the 1st of Octo- ber 1437. Eugenius then transferred the Council to Ferrara, and from Ferrara to Florence, on pretext of his negotiating a union with the Greek church. This conduct of the Pope oc- casioned a new schism. The prelates who remained at Sasle, instituted a procedure against him ; they first suspended him for contumacy, and finally deposed him. \madeus VIII., Ex- duke 0^ Saxony, was elected in his plac '^^der the name ot Felix v., and recognised by all the partis . of the Council as the legitimate Pope. This latter schism lasted te.i years. Fe- lix V. at length gave in his de. nission ; and the Council, which had withdrawn from Basle to L/ausanne, terminated its sittings in 1449. The French nation adopted several of the '-^".iees of the 172 CHAPTER VI. Counci! of Basle in the famous Pragmatic Sanction, which Charles VII. caused to be drawn up at Bourges (1438;) and whose stipulations served as the basis of what is called the Liberties of the Gallican Church. The example of the French was speedily followed by the Germans, who acceded to these decrees, at the Diet of Mayence in 1439. The Court of Rome at length regained a part of those honourable and lucrative rights of which the Council of Basle had deprived them, by the con- cordats which the Germans concluded (1448) with Nicholas V., and the French (1516) with Leo X. The Councils of which we have now spoken, tended materially to limit the exorbitant power of the Roman pontiffs, by giving sanction to the princi- ple which established the superiority of General Councils over the Popes. This maxim put a check to the enterprising ambi- tion of the Court of Rome : and kings availed themselves of it to recover by degrees the prerogatives of their crowns. The Popes, moreover, sensible of their weakness, and of the need they had for the protection of the sovereigns, learned to treat them with more attention and respect. At length the new light which began to dawn about the four- teenth century, hastened on the progress of this revolution, by gradually dissipating the darkness of superstition into whi h the nations of Europe were almost universally sunk. In ti j midst of the distractions which agitated the Empire and the Church, and during the papal schism, several learned and in- trepid men made their appearance, who, while investigating the origin and abuse of the new power of the Popes, had the courage to revive the doctrine of the ancient canons, to enlighten the minds of sovereigns as to their tru? rights, and to examine with care into the justs limits of the sacerdotal authority. Among the first of these reformers was John of Paris, a famous Do- minican, who undertook the defence of Philip the Fair, King of France, against Pope Boniface VIII. His example was follow- ed by the celebrated poet Dante Alighieri, who took the part of the Empe' >r Louis of Bavaria against the Court of Rome. Mar- silo de Padua, John de Janduno, William Ockam, Leopold de Babenberg, &c. marched in the track of the Italian poet ; and among the crowd of writers that signalized themselves after the grand schism, three French authors particularly distinguished themselves, Peter d'Ailly, Nicnolas de Clemange, and John Gerson, whose writings met with general applause. Most of these literary productions, however, wc.e characterized by bad taste. The philosophy of Aristotle, studied in Arabic transla- tions, and disfigured by scholastic .subtleties, reigned in all the Rchoolfe, imposed its fetters on the human mind, and nearly ex- PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 — 1453. 17a tinguished every vestige of useful knowledge. The belles let- ires were quite neglected, and as yet had shed no lustre on the sciences. Sometimes, however, genius broke with a transient splendour through the darkness of this moral horizon ; and several extraordinary persons, despising the vain cavils of the schools, began to study truth in the volume of nature, and to copy after the beautiful models of antiquity. Such was Roger Bacon (1294,) an Englishman, and a Franciscan friar, who has become so famous by his discoveries in chemistry and mechani- cal philosophy. Dante (1321,) nurtured in the spirit of the an- cients, was the first that undertook torefme the Italian language into poetry, and gave it the polish of elegance and grace in his compositions. He was succeeded by two other celebrated authors, Petrarca and Boccacio (1374-5.) The period of which we speak gave birth to several new in- i'entions, which proved useful auxiliaries to men of genius, and tended to accelerate the progress of knowledge, letters, and arts. Among the principal of these may be mentioned the invention of writing paper, oil-painting, printing, gunpowder, and the ma- riner's compass; to the effects of which, Europe, in a great measure, owes its civilization, and the new order of things which appeared in the fifteenth century. Before the invention of paper from linen, parchment was gen- erally used in Europe for the transcribing of books, or the draw- ing out of public deeds. Cotton paper, which the Arabs brought from the East, was but a poor remedy for the scarceness and dearth of parchmont. It would appear, that the invention jf paper from linen, and the custom of using it in Europe, is not of older date than the thirteenth century. The famous Mont- faucon acknowledges, that, in spite of all his researches, both in France and Italy, he could never find any manuscript or char- ter, written on our ordinary paper, older than the year 1270, the time when St. Louis died. The truth is, we know neither the exact date of the invention of this sort of paper, nor the name of the inventor.^ It is certain, however, that the manufacture of paper from cotton must have introduced that cf paper from linen ; and the only question is, to determine at what time the use of linen became so common in Europe, as to lead us to sup- pose they might convert its rags into paper. The cultivation of hemp and flax being originally peculiar to the northern coun- tries, it is probable that the first attempts at making paper of linen rags were made in Germany, and the countries abounding in flax and hemp, rather than in the southern provinces of Eu- rope. The most ancient manufactory of paper from linen to be met with in Germany, was established at Nuremberg (1390.) 15* 174 CHAPTEK VI. The invention of oil-painting is generally ascribed to the two brothers Van-Eick, the younger of whom, known by the name of John ojf Bruges, had gained considerable celebrity about the end of the fourteenth century. There is, however, reason to believe that this invention is of an older date. There are two authors who have carried it back to the eleventh century, viz. Theophilus and Eraclius, whose works in manuscript have been preserved in the library at WolfTenbiittel, and in that of Trinity College, Cambridge ; and who speak of *his art as already known in their times. According to them, all sorts of colours could be mixed up with linseed oil, and employed in painting; but they agree as to the inconvenience of applying this kind of painting to images or portraits, on account of the difficulty in drying colours mixed with oil. Admitting the credibility of these two authors, and the high antiquity of their works, It would appear, nevertheless, that they made no great use of this invention ; whether it may be that painters preferred to retain their for- mer mode, or that the difficulty of drying oil colours had dis- couraged them. It is, however, too true, that the finest inven- tions have often languished in unmerited neglect, long before men had learned to reap any adequate advantage from them. Were the Van-Eicks the first that practised this style of paint- ing ? Or did John of Bruges, the younger of the brothers, and who carried it to the highest degree of perfection, invent some mixture or composition for increasing the exsiccative qualities of linseed or nut oil ; especially with regard to colours not easily dried ? It belongs to connoisseurs and artists to examine these questions, as well as to decide whether the pictures, alleged to have been painted in oil-colours before the time of the Van- Eicks, were executed with any degree of perfection in that style of painting.'' This invention totally changed the system and the principles of the art of painting. It gave birth to rules as to light and shade, and procured modern painters one advantage over the ancients, that of rendering their works much more durable. One of the most important inventions is that of printing; which was borrowed, it would appear, from the art of engraving on wood ; while this latter owes its origin to the moulding or imprinting of common cards, which seems to have suggested the first idea of it. The use of ^ards was borrowed from Italy ; though we find this custom established in Germany soon after the commencement of the fourteenth century, where card- makers formed a distinct trade, about four and twenty years be- fore the invention of printing. It is probable that the Germans were the first who designed models and proper casts for the irn* ■/ PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 — 1453. 175 prcssion of cards.'' The desire of gain, suggested to these card-makers the idea of engraving on wood, after the same manner, all kinds of figures or scenes frmn Sacred History, accompanied with legends, or narratives, intended to explain iheir meaning. It was from these legends, printed in single folios, and published also in the form of books, or rather of im- pressions from engravings on solid blocks of wood, that the art of typography took its origin.^ This wonderful art, to which Europe owes its astonishing progress in the sciences, consists of two distinct inventions, — that of the moveable types, and that of the font. The former belongs to John Gutenberg, a gentle- man of Mayence, who made his first attempt in moveable types at Strasburg, in 1436 ; the other, which is generally attributed to Peter Schceffer of Gernsheim, took place at Mayence in 1452. Gutenberg resided at Strasburg, from 1424 till 1445. Being a noble senator of that city, he married a lady of rank ; and during the twenty years of his residence there, he cultivated all sorts of occult arts, especially that of printing. It was chiefly in re- ference to this latter art that he contracted an acquaintance with several of his wealthy fellow-citizens, one of whom, named Andrew Drizehn, having died, his heirs brought an action against Gutenberg on account of some claims which they laid to his charge. The magistrate ordered an inquiry to be instituted, the original copy cf which, drawn up in 1439, was discovered by Schoepflin (1745) in the archives of the city, and is still preserv- ed in the public library at Strasburg. According to this au- thentic document, it appears, that from the year 1436, there existed a printing-press at Strasburg, under the direction of Gutenburg, and in the house of Andrew Drizehn, his associate ; that this press consisted of forms, that were fastened or locked by means of screws ; and that the types, either cut or engraved, which were enclosed within these forms, were moveable.'-* Gutenburg, after his return to Mayence, still continued his typographical labours. While there, he contracted an acquaint- ance with a new associate in the exercise of his art (1445) — the fnmous John Faust, a citizen of Mayence. This second alliance coniinued only five years ; and it is within this interval, as is generally supposed, that the invention of the font, or casting of types, should be placed ; as well as that of the die and the mould or matrix, by the help of which the art of t3'pography was brought nearly to its present state of perfection.'** Some dispute?, which had arisen between these new associates, having dissolved their partnership, Faust obtained the press of Gutenberg, with all its printing apparatus, which had fallen to him by sequestration. Gutenberg, however fitted up another press, and continued to 176 CHAPTER VI. print till the time of his death, in 1468. Not one of the books which issued from the press of this celebrated man, either at Stiasburg or Mayence, bears the name of the inventor, or the date of the impression ; whether it was that Gutenberg made a secret of his invention, or that the prejudices at the cast to which he belonged prevented him from boasting of his discovery. ^^ Faust, on the contrary, no sooner saw himself master of Guten- berg's presses, than he became ambitious of notoriety, an ex- ample of which he gave by prefixing his name and that of Peter SchoefTer to the famous Psalter, which ihey published in 1457. The arts of which we have just spoken, in all probability, suggested the idea of engraving on copper, of which we can discover certain traces towards the middle of the fifteenth cen- tury. The honour of this invention is generally ascribed to a goldsmith of Florence, named Maso Finiguerra, who is supposed to have made this dis^covery about the year 1460, while engrav- ing figures on silver plate. Baccio Baldini, another Florentine, Andrew Montegna, and Mark Antony Raimondi, both Italians, followed in the steps of Finiguerra, and brought this art to a high degree of perfection. There is, however, some cause to doubt whether Finiguerra was exactly the first to whom the idea of this sort of engraving occurred ; since, in different cabi- nets in Europe, we find specimens ofengraving on copper, of a date earlier than what has been assigned to Finiguerra. If, however, the glory of this invention belongs in reality to the Italians, it is quite certain that the art of engraving on copper, as well as on wood, was cultivated from its infancy, and brought to perfection, in Germany. The first native engravers in that country who are known, either by their names or their signa- tures, in the fifteenth century, were Martin Schoen, a painter and engraver at Colmar, where he died in 1486 ; the two Israels Von Mecheln, father and son, who resided at Bockholt, in West- phalia; and Michael Wolgemuth of Nuremberg, the master of the celebrated Albert Durer, who made so conspicuous a figure about the end of the fiifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth century. Next to the invention of printing, there is no other that so much arrests our attention as that of gunpowder, which, by in- troducing artillery, and a new method of fortifying, attacking, and defending cities, wrought a complete change in the whole an and tactics of war. This invention comprises several disco- veries which it is necessary to distinguish from each other. 1 The discovery of nitre, the principal ingredient in gunpowder, and the cause of its detonation. 2. The mixture of nitre with sulphur and charcoal, which, properly speaking, forms the in- PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 — 14f53. 177 the vention of gunpowder. 3. The application of powder to nre- works. 4. Its employment as an agent or propelling power for throwing stones, bullets, or other heavy and combustible bodies. 5. Its employment in springing mires, and destroying fortifications. All these discoveries belong to different epochs. The know ledge of saltpetre or nitre, and its explosive properties, called detonation, is very ancient. Most probably it was brought to us from the East (India or China,) where saltpetre is found in a natural state of preparation. It is not less probable that the nations of the East were acquainted with the composition of gunpowder before the Europeans, and that it was the Arabs who first introduced the use of it into Europe. The celebrated Roger Bacon, an English monk or friar of the thirteenth century, was acquainted with the composition of powder, and its employment in fire-works and public festivities ; and according to all appear- ances, he obtained this information from the Arabic authors, who excelled in their skill of the chemical sciences. The em- ployment of gunpowder in Europe as an agent for throwing balls and stones, is ascertained to have been about the commencement of the fourteenth century ; and it was the Arabs who first avail- ed themselves of its advantages in their wars against the Span- iards. From Spain the use of gunpowder and artillery passed to France, and thence it gradually extended over the other States of Europe. As to the application of powder to mines, and the destruction of fortified works, it does not appear to have been in practice before the end of the fifteenth cen- tury. ^'-^ The introduction of bombs and mortars seems to have been oi an earlier date (1467.) The invention of these in Europe, is attributed to Sigismund Pandolph Malatesta, Prince of Rimini ; but in France they were not in use till about the reign of Louis XIII. Muskets and matchlocks began to be in- troduced early in the fifteenth century. They were without spring-locks till 1517, when for the first time muskets and pis- tols with spring-locks were manufactured at Nuremberg. Several circumstances tended to check the progress of fire- arms and the improvement of artillery. Custom made most people prefer their ancient engines of war ; the construction of cannons was but imperfect ;^-^ the manufacture of gunpowder bad ; and there was a \°ry general aversion to the newly in- vented arms, as contrary to humanity, and calculated to extin- guish military bravery. Above all, the knights, whose science was rendered completely useless by the introduction of fire- arms, set themselves with all their might to oppose this invention. From what we have just said it is obvious, that the common 178 CHAPTER VL tradition which ascribes the invention of gunpowder to a certain monk, named Berthold Schwartz, merits no credit whatever. This tradition is founded on mere hearsay ; and no writers agree as to the name, tiie country, or the circumstances of this pretended inventor ; nor as to the time and place when he made this extraordinary discovery. Lastly, the mariner's compass, so essential to the art of navigation, was likewise the produc- tion of the barbarous ages to which we now refer. The ancients were aware of the property of the magnet to attract iron ; bat its direction towards the pole, and the manner of communica- ting its magnetic virtues to iron and steel, were unknown even to all those nations of antiquity who Avere renowned for their navigation and commerce. This discovery is usually attributed to a citizen of Amalfi, named Flavio Gioia, who is said to have lived about the beginning of the fourteenth century. This tra dition, ancient though it be, cannot be admitted, because we have incontestable evidence that, before this period, the polarity of the loadstone and the magnetic needle were known in Eiirope; and that, from the commencement of the thirteenth century, the Provencal mariners made use of the compass in navigation. ^^ It must be confessed, however, that we can neither point out the original author of this valuable discovery, nor the true time when it was made. All that can be well ascertained is, that the mariner's compass was rectified by degrees ; and that the English had no small share in these corrections. It is to this polar virtue or quality of the loadstone, and the magnetic needle, that we owe the astonishing progress of commerce and navigation in Europe, from the end of the fifteenth century. These were already very considerable at the time of which we speak, although navigation was as yet confined to the Mediter- ranean, the Baltic, and the shores of the Indian ocean. The cities of Italy, the Hanseatic towns, and those of the Low Countries, engrossed, at that time, the principal commerce of Europe. The Venetians, the Genoese, and the Florentines, were masters of the Levant. The Genoese had more espe- cially the command of the Black Sea, while the Venetians laid claim exclusively to the commerce of India and the East, which they carried on through the ports of Egypt and Syria. This rivalry in trade embroiled these two republics in frequent dis- putes, and involved them in long and sanguinary wars. The result turned in favour of the Venetians, who found means to maintain the empire of the Mediterranean against the Gei;oosc. The manufactories of silk, after having passed from Ga°ce into Sicily, an^^ from Sicily into the other parts of Italy, at length fixed th ^"r principal residence at Venice. This city PERIOD V. A. D. 1300—1463. 179 crime at length to furnish the greater part of Kurope with silk mercery, and the productions of Arabia and India. The Italian nieroliants, commonly known by the name of Lombard^', ex- tended their traflic through all the different slates of Europe. Favoured by the privileges and immunities which various sovereigns had granted them, they soon became masters of the commerce and the current money of every country where they established themselves ; and, in all probability, they were the first that adopted the practice of Letters or Bills of Exchange, of which we may discover traces towards the middle of the thirteenth century. The Hanseatic League, which the maritime cities on the Baltic had formed in the thirteenth century, for the proteciion of their commerce against pirates and brigands, gained very considerable accessions of strength in the following century, and even became a very formidable maritime power. A great number of the commercial cities of the Empire, from the Scheld and the isles of Zealand, to the confines of Livonia, entered successively into this League ; and many towns in the interior, in order to enjoy their protection, solicited the favour of being admitted under its flag. The first public act of a general con- federation among these cities, was drawn up at the assembly of their deputies, held at Cologne, in 1361. The whole of the allied towns were subdivided into qiiarlers ox circles; the most ancient of which were the Venedian quarter, containing the southern and eastern coasts of the Baltic; the Westphalian, for the towns on the western side ; and the Saxon, compre- hending the inland and intermediate towns. A fourth circle or quarter was afterwards added, that of the cities of Prussia and Livonia. The boundaries of these different circles and their capital towns varied from time to time. The general assem- blies of the League were held regularly every three years, in the city of Lubec, which was considered as the capital of the whole League ; while each of the three or four circles had also their particular or provincial assemblies. The most flourishing epoch of this League was about the end of the fourteenth and the early part of the fifteenth cen- tury. At that time, the deputies of more than fourscore cities appeared at its assemblies ; and even some towns who had not the privilege of sending deputies were, nevertheless, regarded as allies of the League. Having the command of the whole commerce of the Baltic, their cities exercised at their pleasure the rights of peace and war, and even of forming alliances. Thoy equipped numerous and powerful fleets, and offered bat- tle to the sovereigns of the North, whenever they presumed to ■ ww>wa^mfriw*> ' I I .■■•■(•i""" ISO CKAi'TEU VI. interfere with th'ir monopoly, or to restrict the privileges and exemptions which they had the weakness to grant ihem. The productions of the North, such as hemp, flax, timber, potash, tar, corn, hides, furs, and copper, with the produce of the large and small fisheries on the coast of Schonen, Norway, Lapland, and Iceland, ^^ formed the staple of the Hanj:eatic commerce. They exchanged these commodities, in the west- ern parts of Europe, for wines, fruits, drugs, and all sorts of cloths, which they carried back to the North in return. Their principal factories and warehouses, were at Bruges for Flan- ders, at London for England, at Novogorod for Russia, and at Bergen for Norway. The merchandise of Italy and the East was imported into Flanders, in Genoese or Venetian bottoms, which, at that lime, carried on most of the commerce of the Levant and the Mediterranean. Extensive as the trade of the Hanseatic cities was, it proved neither solid nor durable. As they were themselves deficient in the articles of raw materials and large manufactories, and entirely dependent on foreign traffic, the industry of other na- tions, especially of those skilled in the arts, had a ruinous effect on their commerce; and, in course of time, turned the current of merchandise into other channels. Besides, the want of union among these cities, their factions and intestine divL-sions, and their distance from each other, prevented them from ever forming a territorial or colonial power, or obtaining possession of the Sound, which alone was able to secure them the exclu- sive commerce of the Baltic. The sovereigns of Europe, per- ceiving at length more clearly their true interests, and sensible of the mistake they had committed in surrendering the whole commerce of their kingdom to the Hanseatic merchants, used every means to limit and abridge their privileges more and more. This, in consequence, involved the confederate towns in several destructive wars with the Kings of the North, which exhausted their finances, and induced one city after another to abandon the League. The English and the Dutch, encouraged by the Danish Kings, took advantage of this Aivourable oppor- tunity to send their vessels to the Baltic ; and by degrees they approprialeil to themselves the greater part of the trade that had been engrosied by the Hanseatic Union. But what is of more importance to remark, is, thai this League, as well as thai of Lombardy, having been formed in conseqr.ence of the state of anarchy into which the Empire had fallen in the middle ages, the natural result was, that it should" lose its credit and its influence in proportion as the feudal anarchy declined, and when the administration of the Empire had as-sumed a new form, and n^ j^^ jr- .^^^ PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 — 1453. 181 the landed nobility, emboldened by the accessions which the seventeenth century had made to their power, hud found means to compel their dependent cities to return to their allegiance, after having made repeated efforts to throw off their authority, encouraged as they were by the protection which the League held out to them. In this manner did the famous Hanseatic League, so formi- dable at the time of which we now speak, decline by degrees during the course of the seventeenth century* and in the early part of the eighteenth ; and during the Thirty Years War it be- came entirely extinct. The cities of Lubec, Hamburg and Bre- men, abandoned by all their confederates, entered into a new union for the interests of their commerce, and preserved the an- cient custom of treating in common with foreign powers, under the name of the Hanse Towns. The cities of Italy and the North were not the only ones that made comnr ce their pursuit in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp, and other towns in the Netherlands, contributed greatly to the prosperity of trade by their manufactures of cloth, cotton, camlets, and tape&try; arti- cles with which they supplied the greater part of Europe. The English exchanged their raw wool with the Belgians, for the finished manufactures of their looms, while the Italians furnish- ed them with the productions of the Levant, and the silk stuffs of India. Nothing is more surprising than the immense popu- lation of these cities, whose wealth and affluence "aised their rulers to the rank of the most powerful princes in Europe. The city of Bruges was, as it were, the centre and principal reposi- tory for the merchandise of the North and the South. Such an entrepot was necessary, at a time when navigation was yet in its infancy. For this purpose, Flanders and Brabant were ex- tremely proper, as these provinces had an easy communication with all the principal nations of the Continent ; and as the great number of their manufactories, together w^ the abundance of fish which their rivers afforded, naturally attracted a vast con- course of foreign traders. This superiority, as the commercial capital of the Low Countries, Bruges retained till nearly the end of the fifteenth century, when it lost this preppnderance, which was then transferred to the city of Antwerp. The intestine dissensions with which the cities of Flanders and Brabant were agitated, the restraints which were incessant- ly imposed on their commerce, and the frequent wars which desolated the Low Countries, induced, from time to time, a great many Blemish operatives about the fourteenth century, and the reign of Edward III., fo take refuge in England, where they vou I. 16 c^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) / O // <^j ^ ^^J* A 1.0 t I.I ::iiiM "* 140 6" M 1.8 11-25 IIIIII.4 IIIIII.6 V] .,>* >:^' '/ ^e ^i Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 k* f . W>s ^ 3' 182 ■^.' CgAPTER VI. established their cloth manufactories under the immediate pro- tection of the crown. One circumstance which more particu- larly contributed to the prosperity of the Dutch c:r,,ninerce, wps the new method of salting and barrelling- herring, which was discovered about the end of the fourteenth century (or 1400) bv a man named William Beukelszoon, a native of Biervliet, near Sluys. The new passage of the Texel, which the sea opened up about the same time, proved a most favourable accident for the city of Amsterdam, which immediately monopolized the principal commerce of the fisheries, and began to be frequented by the Hanseatic traders. We now return to the history of Germany. The Imperial throne, always elective, was conferred, in 130S, on the princes of the House of Luxembourg, who occupied it till 1438, when the House of Hapsburg obtained the Imperial dignity. It was under the reign of these two dynasties that the government of the Empire, which till then had been vacillating and uncertain, began to assume a constitutional form, and a new and settled code of laws. That which was published at the Diet of Frank- fort in 1338, secured the independence of the Empire against the Popes. It was preceded by a League, ratified at Rense by the Electors, and known by the name of the Ge7icral Union of the Electors. The Golden Bull, drawn up by the Emperor Charles IV. U356,) in the Diet^ of Nuremberg and Metz, fixed the order and the form of electing the Emperors, and the cere- monial of their coronation. It ordained that this election shouk be determined by a majority of the suflTrages of the seven Elec- tors — and that the vote of ihe Elector, who might happen to be chosen, should also be included. Moreover, to prevent those electoral divisions, which had more than once excited factions and civil wars in the Empire, this law fixed irrevocably the right of suffrage in the Principalities, then entitled Electorates. It forbade any division of these principalities, and for this end it introduced the pMpcipal of birthright, and the order of suc- cession, called agnate, or direct male line from the same father. Finally, the Golden Bull determined more particularly the rights and privileges of the electors, and confirmed to the electors of the Palatinate and Saxony the viceroyalty or government of the Empire during any interregnum. The efforts which the Council of Basle made for the reforma- tion of the church excited the attention of the Estates of the em- pire. In a diet held at Mayence (1439,) they adopted several decrees of that council, by a solemn act drawn up in presence of the ambassadors of the council, and of the kings of France, Castille, Arragon, and Portugal. Among these adopted decrees, "•nfS;i«^mwvm •v» ♦ <■' PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 — 1453. 