Herbert Schutz - The Medieval Empire in Central Europe - Dynastic Continuity in The Post-Carolingian Frankish Realm, 900-1300-Cambridge Scholars Publishing (2010)
Herbert Schutz - The Medieval Empire in Central Europe - Dynastic Continuity in The Post-Carolingian Frankish Realm, 900-1300-Cambridge Scholars Publishing (2010)
Herbert Schutz - The Medieval Empire in Central Europe - Dynastic Continuity in The Post-Carolingian Frankish Realm, 900-1300-Cambridge Scholars Publishing (2010)
By
Herbert Schutz
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe:
Dynastic Continuity in the Post-Carolingian Frankish Realm, 900-1300,
by Herbert Schutz
All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
List of Maps................................................................................................ ix
List of Monarchs......................................................................................... xi
Preface ...................................................................................................... xiii
Introduction ................................................................................................. 1
CHAPTER I.................................................................................................... 9
THE OTTONIANS (919-1024)
Political Tasks and Challenge ............................................................... 9
Conrad I and Henry I and the Elected Kingship.................................. 21
Otto I - an Innovator on the Throne..................................................... 41
Otto II and the Regency of Theophanu and Adelheit ........................... 70
Otto III the Repentant Sinner on the Imperial Throne ......................... 83
Henry II and his Divine Mandate to Rule ............................................ 95
Conclusion............................................................................................... 301
Notes........................................................................................................ 305
Bibliography............................................................................................ 349
Index........................................................................................................ 355
LIST OF MONARCHS
Conrad II (1024-1039)
Henry III (1039-1056)
Henry IV (1056-1106)
Rudolf von Rheinfelden – anti-king (1077-1080)
Henry V (1106-1125)
Lothar III, von Supplinburg (1125-1137)
. Hohenstaufen (1138-1268)
See Centrefold
Devil. Since from the papal perspective the emperor was the cause of the
disorder, he was of the devil and easily associated with the Anti-Christ.
The Empire, still known as the Roman Empire, was the realm within
which the historical processes took place. As the Regnum Teutonicum,
initially a denigrating term introduced by Popoe Gregory VII, it came to
be better known by its later designation as the Holy Roman Empire. It too
has very little to do with any notion of state or nation. Along with the
Christian church, this "Roman Empire", as it continued to be known,
began with the birth of Christ. It was destined to end with his second
coming, believed to be imminent. That medieval man was living at the end
of days was an eschatological idea. . It was understood that this Roman
Empire had been designed by God to last to the end of days. Its rulers were
understood to be charged to protect the church. Only as Roman emperors
could these monarchs fulfill that task. However, elected German kings,
their mandatory coronation in Rome as emperors was not a foregone
conclusion.
The historical setting contains the continuity of the ideas formulated by
St. Augustine in his De Civitate Dei – The City of God, in which all
history is divided into "Two Realms", that of God and heaven, and that of
the Devil and the world. The former realm contains those humans, whom
God has chosen. The other contains all those not predestined for salvation,
but left in the state of sin and guilt. It was this division coupled with the
fear of being cast into the realm of the Devil, which gave to the threat of
excommunication its great sting. The setting also contains the variable
interpretations of the Gelasian doctrine of the "Two Authorities", which
provided for the conflict between the crown and the representatives of the
cross. The relationship between the crown and the cross, between the
Empire and the Papacy was confirmed when the church invented the
Constantinian Donation, to support the claim that the emperor Constantine
had bestowed imperial authority on the popes and the western church. The
fable of the Pepinid Donation supported by Charlemagne's promise to
honor the donation further confirmed the position of the papacy. Even
though the emperor Otto III demonstrated that these claims were forgeries,
during the Salian Period of the 11th century the papacy interpreted the
doctrine of the "Two Swords" to mean that the "Material Sword"
represented by the Empire should be an instrument entirely in the service
of the papacy. This interpretation of papal primacy caused serious
dissension between political reality and spiritual ideality, which could not
but end in the supremacy of the Papacy and the dissolution of the realm
into a particularist territorialism. That the imperial authority would have
created this suppposed primacy of the church was not even an
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe xvii
When Louis the Child, the last Carolingian ruler of the East Frankish
Kingdom died in 911, the magnates of the kingdom took a surprising and
innovative step: rather than turning to the western Carolingians for a
legitimate successor, they elected the Franconian Conrad I, one of their
own, to the kingship. This act marked the beginning of an independent,
Germanic kingdom in Central Europe. By the middle of the tenth century,
this kingdom assumed responsibility for the remnants of the Carolingian
Empire already focused on Rome. This Empire had adopted the
organizational structure of the early Christian church and had thereby
benefited from administrative features of the former Roman Empire.
Though the territoriality of the Carolingian Empire disintegrated, it
survived intellectually in its guise as the Imperium Christianum. In this
form, as heir of the Roman Empire, it was thought entrusted to the pope,
deemed universal and eternal and the last one before the end of days, the
return of Christ to this earth. This thought is the primary motivation for the
existence of the Imperium Romanum. It could not be invented anew, only
transferred as a translatio imperii by the pope. Its importance cannot be
overemphasized, for it allows only for the primacy of the ecclesiastical
realm and not that of the secular realm. As heirs of the East Frankish
Kingdom, the succession of its Frankish and Saxon rulers was seen to
continue from Charlemagne and to have been entrusted directly by God
with the guardianship of this Imperium Christianum, without benefit of the
intercession of another authority. Evidently a different interpretation. The
Carolingian titles gratia Dei rex, Augustus a Deo coronatus, magnus
imperator, Divus Caesar imperator Augustus, patricius, of antique origin,
had been passed on to their sucessors, to be used in addressing their God
given majesty, analogous to the practices of the Byzantine Empire. For
three centuries theses interpretations were to be the source of strife.
As protectors and custodians of the Imperium, it was the function of
these rulers to preside over the necessary but sometimes incompatible
restorations and renewals – Restoratio and Renovatio of a past gloriously
ordered Carolingian world. The evolving ambivalence of roles was to
characterize the history of these experimental royal and imperial ideas as
they came into conflict with similar intentions claimed by the Papacy. The
problem became one of semantics, as the church understood 'restoration'
2 Introduction
support between the monarchy and the Papacy as their interest dictated. A
king could not face their combined opposition, especially when strong
popes rose to insist on obedience to the pope and to dispute the primacy of
the king/emperors in the matter of the control of the realm, but especially
in the spiritual realm. While the Papacy was weak, this posed only little
difficulty for the German king/emperors, who followed the late Roman
imperial precedent of relegating the church to its traditional secondary
position, as still was the case of the church in Constantinople.
With the western church assuming the former imperial role for itself,
the reversal of this position had the consequence that now any strong pope
could incapacitate the secular state through the power of excommunication
which cancelled all feudal relationships. Disobedience could lead to
charges of heresy. Claiming sole legislative authority in all matters, the
pope could sit in judgment over all, but not be judged by anyone. The
pope's verdict was absolute and irreversible. By the early thirteenth
century, the Papacy through its curia had also become the primary judicial
instance in the west. Although a compromise became possible, the conflict
between kings and popes remained a contentious element in imperial
politics, given that any interested party could disturb the compromise. The
erosion of the religious and secular foundations of the cohesive monarchy
contributed directly to the centrifugal configuration of the Empire and its
ultimate devolution into disparate, autonomous territorial principalities.
The problem was not to be resolved under the Swabian Hohenstaufen
dynasty (1152-1268). Conditions in Italy had undergone modernizing
changes, so that Frederick I, Barbarossa, appeared to be an anachronism.
The advent of the Crusades had helped to accentuate the tensions between
the Empire and the Papacy, over the question of preparedness to
participate in them. The Hohenstaufen policy in Italy and Norman Sicily
made them estranged absentee kings in Germany. The last effective king,
Frederick II, called stupor mundi, wonder of the world, has been credited
with being the first Renaissance man on the imperial throne. Frederick's
reign was dominated by a lengthy dispute with the Papacy, among other
things over a contentious diplomatic recovery of Jerusalem. Frederick's
proximity to Islamic culture brought Moslem influences to his court,
which affected his intellectual position on many things. Frederick was
buried beside his father Henry VI in Palermo, Sicily, the two having been
German kings in name only.
CHAPTER ONE
THE OTTONIANS
These changes endured for centuries, providing the center of Europe with
political, ecclesiastical and economic structures, well before other regions
could follow suit. To justify its existence it repeatedly had to reestablish its
claim to otherworldly support and representation reflected in its arts and
architecture. It was soon to establish its hegemony in the center of Europe,
to pulsate, expand and contract, to run into the conflicting and rivaling
intentions of the church, to shift eastward, but to continue until its
abolition by Napoleon in 1806.
At all times, the frontiers were in a state of flux. The concept of
borders defining areas of sovereignty had not yet been invented. Following
the Treaty of Ribémont in 880, the approximate western borders of the
East Frankish Kingdom were the western borders of the duchy of
Lotharingia, which arched from the North Sea coast and the Scheldt-
Meuse-Rhine estuary in the north, followed a line to the west of the river
Meuse, to the headwaters of the Moselle. From there, the border went on
to Basel and the knee of the upper Rhine. The border of the duchy of
Swabia reached to the headwaters of the rivers Rhine and Inn. The
southern border of the Bavarian duchy penetrated far into northern Italy.
Swabia and Bavaria controlled the Alpine passes into Italy. Bavaria
included Slovenia, while its eastern marches of Carinthia, Styria and of
Bavaria, coincided approximately with the eastern borders of modern
Austria. Towards the north, the border of Bavaria followed the mountain
range of the Bohemian Forest. Thuringia followed the river Saale to the
Elbe, the eastern border of the duchy of Saxony. (Map 1-1) Beyond these
very long and unsettled eastern borders lay the lands of a multitude of
Slavic peoples. During the ninth and tenth centuries, the eastern limits of
Bavaria and Saxony were seriously penetrated and their hinterlands
severely destabilized by the disruptive relations with the western Slavs and
especially by raiding Hungarians. The Saxon border extended to the Schlei
in the north. At all times, the territorial holdings of the church could be
located within and without the respective tribal jurisdictions.1 In the
Frankish tradition the realm was partitioned among members of the
family. It was to be to the credit of the first king of this new assembly of
duchies, that he designated only one successor.
By the middle of the thirteenth century, the Empire included Burgundy
and Provence in the west, configured as the Arelat, Bohemia and Moravia,
Silesia and Pommerania in the east. Italy in the south, excluded the Papal
States, while Sicily came to share its rulers with the empire. An expanding
Denmark had crossed the Danewirk and pushed its border towards the
south. Owing to the feudal order of the personal interdependencies of
The Ottonians 11
of its prestige and influence. For nearly a century, the Ottonian descendants
maintained their leading positions, especially in the religious foundations.
This complex issue extended into feudal law, where a vacancy of a fief
through death, did not automatically lead to its being passed into the
possession of an heir. The fief reverted to the lord, who then had several
choices how to dispose of it, including its award to an heir.
With the decline of the Carolingians, the East Frankish realm had
retained basic Frankish forms, while it reverted socially to an earlier
warrior society. Devastation of settlements, fields and harvests, by fire,
was a principal feature of warfare, against populations living on the edge
of subsistence. Sieges were necessary to remove enemy pockets in the rear
of an advancing army, despite the delays they caused. The remote figure of
the king captained the passing abstract ship of state. Caught unawares in
its turbulent wake, the common people, subjected to a judicial inequality,
experienced only vaguely the churning tumult of the passing of history.
The records kept in Latin inform about the “Latin Middle Ages” of the
clerics and their scribal culture, but little about the integrated oral culture
of the common man and his mental and spiritual concerns and daily toil,
his struggle against catastrophes, wars, failed harvests, starvation, toxin
induced hallucinations and infectious and incurable, “diabolical” diseases,
life, death, heaven and hell on earth. The visions of purgatory were
innovations introduced only during the thirteenth century. How did
emphasis on the clerical world view reflect that of the common man?
For the commoners, the awareness of the world will have been
concentrated on such familiar concepts as family and kinship, farm and
village, probably also on notions of clan. Any distinguishing tribal notions
may not have existed at all, either. What was a Saxon to an Alaman? Any
notion of regional identity, let alone “national” consciousness, lay in the
distant future. Without an identifiable name, a center, central administration,
without the administrative uniformity derived from written directives and
preserved records, any central planning, one will at best have been aware
of one's state as a client of someone higher up the hierarchical pyramid on
whom one was dependent and to whom service and dues had to be
rendered. It was understood that with the decline of the Carolingians,
during which period no Carolingian heir had the strength to dominate
another, God had transferred his benevolence to another worthy line, in
which wisdom, protective strength, justice and clemency are generously
represented.
Already in 916 at a synod, the assembled bishops had proclaimed the
sacrosanct nature of the anointed king,7 intended to caution any magnates,
not to commit a blasphemous act, because the oath of fealty was a
14 Chapter One
sacrament. The anointed, sacred king, as the immortal living lord of God's
kingdom made visible on earth, was the uniting bond among princely
jurisdictions, which preferred a high degree of independent territorial
authority. Missi dominici appointed along Carolingian lines could not
replace the monarch, since the heavenly kingdom on earth was located
wherever the king chose to stay. Therefore he had to be seen everywhere
in his aura, so that all the people could share in it, not just a select few. As
“prince of peace”, he brought peace and justice, and shunned vice, made
appointments, received petitions, heard grievances, confirmed rights and
bestowed privileges, righted wrong and spoke justice. He was the
guarantor of the freedoms due his subjects. On religious feast days, he
showed himself with his insignia and in full regalia as the sacred anointed
of the Lord, as the “prince of peace”, of law and order, and then his
personal presence extended the hope that salvation by association was
possible. There were no constitutional institutions or instruments available
to help him guide the other lords of his realm, many of whom had assumed
the administrative duties on a hereditary basis.8 They existed within a
personal bond based on the oath of fealty, which they had sworn to his
unifying sacred kingship. The main functions of the kingdom were the
preservation of peace and justice. Therefore there could be nothing worse,
than an interregnum, when the throne was vacant, because then chaos and
injustice reigned, all personal relationships were dissolved and the
kingdom ceased to be an effective unit. The royal progress, the
perambulation, the symbolic circle ride, of the itinerant monarch as
worldly king “under the crown“, was used by the Ottonian, Salian and
Hohenstaufen king/emperors to introduce, demonstrate royal rule as a
personal experience and enforce their sacral rule from horseback.9 It
served to overcome the impression of the king's remoteness, reduce the
distance between rulers and subjects, and tried to persuade people of the
notion of the whole even being a real monarchy on earth. Tents and
pavilions are less forbidding than palaces, even if a moving center blurs
the definition between its protean appearance and location and its
periphery. Considering the poor state of communications, a central
administration was not to be envisaged.
An itinerant court was a necessity, since it was easier to move the court
to the supply, than to move the supplies to a central site. It follows, that the
court had to leave a hostel once its resources were depleted. It is
astonishing to note, that, even in their very advanced years, none of the
monarchs could be accused of noncompliance with this expectation, as it
was the king's personal duty to impress through the sacerdotal aura of his
crowned presence. A reign was the itinerant life on horseback, interrupted
The Ottonians 15
clarified, the sacred, sacerdotal status of the western emperor had been
neutralized. In any case, although the anointing ceremony set the king
apart as it gave him authority in and over the church, it did not bestow on
him the sacramental authority of bishops and priests to ordain, consecrate
the Eucharist, or to absolve.14 In retrospect it is difficult to grasp, how
vitally the decisive spiritual, ideological and political questions were
linked to the significance of papal Rome, as they affected the respective
primacy of pope and emperor. The ideas, which each represented,
concerning the Imperium Christianum, were not primarily complementary.
Worst of all, misunderstood as a lodestar, the light they followed proved to
be a lantern, which they themselves carried in front of them into certain
misadventure. Subsequently, in the absence of a multilingual, multitribal
identity, it would be premature to speak of a “national” identity, only the
effective implementation of the traditional imperial idea had any meaning.
This continuity required ready access to Rome as a necessary condition to
a rite of passage of the imperial forces. This passage had to be assured
repeatedly in the face of an understandable lack of regional cooperation
and outright particularist hostility on the part of the cities of northern Italy
and especially of the population of Rome.
This orientation towards papal Rome came to force an intermittently
recurring, but enduring, needless frustration upon the imperial
administration, especially since in its dilapidated and scandalous state, the
Rome of the popes represented an idea, and no longer the glory of a
pontifical residence. These circumstances pitted the emperors as
individuals against the Papacy as an institution. As individuals, the
monarchs were “outnumbered”. For nearly four hundred years, the Roman
emperors focused their attention on Rome and Italy as Charlemagne had
done. At the same time the concern taxed the human and material
resources, which these Roman emperors had to invest to maintain their
Italian ambitions and Roman obligations. Except during the reign of the
generally disinterested Henry II, who tried to combine in his person
priestly and royal functions, and thus realize a sacerdotal realm in the
north, repeated campaigns, prolonged sieges, contagious diseases, food
shortages and miserable living conditions frequently caused the ruler's
death as they decimated the imperial forces, as each new emperor needed
to be crowned in Rome, owed protection to the Papacy, or wanted to
enforce a specific point.
That the economic, political and cultural forces within the various parts
of the Empire were following an independent agenda was not often
appreciated. Already Dagobert, the Merovingian, had espoused a joint
policy, within which eastward political expansion was to be a joint
The Ottonians 19
role, as the church had not yet developed the idea of its supremacy over
monarchs. The confluence of these circumstances and historical processes
raises questions about the causal effects, which affected the realm.
Remnants of the “great man” theory still see powerful individuals as
movers and shapers of the course, often the changing course of events.
Thus the historical narrative may be projecting a positivistic sequence of
events with greater assurance than the actual evidence might justify. It is
much more apparent, that it was the circumstances and the historical
processes which moved and shaped the individuals, and determined a
narrowly circumscribed framework, within which the ruler was a
plaything, who could act with only a limited degree of freedom. This made
for greater continuous concatenation, than for apparent, disturbing change,
even when dynastic transformations took place. Eclectic retrospection had
imposed a selective teleology onto the process and fitted the process to the
desired, national, outcome.
the welfare of the kingdom over that of the duchies. Even though some
magnates of the East Frankish church held fast to the idea of the unified
Frankish realm and supported Conrad,34 his inadequate military strength
rested mainly on his Franconians. It is significant that the northeastward
shift of the political center of gravity also entailed a delivery from
established Carolingian traditions. While the Eastern Carolingians had
been based in Bavaria and Swabia, the new kingdom was shifting its
center, first to Franconia and then into Thuringia and Saxony.35 In the
process, the respective churches came completely under the control of the
dukes. Arnulf secularized much church property in Bavaria, adding greatly
to his strength. However, Lotharingia was not returned to the realm and
the Hungarian incursions could not be stopped. It fell to the dukes to
initiate any possible resistance against invaders.36 Their successful self-
help heightened their profile, while their efforts contributed to the need of
a sense of concerted action. It has been laid to Conrad's credit that,
reputedly on his deathbed, and in view of the unresolved threats to the
kingdom, he had the foresight not to continue the Frankish tradition of
partitioning the realm among members of his family. He designated Henry
of Saxony as his successor, and convinced his brother Eberhard to take the
royal insignia to Saxony. With hindsight among the Ottonian historians, he
was credited with the providential nomination of Henry, the Saxon duke
(919-936), as his successor.37
It will be appreciated that the historical narrative projects a causal
linearity to the historical events, suggesting a substantiable set of “facts”
bridging much uncertainty. Widukind of Corvey may have invented the
actual sequence of events and retrospectively recast it as the expression of
a Saxon manifest destiny. He made an unwarranted tribal distinction here,
when it was probable that the distinction was not yet clearly defined.
Conrad and Henry and all the other Carolingian dukes for that matter,
represented the eastern Carolingian high nobility, not necessarily
representing ethnic origins or tribal interests, maneuvering for primacy.38
In fact, the transfer was more pragmatic than prophetic, since there was
nothing to predict that Henry I would succeed, where Conrad had failed. It
is doubtful, whether all the member duchies of the realm appreciated the
singular dynamic potential harbored by the Saxons, that they all
considered Henry, of the newly integrated Saxons, to be the obvious
successor, especially when one considers that it was not until the Ottonian
kingship, that the Saxons crystallized into a political unit. Henry was
initially only the first among equals, who could raise similar claims.
Bavaria, for one, was heading in its own direction and crowning its own
king. King and anti-king faced one another at the beginning of this royal
The Ottonians 27
territorial assets exceeded those of his first wife, and when combined with
hers, brought most of Saxony under Henry's control.
Mathilda's biography is fragmentary and composed without real
understanding. Two vitae are quite unreliable. She was to be the mother of
an emperor, a Bavarian duke, two western queens and an archbishop.
Contrary to the king, of her children, Mathilda came to favor her second
son, Henry, porphyrogenetos, born to the purple, when his father was
already king, over her first-born, a circumstance which was to create all
manner of difficulties for Otto, her first born and the prime candidate.
Reputedly, Otto was conceived when Henry I forced himself on her while
he was drunk, during the week of abstention preceding Easter. She
considered this a serious blemish, which prayer and sprinkling of holy
water could not remove. Otto was born before Henry had ascended the
royal throne, but Henry seems to have disregarded her reservations. It can
be assumed that in the maneuvering among the various supporters
Mathilda will have played a key part, as she agitated for the preferable
legitimacy of Henry's royal birth in the succession over that of his older
brother. Repeatedly she supported Henry's opposition to Otto. Her kinship
intertwined in extensive marital connections. These made for divided
loyalties as well as quickly spreading support. One can be sure, that she
interceded with Otto on behalf of his younger brother, each time he
forgave him his rebellions. It was on her advice and request that Otto made
him duke of Bavaria. Clearly, her role as queen entailed more than
performing household duties and ornamental functions. Within the limits
of her femininity, she shared in the royal duties and representational
expectations of her station.
Education became an area of emphasis for her. Following the death of
Henry I, she learned to read. She may have set the tone at court, for
learning in the form of a literary education became a requirement at Otto's
court. Her piety found overt expression in overly generous donations. She
founded churches and several convents, most notably the two dedicated to
St. Servatius and St. Wiperti in Quedlinburg. She made so free with
donations of crown land and royal treasure that Otto had to restrain her
generosity, out of concern over the reduction of the royal domain. Being
queen in a kingdom held together by means of a strenuous, itinerant
kingship, she traveled independently and had to endure the hardships of
the annual progress. She died in 968. Following her death, she was
venerated as patroness of several dioceses – Paderborn, Fulda and
Freising. This Ottonian extended kinship gave Henry's son Otto a powerful
pedigree
30 Chapter One
Henry was able to use the fear of attack to unify the realm and to
devise successful defensive methods against the invading Slavs and
Hungarians. Between 919 and 923, the Hungarians seemed to appear
everywhere. The eastern monasteries, established by the Carolingians as a
screen of protective focal centers along the Eastern frontier, were their
preferred targets. Widukind of Corvey, the Saxon historian, reports that
during the invasion of 926 an important Hungarian noble was taken
captive and rather than accepting vast golden treasure as ransom, Henry
asked for peace, an armistice finally arranged for nine years to protect
most of his kingdom.69 Against an annual tribute, he gained time to
strengthen his position. At the Diet of Worms in 926, defensive measures
were decided by common consent of the assembly, which advanced the
systematic, coordinated construction, restoration and provisioning of
effective fortifications and hitherto temporary and improvised fortified
refuges throughout the realm for the population, in anticipation of certain
attack.
He may have followed Anglo-Saxon examples, when he had settlements
surrounded by walls.70 These fortifications, archeologically not verifiable,
were supposedly a systematic defense in depth, also intended to become
familiar strategic locations, as sites of future assemblies in peacetime.
Indirectly, the forts, designated for trials, market days and other social
events, helped to urbanize the people, though Henry is erroneously
credited with the founding of towns.71 They were not yet intended as
residential castles for the nobility, but their location in isolated places,
contributed to the gradual inner colonization of vast empty regions, by
focusing social interaction on them. Levies were raised among the
peasants, - every ninth man to staff the forts, with the other eight seeing to
his provisions. These measures had created a peasant “militia”, by
designating one man per household to prepare equipment for himself and
to hold himself ready, when called upon. The church was called upon to
fortify its own establishments, while the nobility will have fortified its
own sites with earthworks, palisades around elevated towers. Widukind
reports, that in Merseburg there was stationed a “penal battalion” of
“shock troops”, of proven, convicted but pardoned belligerents and
criminals free to raid and pillage among the western Slavs to the east.72
Henry also realized that an infantry army could not withstand the
Hungarian light cavalry. Consequently, those with the means had to equip
at least one heavily armed horseman. War horses were acquired in all the
duchies and horsemen trained to fight in close formations.73 He thereby
called into being prepared defensive infantry and heavy cavalry forces,
early forms of the military social order of the Middle Ages. At this early
The Ottonians 35
and their peoples to defend what was theirs. He argued that to pay the
tribute, the church treasures would have to be confiscated. In 932 one
chose to rely on the support of heaven. Henry provoked the Hungarians
when he refused the annual tribute in 933, whereupon the invading
Hungarians split their forces and by means of a pincer movement wanted
to overcome the Saxons. However, these defeated first one and then,
following the banner of St. Michael, the other Hungarian wing. Widukind
did his rhetorical best to record that just the sight of the Saxon heavy
cavalry turned the Hungarian attack into a rout.79 These successes were
won by contingents drawn from all the duchies of the realm, fighting in a
common cause. The kingdom had been successful in its first joint action.
The victory affected them all, for it confirmed the union. This manner of
raising military forces was to become the prevalent model. All through the
kingdom, the annals recorded this “national” event as a common
experience.80 They gained for Henry immense stature and confirmation
that his heart lay in God's hand, and according to Widukind, the combined,
patriotic (?), army proclaimed him pater patriae, father of the fatherland,
rerum dominus imperatorque, mighty lord of the world and imperator, the
proclamation of the soldier emperors of ancient Rome. Widukind had
borrowed from a classical source. A warrior-king, as well as an effective
negotiator, Henry signaled vision, determination and strength, along with
diplomatic and strategic foresight, willingness to take calculated risks,
combining ruthlessness with generosity, wisdom and dignity. Most
importantly, Henry had demonstrated by his defensive strategy and his
victories that God had chosen well, when he was chosen king, that he
clearly had Heil, and that he merited the leadership of the kingdom, above
the other dukes. His reputation had reached the patriarch of Jerusalem,
who already in 932 admonished him to convert the Jews. Local suggestions
to expel those unwilling to convert found no support. Too much trade in
exotic things would have been lost. A Viking attack on Frisia drew Henry
to the north. In 934 minor realms of the Danish Vikings were overthrown
in Holstein and in Schleswig, bringing that danger to an end. Henry
insisted on their Christianization. The victories here enabled the organized
r resumption of the Danish mission and the conversion of the ruling
groups.81 The north was secured. Henry's reputation spread beyond the
borders of his kingdom.
A situation had been created, which provided the opportunity for a
sense of patria to evolve. A grandiose policy reflected Henry's diplomatic
and military successes against raiding Hungarians and marauding Vikings,
as well as inner foes, through the founding of defensive alliances of all the
duchies, of the community of autonomous, yet federated interests among
38 Chapter One
the religious and secular components of the realm. Where the realm had
been torn by inner strife, the personal bonds between Henry and his
magnates achieved even through “international” marriages, relationships,
oaths, friendship pacts and agreements secured the crown, and suggested a
potential political entity in the center of Europe. To see in him the founder
of a German “nation state”, however, would be a premature, anachronistic,
nationalistic overstatement. This interpretation would have been surprising
for the times, because an identity of this largely multi-ethnic amorphous
assembly of jurisdictions had not yet been defined, even if the realm had
acquired great prestige and attracted wide attention. Empires of the
Roman, Byzantine and Carolingian types were the only available models
to follow. The retrospective review of these successes induced the
contemporary historians to recognize the workings of divine providence,
beginning with the demonstrated virtue in Conrad's providential
recommendation. Arnulf of Bavaria pursued unrealistic ambitions in Italy,
which, according to Widukind of Corvey, may have induced Henry I to
look towards Rome despite his illness. From a literary point of view, the
journey to Rome would have been the seal of Henry's accomplishments.82
Exploiting the weakness of the West Frankish kingdom, Upper and
Lower Burgundy had been able to strengthen their relative positions, to the
extent that in 931 the Lower Burgundian Hugh, already raised to the
kingship in northern Italy, 926, thought Rome and the imperial crown to
be within reach. As was mentioned above, links between Burgundy and
Henry had already come into being. These were to be significant in the
time of Otto I. In Rome, conditions were unsettled, to say the least. The
control of the Papacy had fallen to the nobility, which in turn had fallen
under the sway of two women, mother and daughter, of highly
questionable character. The daughter, Marozia, called herself senatrix, like
her mother, removed Pope John X and threw him into prison to perish
there. She raised her son, the offspring of a union between herself and
Pope Sergius III, to the papal throne as John XI. Following several affairs
and two aristocratic marriages to prop up her control in Rome, she offered
Hugh her hand in marriage, with the hope of the imperial crown. Hugh
accepted immediately and in March 932 he entered Rome and married
Marozia in the Castel San Angelo. However, her son Alberic incited a riot
against Hugh and the Burgundian “greed”, so that Hugh had to flee.
Marozia perished in prison. A sixteenth century historian had summarized
the period as the Pornocratia. Hugh's imperial hopes came to naught,
when Alberic married one of Hugh's daughters. For the next 22 years,
Alberic determined the sequence of events in Rome.83 Hugh's Roman
misadventure induced the nobles of northern Italy to invite Rudolph of
The Ottonians 39
duchies, the heir to the throne was presented to the kingdom..92 On her
urging Magdeburg was built out, as indicated by a multitude of tenth
century foundations, and once the lands towards the Slavic territories had
been secured militarily, Magdeburg flourished under the royal favor
during the reign of Otto I. His favorite residence has not yet been located.
The foundations of an impressive apsidal building, identified beneath the
cathedral square, may have been an early, immense Romanesque church
rather than the royal palace.93 Otto's sponsorship of Magdeburg culminated
in his creation of its archdiocese in 968. Though founded in recorded time,
the early records concerning this complex event are sparse.94
With Edgith he had a son, Liudolf (930) and a daughter Liutgard (932).
Already earlier, he had a son Wilhelm, with a noble Slavic princess from
Brandenburg.95 Wilhelm was to become archbishop of Mainz. Her
descendants were subsequently to be found in the ruling houses. It is likely
that in 936 she was crowned with Otto. Nothing certain is known about her
whereabouts during the unrest of the early years of Otto's reign. Sadly,
queen Edgith died in 946. She was buried in Magdeburg. Signs were said
to have been observed by her grave, a cult commemorated her, and the
people soon venerated her as a saint. That Otto chose to be buried beside
Edgith in Magdeburg Cathedral, and not at a site agreed upon with his
second wife Adelheit, may signal the deep affection, which they had
shared, though this decision may have been determined by Otto's decision
to make Magdeburg his memorial site. It was she, who suggested to him
that his failures were God's response to the unkindness with which he had
treated his mother Mathilda. Following Edgith's death, Otto reputedly
learned to read, perhaps a belated result of her persuasive ability. A later,
Gothic, idealized portrait sculpture, commemorates them as a pair.
Hrotsvith von Gandersheim stands out, in that in her Ottonian Gesta,
Edgith is represented to be radiant in a blaze of purity, and alongside his
empress Adelheit, they were portrayed as exemplary figures among the
prominent personages of the realm.
the secular Frankish and Saxon magnates of the realm. The election was
not a vote, but indicated by the act of homage, rather than some vocal
signal or motion by hand. Though he was not an eyewitness, and without
citing any sources, Widukind has left a credibly detailed account of the
essential sequence of the coronation ceremony from its religious
perspective. With hindsight he predicts Otto's imperial destiny. It has been
argued, however, that he enriched his report of the coronation ceremony
by using information obtained about the coronation of Otto II, in 961.
Edgith is not mentioned in his account of the ceremony.96 With a clear
demonstration of his concern for the continuity with Carolingian
traditions, the secular election was followed by an enthronization and
homage by the leading military figures of the realm, by the handing over
of the insignia. His anointment and coronation were performed by the high
clergy waiting in the Palace Chapel in Aachen. Subsequently the elevation
onto the throne of Charlemagne was performed,97 during which he wore
Frankish regalia,98- important gestures which sealed the early historical
process in a final act of unification. The anointed Otto stressed the
legitimacy and continuity of his role as a successor of Charlemagne. This
would have implied the continuity with Rome's Christian emperors. The
choice of Aachen, located in Lotharingia was also a signal that Otto
confirmed the claim to Lotharingia despite its earlier choice to join the
western kingdom, where the Carolingian Louis IV, son of Charles the
Simple, had just been crowned in Reims.99 The possibility arose, that
Louis might want to reclaim his ancestral lands and reestablish the western
Carolingian kingdom. Aachen and Charlemagne's heritage had to remain
symbols and a focus for the eastern kingdom. Contentious secular and
religious interests had to be met.
It seems significant, that the secular ceremony began with a first
enthronization. In the colonnaded atrium in front of the western portal to
the Palace Chapel, the magnates placed their folded hands in those of the
king as a gesture of their allegiance and swore their oath of loyalty and
support to their king in return for his protection. It was a clear signal, that
this king was no longer the first among equals. Only then did the religious
ceremony continue at the center of the octagonal rotunda in the Palace
Chapel with a public acclamation of Otto, chosen and confirmed by God,
as designated by the mighty lord Henry from among all the princes. It was
the archbishop of Mainz who presented him for the acclamation and who
bestowed on him the royal insignia.100 He also assumed precedence in the
formalization of the kingship by anointing and crowning Otto, assisted by
the archbishop of Cologne. This also proved problematic, since the
archbishop of Trier represented the apostolic precedence of Trier, the
The Ottonians 43
archbishop of Cologne argued that Aachen was in his diocese, while the
archbishop of Mainz was the highest ranking prince of the church in
Germany, ever since the time of St. Boniface.101
A second enthronization followed, this time on Charlemagne's marble
throne, according to Widukind already placed “between two marble
columns of great beauty”, on the upper tier of the octagonal interior, where
he could be seen by all.102 Otto will have sworn his oaths by placing his
hands into the illuminated pages of the Carolingian Coronation Gospels.
The anointing and crowning had become very much an act of affirmation
and confirmation by the church, as it broke out of the liturgical
restrictions. During the festive dinner, which followed, the harmonious
structure of the united secular realm was demonstrated by a public
bonding, the four dukes performing the symbolic offices.103 Gieselbert, the
duke of Lotharingia functioned as lord chamberlain, the duke of Franconia
as lord high steward, the duke of Swabia as cupbearer and duke Arnulf of
Bavaria as marshal. It was a flattering way to introduce the notion that the
dukes held royal service posts. This bonding ceremony established the
coronation ritual for centuries to come. Participation in ritual signaled the
acceptance of expectations and duties. It made the point that the realm was
a personal association of individuals under the suzerainty of the king,
within a federated union of lay and ecclesiastical lordships. His choice of
Aachen, located in Lotharingia, of the Frankish regalia and the
participation of the Lotharingian church in the ceremonies, signaled
clearly his emphasis on the legitimate continuity with the Empire of
Charlemagne.104 While his father had declined the anointing through the
church, Otto's coronation consisted of two sequential, consecrating events,
performed by the secular and ecclesiastical princes. In view of the
consecration and coronation of Louis IV at Reims only a few weeks
earlier, Otto could not afford to appear in the least less consecrated than
his western relative, his wife's nephew, lest he wanted to invite legitimate
challenges to his kingship from the western Franks. The religious
confirmation through liturgical ritual was to become the dominant feature
in subsequent coronations. In the end, the ecclesiastical prince electors
were to determine the election.
Otto's intentions concerning his inner and foreign policies are not
immediately apparent, however, they were to mesh in such a fashion, that
it is difficult not to see a causality in the realization of a grandiose plan
derived from the circumstances created by his father Henry I. His domestic
policy focused on the consolidation of the monarchy in the German
kingdom by breaking the power of the older tribal dukes, who had
supported his father, and by surrounding himself with a younger circle of
44 Chapter One
merit rather than family ties as a selection criterion. For a while, it seemed
that this young king had a capacity for making big mistakes. He alienated
his mother even more, when he curtailed the number of her possessions.
Particularly in Bavaria, where Arnulf's son did not offer his oath of
allegiance, Otto demanded the return of the concession, which his father
had made to Arnulf – autonomous investiture of bishops in the Bavarian
church and a nearly independent foreign policy, and demanded closer
integration within the royal following. A refusal brought Otto's military
intervention. Its failure invited his disgruntled opponents to make common
cause and take prince Henry prisoner. However, one by one, they either
fell in battle – Thankmar was pierced by a spear while in a chapel110,
perhaps not on his knees in surrender - or submitted, releasing Henry.
While Otto wept over his brother's death, four of Thankmar's supporters
found no mercy and were hanged according to Frankish law. The Bavarian
duke fled and his uncle was instated in the fugitive's place. Henceforth the
Bavarian duke also functioned as a royal official. One plot begot another,
as soon after his release Henry revolted with the aim to dethrone his
brother, claiming a greater entitlement to the throne, having been born to
the purple, unlike his older brother.111 He did not consider that the revolt
against the anointed king was a form of blasphemy. Henry evidently could
rely on his oath-fraternities and had the support of Saxon nobles, and the
dukes of Lotharingia and Franconia. It made for an explosive situation.
Otto was experimenting with a new administrative concept, not to the
liking of some magnates, but for nearly a decade, he persisted making his
particularly provocative “mistakes”. He affronted the very magnates, with
whom his father had established the kingdom. Under the Carolingians, the
claims to authority had passed to many of the magnates, who during the
confusions had managed to blend their own territorial possessions with
those pertaining to their courtly functions. This had encouraged the notion
that the kingship was an agreement among the tribal ducal families, as had
been the case between the Franconian Conrad and the Saxon Henry.
Contrary to the Carolingian administrative system, based on royal agents
replaceable at will, the Ottonians only had hereditary dukes to persuade to
cooperate in dependable governmental partnerships. The repeated
challenges lay in reconciling divergent, particular interests into common
consent.112 Otto's aim was that of his father, to replace the tribal dukes
linked through their territorial and kinship ties to land and people. He
wanted to deprive them of their power base and make the dukes royal,
feudal officials, dependent solely on the seemingly arbitrary favors of the
king.113 The onus was on the dukes and bishops to demonstrate their
principal loyalty to the king as a primary criterion for selection and
46 Chapter One
Hugh, king of Italy had married Rudolph's widow, Bertha, the daughter of
the duke of Swabia. By betrothing his son Lothair to her daughter
Adelheit, he incorporated Burgundy into his Italian kingdom. Rudolph's
son Conrad had sought refuge with Otto. Already in 926, Rudolph had
entered into a feudal relationship with Henry I. Conrad may have renewed
that allegiance, very much in Otto's interest, who did not want a
strengthened and augmented Burgundian kingdom straddling major south-
north trade routes, perhaps intended to revive the middle Carolingian
kingdom of Lothair, bordering his southern frontier. It was now under
Otto's “protection”.126 In addition, ever since Edgith's sister Edgiva had
been married to Rudolph's brother, there had existed a closer Ottonian link
with Burgundy. The death of Hugh and his son Lothair in 948 and 950
respectively, allowed Berengar, margrave of Ivrea, to have himself
crowned king of Italy. When Adelheit raised claims to the succession of
her own, he seized her royal treasure, the source of her power and token of
her legitimacy, and had her imprisoned.127
Adelheit, the sister of Conrad, Otto's protégé, appealed to Otto for
assistance. Her supporters, opponents to Berengar's plans, charged him
with usurpation, may have called on Otto for help and may have actually
offered him the Italian crown along with the queen's hand in marriage.
However, there is no certainty that Adelheit gave such indications.128 The
confluence of personal as well as of political considerations probably
motivated Otto's intervention. He did need a wife, Adelheit was young and
reputedly very beautiful, not just in conventional terms, and he did have to
set right the unsettled affairs to the south and southwest. Her appeal would
have been very timely. By pushing Adelheit's beautiful helplessness into
the foreground of motivation, Saxon historiography probably reversed
effect and cause.129 Was it the protection of innocent beauty, or power
politics enhanced by beauty, that induced Otto to initiate an Italian
“policy“? Otto, as well as Berengar, must have been aware, that the cities
of northern Italy controlled access to Rome. If Otto was developing an
imperial policy, then it was in the context of a Carolingian tradition, in
which the control of northern Italy was a significant consideration. With
Lombardy in Berengar's control, he might gain control over the Papacy as
well. This control Otto needed to advance his missionary policy in the
Slavic east. An Italian intervention recommended itself. His brother Henry
and son Liudolf, dukes of Bavaria and Swabia, had preceded him without
his authorization, hoping to improve their particular territorial situations.
However, while Henry had been successful in achieving his objectives,
owing to Henry's intrigues – he falsely let it be known that Liudolf was
Berengar's friend and Otto's enemy, Liudolf suffered a reverse, ridicule
50 Chapter One
from his father and loss of face. This rivalry was to cause new, serious
family feuds. Without a fight, Otto was able to enter Pavia in the late
summer of 951. Immediately Otto issued royal decrees in his own right.130
In the meantime Adelheit had escaped from her prison,131 and
following her meeting with Otto, Otto married the eighteen-year-old queen
at Christmas 951. In doing so, Adelheit followed a Lombard tradition,
within which a widowed queen had the right to transfer the royal dignity to
a husband of her choice.132 Hereby Otto became king of Italy, the first to
bear the title Rex Francorum et Italicorum. This appears to have been
Otto's understanding that being king of northern and central Italy in the
Carolingian fashion, was the formal qualification needed, to satisfy a
precondition to be crowned emperor in Rome by the pope.133 When he
found that the conditions for such a coronation were not yet optimal, he
was content to have served notice of his imperial claim,134 and hereafter
one came to see the realm as an imperial monarchy. In the meantime, he
abandoned the Italian title, and returned north, where he lost the Regnum
Italie from view, as new domestic problems were taking shape. His
marriage to Adelheit had set some unexpected reactions in motion. The rift
between Liudolf and Henry widened, and while Henry welcomed
Adelheit, twenty-one year old Liudolf seemed to reject his father's Italian
policy and resented his young stepmother, because of the threat, which she
represented to his succession. Previously Liudolf and Ida had been
welcomed as the future monarchs. A shadow of doubt now affected this
perception. Actually all of Otto's grown children sought distance from
their father following this marriage. In north-eastern Italy Henry's
conquests around Aquileia were added to the Bavarian duchy, thereby
securing the Alpine passes, while north-western Italy remained a fiefdom
for Berengar. Liudolf felt slighted and found enough support to revolt. He
held court, distributed gifts like a king, and assembled several of the greats
around him. Again, Otto's high-handedness provoked the great lords to
rally around the opposition to him, Liudolf.135 In 952/953 Adelheit gave
birth to a son, named after his grandfather Henry. Although he died soon
after, the birth made the point that Liudolf was not necessarily the crown
prince. Two more sons were born c.953 and 955. The first, Bruno, also
died (957), the other, Otto, succeeded to the throne as Otto II.
Prince Henry's birth may have encouraged Liudolf to revolt.136 It was
not a last uprising by the dukes against the crown, though a great number
of ecclesiastic and secular princes took sides. Claiming to direct his
hostilities against his uncle Henry, in 953 Liudolf forced his father into an
agreement, which probably dealt with the sharing of power and guaranteed
Liudolf's succession, regardless of any other royal births. Like Absalom,
The Ottonians 51
he had raised his hand against his father and thus violated the Fifth
Commandment. Otto soon rejected the agreement, claiming to have been
coerced, Liudolf's supporters were stripped of their titles and possessions.