183 which were not afterwards altered, we observe those which, establish the superiority of councils above the Popes, which prohibited those appeals called omisso medio, or immediate, and enjoined the Pope to settle all appeals referred to his court, by commissioners appointed by him upon the spot. Two concor- dats, concluded at Rome and Vienna (1447-48,) between the Papal court and the German nation, confirmed these stipulations. The latter of these concordats, however, restored to the Pope several of the reserves, of which the Pragmatic Sanction had deprived him. He was also allowed to retain the right of con- jirming the prelates, and enjoying the annats and the alternate months. The ties which united the numerous states of the German empire having been relaxed by the introduction of hereditary feudalism, and the downfall of Imperial authority, the conse- quence was, that those states, which were more remote from the seat of authority, by degrees asserted their independence, or were reduced to subjection by their more powerful neighbours, [t was in this manner that several provinces of the ancient kingdom of Burgundy, or Aries, passed in succession to the crown of France. Philip the Fair, taking advantage of the dis- putes which had arisen between the Archbishop and the citizens of Lyons, obliged the Archbishop, Peter de Savoy, to surrender to him by treaty (1312) the sovereignty of the city and its de- pendencies. The same kingdom acquired the province of Dau- phiny, in virtue of the grant which the last Dauphin, Humbert II., made (1349) of his estates to Charles, grandson of Philip de Valois, and first Dauphin of France. Provence was likewise added (1481) to the dominions of that crown, by the testament of Charles, last Count of Provence, of the House of Anjou. As to the city of Avignon, it was sold (1348) by Joan I., Queen of Naples, and Countess of Provence, to Pope Clement VI., who at the same time obtained letters-patent from the Emperor Charles IV., renouncing the claims of the^mpire to the sove- reignty of that city, as well as to all lands belonging to the Church. A most important revolution happened about this time in Switzerland. That country, formerly dependent upon the king- dom of Burgundy, had become an immediate province of the Empire (1218,) on the ex'Inction of the Dukes of Zahringen, who had governed it una'er the title of Regents. About the beginning of the fourteenth century, Switzerland was divided into a number of petty states, both secular and ecclof- tical. Among these we find the Bif^hop of Basle, the Abbe of St. Gall, the Counts of Hapsburg, Toggenburg, Savoy, Gruyeres, Neuf- cha^.el. ^Vsrd'.pbo'-J*, Bucheck, &c. The towns of Zurich, So- 184 CHAPTER VI. leure, Basle, Berne, and others, had the rank of free and imperial cities. A part of the inhabitants of Uri, Schweitz, and Under- walden, who held immediately of the Empire, were governed by their own magistrates, under the title of Cantons. They were placed by the Emperor under the jurisdiction of governors, who exercised, in his name and that of the Empire, the power of the sword in all these cantons. Such was the constitution of Switzerland, when the Emperor Albert I. of Austria, son of Rodolph of Hapsburg, conceived the project of extending hi? dominion in that country, where he already had considerable possessions, in his capacity of Count of Hapsburg, Kyburg, iBaden, and Lentzburg. Being desirous of forming Switzerland into a principality, in favour of one of his sons, he made, in course of time, several new acqrisitions of territor}% with the view of enlarging his estates. The Abbeys of Murbach, Ein- siedel, Interlaken, and Disentis, and the Canons of Lucerne, sold him their rights and possessions in Glaris, Lucerne, Schweitz, and Undervvalden. He next directed his policy against the three immediate cantons of Uri, Schweitz, and Undervvalden; and endeavoured to make them acknowledge the superiority ot Austria, by tolerating the oppressions which the governors exer- cised, whom he had appointed to rule them in the name of the Empire. It was under these circumstances that three intrepid in- dividuals, Werner de Stauflach, a native of the canton of Schweitz, Walter Fiirst, of Uri, and Arnold de Melchlhal of Underwalden, took the resolution of delivering their country from the tyranny of a foreign yoke.^*^ The conspiracy which they formed for this pur- pose, broke out on the 1st of January 1308. The governors, surprised in their castles by the conspirators, were banished the country, and their castles razed to the ground. The deputies of the three cantons assembled, and entered into a league of ten years for the maintenance of their liberties and their privileges; reserving however to the Empire its proper rights, as also those claimed by the sujJMors, whether If y or ecclesiastical. Thus a conspiracy, which was originally turned only against Austria, terminated in withdrawing Switzerland from the sovereignty of the German empire. The victory which the confederates gained over the Austrians at Morgarten, on the borders of the canton of Schweitz, encouraged them to renew their league at Brunnen (1315;) and to renderit perpetual. As it was confirmed by oath, the confederates, from this circumstance, got the name o( Eidgenossetif which means, bound by oath. This league became henceforth the basis of the federal system of the Swiss, who were not long in strengthening their cause by the accession of other cantons. The city of Lucerne, having shaken off the yoke of Hapsburg, II i|Ji»WHl PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 — 1453. 185 joined the League of Brunnen in 1332, Zurich in 1351, Glaris and Zug 1353, and Berne in 1355. These formed the eight ancient cantons. The situation of the confederates, however, could not fail to be very embarrassing, so long as the Auslrians retained the vast possessions which they had in the very centre of Switzerhmd. The proscription which the Emperor Sigismund and the Coun- cil of Constance, issued against Frederic, Duke of Austria (1415,) as an adherent and protector of John XXIII., at length fur- nished the Swiss with a favourable occasion for depriving the house of Austria of their possessions. The Bernese were the first to set the example; they took from the Austrian Dukes, the towns of ZofFingen, Aran, and Bruck, with the counties of Hapsburg and Lcntzburg, and the greater part of Aargovia. Ky- burg fell into the hands of the Zurichers ; the Lucernese made themselves masters of Sursee ; and the free bailiwicks, with the county of Baden, the towns of Mellingen and Bremgarten, were subdued by the combined forces of the ancient cantons, who. since then, have possessed them in common. In the kingdom of Lorraine a new power rose about this time (1363,) that of the Dukes of Burgundy. Philip the Hardy, younger son of John the Good, King of France, having been created Duke of Burgundy by the King his father, married Margaret, daughter and heiress of Louis III., last Count oi Flanders. By this marriage he obtained Flanders, Artois, Franche-Comlt;, Nevers, Kethel, Malines, and Antwerp, and transmitted these estates to his son John the Fearless, and his grandson Philip the Good. This latter prince increased them still more by several new acquisitions. The Count of Namur .sold him his whole patrimony, (142S.) He inherited from his cousin Philip of Burgundy, the dutchies of Brabant and Lim- bourg, (1430.) Another cousin, the famous Jaqueline de Ba- varia, made over to him by treaty (1433) the counties of Hainault, Holland, Zealand, and Friesland. Finally, ne acquired also the (iutcliy of Luxembourg and the county of Chiny, by a compact which he made with the Princess Elizabeth (1443,) niece of the Emperor Sigismund. These different accessions were so much the more important, as the Low Countries, especially Flanders and Brabant, were at that time the seat of the'most flourishing manufactories, and the principal mart of European commerce. Kence it happened, that the Dukes of Burgundy began to com- pete with the first powers in Europe, and even to rival the Kings of France. revolutions took place. famili )f the Em ijmpire, sever al Among the principal reigning The ancient Slavonic dynasty of the 16=* 186 CHAPTER VI. Dukes and Kings of Bohemia became extinct with Wenceslaua v., who was assassinated in 1306. The Emperor Henry VII., of the house of Luxembourg, seized this opportunity of trans- ferring to his own family the kingdom of Bohemia, in which he invested his son John (1309,) who had married the Princess Elizabeth, sister to the last King of Bohemia. John, having made considerable acquisitions in Bohemia, was induced to cede, by treaty with Poland, the sovereignty of that province. The Emperor Charles IV., son of John, incorporated Silesia, as also Lusatia, with the kingdom of Bohemia, by the Pragmatics which he published in 1355 and 1370. The war with the Hus- sites broke out on the death of the Emperor Wenceslaus, Kin? of Bohemia (1418;) because the followers of John Huss, ana Jerome of Prague, had refused to acknowledge, as successor of that prince, the Emperor Sigismund, his brother and heir, whom they blamed for the martyrdom of their leaders. This war one of the most sanguinary which the spirit of intolerance and fanaticism ever excited, continued for a long series of years John de Trocznova, surnamed Ziska, general-in-chief of the Hussites, defeated several times those numerous armies of cru« saders, which were sent against him into Bohemia ; and it was not till long after the death of that extraordinary man, that Si- gismund succeeded in allaying the tempest, and re-establishing his own authority in that kingdom. The house of Wiltelsbach, which possessed at the same time the Palatinate and Bavaria, was divided into two principal branches, viz. that of the Electors Palatine, and the Dukes of Bavaria. By the treaty of division, which was entered into at Pavia (1329,) they agreed on a reciprocal succession of the two branches, in case the one or the other should happen to fail of heirs-male. The direct line of the Electors of Saxony of the Ascar.ian House happening to become extinct, the Emperor Sigismund, without paying any regard to the claims of the younger branches of Saxony, conferred that Elecforate (1423,) as a vacant fief of the Empire, on Frederic the Warlike, Mar- grave of Misnia, who had rendered him signal assistance in the war againoC the Hussites. This Prince had two grandsons, Ernest and Albert, from whom are descended the two principal branches, which still divide the House of Saxony. The Ascanian dynasty did not lose merely the Electorate of Saxony, as we have just stated ; it was also deprived, in the preceding century, of the Electorate of Brandenburg. Albert, surnamed the Bear, a scion of this house, had transmitted this latter Electorate, of which he was the founder, to his descend- ants in direct line, the male heirs of which failed about the be- T"»fr'"«'iv' V.J "' mimm "WF PERIOD V. A. D. 1300—1453. 187 ginning of the fourteenth century. The Emperor Louis of Bavaria then bestowed it on his eldest son Louis (1324,) to the exclusion of the collateral branches of Saxony and Anhalt. The Bavarian Princes, however, did not long preserve this Electo- rate; they surrendered it (1373) to the Emperor Charles IV., whose son Sigismund ceded it to Frederic, Burgrave of Nu- remberg, of the House of Hohenzollern, who had advanced him considerable sums to defray his expeditions into Hungary. This Prince was solemnly invested with the electoral dignity by the Emperor, at the Council of Constance (1417,) and became the ancestor of all the Electors and Margraves of Branderburg, as well as of the Kings of Prussia. The numerous republics which had sprung up in Itiily, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, were torn to pieces by contend- ing factions, and a prey to mutual and incessant hostilities. What contributed to augment the trouble and confusion in that unhappy country was, that, during a long series of years, no Emperor had repaired thither in person, or made the smallest attempt to restore the Imperial authority in those states. The feeble efforts of Henry VII., Louis of Bavaria, and Charles IV., only served to prove, that in Italy the royal prerogative was without vigour or effect. Anarchy every where prevailed ; and that spirit of liberty and republicanism which had once anima- ted the Italians gradually disappeared. Disgusted at length with privileges which had become so fatal to them, some of these republics adopted the plan of choosing new masters ; while others were subjected, against their inclinations, by the more powerful of the nobles. The Marquises of Este seized Modena and Reggio (133G,) and obtained the ducal dignity (1452) from the Emperor Frederic III. Mantua fell to the house of Gonza- ga, who possessed that sovereignty first under the title of Mar- graves, and afterwards under that of Dukes, which was confer- red on them by the Emperor Charles V. in 1530. But the greater part of these Italian republics fell to the share of the Visconti of Milan. The person who founded the prosperity of their house was Matthew Visconti, nephew of Otho Visconti, Archbishop of Milan. Invested with the titles of Captain and Imperial Viceroy in Lombardy, he continued to make himself acknowledged as sovereign of Milan (1315,) and conquered in succession all the principal towns and republics of Lombardy. His successors followed his example : they enlarged their terri- tories by several new conquests, till at length John Galeas, great grandson of Matthew Visconti, obtained, from the Emperor Wen- ceslaus (1395,) for a sum of a hundred thousand florins of gold which he paid him, the title of Duke of Milan for himself and 'ijsl -iii:^ '■,W 1S8 chapteh VI. all his descendants. The Visconti Aimily reigned at Milan til! 1447, when they were replaced by that of Sforza. Among the republics of Italy who escaped the catast.ophe of t1)'> fourteenth century, the most conspicuous were those of Florence, Genoa and' Venice. The city of Fhrence, like all the others in Tuscany, formed itself into a republic about the end of the twelfth century. lis frovernment underwent frequent changes, after the introduction of a democracy about the middle of the thirteenth century. The various factions which had agi tated the republic, induced the Florentines to elect a magistrate (1292,) called Gonfalonierc de Justice, or Captain of Justice; invested with power to assemble the inhabitants under his stand- ard, whenever the means for conciliation were insufficient to suppress faction and restore peace. These internal agitations, however, did not prevent the Florentines from enriching them- selves by means of their commerce and manufactures. They succeeded, in course of time, in subjecting the greater part of the free cities of Tuscany, and especially that of Pisa, which they conquered in 1400. The republic of Lucca was the only one that maintained its independence, in spite of all the efforts which the Florentines made to subdue it. The republican form of government continued in Florence till the year 1530, when the family of the Medici usurped the sovereignty, under the protection of the Emperor Charles V. Tlie same rivalry which had set the Genoese to quarrel with the Pisans, excited their jealousy against the Venetians. The interests of these two Republics thwarted each other, both in the Levant and the Mediterranean. This gave rise to a long and disastrous series of wars, the last and most memorable of which was that of Chioggia (1376-82.) The Genoese, after a signal victory which they obtained over the Venetians, before Pola in the Adriatic Gulf, penetrated to the very midst of the lagoons of Venice, and attacked the port of Chioggia. Peter Doria made himself master of this port; he would have even surprised Ve- nice, had he taken advantage of the first consternation of the Venetians, who were already deliberating whether they should abandon their city and take refuge in the isle of Candia. The tardiness of the Genoese admiral gave them time to recover themselves. Impelled by a noble despair, they made extraordi- nary efforts to equip a new fleet, with which they attacked the Genoese near Chioggia. This place was retaken (24th June 13S0,) and the severe check which the Genoese there received, may bo said to have decided the command of the sea in favour of the Venetians. But what contributed still more to the down- fall of the Genoese, was the instability of their government, and %"' -,i I VI IP lawiHi PERIOD TT. A. D. 1300 — 1453. 169 the internal commotions of the republic. Agitated by continual divisions between the nobles and the common citizens, and in- capable of managing their own affairs, they at length surrender- ed themselves to the power of strangers. Volatile and incon- stant, and equally impatient of liberty as of servitude, these fickle republicans underwent a frequent change of masters. Twice (1396-1458) they put themselves under the protection of the Kings of France. At length they discarded the French, and chose for their protector either the Marquis of Montferrai or the Duke of Milan. Finally, from the year 1464, the city of Genoa was constantly regarded as a dependency of the dutchy of Milan, until 1528, when it recovered once more its ancient state of independence. While the Republic of Genoa was gradually declining, that of Venice was every day acquiring new accessions of power. The numerous establishments which they had formed in the Adriatic Gulf and the Eastern Seas, together with the additional vigour which they derived from the introduction of the heredi- tary aristocracy, wer'^ highly advantageous to the progress of their commerce and marine. The treaty which they concluded with the Sultan of Egypt (1343,) by guaranteeing to their re- public an entire liberty of commerce in the ports of Syria and Ep-ypt, as also the privilege of having consuls at Alexandria and Djumascus, put it in their power gradually to appropriate to themselves the whole trade of India, and to maintain it against the Genoese, who had disputed with them the commerce of the East, as well as the command of the sea. These successes en- couraged the Venetians to make new acquisitions ; the turbu- lent state of Lombardy having afforded them an opportunity of enlarging their dominions on the continent of Italy, where at first they had possessed only the single dogeship of Venice, and the small province of Istria. They seized on Treviso, and the whole Trevisan March (1388,) which they took from the pow- erful house of Carrara. In 1420 they again got possession of Dahnatia, which they conquered from Sigismund, King of Hun- gary. This conquest paved the way for that of Friuli, which they took about the same time from the Patriarch of Aquileia, an ally of the King of Hungary. At length, by a succession of good fortune, they detached from the dutchy of Milan (1404) the cities and territorif's of Vicenza, Belluno, Verona, Padua, Brescia, Bergamo, and Cremona (1454,) and thus formed a con- siderable estate on the mainland. Naples, during the course of this period, was governed by a descendant of Charles, of the first House of Anjou, and younger brother of St. Louis. Queen Joan I., daughter of Robert, King 190 CHAPTER VI. of Naples, having no children of her own, adopteo a younge/ prince of the Angevine family, Charles of Durazzo, whom she destined as her successor, after having given him her niece in marriage. This ungrateful prince, in his eagerness to possess the crown, took arms against the Queen his benefactress, and compelled her to solicit the aid of foreign powers. It was on this occasion that Joan, after rescinditjg and annulling her former deed ofl adoption, made another in favour of Louis I., younger brother of Charles V., King of France, and founder of the second House of Anjou. But the succours of that prince came too late to save the Queen from the hands of her cruel enemy. Charles having made himself master of Naples and of the Queen's per- son (1382,) immediately put her to death, and maintained him- self on the throne, in spite of his adversary Louis of Anjou, who obtained nothing more of the Queen's estates than the single county of Provence, which he transmitted to his descendants, together with his claim on the kingdom of Naples. Joan II., daughter and heiress of Charles of Durazzo, having been at- tacked by Louis III. of Anjou, who wished to enforce the rights of adoption which had descended to him from his grandfather Louis I., she implored the protection of Alphonso V., King of Arragon, whom she adopted and declared her heir (1421 ;) but afterwards, having quarrelled with ihat princi, she changed her resolution, and passed a new act of adoption (1423) in favour of that san.e Louis of Anjou who had just made war against her Rene of Anjou, the brother and successor of that prince, took possessiori of the kingdom of Naples on the death of Joan II. (1435;) but he was expelled by the King of Arragon (1445,) who had procured from Pope Eugenius IV. the investiture of that kingdom, which he transmitted to his natural son Ferdi- nand, descended from a particular branch of the Kings of Na- ples. The rights of the second race of Angevine princes, were transferred to the Kings of France, along with the county ot Provence .(1481.) Spain, which was divided into a variety of sovereignties both Christian and Mahometan, presented at this time a kind of sepa- rate or distinct continent, whose interests had almost nothing in common with the rest of Europe. The Kings of Nai^arre, Cas- tiile, and Arragon, disagreeing among themselves, and occupied with the internal affairs of their own kingdoms, had but little leisure to attempt or accomplish any foreign enterprise. Of ail the Kings of Castillo at this period, the most famous, in the wars against the Moors, was Alphonso XI. The Mahometan kings of Morocco and Grenada having united their forces, laid siege to the city of Tariffa in Andalusia, where Alphonso, as- avers to his deprii diatel terpri: J&a ^r wa,iiF I WW 1 1 I u ■ I PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 — 1453. 191 eisted by the King of Portugal, ventured to attack them in the neighbourhood of that place. He gained aeon 'ete victory own the Moors (1310;) and this was followed by the conquo^'. of various other cities and districts; among others, Alcala-Keal. and Aigeziras. While the Kings of Castille were extending their conquests in the interior of Spain, those of Arragon, hemmed in by the Cnstillians, were obliged to look for aggrandizement abroad. They possessed the country of Barcelona or Catalonia, in virtue jf the marriage of Count Kaymond Bereriger IV. with Donna Petronilla, heiress of the hingdom of Arragon. To this ilicy added the county of Rousillon, and the seignory or lordship of Montpelier, both of which, as well as Catalonia, belonged to the sovereignty of France. Don James I., who conquered ihe kini;- dom of Valencia and the Balearic Isles, gave these, with IJuu- sillon and Montpelier, to Don James his younger son, and from whom were descended the Kings of Majorca, the last of whom, Don Jame^ III., sold Montpelier to France (1319.) Don Pedro III., King of Arragon, and eldest son of Don James I., took Sicily, as we have already seen, from Charles I. of Anjou. Ferdinand II., a younger son of Don Pedro, formed a separate branch of the kings of Sicily, on the extinction of which (1409,) that kingdom reverted to the crown of Arragon. Sardinia was incorporated with the kingdom of Arragon by Don James II., who had conquered it from tne Pisans. Finally, Alphonso V., King of Arragon, having deprived the Angevines of the king- dom of Naples, established a distinct line of Neapolitan kings. This kingdom was at length united with the monarchy of Arra- gon by Ferdinand the Catholic. In Portugal, the legitimate line of kings, descendants of Henry of Burgundy, had failed in Don Ferdinand, son and suc- cessor of Don Pedro III. This prince had an only daughter named Beatrix, born in criminal intercourse with Eleanora Tellez de Meneses, whom he had taken from her lawful hus- band. Being desirous to make this princess his successor, he married her, at the age of eleven, to John I., King of Castille : securing the throne to the son who should be born of this union, and failing hirn, to the King of Castille, his son-in-law. Fer- dinand dying soon after this marriage, Don Juan, his natural brother, and grandmaster of the order of Aviez, knowing the aversion of the Portuguese for the Castillian sway, turned this to his own advantage, by seizing the regency, of which he had deprived the Queen-dow^ager. The King of Castille imme- diately laid siege to Lisbon ; but having miscarried in this en- terprise, the States of Portugal assembled at Coimbra, and 11 m CHAPTLa VI. conferred the crown on Don Juan, known in history hy thf name of Joh?i the Bastard. This prince, aided with troops from England, engaged the Castiilians and their allies the French, at the famous battle fought on the plains of Aljubarota (14th August 1385.) The Portuguese remained masters of the field, and John the Bastard succeeded in maintaining himself on ihe throne of Portugal. The war, however, continued several years between the Portuguese and the Castiilians, and did not terminate till 1411. By the peace which was then concluded, Henry III., son of John I., King of Castille, agreed never lo urge the claims of Queen Beatrix, his mother-iri-law, who had no children. John the Bastard founded a new dynasty of kings, who occupied the throne of Portugal from 1385 lo 1580. In France, the direct line of kings, descendants of Hugh Capet, having become extinct in the sons of Philip the Fair, the crown passed to the collateral branch of Valois (1328,) which furnished a series of thirteen kings, during a period ol two hundred and sixty-one years. The rivalry between France and England, which had sprung up during the preceding period, assumed a more hostile charac- ter on the accession of the family of Valois. Till then, the quarrels of the two nations had been limited to some particular territory, or province ; but now they disputed even the succes- sion to the throne of France, which the kings of England claimed as their right. Edward III., by his mother, Isabella of Franco, was n -phew to Charles IV., the last of the Capetian kingrin a direct line. He claimed the succession in opposition to Philip VI., surnamed de Valois, who being cousin-german to Charles, was one degree more remote than the King of England. The claim of Edward was opposed by the Salic law, which excluded females from the succession to the throne ; but, according to the mterpretation of that prince, the law admitted his right, and must be understood as referring to females personally, who were excluded on account of the weakness of their sex, and not to their male descendants. Granting that his mother, Isu- bella, could not herself aspire to the crown, he maintained that she gave him the right of proximity, which qualified him for the succession. The States of France, however, having de- cided in favour of Philip, the King of England did fealty and homage to that prince for the dutchy of Guienne ; but he laid no claim to the crown until 1337, when he assumed the title and arms of the King of France. The war which began in 1338, was renewed during several reigns, for the space of a hundred years, and ended with the entire expulsion of theEng- tish from France. .^ t nv^pMP(^r*^w^ilirr PKRTOD V. A. D. 1300 — 1453. 