The king asked that the leaders among the rebels be surrendered, while his
family members again be spared. Liudolf refused to break the oaths of
mutual support. Otto's response was exceedingly severe and desertion and
open war were the result, and the revolt of the sympathizers spread
throughout southern Germany and even into Saxony. Otto was not the
universally accepted and gentle king portrayed by his historians.137 Only
the west did not get involved. There, Otto's youngest brother Brun had just
been made archbishop of Cologne and shortly after, duke of Lotharingia.138
Otto was desperate and virtually isolated, his realm disintegrating, when a
devastating Hungarian invasion in 954 provided the turning point.
Defenses in Bavaria were down, allowing Henry to exploit the dissension
in the Ottonian kingdom and its conflicts with the Slavs, under whose
pressure, the eastern frontier and its advanced outposts were collapsing.
Murder, destruction and slavery overtook the Saxons. The Hungarians
hoped to make easy spoils. The moment was also chosen by dissatisfied
Saxons to lead a Slavic invasion. Otto made no bones about the need of
the political and religious integration of the Elbian Slavs into his realm.
Their resistance was entirely legitimate, though futile in the end. Otto's
measures were extreme as he had their leader beheaded, had the eyes of
his advisor gouged out, and his tongue ripped out to stumble about among
the 700 decapitated prisoners.139 The rebels welcomed and colluded with
the Hungarians, provided them with guides and even celebrated a feast
with them on Palm Sunday 954 at Worms.140 The revolt collapsed, as the
sympathizers refused to make common cause with the invading enemies of
God against their king. The consequences for the rebels consisted of the
loss of their titles, though they were permitted to retain their personal
property. A repentant Liudolf threw himself at the mercy of his father,
who forgave him. Liudolf died of natural causes, malaria, in 957. A crisis
in the succession was a possibility.
Disappointed in his assumption that the duchies would prove a reliable
support of the crown, the duchies in question were reassigned, while Otto I
entertained a change in his policy.141 This revolt must have demonstrated
to Otto, that the “family policy” was a failure in that it favored particular
princely ambitions but offered no security to the realm. It could not be
clearer to him that he needed an alternate support for the state. His hopes
rested with the pillars of the church, if he could convert their functions to
resemble those of his brother Brun, the prototype of the Ottonian imperial
bishop, who combined both religious and secular responsibilities in his
52 Chapter One
threat,145 they had assembled their main force over a great distance in the
gravel plains along the river Lech, the term Lechfeld was coined later, up
to 7km wide in places, north and south of Augsburg. Bishop Ulrich of
Augsburg did his utmost to stall them and retain the city, allowing Otto I
to gather his forces and meet them in open battle.146 Fighting contingents
and their supporting feudal dependents from Franconia, Bavaria, Swabia,
reinforced by a large mounted force of Boleslav's Bohemians, and a small
force from Saxony made up Otto's army. Most of the Saxon forces were so
entangled with the Slavs, that more could not be spared. Following the
victory over the Hungarians, Otto had to hurry back to deal with the
Saxon-Slavic frontier. The Lotharingians were left as a reserve to guard
the west, in case the Hungarians avoided an encounter with Otto's army
and raided the west. Surprisingly, on August 10, 955, the open field battle
was joined. Perhaps some 8000 men, arranged in eight columns, advanced
on the Hungarians.147 The Hungarians had been warned and initially the
engagement went against Otto's forces, when squadrons of Hungarians
annihilated Swabian and Bohemian columns still in columns of route to
the rear of the main body. Still, perhaps superior in numbers, a field battle
was forced on the Hungarians and they were routed. Heavy rains may have
rendered the Hungarian reflex bows ineffective, and without them their hit
and run, superior light cavalry tactics could not be implemented.
According to Widukind, Otto himself had taken the Holy Lance and under
the banner of St. Michael, personally charged the foes.148 To the
contemporaries, this victory was an obvious intervention by divine
providence, a response to the fast and the prayers, which preceded the
battle.
On August twelfth the fleeing Hungarians were intercepted further
east, by another column of Bohemians, and caught between them and
Otto's pursuing army, were decisively wiped out. Many drowned trying to
cross the Bavarian rivers. This final victorious phase of the battle is
usually ignored in the tradition. It was made out to be Otto's heroic
victory. The Hungarians had been perceived to be a scourge sent by God.
Their defeat signaled God's own intervention. Three of the Hungarian
leaders had been taken prisoner and on Henry's orders were hanged in
Regensburg.149 Remnant Hungarian units straggled back to the plains of
Pannonia. Did this victory merit the same acclaim as did that of Charles
Martel over the Moslem forces at Tours? The Hungarians gave up their
nomadic ways, prepared to receive Catholic missionaries from Passau,
rather than Greek Orthodox missionaries from Constantinople. It became
realistic to expand Bavaria into an eastern march, to colonize the future
Austria. Two months later, Otto's forces, supported by Bohemians, gained
54 Chapter One
a decisive victory against the Trans-Elbian Slavs. Behind this event lay an
instance of Ottonian duplicity. A delegation of Slavs had earlier offered
peace and tribute, if their autonomy could be assured. Otto agreed,
provided retribution for past transgressions was exacted. Seven hundred
prisoners were executed following the defeat. Otto's gain was nominal,
since land gain was not his objective.150
The consequences of these most significant victories against the
pagans benefited all those Christian regions, which had previously had to
bear the brunt of these invasions. From now on Italy, Burgundy, and
France could identify their benefactor and undisputed leader in Europe.
Later nationalist interpretations to the contrary, Otto I came to be seen as
protector of the Imperium Christianum, entitled to wear the imperial
crown. In France this protection assumed practical dimensions, as with the
death of the rulers, their wives, Otto’s sisters, Gerberga and Hadwig, ruled
in France for their sons, with Otto ruling as de facto co-regent, intervening
militarily when necessary.151 According to Widukind, he was celebrated as
pater patriae and hailed imperator.152 As yet without impact, during the
next seven years the terms grew in popularity. In the process, the idea of
“soldier emperor” shifted in time to qualify him as “emperor”, in which
capacity he could fulfill his role generally as protector of Christendom and
specifically as defender of the church in Rome. The church did not at any
time accept the word “protector” to mean “ruler”, an interpretation, which
frequently recommended itself to the secular powers. The link with Rome,
first forged by St. Boniface, remained firm, although in some circles it was
considered, that the imperial dignity might not require papal sanction,
since not all imperial coronations had been performed in Rome.
Charlemagne had pointed the way, when he crowned Louis the Pious co-
emperor in Aachen – Louis felt this was somehow inadequate - and when
he connected missionary conquest with the imperial dignity. Two
formulations dated before 962 omitted any references to Rome.153 Otto
was pleased with the designation imperator augustus.
Otto's brother Henry, duke of Bavaria, had died in 955. Otto I
designated Henry's son Henry, to be called the Quarrelsome by some, the
Pious by others, to succeed him. Until he was of age, his mother Judith
assumed the regency. The emperor Henry II was to come from this
Ottonian line. In Lotharingia, his brother Brun was succeeded in 965 by
other Ottonians, the children of Otto's sister Hadwig and of his aunt Oda.
The duchy was divided and in general, the parts pursued independent
developments. While Saxony remained under the nominal control of the
king, Hermann Billung, a diplomat, and Gero a brutal warrior, received
The Ottonians 55
procuratorial authority, first over their eastern marches and then over the
entire tribal area.154
Having restored the security of the eastern frontier, Otto I could return
his attention to Italy. Berengar had taken advantage of the civil war to
allow his allegiance to slip. Liudolf, sent to Italy to remind him of his
duties, died of a fever following a successful battle in 957. In Rome, an
incompetent Pope John XII, made prince of Rome and pope in 955 at age
17 or 18, had territorial ambitions for the Papal States. An emboldened
Berengar seized some towns in the Papal States, which frightened Pope
John XII, who already feared Byzantine aggression, and who now, 960,
sent two envoys with an appeal to Otto to deal with Berengar. The appeal
included the offer of the imperial crown. For Otto, this was the awaited
opportunity. In preparation for the journey to Rome in May 961, Otto had
his six year old son crowned Otto II at the diet of Worms as co-ruler and
as a means of securing the succession. He did not, however, assign any
tasks or territories to him in the function of sub-king. At Aachen, he was
anointed. This time the three archbishops were equally involved, with
Wilhelm, the archbishop of Mainz, Otto's natural son, acting as the vice-
regal guardian for the prince and the realm. In August of that year the king
set out with a strong force from Augsburg, crossed the Alps over the
Brenner Pass and arrived before Pavia in Lombardy – Berengar having
fled – and following the old Via Triumphalis Otto arrived before the walls
of Rome on January 31. In anticipation of his arrival, he had indicated to
the pope his protection and respect, to honor and restore the Patrimonium
Petri as (fraudulently) outlined in the Constitutum Constantini.155
On February 2, 962, Otto I and Adelheit were anointed and crowned
emperor and empress – imperator Augustus and imperatrix Augusta and
also consors imperii. Adelheit's coronation was another departure from
Carolingian precedent, and a special liturgical program had to be worked
out for her and integrated into the sequence of formulas and prayers.156 In
St. Peter's, Pope John XII, only 25 and notorious for his blatantly scandalous
lifestyle, performed the ceremony following the imperial acclamation by
the Romans. Imperial crown and Empire were understood as anticipation
on earth of the rule of God in heaven.157 It is apparent in the illuminated
gospels and sacramentaries that the Ottonians favored proclamatory
representations in which the hand of Christ reached out of heaven, to place
the crown on the emperor's head. They wanted to be seen to rule as
Christ's representatives, a clear claim to the dominium mundi, the primacy
of rank over the pope. Despite his reputation, nothing disqualified this
pope, who enjoyed the customary respect and papal authority.158
Nevertheless, following the ceremony, Otto immediately made the pope
56 Chapter One
and the clergy swear on the grave of the Apostle Peter, their sole
allegiance and support for the emperor. Once again, the imperial crown
was associated with the super-power in Europe. Otto's primacy was
recognized in the traditional Carolingian form, which included the
religious components. The exclusively secular considerations did not come
to the fore. Concluding the formalities was a loyalty oath sworn by the
pope and the people of Rome. The mutual exchange of oaths had become a
Carolingian tradition. On February thirteenth, Otto placed himself in the
tradition of earlier emperors and issued the privilegium Ottonianum, which
in the Carolingian fashion of the “Pepinid Donation”, was based on the
mythical “Constantinian Donation”,159 confirmed the emperor's protection
of the pope's rights to Rome and the Papal States, the terra sancti Petri, all
rights and incomes. Since the time of Pepin, the church had striven for
worldly power and property, something Pope John XII had wanted
guaranteed even before Otto entered Rome.160 Otto made the promises on
condition that Ottonian suzerainty be observed and that the Roman clergy
and nobility swear that a pope be elected, who would swear an oath of
allegiance to the emperor, before he was consecrated.
The Ottonianum, gold writing on purple parchment, included the
Carolingian demand for an imperial representative with the supervisory
role over the proper procedures in the elections and administration of the
Papacy and of the city, somewhat more than the Papacy might have
wished. The document actually assigned a subordinate role to the Papacy.
Pope John XII had had a less determining role in mind for this moralizing
emperor, when he called on his aid, and had not considered the possibility
of Otto's show of military force and pragmatic intervention in Roman
affairs. Otto had barely left Rome, when he was detained in Italy by
Berengar. According to Liutprand of Cremona, in Rome all terms were
overturned, as a perfidious John XII instigated an anti-imperial coalition,
and even sent emissaries to Constantinople, to get the Byzantines to
instigate the Hungarians to resume their attacks on Central Europe and
thereby distract Otto from Italy. Events demonstrated to Otto, that he
would have to institute more stringent measures to be effective in Italy.161
Discrediting accusations of simony, apostasy, appeal to pagan gods, to
Satan, murder, perjury, incest and the misappropriation of church property
and finally breaking the oath of loyalty to the emperor, led a synod to
discard John XII for apostasy and godlessness. Disobedience to his oath of
allegiance to Otto was the real cause for his dismissal.162 In fact, Otto dealt
with the Papacy, as he would have with a German bishopric. A papal
notary submitted to a crash program in clerical consecration before he was
enthroned and ordained as Leo VIII, December 6, 963. Thinking the
The Ottonians 57
matter concluded, and to avoid friction between his troops and the
population, Otto demobilized most of his troops before Rome, when the
less intimidated Romans rose against the new pope. That same day the
revolt was beaten down in the fashion of the day. Otto and his pope were
to be murdered. John XII returned and all things were reversed. Evidently,
an oath sworn to an absentee emperor had only nominal validity. Otto's
supporters were hunted down, some were whipped or mutilated and others
killed. Of the envoys, who had first been sent to invite his intervention in
Italy, one had his right hand hacked off, the other had his tongue torn out,
his nose cut off, along with the two fingers of his oath hand. It took Otto
three and a half years to settle the factional affairs in Rome. A depleted
food supply around Rome, the summer heat and an epidemic decimated
his forces, before he could return over the Alps.163 It had been possible to
force Berengar to surrender and to send him into exile in Bamberg.
Several popes died. An unapproved Pope Benedict V was exiled to
Hamburg, until with Otto's intervention in 965 John XIII became pope.164
The importance in these events lay in that Otto's intervention, and indeed
that of the Ottonians, stabilized Rome and eventually freed the Papacy
from the intrigues of local Roman factions and restored it to universal
significance and validity.
The repeated Roman revolts, which were to characterize imperial
dealings with Rome, were symptomatic of a fundamental imperial
problem. The emperors never succeeded in establishing an effective, all
pervading imperial administration throughout the Empire, which could
have contributed to the development of a community of interests and an
administrative power basis for all parts of the Empire. However, it was
still a time when an itinerant court, personal networks, kinship ties, prayer
associations, feudal dependencies, frequent synods, diets, and councils,
arbitrarily imposed foreign counts and dukes, duties and obligations,
political notions and ideas, were held together by means of an oral
tradition of customary practices, of common law, and where the royal rule
took the form of the royal presence at regal functions. These forms and
practices could not yet take the place of a central administration, scheduled
meetings with agendas and priorities, clearly defined policies, codified
jurisdictions, areas of responsibility and hierarchical competencies of a
home-grown administrative sort. Imperial rule took the form of consensus
among the participants. The adoption of the ecclesiastical infrastructure
and the attempt to graft the imperial structure on it, an apparently
workable idea, proved to be a serious miscalculation. As it was to be, the
Imperium Christianum existed mainly wherever the emperor was, and he
took increasing interest in being a player on the world stage. Once the
58 Chapter One
imperial court took up residence in the Italian centers, the emperor was out
of reach for many and the imperial ideal an intellectual projection. As an
experiment, it had failed in the reign of Louis the Pious. It was to fail
again. Nevertheless, the repeated problems did not lead to a questioning of
the imperial Italian policy. It did have its basis in the duties stated in the
principle of the Two Swords, the protection of the church.
Ottonian queens and empresses played a singular role and enjoyed
exceptional stature combined with expectation befitting great, royal ladies
of the court. They played a participatory and supportive part in the
governing role of their husbands, tended to the household, filled undefined
courtly and diplomatic gaps and opportunities, and as ornaments provided
a focus of festive splendor and majestic beauty. The maternal role was
clearly a queen's priority. As mothers, they were expected to give birth to
the heir and the other legitimate royal children, and to tend to their
educational needs. However, their itinerant role in life made child rearing
difficult, hence, the royal children grew up in the care of others, without
loving bonds, barely knowing their parents. During Ottonian times, most
of the royal consorts were from prestigious foreign cultures, yet they
identified with their new positions and assumed roles of great service to
their royal and imperial realms. In the case of Otto III, his Greek mother
and Burgundian grandmother assumed the governing guardianship over
him and ruled as monarchs in the interests of the monarchy during his
minority. The literary sources offer evidence, that the queens used the
opportunities of the bedchamber to exert political influence. Appeals to
apply such influence during intimate moments even came from the pope.
Women were instructed to avail themselves for such purposes. For that
reason, petitions and supplications, which had little chance of reaching the
eyes and ears of the king, were often first presented to the queen in the
hope that she could cut through the protective and self-interested royal
entourages and intercede, where the direct approach to the king might
fail.165
Otto's I second wife, Adelheit (c.931-999) was queen over extensive
territorial domains in northwestern Italy and Burgundy. Her appeal to Otto
for assistance was very timely. Of royal descent, she was queen of Italy
and in political distress. By pushing Adelheit's helpless beauty into the
foreground of motivation, Saxon historiography probably reversed effect
and cause. Otto must have been aware, that the cities of northern Italy
controlled all access to Rome. A policy to control northern Italy was an
essential strategy. Otto married the eighteen-year-old queen at Christmas
951. In this, Adelheit followed a Lombardic tradition, within which a
widowed queen had the right to transfer the royal dignity to a husband of
The Ottonians 59
her choice. Through her, Otto gained nominal control over her extensive
possessions and became king of Italy, the first to bear the title Rex
Francorum et Italicorum. This formal qualification was needed as a
precondition to be crowned emperor in Rome by the pope. A sequence of
pregnancies between 952/953 and 955, not favored by the strenuous
itinerant life on the road, made the point that Otto's first son Liudolf was
not necessarily going to be the crown prince, as more sons were born.
Otto, born 955 was to succeed to the throne as Otto II.
On February 2, 962, Adelheit was anointed and crowned empress –
imperatrix augusta and also consors imperii. Without precedent, a special
liturgical program had to be worked out for her and integrated into the
sequence of formulas and prayers. Having ruled her own realm before her
marriage to Otto I, her appreciated administrative assistance to the king
will have qualified her for her role as empress and imperial consort. It fell
to her responsibilities to receive the magnates of the realm, embassies and
delegations, for which her multi-lingualism qualified her eminently. She
probably presided over her own court, had her own officials, with whom to
administer her own distant holdings, her immediate family, her charities
and foundations, and the daily needs of the court. More importantly, she
provided access to the attention of the king, when other avenues were
closed. Appeals, petitions and supplications, especially those formulated in
Latin, Old French, Provençal, Italian and even Swabian or Bavarian, had a
better chance with the queen of coming to the attention of the king, when
first presented to the multi-lingual queen. She could communicate with the
envoys and circumvent the interference from protective and self-interested
royal entourages and intercede, where the direct approach to the king
might fail. Ninety documents issued by Otto I bear evidence that Adelheit
had at least an ancillary function, befitting her limited station as a woman,
in the decision making process, when she intervened on behalf of
supplicants from all corners of the Empire. She too represented an
extensive kinship connection, which now found its leadership in her
person as empress and consort of the emperor. There is one recorded
family gathering, when the crowned heads of Western Europe assembled
in Cologne in 965, during which the family relations were even expanded
by additional marriages. Twenty years later her daughter by her first
marriage, Hemma, asked for her as empress mother to mediate between
her and her own son, Louis V. She initiated the creation of monastic
foundations in strategic locations to complement strategic necessities of
the realm, by which means Ottonian control could be extended and regions
safeguarded not under the direct rule of the crown. As an indication of
Otto's devotion to her salvation, he donated many religious holdings to
60 Chapter One
given his approval, German episcopal resistance delayed these plans, until
Pope John XIII raised the status of Magdeburg in the east to archbishopric,
charged with the supervision of the eastern bishoprics till then dependent
on Mainz in the west.174 These changes were facilitated through the death
of Otto's son, the archbishop Wilhelm in Mainz. Archbishop Brun of
Cologne had died in 965. Their successors were amenable to Otto's eastern
projects.
It will be recalled that Brun had a dual function as archbishop and duke
of Lotharingia. In his capacity as duke he had placed those on vacant
bishops' chair, who had passed through his cathedral school in Cologne
and been effectively prepared for religious and secular services. In his
person, Brun demonstrated the congruent functioning of religious and
secular offices. Following Brun's death, as of 967, Otto transferred the best
of these trainees to his court chapter and charged it with the assembly of
the most suitable candidates in an institution, which would prepare a future
episcopate of the realm, which could function competently in both aspects
of the realm. By the beginning of the next century, such individuals were
to be a common feature in the realm. Individuals who could preach a
sermon and guide the administrative royal correspondence were to form
the fulcrum of an administration demonstrating the congruence of interest
within the church and the realm. Brun was to arise as the Ottonian role
model of this kind of bishop of the realm, to come into being during the
Ottonian-Salian periods.175 Henceforth, the historical processes of the
realm reflected the preoccupation with episcopal foundations as
complementary administrative institutions, responsible to the realm.
Under royal protection, immunity, and furnished with estates, the
bishoprics, monasteries and convents, even when the latter were
proprietary establishments founded by the nobility, were free of ducal
control. However, they were subject to royal service, the servitium regis, a
bone of contention for the ensuing reform movement in the church, which
aimed at the ultimate liberation of the church from royal control. Saxony
appears to have had a predominance of convents, perhaps a reflection of
the high mortality rate among the Saxon military nobility. Convents, even
as proprietary family foundations, were placed under royal protection,
endowed with immunity as a safeguard against the hereditary claims by
others, and the right to select the abbess, provided the founding families
could place suitable family members at their head.176 Whether family or
episcopal foundations, some were intended to reinforce the stability of the
realm. A collaborative administrative authority, came to act as reinforcement
to the dukedoms, to constitute a major support of the monarchy, indicated
by the growing link between aristocracy, church and crown. Brun had
The Ottonians 63
clear, whether the end of real time was meant or the end of spiritual time,
and if the two actually coincided. Assuming people had a clear idea of the
year 1000, was that year the end or the beginning of the millennium? The
peace and stability brought about by Otto to the realm and the Papacy,
seemed to prepare the Imperium Christianum for a momentous event. Otto
III may have taken these ideas about the terror of the year 1000 seriously.
However, why was so much art and architecture produced in its many
guises and lasting materials, at just the time when the end was supposedly
seen to be so near? Ottonian art and architecture have nothing obviously
chiliastic about them.208
upgrading her status.212 She will have invited a certain “culture shock” at
the itinerant court, as the Ottonian west first encountered the Byzantine
east close at hand. The shock will have been greater for Theophanu, who
had grown up in the sophisticated and highly urbanized Constantinople
and now found herself in a landscape of rudimentary settlements and
mysterious, endless, seemingly trackless forests. Most medieval architecture
was yet to be built. Without a doubt, she surpassed her court in intellectual
and cultural education. Her name, Theophanu – Divine Manifestation –
likely astonished and perhaps affronted her western contemporaries. The
exotic luxury of her appearance at the western court probably provoked
admiration of her great beauty. Her commanding presence may have
brought her disdain for her elegant and extravagant garb, her extraordinary
ornamental treasures of enameled gold and interlaced filigree. She
provided a distinguished focus and endless topics for gossip. Determined
and intelligent, she actually proved a good choice and a worthy successor
of Otto I. The marriage meant the recognition by the eastern emperor of
the western emperor. Her territorial wedding gifts, consisting mainly of the
properties of his grandmother, queen Mathilda, made her the richest
woman in Europe before the year 1000.213 Otto II and Theophanu were
married in April 972 in St. Peter's in Rome, by Pope John XIII,
accompanied by Theophanu's coronation as empress.214 Even now, Otto II
was a very junior partner and kept away from government responsibilities.
He was not allowed to use the imperial title, and in the preserved marriage
document Otto I was given primary treatment. His son's name is not
highlighted. The records hide a generational conflict. Despite her age,
Theophanu may have had more aptitude for governmental affairs than her
husband.
Determined, attractive and intelligent, she actually proved a good
choice. The marriage meant the recognition by the eastern emperor of the
western emperor. For Otto I, this marriage represented the peak of his
secular and ecclesiastical policies, his diplomatic success and the height of
his imperial prestige. For Theophanu the next eight years meant five
pregnancies under the trying conditions of an itinerant court, including
encampments on campaign.
The splendid marriage contract stipulated that as consort, she would
share in the imperial power. When compared with the wealth, kinship
associations and real territorial power that Adelheit had brought into the
marriage, Theophanu's position was essentially weak and vulnerable to
criticism. She was criticized for her outlandish Greek ways and especially
for her rich courtly dress. The criticisms will not have diminished when
she was late having children and then seemed to fail to produce an heir,
72 Chapter One
despite her several pregnancies. The itinerant way of life will have tested
her strength, nevertheless, her first obvious duty was assuring the
succession, so that by the time she was about twenty years of age, in 980,
she had given birth five times, to four girls and finally to a boy, Otto III.
The birth of a son and heir confirmed her position as consort. One of the
girls died soon after birth, the others were handed over to be raised in
convents.
Theophanu's influence increased. As Otto's crowned consors imperii,
she functioned as co-empress, so that within the eleven-year period of
Otto's reign, Theophanu is identified 73 times with increasing frequency in
a quarter of Otto's imperial documents.215 She shared that influence with
the chancellor Willigis, who, thanks to her good offices, had been raised
archbishop of Mainz, the most powerful ecclesiastical position in the
kingdom.216
During this well intentioned, though short, lackluster, but not
incompetent reign, Otto II tried to keep the ship of state on an even keel.
Otto II was to be sole ruler for a mere eleven years. For the first seven
years of his reign, he had to rush about putting out fires in the kingdom, to
confirm his rule. Ecclesiastical disputes over the establishment, privileges
and jurisdictions of bishoprics, kept the church in turmoil. On the day
following the death of his father, the attending nobles repeated the
ceremony, which had initially raised him to the kingship. Factors must
have justified a recapitulation of the oath of fealty. His presence in the
kingdom may have reined in the nobles and prevented uprisings. In
southern Germany, an opposition gathered against Otto II, over an illegal
and duplicitous investiture of the bishop of Augsburg, actually the
emperor's prerogative.217 Deaths in the ducal families recommended that
Otto II intervene in their successions. Henry the Quarrelsome of Bavaria,
an attribute given to him by posterity, Otto's cousin, had plotted with
Boleslav II of Bohemia and Mieszko I of Poland and challenged him for
the crown. The plot was uncovered in 974 and the participants summoned
under pain of excommunication. Henry appeared and was imprisoned.218
At the same time Harald Bluetooth with Norwegian support, attacked from
Denmark, but could be beaten back. A punitive campaign against Boleslav
expedited the foundation of the bishopric of Prague. In 979 Otto II had
been able to restore the tributary relations with Mieszko of Poland.
However, he was not able to co-ordinate realistically his father's Slavic
and Italian policies. The fact that the north sent him the reinforcements,
which he requested for his activities in Italy, suggests northern support of
the continuing Italian policies. His father's plans to integrate the western
Slavic tribes through their Christianization fell to individual Saxon efforts
The Ottonians 73
and then she was also Greek and suspected of having a liaison with
Johannes Philagathos, the king's closest advisor. How could she ever rule?
The providential events of election and coronation had a new
relevance, as old rivalries in Bavaria and the west flared up a last time.
While the two empresses were still in northern Italy awaiting the
resolution of the uncertainties, the question of the guardianship over the
king arose. Frankish Ripuarian Law determined the age of fifteen to be the
age of majority. This Germanic law did not know the concept of “regency”
for a ruler, who was still not of age. In the care of a guardian, all
documents were issued in the name of the king, who acted as though of
age, completing his pre-drawn signature with the proverbial single stroke
of the pen. He had the power to act as “regent”, who actually had the
child-king in his hands. He also had the responsibility of providing for his
care and sustenance.232 Despite Theophanu's entitlement to act as his
guardian, she had yet to demonstrate her competence, and for a while, the
young king and the royal insignia were handed over to Henry the
Quarrelsome, as the closest male relative. With the two empresses still in
Italy and seemingly not very eager to return until the situation had
stabilized, he was not opposed.233 While the magnates of the church tended
to support him, the lay princes resisted his unprincipled and ambitious
seizure of power. With promises and bribes, only some joined his support.
Conditions in the kingdom, however, especially the prolonged loss of
territory along the Slavic frontier, required strong immediate leadership.
When Henry proposed he be crowned king in Quedlinburg by the
magnates, whom he had invited to Magdeburg, including Mieszko I of
Poland and Boleslav of Bohemia, the question concerning the
guardianship had become a question of the succession.234 Although Henry
was acclaimed, he was not crowned. Henry found himself on a slippery
slope and had to watch his support fail to increase as oath associations
among his highborn opponents promoted the loyalty principle to gain
ground in favor of the crowned king. Henry refrained from promoting his
claim and the legitimacy principle triumphed.235 Archbishop Willigis of
Mainz intervened at this point and contributed significantly to the eventual
effacement of Henry and the recall of the empresses from Italy.
It is difficult to imagine, what concessions and demonstrations of
competence, in addition to Theophanu's and Adelheit's agreement to
cooperate in their dealings with the succession, were advanced by the
imperial party to determine the outcome. In the end, after two and a half
years of tough negotiations, Theophanu, Adelheit and Mathilda the abbess
of Quedlinburg appeared at an assembly of the magnates. It concluded
with Otto's mother and the reigning empress, assuming the guardianship
78 Chapter One
over him in June 985. All the magnates of the realm, including Poland and
Bohemia, paid homage to the king and renewed their oath of fealty.
Christmas Day 983 was a momentous day, on which, according to tales, a
bright star shone in bright daylight, clearly Otto's star. The analogy with
the star leading the three imperial women to the child will have been
useful.236 The recognition of a 'prince of peace' suggested that order was
assured in the kingdom. The motif appeared frequently in the illuminated
gospels written during his reign and contributed greatly to the perception
that Otto III was indeed the sacred emperor, venerated by all the lands. At
Easter 986, Theophanu assembled the magnates of the realm and upon the
extension of her grace, Henry the Quarrelsome submitted before the whole
court, though without prostration, paid homage and was reinstated in his
Bavarian duchy and restored to his relative rank in the order of the
kingdom. Negotiations probably laid out the details of the publicly staged
agreement.237 The empress Adelheit returned to Pavia, where she
continued to enjoy great prestige and assumed her hereditary responsibilities
for Italy.
It was from now on that as empress Theophanu was to play a
significant role during the childhood of Otto III. By then Theophanu had
submerged her Greek origin and assumed her duties as an Ottonian
empress. The question of the guardianship over the king had arisen.
Traditional Frankish Law held fifteen to be the age of majority, but did not
know the concept of “regency“ for an underage ruler. A guardian issued
all documents in the name of that king, who completed his pre-drawn
signature with the single stroke of the pen. He had a “regent's” power, who
actually had the child-king in his power and trust. An assembly of the
magnates of the realm concluded in 985 that Otto's mother and reigning
empress should assume the guardianship over him.
The guardianship of Theophanu was to be a success when, with her
advisors Willigis of Mainz and Wildibald of Worms, who preserved the
administrative continuity, and the assistance and consent of the magnates
of the realm, she ruled skillfully as regent, even as emperor.
It is a characteristic of the queens and empresses of the Empire, as well
as in the Middle High German epics and romances, that the royal, imperial
consorts and other women of the high nobility had enjoyed positions of
responsibility and autonomy before their marriages, and then often shared
in the rule of their husbands.238 Usually better educated than their
husbands, frequently born in another culture, they mediated between
cultures and often contributed to changing fashions and the customs of the
court. If they had been monarchs in their own right, like Adelheit, they
represented centers of power, held court, assisted by their administrators
The Ottonians 79
and played ancillary roles in ruling the kingdom. Adelheit was multi-
lingual and it follows, that she received embassies from other parts of the
Empire. It is imaginable that the queens used the opportunities of the
bedchamber to exert political influence. Appeals to apply such influence
during intimate moments even came from the pope. Successions and
regencies of women were not undisputed, women not being deemed
qualified, while in literature, the heroes often arrived just in time to save
the queens from hostile aspirants to their thrones. The empress Adelheit's
biography could have served as the literary prototype.
Although there are sufficient examples of women assuming rule and
military command in times of need, Theophanu's rise to power is most
noteworthy. The queens often had their own court, administered by their
own officials. She was frequently called upon to try to mediate in the
conflicts among her Ottonian relatives in the west. She launched no
aggressive initiatives in the west and only limited holding actions without
gains along the eastern frontiers. She definitely advanced no new concepts
of a military and missionary nature. During her journey to Rome, 989/90,
on which her son did not accompany her, but during which she intended to
restore her son's imperial image and deal with matters concerning the
Papacy, she actually claimed the title Theophanu imperatrix augusta, and
even assumed the name Theophanius gratia divina imperator augustus,
the masculine form of her name and title, on imperial documents. She
identified with the imperial issues of the realm, generally favored the north
with her administrative attention and issued documents in her own name.
In earlier centuries eastern empresses had proceeded thus in similar
situations. There is some evidence that she made administrative decisions
and appointments while in Pavia during Adelheit's absence in Burgundy.
While Theophanu can be credited with the introduction of lasting
Greek elements into the Ottonian “renaissance”,239 and the maintenance of
the kingdom's cohesion, the imperial realm was losing its preeminence. In
Rome, the papal authority reverted to that of an urban principality. In the
west, as the Empire lost its hegemony over the western kingdoms, the last
Carolingian was displaced and a new dynasty, the Capetians, came to the
fore in 987 with Hugh Capet, marking the beginning of the history of
France. With it came a drastic reduction of the influence of the resident
Ottonians over the west, as the two political units drifted apart. The
common ground was rather tenuous in any case. This date may mark the
gradual emergence of the individual beginning of French and German
identities.240
Despite her military leadership, Theophanu was only able to maintain
the status quo. Things were worse in the north and east of the kingdom. In
80 Chapter One
the north, Harald Bluetooth was driven into exile and the northern
bishoprics suffered as Christianity was rejected, and the North Sea regions
were revisited by marauding Vikings.241 It was to be the beginning of the
creation of a northern realm that would include Britain under King Canute
(1014-35). In the east, the empress could not regain the lost territories, as
the sparse population could not muster the required strength, but thanks to
sound appointments made during the years 991/92, the western Slavs
could be subdued, when Saxon, Polish and Bohemian interests moved on
them from west and east. Until the eastern frontier was again stabilized,
the region served as a military staging area for the eastern campaigns.
Theophanu took part in a punitive campaign, joined by imperial, Polish
and Bohemian forces, which devastated the Trans-Elbian lands, but did not
quell the repeated Slavic incursions into Saxony. She showed strength,
even though the eastern frontier was to remain a trouble spot for the
eastern margraves.
Theophanu's premature death was a misfortune. Theophanu died no
older than thirty-five while in Nymwegen, in June 991, when Otto III was
only 11 years of age. She had a history of infirmity and probably died of
natural causes. The six years of her rule were free of conspiracies.
Considering the time-span of about ten years, this sequential guardianship
was a success. She had chosen her church of St. Pantaleon in Cologne as
her last resting place. Theophanu's remains are preserved in the church of
St. Pantaleon in Cologne in a modern sarcophagus, made of white marble
from Naxos.
Without disruption, Otto's grandmother Adelheit assumed the
guardianship until 994/95, without indicating a change in the
administrative direction. Adelheit was not to find a grave in Magdeburg,
though statuary representing her was erected in Meissen. Her convent at
Seltz, in Alsace, was furnished by Otto, as a point from which a region
could be safeguarded. At the same time, she founded it as her own
liturgical memorial site. She was to be buried there in 999. Unfortunately,
this foundation was washed away by a flood. Adelheit attracted veneration
as a saintly person and was finally canonized in 1097. In preparing her
case for sainthood, the abbot Odilo of Cluny, author of her panegyric
biography, depicted her as the long-suffering, submissive survivor of
much calumny and harassment by her daughter-in-law, the “Greek”
Theophanu. It was part of a strategy, which polarized the world into one of
saints or sinners. Her supposed endurance was presented as part of her
qualification for sainthood. In fact, Adelheit had supported the rebellions
of Henry the Quarrelsome against Theophanu's husband. Subsequently the
conflict was aggravated by territorial, jurisdictional disputes, and perhaps
The Ottonians 81
also her continuing, very generous policy of donations, opposed by her son
Otto II. These family disputes, probably fed by intriguing factions, came to
a head in 975, when Otto II delineated Adelheit's holdings in the kingdom,
without reference to Burgundy or Italy. Such rulings estranged Otto from
his mother Adelheit, while Theophanu's influence with her husband
increased. It is quite understandable that even an imperial widow would
lose her preeminence in the new socio-political structure of the court.
Theophanu effected an elegant and extravagant Byzantine dress code,
while Adelheid exercised ever more restraint and withdrawal from the
world. Adelheit left for Burgundy, where her brother was king, and then to
her personal holdings in northern Italy. To make his qualifying point,
Odilo of Cluny may have overstated it, as he shifted the dispute between
mother and son to a dispute with his wife. Theophanu did not share
Adelheit's restrictive, Cluniac attitudes towards Christian practices. In 980,
Otto II celebrated a great reconciliation with his mother in Pavia. The
empress Adelheit returned to Pavia, where she continued to enjoy great
prestige and assumed her hereditary responsibilities for Italy. It has,
however, been noted that there is only one document from this period
which was jointly sponsored by both empresses.
During the minority of Otto III, the two empresses certainly did
collaborate in the guardianship. Theophanu and Adelheit laid whatever
differences to rest, as Theophanu left Rome for Pavia, and agreed to
cooperate in their dealings with the succession. In the end, after two and a
half years of tough negotiations, Theophanu, Adelheit and Mathilda the
abbess of Quedlinburg appeared at an assembly of the magnates of the
realm, which concluded with Otto's mother and the reigning empress,
assuming the guardianship over him in June 985. Though the women
wielded all effective power, all documents were issued in the name of Otto
III. There are only very few documents issued jointly, so that it appears
that the two avoided one another, taking turns in being with the infant
king. A new dispute broke out that year, when Adelheit wanted to
bequeath a great many of her holdings to the convent at Quedlinburg,
headed by her daughter Mathilda. Since this donation included much
imperial land, Otto's chancery, headed by Theophanu, blocked the transfer.
Adelheit left for Pavia to represent the interests of the realm in Italy. At
the end of one year she, the “mother of Empires”, was called north, to
assist her daughter Hemma deal with the difficulties in the western
Carolingian kingdom, in the course of which, Hemma died in prison. The
eastern kingdom did not get involved, turning its attention to Italy instead.
There, however, Adelheit was excluded from the decisions, just as her
dispositions over her own property were subjected to restrictions and she
82 Chapter One
was excluded from court. She withdrew to her convent at Seltz. With
Theophanu's unexpected death in 991, Adelheit's position changed
radically. Aged sixty, she assumed the guardianship over the young king
and a large measure of the government until 994/95. It had been a
seamless transition. Though ably supported by leaders of the imperial
church, by then she lacked the energies needed to head a strong
administration, her donations were too generous and damaging to the
crown, as she withdrew from the world. The imperial influence receded
ever more. Her ward was insistently independent and self-reliant well
before he was of age, assuming representational duties for himself well
before 994, when he turned fourteen. The itinerant life of the progress was
taxing her energies and she withdrew to Seltz. She met with him on only
three more occasions. When he absented himself to Rome, his aunt, the
abbess Mathilda was entrusted with governmental affairs north of the
Alps. Adelheit set out on a last journey into Burgundy, to visit places dear
to her, ending with Cluny. She died in Seltz on December 17, 999, at the
age of sixty-eight. Her daughter Mathilda, the Abbess of Quedlinburg, had
died that February, only forty-four years of age.
In 995, a revolt erupted again. Mieszko I had been motivated to move
his seat from Poznan to Gniezno, free of tributary obligations, and had
tried to subordinate his lands to Rome, by entrusting them as a gift to St.
Peter. Such an act removed them from any other secular or episcopal
claims. Before his death in 992, he had stipulated the division of his realm
among his sons. His son Boleslav I Chrobry excluded his brothers from
the succession. His stepmother and her sons he forcibly returned to
Saxony, while he blinded two relatives from his Bohemian family, in case
they had ambitions,242 and set out on a campaign of expansion in Silesia,
against Bohemia. Eventually the aim was to establish a bishopric in
Poland. It happened in the year1000.243 This had to do with delimiting the
extent of the authority of the archbishop of Mainz and any consequent
Germanization.
Within the kingdom, the functional role of the duchies again began to
revert to their earlier hereditary character, as the dukes once again
assumed greater responsibility for their fiefs. Otto's grandmother Adelheit,
aged sixty, had assumed the regency until 994/95. It had been a seamless
transition. Ably supported by leaders of the imperial church, by then she
lacked the energies needed to head a strong administration. Otto
supposedly sent her away from the court. Of a Cluniac persuasion, she
devoted much energy to church affairs, made extensive donations to
monasteries and convents, and tended to her western heirs. During her
guardianship, the imperial influence receded even more. Her daughter
The Ottonians 83
ideals and the most religious impulses of his day. Already in 993
Bernward was made bishop of Hildesheim, a position he held for thirty
years. His support of art and architecture was to leave a lasting heritage.248
Otto III could be moody and driven by a sense of his own exalted person,
he was drawn to distant places rather than to those nearby. He thought and
planned globally. Already in 995, he sent envoys to Constantinople to
negotiate the marriage with a Byzantine bride. Since the eastern emperors
had no sons, a marriage with one of their daughters held out the possibility
of a marriage, which would reunite the eastern and western Empires.
Perhaps it was his aim to marry a Byzantine princess that made him want
to demonstrate the equality of Rome with glorious Constantinople, the
new Roman Empire of the west with the Roman Empire continuing in the
east. From his teachers he had acquired the idea of the renewal of Roman
imperial power as wielded by Charlemagne, and that an apostolic form of
Christianity was only attainable through the strictest asceticism and
missionary devotion. A later gospel illumination of his Apotheosis
depicting his Christocentricity shows clearly, that it was his belief that it
was the emperor's responsibility to guide Christendom according to the
will of God. He was a charismatic and most assertive personality with a
Classical education, of ascetic piety and the conviction of a divinely
ordained imperial role. With the tutelage of Bernward of Hildesheim and
John Philagathos, the devoted servant of Otto II, Theophanu had raised a
pious, artistic intellectual, who appreciated spirituality and the beauty of
the arts and Greco-Roman culture in particular.
Once again, the need to deal with political problems in Rome and the
death of Pope John XV coincided with his ambitious intellectual
intentions. These could only be realized, if he was emperor. The
conditions gave Otto III the opportunity to visit the former Roman world
and intervene there. Roman city politics had made the Papacy a notorious
institution. In all he spent 47 months in Italy, compared with 41 months
north of the Alps. A Roman delegation met him in Pavia, where, in
contravention even with the Ottonianum, he named his cousin Brun
successor on the papal throne. Brun was the grandson of Liutgard,
daughter of Otto I and Edgith. He was elected and ascended the papal
throne as Gregory V, ruling only briefly from 996-999. The chosen name
was to rekindle the memory of the glorious papal past of Gregory the
Great.249 He then crowned Otto III, nearly sixteen, emperor on Ascension
Day 996. This visit, so early in his reign, gave him the opportunity to
envision his ideas of a modified Christian Empire, the familiar Imperium
Christianum. In anticipation, he had already appointed one Heribert, a
German, chancellor of Italian affairs in the chancery, a post traditionally
The Ottonians 85
the imperial equality of western and eastern emperors. That could only be
interpreted as a challenge to the emperors in Constantinople. Gregory's
isolated and hence vulnerable position in Rome, without imperial support,
will have induced him to agree readily to this subordinate role. The
proclamatory Liuthar Gospel, prepared on the Reichenau and probably a
subject of discussion during Otto's suspected stay on the island, shows the
Apotheosis of Otto III. Against the purple background of this illumination,
the presumptuous “Roman” emperor, not Christ, is enthroned within the
mandorla with the hand of God placing the crown on his head. The
tetramorphs flank him, draping a banner across him, while Terra, the earth
goddess, supports the throne. Two pennant-carrying kings, most probably
of Poland and Hungary, bow to him in reverence, while two
representatives each of crown and cross are placed on the bottom of the
page.256 This page leaves no doubt about the dominium mundi of the
divinely instated emperor in his Christ-like guise as ruler of the Imperium
Christianum.
With an eye for intellect, like-minded supporters were invited to join
him. Thus the renowned scholar Gerbert of Aurillac, who had already
impressed his father and who now proposed his supportive imperialis
philosophia, and the Czech Adalbert of Prague, who, with his life negating
ascetic and mystical determination to promote the Christianization of the
world, could reconcile the Imperium Romanum with the Ecclesia Romana,
as a new conceptualization of the world. Both were in personal difficulties,
at the time Otto III invited them to his court.257 He also came to associate
with the hermits' existence of the Italian Anchorites, repeatedly doing
severe penance in their retreats. Leo of Vercelli in particular helped to
formulate the concepts of the Renovatio Imperii Romanorum.258 In this
regard, Otto III would have resembled his role model Charlemagne, as he
assimilated these intellectual stimuli in his worldview. The comprehensive
dedication pages of the Gospel of Otto III, now in Munich, illustrate this
view, as Otto is enthroned and flanked by secular and episcopal magnates
of the realm. He receives the homage of the key provinces of his realm –
Sclavinia, Germania, Gallia and Roma. For reasons of his health, Otto III
withdrew across the Alps, to Aachen, where for months he devoted
himself to the familiarization with Charlemagne and the lavish furnishing
of the Palace Chapel with valuable liturgical instruments, relics and an
encirclement of monastic foundations. Relics were a particular means to
ensure the assistance of saints. In restoring the Aachen of the Carolingians,
he was gaining glory by association with Charlemagne, especially when he
later opened and entered his grave, and emulating him in restoring Aachen
as another center of his Empire in addition to Pavia, Ravenna and Rome.
The Ottonians 87
At all times Otto must have been aware of the Carolingians' orientation
towards the Rome of the Christian emperors, rather than to that of the
early “classical” Caesars. At the same time, he exchanged his entourage of
advisors and replaced them with those, who could identify with his new
vision.259 In view of the recurring political problems in secular Rome, Otto
III must have realized that next to the Christian Rome, an alternative
would have to be realized. Otto III chose to follow Charlemagne's example
and in 997 began to emphasize Aachen as his second center, though it is
not clear, how he was going to reconcile the itinerant kingship with the
idea of semi-sacred, God-guarded capital centers, where the king would
wear the crown and where the anointed king's sacral status conferred
proximity to the altar.260 His imperial coronation oath obligated him to
consult, guide and protect the Papacy in Rome and the Christian church.
The Renovatio fitted into this concept as a constant imperial program. It
justified Otto's claim to primacy in determining local Roman matters and
his strong interventionist role in the renovating restoration of the Papacy
and in making church appointments in the manner of his grandfather's
investiture policy.
A year earlier, 996, the situation had arisen in Rome, which had
replaced the pope and caused Otto III to return there, to reinstate his Pope,
Gregory V. His aunt Mathilda, abbess of Quedlinburg, upon whom Otto
had bestowed posthumously the title matricia, was once again left in
charge of the German kingdom as his representative.261 In a casual
manner, the court and military escort proceeded towards Rome. It became
apparent now, that the Ottonian order in Rome was in need of a serious
intervention in Roman affairs and effective only when the emperor himself
was present with strong military forces. To the Romans, the emperor was
no longer welcome. Even so, Otto took his time to deal with the revolt and
the leading insurgents.262 In the face of a possible Byzantine plot, focused
on an anti-pope, actually John Philagathos, Otto imposed ruthless
measures, including the anti-pope's deposition, blinding, mutilation and
parade of infamy in 998. In one version of the story the other leader, the
Roman senator, Crescentius, had taken refuge in the fortified Castel San
Angelo. Once it had been taken by storm, he was taken to the battlements
for all to see, where he was beheaded, thrown off the tower, dragged by
cattle through the dirty streets, and hanged outside the city, upside down
next to twelve other conspirators.263 Crescentius had benefited from the
king's earlier clemency, but had now violated it, which invited the severe
punishment. Through administrative rationalization, Otto III tried to
dismantle the Papacy as a political and territorial unit, and to implement
the sacerdotal vision, reconciling his imperial, temporal power with the
88 Chapter One
blossom anew under the rule of Otto III. With the assistance of this new
Constantine, the pope might cleanse the world.
Two paradoxical tendencies co-existed in him. On the one hand, the
imperial challenge demanded an overt approach to dominate the world. On
the other, his growing religious fervor, his inclination to renounce this vain
world, demanded an introverted withdrawal from it. The Apotheosis
depiction of the living emperor elevated into an ethereal dimension found
in the dedication pages of his Gospel kept in Aachen fits this intellectual
climate. His dilemma planted in him the conviction of being a great sinner,
which could only be countered by seeking purification in life negating
asceticism and severe penance. It found something of an outward
reconciliation in the collaboration between Otto and his former teacher and
new pope. By assuming the reign-name Sylvester II, the next pope and
philosopher on the papal throne, Gerbert of Aurillac, most recently the
former imperial archbishop of Ravenna, may have intended a specific
allusion to the creation of the Roman Papacy in the time of Sylvester I and
Constantine.268 Recalling the names Constantine and Sylvester also
suggested a return to the early Christian Papacy.269 In a hymn dedicated to
emperor and pope, Leo of Vercelli asked Christ to renew Rome under the
rule of Otto III and admonished the two that under the power of the
emperor, the pope cleanse the world. This hymn struck a chord in Otto III,
who could see implementing it in the form of his Renovatio Imperii
Romanorum. At the beginning of the new Empire, though emperor, he saw
himself as the servant of Jesus Christ. While their joint presidency at
synods is demonstrated, the idea of the apostolic universal Christian
Empire, however, failed to take on concrete forms, other than the
liberation of the Papacy from Roman city politics. This had nothing to do
with the eschatological anticipation of the coming of the Anti-Christ. Each
time one of his bishops died, Otto personally felt deep guilt and subjected
himself to penance. He made a point of seeking out the sites associated
with saints and hermits, to do penance, sometimes for days on end. While
during the spring and autumn of 997, Otto was most concerned to show
his spiritual link with Charlemagne, he showed deep concern for his sinful
condition, so that it is difficult to determine the focus of his emphasis.
During the summer of 997, the northeastern Slavic frontier was once
again in turmoil as western, Elbian Slavs devastated Saxon territories.
Westphalian forces, led in battle by the bishop of Minden, defeated them,
bringing the fourteen-year-old conflict to an unsettled, indecisive
conclusion. In fact, Otto's preoccupation with the affairs of his German
kingdom receded ever more into the background. With some critical
distance, one must weigh the extent to which Otto's intention to pursue his
90 Chapter One
while at the same time emphasizing the Christocentricity of his own sacred
kingship.
During his progress through the kingdom, he first received the oaths of
allegiance in a step-incremental manner from his secular magnates. He
subsequently proceeded with a complementary circuit of the ecclesiastical
centers. In this manner, he reconciled the perceptions of the people with
the political necessities. Within one year of his accession, Henry had
created two overlapping networks on which he could rely.296 He was yet to
be instrumental in promoting a third network among princes and
churchmen – prayer communities, which transcended political jurisdictions,
known since Carolingian times. By making concessions to many princes
of the church, promising them special privileges, he had gained their
consent.297 Having promised the Saxons their rights and claims, the
surrender of the Holy Lance to him at Merseburg, the homage paid him by
Boleslav of Poland, was followed by the coronation in August of his wife
Kunigunde of Luxemburg as queen in Paderborn and his ascent to the
throne of Charlemagne in the Palace Chapel at Aachen on September 8,
1002, as Henry II.298 Since Paderborn Cathedral and its surrounding area,
including the Carolingian palace had burned down extensively in 1000, the
coronation in such a deprived location must have been a significant
political gesture. Unlike his predecessors, he had to win the succession and
reunite the kingdom. This he did with the apparent understanding that his
coronation was a divine judgment.
Henry's sober, pragmatic, determined and decisive course of action
characterized his self-reliant reign of 22 years, 1002-1024, during which
he returned his main focus to his northern kingdom.299 Throughout, he was
able to keep more than one goal, one course of action in sight, and to
pursue them with insight and perseverance. Initially, practical royal
concerns appear to have had precedence over ideal imperial ones, though it
is quite true that his was an imperial monarchy.300
It has to be appreciated, that the perception of reality, was
accompanied by a sense of the allegorical. Thus, Henry treated his
kingdom as something of a sacerdotium with himself as the sacerdos, the
head of a heavenly kingdom realized on earth.301 The illuminated ruler
portraits of his liturgical books, actually secular images in a religious
mantle, repeatedly stress that he was crowned by the divinity directly.
Never is the presence of a pope indicated in these scenes. Since Henry did
not see himself in competition with the pope, to whom he expressly
surrendered the rule of Rome, the illuminations do not reflect a
propagandistic intent, but rather his role as vicar of Christ on earth.
Subsequently the gold embroidery of his stellar cape hails him as the
The Ottonians 97
with the death of Pope Sylvester II, the Papacy fell once again to the
Crescenti. When Arduin threatened the bishoprics of northern Italy, these
turned to Henry to solicit his intervention. Problems along the Polish
frontier delayed his departure for Italy, but then his expedition into the
Regnum Italie gained him the coronation as king of Lombardy, in Pavia in
1004, thereby granting to northern Italy a degree of independence.312 An
uprising in Pavia drove him from the city. Polish affairs forced his return
to the north.313 Apparently, he had no enthusiasm for his imperial
coronation.314 His actions and reactions had something sporadic about
them. Unrest in Pavia and especially in papal Rome, were disregarded.
Other problems were of his own making in dealing with questions of
church law, the jurisdictions of bishoprics and abbeys, and the restoration
of the bishopric at Merseburg, and the creation of the bishopric of
Bamberg, a strategic location, approximately half-way between Bavaria
and Saxony. A royal, Carolingian, domain since 906 and a favorite
location since childhood, Henry had made it a wedding gift to his wife.315
Anticipating strife with the bishop of Würzburg, in whose diocese
Bamberg was located, Henry began by just building a large church. When
in 1007, actually on May 6., the date of his birthday, Henry and
Kunigunde endowed the church with vast holdings, even their own, and
bequeathed to it all their worldly goods – in one day 27 properties were
bestowed on the new bishopric -,316 and especially its dedication to St.
Peter, which gained papal support, their intention to found a cathedral
became apparent. However, a king was not authorized to reduce or
redistribute the holdings of a bishopric, since they were the property of the
patron saint, who could not be injured in this unilateral manner. On the
other hand, who could presume to oppose the wishes of God's vicarius, the
anointed representative on earth, who was owed the same obedience and
submission that was owed to God? Perhaps already at this time, Henry's
intention was to create Bamberg as a religious center, with St. Peter as its
leading patron saint among a host of other saintly patrons, a new Rome, as
Charlemagne and Otto III had done in Aachen.317 To what extent did his
secular and ecclesiastic support structures approve of this intention to
establish in Bamberg an additional capital center like Magdeburg, an
alternative to Regensburg, to Rome? Bamberg too could incorporate seven
hills, like Rome, each hill graced by church steeples, forming a wreath
similar to Aachen and lending to Bamberg an impressive skyline,
suggestive of that of the Heavenly Jerusalem.318 At a general synod in
Frankfurt in 1007, he prostrated himself before the assembly and implored
God and the assembly to grant him permission. He based the reason for
their bequest on their forlorn hope to have children and the naming of God
100 Chapter One
as heir, his piety and sense of responsibility for humanity, and his mission
against the Slavs.319 Concerned about its political importance, but also
about his own salvation, he had held out archiepiscopal hopes to the
bishop of Würzburg, though only the metropolitan in Mainz could enact
such a promotion, and obtained his consent, provided the new bishop of
Bamberg would act as his suffragan. The approval of a synod and of the
pope raised the church to the status of cathedral in 1007, without
acknowledging the wishes of the bishop of Würzburg. For Henry II it was
perhaps a site where his memory could be celebrated liturgically on his
birthday long after his death.320 His tomb and that of his wife are certainly
still there, as are their ceremonial cloaks and his sacerdotal, liturgical
vestments, originally preserved in sealed lead coffins.
The foundation caused an ecclesiastical incident at a synod convened
in Frankfurt, hostile to Henry's intention. The civil war, which broke out in
1008 and lasted to the end of 1012, did not interfere with this project.
Henry pleaded that in view of his divinely ordained childlessness, God
was to be his heir.321 Since the kingdom came to him from God and since
there would be no heir, the kingdom would revert to God. Such was his
understanding of the divine order of the cosmos. His plea was convincing
and the assembly signed the founding document. For several months, the
bishop of Würzburg withheld his agreement. Pious politician that Henry II
was, he felt the need to reconcile the world and its necessities with the
church and with heaven. He immediately invested his chancellor with the
bishopric and the archbishop of Mainz consecrated him that same day. To
locate the bishopric firmly in its religious context, in 1020 Henry invited
the pope to celebrate Easter in Bamberg.322 Consecrated in 1012, with the
sisters of Otto III in attendance, as abbesses and as living reminders of the
continuity of his memory, the cathedral was oriented and occidented, in
that as in Rome, the western choir and altar were dedicated to St. Peter and
Rome, the eastern choir and altar to the Virgin Mary and the king, who as
protector of the church could claim rights to space within the church. It
was conceived as an analogy of the kingdom, as the western altar was
consecrated by the western archbishops of Cologne and Mainz, the eastern
altar by those of Magdeburg and Salzburg.323 A wreath of churches and
monastic foundations, as well as workshops, was constructed to surround
the cathedral, as was the case in Aachen and especially in Rome. He made
Bamberg a royal bishopric, closely linked with the crown, endowed with
income throughout the southern regions of the kingdom, and beyond the
diocese of Bamberg, with distant abbeys and convents, Alpine passes and
many territories and properties, royal, secular and ecclesiastical, to this
new bishopric. He pillaged the churches of the realm for their splendid
The Ottonians 101
liturgical service texts, had them rebound in resplendent covers and had
other manuscripts prepared expressly for the services and the library there.
As a staging area, the bishopric also had a military and missionary
function towards the Slavs just to the east. The regions around the
headwaters of the river Main were Slavic and still largely pagan in cult
and funerary practice. Any missionary activities emanating from
Würzburg had not been effective.324 The integration of these people into
the Christian community and the associated administrative measures
undertaken by the new foundation was to have a lasting, significant effect.
During his inner and outer difficulties, Henry II was able to rely on the
backing of the church. The reliance on the sacerdotal expectations was to
find its greatest application during his reign, adding to ecclesiastical
strength rather than to the secular interests. As ruler, he saw himself to be
the custodian of God's domain on earth, not its owner. As God's
undisputable representative, he was the absolute authority, not to practice
arbitrary license, but to administer and augment God's trust responsibly
and to the greatest benefit of all. In this capacity, the power was attributed
to him and accepted, that investing bishops was his exclusive prerogative
and responsibility for reasons of state as well as for those of the church.
Henry II was the first to install bishops charged with the effective
administrative functioning of the state. Regardless of the vote, Henry II
had to approve it and the candidate in the interest of the state. During his
reign, he invested 64 bishops of his choice. He repeatedly overruled the
monastic vote of abbots on the basis of his sacerdotal prerogative to
perform the investiture.325 The act of homage made any attempts to appeal
to the pope unfriendly acts against his royal/imperial God-given authority.
On the other hand, for the clergy to swear the oath of fealty was against
Canon Law. By itself, this view was anachronistic, had it not been for the
newly assigned local, secular, administrative responsibilities, previously in
the hands of counts and magistrates, in conjunction with accompanying,
extensive territories. However, the fact that royal investitures were made
to satisfy the servitium regis, including the administrative and military
needs of the kingdom, rather than religious needs, contributed so greatly to
the vulnerability of the kingdom. The aristocratic community of interests
shared by the secular and ecclesiastic nobility was diverging. During the
reign of the Salian dynasty, this sacred kingship was to be altered
drastically, as the sacerdotal link and the congruent relationship of church
and state was severed. Simultaneously, with his extreme understanding of
his role as God's steward, he attributed all misfortunes that befell the
realm, to his own sins, burdened with the knowledge that during his
judgment at the end of time, he would have to give good account of the
102 Chapter One
responsibility and trust that had been placed in him. Only then would
heavenly joy be his.326
Educated at first in the cathedral school of Hildesheim, in rhetoric,
grammar, theology and Canon Law, Otto II may have intended him for the
clergy,327 and under the later tutelage of high churchmen, such as the
active, reform-minded bishop Wolfgang of Regensburg, Henry later
appreciated the position of vulnerable monasteries and convents.328
Persuaded that they should be self-sufficient and effective, he supported
them with immunities, endowments and incomes, frequently from entire
counties, and secured the royal protection of the monastic establishments
from episcopal demands, and by insisting on his approval of the chosen
appointments to ecclesiastical position of high rank, or on his right to
intervene. To ensure good, systematic administration and to consolidate
his control over the parts of the realm through the bishoprics, Henry II
imposed bishops, who were not regionally related and who were prepared
to share their wealth. They were drawn frequently from his core of
experienced imperial administrators in his chancery, the capella. In this,
he was the first to do so effectively.329 Owing to his anointed person, he
considered himself entitled and obliged to guide equally the affairs of
crown and cross. He unilaterally organized the foundations into
rationalized, viable interdependencies, not without incurring deep
resentments among the magnates. As a result, the religious foundations
were in a better position to fulfill the servitium regis and render hospitality
and provisions.
While his predecessors had stayed in their own Pfalzen, Henry II
changed the pattern, and accomplished a dual purpose. As he preferred to
prolong his presence over a wider extent by visiting the far-flung
bishoprics of the realm, he also shifted his costs and the financial burdens
associated with the visits of his court during his progress, to the church
establishments. A network of “king's highways” improved with the king's
repeated itineraries to the distant corners of the kingdom. Henry was more
intensively conscientious in his regular dealings and personal visits with
his magnates. In this context, he favored the monastic reform originating
from Gorze, in Lotharingia,330 since it did not challenge the autonomy of
the bishops in their support of the king. He adopted the Ottonian approach
to the bishoprics and reserved for himself the appointment of bishops.
Though there were some instances where the monasteries wasted the
economic basis of their foundation in excessive worldliness, Prüm,
Hersfeld, Reichenau, Fulda and Corvey, for instance, the reform efforts
were not primarily intended to counteract the advancing moral decay, but
placed particular importance on reshaping the monasteries in strict
The Ottonians 103
towards the persecution of Jews, their protection varied with the degree of
effectiveness, with which the bishops controlled their diocese. In this
context the conception ripened, that it was an abomination for Christians
to live in communities, which also sheltered those of other faiths,
especially Jews. Expulsion was seen as the remedy. By these means as
well as the adoration of relics and by pilgrimages to their venerated places
religious fervor was mobilized and channeled in mass demonstrations of
the faith. Already in 1010, as a feature of apocalyptic fears and deflected
hatreds, persecutions took place in France, which included robbery,
murder and enforced suicides, particularly among women, to avoid the
enforced baptisms. That year Pope Sergius IV is supposed to have
proclaimed a Jerusalem campaign against the enemies of the faith as part
of the Peace of God movement.342 In 1012, anti-heretical measures were
instituted in Mainz, coincident with the expulsion of Jews, who were
blamed in part for the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in
Jerusalem in 1009 by the caliph of Cairo, Al-Hakim.343 Eternal life would
be gained by all participants in the venture.344 In December of 1012, while
Kunigunde tended to the defense of the eastern frontier, Henry II was in
Mainz to receive the submission of the Luxemburgians, and in his
presence, the Jews and heretics were expelled. Punishments will have been
carried out, however, without resorting to death by fire, as was to be the
case in Orléans later that month.345 The persecution of heretics and those
of other faiths, like Jews, was a predominant component in the church's
desire to establish and enforce a community of the faith based on universal
principles. Conversion to the right forms of religious belief was the
principal objective. Nevertheless, in 1084 the Jews of Speyer received
episcopal privileges, possibly even a protective wall, while the Jews of
Mainz and Worms received a royal privilege from Henry IV in 1090.346 A
climate of discrimination must have made these measures necessary,
which, in view of the subsequent persecutions of the Jews were
anticipatory protective instrument. Just a few years later, during the
crusades, Jews were sought out to enforce their baptism and conversion to
Christianity,347 leading Henry IV to place all of the Jews of the kingdom
under his protection in 1103. From Carolingian times onward, the
illustrative arts proclaimed the victory of the Church Triumphant,
Ecclesia, over a replaced Judaism, Synagoga. Atrocities were committed,
when the enthusiasts encountered resistance among the targeted groups,
who would not appreciate this Christian truth and to take revenge on them
for the death of Christ. It was even thought necessary to eliminate Islam as
a false religion.
The Ottonians 107
pincer movement was planned. It was a total failure. The war lasted until
1018, when Boleslav planned to campaign against Kiev. It was a success.
At the same time, however, the North-Elbian pagan Slavs unleashed
destructive campaigns against the Christian establishment in the region.
King Canute of Denmark may have advanced against them from the north,
expecting Henry to bring forces up from the south. This he was prevented
from doing, because pockets of his Saxon nobles rose in revolt against
him, accusing him of favoritism towards the ecclesiastical lords. Even
though they represented common social origins, their interests were
beginning to diverge. Diplomatically, reconciliations came into being and
the return to previous conditions north of the Elbe could be left to regional
authorities.353
Newly destabilized, northern Italian interests recommended the pope
visit Henry in Bamberg in 1020, actually an acknowledgement of Henry's
prestige and status. Following a grandiose reception in Bamberg, he
celebrated Easter in the new cathedral there, assisted by a patriarch, an
archbishop and ten additional bishops, in all a momentous event.354 Nearly
two hundred years had passed since the last pope had crossed the Alps in
833. On this occasion, Henry II confirmed the Ottonianum, negated by
Otto III, with his own Heinricianum. The document suggests that the
exclusivity of Rome had slipped in Henry's political estimation and that
Bamberg may have become his “new Rome”.355 In Bamberg, Henry II
made visible his culminating idea of an Imperium Christianum supported
also in Bamberg. In Bamberg, he had thrown a pebble into the pool,
thereby creating an additional center, alongside those of Jerusalem, Rome,
and Aachen, from where the expanding ripples of his regal concepts based
on the community of saints were intended to encompass Christendom. It
was not to be realized after his death.
In 1016 Pope Benedict VIII had invited returning Norman crusading
pilgrims to assist Italian forces against the Sicilian Saracens. The
Byzantines were tied up with the Bulgars. Ultimately the Saracens were
driven out. During his stay in Bamberg, the pope invited Henry II to
intervene in Italy against the Byzantines.356 The ensuing imperial
campaign of 1021 was directed into Apulia, southern, Byzantine Italy,
where an unsuccessful rebellion against Byzantine over-taxation in 1018
had led to a decisive defeat of the southern Italians at Cannae. On that
occasion Russian Norsemen, Varangians, in the Byzantine army, had
fought against the Sicilian Norsemen, by now called Normans, who had
been called in as mercenaries against the Byzantines and had become
involved in Italian affairs as early as 1013. Within sixty years, they had
become powerful and welcome potential allies of the popes.357 The defeat
The Ottonians 109
had forced the local prince to seek refuge with Henry in Bamberg, while
Byzantine recovery threatened the papal domains. A token of this
relationship was a splendid cloak of blue damask, still on display in
Bamberg. Henry's intervention was moderately successful, as imperial
suzerainty was recognized in southern Italy, though Henry refrained from
outright conquest. In singular cooperation, emperor and pope collaborated
at a synod assembled in Pavia in 1022, reconfirming the mandatory
celibacy and poverty of the clergy. Sons of the clergy had no right to
inherit church holdings, so as not to diminish church property.358
After an absence of 10 months, Henry II returned north. While the
campaign against the Byzantines was less than a success, he had reached
his religious objectives. Henceforth, after their conquest of Sicily in 1072,
the Sicilian Normans would deal with the Byzantines in southern Italy. In
the course of a century the Normans, led by the house of de Hauteville,359
stayed to occupy Sicily, and eventually to establish a highly cosmopolitan
court. Not a well man at any time, Henry's condition kept him in Bamberg
from mid-December 1023 to mid-March 1024, investing new bishops with
recently vacated bishoprics. Ill health, chronic colic perhaps caused by
kidney stones, did not interfere with the itinerant progress and so he
celebrated Easter in Magdeburg, and then moved to Halberstadt where he
imposed a bishop on the cathedral chapter, then to Goslar for a stay of ten
days. However, his illness kept him in the Pfalz at Grone, where two
months later he died on July 13, 1024. Henry had no heirs360 and
deliberately had made no provisions for the succession, leaving that
regulation in the hands of God. Though the nobility felt somewhat less
reconciled to his aims than the clergy, he believed to have ruled
responsibly, and left a largely expanded, intensified, consolidated and
coordinated realm, in which the proximity of royal Pfalzen and bishoprics
constituted complementary networks. He seems to have been persuaded
that as Vicar of Christ, he had fulfilled the mandate given to him by Christ,
to establish God's order in his kingdom. The empress Kunigunde,
experienced in the affairs of state, with the support of her Luxemburgian
brothers, was able to continue managing the affairs of the realm during the
interim. She subsequently entered the convent she had founded as humble
Benedictine. She died in 1039.
Kunigunde, (c.975-1039), the wife of the emperor Henry II, sister of
the count of Luxemburg, was crowned queen in Paderborn in August
1002.361 On February 14, 1014, the royal couple was crowned emperor and
empress in St. Peter's in Rome by Pope Benedict VIII. Both were beatified
and canonized, Henry in 1146, Kunigunde in 1200.362
110 Chapter One
When they married in the year 1000, she was about 25 and he 27 years
of age, but Kunigunde differed from her predecessors in that she did not
become pregnant, so that on the occasion of the foundation of Bamberg
Cathedral in 1007, Henry and Kunigunde had endowed the church with
vast holdings, even their own, and bequeathed to it all their worldly goods.
In Frankfurt, Henry made their situation apparent, when he declared
officially the church to be their heir: they had given up hope that their
marriage would yet be blessed with children. Despite the obvious
implication, the medieval public relations enterprise began to circulate a
legend, that they lived a married life of chaste renunciation and sexual
abstinence, an indication of their saintly lives. Actually they were very
close and in their joint documents they frequently referred to themselves
with the Biblical, but formulaic phrase from Genesis 2:24 of being “one
flesh”, and hence quite in accordance “with God's holy ordinance”. Their
celibacy was a fiction. They were bedmates and variations of this intimate
formulation appeared in documents accompanying donations for the
convent of Kaufungen to which Kunigunde would retire as widow. The
convent was founded when she was seriously ill in 1017 and both began to
be concerned with their salvation. Anointed and crowned they were one
another's equals in all things. Their coronation scene in Henry's Book of
Pericopes testifies such an understanding. Both are of equal height. She is
the serene empress. Laudations recommend that God save the empress
Kunigunde. The traditional formula of the empress being the consors
imperii, or its variation consors regni, had been used for the empresses
Adelheit and Theophanu and was now bestowed equally on the empress
Kunigunde.
The equality of the royal couple made it possible for petitioners and
supplicants to approach the king through the offices of the queen. As was
mentioned earlier, the remoteness of the king made a direct approach
unthinkable, as Königsnähe, the proximity to the king, was a crucial
obstacle, composed of family members, magnates, confidential advisors,
trusted counselors and special interest groups guarded the royal personage
with a nearly impenetrable screen. Yet, access to the highest authority in
the land on serious matters had to be available, even if it could be
problematic to some. The queen, unless she too was surrounded with a
“protective” screen could provide an avenue on which one could perhaps
reach the king's eyes and ears. As was apparent above, she could act as a
hub through which all manner of national and international threads could
be connected. Her role was that of a powerful filter, mediator, conciliator
and confidante. Her interventions have left a trace, as more than a quarter
of all of Henry's documents make reference to her. Most of them deal with
The Ottonians 111
THE SALIANS
With the death of Henry II, people may have experienced some trauma.363
If the consecrated king was the personification of the kingdom, then what
happened to the kingdom, when the king died, especially if there was no
successor? Within six weeks, the succeeding Salian was elected on his
own merits. The Salians were actually hostile to the Ottonians, but
continued the family ties with the Ottonians, – Liutgard, the daughter of
Otto I and Edgith provided the dynastic link. With the election of Conrad
II, the crown returned to Franconian hands. The dynastic name was not
bestowed on them until the twelfth century, intended to reflect the link
with the most noble Salian Franks. Over the years, they had accumulated
considerable territorial power along the middle Rhine, so that their
primacy in the kingdom could not easily be challenged. They ruled for just
over a century, from 1024 to 1125.364 Their succession was not determined
by an election, but by a family agreement.
In 1024, another Conrad was to be the first of the new dynasty. He was
careful not to model his reign along the lines of his Ottonian predecessor.
His focus rested on the consolidation of the broad support among the
secular powers in the realm, having seen fit to garner the support of the
ecclesiastical magnates even before his designation with promises of
privileges following his enthronization, providing an early example of the
royal succession deteriorating into a transaction. It was he, who first
placed the emphasis on the validity of the kingdom/empire as a universal
transpersonal realm without connections to the person of the monarch. It
was this, which was perceived as the challenge to the Papacy, with its
114 Chapter Two
church and Empire in one edifice. The Salian period was a “crossing
over”.
been built by Theoderic the Great and used by Carolingians and Ottonians
as royal residence. The Lombard cities proceeded with a separatist attempt
to elect their own king from the ranks of their own magnates and when
that failed, they invited princes from Aquitaine and other French domains
to assume the Italian crown. They even offered the imperial crown.380 It
appeared that the citizens of Pavia resented the financial burden imposed
on them whenever the monarch came through their cities, to stay in the
citadel. The Italian bishops withheld their support for this separatist course
of action, since they fared better under the northern link, their relative
positions being more secure under an emperor, than under their local
princes. When the Italian representatives appeared before Conrad II to
rationalize their action – the emperor's death justifying their sense of
severance í, Conrad presented them with the novel view, that even with
the death of the monarch, the realm continued to exist, and that they had
not just razed the king's palace, but the royal palace. Their view of a
personal kingdom was countered by a view, which propounded the
conviction that the realm was an abstract, ultra-personal concept, which
went beyond that of the individual monarchy.381 It follows that Conrad II
would consider the imperial role in Italy a priority. Based on Carolingian
and Ottonian prerogatives, a Regnum Italie incorporated in the realm was
an established claim, which Conrad, as preserver of the law, had a duty to
demonstrate the legal principle as soon as possible.382
Shortly after his coronation, Conrad II led an army into Italy in 1026.
Pavia refused him entrance and so he was crowned Lombard king in
Milan. The regional tribulations, conflicts and resistance to royal rule,
which tore the region apart, caused bloody resistance against Conrad's
forces in Pavia and Ravenna.383 Avoiding the heat of summer, it was not
until March 1027, that Conrad could make his way through the resistance
of Italian cities and enter Rome under jubilation and acclaim. On Easter
Sunday 1027 he and his wife Gisela were crowned emperor and empress
by Pope John XIX in St. Peter's, in what was a most splendid event. A
large number of dignitaries, including king Rudolph III of Burgundy and
king Canute the Great, king of Denmark and England, who was intent on
expanding his northern kingdom and needed good relations with the
Empire. The festivities were marred by a Roman uprising.384 During a
synod, presided over by emperor and pope, the emperor's will was done.
The emperor was recognized as Vicarius Christi, Christ's representative on
earth. The pope would continue to be the Vicarius Beati Petri. A show of
force established the emperor's suzerainty in southern Italy, but beyond
that, his interest in central and southern Italy was merely peripheral.
However, the link between the crown and Rome, as head of the world, was
118 Chapter Two
grouping to the right of the Virgin Mary in the mandorla, the mural in the
apse of the cathedral of Aquileia, c.1028, shows Conrad wearing the
crown and a purple mantle, flanked by three saints. Young Henry III and
the empress Gisela are placed on either side of this community of saints.404
Rome was of interest only as the site of his imperial coronation. On that
occasion, he made none of the traditional promises concerning the
protection of church and Papacy, and attached no particular importance to
the Patrimonium Petri. In general, the church institutions found no
particular favor with him. In principle, Conrad II favored financial
compensation from those, whom he nominated for the bishoprics. He was
not loath to practice simony.405 It was his concern to place the kingdom on
the stabilized support of the still restless secular powers, which may have
adopted, only in part, the episcopal understanding of the sacred monarchy.
Had it not been for conspiracies, the independence inspired confrontations
among the prospering northern Italian cities or the power politics of the
southern Italian Normans, Conrad II might well have been right.
In principle and in fact, the kingship was an elected kingship, where
the peers could give expression to their primacy over the king by their
vote. While the election had something of the principle of selecting “the
first among equals” about it, the election probably accepted the king
primarily as “chosen moderator” of contrary interests and enflamed
conflicts'.406 Unconditional obedience to such a lord would be an
admission of unfreedom. Conrad had a sympathetic ear for their concerns,
which earned him the loyalty of his vassals. On the other hand, the
absence of a central administration, demanded adherence to the personal
authority of the monarch, if the realm was to function. In that respect he
treated dukes, counts and other highly placed aristocrats as royal officials
rather than as vassals. It facilitated their appointment and dismissal as an
aspect of royal authority. This circumstance necessitated the personal
presence of the monarch and the itinerant kingship.407 Generally, he was a
traditionalist, for whom any tendencies of social change were most
peripheral. It will become apparent, that the concept of obedience to any
relatively higher authority, whether secular or episcopal and papal, was
being demanded and becoming established. It would appear that the
principles of obedience, characteristic for the monastic rule, were gaining
ground through the Cluniac reforms and affecting the church and its
institutions, ultimately to be demanded from all Christians. The monarch's
supremacy over his bishoprics would soon meet challenges from the
reform inspired Papacy, which aimed to displace the monarchy from
church affairs and claimed this supremacy and sovereignty for itself. Many
122 Chapter Two
vassal owed homage and fealty for his fief, with restricting contractual
obligations and involuntary services which defined his freedoms.
Ministerials experienced vassalage in a more limiting manner, when it
came to the legal bonds to their lords, hereditary landownership, marriage,
military service, and allegiances. Even serfs were entitled to liberties.412
In his attempt to consolidate the kingdom into a political unit resembling a
state, and in order to gain greater control and greater benefits from his
scattered territorial holdings, Conrad instituted greater numbers of this
group to administer these holdings. The social crystallization of this group,
derived from the Germanic retinues, took several centuries. The
Carolingian magnates and their East Frankish successors maintained
retinues of dependents on their lands with shares in the estates. It was a
process which allowed taking personal advantages.
To illustrate, Otto II had requested a large force of heavily armed and
mounted reinforcements while campaigning in Italy in 981. These troops
were drawn from about fifty standing secular and ecclesiastic entourages
of ministerials, of unfree retainers with or without fiefs, made available by
the magnates of the realm. During the 11th century the number retainers
was to increase, when the clearing and increasing inner colonization of the
forested interior of the realm made land grants available to the secular and
ecclesiastical magnates for subdivision and distribution as fiefs among
their unfree ministerials in return for services. Some of the land and
associated administrative offices would also be available to free vassals
paying homage.413 Both groups of fighting warriors were hereditary
landowning orders, living in fortified houses and stone castles.
The rise of this group of unfree bondsmen now had its pronounced
beginning, so that after 1100 the majority of German knights belonged to
that order of ministerials414, a designation which characterized more their
hereditary status than their role as armed horsemen. Along with a gradual
consolidation of the sword-bearing aristocracy, they and their families
formed a cohesive social interest group. It would provide the fighting force
of the crusades. The hereditary fief, increasing in importance provided
dependable support in return for obedient loyalty, for landownership and
service, especially military service. Conrad's feudal law assured the
economic security of this lower nobility, because their bond with the realm
was closer and stronger than that of the established nobility. While the
latter was inclined to follow its own interests, these bondsmen owed
obedience and service without question and could not act on their own
initiative, as along with their holdings they were considered transferable
property. Since all ministerial possessions belonged to his lord,
inheritances, marriages, mobility of service under other lords, were subject
124 Chapter Two
more important ones among them, who provided the audience for the
medieval lyrics, epics and romances.
In southern Italy aspirations created conflicts among the magnates. In
1038, Conrad moved his army to the borders of the Byzantine territories
and established order, but caught by the summer heat, the campaign was
very costly in human lives, including that of the young queen Gunhild.423
It was to be his last major undertaking. Conrad II died in 1039, in Utrecht
of a severe attack of gout, the result of a diet rich in meat and alcohol, only
about 50 years of age. His innards were buried in Utrecht, funerary
processions and celebrations accompanied his corpse, as it was taken past
Cologne, Mainz and Worms to Speyer, for burial in the crypt of his last
resting place, his cathedral.424 He left an expanded realm at peace.
unjust king Peter and elevated one of their princes, Aba, who wanted to
demonstrate his might by devastating the imperial lands along the Danube.
Henry led three successful campaigns against him between 1042 and 1044,
received the submission of the Hungarians and in 1045 reinstated Peter,
who, with his nobles, became his vassal. Aba was tried and executed.427
Henry's appearance with his army along the eastern borders of Saxony
sufficed to realign the Slavic Liuticians and to reinstate the Polish duke. In
1046 he, along with the dukes of Pomerania and Bohemia paid homage to
the German king, thereby restoring Henry's sovereignty along all of the
eastern borders.428 In the west, king Henry I of France showed concern
when in 1042 Henry III married Agnes of Poitou in what seemed to be an
encirclement. The king of France was not enthused about the arrangements
along his eastern border, when Henry III secured the peace along his
western border by apparent encirclement, when he married Agnes, the
daughter of William V of Aquitaine and Poitou, in 1042 at Ingelheim. For
some unknown reason Henry III expelled the minstrels and jesters from
the festivities. The Regnum Burgundie was given an independent
chancellery. In Lorraine the ducal succession (1044/46) in Upper and
Lower Lorraine entailed unrest and uprisings, leading the claimant,
Godfrey of Bouillon, duke of southern Lotharingia to arrange an alliance
with Henry I, king of France, whereupon Henry III deprived him of all of
his fiefs, inducing Godfrey in turn to raid the imperial lands. In 1045, he
submitted and following a year's imprisonment, he was reinvested with
Upper Lorraine. Lower Lorraine was bestowed on the brother of the duke
of Bavaria, both of them Luxemburgians.429
Henry III had received the best education available, with great
personal, theological interests in the writings of the Church Fathers, rooted
in his own piety.430 His mother and the bishops to whom he was entrusted
had introduced him to the teaching emanating from the reform monastery
of Cluny. These may have reinforced his ascetic traits. His father had been
concerned that as future king he combine education with a strong sense of
his own divinely sanctioned majesty, in order to substantiate his
appearance before men of intellect and politics. Henry realized these
expectations, for he was entirely convinced of the sacred dignity of his
royalty, and charged with the special responsibility for church and
monarchy.431 Barely nine years of age, Henry III had been crowned co-
king and had bestowed on him the duchy of Bavaria, c.1026.432 He gained
administrative experience, when at age fourteen, in 1031, he became duke
of Bavaria, in 1038 duke of Swabia and king of Burgundy, in 1039 duke
of Carinthia, underscoring the functional nature of these dukedoms. He
demonstrated his royal prerogative to dispose of these functional positions
The Salians 127
at will, and assigned them to individuals of his own choice, without regard
to their tribal origins. Strangers in their lands, they were dependent on the
central authority. He acted similarly with dignitaries of the church, when
in 1044 he deposed the archbishop of Ravenna. One drew an analogy with
Christ's clearing the moneychangers from the temple and hailed him as the
restorer of a new golden Davidic age. For some of Henry's supporters, he
was the postfiguration of Christ, the Vicarius Christi, whose sacred
kingship was self-evident.433 The Middle Ages came to see in David the
ideal monarch.
Settled conditions in Italy allowed the return of peace to the land,
despite questionable papal dealings in Rome, during which Gregory VI
paid off his predecessor Benedict IX, who no longer wished to be pope,
with a huge sum for the throne.434 This practice of Simony, condemned in
Acts 8:9-24, was the acquisition of a spiritual office through the payment
of a large sum of money. It was yet to be condemned as a heresy. Holders
of high church offices were particularly vulnerable to such a charge, if
they belonged to the close entourage of the monarch or his magnates.435
The reasoning is based on the analogy that the church is the bride of
Christ. To “sell” her makes the church a harlot. Hence, those who engaged
in simony were likened to procurers, adulterers and fornicators and all
those who engaged in wickedness.
Following his successes north of the Alps, Henry III also wanted to
assume the rule in the Regnum Italie as emperor and to ensure for the
entire realm the true peace and the establishment of the true Church of
Christ. Henry perceived a threat to these ideas in the princely and papal
collusions, particularly rife in Rome. The designations for the apostolic
throne had once again reverted to the power struggles among the Roman
interest groups. Henry wanted to advance the Christianization of the
remaining Europe and needed the support of a reliably founded Papacy in
Rome. He convoked a synod at Sutri on December 20, 1046. As a
consequence Gregory VI and two previous popes, Sylvester III and
Benedict IX, were deposed autocratically.436 Henry III could not afford to
be crowned emperor by a pope, whose legitimacy was in the least
questionable. Sutri came to be seen as a synod of momentous consequence,
as by its means the reform movement gained access to the papal throne.
Inadvertently, the reform synod was probably Henry's greatest
accomplishment as a reformer.437 He was credited for having created
pivotal conditions within which the Papacy could evolve into the
autonomous and supreme authority of the Middle Ages. The synod
ushered in a decade of mutually supportive imperial and papal collaboration,
as with a series of German, imperial bishops, reform ascended the papal
128 Chapter Two
knowledge in church affairs and laws, it was a type of senate at the pope's
side.444
Henry III had set the tone for the new idea emerging from the reform
synods, while Leo IX applied their spirit, intent on establishing the
dominium mundi, the primacy of the Papacy in Christendom, though at
first only in response to Byzantine claims. The prohibition of simony and
insistence on celibacy figured prominently on the agendas of his reform
synods. Thanks to Humbert's analyses, these topics later implicated and
condemned the royal participation in these practices, including the
emperor's presumptuous right to depose a pope. Annually, at Easter, Leo
convoked synods of all bishops to Rome, thereby presenting the church as
a coherent entity. Those who could not attend received his visits, not
always welcome.445 Questions pertaining to the implications of simony
and celibacy were constant agenda items. The Papacy presented proactive
initiatives, even if the realization of the idea lagged behind the reality of
the obstacles. In time, legates would represent the pope. With imperial
support, the pope abandoned the narrow understanding of his passive
position of bishop of Rome, and introduced the itinerant Papacy along
imperial lines, an extensive tour of inspection of the religious foundations.
In doing so, he exchanged his remote, abstract role, into a central,
concrete, visible and personal identity. Rome was wherever the pope was.
He provided early signs of a universal authority. About one hundred and
seventy privileges were issued to the monasteries and convents in Italy,
France, Burgundy and Germany, which ultimately created the bond
between the Papacy and the monastic institutions, so supportive of the
papal position during the impending “Investiture Struggle”.446 At this
stage, the Two Authorities demonstrated their united intention. As
imperial bishop, Leo IX seems to have been integrated into the Empire as
one of its functionaries.447
In the east, Hungary underwent turmoil and dynastic strife leading to
incursions across the imperial border along with Bavarian complicity.