193 Nothinjof could be more wretched than the situation of this kinijdom during the reign of Charles VI That prince hiiving iollen into a stiite of insanity in the flower of his age, two par- ties, those of Burgundy and Orleans, who had disputed with each other abcut the regency, divided the Court into factions, and kindled the flames of civil war in the four corners of the kingdom. John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, and uncle to the king, caused Louis, Duke of Orleans, ti.e King's own brother, to be assassinated at Paris (1407.) He himself v;as assassinated in his turn (1419) on the bridge of Montereau, in the very presence of the Dauphin, who was afterwards king, \nder the name of Charhs VII. These dissensions gave the tlnglish an opportunity for renewing the war. Henry the V. of England gained tlie famous battle of Agincourt, which was followed by the conquest of all Normandy. Isabella of Ba- varia then abandoned the faction of Orleans, und the party of !ier son the Dauphin, and joined that of Burgundy. Philip iho Good, Duke of Burgundy, and son of John the Fearless, being determined to revenge the death of his father, which he laid to the charge of the Dauphin, entered into a negotiation with England, into which he contrived to draw Queen Isabella, and the imbecile Charles the VI. By the treaty of peace con- cluded at Troyes in Ch-.impagne (1420,) it was agreed that Catharine of Franco, daugliter of Charles VI. and Isabella of Bavaria, should espouse Henry V., and that, on the death of the King, th j crown should pass to Henry, and the children of his marriage with the Princess of France ; to the exclusion of the Dauphin, who, as an accompli'^e in the murder of the Duke of Burgundy, was declared to have lost his rights to the crown, and was banished froia the kingdom. Henry V. died in the flower of his age, and his death was followed soon after by that of Charles VI. Henry VI., son of Henry V. and Catharine of France, being then proclaimed King of England and France, fixed his residence at Paris, and had for his regents his two uncles, the Dukes of Bedford and Gloucester. Such was the preponderance of the English and Burgundian party in Fiance at this period, that Charles VII., commonly called the Dauphin, more than once saw himself upon the point of being expelled the kingdom. He owed his safety en- tirely to the appearance of the famous Joan of Arc, called the Maid of Orleans. This extraordinary woman revived the drooping courage of the French. She compelled the English to raise the siege of Orleans, and brought the King to be crowned at Rheims (1429.) But what contributed still more to retrieve the party of Charles VII., was the re( onciliation of that VOL. I. 17 M CHAPTER VI. prince with the Duke of Burgundy, which took place at the peace of Arras (1435.) The Duke having then united his forces with those of the King, the Enghsh were in their turn expelled from France (1453,) the single city of Calais being ai that remained to them of their former conquests. An important revolution happened in the government of France under the reij^.i of Charles VII. The royal authority gained fresh vigour by the expulsion of the English, and the reconciliation of various parlies that took place in consequence. The feudal system, which till then had prevailed in France, fell by degrees into disuse. Charles was the first king who estab- lished a permanent militia, and taught his successors to abandon the feudal mode of warfare. This prince also instituted Com' panics of ordonance (1445 ;) and, to defray the expense of their maintenance, he ordered, of his own authority, a certain impost o be levied, called the Tax of the Gens-d' amies . This stand- ing army, which at first amounted only to six thousand men, was augmented in course of time, while the royal finances increased in proportion. By means of these establishments, the kings obtained such an ascendancy over their vassals that they soon found themselves in a condition to prescribe laws to them, and thus gradually to abolish the feudal system. The most powerful of the nobles could make little resistance against a sovereign who was always armed ; while the kings, imposing laxes at their pleasure, by degrees dispensed with the necessity of assembling the states-general. The same prince secured the liberties of the Gallican church against the encroachments of the Court of Rome, by solemnly adopting several of the decrees of the Council of Basle, which he caused to be passed in the National Council held al Bourges, and published under the title of the Pragmatic Sanction (1438.) In England, two branches of the reigning family of the Plan- tagenets, those of Lancaster and York, contested for a long time the right to the crown. Henry IV., the first king of the House of Lancister, was the son of .Tohn of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and grandson of Edward III. King of England. He usurped the crown from Richard II., whom he deposed by act of Parliament (1399.) But instead of enforcing the rights which he inherited from his father and grandfather, he rested his claims entirely upon those which he alleged had devolved to him in right of his mother, Blanch of Lancaster, great grand- daughter of Edward, surnamed Hunchback, Earl of Lancaster. This prince, according to a popular tradition, was the eldest son of Henry IIL, who, it was said, had been excluded from the ihrone by his younger brother Edward I., on account o'"his de \Va II., Sco seve the strai Ihe PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 — 1453. 195 formity. This tradition proved useful to Henry IV. in excluding the rights of the House of Clarence, wh-^ preceded him in the order of succession. This latter family was descended from Lionel, Duke of Clarence, and elder brother of John of Gaunt. Pliilippine, daughter of Lionel, was married to Edward Morti- mer, by whom she had a son, Roger, whom the Parliament, by an act passed in 13S6, declared presumptive heir to the crown. Ann Moriimer, the daughter of Koger, married Richard, Duke of York, son of Edward Langley, who was the younger brother of John of Gaunt, and thus transferred the right of Lionel to the Royal House of York. The Princes of the House of Lancaster are known in Eng- lish history by the name of the Red Rose, while those of York were designated by that of the White Rose. The former of these Houses occupied the throne for a period of sixty-three years, during the reigns of Henry IV., V., VI. It was under the feeble reign of Henry VI. that the House of York began to advance their right to the crown, and that the civil war broke out between the two Roses. Richard, Duke of York, and heir to the claims of Lionel and Mortimer, was the first to raise thb standard in this war of competition (1452,) which continued more than thirty years, and was one of the most cruel and san- guinary recorded in history. Twelve pitched battles were fought between the two Roses, eighty princes of the blood pe- rished in the contest, and England, during the whole time, pre- sented a tragical spectacle of horror and carnage. Edward IV., son of Richard, Duke of York, and grandson of Ann Mortimer, ascended the throne (1461,) which he had stained with the blood of Henry IV., and of several other Princes of the House of Lancaster. In Scotland, the male line of the ancient kings having become extinct in Alexander III., a crowd of claimants appeared on the field, who disputed with each other the succession of the throne. The chief of these competitors were the two Scottish families of Baliol and Bruce, both descended by the mother's side from the Royal Family. Four princes of these contending families reigned in Scotland until the year 1371, when the crown passed from the House of Bruce to that of Stuart. Robert II., son ol Walter Stuart and Marjory Bruce, succeeded his uncle David II., and in his family the throne remained uiitil the Union, when Scotland was united to England about the beginning of the seventeenth century. Under the government of the Stuarts, the royal authority acquired fresh energy after being long re- strained and circumscribed by a turbulent nobility. Towards the middle of the fifteenth century, James I., a very accomplished ^k -f^mmwr < Piw ,il w^wi^gvimw* ipijiiii 196 CHAPTER VI. prince, gave the first blow to the feudal system and the exorb'- lant power of the grandees. He deprived them of several of the crown-lands whicli they had usurped, and confiscated the properly of some of the most audacious whom he had con- demned to execution. James II. followed the example of his father. He strengthened the royal authority, by humbling the powerful family of Douglas, as well as by the wise laws which he prevailed with his Parliament to adopt. The three kingdoms of the North, after having been long agitated by internal dissensions, were at length united into a single monarchy by Margaret, called the Semiramis of the North. This princess was daughter of Valdemar III., the last King of Denmark of the ancient reigning family, and widow of Haco Vil., L'.ig of Norway. She was first elected Queen of Den- mark, and then of Norway, after the death of her son, Olaus v., whom she had by her marriage with Haco, and who died without leaving any posterity (13S7.) The Swedes, discon- tented with their King, Albert of Mecklenburg, likewise be- stowed their crown upon this princess. Albert was vanquisi ed and made prisoner at ihe battle of Fahlekoeping (1389.) The whole of Sweden, from that time, acknowledged the authority of Queen Margaret. Being desirous of uniting the three king- doms into one single body-politic, she assembled their respective Estates at Calmar (1397,) and there caused her grand-nephew Eric, son of Wratislaus, Duke of Pomerania, and Mary of jMecklonburg, daughter of Ingeburg, her own sister, to be re- ceived and crowned as her successor. The act which ratified the perpetual and irrevocable union of the three kingdoms, was approved ni that assembly. It provided, that the united states should, in future, have but one and the same king, who should be ciiosen with the common consent of the Senators and Depu- ties of the three kingdoms ; that they should always give the preference to the descendants of Eric, if there were any ; that the three kingdoms should assist each other with their combined forces against all foreign enemies ; that each kingdom should preserve its own constitution, its senate, and national legisla- ture, and be governed conformably to its own laws. This union, how formidable soever it might appear at first sight, was by no means firmly onsolidated. A federal system of three monarchies, divided by mutual jealousies, and by dis- similarity in their laws, manners, and institutions, could present nothing either solid or durable. The predilection, besides, wh.ich the kino-* of the union who succeeded Margaret showed for the Daneb , the preference which they gave them in the distribution of favours and places of trust, and the tone of su PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 — 1453. 197 periority which they afTected towards their allies, tended natu- rally to foster animosity and hatred, and, above all, to exasperate the Swedes against the union. Eric, after a very turbulent reign, was deposed, and his nephew, Christopher the Bavarian, was elected King of the union in his place. This latter prince having died without issue, the Swedes took this opportunity of breaking the union, and choosing a king of their own, Charles Canut&on Bonde, known by the title of Charles VIII. It was he who induced the Danes to venture likewise on a new elec- tion ; and this same year they transferred their crown to Chris- lian, son of Thierry, and Count of Oldenburg, descended by \iie female side from the race of their ancient kings. This prince had the good foi. .ne to renew the union with Norway (1450;) he likewise governed Sweden from the year 1437, when Charles VIII. was expelled by his subjects, till 1464, when he was recalled. But what deserves more particularly to be remarked, is the acquisition which Christian made of the provinces of Sleswick and Holstein, to which he succeeded (1459,) by a disposition of the States of these provinces, after the death of Duke Adolphus, the maternal uncle of the new King of Denmark, and last male heir of the Counts of Hol- stein, of the ancient House of Schauenburg, Christian I. was the progenitor of all the Kings who have since reigned in Den- mark and Norway. His grandson lost Sweden ; but, in the last century, the thrones both of Russia and Sweden were occupied by princes of his family. Russia, during the whole of this period, groaned under the degrading yoke of the Moguls and the Tartars. The Grand Dukes, as well as the other Russian princes, were obliged to solicit the confirmation of their dignity from the Khan of Kip- zack, who granted or refused it at his pleasure. The dissen- sions which arose among these northern princes, were in like manner submitted to his decision. When summoned to appear at his horde, they were obliged to repair thither without delay, and often suffered the punishment of ignominy and death. ^' Th« contributions which the Khans at first exacted from the Rus- sians in the shape of gratuitous donations, were converted, in course of time, into regular tribute. Bereke Khan, the suc- cessor of Batou, was the first who levied this tribute by officers of his own nation. His successors increased still more the load of these taxes ; they even subjected the Russian princes to the performance of military service. The Grand Ducal dignity, which for a long time belonged exclusively to the chiefs of the principalities of Vladimir and Kiaso, becagae common, about the end of the fourteenth cen- 17 # |iluii!Vlll.Jfl ■ »v-^fr^wrmt^i^^n .i.unjiuii i 19S CHAPTEH VI. liiry, to several of the other principalities, who shared among ihoin the dominion of Russia. The princes of Rczan, Tner, Siiiolensko, and several others, took the title of Grand Di.kes, to distinguish themselves from the petty princes who were es- tablished within their principalities. Tiiese divisions, t0£»ether with the internal broils to which thoy gave rise, emboldened the Lithuanians and Poles to carry their victorious arms into Russia ; and by degrees they dismembered the whole western part of the ancient empire. The Lithuanians,'^ who are supposed to have been of the same race with the ancient Prussians, Lethonians, Livonians, and Eslhonians, inhabited originally the banks of the rivers Nieinen and Wilia , an inconsiderable state, comprehending Siiinogitia and a part of the ancient Palatinates of Troki and Wilna. After having been tributaries to the Russians for a long time, the princes of Lithuania shook off their yoke, and began to aggrandize themselves at the expense of the Grand Dukos, their former masters. Towards the middle of the elev(>nth century, they passed the Wilia, founded thetownofKIer- now, and took from the Russians Braclaw, Novgorodek, Grodno, Rorzesc, Bielsk, Pinsk, Mozyr, Polotsk, Minsk, Witepsk, Orza, and ]\fscislaw, with their extensive dependencies. Ringolcl was the first of these princes that assumed the dignity of Grand Dulce, about the mi(' lie of the thirteenth century. His succes- sor Mendog orMindiuv, harassed by the Teutonic Knights, em- braced Christianity ab ' the year 1252, and was declared King of Lithuania by the Pope; though he afterwards returned to Paganism, and became one of the most cruel er)emies of the Christian name. Gedimin, who ascended the throne of the CJrand Duke (1315,) rendered himself famous by his new con- quests. After a series of victories which he gained over the Russian Princes, who were supported by the Tartars, he took pos;:ession of the city and Principality of Kiow (1320.) The whole of the Grand Dutchy of Kiow, and its dependent princi- paliiies on this side the Dnieper, were conquered in succession. The Grand Dukes df Lithuania, who had become formidable to alt their neighbours, weakened their power by partitioning tneir estates among their sons ; reserving to one, under the title of Grand Duke, the right of superiority over the rest. The civil dl3sen^;ions which resulted from these divisions, gave the Poles an opportunity of seizing the principalities of Leopold, Przemysl, and Halilsch (1340,) and of taking from the Lithuanians and their Grand Duke Olgerd, the whf^/3 of Volhynia and Podoiia, of which they had deprived the Ri isians (1349.) Nothing more then remained of the ancient Russian Empire «)f«VPTvr,> p>u«(*vai^«kvap>i I'tv PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 — 1453. 19& •>xcept the Grand Dutchy of Wolodimir, so called from the town of thai name on tlie river Kliazma, where the Grand Dukes o. Eastern and Northern Russia had their residence, before the}' bad fixed their capital at Moscow; which happened about the end of the thirteenth or the beirinning of the fourteenth century. This Grand Dutchy, which had several dependent and subor dinate principalities, was conferred by the Khan of Kipzach (1320) on Ivvan or John Danilovitsh, Prince of Moscow, who transmitted it to his descendants. Demetrius Iwanovitsh, nrand- son of Iwan, took advantai>-e of the turbulence which distracted the grand horde, and turned his arms against the Tartars. As- sisted by several of the Russian princes his vassals, he gained a signal victory near the Don (13S0,) over the Khan ^emnic- Mamai, the first which gained the Russians any celebrity, and which procured Demetrius the proud epithet of Dousk/, or con- queror of the Don. This prince, however, gained little advan- tage by his victory ; and for a long time after, the Tartars gave law to the Russians and made them their tril)utaries. Tolctamish Khan, after having vanquished and humbled Mamai, penetrated as far as Moscow, sacked ihe city, and massacred a great num- ber of the inhabitants. Demetrius was forced to implore the mercy of the conqueror, and to send his son a hostage to the horde in security for his allegiance. The chief residence of the Teutonic Order, which had for- merly been at Verden, was fixed at Marienburg, a city newly built, which from that time became the capital of all Prussia. The Teutonic Knights did not limit tlieir conquests to Prussia; ihey took from the Poles Dantzic or Eastern Pomerania (1311,) situated between the Netzc, the Vistula, and the Baltic Sea, and known since by the name of Pomerelia. This province was definitively ceded to them, with the territory of Culm, and Michelau, by a treaty of peace which was signed at Kalitz (1343.) The city of Dantzic, which was their capital, increased considerably under the dominion of the Order, and became one of the principal entrepots for the commerce of the Baltic. 01 all the exploits of these Knights, the most enterprising was that which had for its object the conquest of Lithuania. Religion, and a pretended gift of the Emperor Louis of Bavaria, served tli%m as a pretext for attacking the Lithuanians, who were Pa- gans, in a murderous war, which continued almost without in- terruption for the space of a century. The Grand Dukes of Lithuania, always more formidable after their defeat, defended their liberties and independence with a courage and perseverance almost miraculous ; and it was only by taking advantage of the dissensions . hich had arisen in the family of the Grand Duke 200 CHAPTEtt VI. tliat they succeeded in obtaining possession of Samogitia, by the treaiv of peace which was concluded at Racianz (1404.) The linights of Livonia, united to the Teutonic Order under the authority of one and the same Grand Master, added to their former conquests the province of Esthonia, which was sold to them by Vaidemar IV., King of Denmark. ^^ The Teutonic Knights were at the zenith of their greatness, about the begin- ning i' the fifteenth century. At that time they were become a formidable power in the North, having under their dominion the whole of Prussia, comprehending Pomerania and the New March, as also Samogitia, Courland, Livonia and Esthonia. -^ A population proportioned to the extent of their dominions, a well regulated treasury, and a flourishing commerce, seemed to guarantee them a solid and durable empire. Nevertheless, the jealousy of their neighbours, the union of Lithuania with Po- land, and the conversion of the Lithuanians to Christianity, which deprived the Knights of the assistance of the Crusaders, soon became fatal to their Order, and accelerated their down- fall. The Lithuanians again obtained possession of Samogitia, which, with Sudavia, was ceded to them by the various treaties which they concluded with that Order, between 1411-1436. The oppressive government of the Teutonic Knights — their own private dissensions, and the intolerable burden of taxation — the fatal consequence of incessant war — induced the nobles and cities of Prussia. and Pomerania to form a confederacy against the Order, and to solicit the protection of the Kings of Poland. This was granted to them, on their signing a deed of submission to that kingdom (1454.) The result was a long and bloody war with Poland, which did not terminate till the peace of Thorn (1466.) Poland then obtained the cession of Culm, Michelau and Dantzic ; that is to say, all the countries now comprehended under the name of Polish Prussia. The rest of Prussia was retained by the Teutonic Order, who promised, by means of their Grand Master, to do fealty and homage for it to the Kings of Poland. The chief residence of the Order was then trans- ferred to Koningsberg, where it continued until the time when the Knights were deprived of Prussia by the House of Brandenburg. At length, however, Poland recovered from this state of weak- ness into which the unfortunate divisions of Boleslaus III. and his descendants had plunged it. Uladislaus IV. surnamed the Dwarf, having combined several of these principalities, was crowned King of Poland at Cracow (1320.) From that time the Royal dignity became permanent in Poland, and was trans- mitted to all the successors of Uladislaus. -^ The immediate successor of that Prince was his son Casimir the Gr>eat, who 1 1 111,1111,. Ill I I) mi" I iiv. ^1. mf ^liW^V PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 — 145a. 201 renounced his rights of sovereignty over Silesia in favour of the King of Bohemia, and afterwards compensated this loss by tlic acquisition of several of the provinces of ancient Russia. He likewise took possession of Red Russia (1340,) as also of the provinces of Volhynia, Podolia, Chelni and Belz, which he con- quered from the Grand Dukes of Lithuania (1349,) who had fonuerly dismembered them from the Russian Empire. Under Casimir the Great, another revolution happened in the government of Poland. That Prince, having no children of his own, and wishing to bequeath the crown to his nephew Louis, his sister's son, by Charles Robert King of Hunjrary, convoked a general assembly of the nation at Cracow (1339,) and there got the succession of the Hungarian Prince ratified, in opposi- lior. to the legitimate rights of the Piast Dynasty, who reigned in i\Iasovia and Silesia. This subversion of the hereditary right of the different branches of the Piasts, gave the Polish Nobles a pretext for interfering in the election of their Kings, until at last the throne became completely elective. It also affurded them an opportunity for limiting the power of their Kings, and laying the foundation of a republican and aristocratic government. Deputies were sent into Hungary (1355,) even during the life of C.isimir, who obliged King Louis, his intended successor, to subscribe an act which provided that, on his ac- cession to the crown, he should bind himself, and his successors, to dis;burden the Polish nobility of all taxes and contributions ; that he should never, under any pretext, exact subsidies from them; and that, in travelling, he should claim nothing for the support of his court, in any place during his journey. The an- cient race of the Piast sovereigns of Poland ended with Casimir (1370,) after having occupied the throne of that kingdom for several centuries. His successor in Poland and Hungary was Louis, surnaraed the Great. In a Diet assembled in 13S2, he obtained the con- currence of the Poles, in the choice which he had made of Sicis- mund of Luxembourg, as his son-in-law and successor in both kingdoms. But on the death of Louis, which happened imme- diately after, the Poles broke their engagement, and confeired (heir crown on Hedwiga, a younger Jaughter of that Prince. It was stipulated, that she should marry Jagellon, Grand Duke of Lithuania, who agreed to incorporate Lithuania wiih Poland, to renounce Paganism, and embrace Christianity, himself and all his subjects. Jagellon was baptized, when he received the name of Uladislaus, and was ciowned King of Poland at Cracow (13S6.)"- It was on the accession of Jagellon,thatPoln' I and Lithuania, long opposed in their interests, and implacable euemies 202 CHAPTER Vr. of each other, were united into one body politic under the au- thority of one and the same King. ISevertheiess, for nearly two centuries, Lithuania still preserved its own Grand Dukes, who acknowledged the sovereignty of Poland ; and it was not, properly speaking, till the reign of Sigismund Augustus, that the union of the two states was finally accomplished (1569.) This important union rendered Poland the preponderating power of the North. It became fatal to the influence of the Teutonic Order, who soon yielded to the united eflbrts of the Poles and Lithuanians. Uladislaus Jagellon did not obtain the assent of the Polish nobility to the succession of his son, except by adding new pri- vileges to those which they had obtained from his predecessor. He was the first of the Polish kings who, for the purpose of im- posing an extraordinary taxation, called in the Nuncios or De- puties of the Nobility to the General Diet (1404,) and established the use of Dietines or provincial diets. His descendants enjoyed the crown until they became eximct, in the sixteenth century. The succession, however, was mixed ; and although the princes of the House of Jagellon might regard themselves as hereditary possessors of the kingdom, nevertheless, on every change of reign, it was necessary that the crown should be conferred by the choice and consent of the nobility. In Hungary, the male race of the ancient kings, descendants of Duke Arpad, had become extinct in Andrew III. (1301.^ The Crown was then contested by several competitors, and at length fell into the hands of the House of Anjou, the reigning family of Naples. Charles Robert, grandson of Charles II. King of Naples, by Mary of Hungary, outstripped his rivals, and trans- mitted the Crown to his son Louis, surnamed the Great (1308.) This Prmce, characterized by his eminent qualities, made a dis- tinguished figure among the Kings of Hungary. He conquered from the Venetians the whole of Dalmatia, from the frontiers of Istria, as far as Durazzo ; he reduced the Princes of Moldavia, Walachia, Bosnia and Bulgaria, to a state of dependence ; and at length mounted the throne of Poland on the detjth of his uncle Casimir the Great. ^^ Mary, his eldest daughter, succeeded him in the kingdom of Hungary (1382.) This Princess mar- ried Sigismund of Luxembourg, who thus united the monarchy of Hungary to the Imperial crown. The reign of Sigismund in Hungary was most unfortunate, and a prey to continual disturbances. He had to sustain the first war against the Ottoman Turks ; and with the Emperor of Constantinople, as his ally, he assembled a formidable army, with which he undertook the siege of Nicopolis in Bulgaria. yimw^'*^lgf "."f.»" •nm •^ PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 — 1453. 203 Here he sustained a complete defeat by the Turks. In hi? re- tr<^at he was compelled to embark on the Danube, and directed his flight towards Constantinople. This disaster was followed by new misfortunes. The malcontents of Hungary ofTered their Crown to Ladislaus, called the Magnanimous, King of Naples, who took possession of Dalmatia, which he afterwards surren- dered to the Venetians. Desirous to provide for the defence and security of his kingdom, Sigismund acquired, by trea y with the Prince of Servia, the fortress of Belgrade (1425,) which, by its situation at the confluence of the Danube and the Save, seemed to him a proper bulwark to protect Hungary agr.inst th« Turks. He transmitted the crown of Hungary to his son-in-law, Albert of Austria, who reigned only two years. The war with the Turks was renewed under Uladislaus of Poland, son of Jagel Ion, and successor to Albert. That Prince fought a bloody battle with them near Varna in Bulgaria (1444.) The Hungari- ans again sustained a total defeat, and the King himself lost his life in the action. ^' The safety of Hungary then depended en- tirely on the bravery of the celebrated John Hunniades, gover"'^- of the kingdom, during the minority of Ladislaus, the pobtha- mous son of Albert of Austria. That general signalized himselt in various actions against the Turks, and obliged Mahcmet II. to raise the siege of Belgrade (1456,) where he lost above twenty- five thousand men, and was himself severely wounded. The Greek Empire was gradually approaching its downfall, under the feeble administration of the House of Paleologus. who had occupied the throne of Constantinople since the year i261. The same vices of which we have already spoken, the great power of the patriarchs and the monks, the rancour of theological disputes, the fury of sectaries and schismatics, and the internal dissension to which they gave rise, aggravated the misfortunes and disorders of the state, and were instrumental in hastening on its final destruction. John I. and his successors, the last Emperors of Constantinople, being reduced to the sad necessity of paying tribute to the Turks, and marching on military expe- ditions, at the command of the Sultans, owed the preservation of their shattered and declining Empire, for some time, entirely to the reverses of fortune which had befallen the Ottomans ; .ind to the difficulties which the siege of their capital presented to a barbarous nation unacquainted with the arts of blockade. The power of the Oitoman Turks took its rise about the end of the thirteenth century. A Turkish Emir, called Ottoman, or Osman, was its original founder in Asia Minor. He was one of the number of those Emirs, who, after the subversion of the Seljukians of Roura or Iconium, by the Moguls, shared ^i 204 CHAPTRR VI. among" them the spoils of their ancient masters. A parV i4 Bithynia, and the whole country lying- round Mount Olympus, leil to the share of Ottoman, who afterwards formed an alliance with the other Emirs, and invaded the possei^sions of the Greek Empire, under the leeble reign of the Emperor Andronicus 1!. Prusa, or Bursa, the principal city of Bithynia, was conquered by OttoTian (1327.) He and his snccessors made it the capital of their new state, which, in course of time, gained the ascen- dency over all the other Turkish sovereignties, formed, like thai of Ottoman, from the ruins of Iconium and the Greek Eni))ire. Orchan, the son- and successor of Ottoman, instituted ilic famous Order of the Janissaries, to which in a great measure the Turks owed their success. lie took from the Greeks the cities of Nice and Nicomedia in Bithynia ; and, after hav" lo- subdued most of the Turkish Emirs in Asia Minor, he took the title of Sultan or King, as well as that of Pacha, which is equi- valent to the title of Emperor. His son Soliman crossed the Ilel- lespont, by his orders, nerir tlie ruins of aucient Troy, and look the city of Gallipoli, in the Thracian Chersoncsus (1353.) The conquest of this place opened a passage for the Turks into E.u- rope, when Thrace and the whole of Greece was soon inundated by these new invaders. Amurath I., the son and successor ol Orchan, made himself master pf Adrianoplc and the whole of Thrace (1360;) he next attacked Macedonia, Servia ami Bulgaria, and appointed the ^rst Beglcrbeg, or Governor-genera^ ef Romelia. Several ' Turkish princes of Asia Minor were obliged to acknowledge his authority ; he made himself master of Kiutaja, the metropolis of Phrygia, which afterwards became the capital of Anatolia, jind the residence of the governor of tha', province (1389.) Amurath was slain at the battle of Cassova, which he fought with the Despot of Servia, assisted by his nume« •reus allies. In this blaody battle the Despot himself was slain and both sides equally claimed the victory. Bajazet I., the suc- cessor of Amurath, put an end to all the Turkish sovereignties which still subsisted in Asia Minor. He completed the reduc- tion of Bulgaria, and maintained the possession of it by the signal victory which he gained at Nicopolis (1396) over Sigis mund, King of Hungarjr. The Greek Empire would have yield ed to the persevering efforts of that prince, who had maintained, for ten years, the siege of Constantinople, had he not been at* tacked, in the midst of these enterprises, by the famous Timour, the new conqueror of Asia. Timour, commonly called Tamerlane, was one of thof^^Mogu. Emirs who had divided amongst them the sovereignty of Trans* oxiana, after the extinction of the Mogul dynasty of Zagatai. .