However, the new Hungarian king needed the emperor's friendship. Henry
III tried to referee in the disputes among the Slavic dukes, but the
Liuticians defeated an imperial army in 1056. Aware of the instability
along the eastern borders, Henry III established marches as buffers, with
defensive obligations for their settlers, against Slavic incursions. These
projects included the construction of the imperial castle at Nürnberg as a
military jumping off point against Bohemia.448
Henry concluded his reign by curtailing the power of the dukes, or by
bestowing the dukedoms to families unrelated to the populations. Thus,
Bavaria was assigned to his sons Henry and Conrad and after Conrad's
The Salians 131
death to the empress Agnes. New conflicts flared among the duchies ruled
by younger generations.449 A cause of upset was Henry's innovative
appointment of unfree liegemen, competent and loyal ministerials, to
positions of responsibility. During the reign of Henry IV, some of these
ministerials rose to the highest religious posts and such secular rank as
chancellor and through military service to positions of administrative
leadership in the realm. Under the Hohenstaufen, Werner von Bolanden
owned seventeen castles and could send 1100 knights into the field. One
of them took king Richard the Lionheart captive. Another, Hermann von
Salza, rose to be Grand Master of the 'Teutonic Order'. Under the Staufen,
the ministerials were the backbone of the imperial administration.450
Selected and rewarded for their competence and capacities, ministerials,
counts and margraves were assuming roles of responsibility. As was noted
above, these ministerials were a particular German institution in which a
widely ranging service nobility of noble bondsmen was born into
hereditary service to their lord, with specified freedoms.451 Eventually
some gained the highest functions in the realm, such as imperial stewards
and marshals and regional judges. Henry's foundation in Goslar became
not only the singular educational center to prepare the centralization of the
royal administration by means of the education of a reservoir of highly
literate clerics and loyal administrators, links between the realm and the
episcopate, all non-Saxons. It also became the focal point of a developing
royal Salian landscape of strong points and residences, staffed by
outsiders, royal ministerials, mostly Swabians.452 These intentions irritated
the Saxons, because it indicated an estrangement from their habitual,
Ottonian, royal seats. The local silver mines made Goslar a logical
economic, administrative center and administrative training ground.
Henry III espoused the cause of the Cluniac reforms to affect knightly
morality, to rein in the worst excesses of the age causing murder, pillage,
rape, blood feuds and the despoiling of churches and other religious
foundations and to bring to a long suffering humanity a faint hope of peace
and security in their lifetimes. In this Henry III sympathized with remedies
that had been developed in southern France to deal with the random
violence, such as the ideas of the Pax Dei, the “Peace of God”,453
instituted during the tenth century in the spirit of the Cluniac reforms
which affected the life of the world and especially that of the knights. The
church began to demonstrate a changed attitude towards war. Of necessity,
the church in France had diverted the inclination for military conflict
towards religious causes. In Burgundy Henry III had become familiar with
this Peace of God, an ordinance forbidding the use of arms on holy days
and weekdays from Wednesday to Monday, in remembrance of the Lord's
132 Chapter Two
suffering. Its intent was to protect the weak including churches, clergy and
other consecrated places from attack and plunder. In Burgundy, this Peace
of God was imposed by the church to restrict the feuds, which disrupted
the social order in France.454 This Pax forbade fighting on all high
holydays. In analogy, Henry, an ardent supporter of the Cluniac reform
movement, instituted his own decrees of the King's Peace, actually a
euphemism for royal expansion and an unsuccessful attempt to instill
peace among the nobility, preaching sermons to uphold the peace
throughout the realm. A poem by Adam von Bremen praises him and
implores him to end war among the peoples, bring peace to the cities and
to forge swords into plowshares.455
Henry III was inclined towards the supplementary Treuga Dei, the
Truce of God, which prohibited fighting on Sundays and on the last three
weekdays, representing the three days of Christ's suffering. It was even
posited, that whoever spilled the blood of a Christian, spilled the blood of
Christ. In all, three quarters of the year would be free of strife. The
problem lay in the circumstance that a knight's holdings tended to be
scattered over wide areas, so that it was in a knight's interest to round them
off. With adequate means, he could resort to marriage, inheritance,
purchase or exchange. Unfortunately, acquisition by force of arms was a
favorite method to bring about the same result. For the people living on the
land this had dire consequences, since the general conduct of a war meant
damaging the opponent's position by looting and burning crops and
villages. The king's interest in such an equalization of justice implied
greater legal administrative centralization and most importantly, it implied
the concept of obedience to superior authority.456 The beneficiaries of such
a peace were the weaker social groups, the houses of God and their
holdings, their clerics, pilgrims, women, Jews, peasants and their harvests,
merchants and their trade.
The pent up frustrations of those favoring the fighting life would
ultimately find relief fighting the infidel during the crusades. By the early
13th century the crusades had become a fixed feature of medieval society.
Recruitment, like fundraising from private resources, followed persuasive
preaching. It was also in accordance with the structures of medieval
society determined by kinship, vassalage, family ties, group memberships
and a range of social pressures.457 Regrettably, although motivated by
intense religious fervor by most of those seeking to pray at the Holy
Grave, the crusades later deteriorated into displays of greed and avarice
among the leading nobles intent on settlement and colonization, and
jealous demonstrations of status, intrigue, treachery and treason. Unarmed
pilgrimages, by definition pilgrims were forbidden to bear arms,
The Salians 133
accompanied by armed guards, set out as early as 1016 and in 1033, the
millennium of Christ's death. In 1064/65, the bishop of Bamberg led some
7000 pilgrims to Palestine.458 When this crowd reached Palestine it came
under attack by robbers it found the protection of Moslem authorities, who
were afraid of the economic losses which the insecurity on the road would
cause.459 In 1107, the king of Norway needed 60 ships to transport his
followers to the east. Clearly, there existed a crusading spirit outside those
armed pilgrimages later to be classified as crusades.
It was Urban II who accomplished the synthesis of pilgrimage to
Jerusalem and crusade.460 Recognizing the pilgrims' vulnerability, the
order of warrior monks, who combined the principles of the monastic rule
with the permission to bear arms, the multi-ethnic Knights of the Temple of
Solomon, Templars for short, would be founded in 1120, to offer a degree
of security to all pilgrims on the pilgrimage routes in Palestine.461 This
development effected a transition in the definition of the Christian life
exemplified by a withdrawal from the affairs of the world to an active
involvement with it. The Christian knight became the exemplar.462 In the
Salian Empire, conditions were not so severe as in France, so that the
Cluniac ideas of the Peace and Truce of God did not have the same degree
of urgency and Henry III considered it a Christian ruler's most solemn and
noble duty and task, being the anointed of the Lord, to be the bringer of
peace. It was not to be the role of the church in the Empire. As the “Prince
of Peace”, Henry III strove for the emissary consciousness to coincide
with the Salian administrative ambitions, especially his own.463 The
pursuit was to be in vain since it was based on the idealism of his
theocracy and affected by the personalities involved and the contemporary
political realities. Beset by conspiracies and wars, the future of the royal
position was to be too vulnerable. Yet, the growing conviction of the
people that they lived in sin and badly needed forgiveness provided the
church with an unbeatable long-term instrument.
Though the bishops were still the chief administrative and sometimes
military supports of the emperor, of growing importance was the changing
understanding with which bishops approached their functions, at a time,
when Henry III was demanding an uncompromising control over the
church. It was still his understanding that the functionaries of the church
combined in their person the duties to the crown, and hence it had to be he,
the first to do so, who invested bishops and abbots with the ring. It was
symbolic of the mystical marriage between the bishop and groom and his
church and bride. The crook symbolized the temporary territorial
possessions, for which the bishop owed the monarch the oath of fealty.
The monarch set himself up as de facto judge over all officers of the
134 Chapter Two
church. That this irked the princes of the church can be imagined. It was to
prove a collision course with the Papacy. At this time, it seems natural,
that in disputes between worldly and ecclesiastical magnates, the kings
Conrad II and Henry III sided with the representatives of the church.464
This favor promoted the institutional continuity, cohesion and growing
strength of the bishoprics. On the other hand, the church promoted the
territorial interests of the lords as a means to gain their own territorial
autonomy. The secular orders were ravaged by deaths in their ranks,
frequently of entire successions, which did not favor territorial expansion
and such an institutional continuity, through the reversion of fiefs to royal
control. It follows, that disadvantaged secular interests would store up
resentments against the crown. It favored rather the continuous
restructuring of strong, ascending families.465 Imperceptibly it favored the
emergence of the church holdings from royal control, as it favored
territorial growth and autonomy of the princes of the church and their
foundations. In their own interests, the princes of the church favored the
growing territorial particularism of the lords and all of their own
transformation into princes of the realm.
Probably influenced by the contemporary spirit of liberating reforms
and coincident with them, there began to appear among the bishops
resentments over the emperor's unilateral, highhanded and even abusive
dealing with them, their appointments, transfers, demotions and
dismissals. They became sensitive to being caught between the loyalty
owing to the worldly power of the emperor and the obedience they owed
to the spiritual authority of the pope. Both thought that as representatives
of the divine, obedience to them was actually obedience through them and
the church to God. However, a natural piety also motivated Henry III to
draw closer to the church as he demonstrated by his close ties to the abbots
Odilo and Hugh of Cluny, asking the latter even to act as godfather for his
son and heir, Henry IV (1050-1106). In 1048, Henry III had raised, bishop
Brun of Toul, to the papal throne as Leo IX. With him, church reform was
established in Rome as he attracted several competent administrators,
including the controversial Hildebrand. With them, he reorganized the
papal administration along the outward semblance of the imperial
chancellery. The restructuring included the formation of the College of
Cardinals. During many travels and free of jealousies and without tensions
between them, he collaborated with the devout Henry III to promote the
advent of the Imperium Christianum. Leo approved, confirmed and
protected church holdings, promoted the purification of the church,
condemned simony and sponsored the celibacy of priests.466 Clearly, the
religious and secular positions were approaching a new configuration,
The Salians 135
reflecting a new social climate. During this period, what was already
known as the Pseudo-Isidore during the Carolingian period, gained support
for two positions: the primacy of the pope as sole head of the Christian
church, and the immunity of bishops.
Southern Italy, including the principality of Benevento had been
infiltrated by increasing numbers of Normans, which constituted a
challenge to papal interests in the region. Without official imperial
support, but resorting to the appeal to protect the Christian church against
infidels, by promising impunity for their crimes, the remission of sins and
by promising martyrdom to those who fell in battle, a crusading
indulgence in fact,467 in about 1053 Leo IX raised a mercenary army in
Germany and the Papal States to fight these Christian Normans. Initially
adverse to war, the church adopted St. Augustine's idea of “just war”,
where war was considered justifiable. It was an about-face by the church
and a subversion of principles at this time, until 150 years later the
proclamation of crusades against those deemed the Christian enemies of
the church, became standard practice. Leo sanctioned fighting in the
realm, ignoring the principles embedded in both the Peace and the Truce
of God. The army suffered a defeat in 1053 and Leo was taken prisoner.
Released, he died the following April.468 Pope Leo's tactic, however, was
to provide the model for the later crusades, which were first preached forty
years later. The pope's initiative not only contravened the rules against
fighting, but also rewarded the military campaign legally, ethically and
spiritually. It is this feature, which distinguished a voluntary pilgrimage
from a crusade. The events marked a consequential turning point in that
the popes not only directed military action against the enemies of
Christendom, but also against any perceived or declared enemies within
the Christian community.
Despite entreaties directed to Constantinople, which however,
undiplomatically but ideologically, insisted on the primacy of the Roman
pope over the Byzantine patriarch, the Byzantines excommunicated the
Romans and refused to send help against the Normans of southern Italy.
The Latins responded by excommunicating the patriarch Michael on July
16, 1054. The patriarch responded with a curse. This date marked the
Schism, the final split between the western and the eastern Christian
churches.469 Leo had died in April of that year. Little would now interfere
with the formation of a Norman state. Hildebrand was credited with the
complete reversal of the papal policy and the improved relationship
between the Papacy and the Normans,470 contributing to the pope's
increasing power and to the legitimization of the Norman claims in
southern Italy and then Sicily, when they agreed to become vassals of the
136 Chapter Two
pope. The Norman gains in southern Italy, which the pope awarded
unilaterally, came at imperial expense.
A papal alliance with the Byzantines against the Normans did not
materialize. In 1055, Henry III set out on his second journey to Rome.
Accompanied by the pope, Victor II, and 120 bishops he convoked a
reform synod in Florence, where the pope forbade the random sale of
church property and held several bishops to account for violating the rules
of celibacy and against simony.471 With an eye to long-term relations
within the Empire rather than foreign policy, the five-year old child-king
Henry IV was betrothed to Bertha, the daughter of the count of Turin.
Henry's reign marked the end of an era, as the sacerdotal monarchy
was stripped of its empowering controls. Henry III was charged with the
violation of his own principles of justice, peace, piety and love of God.472
Unintentionally he undermined the very support and cohesion of the
realm, the spiritual unity of the Imperium Christianum under the joint
theocratic leadership of one pope and one emperor, proclaimed
symbolically by the oriented and occidented architecture of the imperial
cathedrals, when he inadvertently promoted the strengthening of the
Papacy. Regrettably, he showed himself something of a “sorcerer's
apprentice”, who brought a circumstance into being, over which his
successors were to have no control. This spiritual harmony was an
idealization and not to endure in the face of disappointing realities. It
obscured the reality of serious problems with a veil of lofty abstractions.
In the north conflicts arose between the ambitious missionary interest
of archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg-Bremen, who wanted to establish a
northern archdiocese including Iceland, Greenland, Scandinavia, Finland
and the Baltic coasts, as identified by Pope Leo IX, and the more
pragmatic dukes of Saxony, the Billungs. The emperor sided with the
archbishop and hemmed in the Billungs, by expanding the land holdings
of neighboring bishoprics.
In Lorraine, the return to unsettled conditions led to such rare events as
alliances between king Henry of France, Edward the Confessor of
England, and Sven Estridson of Denmark with the emperor Henry III,
directed against the mighty count Baldwin of Flanders, a vassal of the
French king. Despite being excommunicated by Pope Leo IX, Baldwin
persisted in raiding Lorraine. Imperial military efforts accomplished little,
as a power center was taking shape in the west. It was to gain in
significance, when its duke Godfrey married Beatrix, the widowed
margravine of Canossa-Tuscany. Henry succeeded in having the
Lotharingian magnates drive out Godfrey and upon his return from his
second expedition to Italy, 1055, he had Beatrix and her daughter Mathilda
The Salians 137
in his train.473 The latter would yet play a significant role in the troubles of
Henry IV.
In the Regnum Italie, April 1055, a sacerdotal Henry III raised his last
bishop to the Papacy. Bishop Gebhard of Eichstätt took the name Victor II
and soon acted the part of the imperial functionary. Victor pursued the
reforms and continued the struggle against simony. The emperor increased
his powers by enlarging the papal domain by the addition of the duchy of
Spoleto, not only because he wanted to strengthen the pope, but mainly
because he considered the Papal States as a buffering march against the
Normans and the growing power of Tuscany under its Lotharingian duke.
In so doing, he had continued his policy of integrating church offices, even
the Papacy, into the administration of the Empire. This in itself is not
surprising, since these popes continued to be bishops in bishoprics of the
realm and as such, they had a tradition of being co-opted for administrative
functions in the kingdom.
The confluence of internal and external tensions aggravated the
situation for the Empire. Opposition was rising against his autocratic rule
and increasing estrangement marred his relationship with his subjects. But,
rather than ameliorating the growing tensions, he resorted to the self-
aggrandizement and remoteness of his own personage, announcing that
any violation of his majesty would invite the death penalty. As early as
1047, an assassination may have been plotted by the Saxon nobles against
Henry III.474
In fact, Henry applied the Ottonian policy of making the imperial
church the foundation of the Empire. Henry's understanding of his sacred,
high-priestly role on earth, easily misunderstood, gave him the right to
claim the authority over the church and to invest such church support as
was needed to provide the realm with a solid and stable basis,475 which
throughout his reign counteracted the potential threats of unrest and
rebellion from his nobility. On the other hand, the growing insistence of
the reform movement to demand freedom of the church from worldly
authority and to subject the king's functions to Canon Law and to raise the
episcopal consecration above the oath sworn to the king, introduced
serious points of political contention. This belief was to challenge the
foundations and the stability of the realm. Disinterest marked the imperial
attitude towards the east. The Slavic border wars were left to the ability
and resources of the local interest groups. Neglect affected the eastern
bishoprics, including Magdeburg. Reverses were considerable, including
the destruction of the Saxon forces shortly before Henry's death. These
sins of omission may have been symptomatic for a Salian disenchantment
with the eastern frontier and a return to their western and southern core
138 Chapter Two
lands.476 But even in Bavaria, a rift developed between its duke and the
king over differences in the Hungarian policy. Royal high handedness
compromised his relations with the contrary factions among the high
nobility. The list of complaints and complainants was long and varied, the
king's responses unsatisfactory. Fortunately, armed conflict did not erupt,
because of the deaths of his adversaries. Henry's nobles resented his
unyielding firmness, his punishing confiscations and excessive favor of the
clergy, even though both nobility and clergy belonged to the same social
class. They faulted him for no longer representing their interests, for
having abandoned peace and justice, piety and the love of God, in favor of
severity, confiscations and episcopal preferences. Estrangement from his
secular supporters characterized the closing years of his reign, owing to his
reliance on toadying advisors and favorites at court, and unwarranted
investitures in high church offices.477 The internal tensions were such that
the open conflict between the crown and its magnates was merely
postponed, because all manner of immense difficulty broke out during the
minority of Henry IV.
Troublesome decades of a prolonged power struggle were to ensue,
during which the consolidated Papacy became the principal rival of the
Empire in the pursuit of the realization of the universal Imperium Sacrum
Romanorum on earth, as militant popes claimed control over the imperial
church and challenged the king's right to invest bishops. The neighboring
kingdoms were engaged in their growth and consolidation for which
opposition to the Empire provided good cause, but which in turn
contributed to the serious internal problems, which arose for the crown
within the realm.478 Henry's military ventures against them were not
marked by outstanding successes. This confluence was a serious, even
existential complication for the realm. Its resources were not sufficient to
maintain the hegemony over the kingdoms on its periphery.
On October 5, 1056, the day of his thirty-ninth birthday, Henry III
died, probably exhausted from his determined struggle to defend the
theocratic principles. The chronicler blamed it on his eating a stag's liver.
His death struggle lasted eight days. Was his a regrettably premature
death? Probably not. The significantly improved conditions during the
“regency” of the reigning empress Agnes may have prevented a
calamitous crisis for the realm. The glorious beginning of his reign was
tarnishing towards its increasingly autocratic end. On October 28, he was
laid to rest in the crypt of Speyer Cathedral. His heart was removed to
Goslar. On his deathbed, Henry III had entrusted the welfare of the prince
to Pope Victor II. Once again, a young widowed empress and her infant
The Salians 139
woman, the greed and arbitrariness of the courtiers, the quality of the
king's education and the concern over the Empire's prestige give the
motives a ring of sincerity. The Annolied496 paints a favorable picture,
while the Anno shrine represents an enhancing legend of his role. Anno II,
along with Adalbert, the archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, happily
practiced nepotism, transferred much of the royal domain to church
holdings.497 The empress Agnes wanted to leave the world and enter a
convent. Henry IV must have felt affronted and deeply injured in his
sacred majesty. This may account for his future relations with the religious
and secular magnates of the realm. Anno assumed responsibility for the
complex affairs of state and with the collaboration of others, soon set them
aright, by reversing unsound measures instituted by Henry III, and
demonstrating another aspect of the continuing transpersonal realm.
Eventually the citizens of Cologne drove Anno from the city.
In Rome, in 1059, Hildebrand had been instrumental in raising Pope
Nicholas II to the papal throne by members of the reform movement.
Hildebrand may have performed the first papal coronation with the triple
tiara, signifying papal sovereignty. Furthermore, the laudations, which had
been associated exclusively with the imperial coronations, were now used
for the coronation of the pope.498 A council in the Lateran deliberated
about an improved papal election and authorized the cardinal bishops, an
inner group of cardinals, to augment their ranks with additional cardinals,
thereby anticipating the future College of Cardinals.499 Imbued with a
growing sense of self-awareness, the papal electors derived the mandate
from the apostolic authority, as they ruled out any conditions under which
a layman could invest someone with a position in the church. They alone
would play the determining role in papal elections, thus preventing
simony. Most important was the placement of this procedure under church
law, to which royal law was subordinate and which equipped the Papacy
with its primacy in Christendom. It was a question of the freedom of the
church from imperial intervention. A papal decree marked the determining
shift towards the papal primacy. It was too late for the crown to establish
its rights of approval over the papal candidacy. The king/emperor, other
clerics and the population of Rome would have passive observer status and
only have the right of acclamation.500 The king's role in these matters was
not even under discussion. His military power would be contested, because
the Papacy had gained the vassalage of the southern Normans, as well as
income and military support against all who threatened interference with
it. Legalities were not observed. Agnes and her imperial court had seen no
reason for agitation about these events and the decisions taken. The
Lateran Council of 1059 excluded any German representation and
The Salians 145
peers of the realm for associating with counselors of humble birth, and for
the threat, which they represented to their positions, as Henry IV tried to
reclaim the former position of the crown unilaterally. At no time did
Henry's autocratic government reflect the traditional administration by the
consensus of the leading magnates.506 Repeatedly, he could not count on
the loyal support of his magnates, who did not hesitate to equate him with
the Antichrist and the godless incarnation of evil as such. On the other
hand, the grandeur of Speyer Cathedral attests to the majesty and spiritual
nature of his character. It was he, who would bring this favorite project
begun by his grandfather and continued by his father to near completion.
Concerning the Italian policy and the settling of the papal schism, one
counselor in particular among the prelates, Adalbert, archbishop of
Hamburg-Bremen, countermanded and postponed Henry's announced
expedition into Italy at great cost to the imperial prestige in the Regnum
Italie. This show of indecision did allow the anti-imperial forces in the
Papacy to distance themselves from Henry IV. The court did not
appreciate the lurking dangers. Anno was instrumental in the overthrow of
Adalbert, mentioned above, and returned to power, effectively relegating
Henry to his minority once again.
In Italy, the losses to the imperial position were equally in need of
recovery. Unfortunately, efforts were to be too late. While Anno of
Cologne and Siegfried I of Mainz had sought the reconciliation of the
court with the Papacy, the pope needed the king as possible recourse
against the expanding Normans. However, as early as 1059 the citizenry of
Milan, strong and rich because of its long distance trade, but in conflict
with the urban nobility, strove for political influence and the
codetermination of the future of the city and revolted against the ruling but
worldly clergy and for, what was to become a future problem, urban
autonomy. Once again, the Salian supporters in Italy were disappointed, as
a new expedition in 1066 was postponed indefinitely, even though the
Normans were under the walls of Rome. Clearly, Henry IV did not prove
himself an effective protector and defender of the church.507 During the
next few years Henry IV had to deal with other problems of his own
making: reputedly seduced by a womanizing life of debauchery and
promiscuity,508 Henry became so ill, that his successor was sought. True or
not, the defamations and accusations point to a destabilizing climate of
suspicion and doubt around the king. Upon his recovery, the marriage with
his betrothed Bertha of Turin was celebrated in 1066, but the 15-year-old
child-groom resented his loss of freedom and two years later wanted to
divorce his now 16-year-old child-bride, claiming that the marriage had
not been consummated. Unknown in Ottonian-Salian times, in 1069, at the
148 Chapter Two
weaknesses and a peace was concluded early in 1074, on Saxon terms. The
Slavic campaign was cancelled. Assailed from within and without, Henry
had to concede the razing of the imperial fortresses in Saxony and the
royal castles were destroyed, including the Harzburg with its graves of
Henry's firstborn and his younger brother,522 which returned the king to the
attack and this time the bloodiest pitched battle in the kingdom to date,
cost many lives on both sides, but resulted in the king's undisputed victory.
In 1075, the opposition had started to crumble as the nobles began to
intrigue against one another and Henry's forces destroyed the rebel Saxon
peasant army in a massacre. Against the Saxon reluctance to yield, Henry
brought up another army in 1075, composed of troops from all the other
duchies and this time the Saxon and Thuringian leaders surrendered
unconditionally to Henry and a peace was negotiated. Not inclined to show
generosity, an untrustworthy Henry missed a great opportunity to institute
a consolidating peace and instead arranged a humiliating spectacle of the
surrender of the nobles, confiscated their property and imprisoned them.
They were subsequently scattered throughout the kingdom.
The kingdom had recovered its pinnacle of prestige and Henry
designated his two-year old son Conrad to be his successor. At Christmas
1075, in Goslar, the assembled lords elected Henry's son Conrad. The
razed fortresses were rebuilt. Subsequently the most imposing ones were
leveled again, so that today only minimal outlines are still visible. While
the dynastic succession was assured, the Ottonian-Salian continuity was
disrupted. On the eve of the disputes between the imperial interests, first
formulated by the Ottonians and those of the reformed Papacy over
investiture in 1076, this was particularly consequential, as the dispute
resulted in the mutual negation of the representatives of regnum and
sacerdotium.523 The new Pope, Gregory VII, wanted to return to the model
of unity based on the concord between sacerdotium and regnum, once
promoted by Henry III, in which however, the primacy rested with the
sacerdotium.524 He had discovered a canon in the records of the dubious
Fourth Council of Constantinople (869-70), that Pope Hadrian II had
supported a decree prohibiting any metropolitan or bishop from consecrating
anyone who had received a bishopric from a lay person. It anathematized
any layman, who intervened in the election or promotion of bishops. This
Canon 22 quickly established itself in the papal arsenal of Canon Law.525
It effected a change in the weighting of the electoral vote. Dissenters were
ignored, while majority votes became decisive as an expression of the
divine will.
The reestablished order through force was deceptive and left him
vulnerable in the struggle for supremacy throughout the realm. Political
152 Chapter Two
the time of Pepin, the church had striven for worldly power and property,
something Pope John XII had wanted guaranteed even before Otto entered
Rome. Otto made the promises on condition that Ottonian suzerainty be
observed and that the Roman clergy and nobility swear that a pope be
elected, who would swear an oath of allegiance to the emperor, before the
pope was consecrated. Otto III had assumed Byzantine attitudes, wanted to
make Rome his residence and relegate the Bishop of Rome to a similar
status as that enjoyed by the Patriarch of Constantinople under his
emperor. With Otto's death and the succession of Henry II, the focus on
Rome and the Papacy abated somewhat, even though Rome had to be
maintained as the focus of Empire because of the link, which it provided
with ancient Rome and its imperial traditions and institutions. Almost as a
reaction to Otto's obsessions, Henry II paid greater attention to Bamberg
as another Rome. The reforms proposed by the institutions of the church,
allowed Roman family interests to consolidate the papal position by the
creation of a papal administrative infrastructure, including the curia and a
predecessor of the later College of Cardinals.533
During the ninth and tenth centuries, the Papacy had been actively
engaged in gaining territorial control in Italy, while it laid increasing claim
to the spiritual domain. In addition, the mythical “Constantinian Donation”
came to be used to substantiate the temporal position of the Papacy, even
though Otto III had exposed the document as a forgery probably prepared
during the last quarter of the 8th century. As the Papacy assumed ever
more of the ancient Roman imperial structural and administrative aspects
for itself, it equated the papal residence with the center of Imperial Rome.
The Papacy was laying the foundations for its claim to the primacy over
universal Christianity. To demonstrate its authority publicly, the popes
came to wear tiaras, the pallium, miters, a cross rather than a crook, and to
underscore the papal claims implied in the “Constantinian Donation” to
ride a white horse, led ceremoniously by the emperor. It emphasized the
emperor's subservience to the pope. An anachronistic fresco dated to 1247
in the chapel of St. Sylvester in Santi Quattro Coronati in Rome
commemorates such an event on the occasion of the coronation of Lothar
III in 1133. As the Papacy entered into competition with the secular
Empire, the outward indicators underscored the pope's assumption of
growing secular responsibilities towards the exclusive leadership of the
universal Christian community. Its ultimate aim was to render the secular
Empire redundant. To this end, the Papacy took advantage of its archives
to use them to redefine its present status and objectives in terms of an
invented past.534 What did not conform to the demands of the church was
heretical. Faith came to be equated with obedience. In time, any opposition
The Salians 155
target of the reform movement in the church. Henry III had intervened
personally in the affairs of the Papacy, when at the Synod of Sutri he
deposed three popes and installed a fourth one. Though this action found
the approval of the reformers, himself a strong supporter of the reform
movement, Henry's intervention was ultimately condemned as an abuse of
prerogative and as heresy. The papal infrastructure had drawn on the
reformed monasteries for trained specialists and as these were promoted
through the ranks, the reforms were gaining in influence until the
administrative structure produced its own papal candidates, thereby
strengthening the position of the Papacy. Celibacy of the priesthood was
one of the earliest goals of the reform. Since churchmen were married to
the Virgin and the church, marriage and intercourse with women was seen
as a type of bigamy.539 In practice, however, such activities escaped close
scrutiny unless the cohabitation attracted notoriety. Resistance to its
enforcement, however, was vociferous.540
Simony proved the more far-reaching issue, since it compromised the
authority of rulers to make appointments in the religious institutions in
their jurisdictions. Both issues were peripheral to the dispute, as both sides
were agreed on them. Behind this controversy, the real disputes revolved
around the actual ownership of property within the kingdom, practically
expressed in the oath of fealty to the king. Since medieval authority rested
on land ownership and territorial control, the power conflict between the
monarchy and the Papacy was inevitable. We know from their sponsorship
of the arts and architecture, that hitherto, German bishops, abbots and even
monks had been able to receive the call from other bishoprics and abbeys
and to accept such positions, including promotions, rather freely, thereby
being able to contribute to a cohesive, strengthening and stabilizing
network within the kingdom. Already in Carolingian times, prayer
communities had linked the religious realm, while the exchange of books
among the monasteries had tied them into a networking “national”
community.541 In the oath of fealty, the princes of the church received any
appertaining property from the suzerain, symbolized by investiture with a
scepter, who left it nominally in the hands and administrative control of
the royal church following investiture.542 For bishops and abbots
investiture was coupled with fealty and the implied expectation, that this
ownership was linked to the servitium regis. While the emperor considered
such land ownership to be temporal, reverting to the crown following the
death of its grantee, – their positions could not be passed on through
inheritance –, for the papal church, the swearing of oaths contravened
Canon Law. Homage was unacceptable for its members, as such land
grants became permanent possessions of the church and sacred, with the
The Salians 157
wielded the power behind the papal throne of several popes. It was not an
election.545 Without reference to the obligations laid down in the
Ottonianum, Henry did not protest, yet royal consent was not obtained
either. It has been surmised that the public acclamation aimed at returning
the pope-making power to Roman political interests.546 This could only be
understood as a challenge to the royal prerogatives, but then the king was
associated with some under the church ban, and was automatically
excommunicated himself. Hildebrand took the name Gregory VII, a
deliberate association with Gregory the Great, who had established the
primacy of the Roman church and its primate in Christendom, but a
special gesture of spite following the deposition and exile of Gregory VI.
Henry could have refused to recognize the selection, as he was encouraged
to do. Contrary to the law, the people of Rome had determined the
succession, evidently an expression of the divine will and the Holy Spirit.
Gregory insisted on his unwillingness to assume the role, but he submitted
to the choice, since he saw in the will of the people the working will of
God, to which he owed unconditional obedience. This he would expect of
others. Hildebrand, who adhered strictly to the rule of poverty, rather than
to that of a Cluniac monk,547 had determined papal policies for many years
and even dominated the popes. Though pious and of a solid religiosity,
Gregory was a pragmatist in whom politics were religiously motivated. In
the interest of the functional church, he relied on councils and legates. He
wanted to counteract the many abuses and forbade Simony – the sale of
church offices, Lay Investiture – bestowing church offices by or to
laymen, and clerical Fornication/Concubinage – insisting on the celibacy
of priests. This was intended to prevent hereditary claims and the
dissipation of church property.
In the interest of the autonomy of the Papacy, he created new
conditions, affecting the roles of the Roman nobility and the emperor. “All
power to the pope” was the motto, which summed up in twenty-seven
dictates his intentions to introduce his claim to papal omnipotence,
formulated in his Dictatus papae, a document of twenty-seven theses
exploring the direction of papal authority.548 Many of these were neither
his nor new, but represented the radical Gregorian view. The opening
statement establishes that the Roman church was founded by the Lord and
owed its existence to no one else. In his mind, Christ had charged St. Peter
with the foundation of the Christian Church. As living representative of St.
Peter, Gregory was the energetic executor of the latter's will549 and as of
1075 asserted with these “Papal Dictates”, that without agreement with the
Roman Church no one could consider himself to be Catholic. He was a
heretic who was not in agreement with the church and obedient in all
The Salians 159
matters, not just in questions of the faith. The demand for Gregorian papal
centralism, even if it meant assuming both Gelasian authorities, the
burdens of the church and the state,550 advanced by claims to
unconditional obedience, to the undisputed primacy, universal infallibility,
unquestioned immunity and omnipotence of the pope, is a logical
consequence of the reform Papacy. Supported by the Constantinian
Donation, the pope claimed the right to wear the papal insignia, in another,
the authority to depose emperors.
Gregory's threatening letter of December 1075 made the clear claim
that Christ acted and decided solely through the pope and that henceforth
the king was subject to the Imperium Christi and cut off from any direct
divine entitlement.551 No one but the pope was qualified to rescind these
dictates. One year before he actually did so, he claimed the authority to
depose emperors, and cancel oaths of allegiance, since he was the only
true emperor, solely entitled to possess and carry the imperial insignia and
to be considered the universal reigning authority. In his mind, spiritual and
temporal powers were one.552 Even though Pope Gregory VII advanced
these views with extreme enthusiasm, considering the intellectual and
political climate of the day, there were no challengers of these seemingly
abstract claims based on authentic and forged papal documents. They were
quickly transformed into concrete demands, supported by the reformed
views that the lay interference must be eliminated from the church. Christ
as Salvator also figures as Pancrator and it is this aspect of Christ, which
infuses the pope as universal ruler. As the supreme ruler of Europe, all
kings were to be his vassals, among them, William the Conqueror and
Philip I of France, and while no one could reverse the judgments of the
pope, the pope could revoke those of all others. It was a clear claim to the
undisputed primacy of the Papacy in all matters spiritual and temporal.
The transformation of the imperial laudations into papal laudations was
being realized, as the popes were assuming imperial authority.
The rift came to be over the key questions of simony and fealty,
celibacy and the associated problems related to investiture with high
church offices.553 In young Henry IV, the pope had hoped to have a pliable
instrument to use in his plans of reform, hence the cautioning tone of his
didactic epistle. In Gregory VII, Henry IV was to encounter a pope of
firm, almost fanatical conviction of the rightness of his views. The temper
of the times supported the pope. The pope proposed an armed pilgrimage
for 1074/75, supported by 50,000 knights, to defend the Byzantine empire
against the Turks and to overcome the schism between eastern and western
Christendom.554 It was intended as the first demonstration of papal power,
consecrating the image of the Christian knight. That the pope would take
160 Chapter Two
up the sword was a clear indication that the Gelasian theory of the Two
Authorities, the Two Swords, was no longer in effect, as notions derived
from Roman law were becoming established. The royal/imperial theocratic
ideology became an anachronism in 1076/77.555
Caught in his own troubles, fearful of excommunication, Henry had
replied to the letters of the new pope already in 1073, in a most repentant
and humbly submissive, (cynical?) manner, blaming his youth and
arrogance as well as the counsel of others for his transgressions, but
asserting the need to maintain temporal and spiritual unity and the
collaboration between them.556 Henry approached the pope from within his
spiritually sensitive and devout personality as repentant Prodigal Son.
Subsequently, the pope encountered difficulty and hostility with the
northern bishops, who resisted the subservience demanded by the
disempowering papal centralism, which Gregory wanted to practice, and
they withdrew their obedience.557 Through legates, the pope wanted to
affect the affairs of the imperial church, while the bishops felt competent
to deal with their own affairs. By means of a council the affairs of the
church were to be righted and the imperial episcopate disciplined and
placed under the direct control of the Papacy. King and magnates were to
serve as his instruments to bring about the submission. Instead it created
turmoil, volatility and skilful disingenuity and hypocrisy. The council
collapsed, as the episcopal opposition became consolidated. For some
years, the Papacy had tried to influence the German church by means of
conciliation and moderation, while without relenting it moved against
several of the bishops, who had to defend themselves against charges,
including simony. These charges had originated with their subalterns, who
initially complained only about the mismanagement of the wealth and the
finances of the establishments and the secular, imperial use to which these
were put by some of the bishops. With charges of simony in the air, the
financial practices were quickly transformed into accusations of simony. A
loose interpretation of simony, favored by the radical reformers, saw in
every compensation for the installation into an office a case of simony.558
The countercharge launched by the bishops accused the Papacy and its
legates of deliberately inciting unrest against the bishops and of wanting to
impose on them the will of Rome. The relationship between Papacy and
German episcopate needed clarification. Henry IV tried to keep out of the
brewing conflict, but because some of these prelates had given proof of
their loyal service to the crown, it follows that it was only a matter of time
before the king would be intricated in these matters. Gregory VII had let it
be understood that the royal investiture and homage were irksome to him
The Salians 161
Henry to Rome to face charges and in case Henry refused to follow the
summons, threatened him with excommunication. Nowhere is mentioned
in the letter that the king was forbidden to perform investitures. Although
in the air, Gregory seems to have avoided this topic. This was not to be the
cause of the dispute, rather its consequence.568 The chastising tone of the
pope's letter met with the disapproval of all. Towards the end of that
month, Henry convened a synod at Worms of the magnates of the realm to
consider the deposition of the pope and to formulate three royal
responses,569 which could only be interpreted as a model of hubristic
disobedience. While the imperial church was not totally represented, only
one secular magnate appeared, so that the response reflected the royal and
partial episcopal reactions. The episcopate denied its obedience, the king
asked for the pope's abdication and expulsion, for Roman collaboration
with himself and his bishops. The Lombard bishops joined in the denial of
their obedience.
These declarations were read to the Lenten Synod of 1076.570 That the
secular orders chose not to be involved should have been understood as a
signal. While the king's support was less than unanimous, the pope was
criticized for his presumptive, unilateral tone, and impertinent and
unjustified assumption of powers. The written responses negated the pope,
denied him his title and addressed him as brother Hildebrand, Hildebrando
fratri. The letter is a cutting collection of accusations of injuries, unjust
claims, unwarranted presumptions, incitements, dissension, perjuries,
usurpations and injustices, which give vent to the stored up opposition to
the pope's unjustifiable attempt to centralize the practices and procedures
of the Christian Church.571 Henry IV had joined his prelates with a list of
his own, on which the most serious challenge is his voluntary renunciation
of the papal throne, since he had ascended it without regard to the
king/emperor's approval. Basic to the dispute is the assessment of the
respective value and primacy of each of the Two Gelasian Authorities,
which compose the order of the world, now in the confrontational
challenge, which places the anointed king's legitimacy against the usurper
pope's illegitimacy as a false monk. The royal letter advocated the
rebellion of the Romans against the pope, his deposition and a new
election with the participation of the king as confirmed by the people of
Rome. The Lombard bishops joined this position. However, Henry IV
deluded himself as he thought that a directive issued in distant Germany
would decide the occupation of the papal throne. Less than a month later
in 1076, Gregory VII read the letters from Germany to an assembled
Lenten synod, which broke into a riot. On the following day, in a prayer to
St. Peter, the pope, as living representative of St. Peter and sole leader of
164 Chapter Two
the Two Swords, and claimed that both swords existed in balance to
defend the order willed by God in which the equality of the worldly and
spiritual authorities was established. Leaning on earlier Carolingian
arguments, the spiritual sword should enforce the obedience to the king,
who rules in God's stead, while the worldly sword of the king should be
wielded without, against the external enemies of Christ, and within, to
enforce obedience to the spiritual authority. Upon receipt of the letters
from Worms, Gregory excommunicated or suspended the signatories and
in a special ceremony excommunicated the king, in which he cancelled the
oath of allegiance to him.576 Henry tried to celebrate Easter at Utrecht in a
most festive manner and entered the church in his most regal vestments,
even though the news of his excommunication had arrived there on the
previous day. The local bishop proclaimed the pope's excommunication,
but others, including the bishop originally scheduled to do that, fled the
court. What followed seemed like God's judgment. Lightning struck the
cathedral and burned down the houses specified for the reception of the
king. Soon after, the officiating bishop died. It was easy for the king's
opposition to claim divine punishment. On the one hand, the Lombard
bishops voted in favor of Gregory's excommunication. On the other, the
king failed badly trying to convene a synod at Worms to condemn Gregory
and to elect a new pope, though yet another poorly attended assembly at
Mainz declared Henry's excommunication invalid and reiterated Gregory's
excommunication. However, the effect was minimal. On the contrary
Gregory's actions had more resonance and Henry's camp split into those
unconditionally loyal to him, those of the growing, uncompromising and
defecting opposition and a decreasing group intent on compromise, but
which saw in Henry's excommunication the dissolution of all oaths of
allegiance and encouraged conspiracies. Henry's inevitable penance would
admit his weakness openly and the primary jurisdiction of the Papacy over
the monarchy.577 Nothing other than the king's unconditional submission
to papal obedience would preserve the kingdom. Only on the basis of the
unquestioning recognition of exclusive papal authority were reconciliation
and restoration possible. It was a challenge to the constitutionality of the
Empire and the chief obstacle to the restoration of his rule. The pope
seemed to sanction rebellion against the king and the attempts by this
group to challenge Henry's position deepened the rift and the king's
situation deteriorated, as old and new, northern and southern oppositions
to his rule conspired against him.
As soon as the excommunication became known in the kingdom, the
coalition of dissenters reassembled, the bishops assumed a waiting
position or tried to return into the pope's favor. His support had eroded
166 Chapter Two
very quickly. Once again, Saxony turned against the king. The idea
surfaced that a new royal election be initiated and a new king be installed,
should Henry IV not be reinstated within a year and a day.578 Gregory
absolved and reinstated any bishops who recanted their positions against
him. Henry contemplated military action against this gathering opposition,
but conceded the hopelessness of such an undertaking and resorted to
negotiations, which were successful. Henry's opposition was seriously
divided which prevented a new election. Fortunately, the opposing camps
cancelled one another out.579 By rephrasing Henry's deposition because of
his excommunication, the pope had raised the possibility of Henry's
reinstatement, should he return to his unconditional obedience. Henry IV
complied and issued such a declaration of obedience and satisfaction to the
pope in all things and admonished all of his excommunicated supporters to
seek similar reconciliation. The last sentence of his own statement
reputedly contained an additional, controversial sentence in which he
asked the pope to justify publicly all those things of which he had been
accused. Gregory the judge was suddenly turned into Gregory the accused.
This was probably not part of the letter to the pope, but a later addition for
internal propagandistic purposes. Henry IV had to make such additional
concessions as the definite dismissal of his excommunicated advisors and
the restoration of Worms and his supporters to the jurisdiction of the
bishop.580
Quite clearly, the crisis concerning the foundation of the Salian
dynasty constituted a weakening of the monarchy in the eyes of its eastern
neighbors. The French king was undergoing similar problems with Rome.
Hungary and Poland had shaken off imperial suzerainty, but Hungary now
found itself resisting the advances of the pope. Against these two, the duke
of Bohemia found it wise to remain Henry's most loyal ally. By contrast,
Henry's magnates swore not to recognize him as king any longer should he
not recant and be reinstated by the anniversary of his excommunication, to
swear an oath of mutual support and to invite the pope to Germany to
preside at Augsburg over the resolution of the conflict on February 2.
1077.581 This itself would be a humiliation of the king. While Gregory did
not hesitate to accept the invitation and to entertain a crossing of the Alps
in mid-winter, he refused Henry a visit to Rome. A triangular relationship
was in the offing, which could only prove to be detrimental to the king's
interests. The pope and the aristocracy could assemble into a coven of
dissent and make common cause anytime the king proved to be an obstacle
to the interests of either party. Unfortunately, as described above, Henry
IV had alienated his nobility and could count on some of his bishops, but
only on a small faction of loyal supporters. Among his bishops, the
The Salians 167
the princes which invested him with regnum and imperium. It was the
pope's duty to crown the one who was emperor in all but title.590 By
contrast, for the pope the royal claim to primacy was no more than an
expression of human vanity and sinful presumption, in need of humiliation
and revision. In his eyes all Christian kingdoms were papal fiefdoms.
The act solidified the split among the magnates and justified to one
faction the election of an anti-king. The papal demand for absolute
obedience made it clear, that the idea of a balanced theocratic dualism of
authorities was no more. Some regarded Canossa as imposed political
submission, which cost Henry and his successors their sacrality. The
sacerdotal claim of the realm was stripped off, as the king was deprived of
any immediate responsibility to God. Gregory VII had deprived the
emperor of his elevated distinction, as he “defrocked” him and negated his
select and anointed status. Henry's excommunication and deposal were the
prerequisite steps. Even though the pope exceeded his authority, Henry
was helpless. The infallibility of the church was a logical consequence. In
some quarters, one believed to be living at the end of time.591 Henceforth
all princes were vassals of St. Peter. In its terminology, the idea of a select,
universal Empire came to be the reserve of the pope as representative of
St. Peter.592 The pope received the right to judge the secular magnates and
any secular affairs. The pope defined the king as the German king, Rex
Teutonicus, ruling over a papally circumscribed German realm, the
restricted Regnum Teutonicum.593 Henry's secular rule was to be restricted
to Germany. Italy, as Regnum Italie, was not conceived as a part of it.
Henry had gained time to recover his position and it behooved him to
reinstate the old order. He found help among the Lombard bishops, who
feared for their control over their cities if the pope could force his reforms
on them, and who imprisoned the papal legates. Henry did perform an act
of protest, when he abandoned the patronage and veneration of St. Peter
and instead turned to the Virgin Mary and adopted her as the patron for
Speyer Cathedral.594
For the moment, it was just as well, for Henry's opposition, though it
felt betrayed by the pope, prepared the election of a papal anti-king. The
opposition to his person evidently did split the absolution – reinstatement
question: the one did not in itself validate the other. Although restored as
rightful king, his divine right and the inviolability of his position were
irreparably damaged. For the opposition, Henry IV had been weakened
and not reinstated, nor had the oath of allegiance been restored, and
invitations were issued to Pope Gregory VII and to the empress Agnes,
who had an established right of designation. Two papal legates were
commissioned to attend. Henry opposed the attendance of all at an
170 Chapter Two
happily. On the day of his coronation, a citizen revolt in Mainz forced him
and the archbishop who crowned him to flee the city. In Swabia, Rudolph
could not count on support, and so he made Saxony his area of activity.
Following his return from Italy Henry IV secured the Alps and in Ulm,
presenting himself “under the crown”, he held court as sacral king over
those who had rebelled against him, deprived them of their fiefs and
dignities, and proscribed or executed them. It was his intent to restore the
regnum, without affecting Gregory or the sacerdotium. However, his
return as king, restored to communion, would eventually invite his
excommunication.601 Bavaria and Swabia he kept under his personal
control. It was at this time, 1079, that he split the Swabian duchy and
invested one Frederick as duke of Swabia, married him to his daughter
Agnes, only seven years old, thereby gaining Königsnähe, proximity to the
king, and laid the foundation of the next dynasty. Frederick took as his
seat the castle of Staufen, from which the dynastic name Hohenstaufen
derives.602 The family's origins may be traced to Salzburg, from where it
moved westward. Its holdings may initially have been rather compact, to
be rounded out following subsequent acquisitions. Gaining the duchy and
the proximity to the crown by marriage, his unfailing loyalty in the pursuit
of Salian interests following Henry's excommunication shaped the
orientation towards the monarchy and the family's prominence in the
kingdom. Entrusted with the loyal pursuit of the Salian agenda, they used
this opportunity to build out their territorial possessions with castles and
the promotion of some urbanization.603 Taken together, this policy
furthered the advancing pioneering settlement of the vacant tracts of land.
Beside the line of the Welfs and that of Zähringen, whose holdings were
much more extensive,604 the Staufen kinship definitely belonged to the
high nobility of southern Germany, with justifiable future claims to the
crown.
Henry IV chose to play the role of war king and consolidated his
position quickly. By guaranteeing peace, security and social upward
mobility, he found particular support among the rising urban middle
classes, the peasants, the ministerials and lower levels of knights and the
lower clergy. Pope Gregory VII declined to recognize officially Rudolph,
the anti-king, even when in November 1077 his legate repeated the ban
over Henry IV and his supporters. His ambivalence was to lead to the
disenchantment of the magnates. Henry was anathemised and forbidden all
rule and government.605 Gregory was preoccupied with hierarchical
questions. Relentlessly he promoted the Papacy's rise to universal primacy,
while also extending papal relations with Eastern Europe, Scandinavia,
Spain and with England's William the Conqueror. Concerning lay-
172 Chapter Two
investiture, two synods in 1078 and 1080, returned to the decree that no
cleric could accept investiture of bishopric, abbey or church from any
layman, be he king or emperor. Since such an investiture would be
coupled with homage, such an investiture would be deemed invalid and
the cleric in question would be excommunicated. It was only with these
pronouncements, that the conflict was focused on the investiture of
bishops, and merited the designation Investiture Struggle.606
In the German kingdom, episcopal investiture by the king in return for
homage, crucial to the existence of the realm, was starting to reflect
political interests and necessities. It was not a point on which the king
could simply yield to a higher authority.607 Over the centuries, the crown
had bestowed many privileges and much territory, including urban centers,
on the institutions of the German church, for which it was owed services.
The established ritual, in which the candidate paid homage and was
installed by means of the symbolic ring and crook, formalized the
mutually dependent relationship.608
Although Henry had suffered several defeats against Rudolph's forces,
Rudolph's support began to crumble and at the Lenten Synod of 1080 at
Brixen, Henry reputedly presented Gregory with the ultimatum to
excommunicate Rudolph in return for his obedience, or Henry would find
a pope who would.609 This ultimatum suggests Henry's tone of 1076, but a
few months after this Lenten Synod, in July, at Brixen, Henry actually had
Gregory deposed. Once again, Gregory VII had excommunicated Henry
IV, reminding him only now, that although he had received absolution at
Canossa, the kingship had not then been restored to him, although the
opening words of Henry's oath, recorded in Gregory's own Registrum
were: I, king Henry.610 Rudolph was confirmed as ruler of Germany, but
no more. So that he might rule and protect Germany, all his followers were
granted absolution from all their sin.611 The pope's statement concluded
with dispositional claims of superiority over all kingdoms on earth,
principalities and counties. Gregory staked his career, his expulsion from
office, on the power of St. Peter's anathema to allow Rudolph to triumph
and thereby bring on king Henry's dismal end by August 1, 1080.612
Gregory was out of control. Henry's renewed excommunication in
1080 suddenly stripped all those bishops, whom he had invested, of their
legitimacy. At Bamberg and Mainz, the German prelates and magnates
demanded the pope's deposition, feeling less restrained under the emperor
than under the discipline of the pope.613 In June 1080, a joint synod at
Brixen of German and Lombard bishops and perhaps even the Roman
cardinals reiterated with pent up vehemence his faults to excess and
condemned Gregory VII for his false claims, asking him to depose
The Salians 173
pope were concerned. He had to withdraw from Rome, when his small
army was much reduced by disease. Back in northern Italy, he received the
invitations of the Romans to return to Rome in 1082. This time it was a
reversed Canossa, as Henry forced Gregory into the part, which he had
been forced to play.618 This time a Norman contingent joined Henry's large
force, although once again Henry had to return north to escape the summer
heat. Early in 1083, Henry resumed the siege of Rome and within a few
months was able to penetrate into parts of Rome. However, during the
summer heat Henry's garrison fell victim to disease.
During the following year Gregory's support was dissolving as a dozen
of his cardinals and many other cardinal priests joined Henry's ranks.
Bribed by Byzantine money provided to Henry and provoked by Gregory's
intractability, the Romans opened the gates. Even the majority of cardinals
followed Henry's claim that he was fighting for the liberation of the
church. Henry made a triumphant entry into Rome on March 21, 1084. He
convoked a synod at which he appeared as Gregory's accuser. The pope
was condemned for having violated the royal majesty, deposed and
excommunicated the king. A papal election followed, which on Palm
Sunday confirmed Clement III in the Papacy. On Easter Sunday Clement
III, though anti-pope, crowned Henry IV and his wife Bertha emperor and
empress.619 Two months later, the Normans reappeared on the scene. A
strong imperial power in Italy constituted a serious challenge to their
power. Heeding the pope's earlier call, superior Norman forces took Rome.
An uprising by the citizens of Rome was put down by the Normans who
are reputed to have behaved so catastrophically, that when they withdrew,
Gregory's position was untenable and he followed them to Salerno.620
He continued to act as pope, but his pronouncements and decrees, such
as Henry's fifth excommunication, were no longer heeded.621 Henry's
supporters interpreted the pope's plight in exile as a divine judgment.
Clement III had returned to Rome, where he had crowned the imperial
couple. His Papacy was recognized for a long time in various parts of anti-
Gregorian Christendom. Gregory died May 25, 1085. His expulsion from
Rome by its population, followed by his death had been interpreted as a
divine judgment. Was he a revolutionary reformer? The common intention
fundamental to his activities was the establishment of the Papacy on its
exclusively religious authority.622 What was purposefully formulated as a
possible idea, was not merely the distinctive separation of the secular and
ecclesiastical realms, at best a highly naïve, unrealizable and unsustainable
undertaking, but the total displacement of the secular realm and its
influences – investiture, simony and proprietary rights – from a papally
determined Christendom – the Imperium Christianum as a papal domain.
The Salians 175
Aside from the imperial coronation, what had Henry actually gained in
Italy? His hurried retreat from Italy jeopardized all of his gains there. The
Papacy would retain and expand its territorial holdings and wield both
swords.623
The questions concerning investiture now entered a more rational
phase in which excesses and transgressions on both sides were seen in a
more objective manner. The weakness of the imperial position lay in the
royal need of papal consecration, for the king/emperor to be able to
function as the anointed of the Lord. This circumstance alone played the
hierocracy into the hands of the pope. Forgeries favoring the legitimate
primacy of the emperor were now “discovered”. In Germany, at a synod in
May 1085, Henry removed the Gregorian opposition by deposing and
excommunicating 15 bishops. He made it clear that he intended to regain
control over the German church, by determining the episcopal
investiture.624 The synod also declared a Pax Dei, a Peace of God. This
decree as well as the Truce of God had originally been introduced by
Henry III as responsibilities of the secular authority. However, with the
loss of power, the ordinances were now acknowledged to be the
responsibility of the church. On this occasion, Poland and Bohemia were
declared kingdoms.625 The original contentious issues so important to
Gregory concerning simony, clerical celibacy and fornication had already
slipped from view.
During the next few years, Henry's campaigns in Saxony were marked
by failure. Nevertheless, the opposition to his rule crumbled, as ever more
bishops changed to his side, or were murdered, and the anti-king, count
Hermann von Salm returned to his Lotharingian county. Already in May
1087, Henry IV was able to have his son Conrad crowned king in Aachen,
thereby securing the succession. Just before Christmas he had to mourn the
death of his wife Bertha, however, very spontaneously he remarried during
the next year, Praxedis, the widowed margravine of Stade and daughter of
the grand-prince of Kiev.626 This act, perhaps a hostage taking through
marriage to commit the loyalty of the Saxons, was too impetuous, and was
not to bring him the happiness of a lover. Her idea of being empress may
not have corresponded to reality. As king, however, he had been able to
restore the kingdom to its earlier authority and prestige. The years 1080-
1089 marked the zenith of his position.
In March 1088 a new pope was elected, Urban II. Of French origin, he
had served as prior at Cluny, as papal legate to Germany and been
appointed cardinal bishop of Ostia by Gregory VII. With him, the Cluniac
reform ascended the papal throne, where it determined papal policy,
especially the peace movement. Urban II was an avowed, though
176 Chapter Two
abstinence, which those who took the cross had pledged to maintain.
Women were to live within the moral expectations of the church, keep the
home fires burning, guard the home front, to pray for the safe return of
their man, and to assist in the success of the whole venture through prayer
and donations. However, not to exclude them totally from the opportunity
to gain redemption and the salvation of their soul by this means, they were
granted dispensations and redemption for non-participation. They could, of
course accompany a male relative, or guardian, so that the participation of
women, even with their children, was quite extensive. Of course, the great
lords had their ladies along, frequently for diplomatic reasons. Thus, for
instance, fifty years later, Eleanor of Aquitaine accompanied her first
husband king Louis VII of France in 1147. Some chose to enter convents
in the Holy Land, rather than return home. The restriction of women was
to help limit the number of camp followers and thereby reduce all manner
of organizational problems. Richard the Lionheart made an exception
when he allowed washerwomen to accompany his soldiers. They were
supposedly elderly and unattractive. Women also boosted fighting morale
and helped as fetch-and-carry auxiliaries on the battlefields, carrying
munitions and even served as bowmen. Arabic sources claim women
fighting as men. They did act as caregivers for the wounded. If taken
prisoner they probably ended in the slave markets or if luckier, in the
harem of a lord. The church frowned on the presence of women and
blamed military misfortunes on their presence and sexual excesses.
Nevertheless, prostitution was rampant among those on the march. At the
end of the crusade, these too obtained absolution for their sins.638
The new ventures were innovative in that they promised certain
redemption to the participants, martyrdom for those who died on the way
and like them, instant passage into heaven. For the nobility, the hope for
material gain, fame and distinction was joined to a naïve glorification of
warlike adventure. Carefully staged, Pope Urban described falsely, but in
vivid, rhetorical colors, the supposed oppression of the Christians in the
Holy Land, although the versions of his speech never mentioned
Jerusalem. Very imaginatively, they did mention the desecration of the
altars with the blood of circumcised Christians, and described great
tortures inflicted on the Christians. However, is it credible, that a
Christian's stomach would be slit open, his intestines tied to a stake,
whereupon he was prodded to run until he had disemboweled himself and
dropped dead? The speech did contain an emphasis on the image of the
penitent, who was more of a robber than a knight, and who would become
a true knight, when he took the cross and who would receive heavenly
rewards to boot, following the journey. More than anything, for the new
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migrant workers and much riff-raff from among the city-dwellers, though
in Cologne and Mainz, members of the upper middle class tried to come to
their assistance. The fate of the Jewish communities varied with the degree
of effectiveness with which a bishop could control the influx of migrant
mobs in his bishopric. In the absence of any episcopal control, the Jewish
communities of Mainz and Speyer were decimated, when 800 Jews were
killed. In Worms and Cologne, they were virtually wiped out. In Mainz a
local war lord, a count Emicho, moving from city to city, seized control of
the city of Mainz and with a murderous mob of fanatical French and
German crusaders, expelled or intimidated the local churchmen or nobles,
killed nearly a thousand people, intent on avenging the Savior's death on
the Jews. The archbishop hoped that the surviving Jews would accept
baptism – they preferred to commit suicide instead, by seeking refuge in a
synagogue, where they knew they would die a fiery death.
This unfortunate event brought the emperor's censure on the bishop of
Mainz. In 1090, Henry IV had granted them privileges in Speyer and
Worms and now, 1099, felt that the metropolitan had not acted in a
sufficiently consequent manner to prevent the death of so many Jews, but
that he and his relations had enriched themselves with their property.
Henry upheld the rights of the Jews, pursued those who had gained from
the pogroms, restored to the Jews their stolen property, and allowed those
forcibly converted to Christianity to return to the faith of their fathers.643
Expelled and excommunicated by Clement III, the archbishop tried to
organize resistance against Henry. In Trier, the archbishop was unable to
protect the Jews through sermons. Their majority accepted baptism and
only a few, mainly women, committed suicide by throwing themselves
into the river Moselle. In Regensburg, people escaped death by being
baptized in the river Danube. In Prague, some accepted baptism, while
those who did not fight back were killed.644 An army composed of
crusaders from England, Flanders, Lotharingia, and northern France
descended on Cologne, destroyed its synagogue and killed some Jews. The
Archbishop, a relative of the bishop of Speyer tried to save them by
distributing them to other communities, but other crusaders threatened
them there as well. Some had reached the vicinity of Düsseldorf, were
challenged to convert, but on the Sabbath performed a kind of Massadah
and killed one another or themselves. About 2500 German Jews lost their
lives at the outset of the First Crusade. The emperor's decree allowed the
regeneration of the Jewish communities.645 Thousands of Hungarians are
said to have perished and the city of Belgrade was sacked and burned. A
disorderly force of some 20 000 reached Constantinople. The eastern
emperor could not ship them to Asia Minor fast enough.
182 Chapter Two
herd of cows, and chain mail armor was formidable, about ten times that
of a horse. By papal decree, he was exempted from the breach of the terms
of his vassalage during the crusade. For the lower social levels, it could
mean the loss of freedom.652 Not leaving an acknowledged heir behind
endangered the continued ownership of the fief. The underestimation of
distances and the time needed to reach destinations, of the supplies needed
for the journey, of the need for a supply train, meant that a means of
exchange had to be established. The pledge of poverty made acquisitions
en route necessary for survival. It is true, that the returning crusaders had
little to contribute to the wealth of their families, as they generally did not
return home laden with booty. Whatever they had acquired would have
been needed to finance their return journey. Greatly increased prosperity
came to the middlemen of the Mediterranean port cities, already engaged
in trade with Constantinople, Moslem Africa and the eastern
Mediterranean.653 Fortuitously these cities had the transport available,
when it was needed.
It was not an exclusively French undertaking, which set out in 1096.
Four contingents totaling about 4500 knights and about 30 000 men at
arms, grouped in regional contingents,654 set out for Constantinople and
Jerusalem following four different land and sea routes. Obstacles and
protracted sieges delayed the advance of the crusade, beyond
Constantinople. The Byzantine emperor wanted to exact from all crusaders
the oath of allegiance, and that any former Byzantine territories conquered
on this occasion, would revert to the control of Constantinople. The
eastern emperor thought he had hired a few thousand mercenaries to do his
work. He got more “good will” than he had wished for, and was sorry to
see his wish fulfilled in this extreme fashion. He became less than eager to
be helpful to the western Christians. Their leaders soon revealed
themselves intent on acquiring domains for themselves in regions far away
from the path followed by the main body. The journey across Asia Minor
was to take six months. The siege of Antioch virtually ruined the
crusade.655 By the time the crusade reached Palestine, it had lost virtually
all of its mounts and pack animals to the famine, to thirst, while their
blood was drained by the thirsting crusaders.656 In the end, the knights had
to make do with any mules and oxen for riding, and any livestock that had
not yet been eaten. Their packs had to be distributed onto the backs of
surviving sheep, goats and dogs.
Many among the poorer knights and men at arms threw away such
pieces of their arms and armor that had not already been sold. They
devolved to the ranks of the poor labor force. Impoverished, weak and
poorly equipped for the arid, shadeless and waterless terrain, its dust,
The Salians 185
searing sun and its blinding brightness, they were parched with thirst,
starved, afflicted with infections of the eyes and probably chafed by
surviving pieces of their heated armor. Delusional, they replaced discipline
with apocalyptic visions and religious fervor. To improve conditions the
leaders repeatedly risked pitched battles as an alternative to being
ceaselessly on guard, to being harassed by archers, whose swarms of
arrows descended on them out of the sun, but whom they could seldom
see. Their wounds, exhaustion and heat stroke afflicted the overly exerted
men in their padding, chain mail hauberk, from metal plated crown to hip
and leggings, and surcoats. The conical helmet with attached nose-guard in
the Norman style was the most common form of the helmet during the
eleventh and twelfth centuries. The upper rim of a heavy shield protected
the lower face. On hostile territory, ready for battle at any time, the leaders
may have been equipped with heavy, about 3.5kg, sealed, unprotected pot-
helmets of riveted sheets of overlapping metal, resting directly on the
knight's head, with only the 7mm wide eye-slits and some holes in the area
of the chin providing inadequate ventilation. By 1200, it was worn
generally by the horsemen. A fatal characteristic of heat stroke is
vomiting. Under these conditions, suffocation, if not worse, was an
inevitable outcome.
Amazingly, Jerusalem fell in 1099, after a siege of six weeks.657 At this
point, less than a third of the original number was present under the walls
of Jerusalem. Like Joshua's army at Jericho, the crusaders marched
barefoot around the walls of Jerusalem, in the vain hope, it would bring
about their collapse. A vision of St. George did not favor the outcome.
Filled with the crazed intoxication of victory they fell upon the inhabitants
and indifferent to their faith, slaughtered Jews, Moslems and Christians
alike, reducing many prosperous regions to desolation and misery.
Even though the First Crusade did not have official imperial approval,
it was to effect widespread reaction. The interests of the Empire were too
embroiled with the immediate questions over investiture and the stability
of the realm, for the emperor to focus on far away adventures, although as
gladius Christi, the sword of Christ, it would have behooved him to lead
the crusade and to free the sacred places. In any case, with the decline of
the royal authority, religious war was passing into the hands of the nobility
as armed pilgrimage became a focus of a knight's obligations rewarded
with indulgences. A host of German commoners as well as magnates,
among them Godfrey of Bouillon, duke of Lower Lorraine and close
associate of his liege lord, the emperor Henry IV, had joined the crusade
with the emperor's permission. To do so, he had sold much of his property
and extorted more funds from the Jews of the Rhineland. With the
186 Chapter Two
duchy Swabia in three parts and granting the parts to the territories of the
new Welf dukes in Bavaria and by the creation of a duchy for the house of
Zähringen in the Black Forest and in Switzerland, in addition to the lands
already assigned to the Hohenstaufen family in Swabia.662 In 1097, he
attained the reconciliation with almost all of his magnates and in 1098, and
with their support Henry IV had his son Conrad deposed and had his
twelve-year old second son Henry anointed and crowned king in 1099, as
Henry V. A suspicious Henry IV had his son swear not to threaten his
father's life or security and not to interfere unasked in the affairs of state
during the father's lifetime.663
Urban II died in Rome in 1099. Shortly after, a new Gregorian pope
had been elected, Paschal II. Less than a year later Clement III died,
September 8, 1100. Henry took no interest in the election of the next three
popes; instead, he tried to restore the unity of the church. Paschal II
renewed Henry's excommunication in 1102, considering him to be the
source of all heresy, whose destruction would be a work pleasing to God.
An attempt to stylize the armed opposition to him as a crusade fell flat
among the reconciled German nobles, but he succeeded in separating the
bishopric of Lund in Sweden from the archbishopric Hamburg-Bremen.
Henry's religious worries were deeply felt concerns over his possible guilt
and his excommunication. In 1101, the imperial marshal Conrad was
joined by other magnates to lead a joint German-French “crusade” of a
hundred thousand fighters to reinforce those of the First Crusade
remaining in the Holy Land. Conrad stayed there until 1108.664
For the next two hundred years, the crusades figured prominently in
the policies of the Empire. In 1103, in Mainz Cathedral, Henry announced
an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem, as a means to have his
excommunication lifted and peace restored to the realm. Perhaps his most
lasting contribution was his proclamation of the Landfrieden, an imperial
'land peace', extended over the participating territories of the realm, a
secular peace, decreed to last for four years. Several such secular
declarations of territorial peace had been proclaimed in previous years.665
Intended to prevent feuds and crimes of violence, it was enforced under
pain of mutilation, applied to highborn and lowborn alike. The old penal
laws permitted the wealthy to pay penance, which disadvantaged the poor.
The new penalty brought the principle of an equalization of justice
closer.666 It pointed to the increasing secular, central authority of the king
within the realm. It had the potential to become an independent legal
instrument of the emerging state. It became apparent that the imposition of
such a peace had to rely on the active support of the magnates.667
Unfortunately, the fragility of this peace was demonstrated, when it failed
188 Chapter Two
as Henry's son, the future Henry V, made common cause with those
against whom the measures were directed. Dissatisfaction among the high
nobility over the king's sins of omission and persistent favoritism shown
the ministerials among the lower service nobility, as well as the papal
impasse, – Pope Paschal II had declared a war against Henry to be the
equivalent to a crusade including the remission of sins668 – induced the
magnates to see an escape from the stalemate by throwing their support
behind the opportunistic and seemingly unscrupulous, young king. The
papal impasse may well have been the cause for the rift between father and
son, resulting in the father's excommunication and removal from power.
Henry V may have put himself at the head of the opposition as a means to
safeguard the throne for the dynasty. Henry V may also have recalled his
great-grandfather's concept of the transpersonal Empire extending beyond
that of the person of any one monarch.669
When the two approached the pope to referee between them, Pope
Paschal II sided with the young king Henry V, whom he absolved of his
oaths to his father, and whom he would recognize as king, if he
acknowledged his obedience to the apostolic chair. This Henry V
demonstrated when he very clearly promoted the unity of the church by
reversing his father's investitures and effected his collaboration with the
reformed church. Negotiations between the kings were marred by the son's
insistence on the father's submission to the pope.670 All the while the
magnates on both sides tried to mediate a peace between the factions.
Henry IV sought a resolution in open battle, but the desertion of his major
magnates before Regensburg, caused him to leave his forces, which
decided the outcome. The change of sides prevented a civil war. Unkindly,
Henry V imprisoned his father, and by threatening him with lifelong
imprisonment, forced him to surrender the insignia of the realm. Henry IV
did reject a public confession in which he was to admit to the unjust
persecution of Gregory VII, his elevation of an anti-pope and his attacks
on the whole church. To do so would have amounted to a self-
condemnation of his entire policy and an agreement to his moral self-
destruction. He was prepared to confess publicly, if he received absolution
immediately. He held fast to the insistence on his restoration and the
maintenance of the reign. Henry managed to escape and gain the safety
and active support of the bishop of Liège and the duke of Lower
Lotharingia.671
On January 5, 1106, Henry V had received the insignia from the
archbishop of Mainz and accepted the homage of the peers of the realm,
but otherwise found considerable opposition to his succession.672 Henry IV
died on August 7, 1106 in Liège, after a short illness. Henry sent his ring
The Salians 189
and his sword to his son with the request to be merciful to his supporters
and to bury him in Speyer Cathedral.673 The bishop of Liège had buried
him in front of the altar of the cathedral church, although Henry was still
under the ban. His son had him exhumed and interred in an unconsecrated
chapel outside the walls of the town. Ironically, Henry V was to find that
the climate had not changed, when he encountered serious problems with
the Papacy and it was not until five years later, when Henry V had
triumphed over the Papacy, that the ban over his father was lifted and he
could be laid to rest in his cathedral at Speyer. Though the Gregorians
persisted in their relentless and humiliating condemnation of Henry IV, for
the people, especially the sick and poor, he acquired cultic status. Praise
and vilification characterized his posterity.674 The camps were divided
among those who continued to see Henry IV as rex et sacerdos and those
who with benefit of the Scriptures, wanted to see the spiritual power of the
cross raised over that of the temporal power of the crown. As long as the
infallibility of the Scriptures was accepted as God's Word, without
question, it was a conflict, which the crown could not win.
By not resorting to consultation and consensus building with his
magnates, by disregarding them, by violating the royal parameters, by not
adhering to agreements, by undercutting his negotiators, by his delaying
tactics and sudden changes of policy directions, his rule lacked
transparency and he invited their suspicion and besmirching condemnations.
To his enemies he had a base and evil nature, premeditative cunning,
capable of sexual abuses, motivated by sinister intentions. Henry IV had
rejected rules and conventions as he reacted arbitrarily to social pressures,
as he interpreted them into initiatives of royal support for the rising middle
class and the more effective use of a loyal order of ministerial knights in
the administration of the kingdom. To the religious and secular magnates,
afraid for their pre-eminence in the empire and with it the principle of
consensual government, this upstart group of advisors and administrators
was particularly irksome. Since he deliberately disregarded the hierarchical
ranking of his magnates and their objections, they saw in his favoritism for
ministerials their potential disempowerment and approaching eclipse, very
much like the Saxons suspected him of wanting to replace them with
Swabians. This persistent “modernization”, without formulated objective,
especially his increased protection of the towns and cities, was to cause
him all manner of dissenting criticism from the magnates of the church
and the higher nobility. Frustrated by his insincerity, even treachery, his
provocative and dishonoring arbitrariness and in their attempts to
demonstrate his unsuitability to rule, his critics, concerned about their
status quo, began to favor the papal position and returned repeatedly with
190 Chapter Two
an escalation of the same charges stemming from the same quarter: their
perceived need to depose him. It is to their credit, that they did not proceed
with innuendo and rumors, but openly, as reflected in the sources. That
they often modified his course of action would indicate that the
accusations presented at the diets and synods were not defamatory
inventions.675
In other things Henry IV was not an innovator, but rather given to
reaction with conventional means against the challenges of dissent of the
day. In total, Henry fought 62 battles during his reign, of which many
ended in his defeat. Despite the fluctuating fortunes of his reign, he had
instilled in his subjects an enthusiasm in his kingship, suggesting a revival
of the old confidence in the king's Heil, his charisma. Nevertheless, his
chief concern, the preservation of the kingdom of the Salian dynasty was
secured against the spiritual forces of the Papacy, the episcopate and the
centrifugal interests of the secular magnates in the face of the pope's
decisive power of excommunication. This more than any other feature
marked the vulnerability of the medieval Empire, not founded on the
material world and human nature, but on one grandiose idea dependent on
faith and oaths of loyalty. For nearly a hundred years, the vow of fealty
became perjury whenever the pope inclined to declare it so, not actually in
questions of the faith, but most often over questions of politics and
obedience. Prolonged peace affected the nobility, which preferred turmoil
and territorial particularism in any case to the unifying rule of one king. If
the king drew closer to the church, the nobles made difficulties and if he
drew closer to the nobility, the church expelled him from the Christian
community, rendering all oaths to him invalid. Nevertheless, despite the
threat to his salvation, Henry IV refused to surrender any of the traditional
royal/imperial prerogatives. He preserved a situation in which the church
of the realm would continue as chief support of the central authority for
yet another century. The question concerning the investiture became truly
crucial at the very end of his reign and the beginning of that of Henry V.
Considering the circumstances, which preceded Henry's death, it seemed
though, that Henry V just might capsize the ship of state. The struggle
over the primacy had done serious and lasting injury to the fabric of the
Regnum Teutonicum.
Henry V
With the support of the nobility, Henry V was able to maintain his power
in the realm and his kingdom. He inherited problems in Lower Lorraine,
when Godfrey of Bouillon departed with the First Crusade, leaving a
The Salians 191
dowry of at least 10 000 silver marks helped to bolster the fighting spirit of
Henry's German lords.684
In February of 1111 Henry arrived in Rome at the head of 30 000
knights. Negotiations had preceded his arrival. In March of the previous
year, the pope had reinforced his intransigent attitude towards lay-
investiture. He likened it to temple robbery, by means of which laymen
could correct their financial fortunes. The king was intent on confirming
the imperial coronation, as well as his right to invest the church hierarchy
in the realm. Against the advancing forces of the king, Paschal II tried to
negotiate with the Normans and with the Roman nobility. The royal
negotiators argued that the loss of services from bishops and abbots would
destroy the royal power base, a proposition to which the pope had to agree.
Thereupon the pope cleared the impasse by arguing that the church's
involvement in secularia, worldly affairs, transferred its emphasis from
the divine service, to the care and defense of their worldly goods, by even
the basest means, was the source of all evils. Did the pope preach the
poverty of the church? Should the church not renounce and condemn this
position. Consequently, he was prepared to convince the bishops to
relinquish all claims to properties and rights belonging to the realm and to
instruct all bishops and abbots to accept this agreement under pain of
excommunication, if the king relinquished his claim to the right of
investiture.685 The church's income should henceforth be raised through
the tithe and any private gifts. The pope had noticed that the bishops were
becoming territorial lords and were acquiring an undesirable secularity
through their possessions and resulting concerns. The term in question,
regalia, referred to secular positions from duke to count. It included
territories and such utilitarian jurisdictions as the rights to the mint, to
tolls, to hold markets and the economic potential of any prospering towns.
If one considers the economic might of such archbishoprics as Cologne,
Mainz or Milan, this renunciation actually implied the impoverishment of
the imperial church, on the one hand, as well as that of the secular lords,
who feared the loss of their church fiefs. In return, Henry was to concede
all previous agreements concerning the Papal States.686 The pope was
under certain duress to propose a solution, for he was caught in a squeeze
play between the inactive Sicilian Normans in the south and Henry's
poised forces from the north. For Henry, the return to the crown of such
vast territories was an immense opportunity, but also an administrative
problem, where to find the additional officials.
On February 9, Henry V agreed to sign, on condition that the princes
of the realm agreed. Supported by many of them, Henry swore an oath to
guarantee the security of the pope. On the day of his imperial coronation,
194 Chapter Two
the agreement was to be made public and enacted. Henry entered Rome on
February 12, to be crowned in St. Peter's. He followed the traditional
ceremony, promised the traditional privileges and issued the usual
guarantees, greeted the pope by kissing his feet and swore the protective
oath. Henry read out his renunciation of the investiture, the pope read the
document sharply criticizing the system under which the church of the
realm was organized and ordered the return of regalia, rights and
properties, and in the terms expressed earlier by Gregory VII and Urban II
condemned Lay Investiture. The German magnates protested so
vehemently, that the coronation proceedings had to be interrupted. The
bishops had not been consulted in the planning of these renunciations,
while the pope had relied on the total obedience due him.687 It dawned on
them that the fiefs, which they held from the church, would revert to the
crown. By the end of the day, it became apparent that despite daylong
negotiations, the pope would not be able to keep his promises. Thereupon
Henry demanded the conclusion of the coronation and the documentation
of the right of investiture. With the pope not prepared to do that, Henry
took the pope and the cardinals in attendance captive, and during the night
of February 15, left Rome amidst riots raging in the streets.688 For that he
was charged with the violation of the sacred person of the pope and he too
was now called “Antichrist”.
What had gone wrong? The attempt to find a solution had led to a
calamity. The negotiations had defined regalia to include all such high
offices as dukedoms, property, the rights to the mints, tolls and markets
and had defined them as service institutions of the realm rather than as the
king's personal and disposable domain.689 The pope's proposal was
directed at the separation of the secular and ecclesiastical realms, seeking
the “freedom of the church” from lay interference,690 motivated by his
perceived need to disentangle his prelates from their increasing
involvement in worldly affairs as the root of all evil and the need to
refocus them on the religious life. The proposal was not realistic for it
compelled the princes of the church to renounce their worldly powers at a
time when they were pursuing an opposite course. The secular peers were
threatened with the loss of income from their religious fiefs and with the
increasing might of the king, something for which they could not display
any enthusiasm in view of their territorial and particularist interests. The
increased power would derive from the claimed and reclaimed royal
holdings, by means of which the king's power expanded over the territory
of the kingdom. The question remained open, whether the king could
administer these holdings. The magnates would not have favored the
increase in the number of ministerials. These would have to be charged
The Salians 195
with the administration and represented the threat of royal authority among
the magnates. Resistance also came from the policy makers in the church,
who were loath to recognize the continuing property rights of the king
over holdings once they had passed into the hands of the church. They
rejected any such restitution. Henry V must have been aware of these
complications all along, as he tried to gain control over the territories of
the kingdom.
The strain of the captivity, along with concern for his fellow captives,
may have induced Paschal II to yield to Henry on every point. Following a
free and canonical election the king would invest a bishop with ring and
staff, before the consecration. The sequence of ceremonies was mandatory.
On the following day, April 11, 1111, the pope issued the papal privilege
and the cardinals signed it. The pope also swore never to challenge the
king about the investiture and, most importantly, never to excommunicate
him again. The document named Henry specifically. In return, the king
guaranteed the release of all captives, the restitution of all acquired church
property, loyalty and obedience, provided it did not challenge the royal
and imperial prerogatives. Cleverly, the document was not worded to
imply an extension including Henry's successors. Henry V was crowned
emperor two days later, on April13, 1111.691 On his return to Germany
Henry negotiated an agreement with Mathilda of Tuscany, the Papacy's
strongest supporter in Italy, in which she ceded all of her holdings to him.
Because she had earlier bestowed all of it to the Papal States, the new
circumstance would lead to new disputes. Henry had been able to gain yet
another concession from the pope – the lifting of the ban on his father.
Five years after his death, Henry IV could be buried in Speyer Cathedral.
The personal agreement proved not to have been a settlement. The two
individuals were not to be equated with their institutions. Opposition to it
fostered the division between Empire and Papacy. Critical invectives were
expressed by both sides. In March 1112, a church council of Gregorians
declared the agreement invalid, having been conceded under duress,
against the Holy Spirit and contrary to Canon Law. Individual bishops
excommunicated Henry repeatedly during the next few years, however,
the more often excommunication was used as a tool, the less effective it
became. The growing entrenchment of the church invited a harder line in
the Empire.692
Following the Roman coronation, the German secular and religious
lords, previously reconciled to the king, began territorial feuds amongst
themselves and with the king, who reclaimed vacated holdings for the
crown, without redistributing them, or not quickly enough, or bestowing
them only on loyal supporters rather than on the rightful heirs. They feared
196 Chapter Two
Mathilda of Tuscany had died and Henry decided to march into Italy to
ensure the inheritance, which the margravine had bequeathed to him, and
to regain a power base and strength there with which to deal with his
northern German opponents. Young queen Mathilda accompanied the
expedition. Henry expected to have her crowned empress. During his
absence of two years, he left trusted administrators in Germany to rule the
realm and to conduct the continuing war. During a second expedition to
Italy, Henry left his nephew, Frederick II of Staufen, duke of Swabia, to
co-administer the northern kingdom with vice-regal authority. It was to
allow him to set the Staufens on the path to the ultimate authority. While
Frederick and his brother Conrad served the realm, they also managed to
consolidate their own position, by establishing pockets under their control,
wherever possible. It is reported that duke Frederick II hauled a fortress
with him at the tail of his horse.696 Salian need for Staufen support favored
the social ascent of the Staufen into the ranks of the highest peers of the
realm. By contrast, in the early 12th century the house of Zähringen was
expanding towards the Burgundian southwest through royal favor,697 while
the Welfs expanded southward, even into Italy, in contravention of the
royal policy. The north, however, could not be reconciled. The Salian
policy concerning Saxony had collapsed, allowing separatist tendencies to
gain strength.
Henry's stay in Italy was not a military campaign. Only a small force
accompanied him. Few difficulties awaited him in Lombardy. He could
redistribute the imperial fiefs of his Tuscan inheritance and come to the
assistance of pope Paschal II, beset by Roman city politics. The noble
factions had returned to their quarrels, and when in 1117 the family of the
pope was forced to seek imperial support, Henry was quick to take
advantage of the circumstance. Though the cardinals and clerics in Rome
rejected Henry, still excommunicated, an outsider archbishop performed
the ceremony. Though Mathilda was named royal consort and charged
with great administrative responsibilities, she was never crowned empress.698
Paschal II, sheltered by the Normans, promptly excommunicated the
archbishop, definitely an unfriendly act towards the emperor. The pope
died in January 1118. His chancellor succeeded him as Gelasius II.
Unresolved tensions caused Henry V to have an anti-pope elected. This
unwise move led to the excommunication of both, and the specter of yet
another schism threatened to divide the allegiances and prolong the
disputes and the wars.699 The danger posed to Henry by a proposed diet in
Würzburg, at which he was to justify himself, led him to return quickly to
Germany. His presence sufficed to dissuade his opposition to assemble the
diet.
198 Chapter Two
When Henry V returned from Italy two years later, though repeatedly
excommunicated, amidst rivalries and growing unease about the growing
strength of others, powerful nobles began to return to Henry's entourage
by 1119. Negotiations with the church were reactivated concerning
disputes. Gelasius II had died that year and Calixtus II succeeded him. A
very distant Burgundian relative of the emperor, Calixtus initiated peace
negotiations, sought contact with the imperial prelates and in October
1119 convoked a council in Reims. Preliminary talks between Henry V,
the abbot of Cluny and the bishop of Châlons prepared Henry to entertain
concession concerning the investiture. The bishop suggested that the king
surrender the rights of investiture of bishops and abbots, since that did not
indicate a diminution of the royal authority, in accordance with the French
model. Though not invested by the king, he still performed all the
traditional services owed to the king. In writing, Henry agreed to such an
arrangement. It was proposed that in a personal meeting between pope and
emperor the agreement should be concluded formally. Calixtus found the
terms so promising that he interrupted the council at Reims and traveled to
meet Henry. However, a last minute change in the papal position disrupted
everything. Henry had agreed to renounce any investiture of any church.
At this point, surprisingly, the papal side insisted that the king renounce
even the material investiture. However, one would grant him the vital
services of the church of the realm, although on a voluntary basis and
without sufficient guarantees. Henry could not accept these terms,
especially since Calixtus had only recently condemned any investiture.
Furthermore, the papal side wanted to exclude the contrary-minded
bishops from the negotiations. Affronted, Henry refused, asked for
postponement to consult his magnates, whereupon the pope broke off the
negotiations. A distorted report – a large military force had supposedly
intimidated the pope and his entourage – led to Henry's renewed
excommunication. His German and Italian supporters and advisors were
included in the ban. The attempt at finding a solution had failed, once
again. The records are sparse. Henry's cunning, as well as the duplicitous
intrigues of the Papacy, have been blamed for the failure. During the
preliminary discussion, both sides may have ignored or understated the
burning issues. Contrary to appearances, however, these negotiations were
a step towards an agreement.700 Henry V was to be the last monarch to
insist on total investiture, logical, if one considers, that owing to the
Ottonian policy, which had based the strength of the kingdom on the
support of the strong church, the church was owner of the largest landmass
in the kingdom, about one third.701 The secular authority could not lose
control over church territories. In the kingdom, the secular stability
The Salians 199
worse, for the crusades. To meet the expenses for the latter, holdings had
to be sold or mortgaged, and in the case of deaths, forfeited. Eventually the
right to consultation gave them the right to refuse, and as this obligation
underwent changes in usage, the magnates became increasingly reluctant
to participate in ventures, which forced prolonged absenteeism on them,
and growing dissensions in the transalpine kingdom, while away
campaigning, in Italy usually, in the interests of the crown. The king's
prolonged absences in Italy, had consequences north of the Alps.
Subsequently, the settlement of these disputes may have invited imperial
intervention to the disadvantage of the magnates. It was these factors,
which account for their reluctance or outright refusal to join forces in the
cause of royal/imperial intentions. Their costs in human and financial
resources were simply too high. The process inadvertently contributed to a
growing territorial particularism. By the end of the Salian period, the king
had to be able to draw on alternative sources of manpower. These were
being cultivated among the ranks of the ministerials and in the growing
urban centers. It behooved the king to convince his magnates that the royal
interests were also their interests.
While the imperial-papal disputes seemed to focus attention solely on
the conflict between the monarchy and the Papacy over their respective
primacy, another conflict was being played out – the conflict between the
crown and its magnates. As mentioned above, in principle and in fact, the
kingship was an elected kingship, where the peers could give expression to
their primacy over the king by their vote. While the election had
something of the principle of selecting “the first among equals” about it,
the coronation as king and especially as emperor through the ritual of the
anointing, gave the king the select status as the chosen of the Lord. This
allowed for ambiguous tensions within the kingdom. The fact that a king
could be humiliated, an anti-king could be elected, pointed to the
rescindable nature of the election and the impermanence of the anointing
coronation. The preceding has illustrated the point. The lords had learned
that the king's position was not absolute. An anti-king could be chosen and
an anointed king could be excommunicated, even more than once. During
those periods when the king was under the ban, the ecclesiastic and secular
magnates had the opportunity to develop their own territorial particularism
at the expense of the crown and its jurisdictions. In this respect the
aristocratic and papal objectives coincided – the curtailment of the king's
authority and reduction of power, a circumstance destined to have a long
future. The Salians had realized the need for a reliable substitute structure,
if they wanted to remain at the helm of their kingdom, and had begun to
split up the hereditary tribal duchies and to appoint loyal non-natives to act
The Salians 201
as ducal functionaries, to favor the towns and their growing middle class,
but especially by creating pockets of a royal, independently loyal,
administrative and military support group of ministerial knights, in all of
the reaches of the kingdom. In view of the unreliability of the personal
links between kings and the secular magnates, the crown continued to
depend on the church as a cornerstone, while it had to develop a
dependable source of power. To the magnates this process resembled the
crown's attempt to level social differences, to curtail their ambitions,
influence and power, and attempt to act arbitrarily against their particular
interests. The bishops especially, were developing the secular powers of
their bishoprics. Thus Adalbert, the archbishop of Mainz, had presumed
royal prerogatives and granted to the city of Mainz the right to its own
courts.705 Around 1120, Adalbert, had become embroiled with Henry V,
and had found allies in Lothar of Supplinburg, the duke of Saxony, and
with the archbishop of Cologne.