^h ^^Lt^j ■S' Hi'urif II', Emperor 'f Germany, suhmitting lo 'rnjir Grc<;orij V'lL \oI. 1, p. 108.' Peter the Hermit preaching to the Crvsadcrs. Vol. 1, p. 116. -J* 1-fH i * » PEHioD V. i. D. 1300—1453. 205 Trnnsoxiana was the theatre of his first exploits; there he usurped the whole power of the Khnns, or Emperors of Zngatai, and fixed the capital of his new dominions at the city of Samarcand (1369.) Persia, the whole of Upper Asia, Kipzach, and Hindostan, were vanquished by him in succession; where- ver he marched, he renewed the same scenes of horror, blood- shed, and carnage, which had marked the footsteps of the first Mogul conqueror.^^ Tiniour at length attacked the do- minions of Bajazet in Anatolia (1400.) He fought a bloody and decisive battle near Angora, in the ancient Gallogrecin, which proved fatal to the Ottoman Empire. Bajazet sustained an entire defeat, and fell himself into the hands of the con- qiien All Anatolia was then conquered and pillaged by the Mogi and there Timour fixed his winter quarters. Meantime he treated hi, captive B.ijazet with kindness and generosity; and the anecdote of the iron cage, in which he is said to have confined his prisoner, merits no credit. Sherefeddin Ali, who accoiripanied Timour in his expedition against Bajazet, makes no mention of it; on the contrary, he avers that Timoui consented to leave him the Empire, and that ho granted the investiture ol it to him and two of his sons. Bajazet did not long survive his misfortune ; he died of an attack of apoplexy (1403,) with which he was struck in the camp of Timour in Caramania. Timour, a short time after, formed the project of an expedi- tion into China; but he died on the route in 1405, at the age of sixty-nine. His vast dominions were dismembered after his (loath. One of his descendants, named Babour, founded a pow- erful Empire in India, the remains of which are still preserved under the name of the Empire of the Great Mogul. The inva- sion of Timour retarded for some time the progress of the Turk- ish Empire. The fatal dissensions, which arose among the sons of Bajazet, set them at open war with each other. At length Amurath II., the son of Mahomet I., and grandson of Bajazet, succeeded in putting a stop to tht e divisions, and restored the Empire to its primitive splendour. He deprived the Greeks of all the places which still remained in their hands on the Black Sea, along the coast of Thrace, in Macedonia and Thessal}'. He even took, by assault, the wall and forts which they had constructed at the entrance of the isthmus of Corinth, and car- ried his ravages to the very centre of the Peloponnesus. The two heroeis of the Christians, John Hunniades and Scan- derbeg, arrested the progress of the Ottoman Sultan. The former, who was General of the Hungarians, boldly repulsed the Sultan of Servia, whom ha was ambitious to conquer. The other, a Greek Prince, who possessed one of the petty states of VOL. I. 18 806 CHAPTER V7. Albania of which Croja was the capital, re?:jstpa with siiccesi the repeated attacks of the Turks. Supported by ?> smnil hut well disciplined army, and favoured by the mountains with whjoh his territory was surrounded, he twice compelled Amurath to raise the siege of Croja. At length appeared Mahomet II., the son and successor of Amurath, (1451.) This Prince, who was raised to the Ottoman throne in the twjentieth year of his age, conceived the design of achieving the conquest of the Gre^k Empire, by the taking of Constantinople. He succeeded in overcoming all the difficulties which obstructed this enterprise, in which several of his predecessors had failed. At the head of an army of three hundred thousand combatants, supported by a fleet of 300 sail, he appeared before that capital, and com- menced the siege on the 6th April 1453. The bes'ieged having only from SOOO to 10,000 men to oppose the superior force of the enemy, yielded to the powerful and redoubled eflbrts of the Turks, after a vigorous defence of fifty-three days. The city was carried by assault, 29ih May, and delivered up to the un- restrained pillage of the soldiers. Constantino, surnarned Dragases, the last of the Greek Emperors, perit;hed in the first onset ; and all the inhabitants of that great and opulent city were carried into slavery.-" Mahomet, on entering the very day of the sack, saw nothing but one vast and dismal solitude. Wishing afterwards to attract new inhabitants to this city, whi^^li he proposed to mai.e the seat of his Empire, he guaranteed an entire liberty of conscience to the Greeks who might come to settle there ; and authorized them to proceed to the elec- tion of a new patriarch, whose dignity he enhanced by the honours and privileges which he attached to it. He restored also the fortifications of the city, and, by way of precaution against the armaments of the Venetians and other western nations, which he had some reason to dread, he constructed the famous castle of the Dardanelles, at the cntiance of the Hellespont. This conquest was followed by that of Servia, Bosnia, Al^a• nia, Greece, and the whole Peloponnesus or Morea, as well as most of the islands of the Archipelago. The Greek Empire of Trebizond, on the oast of Asia Minor, submitted in like man- ner to the law of the conqueror (1466.) David Commenus, the last Emperor, fell by the swords of the iViahomeians, and with him perished many of his children and relations. Such a rapid succession of conquests create 1 an alarm amona the powers of Christendom. In an assembly, which Pope Pius II. held at Mantua (1459,) he proposed a general association among the powers of the West against the Turks. A cruiude was puh- .*/ *'"'.'i">yWi|ip",fllJ< |i P ""WWiyii pil»,i»«^illWJ»^^|p^Blfnj«i|PP»l(pj.)H|l U I ■•^HiWi.JIJI. WJ »l rt"-^ PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453—1648. 207 (ished by his orders, and he was on the point of setting out in pf?rsori at the head ot this expediiion, when he was suddenly cut off by ilealii ni Ancoua (1461,) wliere he had appointed the general rendezvous of ihe confederate ti oops. This event, add- ed to the terror wnich ihe arms of Mahomet had created among the nations of the West, disconcerted the plans of the Crusa- ders, and was the means of dissolvino their confederacy. The Turkish Empire ihus Decame firmly established in Europe, and the Tartars ot tne Orimei; put themselves at the same time under the protection o]i tiiL Porte. CVVIVTER VII. Ilui rrnioD vi. F?'07n ihe taking of Comiantinople by the Turks, to the Peace of Westphalia. — a. d. 1453 — 1648. The revolution which happened in the fifteenth century en- tirely changed the face of Europe, and introduced a new system of politics. This revolution was not achieved by any combina- tions of profound policy, nor by the operation of that physical force which generally subverts thrones and governments. It was the result of those progressive changes which had been produced in the ideas and understanaiiigs of the nations of Eu- rop3, by the improvements and institutions of preceding times ; as well as by the invention of paper and printing, of gunpowder, and the mariner's compass. By means of these, the empire of letters and arts was greatly extended, and various salutary im- provements made in the religion, maurers, and governments of Europe. The people by degrees shook off the yoke of barba- rism, superstition, and fanaticism, which the revolution of the fifth century had imposed on them, and from that time the principal States of Europe began to acquire the strength, and gradually to assume the form, which they have since maintained. Several extraordinary events, however, conspired to accelerate tliese happy changes. The Belles Lettres and the Fine Arts s!ione out with new splendour, after the downfall of the Greek E npire. The celebrated Petrarch, and his disciples Boccacio at. I .lohn of Ravenna, were the first that made the Italians ac- (p.iai.Uod with ancient literature, as the true source and standard of good taste. They prepaied the way for a vast number of the Grecian literati, who, to escape the barbarity of the Turks, had lied ialo Italy, where they opened schools, and brought the study 203 CHAPTER VII. of Greek literature into considerable repute. The most celebrated of these Greek refugees were, Manuel Chrysoloras, Cardinal Bessarion, Theodore Gaza, George of Trebizond, John Argyro- phihis, anfl Demetrius Chalcondyles. Protected by the family of the Med'cis at Florence, they assisted in forming those fine geniuies which arose in Italy during the fifteenth century, such as Leonard Aretin, the two Guarini, Poggio of Florence, Ange- io Politian, and many others. Academies, or Free Societies, founded at Eome Naples, Venice, Milan, Ferrara and were Florence, for the encouragement of ancient literature. From Italy the study of the ancient arts passed to the other states of Europe. They soon diffused their influence over every department of literature and science, Avhich by degrees assumed an aspect totally new. The scholastic system, which till then had been in vogue in the pulpits and universities, lost its credit, and gave place to a more refined philosophy. Men learned to discriminate the vices of the feudal system, and sought out the means of correcting them. The sources of disorder and anarchy were gradually dried up, and gave place to belter organized governments. Painting, sculpture, and the arts in general, cleared from the Gothic rust which they had contracted during ihe barbarous ages, and finished after the models of the ancients, shone forth with renewed lustre. Navigation, under the direc- tion of the compass, reached a degree of perfection which at- tracted universal attention ; and while the ancients merely coasted along their own shores in the pursuit of commerce or maritime exploits, we find the modern Europeans extending their naviga- tion over the whole globe, and bringing both hemispheres under their dominion. America, unknown to the ancients, was discovered during this period ; as well as the route to India and the East, round the Continent of Africa. The notion of a fourth quarter of the world had long been prevalent among the ancients. We all recollect the Atlantis of Plato, which, according to the assertion of that philosopher, was larger than Asia and Africa ; and we know that ^lian the historian, who lived in the reign of Adrian, affirmed in like manner the existence of a fourth continent of immense extent. This opinion had got so much into fashion, during the fourth and fifth centuries of the Christian era, tluU Lactantius and St. Augustine thought themselves boiuid in duty to combat it in their writings; inveiirhing against the antipodes by reasons and arguments, the frivolousness of which is now very generally admitted ; but, whatever were the notions which the ancients might have entertained as to a fourth (juarter of the globe, it is very certai)i that they knew it only from conjecture and that their navigation never extended so far. if jff U, .ll|MB»WFT»^-"',^'«l>"»">y»^W-'iyinjl..niHWW<«.l|ll PERIOD VI. 1453—1648. 209 The honour of this important discovery belongs to modem invigfitors, more especially to Christopher Columbus, a native of Genoa. From the knowledge which this celebrated man had required in the sciences of Navigation, Astronomy, and Geo- jiniphy, he was persuaded that there must be another hemisphere lymg to the westward, and unknown to Europeans, but neces- sary to the equilibrium of the globe. These conjectures he communicated to several of the courts of Europe, who all re- garded him as a visionary ; and it was not till after many soli- citations, that Isabella, Queen of Castile, granted him three vessels, with which he set sail in quest of the new continent, 3d August 1492. After a perilous navigation of some months, he reached the Island Guanahani or Cat Island, one of the Lu- cayos or l^nhamas, to which he gave the name of St. Salvador. This di; jry was followed soon after by that of the Islands of St. Donu go and Cuba; and in the second and third voyages which .that navigator undertook to America (1493-1498,) he dis- covered the mainland or continent of the New World, especiall}'" the coast of Paria, as far as the point of Araya, making part of the province known at present by tlie name of Cumana. The track of the Genoese navigator was followed by a Flo- rentine merchant, named Amerigo Vesputio. Under the con- duct of a Spanish captain, called Alphonso de Ojeda, he made several voyages to the New World after the year 1497. Diffe- rent coasts of the continent of South America were visited by him ; and in the maps of his discoveries which he drew up, he usurped a glory which did not belong to him, by applying his oVn name to the new continent ; which it has since retained. The Spaniards conquered the islands and a great part of the continent of America ; extending their victories along with their discoveries. Stimulated by the thirst of gold, which the Noav World offered to them in abundance, they committed crimes and barbarities which make humanity shudder. Millions of the LIU fortunate natives were either massacred or buried in the sea, in spite of the efforts which the Spanish Bishop, Bartholomew de Las Casas, vainly made to arrest the fury of his country- men. ^ In the year after the first discovery of Columbus, Fer- dinand the Catholic, King of Spain, obtained a bull from Pope Alexander VI., by which that Pontiff made him a gift of all the countries discovered, or to be discovered, towards the west and the south ; drawing an imaginary line from one pole to the other, at the distance of a hundred leagues westward of Cape Verd and the Azores. This decision having given offence to the King of Portugal, who deemed it prejudicial to his discoveries in the East, an accommodation was contrived between the two courtSt 19# U-. 210 CHAPTER VII. in virtue of which tlie same Pope, by another Bull (1404,) re- moved the line in question farther west, to the distance of four hundred and seventy leagues ; so that all the countries lyinj." to the westward of this line should belong to the King of Spain, while those which might be discovered to the eastward; should fall to the possession of the King of Portugal. " It was on thi>5 pretended title that the Spaniards founded their right to doinand the submission of the American nations to the Spanish Cnnvu. Their principal conquests in the New World commence from the reign of the Emperor Charles V. It was in his nan)o that Ferdinand Cortes, with a mere handful of troops, overthrew the vast Empire of Mexico (1521;) the last Emperors of which, Montezuma and Gatimozin, were slain, and a prodigious num- ber of the Mexicans put to the sword. The conqueror of Peru was Francis Pizarro (1533.) He entered the country, at the head of 300 men, at the very time when Atabalipa or Alahuajpa was commencing his reign as Incas, or Sovereign of Peru. That prince was slain, and the whole of Peru subdued by the Spaniards. [The Spaniards founded various colonics and establislimcnts in that part of America which they had subjected to their do- minion. The character of these colonies dillercd from that of the establishments which the Portuguese had founded in India, and the Dutch, the English, and the French, in different parts of the world. As the Spaniards were by no means a commer- cial nation, the precious metals alone were the object of their cupidity. They applied themselves, in consequence, to the working of mines ; they imported negroes to labour in them, and made slaves of the natives. In process of time, when the number of Europeans had increased in these countries, and the precious metals became less abundant, the Spanish colonists were obliged to employ themselves in agriculture, and in raising what is commonly called colonial produce. What we have now said, accounts for the limitations and restrictions which were imposed on the trade of these colonics by the Spanish govern- ment ; they wished to reserve to themselves exclusively the pro- fits of the mines. Commerce, which at first had been confined to the single entrepot of Seville, fell into the hands of a small number of merchants, to the entire exclusion of foreigners. As for tlie Spanish possessions in America, they Avere planted with Episcopal and Metropolitan Sees, Missions, Convents, and Uni- versities. The Inquisition was also introduced ; but the hierar- chy which was founded there, instead of augmenting the power of the Popes, remained in a state of complete dependence upon the Sovereigns.] The discovery of Brazil belongs to the Portuguese. Alvares ■ii. f 'f'lim'mm^mfmmmnffm WOTf ■»„t»'^ vmmmmr"'^ PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453—1648. 21. Cabra., the commander of their fleet, while on his route to India, was driven, by contrary winds, on the coast of Brazil (1500,) and took possession of the country in name of the King of Por- tiijjal. This colony, in the course of time, became highly im- portant, from the rich mines of diamonds and gold which were discovered there. TJie Spaniards and Portuguese were at first the only mast'^r.-s of America ; but in a short time, establishments were formed there by some of the other maritime nations of Europe. The lirst English colony was that of Virginia, which was contlucted to North America by Sir Walter Raleigh (1584,) but it did not gain a permanent settlement till the reign of James I. This v.'as afterwards followed by several other colonies which had settled in tiiat part of the American continent, on account of the perse- oiuion carried on by the Stuart Kings against the non-conform- i;sls. The first settlements of the English in the Antilles, were tliose which they formed in the Islands of Barbadoes and St. Christopher (1629;) to these they added the Island of Jamaica, which they took from the Spaniards (1655.) The date of the French establishments in Canada, is as old as the reigns of Francis I. and Henry IV,, in the years 1534 and 1604. The city of Quebec was founded in 1608. It was at a later period u'lien the French established themselves in the Antilles. The origin of their colonies in Martinique and Gaudaloupe, is gene- rally referred to the year 1635. They gained a footing in St. Domingo as early as 1630, but the flourishing state of that re- markable colony did not begin, properly speaking, till 1722. All the establishments which the English and French had formed ia America, were purely agricultural ; and in this respect they were distinguished from the Spanish colonies. The discovery of a passage by sea to the East Indies round Africa, belongs also to the Portuguese. It forms one of those great events which often take their first impulse from very slen- der causes. John I. surnamed the Bastard, thfi new founder of the kingdom of Portugal, being desirous of affc rding to his sons im opportunity of signalizing themselves, and earning the honour of knighthood, planned an expedition against the Moois in Africa; he e([uipped a fleet, with which he landed in the neighbourhood of Ceuta (1415,) of which he soon made himself master, and created his sons knights in the grand mosque of that city. After this event, the Portuguese began to have a taste for navigation and maritime discoveries. In this they were encouraged by the Infant Don Henry, Duke of Viseu, and one ol the sons of King John, who had particularly distinguished himself in the expedi- ion of which we have just ^oken. That prince, who was well ""'"'W """^l"*''?'!"^ 212 CHAPTER VII. skilled in malhematics and the art of navigation, established hig rcNidence at Capo St. Vincent, on the western extremity of A!- garva. There he ordered vessels to be constructed at his own expense, and sent them to reconnoitre the coasts of Africa. From that time the Portuguese discovered, in succession, the Islands of ladeira (1420,) the Canaries (1424,) the Azores (1431,) and Jape Verd (1460.) There they founded colonies; and, ad- vancing by degrees along the southern shores of Africa, ihpy extended their navigation as far as the coasts of Guinea and Ni- gritia. The islands which they had newly discovered, were confirmed to the Kings of Portugal by several of the Popes. The Canaries, however, having been claimed by the Spaniards, a treaty was negotiated between the two kingdoms, in virtue of which these islands were abandoned to Spain (1481.) It was under the reign of John II. that the Portuguese ex- tended, their navigation as far as the most southerly point of Africa. Bartholomew Diaz, their admiral, was the first who doubled the Cape, which he called the Stormy Cape ; a name which King John changed into that of Good Hope. At length, after twelve years of toils, Vasco di Gama, another Portuguese admiral, had the glory of carrying his national flag as far as India. He landed at the Port of Calicut (1498,) on the Ma- labar coast, in the third year of the reign of Emmanuel. Several other celebrated Portuguese navigators, such as Almeida, Albu- querque, Acunga, Silveira, and de Castro, following the tract of Vasco di Gama, laid the foundation of the power of the Portu- guese in India. Francis Almeida defeated the fleet of the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt, in conjunction with that of the Kings of India (1509.) Alfonzo Albuquerque conquered Goa (1511,) and made it the capital of all the Portuguese settlements in that part of the world. About the same time, the Portuguese establi'shed themselves in the Molucca Islands, with some oppo- sition on the part of the Spaniards. Anthony Silveira signalized himself by his able defence of Diu (1535.) He repulsed the Turks, and ruined the fleet which Soliman the Great had sent to the siege of that place (1547.) The King of Cambay having resumed the siege, he experienced likewise a total defeat from John de Castro, who then conquered the whole kingdom of Diu. The Portuguese found powerful kingdoms in India, and nations rich and civilized. There, nature and the industry of the natives, produced or fabricated those articles of commerce and merchandise which have since become an object of luxury to Europeans; at least until the activity of the Venetians had furnished the inhabitants of thia part of the world with them in such abundance, as to make them regarded as articles of abso- ■■isyTvmilfifmmir^iirw'") •'! )>■"•■'•"' wif>"'^iiPW^»»^iJHF'«"^!""""""ii h lbwi^hii 1 ERIOD VI. A. D. 1453 — 1648. 213 lute necessity. This circumstance was the reason why the Por- tuguese never formed any other than mercantile establishment<« in India, which they erected on the coasts, without extenamg ihem into the interior. The working- of the mines, and the cares of agricuUure, were abandoned entirely to the natives. Thi? era produced a total change in the commerce of the East. Formerly the Venetians were the people that carried on the principal traffic to India. The Jewish or Mahometan merchants purchased at Goa, Calicut, and Cochin, those spiceries and other productions of the East, which they imported into Syria by the Persian Gulf, and into Egypt by the Red Sea. They were then conveyed by a laborious and expensive land-carriage, eithpr to the port of Alexandria, or that of Bairout in Syria. Thither the Venetians repaired in quest of the luxuries of India ; they fixed their price, and distributed them over all Europe. This commerce proved a source of vast wealth to these republicans : it furnished them with the means of maintaining a formida- ble marine, and of very often dictating the law to the other European powers ; but after the discovery of the noAv passage round the Cape, and the conquests of the Portuguese in India, the Venetians saw themselves compelled to abandon a traffic in which they could not compete with the Portuguese. This was a terrible blow to that republic, and the principal cause of its downfall. The Portuguese, however, did not profit by this ex- clusive commerce as they might have done. They did not, like other nations, constitute Companies, with exclusive commercial privileges ; they carried it on by means of fleets, which the go- vernment regularly despatched at fixed periods. In this manner, the commodities of the East were imported to Lisbon ; but the indolence of the native merchants left to other nations the care of distributing them through the markets of Europe. The Dutch were the people that profited most by this branch of industry ; they cultivated it with so much success, and under such favour- able circumstances, that they at length succeeded in excluding he Portuguese themselves from this lucrative traffic, by dis- 'lossessing them of their colonies in the East. If the events which we have now briefly detailed proved fatal to the Venetians, and afflicting to humanity, by the wars and misfortunes which they occasioned, it is nevertheless certain, tlrat commerce and navigation gained prodigiously by these new discoveries. The Portuguese, after having maintained for some time the exclusive possession jof the navigation and trade of the East, found afterwards powerful competitors in the Spaniards, the Dutch, English, French, and Danes, who all established mercantile connexions both in India and America. Hence in- 214 CHAPTER VII. numerabU sources of wealth were opened to the industry of the Europeans ; and their commerce, formerly limited to the Medi- terranean, the Baltic, and the Northern Seas, and confined to a few cities in Italy, Flanders, and Germany, was now, by means of their colonies in Africa, and the East and Wesi Indies, ex. tended to all parts of the globe. ^ The intercourse of the Por- tuguese with China was as early as the year 1517, and with Japan it began in 1542. Ferdinand Magellan undertook tjie first voyage round the world (1519,) and his example found afterwards a number of imitators. ^ By degrees the maritime power of Europe assumed a formidable aspect ; arts and manu- factures were multiplied ; and states, formerly poor, became rich and flourishing. Kingdoms at length found in their commerce, resources for augmenting their strength and their influence, and carrying into execution their projects of aggrandizement and conquest. [Among the causes of this revolution which took place in commerce, it is necessary to take into account a discovery ap- parently of trivial importance, but which exercised a most ex- traordinary influence over the civilization of Europe, viz. that of horse-posts for the conveyance of letters. Before the sixteenth century, the communications between distant countries were few and difficult. Messengers, travelling on short journeys, on foot or on horseback, were their only couriers. About the be- ginning of the seventeenth century, and during the reign of Maximilian I., an Italian gentleman of the name of Francis de la Tour et Taxis, established the first posts in the Low Coun- tries. Their object at first was merely for the conve"ance of letters by posts or post, for which he provided regular relays. By and by, for the sake of despatch, the use of horses was in- troduced, placed at certain distances. From the Low Countries this system found its way into Germany, where its profits were secured to the family of Taxis by imperial grants ; and from thence it spread over every civilized country in the world.] A revolution not less important, is that which took place in re- ligion about the beginning of the sixteenth century. The abuses which disgraced the court of Rome, the excess of the power, and the depravity of the morals of the clergy, had elicited a very ge- neral discontent. A reformation had for a long time been deemed necessary, but there was a difference of opinion as to the me- thod of effecting it. The common notion was, that this task •tould be legally accomplished only by General Councils, con- voked under the authority of the Popes, It was easy, however, to perceive the inefiicacy of any remedy left at the di.>-:^posal of those very persons from whom tbe evil proceeded ; and the un- tauc ' ««i ^WMnniiixivnipi'ii II im iiM|||pw«i PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453 — 1648. 