Two armies converged on Mainz, one friendly Saxon and one hostile
imperial, and the threat of a major military conflict arose between the
king/emperor and the secular and religious magnates, when the latter took
the initiative to eliminate the conflict. Representatives from both interest
groups met in Würzburg in 1121 to work out the basis of an agreement and
to pave the way for a final peace agreement.706 The “Investiture Struggle”
in all the western kingdoms, which had begun as a dispute over the
principle of the correct relationship of secular and ecclesiastical power on
earth, had deteriorated into disputes over details, including territorial
ambitions advanced by bishops and nobles.707 It is apparent that at this
point the conflict concerning investiture was not just one about the
primacy between Papacy and royal/imperial crown, but intertwined in it,
was the serious question of the constitutional structure of the realm.
Adalbert took the lead in these negotiations. A solution might recommend
itself, if the questions could be reduced to the initial dispute.
The result of the diet of Würzburg in September 1121 was that all
feuds within the realm were laid to rest. No longer would emperor and
magnates be played off against one another. The magnates committed the
king, Henry V, to apostolic obedience and to princely counsel and
assistance in order to preserve their honor and their rights in the realm
towards the pope, formulated as royal rights and property for the kingdom,
church property for the church. The formula reconstituted the consensual
power relationships in the realm.708 Emperor and monarchy were
confronted by the realm and its princes. The realm had prerogatives, over
which the king had custodial control, but for which the magnates had
constitutional responsibility. As a means of characterizing the strength of
202 Chapter Two
their position, the emperor must yield to the combined strength of the
peers, for they had formed an oath association by which means they could
force the king to adhere to concluded agreements. No longer did decisions
lie with the king or his functionaries, but with the combined decisions of
the princes. In their growing territorial particularism, secular and
ecclesiastical magnates understood themselves to be the embodiment and
representation of the realm, something they could demonstrate periodically
to the king by their free election of him. They controlled the peace. Should
the emperor wish to break the peace, he would have to deal with their
combined resistance. Simultaneously they shared the responsibility for the
maintenance of the honor and the rights of the realm. In return, the
emperor could count on their support in the imminent dealings with the
Papacy.
That the Salian century had undergone great changes is demonstrated
by the power of consent among the magnates, who now, at the end of the
period, assumed the role of heads of the realm. A century earlier, they had
been credited as collaborators of the rules and pillars of the king's reign.709
While the king/emperor remained the titular power, the realm had become
an autonomous unit, represented by the princes of the realm. Within this
framework, the territorial magnates could develop their own ambitions and
weaken the monarchy by amassing royal territories and taking possession
of strategic fortified sites, as they pleased. While these developments
suggest an early attempt at shaping a “constitutional monarchy”, it also
paved the way for greater territorial particularism and arbitrary abuses. No
longer could emperor and magnates be played off against one another. The
subsequent Concordat of Worms, of 1122, confirmed this accord. After
repeated attempts, the German lords circumscribed the powers of the king
and frustrated the crown's attempt to make them and the kingdom subject
to the particularist interests of the kingdom as a cohesive territory, in
which the territorial sovereignty of the dukedoms would be willingly
subordinated to that of the kingdom. The crown had little choice but to
come to terms with the repeated expression of resistance in the realm. The
ministerials were excluded from the mutual commitment. The crown's
attempt to replace the system of personal dependencies by something more
embracing could not be realized.
In early 1122, an exchange of legations advanced the conciliation. The
Norman threat to Rome favored the motivation.710 The highest papal
dignitaries, future popes, and imperial representatives finally met at
Worms, and on September 23, 1122, the agreement was announced to the
public before the gates of the city. During the mass, which followed,
Henry was allowed to partake of the Eucharist, as a sign of his readmission
The Salians 203
The Concordat of Worms did not change the mood and Henry
continued to be involved in the north with questions of the succession of
this noble and that. Periodically he would place someone on a ducal
throne, when that was a clear affront to the legitimate successor. The
English succession made Mathilda a candidate, and discussions paving the
way for her succession may have been under way. The family ties
involved Henry in a distracting adventure against the king of France, at
war with Henry I of England over the control of Normandy. The heir to
the English throne having died at sea, Henry V may have considered
support of his wife's claim from Holland and was in Utrecht when he died
in 1125, at the age of thirty-nine.716 Mathilda had his innards buried there
in the cathedral, beside his great-grandfather Conrad II. His body was
taken to Speyer Cathedral for burial. The “empress” Mathilda had no
claims to the imperial throne, and returned to England, where as “empress
Maude” she married Godfrey of Anjou, and bore king Henry II of
England, the Angevin Plantagenet. Childless, Henry V had made no
provisions for the succession. The Salian dynasty had come to an end.
However, the idea of the transpersonal realm provided the cohesion, which
prevented the disintegration. During the twelve years which followed the
reign of Henry V, Lothar of Supplinburg was the chosen king. At the end
of this period the Hohenstaufen sons of Henry's sister Agnes' first marriage
were to qualify for the royal throne. Those of her second marriage to the
Babenberg margrave Leopold III of Austria were not considered.717
Once again, the magnates of the realm saw the opportunity of an
election of a king. The precedent setting elections of Conrad I in 911, of
Conrad II in 1024, even of Rudolph von Rheinfelden as anti-king in 1077,
were now coupled with the dislike of a hereditary monarchy within the
framework of a growing territorial particularism. While the overshadowing
Investiture Struggle seemed to focus attention on the conflict between the
monarchy and the Papacy over obedience and their respective primacy,
another conflict was being played out – the conflict between the crown and
its magnates. As was already mentioned, the kingship was an elected
kingship, where the peers could demonstrate their power by their vote.
However, the coronation as king and especially as emperor through the
ritual of the anointing, elevated the king as the chosen of the Lord. This
created ambiguities within the kingdom. As previously mentioned, the fact
that an anti-king could be elected, indicated that despite the anointing
coronation, the king's position was neither absolute nor permanent and that
an anointed king could be excommunicated, even more than once. The
great lords could once again turn to a free election of their king, without
dynastic considerations. The electoral process is well documented for
206 Chapter Two
THE HOHENSTAUFEN
family holdings of his brother, and distinguished them clearly from the
holdings of the crown.
The rivalry between Welfs and Staufens was energized during
Conrad's reign. The Welfs were dukes in Bavaria and thanks to Lothar III,
mistakenly, also of Saxony, the power base of Henry the Proud established
in preparation for reaching for the royal crown. The laws forbade that one
duke be enfeoffed with more than one duchy. Conrad now insisted that
Henry the Proud voluntarily surrender Saxony and thereby reduce his
power in the kingdom. Though Conrad's intention was obvious, it was not
logical to Henry, who not only refused to comply but also refused to pay
homage to the king. In return, Conrad proscribed him, deposed him and
reassigned the duchies to different dukes, to the Askanians in Saxony and
the house of Babenberg in Austria. The Welfs refused to yield; Conrad
scored military victories against the dukes, Welf VI in Bavaria and his
brother Henry in Saxony. When Henry the Proud died in October 1139,
Richenza, the widow of Lothar III assumed unhindered the guardianship
over ten-year old Henry, son of Henry the Proud and Lothar's daughter
Gertrude. This Henry was to make a name for himself as Henry the Lion.
Once the Askanian Albrecht the Bear renounced Saxony it could be
bestowed on Henry the Lion so that Saxony was firmly in the hands of the
Welfs. In 1142, Henry received the duchy as a fief.727 His mother Gertrude
was married to Henry II Jasomirgott of Babenberg, who in 1143 was
enfeoffed with Bavaria as if she had brought it into the marriage and with
her tutelage over her son Henry of Saxony, the marriage would lead to a
de facto control of both duchies under the house of Babenberg. In the west
and southwest, the Staufens were able to gain only a degree of control. In
the northwest, the attempts to acquire monastic establishments and thus
control of the region proved unsuccessful. Southern Germany remained
marred by conflict.
The western Empire, the Byzantine Empire and the Papacy were
attempting to coordinate a coalition directed against the Normans in Italy.
To bind the parties to the agreement, Conrad's sister-in-law Bertha von
Sulzbach was married to the Byzantine Emperor Manuel in January
1146.728 She took the name Irene. Conrad adopted her as his daughter, to
make her marriageable for an emperor. However, at Christmas 1146 a
fervent Bernard of Clairvaux persuaded Conrad III to join Louis VII of
France in a Second Crusade729 to recover lost territories in the Near East,
instead of launching a campaign against the Italian Normans. The forces of
Islam had regained Edessa, one of the crusading states, established during
the First Crusade. The pope blamed this loss on the increasing sinfulness
of Christians. A new groundswell of enthusiasm carried a mass movement
212 Chapter Three
Conrad had already been to the east in 1123/24 and now a host of south
German lords joined his expeditionary force, but these were joined by an
undisciplined rabble of ill equipped, poor, old and frail men and women,
who proved a liability to the progress of the crusade, its organization and
supply system. The movement coincided once again with a famine, that of
1145-47. His nephew Frederick, proven in battle, accompanied Conrad,
who was to be away until 1149 in what proved to be a senseless
undertaking. In March 1147, Henry the Lion launched an accusation, that
his father had been dispossessed unjustly. It followed Conrad's attempt to
have his eldest son Henry (VI, †1150) elected king and successor. This
accusation was tantamount to an electoral condition. Since the start of the
crusade could not be delayed, the coronation could not be performed. For
the duration of the crusade, the Peace of the Land had been proclaimed
and Henry of Saxony would have to await the end of the crusade.732
Henry, however, refused to join the crusade. Instead, he directed his
attention eastward, against the still pagan Slavs. Bernard of Clairvaux
could be induced to acknowledge the campaign against the Wends an
independent crusade, demanding 'death or baptism' of the populations
relapsed into paganism. It led to the systematic crusading policy towards
the eastern, Slavic regions, actually with more successful results.
Unfortunately, the insistence on baptism prevented a peaceful colonization.733
Hoping to take advantage of the alliance by marriage with Constantinople,
Conrad III had decided to follow the perilous land route, along which the
uninvited pilgrims now burned and plundered their way down the
Byzantine Danube. A flash flood caused the Germans severe losses in men
and materiel. Bypassing Constantinople, they met a devastating defeat in
Anatolia. The German crusader army was annihilated, perhaps as a result
of a Greco-Turkish conspiracy.734 The remnants, including Conrad and
Frederick, joined the French forces, which followed behind. Already here
it became apparent that the crusading spirit was easily tempted to pursue
dubious aims, as targets of opportunity appeared, when western elements
wanted to attack Constantinople. Only the false news spread by the
Greeks, that the Germans were making rich booty, sped the French across
into Asia Minor, there to meet a similar fate as had befallen the German
crusaders. A positive result was achieved by the sea-borne crusaders,
recruited mainly from among urban centers in England, Normandy,
Flanders, Frisia and the Lower Rhine, but not from among the high
nobility, who were able to take the cities of Lisbon and Tortosa from the
Moslems.735 This group joined the French forces.736 A change of targets
led them to attack Damascus instead of Edessa, which could not have been
more ill conceived. Returned to Constantinople, Conrad III convalesced
214 Chapter Three
and the Greek emperor – their wives were sisters – projected cooperative
plans on how to deal with the Normans. The plans were to come to naught.
Circumstances interfered with the realization of any projects. Of great
significance for the future Staufen attitude towards the church, was
Conrad's insight into the Byzantine relations between emperor and
patriarch, in which the state operated entirely free of church interference.
With the exception of that part of the crusade, which had taken the sea
route along the Atlantic coast, the Second Crusade had been a farcical
debacle. For the German crusaders it was an encounter with the participating
peoples of Europe and those inhabiting the rim of the Mediterranean.737
Some saw in the failure the interference of the devil and even of the
Antichrist.738 The long-term effect for Staufen politics was their
involvement in the affairs of Byzantium, the eastern Mediterranean and
the kingdom of Sicily, where in 1130 Roger had been crowned “king of
Sicily and Italy” in papal attire.739 The emperors objected strongly to the
creation of an autonomous Sicilian kingdom as they considered southern
Italy a part of the regnum Italicum.
In pursuit of his Bavarian interests, Henry the Lion gradually occupied
all of Bavaria by 1150. The anti-Norman coalition was not to be realized.
Along the Empire's eastern borders the traditional complex relationships,
including marriages, between the Empire, the Austrian March, Poland,
Bohemia, Hungary and Byzantium determined the unpredictable political
climate in those regions, now also overshadowed by the internal disputes
within the transalpine kingdom. Henry, the king-designate, died in 1150.
The death of his wife and son Henry left Conrad a lonely man. It was now
that he drew close to the visionary Hildegard von Bingen. King Conrad III,
aged 58, died on February 15, 1152, before he could be crowned emperor.
On his deathbed, he designated his nephew, when he handed the insignia
to him and recommended to the electoral assembly that in the interest of
the transpersonal kingdom, his own six year old son Frederick be passed
over and that the succession pass to his nephew Frederick III, duke of
Swabia.740 The problems associated with the succession of Otto III and of
Henry IV may have recommended this course of action. Conrad III was
laid to rest in Bamberg Cathedral. The equestrian statue there, representing
an idealized royal knight, may suggest him to be the ideal knight.
Frederick I Barbarossa
On March 4, 1152, the electoral assembly elected Frederick I, dismissively
called Barbarossa by the Italians, because of his red beard. In an old
Germanic gesture, his Swabian knights raised him on a shield. He was
The Hohenstaufen 215
seen to reconcile in his own person the pertinent, often feuding families: a
Salian through his grandmother Agnes, a Welf through his mother, Judith,
the daughter of Henry the Black of Bavaria and wife of Henry the Proud of
Saxony and aunt of Henry the Lion; Staufen through his father Frederick
II, duke of Swabia. Frederick I and Henry the Lion of Saxony were
cousins. The historical writings of the day saw in this confluence of
bloodlines a divinely ordained objective.741 Once again, legitimacy of
descent was the decisive criterion. On March 9, 1152, Frederick,
considering himself to have been chosen by God's divine grace, was
anointed and crowned in Aachen by the archbishop of Cologne. Thus in
1157, Otto von Freising was asked to portray the realm to have an
eschatological function, and that it was to be the role of the Staufen family
to halt the decline of the sacerdotal realm and prevent the end of the world.
Not only were they entitled to the succession by blood, but destined by a
manifest necessity. His chancellery began to use the term sacrum
imperium. One reached for available possibilities and traditions, and
imbued them with a new dynamism. Barbarossa especially, a most
imperious figure in his time, was to undergo a later mytho-poetic,
messianic enhancement under which he would restore all that was good in
the world during his second coming. The Staufen rise to the throne was put
as an evident need. Though it proved an unrealized hope, and although
already a generation later, this view would be revised, the myth lived
on.742
The election on March 4, 1152, was not uncontested and not without
rumored cunning. Henry the Lion was not a strong candidate.743 Frederick
was generous in the titles, offices and promised expectations, which he
distributed among the Welfs especially, though many of them were out of
reach or occupied by others and could not be realized. Henry the Lion was
probably appeased with a promise to return to him the duchy of Bavaria.
During Frederick's progress through the kingdom, at the diet of Merseburg
in June 1152, the king was called upon to decide a conflict between Henry
the Lion and Hartwich, the archbishop of Bremen.744 Henry had gained
Slavic territory along the Baltic coast. However, the duke of Saxony also
wanted to have his jurisdiction beyond the Slavic area along the Baltic
coast confirmed, including the former holdings of the archbishop of
Bremen The archbishop of Bremen had lost these regions, when the
archbishopric of Hamburg-Bremen lost jurisdiction over Scandinavia and
now wanted to be able to establish bishoprics there. The duke of Saxony
wanted to have jurisdiction over the same area. This involved the old
question concerning the investiture of bishops. Elections, as stipulated in
the Concordat of 1122 were not yet realistic. Henry claimed the right to
216 Chapter Three
invest bishops for himself, since he did not want to compromise the
territorial integrity. The archbishop perceived in this a curtailment of his
metropolitan rights by a secular magnate and asked to be invested by the
king. However, since royal prerogative had not been able to establish a
precedent in Saxony, in 1154, at Goslar, Frederick bestowed the king-like
privilege to invest on Henry, duke of Saxony, and now also of Bavaria.
The king did not obstruct Henry's wishes to expand his jurisdictions. This
expansion was to be directed eastward, especially along the Baltic coast
and led to the monastic establishments, bishoprics, trade agreements, the
protection of long distance traders and trading centers on Gotland and
beyond. The city of Lübeck was one of his foundations.745
In 1152, the diet had met in Regensburg. From there, Frederick wanted
to launch a campaign to impress on the Hungarians the new facts of the
Empire, but for unknown reasons the German peers refused to support the
campaign. The eastern, Austrian march, known as Ostarichi, was separated
from Bavaria and in 1156 raised to the level of duchy, to compensate the
Babenberg duke, Henry, for the loss of Bavaria to Henry of Saxony. It
would come to be known as Österreich, Austria. The dispute between
Staufen and Welfs seemed to be laid to rest, for the time being.
In 1152, it was also decided to seek the imperial coronation in Rome in
combination with the delayed campaign into Italy, originally intended by
Conrad III. In 1153, at Constance, when Frederick swore to three points of
a bilateral agreement, he burst on the scene as a potentate: to make no
peace with Romans or Normans without the consent of the pope, to subject
Rome with all the powers at the Empire's disposal to the Papacy and to
restore the conditions of a century earlier; to maintain and defend the
integrity of the Roman church and to restore what had been lost; to make
no concession to the Byzantine emperor on Italian soil and to prevent his
establishment there.746 Clearly, Frederick intended to turn the clock back
one whole century, to the times preceding the “Investiture Struggle” and
the Concordat of Worms of 1122, when the Two Authorities, the Two
Swords, were the accepted rulers of Christendom. The pope was to be
relegated to his earlier restricted authority. For his part, the pope promised
to honor Frederick as St. Peter's beloved son, to crown him emperor
without reservations and to support him as ruler for the benefit of the
realm. Upon royal request, to admonish or even place under the ban all
those who wanted to overthrow the order of the realm and to participate
with all available forces in the expulsion of the Byzantine emperor from
Italy. The second papal clause was taken to represent a particular means to
limit the powers of the pope–without invitation, he could not intervene,
but with the invitation, he could not refuse. The decisive clauses reflected
The Hohenstaufen 217
persuasive example, had the opposite effect. The other cities rallied to the
aid of Milan and it became apparent to Frederick I, that these cities acting
in cohesion, posed a significant problem for him and his reign. Pavia and
other cities opened their gates, allowing Barbarossa's coronation as
Lombard king, in 1155. In Bologna, he issued privileges to the faculty and
students of the university of Bologna.749 The issues concerning royal
jurisdictions were not resolved in a satisfactory manner.
Frederick I returned to Italy in 1158. In Lombardy he set up camp in
the fields of Roncaglia near Piacenza, on the river Po and assembled a diet
of the realm. Representatives of 28 Italian cities were invited to
participate. At issue was the recovery of imperial fiscal rights and the
clarification of the royal administrative rights in the communes, termed
regalia. These included the jurisdiction over duchies, counties, the
installations of consuls, the control of mints, weights and measures. The
text formulated at Roncaglia identified many more, to examine which of
the regalia had been ceded to others by the churches. It established the
monarch's sole jurisdiction.750
The pope, Hadrian IV, an Englishman, needed assistance against the
Normans and the Byzantines in southern Italy, and against the citizens of
Rome. He had placed the city under the interdict, forbidding all church
services. In Rome, a revolutionary church reformer, Arnold of Brescia,
preached the poverty of the church and denied popes and emperors the
right to rule Rome. This Arnold was taken captive, hanged and his corpse
burned at the stake. With Hadrian's accession to the papal throne a change
in the political climate became apparent. Before Frederick entered the city
at Easter 1155, he and Pope Hadrian IV met at Sutri. Hadrian was a
“Gregorian” and like him was convinced of the pope's superiority over the
emperor. He demanded the king render the strator service, to lead the
pope's horse by the reins. This was in clear opposition of Frederick's
understanding of the primacy relationship between them, so that he was
most averse to render the service, and signal his vassalage of the pope.
Barbarossa even insisted that a prejudicial fresco,751 still on view recalling
the time of Lothar III, be removed from the oratorium of St. Sylvester in
Santi Quattro Coronati in Rome, which commemorates forged events in
reference to Pope Sylvester and the emperor Constantine and which
designated the emperor as the pope's vassal.752 Neither one of them greeted
the other with the customary niceties. While Frederick kissed the pope's
foot, the pope refused the kiss of peace, as long as the king did not hold
the stirrup, when the pope dismounted. A tribunal of magnates deliberated
the problem and persuaded the king to yield, while the pope agreed to have
the fresco removed. The next morning, when the pope arrived on his white
The Hohenstaufen 219
years to come, the big events eclipsed the hundreds of instances of change
and instability, when new fortunes were made or lost as secular and
religious posts and possessions were confiscated, reassigned, bishops
removed from their seats and others invested with them, not to mention the
tensions flaring up along the borders. The entanglements in the disputes
between Capetian France and Angevin England had implications for the
Empire, when its members became implicated in their conflicts. Behind
the great and brilliant events, the socio-political realm was not at rest. The
instances are merely far too many to recount.
At Easter 1174, a festive coronation of the royal parents and their son
Henry (VI) took place at Aachen. Shortly after his eighth birthday, his first
royal act is documented. Among the guests, Frederick even hosted envoys
of the sultan Saladin, who for the past six months had been in his
entourage.778 For several years, Frederick had maintained diplomatic
relations with the Seljuk Turks and with Saladin. The project appears to
have focused on a possible marriage between Saladin's son and one of the
imperial daughters. It may have been part of Frederick's dealings with the
eastern emperor Manuel. The Turkish sultan reputedly made similar
advances to the Staufen court in 1179. Destined to remain episodic, these
negotiations would prove favorable only a few years later, when Frederick
prepared his Crusade.779 In March 1172, Barbarossa had charged the
Lombards and the Papacy with conspiracy, that they wanted to transfer the
imperial crown to the Byzantines. This had been prevented by the crown
itself drawing closer to the Byzantine emperor, but in 1174 Barbarossa led
another campaign into Italy, where the Lombard and Veronese Leagues
had put aside their rivalries and now presented a common front against the
emperor. His forces were inadequate to venture an outright confrontation
with the Leagues. During the peace negotiations of 1175 of Montebello,780
Frederick agreed to a peace with the Leagues. His negotiators ran into
obstacles when Barbarossa insisted on direct rule over the Lombard cities
as a means of maintaining a semblance of imperial suzerainty. He did not
trust the representatives of the merchant and artisan interests in city
government. The seemingly endless to-and-fro of small campaigns and
negotiations came to a head in the autumn and winter of 1175. Barbarossa
had sent for northern reinforcements and it was at this time that Henry the
Lion of Saxony demanded he surrender of Goslar with its silver mines in
return for military assistance, and refused to render this help when Goslar
was not ceded to him, despite the emperor's humiliating pleading.781 The
imperial defeat by the Lombard League at the battle of Legnano in May
1176 was proof that the military approach to enforce direct rule over the
Lombard communes, was a vain solution of Italian problems. The
The Hohenstaufen 227
Milanese sent a letter to Bologna, attributing the victory to the pope and
the “community of Italians”.782
The peace between the Papacy, the Lombard League, Sicily, the
Byzantines and the Empire was negotiated in Venice in 1177. It settled the
disagreements between the crown and the communes in Lombardy in a
six-year truce.783 The outcome was Barbarossa's reconciliation with the
pope following eighteen years of strife, his submission to the pope, the
recognition of the Papal States in central Italy as the pope's temporal
domain, and the pope's equal suzerainty over the Mathildean lands, with
the precise borders left to the determination of referees. On the pope's
insistence a peace of fifteen years was concluded with the king of Sicily,
thereby providing a new focus for the emperor. Frederick was satisfied
that his excommunication had not shattered his esteem and the cohesion of
the realm. Behind the settled disputes lurked the jurisdictional questions
concerning the sacerdotium and the imperium. Ever since the reform
Papacy had reserved all religious domains for itself, the secular power had
to develop and establish a worldly rational. The canonization of
Charlemagne was its beginning. Using the familiar and erroneous history,
the rationalization, mixed with faulty memory syndrome, boldly traced the
common origins of Romans and Franks to the legendary Trojans.784 The
justification of the existence of Empire and emperor was seen to be
established historically in the legitimate continuity of the consecrated
dynastic links from Roman/Carolingian through Ottonian, Salian and
Staufen family lines. The genealogy was ordained by God and divine
providence as the perpetual world order intended by divine providence,
hence not dependent on the hindering, ritualistic, legitimizing accretions
introduced by the church. The argument implied the hereditary nature of
the imperial crown.785
Henry's refusal to reinforce Barbarossa in Lombardy was not the first
disagreement between the two cousins. Complex quarrels within the
family of the Welfs led to repeated summonses to attend and explain
himself at several imperial diets, Henry refused to obey, responding with
military force and which in turn constituted a violation of feudal law.
Guilty of leze majesty, these offenses offered the emperor the opportunity
in 1180 to move against Henry, to “indict him as a wrongful lord and
peace-breaker”, to place him under the imperial ban and strip him of his
duchies.786 In view of imperial military successes many of Henry's
supporters changed sides. However, Frederick could not force him to
submit until in the following year a campaign directed into northern Saxon
territories and new imperial alliances caused Henry to yield. The terms
228 Chapter Three
this transition the process, which converted and weakened large tribal
duchies into smaller, more manageable territorial principalities, advanced
further to some benefit to the Staufen territorial policy. However, the
ceaselessly growing demands of the large holdings had to be balanced and
played off against others. It was easier to insist on the peace in the land
when dealing with smaller political units.802
The demonstrable illustration is offered by the fall of Henry the Lion
and the redistribution of his holdings among Barbarossa's trusted
followers803 – Saxony to the Askanians, Westphalia to the archbishop of
Cologne, Bavaria to the house of Wittelsbach, but not before Styria had
been severed and created an independent duchy in 1180. Henry behaved in
a provocative manner, seeing regal possibilities for himself within the
Empire. As grandson of the emperor Lothar III, son-in-law of Henry II of
England, contacts with the kings of Denmark and Sweden, and with
Russian princes, descent and associations raised him above the other
territorial magnates. During his armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem, 1172,
accompanied by 500 armored knights from among his Bavarian and Saxon
ministerials, and significant secular and ecclesiastic magnates, the
Byzantine emperor received him as if he were a king. The Byzantine
emperor provided naval transport to Acre. In Jerusalem, he failed to
interest the Knights Templars and the king in a military adventure. Henry
had to be satisfied making donations to churches and to the orders of
knights. In 1173, like a monarch he returned to Bavaria by the land route,
via Constantinople, carrying precious relics in his baggage.804 Barbarossa
began to intrude on territories of the Welfs, even in Saxony, by
withdrawing vacant fiefs, intent on weakening the duke. Whatever slights
Frederick I may have felt over Henry's divergent interests, although his
refusal to appear with Barbarossa at the battle of Legnano was not the
decisive affront. Henry the Lion had violated laws in his belligerent
dealings with his opponent and was called before the imperial courts
repeatedly to answer charges. Henry refused again and again to appear and
was proscribed for a period of five years. An interval, to allow for his
penance, was ignored. Henry violated the laws of vassalage and fealty
towards his lord, the emperor, and in April 1180, forfeited his fiefs and
was deprived of all his private holdings in absentia for failure to comply,
which were redistributed. Henry resisted under arms, and tried to bring a
French-English coalition into being directed against the emperor, until in
November 1181, he was forced to yield. His most important magnates left
his entourage and paid homage to the emperor. Lübeck was elevated to
imperial status and its privileges confirmed.805 At the diet of Erfurt at the
end of 1181, Henry was condemned once more. Frederick I had few
232 Chapter Three
sermons in the western French counties of Anjou, Poitou and in the duchy
of Brittany caused persecutions, during which about 3000 Jewish men,
women and children were killed, their possessions stolen and their books
burned. Enforced baptisms were an additional feature, despite episcopal
threats of punishments and papal admonitions. Louis IX of France,
somewhat of an anachronism, who felt that all hostility shown the infidel
was just, was not sympathetic to the Jews. Following the failure of his
crusade, simple shepherds, servants and country folk set out to win the
Holy Land and on their way committed the usual excesses, until the
citizens of Bourges annihilated them.812 For the remainder of the Staufen
period, the Jews had to pay taxes to local authorities for their protection.
The mutually beneficial coexistence of Jewish and Christian communities
ended, when the addition of economic pressures induced Jewish
communities to migrate to Eastern Europe.813 It accounts for the origin of
Yiddish within the Middle High German Rhenish dialects.
Suspicion of one another, rather than resolve, characterized the
undertaking, for the kings of England and France had been at war only
recently. In mid-May the German forces set out. While some, including
the founders of the Hospital of St. Mary of the German House, took the
less strenuous sea route from North Sea ports and from Italy, Frederick
and some of his magnates sailed down the Danube. The army could
progress only as quickly as it could be supplied. Frederick I negotiated the
way through Hungary, Serbia and Byzantium and with the Seljuk Turks of
Anatolia. Discipline on the march and in camp was strictly enforced. In
Hungary, a betrothal was arranged between Fredrick's son, the duke
Frederick of Swabia and a daughter of the king of Hungary, in order to
consolidate relations, possibly leaving an echo in the Nibelungenlied. At
the end of June, the forces had reached Belgrade. Tournaments entertained
the troops. Sixty squires were knighted. Shortly thereafter, the army turned
south, but now many small ambushes began to harass the crusading army.
Friendly relations with Serbs, Bulgars and the Sicilian Normans roused the
old suspicions of the Byzantine emperor against Barbarossa.814 The
emperor Isaac II now imprisoned the German envoys on the pretense that
the crusaders really wanted to capture Constantinople, for his son
Frederick of Swabia. Supply bases had not been prepared as agreed, and
the spread out crusaders were sent out to forage and plunder for supplies,
as the army assumed winter quarters in Adrianople. The pressure on
Constantinople increased, when the Bulgars offered assistance against the
Byzantines, and in February, the eastern emperor agreed to cooperate.
During the Easter week, the Byzantine fleet shipped the crusader army
across the Hellespont, into Asia Minor. The Anatolian terrain and climate
The Hohenstaufen 235
caused great hardships, as heat, the lack of water and the increasing
number of attacks, – five victorious field battles – sapped the effectiveness
of this army. Turkish dissension had invalidated the earlier agreements.
Further hardships had to be endured. Still, in May 1190, the German
crusaders gained a victory, which resulted in the reconfirmation of the
older agreements, and the army reached the territory of Christian Armenia.
Threatening heat and uncomfortable humidity were the detrimental
impediment. On June 10, 1190, sixty-seven-year old Frederick stepped
into the chilly river Saleph and died. His unheroic death in southern
Anatolia was considered a calamity by the western forces, as a sign of
Allah's grace by the Moslems. The consternation, the possibility of God's
unfavorable intervention, which overcame the army, must have been
paralyzing. It was later proclaimed that Fredrick's death was his earthly
punishment for mistreating Pope Alexander III. The Staufen crusade
collapsed, although the majority of the German crusade continued on. The
miserable remnants of Frederick's army chose to continue to Jerusalem.
Barbarossa's son, Frederick, assumed a shaky command over the crusade.
He wanted to bury his father in Jerusalem. Barbarossa's innards were
buried in Tarsus. The attempt to preserve him in vinegar failed. His flesh
was buried in Antioch, his bones in Tyre.815 Even if they arrived there,
they have disappeared since. Malaria, dysentery and starvation reduced the
crusader army, reaping many victims among many of the magnates. Prince
Frederick succumbed to a disease in January 1191, under the walls of
Acre. Hereafter, the German contribution to this crusade is overshadowed
by the other participating kings, Philip II Augustus of France, and Richard
the Lionheart of England. By the time they set out for Jerusalem in July,
Barbarossa was already dead.
Following a general loss of prestige, such German contingents as did
continue, followed the duke of Austria.816 When the French and English
forces met during their stopover at Messina, Philip II Augustus and
Richard mapped out the spoils each was claiming exclusively for
themselves. Following the siege of Acre, duke Leopold V of Austria,
planted his flag next to that of the French and English kings, demanding
recognition for their effort of two years beneath the walls of Acre. It was
on this occasion that Richard tore down the Austrian flag, as a way of
disallowing the German forces their share.817 The act was to lead to
Richard's captivity in 1192 and his ransom of 1194.
One long-term effect of this crusade was the foundation of the German
Ordo Teutonicorum, of the Teutonic Knights, to be known officially as the
Knights of the Hospital of St. Mary of the German House. Provided with
236 Chapter Three
the rule of the Knights Templars, they assumed the white cloak with the
black cross.818
Barbarossa's distant death led the mythmakers to blend the reputation
of Barbarossa with that of his grandson Frederick II as early as 1416, when
they decided to locate their residence in Thuringia, ultimately within a
mountain cave from where his second coming in times of misery, as savior
hero could be expected. The topic was to interest the imagination far into
the 19th century.819
Henry VI
Henry VI had already been entrusted with the administration of the
Regnum Italie in 1186, while Barbarossa kept control over Germany. He
assumed the unconditional rule in the Empire during his father's absence
on the Crusade. Difficulties were quick to appear. The Crusader army had
barely set out, when Henry the Lion and his son returned early from the
second exile – his wife Mathilda had died in the summer of 1189. With
everyone away on crusade, the opportunity presented itself to retake his
holdings, only to face a war with Henry VI, in October 1189. A month
later William II of Sicily, married to Joanna, the sister of Richard
Plantagenet, died childless. Constance and Henry suddenly inherited the
kingdom, which Henry, however, had no competence to rule. In January
1190, her nobles chose Tancred as their king, with papal support.820 The
culturally enriching co-existence of Latins, Greeks and Arabs was
sacrificed, as a persecution of the Moslem Arabs was unleashed. They
withdrew into the mountainous interior of Sicily. The circumstances had
international implications and consequences for the particular interests of
England and France. William’s wife had been Joanna of England, the
daughter of Henry II. On his way to the Holy Land, Richard demanded she
be returned, along with her dowry as a means to help finance his crusade.
Tancred married his son Roger to Irene, the daughter of the Byzantine
emperor, while striking closer relations with Philip II Augustus of France.
Richard and Phillip held a meeting and formulated an agreement at
Vézelay in July of 1190 in which they agreed to split the spoils of
conquest equally.821 The crusader armies met in Messina, when the news
of Barbarossa's death reached them in November. New alignments
recommended themselves and Richard's nephew Arthur of Brittany was
engaged to Tancred's daughter. Philip II Augustus remained loyal to his
agreement and refused to participate in the isolation of Henry VI. This
pact between the Capetian king Philip II Augustus and the Staufen was yet
going to be very important.
The Hohenstaufen 237
To meet the crisis, Henry VI set out for Rome. Returning crusaders had
brought him the news of his father's and brother's death. Henry, the son of
Henry the Lion, whom Henry VI had enrolled in his army as a token
hostage, deserted Henry's camp, to return to the north in order to instigate
another opposition. As a precaution, he obtained from the pope the
assurance that in the event of banishment, he be entitled to the significant
privilege of being banished exclusively by the pope himself.822 Cleverly,
owing to his advanced age, Pope Celestine III prevented the consolidation
of the rule of Henry VI in Italy at the expense of the Papal States, but
prepared the way for the pontificate of Innocent III. At the same time, he
delayed his own episcopal investiture and consecration, without which he
could not perform Henry's imperial coronation. Finally, at Easter 1191, the
pope was consecrated and could now perform the definitive imperial
coronation of Henry and Constance.823 By then, Henry VI had lost
precious time, which interfered with his military plans. A deceitful, unjust
and brutal conqueror, he ransacked, burned and destroyed the regions to
which he was entitled. In August 1191, the siege of Naples was in its
fourth month, his army was struck down with malaria, while the worst
imaginable unsanitary conditions fostered intestinal infections and
dysentery, affecting all social ranks. He himself was afflicted and had to
be removed to northern Italy.824
This was a reverse for Henry, somewhat offset by Philip II Augustus'
return from Palestine, owing to illness, and the renewal in Milan of the
pact between the Capetian and Staufen kings. Philip and Richard were
enemies and had not spent a congenial, mutually supportive time on
Crusade. The empress Constance, believing her husband had been totally
defeated, surrendered Salerno to Tancred. Pope Celestine accepted his
homage as his liege lord. In the transalpine regions, the consequences of
Barbarossa's policy not to extend Henry's rule beyond Italy, now became
apparent. The north, misled by the false rumors of Henry's death, grew
unsettled as episcopal problems revived old oppositions to the west, and
encouraged desertions to the Welfs to the east, thus reinforcing their
opposition to the imperial position. Two decades after the murder of
Becket, it included an episcopal murder, when Albert, bishop of Louvain
was slain by German knights in front of the gates of Reims. The king's
foreknowledge was assumed and the outrage was similar, when it was felt,
that the emperor's punishment of the perpetrators was not severe
enough.825 This opposition soon spread to include Denmark, Bohemia and
even the Zähringen duchy to the southwest. The hostile coalition forming
around the Welfs was formidable.826
238 Chapter Three
arrange the betrothal of his brother Philip with the Byzantine princess
Irene, the daughter of the emperor Isaac Angelos. The marriage was
concluded in 1197. This new family relationship was to introduce
consequential Staufen dynastic interests into the course of the crusades.
The death of Tancred and his son Roger in February of 1194 had left a
child, William, to succeed under the guardianship of Sybil, the queen
mother. Henry VI used Richard's ransom money to prepare a campaign
against the Sicilian Normans, taking advantage of the dissension among
the Sicilian nobles. Encountering no resistance, in November 1194, Henry
VI could be crowned king of Norman Sicily. A month later, a conspiracy
was discovered in Palermo, in which even the royal family was implicated.
Conflicting, even propagandistic reports have left confusion among the
details. The Normans' legendary treasure was taken to Germany and kept
at Trifels castle. The royal family, queen Sybil and her three daughters
were banished to Germany as well, following the “discovery” of the plot.
Reportedly authentic or forged conspiratorial letters led to death sentences,
and let Henry appear as the oppressive tyrant, as if his illness was clouding
his mind, responsible for a monstrous reign, and the catalogue of his death
sentences giving a gruesome image of his darkening character. Subsequent
activities and events do not support this image.838
Henry repeatedly stressed that his legitimate rule over Norman Sicily
and Norman Italy derived from his marriage to Constance and the ancient
rights, which appertained. He now crowned her queen of the kingdom and
installed her as regent over her father's former kingdom, in Henry's
absence. As Romanorum imperatrix semper augusta et regina Sicilie, she
assumed a fairly independent reign, surrounded by her own Sicilian
counselors and administrators. Although it was never to happen formally,
emperor and empress were united in their attempt to unite imperium and
regnum within the monarchy, even in the face of papal opposition.839 This
claim was to be perceived as a threat to the electoral nature of the kingship
and the shift to a hereditary form. The implied change roused the German
magnates to voice their reluctance in the expected election of Henry's
successor.
Henry and his administration had to solve the problem of linking
southern and northern Italy across the Papal States. Understandably, the
pope resisted the threatened encirclement. By appointing his brother Philip
to the duchy of Tuscany and to the Mathildean holdings, this problem was
dealt with in part. Henry VI considered all these lands part of the Empire,
refusing to pay homage for them to the pope, nor considering his wife's,
Constance's, inheritance to be anything but the emperor's by ancient law,
already claimed by his father. Henry's focus on these regions of the
The Hohenstaufen 241
Empire was to have consequences for the dynasty and for Germany.
Thanks to its multicultural composition, Sicily was rich, with a
progressively organized administration and its vitality drew the imperial
attention away from the north. The shift in focus was supported by ideas,
which suggested that the imperium was not tied to the identity with a
particular geographic political unit.840
To help placate the Papacy, Henry VI announced in 1195 his intention
to launch a crusade. Although Pope Celestine III doubted his sincerity,
Henry announced the departure date for the following March from the port
of Bari, on the Adriatic Sea, presented concrete plans and announced
setting aside the means by which the crusade would be supplied and the
pope put aside his skepticism.841 Henry had resented the imperious
suzerainty, which Richard the Lionheart had assumed in the Holy Land, as
he himself was also motivated by the idea of the eschatological emperor
residing in Jerusalem and circumstances seemed to be preparing the way
to this realization. These announcements were made at Bari, where Henry
VI consolidated the Regnum Italie, by granting privileges and
administrative dispositions. In Constantinople, a palace revolution had
brought a new emperor to the throne, Alexios III, who promptly sought
Henry's favor by paying tribute. Henry had taken up the Sicilian policy of
expanding his control into the Balkans.842 Feeling the approach of the
fullness of time in his lifetime, in preparation, Henry reactivated the
expansionist ideas of the Sicilian kings, as a means to secure the
approaches to the Holy Land. The pope did not favor an armed pilgrimage
directed against Constantinople, as he frowned on the possibility of the
Byzantine Empire being used to augment that of Henry, in which
Constantinople, the center of the eastern church became a rival of Rome
within the western Empire.843 Byzantine dynastic difficulties were
exploited and Henry was able to exact a payment of 16 hundredweight of
gold. The rulers of the kingdoms of Cyprus, created by Richard
Plantagenet, and of Armenia, in southern Anatolia, could be persuaded to
surrender their lands and receive them back as imperial fiefs. The
territories of Tunis and Tripoli were tributary to the Empire.
The Staufen records offer no evidence that Henry VI strove for the
conquest of Constantinople, let alone for “world domination”. Jerusalem
appears to have been his goal, there to erect a spiritual kingdom on a
higher level than the self-serving Kingdom of Jerusalem. With the
immense sums at his disposal, Henry VI could entertain his crusade to free
the Holy Places.844 In this regard, he took up his father's emulation of
Charlemagne, the conqueror of the pagans. Such a struggle would give
him the leadership of Christendom vis-à-vis the pope, an opportunity
242 Chapter Three
which Henry IV had missed a century earlier. The emperor, visiting the
Holy Land at the head of his crusade, would lay the foundations for a new
age, an imperium of peace and reconciliation. At this culminating point in
world history, the end of days, the emperor of peace, from the house of
Staufen, would unite east and west, vanquish the heathen and convert the
Jews. To ensure the success of this venture, it was decided to reach for
Jerusalem by sea and to preselect the armed forces, which would help
bring this about. Henry had to abandon his plans to lead the crusade
personally, perhaps owing to his recurring illness, allowing several of his
highest-ranking magnates to lead the German forces to the Holy Land. In
1198, a fleet of about 50 large coastal freighters set out from Cologne and
the North Sea ports. Again, these troops shared in the Christian reconquest
of the Iberian Peninsula, when they reinforced king Sancho of Portugal in
the capture of Silves from the Moslems. In the Holy Land, these forces
were able to achieve some durable successes.845 Henry's early death in
1197 blurred his intentions. Ironically the captivity of Richard of England,
had contributed to the depreciation of the crusading ideal. Subsequently,
less than a decade later, the Fourth Crusade, so-called, a pillaging
expedition directed against Constantinople, was to mark the end of the
ideal. A clue to Henry's intentions is the name, which he supposedly gave
to his successor – Constantine.846 The kingdoms of Cyprus and Armenia
became imperial fiefs and the conquest of Jerusalem was likely intended
as a permanent incorporation into the Empire. The idea of the Renovatio
Imperii Romanorum, encompassing the Mediterranean seemed realizable.
Henry's intended crusade seemed an instrument to help bring this about.
His son would see the center of gravity of his realm come to lie in the
south. Already he was to negate the Empire's royal east-Frankish
framework, promote his father's intention, thereby estranging imperial
concerns from the needs of the northern kingdom.
Safeguarding the succession by means of an election by unanimous
vote, had delayed the departure of the crusading fleet.847 On the day
following Henry's coronation in Palermo as king of the Regnum Sicilie, the
Sicilian kingdom, Christmas 1194, Constance had born him a son, the
future Frederick II. His birthplace was Jesi and that similarity of name was
taken as a prophetic association with the birth of Jesus.848 Even though
there is little sound basis for his reputation, he is acclaimed as scholar and
scientist, stupor mundi, the “wonder of the world”, perhaps even the first
“Renaissance Man”.849 Henry designated his son and presented the child to
the vote by the magnates at the diet of Worms in December of 1195.
However, the lords refused to vote. As has been demonstrated repeatedly,
rather than supporting the ideal of a universal Empire, they represented an
The Hohenstaufen 243
leagues. In the end, he proved himself the strong sponsor of the laws, of
privileges and circumvallations of such old Roman cities as Trier,
Cologne, Speyer, Mainz and Worms. He was the founder of numerous
new ones such as Gelnhausen, Kaiserslautern, Bad Wimpfen, to name a
few in the west, but also other, episcopal foundations in the north such as
Minden and Münster, and east such as Chemnitz. Any number of new
cities arose in the hereditary Staufen lands, such as Hagenau in Alsace.
The extensive building programs in the towns and villages of this region
can still be appreciated in the many surviving churches and castle ruins. In
the south and southwest, such locations as Adelhausen/Freiburg and
Breisach demonstrate how monastic foundations provided the settlement
base, - Adelhausen monastery existed since Merovingian times -, or the
location of a palace, a Pfalz, as at Bad Wimpfen or Gelnhausen, led to the
growth of settlements north of the Alps. Other leading families, such as the
Zähringen in Freiburg, Zürich, Bern and several others, and the Welfs in
Munich, Memmingen and Ravensburg, but also of Braunschweig and
Lübeck in the north, participated in such ventures. Providing safeguards
and economic and urban hubs for the evolving long distance trade in salt,
for instance, or Lübeck of the Welfs for the trade across the Baltic Sea, in
support of expanding colonization was part of the intention.
The general population growth was another part of the motivation. The
increasingly autonomous city as commercial center during the time of the
evolving money economy, brought not only economic progress and
prosperity, but also political development, even though royal support was
often lacking as the kings played with the municipal liberties when they
surrendered the towns in return for the political assistance of the territorial
magnates. Their particular economic interests interfered with the ready
flow of trade by the construction of numerous threatening strongholds and
toll stations along roads and rivers. The ecclesiastic magnates in particular
did not tolerate any form of autonomy in their cities. In proclaiming
legislation hostile to the cities Frederick II did not differ much from his
grandfather.
It had been the emperor's obligation to guarantee the peace of the land.
With the growing social and political turmoil of the thirteenth century,
following the collapse of the Staufen Empire, the self-interest of the cities
recommended the formation of defensive associations of cities with the
intent of arranging for their security and peaceful cooperation873 and
improving the security of their wagon trains on the roads and thereby
ensuring the safety of their merchants from plunder and interference along
the long-distance trade routes. The Lombard cities and their leagues may
The Hohenstaufen 251
tastes of the wider community, so that over the centuries they reflect
something of an organic growth, as modifications and reconstruction echo
the taste of a particular time. Popular with tourists today are the church
steeples which point to the secular functions of these churches. Living
quarters for the watchman were installed below the bell-cage, who with his
bird’s–eye-view was charged to sound the alarm when he saw plumes of
smoke and fire and the possible approach of danger. While he had a horn
to blow, the bells served to assemble the inhabitants for any collective
action that might be indicated. Today the churches tend to occupy a
prominent site on the market. Originally, the “churchyard”, the space
surrounding the church, was the communal cemetery. Where the church
actually served as market church, the (west) entrance served as seat for the
presiding market judge who judged correct weights, volumes, and
measures. As previously mentioned in Freiburg Cathedral, dimensions,
furnished with dates are engraved for actual pieces of metal inserted into
the stone of the entrance-vestibule. They reflect the inflationary price
fluctuations.
During his stay in Germany in 1220, Frederick II was to re-energize
the impetus of Conrad III, to the foundations of cities, towns and markets,
39 alone in the German southwest, such as Freiburg (1220), of which 18
were on church holdings.882 In this undertaking Frederick showed himself
less as the founder, for instance of the still picturesque town of
Nördlingen, than the promoter of cities, by granting them rights and
privileges. The founding and judicial sponsorship of numerous towns and
cities enhanced the economic and cultural development of their regions
and was practiced by the magnates of church and state, as it indirectly
contributed to the emancipation of growing urban populations. Armed
with energy and growing self-confidence, the citizens contested the
authority of the bishops in their cathedral towns.
A constitutional change was being prepared during the Staufen period,
and especially during the Interregnum, following the death of Henry VI, as
the economic success of evolving social groups transformed the urban
centers into communal societies led by mayors and councilors. The
constitutional process began in the western regions of the empire and by
the middle of the thirteenth century about 150 communities had
administrative councils, partly elected, partly appointed from among the
ministerials and the mercantile, patrician citizenry. Princely appointments
receded as the electoral process advanced, introducing various procedural
models.883 At the same time, the bishops lost their role in the consolidation
of their territorial possessions.884 These councils came to focus on
administrative matters concerning communal management, defense, taxation
The Hohenstaufen 257
and such economic matters as the regulation of the markets and the mint
and especially the interpretation of the law. Many matters were not
regulated by the royal authority and to them the councils laid administrative
claim. Cities and towns came to be considered as eco-political units. It did
not happen without political maneuvering and civil strife. This included
the identification of such episcopal sites as Basel, Constance and
Augsburg as imperial cities, of which the bishops would now have to share
the income with the king. Simultaneously the secular magnates assumed
the role of city founders, thereby limiting the episcopal expansion. In
1226, Frederick would issue an imperial diploma for the northern city of
Lübeck as a guarantee against the claims of the local magnate and as a
means to protect the region against the Danish king. The royal authority
over urban policies brought protests from the religious quarter over the
encroaching ambitions of the territorial lords. The royal prerogative over
mints, tolls and markets was established to lie henceforth with the king. It
was a first step in establishing the royal primacy over that of the territorial
magnates. Royal sponsorship contributed to the weakening of the
magnates. Further complaints derived from the flowering of the city
foundations and their independence of the neighboring territorial lords and
the frustrated envy, which their growing, but inaccessible prosperity
invited. On the other hand, that prosperity through activity, as well as the
haven, which the towns provided for those living on the margins,
contributed to the depopulation of the neighboring lands, and the swelling
of the unstable, marginalized new urban population, of itinerant workers
for instance, as people followed the possibilities of making a better life for
themselves in the urban centers. Their eagerness led to discrimination and
hostilities between the newly arrived refugees, disbanded soldiers,
discouraged pilgrims, volatile outcasts, disreputable vagrants and all those
pursuing shameful, dishonest and undignified occupations, and the
established populations.885
The towns offered a level of urbanity and civility and especially
freedom. In principle, one year and a day in town placed the run-away serf
on the threshold of his liberty. That related to his freedom to struggle for
material security and to strive for respect and hope for socio-political
freedoms under the protection but limited enforcement of the town's law
for the sedentary inhabitants and property owners. A community of
interests evolved in the network of narrow streets of each quarter.
However, crowded, unsanitary conditions in contained spaces also favored
the spread of rumors, riotous mob actions, persecutions, the accumulation
of smelly refuse, infectious diseases such as leprosy, violence and a high
258 Chapter Three
rate of crime. Attractive inducements could bring the refugee back to his
owner.886
In Paderborn, the resolution of the conflict between its bishop and the
city demanded the return of runaway unfree within that time limit, or his
ejection from the town. The town's delay in complying with the
conditions, may have led the bishop to provoke a crisis, whereupon the
town closed the city gates on him. In Minden, citizens and a city council
are first documented during the first half of the thirteenth century. By the
end of the thirteenth century, the dissension between the bishop and his
citizen subjects has become so contentious that the bishop had to locate his
residence outside of the city of Minden. He devoted himself to the
development and fortification of his territory. The bishops ultimately
recovered their jurisdiction over the city of Minden, with the citizenry
taking advantage of any leverage it could apply.887 New roads could
circumvent princely territories, thereby avoiding their tolls and fees, for
protection for instance. With the strengthening of the Staufen position,
they also feared the abuse of the royal prerogative, by means of which the
crown could set itself up in growing rivalry to the magnates and threaten
the established order. Since the church institutions were no longer under
royal control, the religious magnates realized their potential loss of power
and influence, which the growing towns gradually developed, even on
church territories. Formal treaties with negotiated terms attempted to
regulate the relationships between bishops and their citizens. Constant
strife, escalations and military clashes induced the bishops to pronounce
excommunications. By the end of the thirteenth century, communal
evolution had progressed significantly, leading to the increasing
emancipation from weakening episcopal rule. By then a bishop may have
redefined his worldly subjects as his political opponents. However, in the
empire, the ecclesiastical magnates also had vast secular territorial
authority which secured the position.888
Baltic Sea. Personal safety from attack and robbery was essential. Trade
also attracted those intent on missionary work and that introduced
ecclesiastical interests into the regions along the Baltic coast. Eventually
the archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen saw opportunities to convert the
pagans there and established suffragan bishoprics in Livonia and
Estonia.889 Native resistance to the missionary efforts brought military
forces onto the scene, initially interested in gathering loot and tribute
before these efforts came to be focused in pilgrimages and crusades during
the 12th and 13th centuries. These ventures became the Livonian Crusade
and held the same papal guarantees of salutary benefits as did the crusades
to the Holy Land. It was a military problem that the military interests
tended to be of seasonal duration.
As in the Near East, periods of strength alternated with periods of
vulnerability, when the crusaders who had arrived in the spring, returned
home before the autumn storms set in. The idea surfaced that a permanent
military order should come into being which would assume all military
responsibilities analogous to those established in the Holy Land. This
came about in 1202 with the foundation of the Militia of Christ, the
Fratres Militiae Christi. Their white mantle with red insignia, a cross and
a sword, gave them the name Swordbrothers.890 The order was composed
of men of differing background, mainly minor nobles and ministerials
largely of merchant stock, but motivated by the same love of combat,
glory and the veneration of the Virgin Mary. Similar needs existed
elsewhere and Spanish orders were engaged in the reconquest of Spain.
The crusades, mainly seasonal, and the work of these orders proceeded
simultaneously.
Of lasting effect along the Baltic coast was to be the creation of a third
order of knights in the Holy Land, the German Ordo Teutonicorum in
1198. During the Third Crusade, merchants from Bremen and Lübeck
among the north German crusaders following the sea route had helped the
king of Portugal with the recapture of Silves, and via Marseilles reached
Acre. There, in 1190, they had founded a tent-hospital under a large sail.
In 1191 Pope Celestine bestowed on them the black cross on the white
background. Henry of France superimposed the thin golden cross of
Jerusalem on it. In 1192, the nursing order acquired a garden and in 1193 a
large section within the walls of Jerusalem, focused on the older church of
Santa Maria Alemanorum, which would account for the name of the order
as The Knights of the Hospital of St. Mary of the German House. The
order gained credibility and imperial and papal support and in 1196 papal
protection as well as extensive holdings in many parts of Europe. On
March 5, 1198, Conrad von Hildesheim constituted the brotherhood of
260 Chapter Three
caregivers into an order of knights, with the full official title to stand
beside the multi-ethnic Hospitalers, the Knights of the Hospital of St. John
and the Templars, the Knights of the Temple of Solomon.891 Its name is
usually shortened in English to Teutonic Knights, the accepted rendition of
Ordo Teutonicorum. The order practiced two rules – that of the Knights
Templars for the members of the order, that of the Knights Hospitalers for
the poor and the sick. Until 1244 they followed the service ritual of the
Church of the Sepulcher, thereafter they adhered to Dominican practices.
As of 1220, they were placed directly under the pope, like the two other
orders. In 1221, they were all given equal status. The order enjoyed the
particular favor of Frederick II, who added the black imperial eagle on a
golden background to the coat of arms at the center of the cross, and under
whose sponsorship the order, dedicated to the care of the poor and sick,
expanded and flourished. Combatants were attracted from among the
crusaders. In 1250, Louis IX of France added golden lily terminals to the
superimposed golden cross. This version of the cross was the sole
prerogative of the grand master of the order. All other members were
identified with the simple black cross with the flaring terminals on the
white background.892 The order was acknowledged to have international
status and recognition.
Waldemar, the king of Denmark established a successful kingdom in
Denmark and northern Germany and hoped to be able to gain control over
the coast of the Baltic Sea. His north German interest involved him in the
conflict between Welfs and Hohenstaufens which followed the death of
Henry VI in the time of Otto IV during the first decade of the 13th century.
At that time the northern German princes found that the king of Denmark
constituted a common threat whom they would not have been able to fight
alone had it not been for his preoccupation in Sweden. He was also
interested in Estonia as a means to round out his jurisdiction over the
whole littoral of the Baltic Sea. By 1217 the Danes were actively pursuing
their aim to acquire Estonia. A sequence of campaigns followed involving
Danes, Russians, Germans, rebellious Estonians and Latvians as well as
crusaders and Swordbrothers. The lands from northern Germany to
Estonia were criss-crossed with war. With the imprisonment of king
Waldemar, Danish power was receding until Denmark was no longer the
dominant power in northern Germany and Livonia. Chaos replaced Danish
rule by 1226.893
Already towards the end of 1224 did Livonia become a region of
interest to the Papacy, persuaded that secular rule should be under the
guidance of the church and the Papacy. In 1225/26 Estonia was removed
from the jurisdiction of the bishop of Riga and placed under that of the
The Hohenstaufen 261
among the pagan Slavic Pruzzi along the eastern Baltic Sea in 1230. In
1237, the order was joined by the Brotherhood of the Sword, identified by
a red cross and sword on a silver backing on their shields, fighting in the
Baltic region. Frederick had focused his attention on the north, when
c.1220, the Polish duke Conrad of Masovia offered land as a basis of
operation
Very soon the Prussian Crusade evolved into serious competition for
the Livonian Crusade, the lands of the Pruzzi being easily accessible over
land, and the recruiting system of the Teutonic Order being much more
effective. The grand master would enjoy the rank of a magnate of the
realm.899 It led to a strengthening of the imperial presence along the south
shore of the Baltic Sea. A key factor for the Swordbrothers was the
shortage of money to support their large army, their many castles and the
defense of their lands. There were never enough brothers of the order so
that mercenaries had to be recruited. A papal decree to return Estonia to
the Danish king, to compensate their enemies for their battle losses,
ransoms and incomes, sealed their fate. Joining the wealthy Teutonic
Order solved most of their problems. By 1236 this new crusading order
was appropriating Prussian lands.900 During the coming years mutual
warfare characterized the relations of virtually all parties: Danes, Swedes,
Estonians, Germans, Livlanders and Russians fought natives, winning and
losing, losing battles but winning territories, winning battles but losing
much manpower. The Russians of Novgorod feared that the Swedes would
seize the rivers and hence interfere with their western trade. A Russian
victory on the Neva River earned the Russian commander Alexander the
name Nevsky. Subsequently a combined force of Teutonic Knights,
Danes, Estonians, German episcopal troops and Russians attacked and
seized Novgorod positions from the west and destroyed a relief force. In
the following year the fortunes of war favored the prince of Novgorod as
he regained his earlier losses. While he held his western prisoners for
ransom he hanged the Estonians as rebels and traitors. The Russians then
invaded Estonia and met a small western force of about 2000 on Lake
Peipus on April 5, 1242. About 6000 Russians defeated the western force
on the ice. The battle was made undeservedly famous in a movie by
Eisenstein about Alexander Nevsky. 901 Revolts broke out throughout the
region as a consequence of this defeat. However, some fifteen years later
the Teutonic Knights had gained control for a while over Livonia, Kurland
and the regions linking it with the land of the Prussians, and had converted
most of the Lithuanians to Christianity. A defeat of the order in July of
1260 reversed the gains of twenty years of warfare, as every defeat led to
new rebellions among the natives. However, even though battles were lost,
The Hohenstaufen 263
enemy casualties were higher and the western warriors could be replaced
more easily than the native hostiles. Still the defeat restrained the order
from further eastward expansion. Nevertheless by 1290 a stalemate set in
which fixed the frontiers.902
The order attracted English and Flemish knights to their cause, as well
as German and Flemish peasants to colonize the conquered lands. By
1280, the order had conquered the coastal regions from the river Vistula to
the Gulf of Finland, incorporating several German city foundations along
the coast, creating a political entity in analogy with the crusader states of
Syria. The veneration of the Virgin Mary found an echo in their major
foundation, the Marienburg. Eventually the grand master became a vassal
of the king of Poland. In an attempt to maintain the link with the Empire,
several of its princes became grand masters. It was Albrecht von
Brandenburg, of the Hohenzollern family, who on Luther's advice
secularized the lands of the order in 1525 into a hereditary duchy, held as a
fief of the Polish crown. It was the beginning of Prussia. Black and white
were to be its colors. The flared, equal armed black cross was its highest
military decoration.
Of lasting significance is the building start in 1235 by the Teutonic
Order of the church dedicated to St. Elisabeth in Marburg, the first entirely
Gothic church in Germany.
awarded them the ducal title without any territorial possession to support
it, and the contentious coexistence and shared interests with the
Hohenstaufen.
In Rome, Staufen and Welf interests were represented by the French
and English crown respectively, with the consequence that the pope,
Innocent III since January 1198, was able to referee between the camps.908
Constance died at the end of that year and willed the pope to assume the
guardianship over Frederick, making him de facto overlord of imperial
affairs. Innocent III, a lawyer insistent on all papal rights, saw
opportunities for the Papacy to shape Central Europe to his liking, when
he recognized the instruments, which the new religious zeal and devotion
presented to the Papacy. With it, the Papacy could fulfill the perceived
divine plan, as it integrated the religious communities and the currents,
which they generated, and gained influence and unlimited power in this
time of imperial disintegration. By contrast, Innocent III laid new claim to
the fullness of power bestowed upon him. It was a weakness of the
underdeveloped electoral kingship, which prevented a clear solution to the
disputes concerning the throne, and which demanded papal support for the
coronation of one of the candidates. This played into the hands of Innocent
III, who was motivated by the conviction that the sacerdotium had
precedence over the regnum in any case, and that the latter drew all of its
significance from the former. Innocent III virtually ended the Gelasian
theory of the “Two Swords” by proclaiming papal sacred and secular
power over all aspects of Christianity, designed to curtail imperial
power.909 In view of the eschatological perception associated with the
Staufen dynasty, Innocent III saw advantages in supporting the weaker
Welf, Otto IV, provided Otto's concessions would be binding on all future
emperors. In any event, the pope reserved the right to examine each
imperial candidate for his suitability, meaning that the selection/election of
the king had come completely into the hands of the pope. These views
were formulated during 1200-1201 at the end of which consideration
Innocent III declared himself for Otto IV, because the Staufen had
dominated the church long enough. With king Richard's death in 1199, his
brother John submitted to the pressures of the king of France and withdrew
his support of his relative, Otto. This had thrown him into the arms of the
pope. The Hohenstaufen position represented the continuing threat of a
Sicily united with the imperial north, thereby placing the Papacy in a vice.
It therefore became papal policy to keep the crown of Germany and Italy
constitutionally separate from Sicily, despite the personal union of the
Staufen dynasty.910 It was his opinion that the imperial crown was not the
property of a specific family, and that in the election it was not a plurality
266 Chapter Three
of votes, the Staufen position, but very specific votes, which determined
the choice. This was a step in the direction reinforcing the move to create
the select group of prince electors, whose jurisdiction it would be to elect
the king. It was to be papal policy to support the weaker, to counteract the
might of the legitimate stronger dynastic party. Hence, the predictable
conflict between Empire and church was programmed. The military,
partisan conflicts over the crown proved a heavy strain on the social order
of the realm. The imperial princes could be swayed in their support of the
crown by self-interests, material and territorial gains, and by the Papacy's
use of the instrument of excommunication.911 Walther von der Vogelweide
left a poetic record of this problematic period and its effects on the human
condition.
Despite a resolute contrary position taken by the peers of the land at
Speyer in 1199, not to surrender the imperial claims to the holdings in the
Regnum Italie, in 1201, Philip recognized all papal claims in Italy,
supported the pope against Sicily, and agreed to act on the pope's counsel
when dealing with Tuscany, Lombardy and France. Innocent III claimed
the decisive position in any Anglo-French dealings. Otto IV, on the other
hand, was to change from the English to the papal dependency. The papal
legate began the conflict with Philip by excommunicating him, in the hope
of turning the German episcopate, the foundation of the Staufen kingdom
against the ruling house. Under King John, the English position suffered
serious reverses against king Philip II Augustus of France and the support
for the Welfs crumbled, as even the pope withdrew his support of Otto IV
in favor of Philip. Philip laid down his crown and, procedurally correct,
repeated his election by all, followed by his coronation by the metropolitan
of Cologne at Mainz. Philip had originally been crowned with the royal
insignia and had not actually needed to confirm his legitimacy. However,
he bowed to the judicial position on which Cologne had insisted. While
Philip's relations with the Papacy were improving, the excommunication
being removed, Otto's position was disintegrating and he was urged to
renounce his claim. Bonding marriages were being negotiated, when on
June 21, 2008, in Bamberg, Philip was murdered by the count palatine,
Otto von Wittelsbach, out of personal revenge, over a reneged promise of
marriage. Philip left no male heirs.912 His Byzantine wife had borne only
daughters.
Innocent III saw here the convenient intervention of the hand of God.
In his re-election, Otto IV had only those magnates vote, who had not
voted for him earlier. That many of them had deserted him was ignored.
He consolidated his position by marrying one of the daughters of Philip.
Concerning the royal concessions, including his promise to set out on
The Hohenstaufen 267
crusade, Otto was able to string the pope along and rescinded his promises,
but obtained his imperial coronation nevertheless in October 1209. That
day he secretly took the cross, for he too was motivated by the idea of the
eschatological emperor enthroned in Jerusalem, and for several years, he
advanced the implementation of these plans. Thus, he sent out a
diplomatic advance party, to obtain the acceptance of Otto's suzerainty
from the rulers in the east. At the same time, individual magnates
conducted their own military pilgrimages to support the conflicts in the
Holy Land. His plans waned at the same time the Children's Crusade took
shape in 1212.913 His concessions also entailed the end of the German
monarchy's control of its church as its rights to appeal were ceded to the
Papacy. In Italy, the names of the Staufen and Welf factions were
submitted to a name change. Because of the Staufen connection with
Waiblingen, they came to be called Ghibellines; the Welfs were named
Guelfs, the Italian forms of the German names. As political factions they
were to dominate Italian politics for many years.914 During his return
north, Otto was reminded of the right to his claim to southern Italy and he
launched a campaign in that direction.915 Frederick II was growing up
there.
With Constance's death at the end of 1198, Innocent III assumed the
guardianship over prince Frederick. He was to be under his tutelage until
age 14, 1208. Frederick's counselors were German and Italian bishops and
peers of the realm, preventing that he grew up solely within the Norman
tradition. It follows that the conflicting papal, Staufen and Norman
interests of the realm were mirrored in his person. Frederick dealt with
them by learning to heed his own counsel. Still he submitted to papal
pressure to marry Constance, the sister of Peter, king of Aragon and
widow of the king of Hungary. Again, the bride was eleven years older
than the groom, but surprisingly, the two fell in love.916 The agreement
came with the bizarre condition, that the Sicilian realm pass to Aragon, in
the event that Frederick die without a male heir before his wife. It was the
pope's intention to remove the German presence from the Sicilian
kingdom. On the other hand, with Catalonian help, she was accompanied
by 500 knights, Frederick hoped to recover Sicily for the crown.
Regrettably, they succumbed to a disease. The rebellious reaction of the
Norman nobles invited Otto's intervention and postponement of his return
to Germany in 1209. Frederick was prepared to foreswear his German
Staufen holdings and to reimburse Otto IV for the reconquest of Sicily.
Otto had assumed responsibility for imperial politics, of Staufen origin
though they had been, even if it meant to act in contravention to the pope's
assumptions. For the pope, this constituted a real threat. Innocent III
268 Chapter Three
Frederick II
Unexpected help came from Philip II Augustus of France, who urged the
pope to side with Frederick.918 In view of the continuing threat, which
Staufen policies constituted for the Papacy and its holdings in Italy,
Innocent's approval of Frederick was filled with risks. However, some
German peers reconfirmed the succession of Frederick II as king in 1211
at Nürnberg and deposed Otto IV, unusual acts, since Frederick had only
been confirmed in the succession in 1196 and not yet been elected and
crowned king.919 Otto returned immediately from Italy, thereby releasing
Frederick from an awkward position. Frederick saw in this unusual step
the opportunity to retain Sicily and to regain the rest of the kingdom from
Otto IV. The election suggested the need for immediate steps. Just before
his departure for Germany, seventeen-year-old Frederick had a son, Henry,
(children were still having children) who on the pope's insistence was
crowned king of Sicily, to guarantee the separation of Sicily from the
Empire. Constance was declared regent of Sicily.920 In Rome, he was
hailed future emperor, but in return had to receive Sicily as a papal fief.
Frederick's trip to Germany was rather humble and not at all imperial and
it took two months to cross the Alps, since the passes were in hostile
hands, but his arrival at Constance preceded that of Otto IV by hours. The
papal legate renewed Otto's excommunication and quickly the news spread
that Frederick had taken possession of the realm. Some lords of the realm
gave him precedence and Frederick set out on his triumphal tour along the
Upper Rhine. In December 1212, he was crowned in Mainz Cathedral.921
The north-south division of the realm was revived as the north sided with
the Welfs, the south with the Staufen. This division had international
accents in that the Plantagenet-Welf connection faced the Capetian-
Staufen opposition. In 1209, Innocent III had excommunicated John of
England for not accepting the pope's choice of the archbishop of
Canterbury. This was part of Innocent's method to force European royal
power to submit to papal power.922 In 1213, he assigned to the king of
France the execution of the ban, meaning, that Philip II Augustus should
drive John off the English throne.
The Hohenstaufen 269
To counter this danger, John accepted his kingdom as a papal fief, but
out of distrust of the French king's ambitions to acquire Plantagenet lands,
and with the support of the Welfs, the northern coalition attacked. The ban
on Otto helped clear the way for Frederick. In return for an agreement not
to make common cause with Otto or the English king John Lackland
against France, Philip provided 20 000 French silver marks, which
Frederick had distributed as bribes and rewards among the German
nobles.923 This generosity made him most acceptable to the magnates and
cleared the way for him. Though John's chances for success were
favorable, the English suffered reverses along the Loire, while Otto IV
suffered a severe defeat at the Battle of Bouvines, July 27, 1214. Philip II
sent the imperial standard with the gilt eagle to Frederick.924 Bouvines
underscored the changing power constellation of Western Europe,
especially the rise of France. The French victory quadrupled the domain of
the French king, while Otto's defeat by the French contributed
significantly to the collapse of his position in the Empire. Dejected, he
withdrew from any active participation in the affairs of his Empire.925 For
Frederick, the victory of the French at Bouvines validated the Capetian-
Staufen relationship. In the eyes of some contemporaries, the victory was a
divine judgment. Frederick was persuaded of this truth and used it as the
basis for his generosity. These circumstances induced the hesitant German
magnates to join Frederick's advancing forces in increasing numbers. The
perception, that he acted with divine approval, made his territorial
renunciations and concessions of principles acceptable. Any residual
opposition to him, changed to support.926 Soon after Otto's excommunication,
his wife Beatrix, daughter of Philip, died, accelerating considerably the
desertion of the nobles from Otto's cause.927 Without being able to
participate further in any of these imperial developments, Otto IV died in
1218, out of the way and unnoticed.928
Innocent III had offered his intervention in order to obtain for
Frederick the submission of the remaining kingdom. It appears he wanted
to negotiate a better judicial foundation for the Papal States. In July 1213,
Frederick II issued the Golden Bull of Eger, in which he ceded to the pope
the claimed territories and rights over the ecclesiastical cities, renounced
other claims, including his participation in the election of abbots and
bishops, conceded the rights to direct appeals to the Papacy and his
assistance in combating heresy. The Bull, followed by the Confederatio
cum principibus ecclesiasticis confirmed the passage of the monarchy's
control of its church to the Papacy. The Concordat of Worms of 1122 had
been superseded.929 Frederick II had hoped that his generosity towards the
bishops would tie them closer to him. In fact, the agreement was to signal
270 Chapter Three
however, he was not to realize for thirteen years.932 The silver shrine in
Aachen, commissioned by Fredrick I Barbarossa, containing Charles'
skeletal remains and the imperial relics, commemorates the event.
At the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215/16 933 Pope Honorius III
confirmed such a crusade without mention of Frederick's participation.
Frederick set the date of departure for June 1219, but then postponed it
indefinitely, asking the pope for dispensation. Repeated delays resulted in
hostility between Pope Honorius III and Frederick II. During the Lateran
Council the decrees of Pope Innocent III had made heresy its concern.
Heresy was considered treason since by questioning the scriptures it
questions the claim that rulers derive their authority from God.934 The
Council had made confession obligatory along with the performance of the
assigned penance and had issued the uncompromising directives for the
persecution of heretics and blasphemers, which included those of other
faiths, such as Jews and Moslems. These decrees were segregational in
that they imposed special garb on the Jews, forbade their visit of Christian
baths and inns, their employ of Christian servants and the construction or
enlargement of synagogues. These measures contributed to Jewish
migration into eastern Europe.935 Both emperor and pope were obliged to
defend the church against its enemies. In the Sicilian kingdom, Frederick
ordered all Jews, under pain of forfeiture of all property, to be
distinguishable from Christians by the wearing of beards and of a light
blue over-garment. Jewish women had to wear a light blue ribbon on their
clothing or in their hair.936 The fine for the murder of a Jew was half that
of the murder of a Christian.
Of significance is an episode, which demanded the emperor's judicial
intervention. At Christmas 1235, a mill had burned down outside of the
city of Fulda, in which five children perished.937 The agitated population
immediately blamed local Jews for having needed human blood for their
rituals, having killed these children and having set the mill on fire as a
cover-up of their deed. Two Jews were forced to confess the deed,
whereupon more than thirty Jews were killed in retribution for the crime.
The corpses of the children were brought before the emperor with the
expectation that he would punish the Jews of the realm for their
unacceptable practices. Frederick, familiar with Jewish practices, was not
swayed by the charges and was concerned that an objective investigation
and assessment of the facts be established. He asked that baptized Jews
from other kingdoms appear before him and give unbiased testimony in
this matter. Their interrogation made clear that the ritualistic use of human
blood was unknown among Jews and actually considered unclean. In July
1236, at Augsburg, the emperor cleared the Jews of Fulda and, indeed, of
272 Chapter Three
all Germany of such accusations and suspicions, and forbade any future
repetitions. Frederick II placed the Jews under his protection as servants of
his chamber, which, however, amounted to a curtailment of their freedoms
and the imposition of a tax. These measures resulted in their specialization
in monetary transactions. In such transactions, Christians were subject to a
nominal prohibition of charging interest.938 His grandfather Barbarossa
had granted the Jews of Worms certain privileges, Frederick II now
extended these privileges to all Jews in Germany and, while he placed
special taxes on them, he declared them all to be under the protection of
the crown, as the servants of the crown.939 This protection of the Jews
encountered the hostility of the church in its pursuit of heresy.
the pope, it was outvoted and a series of Dalmatian ports from Pola to Zara
was taken into the Venetian fold. The whole army was excommunicated,
though the French and few German contingents were able to have the ban
removed. The crusaders spent the winter 1202/03 in Zara.
It was during this time that the Venetians found the booty to be
inadequate compensation. Coincidentally envoys from king Philip and his
brother-in-law, the displaced claimant of the Byzantine throne, Alexios IV
Angelos, appeared in Zara, with the proposal to direct this large armed
force against Constantinople, to restore the rightful emperor, in return for a
payment of 200 000 silver marks. Staufen interests influenced the
decision, despite a contrary papal decree. Again, the outrage over this idea
was divided and while many crusaders returned home, or found their own
way to the Holy Land, the prospects of booty replenishing their exhausted
finances persuaded most of those who remained. And then it would only
be a postponing detour. The Germans were mainly Staufen supporters.942
It will be recalled that Pope Leo IX had set a precedent, when in 1053 he
mobilized a “crusader” army against the Christian Normans. For the
business-minded Venetians, the plan projected unique prospects for the
realization of their commercial intentions in the eastern Mediterranean.
Their presence in Constantinople had not been unproblematic and this
course of action promised to remove all obstacles to their ambitions. The
speculations over the chronology of the events and the motivation for this
move are far reaching.943 In the end, however, the Fourth Crusade (1202-
04) was not directed towards Egypt, but quite cynically against
Constantinople. The conquest led to the reinstatement of the emperor, but
soon it became apparent that Alexios could not pay the large sum of
money, while the opposition to the crusaders led to the murder of the
Greek emperor and his son and for three days the usual excesses took their
course, culminating in the removal of the Byzantine Empire and the
establishment of a Latin kingdom in Constantinople. The Empire was
dismembered and divided among the crusading lords.944 The notion of one
Latin church and one Empire must have recommended itself to the
participants, could, however, not be realized. The pope had sanctioned the
division of the spoils and the elimination of the schism by force.
Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire were irreparably weakened.
Constantinople was rich in relics and great treasures and these now found
their way to major churches in the west. Warrior martyrs in particular,
such as Sts. George, James and Mauritius came into vogue. Their feast
days became days on which the campaigns rallied to depart.945
Of the official loot, estimated at 900 000 silver marks, 500 000 went to
Venice. These shares had been pre-approved in the arrangements
274 Chapter Three
anticipating the conquest. The Venetians were the decisive winners in the
partition. Still most noticeable are the four bronze horses over the entrance
of St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice. The French contingent in Constantinople
was the major force, so that in 1224 Pope Honorius III designated the
Latin kingdom of Constantinople as the Nova Francia.946 By 1237, the
kingdom had been reduced to Constantinople. Fragments of the kingdom
were to survive the fall of Hohenstaufen rule. After the attack on Zara and
Constantinople, crusades were preached against convenient Christian
targets in Western Europe, as Innocent III resorted to crusades as a
weapon against all those deemed to represent a danger to the church and
its interests.947
ensured the inviolate nature of all church property. The significance lay in
that the practice of granting privileges to particular religious locations was
now rationalized and replaced by granting universal privileges to the
church of the realm as a whole. Clearly, in Frederick's eyes, the election
was crucial and worth all concessions, should the stability of the realm not
be jeopardized, in the event of an untoward occurrence during his venture
to the east.952 Clearly Frederick used generous concessions to buy the
support of the magnates, at the expense of royal power in Germany to near
meaninglessness. Having deliberately weakened the crown it fell easy prey
to the Papacy and the magnates.953 Thanks to the decisions taken at
Frankfurt, Frederick could now proceed to Rome, secure in the knowledge
that the affairs of his German kingdom were in some order. The crusade
would be launched following his next visit to Rome and his imperial
coronation. The Confederatio cum principibus ecclesiasticis introduced a
period of cooperation between pope and monarch.954 With the child-king
left behind in Germany, Frederick set out for Rome in August, and when
he presented himself in Rome, in November 1220, Honorius crowned him
and Constance emperor and empress.955 His oriental coronation cloak is
still extant. Contrary to his predecessors, Frederick did not shy away from
performing the strator service, holding the pope's stirrup and leading his
horse by the reins, indicating his status as the pope's vassal. As earlier in
Aachen, he took the cross. Some four hundred magnates and their knights
followed his example to join the proposed crusade.956
After an absence of eight years, during which his German affairs had
been settled to a degree, the emperor could play freely the role of absentee
king and assume the rule of Sicily during his son's minority and in his
imperial person maintain its link with the Empire. Honorius III accepted
the new circumstances. Frederick was not to return to Germany for fifteen
years, as Italian affairs dominated his attention.957 One illustration would
be his interest in education. Following his grandfather's example in
Bologna, Frederick founded the university of Naples in 1224, also to offer
an emphasis of studies in Roman jurisprudence and church law. Law
professors from Bologna were attracted to Naples. Professors from many
countries received their call from the emperor personally, were provided
with attractive working conditions and guaranteed a fitting remuneration.
The emperor's generosity included the availability of stipends for poor and
rich students alike. In doing this, he stressed the completely new beginning
of the university and avoided any reliance on the clerics of any established
religious centers of learning, such as the cathedral schools. To bring
justice to the people may have motivated this choice of faculty. The study
of the Liberal Arts – grammar, rhetoric, logic and the natural sciences –
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was also represented. Even though theology was not part of the
curriculum, the university's most famous graduate was Thomas Aquinas,
who between 1239 and 1244 had studied grammar and logic there. The
study of theology was mainly the reserve of the Dominicans. Following
the prohibitions by the church of the monastic practice of medicine, and
especially of surgery on account of blood, at the Council of Tours of 1163
and finally of the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215, Salerno remained
Europe's most famous medical school. The university was not intended to
serve primarily as an administrative training school for the kingdom.958
Despite his preoccupation with Sicilian affairs, Frederick's imperial
centralizing jurisdiction extended over his son's realm, independent king
though Henry (VII) was. It was to be an experiment with unhappy
outcome. Without parental guidance, imperial plenipotentiaries surrounded
him to rule the realm as “regents” during his minority. The long arm of the
emperor reached all corners of the realm. Frederick's envoys made his
wishes known and his directives were theirs to implement. Virtually an
orphan, at the age of nine he was left alone in Germany in 1220, lost his
mother in 1222, and was not to see his father again until 1232. One or the
other would maneuver into position to serve as chief administrator with
vice-regal powers. Henry had intended to marry a Plantagenet princess,
but owing to the long established Staufen link with the Capetian kings of
France, such an alliance would have been contrary to Staufen policy. From
afar, his father commanded the fifteen-year-old Henry to marry the five
years older Margaret, the daughter of Leopold VI, duke of Austria.959 The
marriage took place in Nürnberg, in 1226. In March 1227, she was
crowned queen in Aachen. Leopold expected to assume the vice-regal
powers for Henry, much to the envy of his neighbors, who rejoiced, when
Leopold was committed to follow Frederick on crusade instead. Duke
Louis I of Bavaria assumed the function. He, however, was among the first
to side with the pope, when Frederick was excommunicated. Had
Frederick deliberately wanted to create problems in the north, he could not
have done worse. Frederick never released his son from his minority.
Without a meeting of minds, the rift between father and son was widening,
as they worked at cross-purposes, with the older one rejecting, what the
younger one had approved. The fault may have been his own. The poet
Walther von der Vogelweide thought of this as stupid. Utilizing his
father's discomfort and preoccupation with the crusade, Henry (VII) took
the opportunity at Christmas 1228, to assume the right to rule for himself,
not that that improved conditions. Capable, imperial ministerials exercised
the governmental duties over Swabia as well, as long as Henry was not yet
278 Chapter Three
of age, but even after both Frederick and Henry had sons, the duchy of
Swabia remained dependent and unassigned.960
In Germany, Henry (VII) came into conflict with his magnates and
advisers, some of whom, such as Louis I, duke of Bavaria, had sided quite
early with Pope Gregory IX, against his excommunicated father. The pope
was looking for opportunities to exert his influence north of the Alps, and
during 1228-9 to encourage dissension under his protection. He may have
been seriously intent on the removal of the Staufen line from power and
the election of a new king. Henry (VII) had opposed and interfered too
strongly in a counter-productive manner with the magnates by siding with
the urban centers. Contrary to his father's suspicious policies concerning
cities, Henry had favored centripetal policies, which promoted the cities as
a means of support, of increasing the cohesion of the kingdom and
rewarded them with privileges. He saw in them loyal allies against the
centrifugal tendencies favored by the lords.961 The pope and some
magnates pursued a common goal. The nobles felt that Henry had to be
blocked early in his plans. In some episcopal cities, such as Cambrai and
Verdun, the bishops forced him to withdraw the privileges, which he had
granted. On the other hand, many of the magnates, loyal adherents of the
Staufen dynasty, contributed to the reconciliation between Frederick II and
Gregory IX in September 1230.962 A confrontation took place in 1231 at
Worms in which the ecclesiastical and secular princes of the realm took a
common stand against the king's favor of the cities. Henry had
overestimated his strength. That year, a Constitutio in favorum principum
reaffirmed and strengthened the control of the princes over their
territories.963 The magnates forced him to roll back many of his decisions
promoting greater civic autonomy. It led to their recognition as domini
terrae, territorial lords, confirmed by royal privilege, which assured them
of the king's renunciation of royal sovereignty and granting them their
undisputed territorial jurisdiction. It also restrained the royal foundation of
new cities, markets, roads and bridges within their territories or those of
the church and demanded the king curtail his rights to offer refuge, and the
extension of legal jurisdictions on adjoining territories.964
Even though the civilian leadership of the cities supported the
Hohenstaufen, Frederick took measures to restrict their autonomy, as he
turned the right to found cities over to the territorial lords. Urban
foundations were the main supports in the formation and economic
stabilization of the emerging territorial states. Despite their ambitions,
Fredrick needed the support of the German magnates to implement and
consolidate his centralist aims, and consequently disapproved of Henry's
measures. In 1232, from Ravenna, perhaps in fear of his royal German
The Hohenstaufen 279
crown, Frederick II, obliged Henry to exert no more undue pressure on the
magnates and stop the reverses which his rule caused the realm and
repeated to the magnates the offer of Henry's privileges, giving them
nearly unrestrained powers in their territories and over the towns and
cities. Town councils, imperial sympathizers, were forbidden and at least
one town hall, in Worms, was torn down. As even Frederick curtailed his
rights of intervention, city government was subject to the approval of the
magnates. Frederick II implemented a policy of less monarchy in the
kingdom. Repeatedly the emperor overruled the king and the relationship
between father and son deteriorated to the point that the disintegration of
royal power in favor of princely power was increasingly evident. Frederick
feared for the support of his magnates and their relationship with the
church.965 Frederick was blind to the urban developments taking place in
Lombardy. Henry was to assume sole blame for all failures and as his
father's subordinate, swear unconditional obedience to his father. All this
eroded Henry's authority at home even more.966 Pope Gregory IX was
asked to excommunicate Henry, should he break his oath. Frederick
needed the military support of the nobility for the realization of his
crusading plans. Interestingly, Henry (VII) offered his patronage to many
named and unnamed minstrels and Minnesänger. He may have composed
and sung himself, though there is no documented evidence of that. The
church criticized him for allowing such a lifestyle to invade his court.967
Frederick needed the support of the church. In 1231 Pope Gregory IX
had charged the Dominican Order with the inquisition of heretics. It was
the dawn of the Inquisition, when with papal authorization, accusers could
utter charges of heresy and act as judges.968 There could be no appeals.
The authorities could only approve. Any defense of people accused of
heresy, invited the immediate association and condemnation.969 Any
rebellious attitudes against the authority of the church could be termed a
heresy. In 1234, the archbishop of Bremen denounced the peasants along
the lower Weser River as heretics, because they wanted to protect their
freedoms against the bishop. He abused his function, by proclaiming a
crusade against them with papal approval, which broke them.970 This
crusade had interrupted the flow of volunteers for the Livonian Crusade so
that is wasn't until after 1234 that crusaders in significant numbers
returned to the Baltic Crusade.