216 successful results of the Councils of Constance and Basle, haJ taught the people, that, in order to obtain redress for the abuses of which they complained, it was necessary to have recourse to some other scheme than that of General Councils. This scheme was attempted by the Keformers of the sixteenth century, who were persuaded, that, in order to restrain the exorbitant power of the clergy, they ought to reject the infallibility of the Pope, as well as that of General Councils ; admitting no other autho- rity in ecclesiastical matters, than that of the sacred scriptures, interpreted by the lights of reason and sound criticism. The immediate and incidental cause of this change in reli- gion, was the enormous abuse of indulgences. Pope Leo X., who was of the family of the Medicis, and Avell known for his extensive patronage of literature and the (Ine arts, having ex- hausted the treasury of the church by hi.s luxury and his mu- nificence, had recourse to the expedient of indulgences, which several of his predecessors had already adopted as a means of recruiting their finances. The ostens^ihle reason was, the ba- silica of St. Peter's at Kome, the completion of v/hich was equally interesting to the whole of Christendom. Offices for the sale of indulgences were established in all the different states of Europe. The purchasers of these mdulgences ob- tained absolution of their sins, and exemption from the pains of purgatory after death. The excesses committed by the emis- saries who had the charge of those indulgences, and the scan- dalous means which they practised to extort money, brought on the schism to which we are about to advert. Tavo theologians, Martin Luther, and Ulric Zuingle, opposed these indulgences, and inveighed against them in their sermons and their writings ; the former at Wittemberg in Saxony ; the other, hrst at Einsiedeln, and afterwards at Zurich, in Switzer- land. Leo X. at first held these adversaries in contempt. He did not attempt to allay the storm, until the minds of men, ex- asperated by the heat of dispute, were no longer disposed to listen to the voice of calmness and conciliation. The means which he subsequently tried to induce Luther to retract having proved abortive, he issued a thundering Bull against him (1520,) which, so far from abating the courage of the Reformer, tended. on the contrary, to embolden him still more. He publicly burnt the Pope's Bull, together with the Canon Law, at Wittemberg (10th December,) in presence of a vast concourse of doctors and students from dilTerent nations, whom he had assembled for the purpose. From that moment Luther and Zuingle never ceased to preach against the abuses of the indulgences. They completely undermined this system of abomination, and even « £16 ^ . < » ■♦■ • k CHAPTER VII. attacked various other dogmas and institutions of the Romisl» church, such as monastic vows, the celibacy of the priests, tbp supremacy of the Pope and the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Ther«e t»vo celebrated men, who acrced in the greater part of their opinions, soon attracted a number of followers. The people, long ago prepared to shake off a yoke which had been so op- pressive, applauded the zeal of the Reformers ; and the new opinions, promptly and easily diffused by means of the press, were received with enthusiasm throughout a great part of Europe. John Calvin, another Reformer, trod nearly in the footsteps of Zuingle. He was a native of Noyon in Picardy, and began to distinguish himself at Paris in 1532. Being compelled to leave that city on account of his opinions, he withdrew to Switzerland (1538;) thence he passed to Strasbourg, where he was nonri- nated to the office of French preacher. His erudition and his pulpit talents gained him disciples, and gave the name of Cal- vinists to those who had at first been called Zuingllans. The Lutherans, as well as the Zuinglians or Calvini&ts in Germany, were comprehended under the common appellation of Protest- ants, on account of the Protest which they took against the decrees of the Diet of Spire (1529,) which forbade them to make any innovations in religion, or to abolish the mass, until the meeting of a General Council. The name of Lutherans was applied more particularly to those who adhered to the Confession of Augsburg, that is, the Confession of Faith which they presented to the Emperor Charles V., at the famous Diet of Augsburg, held in 1530. In this manner a great part of Europe revolted from the Pope and the Romish Church, and embraced either the doc- trines of Luther, or those of Zuingle and Calvin. The half of Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Prussia, and Livonia, adopted the Confession of Augsburg ; while England, Scotland, the United Provinces, and the principal part of Switzerland, declared themselves in favour of the opinions of Zuingle and Calvin. The new doctrines made likewitii; great progress in France, Hungary, Transylvania, Bohemia, Silesia, and Poland. This revolution did not convulse merely the Church ; it in- fluenced the politics, and changed the form of government, m many of the States of Europe. The same men who believed themselves authorized to correct abuses and imperfections in re- ligion, undertook to reform political abuses with the same free- dom. New States sprung up ; and princes took advantage of these commotions to augment their own power and authority, Constituting themselves heads of the Church and of the religica A.' m ^ w 1 1 \ Zenghis Khan the. Mogul Prince. \o\. I . j). 1 do, ■v^i '"^ ■^. Venice in the IQth Century » Vol. 1, p. 138. thonj Tl lOok the logne Tren iren VO] •vV PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453 — 1648. 817 )8. of their country, they shook off the fetters of priestly influence ; while the clergy cejiscd to form a counteracting or controlling power in the State. The freedom of opinion which characterizea the Protestant faith, awoke the human mind from its intellectual lethargy, infused new energy into it, and thus contributed to the progress of civilization and science in Europe. Even the systems of public instruction underwent a considerable change. The schools were reformed, and rendered more perfect. A muLitnde of nev/ seminaries of education, academies, and universities' were founded in all the Protestant States. This revolution, however, was not accomplished without great and various calami- ties, A hierarchy, such as that of the Church of Rome, sup- ported by all that was dignified and venerable, could not be attacked, or shaken to its foundation, without involving Europe in the convulsion. Hence we find that wars and factions arose in Germany, France, the Low Countries, Switzerland, Hungary, and Poland. The march of reformation was every where stain- ed with blood. The means that were employed to bring the quarrels of the Church to an amicable conclusion, tended rather to exasperate than allay the mischief; and if the conferences among the clergy of different persuasions failed, it was not to be expected that a better agreement, or a union of parties, could be founded on the basis of w'General C juncil. The Protestants demanded an un- - controlled liberty for the Council. They wished it to be assem- bled by order of the Emperor, ir ne of the cities of the Empire ; and that their divines should have a voice and a seat in its meet- ings. The Pope Avas to submit to its authority, and all matters should there be decided according to the rule of the sacred Scrip- tures. These terms were by no means agreeable to the Catho- lics. Paul III. summoned a Council at Mantua (1537,) and another at Vicenza (1538 ;) but both of these convocations were ineffectual, as was also the proposed reform in the Court of Rome, made by the same Pontiff. It was resolved st last, at the mstance of the Catholic princes (1542,) to convoke the Council of Trent, though the opening of it was deferred till 1545. This famous Council met with two interruptions; the first lOok place in 1547, when the Pope, who had become alarmed at the success of the Imperial arms, transferred the Council to Bo- logna, on pretence that an epidemic distemper had broken out at Trent. AH the prelates of the Emperor's party remained at xrent, in obedience to the command of their master, Avho pro- tested loudly against the assembly at Bologna, which neverthe- less held its ninth and tenth Sessions at that city. This latter Council having been dissolved by Paui ^11, (1548,) its affaira VOL. I. ^ 19 tsyv .... 218 CHAPTEIi VII. continued in a languid state for the next two years, wnen Popp Julius III., the successor of Paul, revived it, and transferred i: once more to Trent (1551.) Another interruption took place at the time when Maurice, Elector of Saxony, had made himself master of Augsburg, and was marching against the Emperor towards Inspruck. It was then agreed to prorogue the Council, now in its sixteenth Session, for two years ; and to assemble again at the end of that period, if peace should happen in the mean time to be established. At length, in 1560, Pius IV., summoned the Council, for the third and last time, to meet ai Trent. The session, however, did not commence till 1562 ; and next year its sittings were finally terminated. In this Council, matters were not treated in the same way as they had been at Constance and Basle, where each nation delibe- rated separately, and then gave their suffrage in common, so that the general decision was taken according to the votes of the dif- ferent nations. This form of deliberation was not at all palatable to the Court of Rome, who, in order to gain a preponderance in the assembly, thought proper to decide, by a majority of the votes of every individual member of the Council. The Protestaiii princes rejected entirely the authority of this Council ; which, far from terminating the dispute, made the schism wider than ever. Its decisions were even condemned by several of the Ca- tholic sovereigns. In France, more especially, it was never formally published, and they expressly excluded such of its acts of discipline as they considered contrary to the laws of the king- dom, to the authority of the sovereign, and the maxims of the Galilean Church. It is nevertheless certain that this Council was instrumental in restoring the tottering power of the Roman pontiffs ; v/hich receiv- ed at the same time a new support by the institution of the Order of the Jesuits. The founder of this order was Ignatius Loyola, who was born at the Castle of Loyola in Guipuscoa. He made the declaration of his vows in the church of Montmartre at Paris (1534,) and obtained from Paul III. the confirmation of his new Society. This order was bound, by a particular vow of obedi- ence, more intimately to the Court of Ro.ae ; and became one of the main instruments of its enormous power. From Spain the Society was speedily propagated in all the other Catholic States ; they filled cities and courts with their emissaries ; undertook missions to China, Japan, and the Indies ; and under the special protection of the See of Rome, they soon surpassed in credit and wealth every other religious order. In the midst of these changes which took place in civil and ecclesiastical matters, we find a new system arising in the poli* .1 ifn^.i-'immn^^^wi'mtiminr PERIOD. VI. A. D. 1453 — 1648. 219 tical government of Europe ; the consequence of those new ties and relations which had been established amongst the different powers since the close of the fifteenth century. Prior to this date, most of the European States were feeble, because insulated and detached. Occupied with their own particular interests and quarrels, the nations were little acquainted with each other, and seldom had any influence on their mutual destinies. The faults and imperfections inherent in the feudal system had pervaded all Europe, and crippled the power and the energies of government. The sovereigns, continually at war with their factious and power- ful vassals, could neither form plans of foreign conquest, nor carry them into execution ; and their military operations were in ge- neral without unity or effect. [Hence it happened, that in the middle ages, changes were produced in the diflferent States, which so little alarmed their neighbours, that it may be said they were scarcely conscious of their existence. Such were the conquests of the English in France, which might certainly have compromised the independence of Europe.] A combination of causes and circumstances, both physical and moral, produced a revolution in the manners and govern- ments of most of the Continental States. The disorders of feudal anarchy gradually disappeared ; constitutions better or- ganized were introduced ; the temporary levies of vassals were succeeded by regular and permanent armies ; which contributed to humble the exorbitant power of the nobles and feudal barons. The consequence was, that States formerly weak and exhausted, acquired strength ; while their sovereigns, freed from the tur- bulence and intimidation of their vassals, began to extend their political views, and to form projects of aggrandizement and conquest. From this period the reciprocal influence of the European States on each other began to be manifest. Those who were afraid for their independence, would naturally conceive the idea of a balance of power capable of protecting them against the in roads of ambitious and warlike princes. Hence those frequent embassies and negotiations ; those treaties of alliance, subsidies, and guarantees ; those wars carried on by a general combina- tion of powers, who deemed themselves obliged to bear a part in the common cause ; and hence too those projects for establish- ing checks and barriers on each other, which occupied the dif- ferent courts of Europe. [The system of equilibrium or the balance of power, originated in Italy. That peninsula, separated from the rest of the continent by the sea and the Alps, had outstripped the other countries in the career of civilization. There a multitude of independent Ml' ■" "»!ii;,*iiti*w;!ifn»"|.fwii'^'" mu"v« 220 CHAPTER VII. States had been formed, unequal in point of power and extent ; but none of them had sufficient strength to resist the united power of the rest, or usurp dominion over them ; while at the same time, none of them were so contemptible in point of weakness, as not to be of some weight in the scale. Hence that rivalry and jealousy among them, which was incessantly watching over the progress of their neighbours ; and hence, too, a series of wars and confederacies, whose object was to maintain some degree of equality among them ; or at least a relative proportion, which might inspire the weaker with courage and confidence. The Popes who were exceedingly active in these transactions, em* ployed all their policy to prevent any foreign power from inter- fering, or establishing itself in Italy. The doctrine of political equilibrium passed the Alps about the end of the fifteenth cen- tury. The House of Austria, which had suddenly risen to a high pitch of grandeur, was the first agpinst which its efforts were directed.] This House, which derived its origin from Rodolph of Haps- burg, who was elected Emperor of Germany towards the end of the thirteenth century, owed its greatness and elevation chiefly to the Imperial dignity, and the different family alliances which this same dignity procured it. Maximilian of Austria, son of the Emperor Frederic III., married Mary of Burgundy (1477,) daughter and heiress of Charles the Rash, last Duke of Bur- gundy. This alliance secured to Austria the whole of the Low Countries, including Franche-Comte, Flanders, and Artois Philip the Fair, the son of this marriage, espoused the Infanta of Spain, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Castille. They had two sons, Charles and Ferdinand, the former of whom, known in history by the name of Charles V., inherited the Low Countries in right of his father Philip (1506.) On the death of Ferdinand, his maternal grandfather (1516,) he became heir to the whole Spanish succession, which comprehended the king- doms of Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia, together with Spanish Amerir.:. To these vast possessions were added his partimonial dominions in Austria, which were transmitted to him by h.:^ pa^.'iiip»'J'|HWJi»i.i«i'J?!!'.'fWW.«JJ-V'.-'»'«,-.«''W»{W':.'."*i'!r- PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453—1648. 335 their war with Charles Duke of Burgundy. This prince, who was of a hot and turbulent spirit, was constantly occupied with projects of conquest. Taking advantage of the ruinous state cf the finances of the Archduke Sigismund of Austria, he induced Dim to sell him the territories of Brisgau and Alsace, with rha right of repurchase (1409.) Peter de Hagenbach, a gentleman of Alsace, who had been appointed governor of these countries by the Duke, had oppressed the Austrian subjects, and liarassed the whole neighbouring states ; especially the Swiss. The complaints which were made on this score to the Duke, having only rendered Hagenbach still more insolent, the Swiss, with the concurrence of several states of the Empire, paid down, at Basle, the sums stipulated in the contract for repurchasing the two provinces ; and, by force of arms, they re-established the Austrian prince in the possession of Alsace and Brisgau. They even went so far as to institute legal proceedings against Hagen- bach, who was in consequence beheaded at Brisach in 1474. The Duke, determined to avenge this insult, assembled an army of a hundred thousand men, with which he penetrated through Franche-Comte into Switzerland. He was defeated in the first action, Avhich took place at Granson (1476;) after which he reinforced his troops, and laid siege to Morat. Here he was again attacked by the Swiss, who killed eighteen thou- sand of his men, and seized the whole of his camp and baggage. The Duke of Lorraine, an ally of the Swiss, was then restored to those states of which the Duke of Burgundy had deprived him. This latter prince, in a great fury, came and laid siege to Nancy. The Swiss marched to the relief of this place, where •• they fought a third and last battle with the Duke, who was here defeated and slain (1477.) These victories of the Swiss over the Duke of Burgundy, one of the most pov/erful princes of his time, raised the fame of their arms ; and made their friendship and alliance courted by the first sovereigns in Europe, especially by France. Their con- federacy, which had formerly been composed of only eight can- tons, was augmented by the accession of two new states, Friburg . and Soleure, which were enrolled in the number of cantons. From this time the Svdss were no longer afraid to break the ti^s that bound them to the Germanic Body, as members of the anc'ent kingdom of Aries. The Diet of Worms, in 1495, having granvd the Emperor Maximilian succours against the French and th« Turks, the Swiss alleged their immunities, and their alliance with France, as a pretext for refusing their contingent^ of supplies. This demand, however, was renewed at the Diet^y of Lindau, in 1496, which required them to renounce their alli«i . 936 CHAPTER V1I« ance with France, and accede to the League of Swabia ; as also to submit themselves to the Imperial Chamber, and the law of the public peacje ; and to J'urnish their quota for the support of that Chamber, and the other contributions of the Empire. All these demands were resisted by the Helvetic Body, who regard- ed them as contrary to their rights and privileges. Meantime the Orisons had allied themseRes with the Swiss, in order to obtain their protection under the existing differences between them and the TyfOlese. The Emperor Maximilian seized this pretext for making war against the Cantons. Being desirous of vindicating the dignity of the Empire, which had been outraged by the Swiss, and of avenging the insults offered to his own family, he stirred up the League of Swabia to oppose them ; and attacked them in diffe- rent points at once. Eight battles were fought in succession, in course of that campaign ; all of which, with one solitary excep- tion, were in favour of the Swiss, while the Imperialists lost more than twenty thousand men. Maximilian and his allies, the Swa- bian League, then came to the resolution of making their peace with the Cantons, which was concluded at Basle (1499.) Both parties made a mutual restitution of what they had wrested from each other; and it was agreed, that the differences between the Emperor, as Count of Tyrol, and the Grisons, should be brought to an amicable termination. This peace forms a memorable era in the history of the Helvetic Confederacy, whose independence, with regard to the German Emperor, was from that time con- sidered as decided ; although no mention of this was made in the treaty, and although the Swiss still continued for some time to request from the Em^jerors the confirmation of their immunities. Two immediate cities of the Empire, those of Basle and Schauff- hausen, took occasion, from these latter events, to solicit their admission into the Confederacy. They were received as allies under the title of Cantons (1501 ;) and the territory of Appenzel,, which was admitted in like manner (1513,) formed the thirteenth and last Canton. The alliance which the Swiss had kept up with France, since the reigns of Charles VII. and Louis XL, tended greatly to se- cure the independence of the Helvetic Body.^ This alliance, which Louis XI. had made an instrument for humbling the power of the Duke of Burgundy, was never but once broken, in the reign of Louis XII., on account of the Holy League, into which the Swiss were drawn by the intrigues of the Bishop of Sion (1512.) The French were then expelled from the Milan- ese territory by the Swiss, who placed there the Duke Maximi- lian Sforza. It was in gratitude for this service, t^at the duke ' -Tl"" ■•><,|W5f »**'!'*••' 'Ifl^P MHi^TBPPWi^liiil.Wi"*.*! PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453 — 1648. 237 ceded to the Swiss, by a treaty which was concluded at Basle, the four bailiwicks of Lugano, Locarno, Mendrisio, and Val- Maggio, which he dismembered fronj the Milanois. Though conquer)rs at the battle of Novara, the Swiss experienced a san- guinary defeat at Marignano; when they judged it for their in- terest to renew their alliance with France (1513.) A treaty of perpetual peace was signed at Friburg between these two States (1516,) which was soon after followed by a new treaty of alli- ance, concluded with Francis I. at Lucerne (15^,) and regularly renewed under the subsequent reigns. The change which took place in religion, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, extended its influence to Switzerland, where it kindled the flame of civil discord. Four cantons, those of Zurich, Berne, Schaufl'hausen, and Basle, renouncing entirely the Romish faith, had embraced the doctrines of Zuingle and Calvin ; while two others, viz. Claris and Appenzel, were divi- ded between the old and the new opinions. The Reformation having likewise found its way into the common bailiwicks, the Catholic Cantons rose in opposition to it (1531 ;) denying liber- ty of conscience to the inhabitants. Hence, a war arose be- tween the Cantons of the two religions ; which, however, was terminated the same year by a treaty of peace, guaranteeing to such parishes within the bailiwicks as had embraced the new doctrines, the liberty of still adhering to them. The same revo- lution extended to Geneva, whose inhabitants had declared so- lemnly in favour of the reformed worship, and erected themselves into a free and independent republic (1534.) The church of Geneva, under the direction of Calvin, became the centre and citadel of the Reformation ; while the academy founded in that city, produced a vast number of theologians and celebrated scho- lars. It was at this time that the duke of Savoy planned the blockade of Geneva o enforce certain ancient rights which he c^ imed over that city ; but the Bernese espoused the cause of the Genevans, in virtue of the treaties of common citizenship which subsisted between them. This Canton having entered into alliance with Francis I., declared war against the duke of Savoy (1536 ;) and in less than three months took from him the Pays de Vaud. Being desirous of interesting their neighbours the Friburgers in their cause, they invited them to take posses- sion of all those places that might suit their convenience ; and it was on this occasion that the city of Friburg acquired the prin- cipal part of its territory. These acquisitions were confirmed to the two Cantons, by the treaty which the Bernese concluded at Lausanne with the duke of Savoy (1564.) The German Empire from time to time renewed its preten- f!':i>; Tl lliliii 938 CHAPTER Vll. lions on Switzerland, and the Imperial Chamber usurped an occasional jurisdiction over one or other of the Cantons. Ne- gotiations for a general peace having commenced at Munster and Osnaburg, the thirteen Cantons sent their minister or envoy to watch over the interests of the Helvetic Body at that congress ; and they obtained, through the intervention of France and Swe- den, that in one of the articles of the treaty it should be decla- red, that the city of Basle, and the other Swiss Cantons, M'-ere in possession of full liberty, and independent of the Empire, and m no respect subject to its tribunals. In Italy, the authority of the Emperor of Germany, which had silently dsclined during the preceding centuries, languished more and more under the long and feeble reign of Frederic III. At length it was reduced to the mere ceremony of coronation, and the simple exercise of some honorary and feudal rights, such as the investitures which the Imperial Court continued to grant to the vassals of Lombardy. Although the Imperial dignity im- plied the royalty of Italy, which was considered as indissolubly united to it, nevertheless it was the custom that the Kings of Germany should have themselves crowned separately, Kings of Italy at Milan, and Emperors at Rome. Frederic III., having had certain reasons for avoiding his coronation at Milan, received from the hands of Pope Nicholas V., in his own capital, the two crowns of Italy and Rome. Maximilian I., being prevented by the Venetians from repairing to Italy for his coronation (1508,) was content to take the title of Emperor Elect, which his succes- sors in the Empire have retained till the present time. Charles V. was the last Emperor to whom the Pope, Clement VII., ad- ministered th(S double coronation of King of Italy and Emperor, at Bologna, in 1530. The Popes, the Kings of Naples, the Dukes of Milan, and the Republics of Venice and Florence, were the principal powers that shared among them the dominion of Italy towards the end of the fifteenth century. The continual wars which these states waged with each other, added to the weakness of the German Emperors, encouraged foreign powers to form plans of aggran- dizement and conquest over these countries. The Kings of France, Charles VIII., Louis XII., and Francis I., led away by a mania for conquest, undertook several expeditions into Italy, for enforcing their claims either on the kingdom of Naples, or itie dutchy of Milan. They were thwarted in their schemes by the Kings of Spain, who, being already masters of Sicily and Sardinia, thought it behoved them also to extend their views to the Continent of Italy. Ferdinand the Catholic deprived the French of the kingdom of Naples (1500.) His successor, Charles exercise the duci vested, : dom of Alexj He was by Lon His sue to the Siennaj •" 'r'v" •^"""''rVtWWf'*^ PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453 — 1648. 239 v., expelled them from the Milanois, and obliged Francis T., by the treaties of Madrid (1526,) Cambray (1529,) and Crepy «,1544,) to give up his pretensions on the kingdom of Naples, and the dutchy of Milan. From this time the Spaniards were the predominating power in Italy for more than a hundred years. In the midst of these revolutions there arose three new prin- cipalities within that kingdom ; those of Florence, Parma, and Malta. The Republic of Florence held a distinguished rank in Italy during the fifteenth century, both on account of the flour- ishing state of its commerce, and the large extent of its territory, which comprehended the greater part of Tuscany, and gave to this Republic the means of holding the balance between the other powers of Italy. The opulent family of the Medici here exercised a high degree of influence ; they ruled not by force but by their munificence, and the judicious use which they made of their great riches. The credit and popularity of the Medici, excited envy and persecution against them, and caused them to be several times banished from Florence. They were expelled from this latter place at the same time that Pope Clement VII., who was of this family, was besieged by the Imperialists in Rome (1527.) That Pontiff, in making his peace with Charles V., qb- tained his consent that the Medici should be re-established at Florence, in the state in which they were before their last ban- ishment. The Emperor even promised the Pope to give Alex- der de Medici his natural daughter in marriage, with a consid- erable dowry. The Florentines, however, having shown some reluctance to receive the Medici, their city was besieged by the Imperial army, and compelled to surrender by capitulation (1530.) The Emperor, by a charter dated at Augsburg on the 28th of August following, preserved to the city of Florence its ancient republican forms. Alexander de Medici was declared governor- in-chief of the state ; but this dignity was vested in himself and his male descendants, who could only enjoy it according to the order of primogeniture. He was authorized, moreover, to con- struct a citadel at Florence, by means of which he afterwards exercised an absolute power over his fellow-citizens. As for the ducal dignity with which the new Prince of Florence was vested, it properly belonged to the dutchy of Parma, in the king- dom of Naples, which the Emperor had conferred on him. Alexander de Medici did not long enjoy his new honours. He was universally abhorred for his cruelties, and assassinated by Lorenzo de Medici, one of his own near relations (1537.) His successor in the dutchy was Cosmo de Medici, who annexed to the territory of Florence that of the ancient republic of Sienna, which the Emperor Charles V. had conquered, and •iw 240 CHAPTER VII. conferred on his son Philip II. in name of the Empire (1554.) This latter prince being desirous of seducing Cosmo from his alliance with the Pope and the King of France, with whom the Spaniards were at war, granted him the investiture of the ter- ritory of Sienna, as a mesne-tenure holding of the crown of Spam, by way of equivalent for the considerable sums which he had advanced to Charles V. while he was carrying on the siege of Sienna. In transferring the Siennois to the Duke. Philip reserved for himself the ports of Tuscany, such as Porto Ercole, Orbitello, Telemone, Monte-Argentaro, St. Ste- fano, Longone, Piombino, and the whole island of Elba, witli the exception of Porto Ferrajo. By the same treaty, Cosmo engaged to furnish supplies to the Spaniards, for the defence of Milan and the kingdom of Naples. At length the Medici obtained the dignity of Grand Dukes, on occasion of the difference that had risen between them and the Dukes of Ferrara, on the subject of precedency. The Pope terminated this dispute, by granting to Cosmo the title of Grand Duke of Tuscany, with the royal honours (1569.) The Em- peror, however, took it amiss that the Pope should undertake to confer secular dignities in Italy ; thus encroaching on a right which he alleged belonged only to himself, in virtue of his being King of Italy. The quarrels which this affair had oc- casioned between the Court of Rome and the Empire, were adjusted in 1576, when the Emperor Maximilian II. granted to Francis de Medici, the brother and successor of Cosmo, the dig- nity of Grand Duke, on condition that he should acknowledge it as a tenure of the Empire, and not of the Pope. Among the number of those republics which the Visconti of Milan had subdued and overtnroAvn in the fourteenth century, were those of Parma and Placentia. They had formed a de- pendency of the dutchy of Milan until 1512, when Louis XII., having been expelled from the Milanois by the Allies of the Holy League, these cities were surrendered by the Swiss to Pope Julius II., who laid some claim to them, as making part of the dowry of the famous Countess Matilda. The Emperor Maximilian ceded them to the Pope by the treaty of peace which he made with him in 1512. Francis I. took these cities again from the court of Rome, when he reconquered the dutchy of Milan (1515;) but this prince having also been expelled from the Milanois (1521,) the Pope again got possession of Parma and Placentia, in virtue of the treaty which he had concluded with Charles V., For the re-establishment of Francis Sforza in the dutchy of Milan. These cities continued to form part of the Ecclesiastical States until 1545, when they were dismem- ing urn of thei cancy clause, resider Sicily, •of Ma] which VOL. j.e^,:^. ■•■i»f|M^ii,.u.' .iww • » " * 'nr^^j-' Ml f.^iifHi^^mfffiiiwm'^^ tEBlOD VI. A. D. 1463— J 648. 241 bered from it by Paul III., who erected them into dutchies, and conferred them on his son Peter Louis Farnese, and his heirs- male in the order of primogeniture ; to be held under the title of fiefs of the Holy See, and on condition of paying an annual tribute of nine thousand ducats. This elevation of a man whose very birth seemed a disgrace to the pontiff, gave universal offence. The new Duke of Parma soon rendered himself so odious by his dissolute life, his crimes and scandalous excesses, that a conspiracy was formed against him ; and he was assassinated in the citadel of Placentia in 1547. Ferdinand Gonzaga, who was implicated, as is alleged in this assassination, then took possession of Placentia in name of the Emperor ; and it was not till 1557 that Philip II. of Spain re- stored that city, with its dependencies, to Octavius Farnese, son and successor of the murdered prince. The house of Farnese held the dutchy of Parma as a fief of the Ecclesiastical States, until the extinction of the male line in 1731. The Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, after their expulsion from the Holy Land, had retired to the Isle of Cyprus, and from thence to Rhodes, in 1310, of which they had dispossessed the Greeks. They did not maintain possession of this place longer than 1523, when Soliman the Great undertook the siege of Rhodes, with an army of two hundred thousand men, and a fleet of four hundred sail. The Knights boldly repulsed the different attacks of the Turks ; but being entirely dependent on their own forces, and receiving no succour from the powers of Christendom, they were compelled to capitulate, after an ob- stinate defence of six months. Leaving Rhodes, these Knights took shelter in Viterbo, belonging to the States of the Church, where they were cordially received by Pope Clement VII. There they remained until the Emperor Charles V. gi-anted them the Isle of Malta, which became their principal residence (1530.) That prince ceded to them the islands of Malta and Gozzo, with the city of Tripoli in Africa, on condition of hold- ing them from him and his succ ors in the kingdom of Sicily, as noble fiefs, frank and free, without any other obligation than the annual gift of a falcon, in acknowledgment of their 1 old- ing under the crown, and presenting to the King of Sicily three of their subjects, of whom he was to choose one, on each va- cancy of the bishopric of Malta,. Charles V. added another clause, that if ever the Order should leave Malta and fix their residence elsewhere, that island should revert to the King of Sicily. The Knights of St. John continued in the sovereignty •of Malta and Gozzo till 1798; but they lost Tripoli, in 1551, which was taken from them by the Turks. VOL. I. 21 242 CHAPTER VII. A memorable revolution happened at Genoa, about the begin- ning of the sixteenth century. That republic, after having for a long time formed part of the dutchy of Milan, recovered its an- cient independence about the time when the French and Sp.in. ards disputed the sovereignty of Italy, and the conquest of thu Milanois. Expelled by the Imperialists from the city of Genoa in 1522, the F.-ench had found means to repossess it (1527,) with the assistance of the celebrated Andrew Doria, a noble Genoese, who had been in the service of Francis I. This distinguished admiral, supplanted by favourites, and maltreated by the court, abandoned the cause of France in the following year, and es poused that of the Emperor Charles V. The French then laid siege to the city of Naples, which was reduced to the last extremity, and on the point of surrendering, when Doria, having hoisted the Imperial flf^g, set sail for Naples, with the galleys under his command, and threw abundance of provisions into the besieged city. The French army, now cut off from all communication by sea, soon began to experience those calamities from which the Imperialists had just been de- livered. Their whole troops being destroyed by famine and con- tagious disease, the expedition to Naples fell to the ground, and the aflairs of the French in Italy were totally ruined. It is alleged that Charles V., to recompense Doria for this important service, offered him the sovereignty of Genoa ; and that, instead of ac- cepting this honour, that great man stipulated for the liberty of his country, whenever it should be delivered from the yoke of France. Courting the glory of being the liberator of his native city, he sailed directly for Genoa, of which he made himself master, in a single night, without shedding one drop of blood (1528.) The French garrison retired to the citadel, and were obliged to capitulate for want of provisions. This expedition procured Doria the title of Father of his Country, which was conferred on him by a decree of the Senate. It was by his advice that a committee of twelve persons was chosen to organize a new scheme of government for the republic. A register was drawn up of all those families who were to com- pose the Grand Council, v/hich was destined to exercise the supreme pov er. The Doge was to continue in ofHce ten years , and great care was taken to remove those causes which had pre- viously excited factions and intestine disorders. Hence the establishment of the Genoese aristocracy, whose forms have since been preserved, with some few modifications which were introduced afterwards, in consequence of certain dissensions which had arisen between the ancient and the new nobility. Venice, the eldest of the European republics, had reached the FpW- ■ |i«ll im.n PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453 — 1648. 243 zenith of its greatness about the end of th ^ fifteenth century. The vast extent of its commerce, supported by a powerful ma- rine, the multiplied sources of its industry, and the monopoly of the trade in the East, had made it one of the richest and most formidable States in Europe. Besides several ports on the Adriatic, and numerous settlements which tboy had in the Archipelago, and the trading towns on the Levant, they gained ground more and more on the continent of Italy, where they formed a considerable territory. Guided by an artful and en- terprising policy, this Republic seized with marvellous avidity every circumstance which favoured its views of aggrandizement. On the occasion of their quarrels with the Duke of Ferrara, they obtained possession of the province of Polesino de Rovigo, by a treaty which they concluded with that prince in 1484. Afterwards, having joined the League which the powers of Italy had opposed to Charles VIII. and his projects of conquest they refused to grant supplies to the King of Naples for the re- covery of his kingdom, except by his consenting to yield up the cities of Trani, Otranto, Brindisi, and Gallipoli. Louis XII., being resolved to enforce his claims on the dutchy of Milan, and wishing to gain over this Republic to his interest, gave up tc them, by the treaty of Blois (1499,) the town of Cremona, and the whole country lying between the Oglio, the Adda, and the Po. On the death of Pope Alexander VI. (1503,) they took that favourable opportunity of wresting from the Ecclesiastical States several towns of Romagna ; among others, Rimini and Faenza. Of all the acquisitions which the Venetians made, the most important was that of Cyprus. That island, one of the most considerable in the Mediterranean, had been conquered from the Greeks by Richard Cceur de Lion, King of England, who sur- rendered it to Guy of Lusignan (1192,) the last king of Jeru- salem, in compensation for the loss of hi'? kingdom. From Guy of Lusignan descended a long line of Cypiiol kings ; the last of whom, John III., left an only daughter, named Charlotte, who succeeded him in that kingdom, and caused her husband, Louis of Savoy, to be also crowned king. There still remained a bas- tard son of John III., called James, who was protected by the Sultan of Egypt, to whom the kings of Cyprus were tributaries, and who succeeded in expelling Charlotte and her husband, the Prince of Savoy, from the throne (1460.) James, who was de- sirous of putting himself under the protection of the Venetians, married Catherine Cornaro, daughter of Marco Corneille, a pa- rician of Venice. The Senate, in honour of this marriage, adopted Catherine, and declared her daughter of St. Mark or 844 CHAPTEE Vri. the Republic. James died in 1473, leaving a posthumous son, who dieJ also in the second year of his age. The Republic then considering the kingdom of Cyprus as their own inherit- ance, took possession of ii?e natural children of James, and induced Queen Catherine, by various means, to retire to Venice, and there .o resign her crown into the hands of the Senate, who assigned her a pension, with the Castle of Azolo, in Trevisano, for her residence ; and obtained for themselves the investiture of that island from the Sultan of Egypt (1490.) . , A career so prosperous was eventually followed by a reverse of fortune ; and several circumstances concurred to accelerate the decline of this flourishing republic. They received a ter- i>rible blow by the discovery of the new passage to India round the Cape, which deprived them of the commerce of the Eastj thus drying up the principal source of their wealth, as well as of their revenue and their marine. In vain did they put in practice all the arts of their policy to defeat the commercial en- terprises of the Portuguese in India ; exciting against them, first the Sultans of Egypt, and afterwards the Turkish Emperors, and furnishing these Mahometan powers with supplies. The activity of the Portuguese surmounted all these obstacles. They obtained a firm settlement in the East, where in course of time they became a very formidable power. Lisbon, in place of V^enice, became the emporium for the productions of India ; and the Venetians could no longer compete with them in this field of Eastern commerce. Besides, the good fortune which so long attended the undertakings of the republic, had inspired them with a passion for conquest. They took every opportunity of making encroachments on their neighbours ; and sometimes for- getting the counsels of prudence, they drew down upon them- selves the jealousy and resentment of the principal States of Italy. To this jealousy must be attributed the famous League, which Pope Julius II., the Emperor Maximilian, Louis XII., Ferdinand of Spain, and several of the Italian States, concluded at Cam- bray ( 1508,) for the partition of the Venetian territory on Terra Firma. Louis XII. gained a signal victory over the republi- cans near Agnadello, which was followed by such a rapid suc- cession of conquests, that the Senate of Venice were struck with consternation ; and the Republic must have beer infallibly lost, had Louis been supported by his allieKJ. But the Pope and the King of Spain, who dreaded the preponderance of the French in Italy, suddenly abandoned the League, and concluded sepa- rate treaties of peace with the republicans ; nor was the Emperor Maximilian long in following their example. In consequence of this, the Venetians, after having been menaced with a total nior tra reaped arose ai si./ "T^ww wm% ilMIII f I •«M iP'f ■' PEBIOD VI. A. D. 1463 — 1648. 245 overthrow, lost only, in course of the war, the territory of Cre- mona and Ghiera d'Adda, with the cities and ports of Komagna and Apulia. But this loss was far surpassed by that which they experienced in their finances, their commerce and manufactures. on account of the expensive efforts which they were obliged to •nake in resisting their numerous enemies. The ruin of this Republic was at length completed by the prodigious increase of the power of the Ottomans, who took from them, by degrees, their best possessions in the Archipelago and t^e Mediterranean. Dragged as it were in spite of themselves, into the war of Charles V. against the Turks, they lost four- teen islands in the Archipelago ; among others Chios, Patmos, iEgina, Nio, Stampalia, and Paros ; and were obliged, by the peace of Constantinople (1540,) to surrender to the Turks Mal- vasia and Napoli di Romagna, the only two places which re- mained to them in the Morea. The Turks also took from them the i«le of Cyprus, the finest of their possessions in the Mediterranean. The 'Sultan Selim II., being determined to conquer that place, attacked it with a superior force (1570,) although the Venetians had given him no ground for hostilities. He made himself master of the cities of Nicosia and Famagiista; and completed the conquest of the whole island, before the succours which the King of Spain and the Pope had granted to the Venetians, could join their fleet. On the approach of the Christian army, the Turkish fleet re- tired within the Gulf of Lepanto, where they were attacked by the allies under the command of Don John of Austria, a natural of Charles V. The Christians gained a complete victory son (1571.) The whole Turkish fleet was destroyed, and the Con- federates took immense booty. The news of this defeat struck terror into the city of Constantinople, and made the Grand Sig- nior transfer his court to Adrianople.~ The Christians, however, reaped no advantage from their victory. A misunderstanding arose among the Confederates, and their fleets dispersed without accomplishing any thing. The Venetians did not return to the isle of Cyprus ; and knowing well that they could not reckon on any effectual aid on the part of their allies, they determined to make peace with the Turks (1573.) By this treaty they left the Porte in possession of Cyprus, and consented to pay it a sum of 300,000 ducats, to obtain the restitution of their ancient boundaries in Dalmatia. From this epoch, the republic of Venice dates its entire decay. It was evident, that it must thenceforth resign its pretensions as a leading power, and adopt a system of neutrality which might put it in condition to main tain peace with its neighbours. 21 # 246 CHAPTER Vll. England, as we have mentioned above, had been the nval of France, w^hile the latter now became the rival of Austria. This rivalry commenced with the marriage of Maximilian of Austria, to Mary, daughter anu heiress of Charles, last Duke of Burgun- dy ; by which the house of Austria succeeded to the whole do- minions of that Prince. The Low Countries, which at that time were the principal emporium for the manufactures and com- merce of Europe, formed a part of that opulent succession. Louis XL, King of France, was unable to prevent the marriage of the Austrian Prince with the heiress of Burgundy ; but he took advantage of that event to detach from the territories of that princess whatever he found convenient. He seized on the dutchy of Burgundy as a vacant fief of his crown, as well as the seigniories of Auxerrois, Maconnois, Bar-sur-Seine, and the towns on the Somme ; and these different countries were pre- served to France by the treaties of peace concluded at Arras (1482) and Senlis (1493.) Such was the origin of the rivalry and bloody wars between France and Austria. The theatre of hostilities, which, under Louis XL had been in the Low Coun- tries, was transferred to Italy, under Charles VIIL, Louis XII., and Francis I. From thence it was changed to Germany, in the reign of Henry II. In Italy, besides this rivalry between the two powers, there was another motive, or pretext, for war, viz. t^ 3 claims of France en the kingdom of Naples and the dutchy of Milan. The claim of Louis XI. on the kingdom of Naples, had devolved to him with the county of Provence, which he inherited in virtue of the will of Charles, Count of Provence, and the last male descen- dant of the house of Anjou (1481.) Charles VIIL, the son and successor of Louis XL, urged on by youthful ambition, was de- termined to enforce this claim, He undertook an expedition into Italy (1494,) and took possession of the kingdom of Naples without striking a blow. But being opposed by a formidable confederacy of the Italian princes, with Maximilian at their head, he was obliged to abandon his conquests with the same facility he had made them ; and he was fortunate in being able to effect his retreat, by the famous victory which he gained over the al- lies near Foronuovo, in the dutchy of Parma. The claim to the dutchy of Milan, was founded on the con- tract of marriage between Louis, Duke of Orleans, the grandfa- ther of Louis XII., and Valentine of Milan. That contract pro- vided, that failing heirs-male of John Galeas, Duke of Milan, the dutchy should fall to Valentine, and the children of her marriage with the Duke of Orleans. Louis XII. claimed the rights of Valentine, his grandmother, in opposition to the princes PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453 — 1648. 247 of the family of Sforza, who had taken possession of the dutchy of Milan, on the extinction of the male-heirs of the Visconti, which happened in 1447. The different expeditions which he undertook into Italy, both for the conquest of Milan and the kingdom of Naples, met Avith no better success than that of his predecessor had done ; in consequence of a new League, called the Holy League, which Pope Julius II. raised against him, and into which he drew the Emperor Maximilian, the Kings of Arragon and England, with the Venetians and the Swiss. Louis XII. lost all the advantages of his conquests. The kingdom of Naples fell under the power of Ferdinand thi^. Catholic, and the family of Sforz? vere reinstated in the dutchy of Milan. _ ' These Italian wars, which were renewed at different times under the reign of Francis I., cost France much blood and im- mense sums. In this struggle she was forced to succumb, and Francis I. bound himself, by the treaty of Crepy, to abandon his claims on Italy in favour of Charles V. The kingdom of Na- ples and the dutchy of Milan remained incorporated with the Spanish monarchies. Francis I., nevertheless, had the glory of arresting the progress of his rival, and effectually counterbalan- cing a power which, at that time, made all Europe tremble. Henry II., the son and successor of Francis I., adopted a new line of policy. He attacked the House of Austria, in Germany ; having entered into a ler.gue with Maurice, Elector of Saxony, and the Protestant princes of the Empire, to oppose Charles V. That league, which was ratified at Chambord (1552,) procured for Henry II. possession of the bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun ; and he even succeeded in forcing the Emperor to raise the siege of Metz, which that prince had undertaken about the end of the year 1552. A truce of five years was agreed on be- tween these two sovereigns at Vaucelles ; but, in the course of a few months, the war was renewed, and Philip II., who had succeeded his father, Charles V., induced his queen, Mary of England, to join in it. Among the evei^s of this war, the most remarkable are the victory of St. Quentin, gained by the Span- iards (1557,) and the conquest of the city of Calais, by Francis, Duke of Guise ; the last possession of the English in France (155S.) The death of Queen Mary prepared the way for a peace, which was signed at Chateau-Cambresis (1559,) between France, England, and Spain. The Duke of Savoy obtained there the restitution of his estates, of which Francis I. had de- prived him 1536. Calais remained annexed to France. A series of wars, both civil and religious, broke out under the feeble reigns of the three sons and successors of Henry II. The 248 CHAPTER Vll. great influence of the Guises, and the factions which distracted the court and the state, were the true source of hostilities, though religion was made the pretext. Francis II. having espoused Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, the whole power and authority of the government passed into the hands of Francis, Duke of Guise, and the Cardinal de Lorraine, his brother, who were the queen's maternal uncles. The power which these noblemen en- joyed excited the jealousy of Anthony, King of Navarre, and his brother Louis, Prince of Conde, who imagined that the pre* cedency in this respect was due to them as princes of the blood, in preference to the Lorraine family, who might be considered as strangers in France. The former being Calvinists, and having enlisted all the leaders of that party in their cause, it was not difficult for the Lorraine princes to secure the interest of all the most zealous Catholics. The first spark that kindled these civil wars, was the conspi- racy of Amboise. The intention of the conspirators was to seize the Guises, to bring them to trial, and throw the manage- ment of affairs into the hands of the princes of the blood. The conspiracy having been discovered, the prince of Conde, who was suspected of being at its head, was arrested ; and ha would have been executed, had not the premature death of Francis II. happened in the meantime. The queen-mother, Catherine de Medici, who was intrusted with the regency during the minority of Charles IX., and desirous of holding the balance between the two parties, set Conde at liberty, and granted the Calvinists the free exercise of their religion, in the suburbs and parts lying out of the towns. This famous edict (January 1562) occasion- ed the first civil war, the sigiia. of which was the massacre of Vassy in Champagne. Of these wars, there have been commonly reckoned eight under the family of Valois, viz. four in the leign of Charles IX., and four in that of Henry III. The fourth, under Charles IX., began with the famous massacre of St. Bartholomew, authorized and directed by the Kin|^ (1572.) It is of some importance to notice here the Edict of Pacifica- tion of Henry III., of the month of May 1576. The new pri- vileges which this edict granted to the Calvinists, encouraged the Guises to form a league this same year, ostensibly for the maintenance of the Catholic religion, but whose real object was the dethronement of the reigning dynasty, and the elevation of the Guises. The Duke of Alengon, only brother of Henry III., being dead, and the King of Navarre, who professed the Cal- vinistic faith, having become presumptive heir to the crown, the chiefs of the Catholic League no longer made a secret of their '»«Wt"» PERIO'3 VI. A. D. 1453 — 1648. 249 measures. They concluded a formal alliance ( 1584,) with Philip II. of Spain, for excluding the Bourbons from the throne of France. Henry III. was obliged, by the Leaguers, to recom- mence the war against the Calvinists ; but perceiving that the Duke of Guise, and the Cardinal his brother, took every occa- sion to render his government odious, he caused them both to be assassinated at Blois (1588,) and threw himself on the protec- tion of the King of Navarre. In coaj unction with that Prince, he undertook the siege of Paris, dur ng which he was himself assassinated at St. Cloud, by a Jacojin of the name of James Clement (1589.) The dynasty of Valois ended with Henry III., after having occupied the throne for two hundred and sixty-one years. Under this dynasty the royal authority had gained considerably, both by the annexation of the great fiefs to the crown-lands, and by the introduction of regular armies, which put an end to the feu- dal power. Louis XI. was chiefly instrumental in bringing the grandees under subjection, and putting an end to the cruelties and oppressions of anarchy. If these changes, however, contri- buted to public order, it is nevertheless true that the national liberty suffered by them ; that the royal authority daily received new augmentations ; and that, so early as the reign of Louis XII., it was considered as high treason to speak of the necessity of assembhng the States-General. The practice of these assemblies, however, was renewed under the successors of that prince ; they even became frequent under the last kings of the house of Valois, who convoked them chiefly with the view of demanding supplies. Francis I. augmented his influence over the clergy by the con- cordat which he concluded with Leo X. (1516,) in virtue of which he obtained the nomination to all \ icant prelatures ; leav- ing to the Pope the confirmation of the prelates, and the liberty of receiving the annats. The race of Valois was succ3eded by that of the Bourbons, who were descended from Robert Count of Clermont, younger son of St. Louis. Henry IV., the first king of this dynasty, was related in the twenty-first degree to Henry III., his immediate predeces- sor. That prince, who was a Calvinist, the more easily reduced the party of the League, by publicly abjuring iiis religion at St. Denis. He concluded a peace with the Spaniards, who were allies of the League, at Vervins ; and completely tranquillized the kingdom by the famous edict of Nantes, which he published in favour of the reformed religion. By that edict he guaranteed to the Protestants perfect liberty of conscience, and the public exercise of their worship, with the privilege of filling all offices of trust : but he rendered them, at the same time, a piece of dis- iJiiHC . 260 CHAPTER VII. service, by granting them forfeited places, under the name of places of security. By thus fostering a spirit of party and intestine faction, he furnished a plausible pretext to their adversaries for gradually undermining the edict, and finally proscribing the ex- ercise of the reformed religion in France. That great prince, after having established the tranquillity of his kingdom at home and abroad, encouraged arts and manufac- tures, and put the admini itration of his finances into admirable order, was assassinated by Ravaillac (1610,) at the very moment when he was employed in executing the grand scheme which he had projected for the pacification of Europe. Cardinal Richelieu, when he assumed the reins of government under Louis XIII,, had nothing so much at heart as the expulsion of the Calvinists from their strongholds. This he accomplished by means of the three wars which he waged against them, and by the famous siege of Rochelle, which he reduced in 1628. That great states- man next employed his policy against the house of Austria, whose preponderance gave umbrage to all Europe. He took the op- portunity of the vacant succession of Mantua to espouse the cau?e of the Duke of Nevers against the Courts of Vienna and Mad- rid, who supported the Duke of Guastalla ; and maintained his protege in the dutchy of Mantua, by the treaties of peace which were concluded at Ratisbon and Querasque (1631.) Having afterwards joined Sweden, he made war against the two branches of Austria, and on this occasion got possession of the places which the Swedes had seized in Alsace. Louis XIV. was only four years and seven months old when he succeeded his father (1643.) The queen-mother, Anne of Austria, assumed the regency. She appointed Cardinal Ma- zarin her prime minister, whose administration, during the minority of the King, was a scene of turbulence and distrac- tion. The same external policy which had directed the minis- try of Richelieu, was followed by his successor. He prose- .".uted the war against Austria with vigour, in conjunction Avith Sweden, and their confederates in Germany. By the peace which was concluded with the Emperor at Munster, besides the three bishoprics of Lorraine, France obtained the Land- graviate of Lower and Upper Alsace, Sungaw, and the pre- fecture of the ten Imperial cities of Alsace. Spain was ex- cluded from this treaty ; and the war continued between that kingdom and France until the peace of the Pyrenees, by which the counties of Roussillon and Conflans were ceded to France, as well as several cities in Flanders, Hainault, and Luxembourg. Spain, which had long been divided into several States, and 1 stranger as it were to the rest of Europe, became all of a sud filV^»!PIW!«WMW,lif'W^' W^WV.Cf^ PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453 — 1648. 251 den a formidable power, turning the political balance in her own favo This elevation was the work of Ferdinand the Catholic, a prnice born for great exploits ; of a profound and fertile genius ', but tarnishing his bright qualities by perfidy and unbounded ambition. He was heir to the throne of Arragon, and laid the foundation of his greatness by his marriage with Isabella (1469,) sister to Henry VI. last King of Castille. That match united the kingdoms of Castille and Arragon, which were the two principal Christian States in Spain. Henry of Castille had left a daughter, named Jane, but she being considered as illegi- timate by the Castillians, the throne was conferred on Isabella and her husband Ferdina'^a (1474.) The Infanta Jane, in order to enforce her claims, bcitrothed herself to Alphonso V. King of Portugal; but that pimce being defeated by Ferdinand at the battle of Toro (1476,) was obliged to renounce Castille and his marriage with the Infanta. At the accession of Isabella to the throne of Castille, that kingdom was a prey to all the miseries of anarchy. The abuses of the feudal system were there maintained by violence and in- justice. Ferdinand demolished the fortresses of the nobles who infested the country ; he gave new vigour to the laws ; liberated the people from the oppression of the great ; and, under pretence of extirpating the Jews and Mahometans, he established the tribunal of the Inquisition (1478,) which spread universal terror by its unheard of cruelties. Torquemada, a Dominican, who was appointed grand Inquisitor (1483,) burnt in the space of four years near 6000 individuals. The Moors still retained the kingdom of Grenada. Ferdinand took advantage of their dissensions to attempt the conquest of it, ill which he succeeded, after a vigorous war of eighteen years. Abo Abdeli, the last King of Grenada, fled to Africa. An edict, which was published immediately after, ordered the expul- sion of all the Jews ; about an hundred thousand of whom fled from Spain, and took shelter, some in Portugal, and others in Africa. Ferdinand did not include the Moors in this proscrip- tion, whom he thought to gain over to Christianity by means of persecution ; but having revolted in the year 1500, he then al- lov/ed them to emigrate. It was this blind and headlong zeal that procured Ferdinand the title of the Catholic King, which Pope Alexander III. conferred on him and his successors (1493.) That prince also augmented his power by annexing to his crown the Grand Mastership of the Military Orders of Calatrava, Al- cantara, and St. James of Compostella. Every thing conspired to aggrandize Ferdinand ; and as if the Old World had not been sufficient, a New one was opened to llflnW«"!,TOlinv<5y™i m '«H||lHI"lllHI»ITIl'»f«l 262 CHAPTER VII. mm by the discovery of America. He was heir, by the father's side, to the kingdoms of Arragon, Sicily, and Sardinia. He g-ot possession of Castille by his marriage, and of Grenada by force of arms ; so that nothing was wanting except Navarre to unite all Spain under his dominion. The Holy League, which Pope Julius n. had organized against Louis XIL (1511,) fur- nished him with a pretext for seizing that kingdom. Entering into an alliance with the Pope, he concerted with the King of England to invade Guienne, on which the English had some ancient claims. They demanded of the King of Navarre that he should make common cause with the allies of the Holy League against Louis XII. That prince, however, wishing to preserve neutrality, they prescribed conditions so severe, that he had no other alternative left than to seek protection in France. Ferdinand then obtained possession of all that part of Navarre which lay beyond the Pyrenees. Twelve years before that time Ferdinand had, by the treaty of Grenada, planned with Loui? XII. the conquest of the kingdom of Naples. Frederic of Ar- ragon was then deprived of that kingdom, and his States were divided between the two allied kings ; but Ferdinand having soon quarrelled with Louis XII. as to their respective boundaries, this was made a pretext for expelling the French from Naples, which was again united to the Spanish monarchy, in the years 1503 and 1505. Charles I. of Austria, grandson of Ferdinand, and his succes- sor in the Spanish monarchy, added to that crown the Low Countries and Franche-Comte, which he inherited in right of his father Philip of Austria, and his grandmother Mary of Bur- gundy. He added likewise the kingdoms of Mexico and Peru on the continent of America, and the dutchy of Milan in Italy, in which he invested his son Philip, after having repeatedly ex- pelled the French in the years 1522 and 1525. These were all the advantages he derived from his wars against Francis I., which occupied the greater part of his reign. Blinded by his animosity against that Prince, and by his ruling passion for war, he only exhausted his kingdom, and im- paired his true greatness. Charles resigned the Spanish mo- narchy to his son Philip II., which then comprehended the Low Countries, the kmgdoms of Naples, Sicily and Sardinia, the dutchy of Milan, and the Spanish possessions in America. The peace of Chateau Cambresis, which Philip II. signed in 1559, after a long war against France, may be regarded as the era of Spanish greatness. To the states which were left him by his father, Philip added the kingdom of Portugal, with the Portu- guese posiBC-sions in Africa, Asia, and America ; but this was the jurisdicl were df fence oJ iheir lei VOL. 'mr 1 't 4 PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453 — 1648. 263 termination of his prosperity. His reign after that was only a succession of misfortunes. His revolting despotism excited the Belgians to insurrection, and gave birth to the republic of the United Provinces. Elizabeth of England having joined with the Confederates of the Low Countries, Philip, out of revenge, equipped a formidable fleet, known by the name of the Invinci- ble Armada, which was composed of 130 vessels of enormous size, manned with 20,000 soldiers, exclusive of sailors, and arm- ed with 1360 pieces of cannon. On entering the Channel they Vk^ere defeated by the English (21st of July 15S8,) and the greater part of them destroyed by a storm. From this calamity may be dated the decline of the Spanish monarch}', which was exhausted by its expensive wars. Phi.ip, at his death, left an enormous debt, and the whole glory of the Spanis'i nation perished with him. The reigns of his feeble jiucccssors are only remarkable for their disasters. Philip III. did irreparable injury to his crown by the expuls^'on of the Moors or Morescoes (1610,) which lost Spain nearly a million of her industrious subjects. Nothing can equal the misfortunes which she experienced under the reign of Philip IV. During the war which he had to support against France, the Catalans revolted, and put themselves under the protection of that Crown (1640.) Encouraged by their example, the Portuguese likewise shook cfF the yoke, and replaced the House of Braganza on their throne. Lastly, the Neapolitans, harassed by the Duke d'Oli- varez, prime minister of Philip IV. revolted, and attempted to form themselves into a republic (1647.) These reverses on the part of Spain added to the number of her enemies. The famous Cromwell having entered into an alliance with France (1655,) dispossessed the Spaniards of Jamaica, one of their richest set- dements in America. Towards tlie end of the fifteenth century, Portugal had reach- ed a high pitch of elevation, which she owed to the astonishing progress of her navigation and her commerce. John II., whose fleets first doubled the Cape of Good Hope, augmented the royal authority, by humbling the exorbitant and tyrannical power of the grandees. In the diet which was assembled at Evora, he retracted the concessions which his predecessors had made to the nobles, to the prejudice of the Crown. He abolished the power of life and death, which the lords exercised over their vassals, and subjected their towns and their territories to the jurisdiction of officers appointed by the King. The nobles, who were displeased at these innovations, having combined in de- fence of their privileges, and chosen the Duke of Braganza for their leader, John, without being disconcerted by this opposition VOL. I. 22 .'!T«»'^^.. UlUflll,! |HH«»lli 2M CHAPTER VII. had the Duke brought to a trial, and his head cut off, while hii brother was hanged in effigy. This example of severity intiroi« dated the grandees, and made them submit to his authority. The most brilliant era of Portugal was that of Emmanuel and John III., who reigned between the years 1495 and 1557. It was under these two Princes that the Portuguese formed their powerful empire in India, of which nothing now remains but the ruins. The glory of Portugal suffered an eclipse under the feeble reign of Sebastian, grandson and immediate successor of John. That Prince, who came to the throne at the age of three years, had been brought up by the Jesuits, who instead of instructing him in the important arts of government, had given him the education of a monk. They had inspired tiim with a dislike for matrimony, but with a decided attachment for the crusades. Muley Mahomet, King of Morocco, having requested his assist- ance against his uncle Moluc, who had dethroned him, Sebas- tian undertook an expedition into Africa in person, carrying with him the flower of his nobility. A bloody battle was fought near Alca9ar, in the kingdom of Fez (1578,) where the Portuguese sustained a complete defeat. Sebastian was slain ; and, what is sufficiently remarkable, his enemy Moluc died a natural death during the action, while Muley Mahomet was drowned in the flight. [During the reign of this king, every thing had fallen into decay ; even the character of the nation had begun to degenerate The spirit of chivalry which had distinguished them, was ex- changed for mercantile adventures, which even infected the higher classes ; while avarice, luxury, and effeminacy, brought on a universal corruption. The governors of their colonies in- dulged in all sorts of violence and injustice. They seized the more lucrative branches of commerce. The military force, which Emmanuel and John III. had kept up in India, was neglected. The clergy usurped the whole wealth of the colo- nies, and exercised an absolute power by means of the Inquisition, which was no where more terrible than at Goa.] As Sebastian had never been married, the throne passed at his death to Henry the Cardinal, his grand uncle by the lather's side, who was already far advanced in life. Perceiving his end approach, and that his death would involve the kingdom in con- fusion, he summoned an assembly of the States at Lisbon (1579,) in order to fix the succession. The States appointed eleven cammissioners, who were to investigate the claims of the diffe- rent candidates for the crown. Philip IL of Spain, who was one of this number, did not pay the least regard to the decision of prive The the sr ofJaj ihe cl lengtl Porti portail Span! that i| make! meanT inde| marir ^ I I mai ni^ II nr^ i ^^Fvp^»n«rw^ PERIOD vu A. n. 1463 — 1648. 255 the Slates. No sooner had he learned the death of Henry (1580,) than he sent the Duke of Alva, at the head of an army, to take poasei^ion of Portugal. The Duke defeated the troops of his opponent, Anthony prior of Crato, one of the claimants, who had proclaimed himself king ; pretending that he was the legiti- mate son of the Infant Don Louis, son of Emmanuel. Anthony had no other alternative left than to take shelter in France, and the whole of Portugal yielded to the yoke of the Spaniards. An inveterate antipathy, however, subsisted between the two nations, which made the Portuguese detest their Spanish mas- ters. This hatred was still more increased, on account of the losses which the Portuguese sustained, in the meantime, in their commerce and possessions in the East Indies. The lucrative traffic which the Confederates in the Low Countries, called the Dutch, carried on by importing the merchandise of the East from Portugal, and hawking them over the north of Europe, having enabled them to support the war against Spain, Philip II. thought to strike a fatal blow at their prosperity, by forbidding them all commerce with Portugal. That Prince, however, was deceived in his expectation. The Confederates, deprived of this lucrative branch of their industry, and after having made some unsuccessful attempts to find a north-west passage to India, took the resolution of sailing directly thither (1595,) jinder the conduct of Cornelius Houtman and Molinaar, in order to seek, at the fountain-head, those commodi- ties which were refused them in Portugal. No sooner had they attempted to form settlements in India than the Portuguese de- termined to prevent them, and fought with them, near Bantam, a town in Java, a naval battle, which ended in favour of the Confederates. Encouraged by this first success, the Dutch undertook to de- prive the Portuguese of their principal possessions in India. The conquest which they made of the Moluccas, procured them the spice trade. They likewise formed settlements in the island of Java, where they founded the city of Batavia, which became ihe capital and emporium of their settlements in India. At length Goa and Diu were the only places that remained to the Portuguese of their numerous possessions in India. These im- portant losses greatly exasperated the Portuguese against the Spaniards. AVhat added still more to their resentment was, that in the court of Madrid they saw a premeditated design to make vassals of the Portuguese ; and to cut off the most likely means of enabling them, sooner or later, to recover their ancient independence. It was with this view that their army and their marine were disorganized, their crown revenues dissipated, their ^- ■\~. 256 CHAPTER VIT. nobility precludea I'rom the management of affairs, and the na. tion exha'j'ied by exorbitant assessments. The revolt of the Catalans, which happened in 1640, at length (letermined the Portuguese to shake off* the Spanish yoke. A conspinicy was entered into by some of the grandees, in concert with the Duke of Braganza, which broke out on the 1st Decem- ber that same year. On that day, at eight o'clock in the morn- ing, the conspirators, to the number of about four hundred, re- paired by different routes to the palace of Lisbon, where the vice-queen, Margaret of Savoy, and dowager of Mantua, resided, with Vasconcellos the Secretary of State, who exercised the functions of Prime Minister of the kingdom. Part of them dis- armed the guard of the paloce, while others seized Vasconcel- los, who was the only victim that fell a sacrifice to the public vengeance. They secured the person of the vice-queen, and took measures to protect her from insult or violence. The con- spirators then proclaimed the Duke of Braganza King, under the title of John IV. That prince arrived at Lisbon on the 6th of December, and his inauguration took place on the 15th. It is not a little surprising that this revolution became general m eight days time, and that it was not confined merely to Portugal, but extended even to India and Africa. Every Avhere the Por- tuguese expelled the Spaniards, and proclaimed the Duke of Braganza. The city of Ceuta in Africa, was the only town of which the Spaniards found means to retain possession. John IV. was descended in a direct line from Alphonso, na- tural son of John the Bastard, who was created Duke of Bra- ganza. The first care of this new King of Portugal, on his ac- cession to the throne, was to convene an assembly of the States at Lisbon, in order to make them acknowledge his right to *he crown. The States, conformably to the fundamental laws of the kingdom, declared that Catherine, daughter of the infant Don Edward, and grandmother of King John, having become the true and legitimate heiress to the throne on the death of Henry the Cardinal, her grandson John IV. was entitled to the repos- session of those rights of which that princess had been unjustly deprived by the Spaniards. The better to establish himself on the throne, John concluded treaties of peace with France, the United Provinces, the Netherlands, and Sweden ; but confining his whole ambition to maintaining the ancient limits of the king- dom, he remained completely inactive with regard to Snain, which, being overpowered by numerous enemies, was quice in- capable of carrying on the war with vigour against Portugal The truce and alliance which that Prince had entered into with tlie Dutch, did not prevent these republicans from contmuing grees being ■^WM' i""f"flP.r p u>ii4ivim(jr PERIOD VI. A. D. i463-"1648. 267 iheir conquests in India ; where, in process of time, they strip ped the Portuguese of their finest settlements. England, long before this time, had emerged from the state of turbulence and desolation into which she had been plunged by the destructive wars of the two Roses. A new family, that of ^he Tudors, had mounted the throne; Honry VII., who was its founder, claimed the crown in right of his mother Margaret Beaufort, alleged heiress of the house of Lancaster, or the Red Rose; and raised an insurrection against Richard III., the last King of the House of York. This prince being defeated and sh'in at the battle of Bosworth (1485,) Henry, who v/as then proclaimed King of England, united the titles or claims of the two Roses, by his marriage with Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV., and heiress of York, or the White Rose. The countiy be- ing thus restored to tranquillity after thirty years of civil war, every thing assumed a more prosperous appearance. Agricul- ture and commerce began to flourish anew. Henry applied himself to the restoration of order and industry. He humbled the factious nobles, and raised the royal authority almost to a 6tate of absolute despotism. The reformatiom of religion in England began i-n the reign of his son Henry VIII. That Prince, who was of a very capricious character, vacillating continually be^veen virtue and vice, ap- peared at first as the champion of Popery, and published a treatise against Luther, which procured him, from the Court of Rome, the title of Defender of the Faith. But a violent passion, which he had conceived for Anne Boleyn, having induced him to attempt a divorce from Catherine of Arragon, daughter of Ferdinand tha Catholic, he addressed himself for this purpose to Pope Clement VII., alleging certain scruples of conscience which he felt on ac- count of his marriage with Catherine, who was within the de- grees of affinity, prohibited in the sacred Scriptures. The Pope being afraid to displease the Emperor Charles V., who was the nephew of Catherine, thought proper to defer judgment in this matter ; but the King, impatient of delay, caused his divorce to be pronounced by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (1532,) and immediately married Anne Boleyn. The sentence of the Archbishop was annulled by the Pope, who published a threatening bull against Henry. This incensed the King, who caused the Papal authority in England to be abro- gated by the Parliament, and installed himself in the capacity of supreme head of the English Church (1534 ;) a title which was conferred on him by the clergy, and confirmed by the Parliament. He also introduced the oath of supremacy, in virtue of which all who were employed in offices of trust, were obliged to acknow* 22* J...' ''^^P"!r •^i^m^jmimmi''ft'^'rj\^>mAnw i^wn.wmii' '289 CHAPTER VII. ledge him as head of the Church. A court of High Commiasion was established, to judge ecclesiastical causes in name of the king, and from whose sentence there was »io appeal. The con- vents or monasteries were suppressed, and their revenues confis- cated to the crown (1536-1539.) Henry even became a dogma- tist in theology ; and discarding the principles of Luther, as well as those of Calvin and Rome, he framed a religion according to his own fancy. Rejecting the worship of images, relics, purga« tory, monastic vows, and the supremacy of the Pope, he gave his sanction, by the law of the Six Articles, to the doctrine of the real presence, the communion in one kind, the vow of chastity, the celibacy of the priests, the mass, and auricular confession; inflicting very severe penalties on all who should deny or disobey one or other of these articles. This monarch, who was the first of the English kings that took the title of King of Ireland (1542,) was involved in the dis- putes which then embroiled the Continental powers ; but instead of holding the balance between France and Austria, he adhered in general to his friend and ally Charles V. against France, This conduct was regulated less by politics than by passion, and the personal interest of his minister Cardinal Wolsey, whom the Emperor had attached to his cause, by the hope of the papal tiara. The religi'^n which Henry had planted in England, did not continue after his death. Edv/ard VI., his son and immediate successor, introduced pure Calvinism, or, Presbyterianism. Mary, daughter of Henry VIII., by Catherine of Arragon, on her accession to the throne, restored thd Catholic religion (1553,) and likewise received the new legate of the Pope into England. She inflicted great cruelties on the Protestants, many of whom were burnt at the stake ; among others, Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Bishops of London and Worcester. With the view of more firmly establishing the Catholic religion m her dominions, she espoused Philip, presumptive heir to the Spanish monarchy ( 1 554. ) The restrictions with which the Eng- lish Parliament fettered his contract of marriage with the Queen, so displeased that prince, that, finding himself without p wer or authority, he speedily withdrew from England. Mary's reign lasted only five years : she was succeeded by her si' ler Eliza- beth (1558,) daughter of Henry VIII., by Anne Bo'eyn. This princess once more abrogated the authority of the Pope, and claimed to herself the supreme administration , both spiritual and temporal, within her kingdom. Though she adopted the Calvinj.stic principles in every thing regarding the doctrines of the Church, she retained many of the Romish ceremonies, and th« government of Bishops. It was this that gave rise to the teen ye 1587,) formed The Scotlar ""^w PEPioD vr. K. D. M53 — 1648. 259 distinction between the English or High Church, and the Cal- vanistic or Presbyterian. About the time when the High Church par'y rose in England, tt change of religion took place in Scotland, protected by Queen Elizabeth. The regency of that kingdom was then vested in the Queen-dowager, Mary of Lorraine, the widow of James V., and mother of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland and France- That princess, who was guided solely by the councils of her brothers of Lorraine, had introduced a body of French troops to repress the followers of the new doctrines, who had formed a new league, under the name of the Congregation. These, re- inforced by the Catholic malecontents, who were apprehensive of falling under a foreign yoke, took the resolution of applying for assistance to the English Queen, which it was by no means difficult to obtain. Elizabeth readily foresaw, that so soon as Francis became master of Scotland, he would attempt to enforce Mary's claims to the throne of England, grounded partly on the assumption of her being illegitimate. A considerable number of English troops were then marched to Scotland, and having formed a junction with the Scottish malecontents, they besieged the French in the town of Leith, near Edinburgh. The latter were soon obliged to capitulate. By the articles signed at Leith (1560,) the French and English troops were to evacuate Scot- land ; Francis IL King of France, and his wife Mary Stuart, were to renounce the titles and arms of the sovereigns of Eng- land, which they had assumed ; while a Parliament was to be assembled at Edinburgh for the pacification of the kingdom. The parliament which met soon after, ratified the Confession of Faith, drawn up and presented by the Presbyterian ministers. The Presbyterian worship was introduced into Scotland ; and the parliament even went so far as to prohibit the exercise of the Catholic religion. Mary Stuart, on her return to Scot- land (1561,) after the death of her husband Francis, was obliged to acquiesce in all these changes ; and it was with difficulty she was allowed the liberty of having a Catholic chapel attached to her court. This unfortunate princess was afterwards accused of having caused the assassination of Henry Darnley, her se- cond husband ; and being obliged to fly the country, she took shelter in England (1568,) Avhere she was arrested and impri- soned by order of Queen Elizabeth. After a captivity of nine- teen years she was sentenced to death, and beheaded (18th Feb. 1587,) as an accomplice in the different plots which had been formed against the life of her royal relative. The troubles which the reformation of religion had excited in Scotland, extended also to Ireland. A kind of corrupt feudal 260 CHAPTER VU- system had prevailed originally in that island, which Henry 11. had not been able to extirpate. The English proprietors, who were vassals of the crown, and governed by the laws of Eng- land, possessed nearly one-third of the whole country ; while ihe rest of the island was in the hands of the Irish proprietors, who, although they acknowledged the sovereignty of the Eng- lisih kings, preserved nevertheless the language and manners of their native land ; and were inclined to seize every opportunity of shaking off the English yoke, which they detested. Hence, a continued series of wars and feuds, both among the Irish themselves, and against the English, who on their pan had no other object than to extend their possessions at the expense of the natives. The kings of England, guided by an injudicious policy, for several centuries exhausted their resources in perpetual wars, sometimes against France, sometimes against Scotland, and sometimes against their own subjects, without paying the least attention to Ireland, of which they appear to have known neither the importa^ :e nor the effectual advantages which they might have reaped from it by means of a wise administration. The progress of agriculture and industry became thus completely impracticable; a deep-rooted hatred was established between the islanders and the English, who in fact seemed two distinct nations, enemies of each other, and forming no alliances either by marriage or reciprocal intercourse. The resentment of the Irish against the English government was aggravated still more, at the time of the Reformation, by the vigorous measures that v/ere taken, subsequently to the reign of Henry VJII., to extend to Ireland the laws framed in Eng- land against the court of Rome and the Catholic clergy. A general insurrection broke out in the reign of Elizabeth (1596,) the chief instigator of which Avas Hugh O'Neal, head of a clan in the province of Ulster, and Earl of Tyrone. Having gained over the whole Irish Catholics to his cause, he planned an ex- tensive conspiracy, with the design of effecting the entire expul- sion of the English from the island. Philip II., Xing' of Spain, supplied the insurgents with troops and ammunition ; and Pope Clement VIII. held* out ample indulgences in favour of those who should enlist under the banners of O'Neal, to combat the English heretics. This insurgent chief met at first with con- siderate iuccess ; he defeated the English in a pitched battle, and maintained his ground against the Earl of Essex, whom Elizabeth had despatched to the island with a formidable army. The rebels, however, ultimately failed in their enterprise, after a sanguinary war which lasted seven years. Charles, Lord Mountjoy, governor of Ireland, drove tiie insurgents to their las* '« PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453- -1648. 261 ' j recesses, and had the glory of achieving the entire reduction of the island. ^ The maritime greatness of England began in the reign of Elizabeth. That Princess gave new vigour to i.idustry and commerce ; and her efforts were seconded by the persecuting zeal of the French and Spanish governments. The numerous refugees from France and the Netherlands, found a ready asy- lum in England, under the protection of Elizabeth ; and her kingdom became, as it were, the retreat and principal residence of their arts and manufactures. She encouraged and protected navigation, which the English, by degrees, extended to all parts of the globe. An Englishman, named Richard Chancellor, having discovered the rouie to Archangel in the Icy Sea (1555,) the Czar, John Basilowitz IL, granted to an English company the exclusive privilege of trading with Russia (1569.) The commerce of the English with Turkey and the Levant, which began in 1579, was likewise monopolized by a Company of mer- chants. Francis Drake, a distinguished navigator, and the rival of Magellan, was the first Englishman that performed a voyage round the world, between 1577 and 1580. The intercourse be- tween England and the East Indies began in 1591 ; and the East India Company was instituted in 1600. Attempts were also made, about the same time, to form settlements in North America ; and Walter Raleigh, who had obtained a charter from the Queen (1584,) endeavoured to found a colony in that part of the American Continent, now called Virginia, in compliment to Elizabeth. That colony, however, did not, properly speak- ing, take root or flourish till the reign of James I. The compe- tition with Spain, and the destruction of the Invincible Armada of Philip II., by the combined fleets of England and Holland, gave a new energy to the English marine, the value of which they had learned to appreciate, not merely in guarding the in- dependence of the kingdom, but in securing the prosperity of their commerce and navigation. The House of Tudor endod in Queen Elizabeth (1603,) after lia. Ing occupied the throne of England about a hundred and eighteen years. It was replaced by that of the Stuarts. James VI., King of Scotland, son of Mary Stuart, and Henry Darnley, succeeded to the throne of England, and took title of King of Great Britain, which his successors still retain ^his prince de- rived his right to the crown, from the marriage ol his great grand- mother, Margaret Tudor, daught' r of Henry VII., with James IV. of Scotland. Vain of his ne ,v elevation, and fond of pre- rop-ni .J, James constantly occupied himself with projects for augmenting his royal power and authority in England ; and by h ■iy-"}VWff.;'^T " ' ■ '«T^»."JV-!IMI»'g»' 262 tr CHAPTER VII. instilling these principles into his son, he became the true archi- tect of all the subsequent misfortunes of his house. Charles I., the son and successor of James, seldom convened the Parliament ; and when they did assemble, he provoked them by the measures be proposed, and was then obliged to dissolve them. Being entirely guided by his ministers Laud, Arch- bishop of Canterbury, the EairS of Strafford and Hamilton, and his Queen, Henrietta of France, he ventured to levy taxes and impositions without the advice of Parliament. This conduct ou the part of the -King produced a general discontent. The flames of civil war began to kindle in Scotland, where Charles had introduced Episcopacy, as more favourable than Presbyte- rianism to royalty. !3ut the Scottish nobility, having formed a confederacy, known by the name of the Covenant, for the main- tenance of their ecclesiastical liberties, abolished Episcopacy (1638,) and subsequently took up arms against the King. The Parliament of England, under such circumstances, rose also against Charles (1641,) and passed an act that they should not be dissolved without previously obtaining redre5^s for the com- plaints of the nation. This act, which deprived the King of his principal prerogative, proved fatal to the royal dignity. A trial was Instituted by the Parliament against the King's ministers. The Earl of Strafford and the Archbishop of Canterbury were beheaded ; and Charles had the weakness to sign the death-war rant of his faithful servants. The Presbyterians soon became the prevailing party, and ex- eluded the Bishops from the Upper House. The management of affairs fell then into the hands of the House of Commons ; Episcopacnr was abolished ; and the Parliament of England ac- ceded to the Scottish Covenant. War now broke out between the King and the Parliament ; a battle was fought near York, m which the latter was victorious (1644.) Charles, seeing his afiiairs ruined, took the detenu ination to throw himself in.o the arms of the Scots (1646,) who, he supposed, might still retain an affection for t^ 3 race of their ancient. Kings. He soon found reason, however, to repent of this step ; the Scots did not hesi- tate to sell him to the English Parliament for a sum of £400,000, Sterling, which they found necessary for the ^jayment of their troops. A new revolution, which soon after happened in the Parlia- ment, completed the ruin of the King. The Presbyterians, or Puritans, who had suppressed the EpiscopalL ns, were crushed, in their turn, by the Independents. These latter were a sort of fanatics, who admitted no subordination whatever in the Church, entertained a perfect horror for royalty, .md were inclined for a beinsf b Mng .'<:.„-.? ]pFT=f"7«Tf PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453 — 1648. 263 republican or democratic form of government. The head and soul of this faction was the famous Oliver Cromwell, who. with great dexterity, made it an engine for raising himself to the sovereign authority. The whole power of the Legislature feli entirely into the hands of the Independent party ; who, by one act, expelled sixty members from the House of Commons. The Parliament, now completely under their dominion, appointed a commission of a hundred and fifty persons, whom they vested with power to try the King. In vain did the Upper House oppose this resolution; in vain did the King object to the Judges named by the House ; the commission proceeded, and pronounced the famous sentence, by virtue of which Charles was beheaded on the 30th of January 1649. His family were dispersed, and saved themselves by flight. The revolutions in the North of Europe, about the period of which we now speak, were not less important than those which agitated the West and the South. These arose chiefly from the dissolution of the Union of Calmar, and the reformation in religion ; both of which happened about the beginning of the sixteenth century. The Union of Calmar, between the three kingdoms of the North, had been renewed several times ; but, being badly cemented from the first, it was at length irreparably broken by Sweden. This latter kingdom had been distracted by intestine feuds, occasioned by the ambition and jealousy of the nobles, which continued during the whole reign of Chnrles VIII., of the House of Bonde. After the death of that Pr:nA:e (1470,) the Swedes, without renouncing the Union, had regu- larly appointed as administrators of the kingdom, from the year 1471 till 1520, three individuals of the family of Sture, viz. Steno Sture, called the Old, Suante Sture and Steno Sture, called the Young. Meantime, John, King of Denmark, and son of Christian 1,, had governed the three kingdoms since 1497, when Steno Sture the elder had resigned, until 1501, when he resumed the admin- istration. At length, however. Christian II., son of John, made war on Steno Sture, surnamed the Yon7ig, with a view to enforce the claims which he derived from the act of union. Being victorious at the battle of Bogesund, where Sture lost his life, he succeeded in making himself acknowledged by the Swedes as king, and was crowned at Stockholm (1520.) Within a short time after this ceremony, he violated the amnesty which he had publicly announced ; and to gratify the revenge of Gusta- vus Trolle, Archbishop of Upsal, whom the Swedes had deposed, he caused ninety-four of the most distinguished personages in tlie kingdom to be arrested, and publicly beheaded at Stockholm If' tij fl H l;1 %^>-'n T"/« I^'^ 264 CHAPTER VII. This massacre caused a revolution, by which Sweden recover- ed its ancient state of independence. Gustavus Vasa put him- self at the head of the Dalecarlians, ambitious to become the liberator of his country (1521.) He was declared Regent, and two years after. King of Sweden. The example of the Swedes was soon followed by the Danes, who, indignant at the excesb;e9 and cruelties of Christian II., deposed him, and conferred their crown on Frederic, Duke of Holstein, and paternal uncle to that prince. Christian, after having long wandered about the Low Countries, was made prisoner by the Danes, and remained in captivity the rest of his days. The Kings of Denmark having renewed, from time to time, their pretensions to the Swedish throne, and still continued the three crowns on their escutcheon, several wars broke out on this subject between the tAvo nations ; and it was not till the peace of Stettin (1570,) that the Danes acknowledged the entire independence of Sweden. Denmark then lost the ascendency which she had so long maintained in the North. The government of the kingdom un- derwent a radical change. A corrupt aristocracy rose on the ruins of the national liberty. The senate, composed wholly of the nobles, usurped ail authority ; they overruled the election of the kings, and appropriated to themselves the powers of the States-General, which they had not convoked since 1536 ; they encroached even on the royal authority, which was curtailed more and more every day ; while the prerogatives of the nobility Avere extended by the conditions which the Senate prescribed to the kings on their accession to the crown. The reformation of religion took place in Denmark, in the reign of Frederic I., the successor of Christian II. That prince employed an eloquent preacher, named John Tausen, and several other disciples of Luther, to promulgate the Protestant doctrines in his kingdom. In a diet held at Odensee (1527,) the King made a public pro- fession of the new faith ; and, in spite of the remonstrances of the bishops, he passed a decree, in virtue of which, liberty of conscience was established, and permission granted to the priests and monks to marry. Those articles were renewed in another diet, assembled at Copenhagen (1530;) Avhere the King ratified tho Confession of Faith presented to him by the Protestant min- isters, ''imilar to what had taken place the same year at the diet of Au^.^urg. At length Christian III. who was elected in 1634, brought these changes in religion to a close. The bishops, during the last interregnum, had done eA-^cry thing to stop the progress of the Reformation. The King, desirous of annihilating their teinDoral po\A'er, colluded Avith the principal nobility to haA'e all .jt'^'. i .-jk- Period vi. a. d. 1453 — 1648. 665 the bishops in the kingdom arrested ; and having then assem- bled a meeting of the States at Copenhagen, he abolished Epis- copacy, and suppressed the public exercise of the Catholic reli- gion. The castles, fortresses, and vast domains of the prelates were annexed to the, crown; and the other benefices and reve- nues of the clergy were appropriated to the support of the minis- ters of religion, public schools, and the poor. The monks and nuns were left at liberty, either to quit their convents, or remain there during their lives. The bishops were replaced by super- intendents, the nomination of whom was vested in the King ; while each congregation retained the privilege of choosing its own pastors. From Denmark this revolution passed to Norway, which at that time, on account of having joined the party of Christian II., who was deposed by the Danes, lost its indepen- dence, and was declared a province of the kingdom of Denmark. The House of Oldenburg, which had occupied the throne of Denmark since 1448, was separated in the reign of Christian III. into two powerful branches, viz. the Royal, descended from that prince ; and the family of Holstein-Gottorp, descended from his brother the Duke Adolphus. This latter branch was after- wards divided into three others, viz. those of Russia, Sweden and Holstein-Oldenburg. As the law of primogeniture was not established in the dutchies of Sleswick and Holstein, which had fallen into the succession of the House of Oldenburg, the Kings of Denmark soon found themselves under the necessity of divi- ding these dutchies among the younger princes of their family. The treaty of partition, which was entered into (1544) between Christian III. and his brother, had been preceded by a treaty of perpetual union, annexing these dutchies to the kingdom, and intended to preserve the throne, which was elective, in the House of Oldenburg ; as well as to prevent any portion of these two dutchies from falling into the possession of strangers. The union was to endure as long as the descendants of Frederic I. reigned in Denmark. They promised to settle, by arbitration, whatever differences might arise between the states of the union , to afford each other mutual succour against every external ene- my ; and to undertake no war but by common consent. The treaty of 1544 which regulated this partition, made seve- ral exceptions of matters that were to be managed and adminis- tered in common; such as, the customs, jurisdiction over the nobles, the bishops, and certain cities. This gave rise to a sort of copartnership of power, common to all the princes of the union. Every thing regarding either the general safety as stipulated in the treaty, or the exercise of these privileges included in the ex ' ceptions, was to be discussed and settled by unanimous consent , ■m^wnw^fVf^'mfiKfirT'nifflf^.fU.mittumw'i mu"! 266 CHAPTER VII. and for this purpose a council of regency, an exchequer, ane? common courts were established. This union and community of rights were followed, as a natural consequence, by long and destructive feuds between the Kings of Denmark and the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp, in which the other powers of the North were also implicated. Christian IV., grandson of Christian III., was distinguished not more by the superiority of his talents, than by the indefati- gable zeal with which he applied himself to every department of the administration. It was in his reign that the Danes extend- ed their commerce as far as India. He founded the first Danish East India Company (1616,) who formed a settlement in Tran- quebar on the Coromandel coast, which had been ceded to them by the Rajah of Tanjore. Various manufactories of silk stuffs, paper, and arms, were constructed, and, several towns built un- der thr auspices of Christian IV. The sciences Avere also much indebted to him ; he gave a new lustre to the University of Co- penhagen, and founded the Academy of Soroe in Zealand, be- sides a number of colleges. If he was unsuccessful in his ware against Sweden and Austria, it must be ascribed to the narrow limits of his power, to the influence of the arisiocratic spirit, and of the feudal regime which still prevailed in Denmark. He succeeded, however, in excluding the Swedes from access to the ley Sea, which opened them a way to the coasts of Lapland, by obtaining possession, at the peace of Siorod (1613,) of that part of Lapland which extends along the Northern and Icy Seas, from Titisfiord to Waranger and Wardhuys. The disputes con- cerning the three crowns was settled by the same treaty, in such a way that both sovereigns were permitted to use them, withoul authorizing the King of Deimiark to lay any claim to the Swe- dish crown. Sweden, which had long maintained a struggle against Den- mark, at length acquired such a preponderance over her as to threaten, more than once, the entire subversion of the throne. This preponderance was the achievement of two great men, who rose in the period we now speak of, viz. Guslavus Vasa, and his grandson Gustavus Adolphus. Gustavus Vasa was not merely the liberator, but the restorer of his country. Elevated to the throne by the free choice of the nation, he gave Sweden a power and an influence which it never had before. Every thing under him assumed a new aspect, the government, the religion, the finances, the commerce, the agriculture, the sciences and the morals of the Swedes. Instead of the assemblies of the nobles, formerly in use, and destructive of the national liberty, he sub- Itituted Diets composed of the diflferent orders of the State, the the ■^^r^ PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453 — 1648. 267 nobility, the clergy, the citizens, and the peasantry. By this means ho acquired a new influence, of which he took advantage to humble the power of the church and the nobles, which had ioMi^r been a source of oppression to Sweden. The reformation of religion, which then occupied every mind, appeared to Gustavus a very proper expedient to second his views, and introduce a better order of things. On his accession to the throne, he authorized the two brothers Olaus and Lau- rentius Petri, to preach publicly at Stockholm the doctrines of Luther, and did every thing in his power to accelerate the pro- gress of the Reformation in his kingdom. The bishops, who were apprehensive for their benefices and their authority, having drawn the greater part of the nobility over to their interest, the king, in the presence of a Diet of the four orders assembled at Westeras, took the determination of formally abdicating the crown. This step threw the Diet into a state of consternation, and encouraged the two lower orders, the citizens and peasants, to declare themselves loudly for the King. The bishops and nobles were obliged to comply ; and the King, resuming the reins of government, succeeded in overruling the deliberations of the Diet. By the authority of a decree, he annexed the strong castles of the bishops to the demesnes of the crown, and retrench- ed from their vast possessions whatever he judged convenient. The prelates at the same time were excluded from the senate ; the ties that bound them to the Court of Rome were broken ; and they were enjoined henceforth to demand confirmation from the King, and not from the Pope. The revenues of the clergy in general, and those of the convents, were left at the free dis- posal of the king, and the nobles were permitted to bring forward whatever claims they could adduce over lands granted to these convents by their ancestors. There was nothing now to retard the march of reformation. The Lutheran religion was introdu- ced universally into Sweden, and that event contributed not a little to exalt the royal authority. Gustavus secured the hereditary succession of the crown in favour of his male descendants. The States, anxious to obvi- ate the troubles and disorders which the demise of their kings had often produced, legulated the succession by an act known by the name of the Hereditary Union. It was passed at Ore- bro (1540,) and ratified arew by the States assembled at Wes- teras. The Union Act was lenewed at the Diet of Nordkoping, in the reign of Charles IX. (1604,) when the succession was extended to females. The reign of Gustavus Adolphus, the son of Charles IX., raised ihe glory of Sweden to its height. The virtues and If If f 1 t'- \i Iji 1" \i ,'ti il'.' 1 111 11 i "•mi" 288 CHAPTER VU. energies of that prince, the sagacity of his views, the admirable order which he introduced into every branch of the administra- tion, endeared him to his subjects ; while his military exploits, and his superiority in the art of war, fixed upon him the admi- ration of ail Europe. Gustavus brought the wars, which he had to sustain against the different powers of the North, to a most triumphant conclu- sion. By the peace which he concluded at Stolbova with Rus- sia (1617,) he obtained possession of all Ingria, Ke.xholm, and Russian Carelia ; and even cut that Empire off from all com- munication with Europe by the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea. His success was not less brilliant in his campaigns against Sigismund III., King of Poland, who persisted in contesting with him his right to the crown of Sweden. He took from the Poles the whole of Livonia, with a part of Prussia ; and kept possession of these conquests by the six years truce which he concluded with the latter at Altmark (1629.) It was about this time that Sweden began to occupy a distin- guished place among the powers of Europe; and that she was called on to take the lead in the League which was to protect the Princess and States of the Empire against the ambition of Austria. Gustavus, who Avas in alliance with France, under- took a task as difficult as it was glorious. In the short space of two years and a half, he overran two-thirds of Germany with his victorious arms. He vanquished Tilly at the famous battle of Leipsic (1631,) and extended his conquests from the shores of the Baltic to the Rhine and the Danube. Every thing yield- ed before him, and every place opened its gates to him. This great prince, who had made war a new art, and accustomed his army to order, and a system of tactics never before known, per- ished at the memorable battle of Lutzen (1632,) which the Swedes gained after his death, in consequence of the skilful dis- positions he had formed. This war was continued under the minority of Queen Chris- tina, his daughter and heir. It was still carried on, although the Swedes had undertaken a new war against Denmark, with the view of disengaging themselves from the mediation which Christian IV. had undertaken between the Emperor and Swe- den, at the congress which was to meet at Munster and Osna- burg. The result of that war was completely to the advantage of Sweden, which gained by the peace of Bromsbro (1645) the freedom of the Sound, as also the possession of the provinces and islands of Jamptland, Herjedalen, Gothland, Oesel, and Hal- land. Lastly, the peace of Westpiialia secured to Sweden con- siderable possessions n the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, such as Wismar, Brt. ven and Verden, and part of Pomerania* tion berg, they Branc still annih Im Prussi marrie dying cess Frede race Franc nearly from t junctl} renew o akK T*P*'^^'»T" I ,«li|B IBip^|i|fl| PERIOD VI. A. D. 1463 — 1648. S69 The power of the Teutonic Knights, which had been greatly reduced during the preceding period, by the defection of a par of Prussia, was completely annihilated in the North, in conse- quence of the changes introduced by the reformation of religion. Albert of Brandenburg, grandson of the Elector Albert Achilles, on his elevation to the dignity of Grand Master of the Order, thought himself obliged to withdraw from Poland that fealty and homage to which the Knights had bound themselves by the treaty of Thorn in 1466. This refusal furnished matter for a war between them ; which began in 1519, and ended in 1521, by a truce of four years ; at the expiration of which the Grand Master, who saw the doctrines of Luther disseminated in Prus- sia, and who had himself imbibed these principles in Germany, found means to settle all difTerences with the King of Poland, by a treaty which he concluded with him at Cracow (1521.) He there engar;;ed to do homage and fealty to the crown of Po- land, which he had refused; and Sigismund I., who was his maternal uncle, granted him Teutonic Prussia, with the title of Dutchy. as a hereditary fief, both for himself and his male-heirs, and for his brothers of the House of Brandenburg and Franconia, and their feudal heirs ; reserving the right of reversion in favour of Poland, failing the male-descendants of these princes. The Teutonic Knights thus lost Prussia, after having possess- ed it for nearly three hundred years. Retiring to their pos- sessions in Germany, they established their principal residence at Mergenlheim in Franconia, where they proceeded to the elec- tion of a new Grand Master, in the person of Walter de Cron- berg. The Poles, in getting rid of the Teutonic Knights, whom they had regarded with jealousy, and substituting the House of Brandenburg in their place, never dreamed of adopting an enemy still more dangerous, who would one day concert the ruin and annihilation of their country. Immediately after the treaty of Cracow, the new Duke of Prussia made a public profession of the Lutheran religion, and married a daughter of the King of Denmark. This princess dying without male issue, he married for his second wife a prin- cess of the Brunswick family, by whom he had a son, Albei t Frederic, who succeeded him in the dutchy of Prussia. Tlio race of these new dukes of Prussia (1568,) as well as that of Franconia, which should have succeeded them, appearing to Ik; nearly extinct, Joachim II., Elector of Brandenburg, obtained from the King of Poland the investiture of Prussia, in fief, con- junctly with the reigning dukes. This investiture, which was renewed in favour of several of his successors, secured the sue* cession of that dutchy in the electoral famil v of Brandenburg; '.o 23* ■ ■lll|i by acomi who with Germ£ noihin mund bishop missio Livoni not on parts \ crown tion th •erved ^^ 'wvrw ""vy^, FERIOD VI. A. D. 1453 — 1648. S71 mally stipulated, that the relations between the Knights of Li- vonia and the Teutonic Order should be maintained as they w«>fe. and that the Livonians should continue to regard the Grand Master as their true head, and render him homage and obe- dience. They were forbidden to solicit from the Emperor ot tne Pope any privilege inconsistent with their allegiance. It ap pears, consequently, that Walter de Plattenberg did not purchai=e the independence of his Order, but that he regarded those tie? which existed between it and the Teutonic Order as broken, when Albert of Brandenburg was declared Duke of Prussia, lie next renewed those connexions with the German Empire, which had existed since the thirteenth century ; and was declared by Charles V. (1527) a prince of the Empire, having a vote and a seat in the Diet. It was during the mastership of Plattenberg that the Lutheran Joctiines penetrated into Livonia, where they made rapid pro- gress, especial / in the cities. Walter dexterously turned the disturbances caused by the opposition of the clergy to the new tenets, into an occasion for establishing his authority over all Livonia and Esthonia, which the Order had formerly shared with the bishops. The citizens of Riga acknowledged him as their only sovereign, and expelled the archbishop. The bur- gesses of Revel followed their example. The clergy were so frightened at these movements, that the archbishop of Riga, and the bishops of Dorpat, Oesel, Courland and Revel, formally sub- mitted to the Order. The clergy themselves soon afte- embraced the reformed religion.] The dominion of the Knights Sword-bearers, had continued in Livonia until the time of the famous invasion of that country by the Czar, John Basilovitz IV. That prince, who had laid open the Caspian Sea by his conquest of the Tartar kingdoms of Casan and Astrachan, meditated also that of Livonia, to obtain a communication with Europe by the Baltic. Gotthard Kettler, who was then Grand Master, finding himself unable to cope with an enemy so powerful, implored first the assistance of the Germanic Body, of which he was a member ; but having got nothing but vague promises, he next addressed himself to Sigis- mund Augustus, King of Poland, and, m concert with the arch- bishop of Riga, he concluded with that prince a treaty of sub- mission at Wilna (1561;) in virtue of which, the whole of Livonia, with Esthonia, Courland and Semigallia, comprising not only what was still in the possession of the Order, but those parts which had boen seized by the enemy, were ceded to the crown of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, on condi- tion that the use of the Confession of Augsburg should be pre- «erved on the same footiog as it them waS) and that all orders o| fi 1 '!i 'M h; ■ I «STa^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 l.i 1.25 ta 1^ 12.2 I" 1^ '"" i lis IIIIIM 1.8 U IIIIIL6 6" V] <^ /^ e^i. ^J. V /^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 1 580 (716) 872-4503 ' ^- 27» CHAPTER Vn. the State should he maintained in their goods, properties, rights, privileges and immunities. By this same treaty, Courland and Semigallia were reserved to Gotthard Kettler, the last Grand Master of Livonia, to be «njoyed by himself and his heirs-male, with the title of dutchy, and as a fief of the king and crown of Polp,nd. The new Duke, on taking the oath of fidelity to the King of Poland, solemnly laid aside all the badges of his former dignity. He married Anne, daughter to the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schevverin, and transmitted the dutchy of Courland to his male-descenuants, who did not become extinct until the eighteenth century. Ihe Order of Livonia was entirely suppressed, as were also the archbishoprics of Riga, and the bishoprics under its jurisdiction. The revolution in Livonia caused a violent commotion among the powers of the North, who were all eager to share in ihe plunder. While the Grand Master of the Order was in treaty with Poland, the city of Revel, and the nobles of Esthonia, left without aid, and oppressed by the Russians, put themselves undei the protection of Eric XIV., King of Sweden, who obtameo possession of that province. The Isle of Oesel, on the contrary, and the district of Wyck in Esthonia, were sold to Frederic II. King of Denmark, by the last bishop of the island, who also ceded to him the bishopric and district of Pilten in Courland. Poland at first held the balance, and maintained Livonia against the Russians, by the peace which she concluded with that power at Kievorova-Horca (1582.) A struggle afterwards ensued be- tween Poland and Sweden for the same object, which was not finally terminated until the peace of Oliva (1660.) Russia, during the period of which we now treat, assumed an aspect entirely new. She succeeded in throwing off* the yoke of the Moguls, and began to act a conspicuous part on the theatre of Europe. The Horde of Kipzach, called also the Grand, or the Golden Horde, had been greatly exhausted by its territorial losses, and the intestine wars which followed ; while the Grand Dukes of Moscow gained powerful accessions by the union of several of these petty principalities, which had for a long time divided among them the sovereignty of Northern Rus- sia. John Basilovitz III., who filled the grand ducal throne about the end of the fifteenth century, knew well how to profit by these circumstances to strengthen his authority at home, and make it respected abroad. In course of several expeditions, he subdued the powerful republic of Novogorod, an ancient ally of the Hanseatic towns, and which had for a long time affected an ei.*ire independence. He was also the first sovereign of Russia that dared to refuse a humiliating ceremonv, accordirig to which the Grand Dukes were obliged to walk on. loot before ^e envoys I the I whi giol . 1459 — 1048L 873 that came from the Khan of Kipzach. He even suppressed the residence of Tartar envoys at his court ; and at .leng^th shook off their yoke entirely, refusing to pay the tribute v/hich the Grand Dukes had owed to the Khans for several centuries. Achmet, Khan of Kipzach, having despatched certain deputies with an order, under the great seal, to demand paymenV of this tribute, the Grand Duke trampled the order under his feet, spit upon it, and then put all the deputies to death except one, whom he sent back to his master. The Khan, with the view of revenging that insult, invaded Russia several times, but the Grand Duke vigorously repulsed .ill his attacks ; and while he was arresting the progress of his arms on the borders of the Ugra, he despatched a body of troops to the centre of the Grand Horde, who laid every thing desolate (14S1.) The Nogai Tartars joined the Russians to finish the destruction of the Grand Horde, whose different settlements on the Wolga they laid completely in ruins ; so that nothing more remained of the powerful en ^ ire of Kipzach than a few de- tached hordes, such as those of Casan, Astracan, Siberia, and the Crimea. Iwan rendered himself formidable to the Tartars ; he subdued the Khans of Casan, and several times disposed of their throne. The entire reduction of that Tartar state was ac- complished by his grandson, John Basil ovitz IV., who twice undertook the siege of Casan, and seized and made prisoner of the last Khan (1552.) The fall of Casan was followed by that of Astracan. But John was by no means so fortunate in his en- terprises against Livonia, which, as we have already said, he was obliged to abandon to Poland by the peace of Kievorova-Horca. John IV, was inspired with noble views of policy. Being anxious to civilize his subjects, he sent for workmen and artists from England. He requested Charles V. to send him men of talents, well versed in the different trades and manufactures. He introduced the art of printing at Moscow, and established the first permanent army in the country, that of the StrelifzeSf which he employed in keeping the nobles in check. The dis- covery of Siberia is one of the events that belong to his reign. A certain chief of the Don Cossacks, named Jermak, who em- ployed himself in robberies on the borders of the Wolga and the Caspian Sea, being pursued by a detachment of Russian troops, retired to the confines of Siberia. He soon entered these re- gions at the head of seven thousand Cossacks, and having gained several victories over the Tartars of Siberia, and t^°ir Khan Kutschem, he got possession of the city of Sibir, whici .vas their principal fortress (15S1.) Jermak, in order to obtain hig pardon of the Czar, made him an offer of all he had conquered ; which was agreed to by that Prince, and the troops of the Rus'sians 274 CHAPTER Vn. then took possession of Siberia (1583.) The total reduction of the country, however, did not take place until the reign of the Czar Theodore or Fedor Iwanovitz, the son and successor of John, who built the city of Tobolsk (1587,) which has since be- coiiic the capital of Siberia. Fedor Iwanovitz, a prince weak both in mind and body, was entirely under the counsels of his brother-in-law Boris Godunow, who, with the view of opening- a way for himself to the throne, caused the young Demetrius, Fedor's only brother, to be assas- sinated (1591.) This crime gave rise to a long series of trou- bles, which ended in the death of Fedor (1598.) With him, as he left no children, the reigning family ol the ancient sovereigns of Russia, the descendants of Ruric, became extinct ; after having occupied the throne for more than eight hundred years. After this, the Russian Crown was worn by persons of diffe- rent houses. Their reigns were disturbed by various preten- ders, who assumed the name of Demetrius, and were supported by the Poles. During fifteen years Russia presented a shock- ing spectacle of confusion and carnage. At length, as a remedy for these disasters, they thought of bestowing the crown on a foreign prince. Some chose Charles Philip, the brother of Gus- tavus Adolphus of Sweden ; and others voted for Uladislaus, the soil of Sigismund IV., King of Poland. These resolutions tended only to increase the disorders of the state. The Swedes took ad- vantage of ,ili ■•^.. ■.-.^% ' \l ..n ,