To his credit, Henry (VII) opposed the excesses in the fight against
heresy, but events attracted the pope's active support and threatened to
affect relations between his father and the pope. Once again, Frederick
contradicted his son. For him heresy denied royal authority and questioned
the relationship between God and man in which the monarch played the
280 Chapter Three
of 350 coastal freighters set sail loaded with north German, Flemish and
English crusaders, led by William of Holland. These generations of
pilgrims, however, had something of the crusading tourist about them,
wanting to see and pray at the Holy Places and leave, as they arranged
their stay to be of seasonal duration, with no intention to stay and settle.979
The gradual assimilation of and growing tolerance among those settled
long term and the pursuit of their personal economic and social interests
estranged them from the original crusading zeal and goals. In their eyes,
the image of the infidel underwent a positive change. Christian
propaganda came to be understood for what it was, and the conflict was
focused on the threat, which the Moslem fighters posed for Jerusalem,
rather than on the elimination of Islam as an abomination. The cultural and
scientific experiences in the east, some of them marking the ancient Greek
heritage, such as hydraulics and pneumatics, precision mechanics and
technology, as illustrated in their ballistic counterweight and leverage
artillery, and even canons, rockets, torpedoes and grenades, the more
generous personal use of soap and water for hygienic purposes, of
irrigation, of astronomy and pertinent instruments, of water and
astronomical clocks, of intelligent medical practices based, not on
demonology, but derived from translated Arabic texts, of analogous
knowledge gained from the dissection of monkeys, diseases of the eye, of
fevers, the use of pigeon-post, of cog-wheels and gears, to name just a
few, not to mention the extensive vocabulary borrowed from Arabic, such
as admiral, arsenal, algebra, alchemy, sugar, compass, cotton, etc.,
changed the perception of Islam and of its representatives.980 While
initially the elimination of the infidel had deemed a necessity, one no
longer saw it as such or even as a possibility. As of the early thirteenth
century, peaceful Moslems could no longer be attacked because of their
religion. War was not waged to convert Moslems to Christianity, but to
protect and to preserve the Christian faith against them. Reconquest was
permitted, but not unprovoked aggression and conquest. Pope Innocent IV
recognized expressly the legitimacy of non-Christian rule. Uncontested
Christian rule over the Holy Places, but not necessarily the buildings, was
the objective and by the beginning of the thirteenth century, the claim was
rejected that a crusade could only serve the liberation of Jerusalem. A
crusade could be proclaimed against the enemies of the church, wherever
they were to be found beyond the borders of the Holy Land.981
Dependent on a continuing influx of reinforcements, the maintenance
of Jerusalem required fighters willing to see it as a domestic problem
requiring dedicated attention, but also an opportunity to realize God's offer
to gain redemption and salvation. The shining Christian knight was to rise
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that he alone would have to bear the responsibility and costs of the
crusade, since none of the other monarchs showed any interest in the
venture. While the pope was still trying to motivate Christendom with
high principles, the crusades were quickly becoming a practical
anachronism, promoted mainly by those, who hoped for personal gain.
Without promises of compensation, Frederick could not obtain his
magnates' agreement to participate in the crusade. The modest recruiting
success repeatedly recommended additional delays and lengthy
postponements of the departure. Periodically Frederick did send contingents
to the east. At a meeting with the pope in 1223, Frederick promised to set
out on crusade in 1225 and removed all doubt, when he swore to marry the
fourteen-year-old heiress of the kingdom of Jerusalem, Isabella. The
marriage may have been proposed by Pope Honorius III himself, in order
to heighten Frederick's eagerness to realize his promises. This meant that
the emperor would not be arriving in the Holy Land as conqueror, but as
rightful king. But despite the pope's efforts and even the recruiting efforts
of the grand masters of the fighting orders, adequate forces of men could
not be raised. Once again the departure had to be postponed, but that year
Frederick again promised to set out on crusade in 1227, and agreed to raise
1000 knights, with provisions for two years, and to make available
transport for 2000 more. That the crusade would be under his sole
leadership, was itself something of a victory over the pope. In the event of
his failure he posted a surety of 100 000 ounces of gold, and agreed to be
excommunicated voluntarily.982 The delay and postponement had become
necessary, when a whole range of problems arose for Frederick among the
cities of northern Italy, tying up his limited forces.983 The Lombard cities
were continuing to pursue their quest for greater independence and in 1226
, when called to the Diet at Cremona, they misinterpreted his intentions,
overreacted and actually dealt Frederick a significant setback. They
thought their liberties were endangered, refounded the Lombard League,
blocked the Alpine passes with the aim to resist Frederick's powers. It
would have been foolish to impose the fiscal and political demands that
Frederick I originally demanded at Roncaglia, preferring to follow the
terms of the Treaty of Constance of 1183.984
Frederick's excommunication on his own initiative was in the air,
should he break his vow to set out on crusade. His oath of 1225 to set out
in 1227, as well as the settlement of the troubles in northern Italy from
which the Papacy benefited, had saved him from the ban. In September
1227, he boarded a fleet in Brindisi, where a disease, typhoid or cholera,
raged among the pilgrims. Frederick was affected. Shortly later, the
disease flared up aboard the ships and struck Frederick again. Parts of the
The Hohenstaufen 285
fleet had to return, with the provision to follow during the next spring.985
Despite the mitigating circumstances accompanying this return, the new
pope, Gregory IX, chose to exercise the absolute primacy of the Papacy,
confronted Frederick's questionable sincerity and suspected his dealings
with the Papacy. He saw only his broken promises, rejected all attempts at
explanation, called him a false crusader, and pronounced Frederick's
excommunication.986 The agreement of 1225 had not foreseen such an
event. It was recognized that this was only one rationalization among
several in the papal arsenal of possible reasons. Despite the evidence of
moneys deposited and a thousand knights sent east, eye witness accounts
and arguments met with disbelief, were not accepted and the ban was
pronounced in November 1227.987 Frederick refused to submit and display
the expected deference and repentant submission to the obstinate pope,
and his escalating false charges and demands. For the sake of peace and
understanding Frederick remained conciliatory. Not unlike Henry IV
before Canossa, Frederick did the unexpected and proceeded with his
crusade, to avert the charge that he himself was a heretic. He had to fear
his deposition as king of the Sicilian kingdom by the new pope, Gregory
IX. Out of papal favor and not permitted to set out on crusade he left even
when under the ban,988
Frederick resumed his crusade in 1228 as an imperial expedition,
reached Cyprus and the Holy Land and on March 17, 1229, under great
rejoicing, as king of Jerusalem entered the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
in Jerusalem – by negotiation,989 not at all acceptable to the pope's legate
and to the patriarch of Jerusalem. The knights Templar and Hospitalers
and their clerics were noticed for the restraint of their enthusiasm to
welcome the excommunicated emperor. Much to the ire of the traditional
Christians, the political pragmatism of the negotiations had left the Islamic
sanctuaries on the Temple Rock in Moslem hands. For crusaders and
pilgrims alike, the goal of the crusade – to pray in the Church of the
Sepulcher – had been attained, though not all, including the irate pope,
were persuaded that “the end justified the means”. To all, the emperor
showed himself to be a most Christian monarch.
Under the crown of Jerusalem, he circulated an imperial encyclical, in
which he expressed the entry into the City of David as a divine miracle,
made manifest to all. It was God's work, which favored the emperor and
not the pope, and that as Christ-king, the messianic emperor at the end of
time had gained Jerusalem.990 He returned to Italy, quite persuaded that his
kingdom was the renewal of the Davidic kingdom, lasting onto eternity.
Under these considerations, he may have hoped to persuade the pope of
his own piety and of God's grace, and thereby obtain the withdrawal of the
286 Chapter Three
region between the rivers Elbe and Weser.994 Isabella died in childbirth in
1241. At the diet at Vienna in 1237, he had Conrad elected king, already
king of Jerusalem through his mother. On the same occasion, Frederick
confiscated the duchies of Austria and Styria and placed them under the
administration of the realm. For a short while, their duke was reinvested
with the holdings, but in 1246, he fell in a Hungarian war. He had no
heirs.995 Conrad IV, as king elect, received regal tasks and powers to
enact them, but Frederick II withheld the concluding confirmation of a
royal election and enthronization. This involved no risks from a competing
quarter, since there were no contending families left to issue a challenge.
Furthermore, the lack of interest in a royal election furthered in 1237 the
formation of the princely College of Electors, the Kurfürsten, as a
substitute for the Roman senate.996
In northern Italy, tensions were building, by the end of which Pope
Gregory IX denounced Frederick II as the forerunner of the Antichrist. On
Palm Sunday 1239, the pope renewed the charge of heresy and his
excommunication for disobedience in the Lombard affairs. Blasphemous
remarks were added to the accusation. The process had become a political
device. Almost immediately, some used the ban to break their oath of
fealty. The final conflict was approaching.997 The issue was again the
question of the dominium mundi.
Frederick II responded by going on the offensive against the church
and those in its service in Sicily and imperial Italy. By means of
reorganization, a further centralization and increase of his power, he
closed the borders, augmented his spy system, expelled the mendicant
orders, whom he considered to be the pope's propagandists, ordered the
local clergy to ignore the interdict and assumed full charge of any
episcopal investitures. He interpreted his situation as an opportunity to
centralize Italy as the core of his Empire, considering the Papal States and
duchies to be integral parts of his realm. In 1240, he occupied Rome and
treated it as his capital. However, he had not counted on the zealous
resistance of Pope Gregory IX and the Papacy, which declared the war
against Frederick a holy war, a crusade in defense of the faith, with the
benefits of the joys of heaven for all those who fell in the cause of the
church.998 In the end, Gregory proved more than Frederick's match as the
papacy developed its own temporal claims and devalued the prestige of the
imperial office.999
To counter the charge of heresy, once again, the imperial prophecy
arose and focused on the Staufen dynasty. Similar to Carolingian times,
the house of Staufen was seen to merge with the Biblical house of David.
Frederick I was the root of a new Tree of Jesse, which projected Conrad as
288 Chapter Three
heir of the crown of the king of Jerusalem. Rather than being the Anti-
Christ, the link with the house of David elevated the dynasty into the
vicinity of Jesus.1000 The dynasty would witness the fulfillment of the
terrestrial order. The representatives of the dynasty were the precursors of
Conrad, the messianic emperor, not as Staufen, but as representatives of
the imperium. While the Staufen ancestors were forgotten, the idea of the
Davidic Kingdom of a new Golden Age gained substance, as the Roman
emperors Augustus and Justinian gained prominence in the deliberations,
especially as lawmakers. Frederick II placed the Empire under the Law,
actually a compendium of the regional laws of the realm. Frederick was
persuaded that he represented the law in his own person and as such was
the embodiment of God's omnipresence. Initially, the Davidic and
Messianic aura was blended with antique, classical notions to make of him
the Cosmocrator, the master of the earth and its elements and other
exaggerated formulations.1001 Fliers circulated the idea of the emperor as
savior and just king. As sacerdotium, the realm was considered to
represent the realization of God's realm on earth. The imperial and papal
chancelleries praised their respective leaders and fought one another with
invectives.
In 1241, the pope called a council to Rome to depose the emperor.1002
Vain offers of the crown had gone to Germany and to France, but were
rejected. To prevent this council from assembling, Frederick intercepted
on land and on sea over one hundred participants and had those, who had
not drowned in a sea battle, imprisoned. During Frederick's second attempt
to take Rome, Pope Gregory IX died in August 1241. Since Frederick's
attack was focused on the person of the pope, he had to await the election
of another pope, delayed until 1243, owing to the divided support in the
College of Cardinals, when one finally settled on Innocent IV. Though he
was not motivated by fanatical zeal, he represented the theory of papal
omnipotence. Preliminary negotiations projected the repeal of Frederick's
excommunication in return for the restoration of the Papal States.
Frederick II, however, remained adamant in his treatment of the Lombard
cities, as rebels. In the worsening dispute, the pope fled to France and at
Lyon, in June 1245, convoked the council originally scheduled for 1241.
Its purpose was to depose the emperor.
The Mongols had taken the Russian principalities and by early 1241,
had already entered Silesia. Their threat to the west was understood, when
they completely annihilated an assembled Christian force. The emperor
appealed to the other rulers to combine sufficient forces to stem the
pending attack.1003 Christianity again interpreted the Mongol threat as the
scourge of God, as punishment for the lapse into sin, as the arrival of the
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At the same time the vitriolic cardinal Rainer of Viterbo, with whom
Frederick had been embroiled, sent to the council a long litany of old and
new accusations and denunciations. These included the charge that the
emperor wanted to alienate the Christian community from its faith, as he
entertained treasonable relations with Saracen nobles and sinful contact
with their women, that he had murdered his three wives and his son, and
that his Saracens violated Christian women and maidens in front of the
altars. With incendiary imagery, he denounced him as Lucifer, the
Apocalyptic dragon, the blasphemous beast, accompanied by the Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse, a forerunner of the Antichrist, whose
appearance on earth had been prophesied by Joachim of Fiore for the year
1260. On the other hand Frederick was represented as the scourge of a
wicked and ungodly church.1006 This view coincided with the idea that the
end of the Age of the Spirit had come. For some it was the pope who was
the Antichrist, while Frederick's political program aimed to dismantle the
church and redistribute its wealth among the poor. To protect itself the
church had only one choice, the overthrow of the archenemy and the
merciless destruction of his progeny.1007
Once again the emperor's representative promised to make amends and
offered all restitution, to recover the Greek church for Rome, to fight the
Mongols and all other enemies of the church and especially to restore the
glory of Jerusalem at imperial expense. The pope reacted with suspicion
and rejection. The question arose by what right a pope could depose an
emperor, when his election was the exclusive right of princes.
Consequently the deposition was deemed invalid. Frederick's military
operations continued. Innocent IV based his right on his apostolic
authority and on July 17, 1245, at the papal Council of Lyon, he
unilaterally and one-sidedly, with the council merely in ceremonial
attendance, deposed the king/emperor for perjury, breach of the peace,
sacrilege and heresy. That charge made it possible to launch a crusade
against a king who had lost the sympathy of his age. Mitigating grounds,
such as the church's share in the crisis, were not taken into
consideration.1008 All oaths of fealty were dissolved and the election of a
new emperor was authorized. In the emancipatory struggle to free the
evolving secular understanding of the state from the domineering attempts
of papal control, the primacy pendulum seemed to have swung to the papal
side.
However, by referring to his divinely ordained status, which placed
him above the law and any punishment, Frederick was deeply affected by
the charge of heresy and considered the pope's procedure an affront and
himself not deposable by any authority on earth. Empire and Papacy were
The Hohenstaufen 291
for him co-equal authorities ordained by God and only God could sit in
judgment over the emperor. He rejected the pope's verdict for having been
reached by faulty procedures – no prosecutor and only few, unsuitable
witnesses, the absence of the accused - and a disregard for the accepted
rules of evidence. He recognized the primacy of the pope in spiritual
matters, but denied him the arbitrary authority to name, or penalize and
depose princes.1009 He rejected categorically the pope's claim to the final
authority and his undifferentiated demands for obedience in all worldly
things. Fredrick's German magnates of church and state stayed by his side
and the king of France, Louis IX, Saint Louis, ignored the verdict, upset
that the pope pursued the crusade against Frederick with more enthusiasm
than he supported his own crusade into Egypt.1010 Nor were Frederick's
relations with the English crown seriously affected.
At first, Frederick was a bit stunned by the verdict and not able to
react. However, he then felt freed of all obligations toward the pope and
with the help of the expert jurists in his entourage pointed to the pope's
presumption and his judicial errors and denounced the church for
violations of its bounds in the Gelasian doctrine of the Two Authorities.
Having forsaken its pursuit of poverty, it now neglected its imitation of the
humble life of Christ, aimed for growing worldliness, greed and hunger for
earthly power, accompanied by its neglect of its spiritual obligations.
Fredrick tried to assert his secular independence from ecclesiastical
control and hoped to gain the support of the other monarchs, by raising the
threat posed to them by the church, intent on winning the unjustified
power struggle between the ecclesiastical and secular authorities. The
maintenance of this emperor's position was the guarantee of their
positions. In effect, Frederick's response to the papal verdict was intended
to reduce the esteem of the church, coupled with a recommendation for the
reform of the whole church.
From the Council of Lyons onward, a crusade preached against the
emperor was one method to destroy him. It was to be the first time that it
was preached as a political, papal instrument against its imperial
enemy.1011 The church sent preaching Dominicans and Franciscans as
agitator-preachers into the imperial lands, who, with papal authorization,
started to sell indulgences and offered time release of forty to fifty days
from purgatory for just listening to the hate sermons. Whoever took the
cross to fight the emperor could count on the complete remission of all
sins. The inability to complete the pledge could be gladly redeemed
through a cash payment to the church. Those inclined to the eschatological
teachings of Joachim of Fiore would find appeal in their sermons. In return
imperial supporters among the mendicant orders reminded their brothers
292 Chapter Three
of their original purpose to seek poverty and the spiritual life and not to be
enmeshed in the affairs of the world, denounced Pope Innocent as a heretic
and even as the Antichrist.1012 Frederick turned to the persecution of those
preaching against him. The dispute was turning into a conflict about the
correct faith, though it did not evolve into an intellectual, theological
dispute. In England resentment was growing to the financial demands of
the Papacy, while in France opposition grew among the nobility,
concerned about its rights in the face of ecclesiastical claims, to the
church's interference in purely secular disputes among nobles, lords and
vassals. Here too the concerns found expression that the church had
strayed from its initial spiritual purpose and exceeded the defining bounds
of church law.1013 While in England Henry III placed restrictions on the
judicial activities of the church, in France, the pope was able to cater to the
interests of king Louis IX and gain the authority for the Dominicans to
circulate in France the verdict of Lyon announcing the deposition of the
emperor. Louis IX, however, forbade preaching a crusade in France
against the emperor.
At this time, the cardinal of Viterbo returned to the fray with a circular
affirming the justness of the papal position, according to which the
sacerdotium defined the imperium. The princes' stubborn refusal to
comply with the admonitions of the church, merited their expulsion from
the Christian community, outside of which, however, there could be
neither regnum, nor Imperium, because outside of the church, God had not
provided for such a reign. That path led to Hell. Frederick found that
within this interpretation, his continued insistence on the Two Authorities
merely confirmed his faulty understanding of the world. Although
Frederick tried to distinguish between the pope as individual and the
church as universal, in view of the pope's rejection of the Dual Authority,
in favor of papal primacy in all spiritual and worldly things, it was not
difficult to conclude that Frederick's intention was the subjection of the
church rather than its protection.1014 A papal encyclical called upon all the
princes to take arms against Frederick, the tyrant. In Germany, the pope
generated much ill-will as he eroded the imperial basis, by inducing the
imperial episcopate as the archbishops of Mainz, Cologne and Trier to
change sides, or to resign or to be replaced by those in the priesthood
friendly to the pope. The cathedral chapters came under papal control, as
he himself determined the installation of bishops and determined all
church activities through his legates. Secular supporters changed sides, as
the pope bestowed such favors as church fiefs and other advantages and
privileges on them. A system of rewards and punishments made people
pliable to his demands, and residual Staufen influence in Germany began
The Hohenstaufen 293
Holy Land. The pope extended his appeal to Italy, Poland and Denmark,
and even set aside any German participation in the crusade, which Louis
IX of France was preparing, in order not to compromise the resources
needed to fight against Frederick. On this occasion, a large contingent of
Frisian crusaders, intent on joining Saint Louis' crusade, were diverted by
the pope to support his candidate William of Holland in his quest for the
German crown. Innocent IV was preparing the conclusion of the dispute
by means of a military decision.1019 In this turmoil, Otto II of Bavaria
married his daughter Elisabeth to king Conrad IV, and made common
cause with that of the Staufen. On his way to Lyon in 1247, to present his
case personally to the pope, where with the help of the French king, he
hoped to make peace with the pope, Frederick encountered the unexpected
hostility of the city of Parma.1020 While several victories against papal
forces allowed him to relax his vigilance during the siege, it invited a
catastrophic defeat before Parma, which included the loss of personal
jewelry, his treasury, his war chest and accented his vulnerability and
made him fear the loss of all but Sicily, to which he retired. The defeat
marked his loss of prestige and the loss of many supportive cities. His
situation improved again through the financial difficulties of the Papacy,
the intervention of the king of France from Cyprus, and some military
successes by Conrad against William of Holland. In this conflict, the
church magnates by necessity sided with William, while the secular
magnates largely abstained. However, the imperial ministerials, the
burghers of the Staufen cities and the episcopal cities along the Rhine
remained loyal to Conrad. They may have been persuaded that their fight
on behalf of the Staufen king also entailed a fight for their freedom.
Particularly the financial and military efforts of the city of Worms allowed
him to protect Staufen interests along the Middle Rhine.1021 The military
methods of the day specialized in the devastation of an enemy's territories,
with the aim to weaken him economically. Unfortunately, it always was
the population on the land, which bore the brunt of these methods, which
led to an increase in violence, injustice, political and religious uncertainty
and a general breakdown of security. It was an uneven struggle, in which
the secular authority fought with the abstractions of the material world,
personified by an excommunicated emperor, against which the church
could muster the persuasive power of the faith. The church fought
psychological and spiritual campaigns with the threat of excommunication,
but also with the absolution from sin and the promise of the salvation of
the soul and a life everlasting.
Frederick appreciated the imbalance in the struggle and prepared to
redress the unfavorable situation personally. At the beginning of 1250, the
The Hohenstaufen 295
news arrived that king Louis' crusade had been a fiasco and from several
quarters pressure began to build against the pope and his tenacious but
misguided leadership of Christendom. Louis' criticism arrived from
Cyprus concerning the poor state of affairs in the Holy Land, for
Innocent's refusal to grant Frederick absolution, he being the only one who
could redress the Syrian situation. Louis IX may have been about to cancel
his hospitality extended to the pope in Lyon.1022
Frederick had been detained by disruptive occurrences in northern
Italy, which had lasted nearly two years, but during which time his
position had been strengthened militarily. About to set out on the long
journey to Lyon, once again to clarify his situation before the unrelenting
pope, Frederick died on December 13, 1250, at the age of 56. It was
recorded that he was dressed in Cistercian garb.1023 He had belonged to
this order for a number of years. He found his last resting place in a
porphyry sarcophagus, first prepared by his grandfather Roger, and like his
father was placed in the cathedral of Palermo in Sicily. Though he
confessed his sins on his deathbed and a bishop absolved him, the pope
did not withdraw the excommunication. Shortly after his death, the count
of Württemberg visited the pope with the urgent request that never again
should an offspring of the Staufen nest of vipers come to rule, not as king
or emperor, or even as duke of Swabia. Pope Alexander IV forbade the
election of another Hohenstaufen on pain of excommunication.1024
could not counter with his legal logic, was repeatedly embroiled in petty
wars, which were most often instigated by supporters of the papal
opposition. In dealing with these, he revealed himself a man of his age.
Paradoxically, he was also hailed to have been the first Renaissance man
on the imperial throne, and it is this paradox, which makes him the
historical enigma.
It was a happy circumstance that the cultural currents of the
Mediterranean basin intersected in Sicily. Greek, Arabian, Norman and
Latin intellectual currents flowed between the Greek Levant, Arabic Spain
and Latin Italy and southern France. These influenced one another,
blended and created a complex and exceptional though not unique culture.
Frederick II was born into an itinerant court which did not provide a focal
center. It remained indebted to the court of Arabized Castile.1031 He was
educated in a stimulating multilingual and multicultural world in which
Jewish, Islamic and Christian scholars, subject to canon law, helped to
shape the development of questioning rational, analytically intellectual
attitudes. This environment may have encouraged a methodical skepticism,
his talents and broad interests in new ideas, artistic, architectural and
scientific developments. Arabic science offered new attractions and
realizations. He participated in their realization, in the company of their
most important representatives, whom he questioned critically about their
knowledge of God and the world. He demonstrated openly, that the human
intellect could proceed entirely independently of a higher intelligence,
outside of himself. He was an empirical experimentalist interested in facts,
who submitted legendary assumptions to early forms of scientific
investigation. The speculative intellect had nudged open the door to
science, by a crack. His interest in the natural sciences was renowned. It is
of great significance that he saw an inherent functional causality in nature,
specified by the respective needs of beings, beyond which God need not
be troubled. His experimental procedures were subsequently cited by his
opponents to illustrate his base and godless nature. He is most famous for
his lengthy and closely observed scholarly book, describing his favorite
pastime, the “Art of Hunting with Birds”, particularly falcons.1032
While only little of this interest in intellectual activities reached
Germany directly, Albertus Magnus was to become its chief representative
there. In the kingdom of Sicily, his scientific inclinations favored the
pursuit of knowledge outside of scriptures. He participated actively in
early forms of the sciences, such as the astronomy of Michael Scotus, and
the study of flora and fauna for their beneficial properties, and especially
of pharmacy, medicine and surgery, and the training in them, as suggested
by Arabic experiential investigation, forbidden elsewhere. Scrutinized
The Hohenstaufen 299
the realm was affected seriously as king, nobility, pope and any other
interested party could disturb the compromise. The cultural currents did
not favor the royal position, as the emotional and spiritual enthusiasm
found overt expression in the Crusades, and clearly sided with the
leadership of the church against the weakening claims of the Empire. The
fall of Jerusalem to the Turks and their threat to Constantinople was
understood by the popes to present a strategic advantage in the Papacy's
disputes with the secular Empire. Henry IV was excommunicate and in too
weakened a position in any case to even think of assuming the leadership
over the surprisingly fervent movement among the laity. Incidentally, the
same held true for the king of France. The pope could attract and channel
the fighting spirit of the nobility by offering the remissions of sins and
salvation in return for military engagement, the emperor could not. While
the pope could project his authority onto an international stage, the
emperor's problems were of a primary nature, which cost him the reliable
support of his lords. The pope had gained the de facto leadership over
Christendom. In his entrenched position, the emperor had failed to
appreciate the religious enthusiasm of his day. The Salian king Conrad II
had chosen to introduce a dependent and dependable ministerial order,
loyal only to the crown, as a means of recovering and stabilizing royal
power. Astonishing are the building programs for which the mighty
ecclesiastical and secular magnates still found the inclination and the
resources.
Reinterpretations of the Gelasian 'Two Authorities', which embroiled
the two in reciprocal conflict before they raised the spiritual authority over
the secular one, led to the loss of the religious component of imperial rule.
It left the succeeding dynasty with the implementation of the politics of
power. Its reign coincided with the period during which the Papacy
attained its peak. The Swabian Hohenstaufen dynasty (1152-1250/1268)
could not address or resolve the political problems in the traditional
fashion. Despite family ties with the Salians, Frederick of Hohenstaufen
was not elected immediately. Conditions in Italy had undergone
modernizing changes to such an extent, that Frederick I, Barbarossa,
appeared to have fallen out of time. It was his policy towards the Regnum
Italie, which led to the open, ungrateful resistance of duke Henry, the
Lion, of Saxony and Bavaria, when he refused to join Frederick during the
siege of Milan. Henry's eastern policy had actually benefited from
Frederick's Italian ambitions.
The advent of the Crusades helped to accentuate the tensions between
the Empire and the Papacy, when the preparedness to participate in them
became a question of absolute obedience to the pope. The Hohenstaufen
304 Conclusion
policy in Italy made them absentee kings in Germany, beginning with the
marriage of Henry VI with Constanza of Norman Sicily. Their son,
Frederick II, called stupor mundi, wonder of the world, was later deemed
to be the first Renaissance man on the imperial throne. Despite Henry's
brief nominal rule over the Christian kingdoms, Italian politics determined
Henry's short life. Frederick's reign was dominated by a lengthy dispute
with the Papacy, among other things over a contentious diplomatic
recovery of Jerusalem. His proximity to Islamic culture brought Moslem
influences to his court, which affected his intellectual position on many
things. It contributed to his demonization. Father and son were buried in
Palermo, Sicily, having been German kings in name only. The northern
kingdom had become peripheral in which the actual rule had passed into
the hands of its territorial magnates, who pursued their particular, regional
interests. These crystallized in the formation of an 'electoral college' of
princes, who reserved for themselves the right to reject or elect royal
candidates of their choice. Decentralized, these interests contributed
greatly to the regional cultural flourish, as the territorial lords of church
and state sponsored the arts and architecture. Despite the misfortunes,
which affected the historical process, the cultural investments of the
church have been much better preserved than the secular effort. Although
great losses were sustained over the centuries, the preserved cultural
wealth is still immense.
NOTES
1
R. Holzmann, Geschichte der sächsischen Kaiser, 900-1024 (Munich 1971),
pp.19-24. See also H. Beumann, Die Ottonen, 2nd. Ed. (Stuttgart, Berlin, Cologne
1991), pp.12ff. Also G. Althoff, Die Ottonen. Königsherrschaft ohne Staat
(Stuttgart, Berlin, Köln 2000).
2
E. Hlawitschka, Vom Frankenreich zur Formierung der Europäischen Staaten-
und Völkergemeinschaft 840-1046 (Darmstadt 1986), p.8. See also H. Fuhrmann,
Germany in the High Middle Ages, c.1050-1200 (Cambridge 1986), pp.9ff.
3
H. Schutz, The Germanic Realms in Pre-Carolingian Central Europe, 400-750
(New York, Bern, Frankfurt a. M. 2000). Also Tools, Weapons and Ornaments.
Germanic Material Culture in Pre-Carolingian Central Europe, 400-750 (Leiden,
Boston, Cologne 2001), and The Carolingians in Central Europe, their History,
Arts and Architecture. A Cultural History of Central Europe, 750-900 (Leiden,
Boston 2004).
4
M. McCormick, Eternal Victory, Triumphal rulership in late antiquity,
Byzantium and the early Medieval West. Editions de la Maison des Sciences de
l'Homme, Cambridge U.P. (Paris 1987). K. Bosl, Leitbilder und
Wertvorstellungen des Adels von der Merowingerzeit bis zur Höhe der feudalen
Gesellschaft, (Munich 1974), p.16f. See Fichtenau, pp.157ff., esp. pp.161ff.
5
See H. Mitteis, Die Deutsche Königswahl (Darmstadt 1977), p.76.
6
A. Bauer, R. Rau, Quellen zur Geschichte der sächsischen Kaiserzeit. Widukinds
Sachsengeschichte, bilingual edition Latin and German (Darmstadt 1971), p.56f.
Widukind 'reports' Conrad's words to his brother in which the lack of royal fortune
figures prominently. See also K. J. Leyser, Rule and Conflict in an Early Medieval
Society. Ottonian Saxony (Bloomington, London 1979), p.80f.
7
H. K. Schulze, Hegemoniales Kaisertum. Ottonen und Salier (Berlin 1998),
p.130.
8
Althoff, Ottonen, p.232.
9
Fichtenau, p.162. See also B. Arnold, Medieval Germany, 500-1300. A Political
Interpretation (Toronto and Buffalo 1997), pp.170f., 174f.
10
Schutz, Carolingians, pp.323ff. passim.
11
See Holzmann, pp.24-36, for a brief summary of the inherited economic,
administrative and constitutional bases inherited from the Carolingians. See E.
Ennen, Die europäische Stadt im Mittelalter (Göttingen 1987), pp.78ff. See C.
Meckseper, Kleine Kunstgeschichte der deutschen Stadt im Mittelalter (Darmstadt
1982), pp.47, 50f. Also Hlawitschka, pp.7-27, concerning judicial and social
questions. Also Leyser, Rule and Conflict, p.104f.
12
See E. Pitz, Europäisches Städtewesen und Bürgertum (Darmstadt 1991),
pp.151ff. German does not know the distinction between cities and towns, having
only one word, Stadt, for both concepts. The OED defines cities as having been
created by charter, possibly containing a cathedral. A town is an enclosed
settlement, in which the word town reflects the German-English consonant shift of
306 Notes
't' = 'ts'. Thus Germ. 'zaun' meaning hedge, fence, enclosure, derives from OHG
zûn. 'Town' derives from the related OE, OS tûn, meaning enclosed settlement.
13
See H. Steuer, 'Das Leben in Sachsen zur Zeit der Ottonen', in M. Puhle, (ed.),
Otto der Grosse. Magdeburg und Europa, I, (Mainz, 2001), pp.89ff. See also
Holzmann, pp.36-44, who traces the regional consolidation into the tribal duchies.
See Hlawitschka, pp.37-43, for a treatment of details concerning the early
aristocracy.
14
H. E. J. Cowdrey, Pope Gregory VII, 1073-1085 (Oxford 1998), p.76. See
Cowdrey for extensive discussions of all major points concerning Gregory VII. His
assessments tend to be pro-Gregorian.
15
G. Althoff, 'Saxony and the Elbe Slavs in the tenth century', in T. Reuter, The
New Cambridge Medieval History, III, (Cambridge 1999), pp.267-292.
16
Schutz, The Prehistory of Germanic Europe (New Haven, London 1983), p.271.
17
W. Ullmann, Gelasius I (492-496) (Stuttgart 1981), p.ix, 192-198.
18
See G. Tellenbach, Church, State and Christian Society at the Time of the
Investiture Contest, translated by R. F. Bennett (Oxford 1966), pp.33ff. Fuhrmann,
p.110. See Leyser, Rule and Conflict, pp.75, 78f. See Ullmann, pp.199ff. Also
Schutz, Carolingians, p.68f. See also Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.93f.
19
J.Fleckenstein, M. L. Bulst, Begründung und Aufstieg des deutschen Reiches
(Munich 1973); K. G. Beuckers, J. Cramer, M. Imhof, (eds.), Die Ottonen. Kunst –
Architektur – Geschichte (Darmstadt 2002). See also T. Reuter, Germany in the
Early Middle Ages, 800-1056 (Harlow, Essex 1998), pp.131ff.
20
Beumann, p.27.
21
Holzmann, p.37ff. See Hlavitschka, p.94.
22
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.20.
23
Hlawitschka, p.95f. See B. Schneidmüller, 'Ottonen – Heinriche – Liudolfinger.
Ein Herrschergeschlecht aus Sachsen', in A. Wieczorek, H.-M. Hinz, Europas
Mitte um 1000, II (Stuttgart, Darmstadt 2000), pp.676ff.
24
See Hlawitschka, p.45ff.
25
Schutz, Germanic Realms, p.100f.
26
W. Goez, Lebensbilder aus dem Mittelalter, Die Zeit der Ottonen, Salier und
Staufer (Darmstadt 1998), p.14, suggests that Lotharingia may have seized an
occasion to pursue its own opportunities.
27
Holzmann, pp.59-68. See also Hlawitschka, pp.96-103, for a brief summary of
Conrad's rule.
28
Schulze, p.120.
29
See Holzmann, pp.44-58, for details concerning the organization of the German
diocese and their privileges and responsibilities. See Althoff, Ottonen, p.234, who
points out that the bishops and abbots could have vassals, able to raise troops.
30
Holzmann, pp.61ff.
31
See Hlawitschka, p.39f. concerning the history of the Saxon and Bavarian
dukedoms. See also Beumann, p.28f. Also Fleckenstein, Bulst, pp.21f., 26.
32
Hlawitschka, p.99. See also Beumann, p.29f., and Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.22.
33
Holzmann, p.66. See Althoff, Ottonen, pp.29-35.
34
Beumann, p.21.
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 307
35
Beumann, p.9.
36
See Fleckenstein, Bulst, pp.13-21. See H. Wolfram, 'Bavaria in the tenth and
early eleventh centuries', in T. Reuter, The New Cambridge Medieval History, III,
(Cambridge 1999), pp.293-309.
37
Holzmann, p.66ff. See H. K. Schulze, 'Sachsen als ottonische Königslandschaft',
in Puhle, pp.32ff.
38
L. Körntgen, Ottonen und Salier (Darmstadt 2002), pp.3ff. Also H. K. Schulze,
Hegemoniales Kaisertum, Ottonen und Salier (Berlin 1998). See W. Goez,
Gestalten des Mittelalters (Darmstadt 1983), pp.3-24.
39
K. G. Beukers, J. Cramer, M. Imhof, (eds.) Die Ottonen. Kunst – Architektur –
Geschichte. (Darmstadt 2002), p.46f.
40
Bauer, Rau, p.56f. Widukind committed an anachronism, when he prematurely
listed the Holy Lance among the royal insignia . It was not Conrad's to give.
During the twelfth century, the legend was made popular that Henry had been
catching birds, when the delegation reached him, offering him the crown. To recall
his innocent disinterest in the affair, he became known as Henry the Fowler.
However, it was just a legend, for he played a significant role in the preceding
negotiations. See W. Goez, Lebensbilder aus dem Mittelalter. Die Zeit der
Ottonen, Salier und Staufer (Darmstadt 1998), p. 11. For a critical summary of the
Ottonian period, see O. Engels, 'Überlegungen zur ottonischen
Herrschaftsstruktur', in B. Schneidmüller, S. Weinfurter, (eds.) Otto III – Heinrich
III. Eine Wende? (Stuttgart 2000), pp.267-325. See also Althoff, Ottonen, p.37f.
who discusses the speech attributed to Conrad by different contemporary
historians.
41
Goez, Gestalten, p.3f. discusses the fiction.
42
Beumann, p.22f. follows Wenskus, who proposed that they were among retro-
migrants from the British Isles. He summarizes the family intertwine between
Carolingians and Liudolfingians. See also J. Ehlers, 'Sachsen und Angelsachsen im
10. Jahrhundert', in Puhle, pp.491f. Also Schulze, pp.134ff.
43
Althoff, Ottonen, pp.16ff..
44
S. Freund, 'Sachsen und das Reich am Todestag Ottos des Großen', in H.
Wittmann, Memleben (Petersberg 2001), p.24, n.132. See Leyser, Rule and
Conflict, pp.63-73. See I. Crusius, , 'Sanctimoniales quae secanonica vocant. Das
Kanonissenstift als Forschungsproblem', in I. Crusius (ed.) Studium zum
Kanonissenstift, Studien zur Germania Sacra 24 (Göttingen 2001), p.20. See E.
Ennen, Frauen im Mittelalter, 2nd. ed. (Munich 1985).
45
Goez, Gestalten, p.5.
46
J. Laudage, Otto der Große (912-973) (Regensburg , Darmstadt 2001), p.68,
argues that Henry's father had suffered territorial losses in preceding feuds and that
it was he who urged Henry to repudiate Hatheburg , in order to improve the
Liudolfingian territorial position through another marriage. See Schulze, p.137f.
for the opposition to this marriage. Also Leyser, Rule and Conflict, p.12. See
Althoff, Ottonen, p.23.
308 Notes
47
Hlawitschka, p.100f. See also Beumann, p26f., for greater detail concerning the
relationships. Also Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.25f. And Laudage, p.124, concerning
Thankmar's legitimate claims. See Schulze, map, in Puhle, p.34.
48
Schulze, p.139.
49
See Goez, Lebensbilder, p.16, concerning the accuracy of this term during the
tenth century, in the quoted text from the Salzburg Annals. See Medieval
Germany, p.4. Again Goez, Gestalten, p.11f. argues, that while other countries
derived their name from a leading tribal group, the uncoordinated association of
the tribal groups led to an abstract, even arrogant imperial umbrella term, which
invited later resentments.
50
Laudage, p.76f. Also Bauer, Rau, p.56-59. Widukind's sentence, ln.25, suggests
future probability rather than actuality.
51
Beumann, p.32. See also M. Imhoff, 'Das Zeitalter der Ottonen – Ein
Historischer Überblick' in Beuckers, et al., p.27.
52
See Körntgen, p.33. See Schulze, p.142f. who raises several political issues and
considerations concerning Henry's refusal. Also S. Patzold, 'Verzeihen, schenken
und belohnen', in Beuckers, et al., p.46f. who suggests that Widukind was
conscious of a relationship between anointing and coronation as part of a royal
elevation, and that later churchmen in their assessments deemed Henry's rejection
of the consecration a sin. The essay outlines the detailed coronation ritual. See
Reuter, p.140.
53
Bauer, Rau, p.59. See Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.26. Holzmann p.69f. argues that the
act of anointing was a ceremony particular for an imperial coronation. Henry's
was only a royal coronation.
54
See Goez, Gestalten, p.13f. Also Althoff, Ottonen, pp.43f. 46, who rejects the
old view that Henry wanted to distance himself from any dependence on the
church.
55
See Beumann, p.33, for a lengthy reconsideration. He argues that the anointing
symbolized the king's authority over the church and that in rejecting it, this control
remained unexpressed. See Holzmann, p.70. Also Laudage, p.78f.
56
Holzmann, p.67.
57
Hlawitschka, pp.29, 101.
58
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.27. See also Goez, Lebensbilder, p.16.
59
See Fichtenau, pp.152ff.
60
Schulze, p.148.
61
See Goez, Lebensbilder, p.20. concerning the non-aggression pact concluded
then. Also Goez, Gestalten, p.16. Schulze, p.150, details the respective entourages.
Also Althoff, Ottonen, p.49.
62
Goez, Lebensbilder, p.22. Also Goetz, Gestalten, p.18. Also Fleckenstein, Bulst,
p.31f. Also Holzmann, p.81.
63
Goetz, Gestalten, p.19.
64
Holzmann, p.78. Schulze, p.152.
65
Hlawitschka, p.106f.
66
See Mitteis, pp.87ff. Also Althoff, Ottonen, p.52f.
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 309
67
See Beumann, p.41. It may have served in Italy as supportive relic during the
Hungarian raids of the late ninth century. See Goez, Lebensbilder, p.24., who
suggests that Henry had to pay for it with the cessation of Basel . Schulze, p.170,
suggests that Henry obtained the Holy Lance from his son-in-law Rudolph of
Burgundy by coercion. According to Holzmann, p.101, the lance was not presented
to Henry until c.935.
68
Laudage, pp.29, 37..
69
Bauer, Rau, p.63f. Also Hlawitschka, p.109. See Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.34f. Also
Goez, Lebensbilder, p.24f. See also Reuter, pp.142ff. As well as Althoff, Ottonen,
pp.53ff.
70
Holzmann, pp.84ff. Goez, Lebensbilder, p.24. Laudage, p.89, suggests that the
defensive constructions were Widukind 's literary invention and where they
existed, archeologically not identifiable as uniquely Ottonian.
71
Schulze, p.158.
72
Bauer, Rau, p.91. Also Holzmann, p.88.
73
Goez, Lebensbilder, p.25. See also Laudage, p.88f.
74
Goez, Lebensbilder, p.25. Also Goetz, Gestalten, p.21. See C. Lübke, 'Die
Ausdehnung ottonischer Herrschaft über die slavische Bevölkerung', in Puhle,
p.68f. for details. See Schulze, pp.223ff., for a summary of cultural and economic
considerations among the Slavs. Also Althoff, Ottonen, p.55.
75
M. Puhle, 'Otto der Große, Magdeburg und Europa', in M. Puhle, (ed.), Otto der
Grosse. Magdeburg und Europa, I, (Mainz, 2001),pp.1ff. See also G. Böttcher, G.
Gosch, 'Magdeburg im 10. Jahrhundert', in Puhle, p.415.
76
Beumann, p.44f.
77
L. Körntgen, 'Starke Frauen: Edgith – Adelheit – Theophanu', in M. Puhle,
p.120f. Also Ehlers, in Puhle, pp.489-502.
78
Ehlers, in Puhle, p.493. See Althoff, Ottonen, p.57f.
79
Bauer, Rau, p.76f. See also, Beumann, p.46f. Also Holzmann, p.93f. and Goez,
Lebensbilder, p.26. See also Althoff, Ottonen, pp.60f., 63, for the different
accounts left by Widukind von Corvey and Liudbrand of Cremona.
80
Goetz, Gestalten, p.23. See Althoff, Ottonen, p.63f.
81
Althoff, p.64.
82
Bauer, Rau, p.79. Beumann, p.50, suggests that Widukind invented this intention
in propagandistic anticipation of Otto's later journey to Rome. Otto would then
have fulfilled his father's plan. Widukind's history is marked by such Ottonian
predeterminations.
83
Hlawitschka, p.50f. Holzmann, p.98f. See R. Collins, Early Medieval Europe,
300-1000 (New York 1993), pp.344ff., who attributes the story concerning the
Pornocracy to the Ottonian partisan Liutprand of Cremona.
84
Holzmann, p.102. See also Hlawitschka, p.108. Also B. Schneidmüller,
'Fränkische Bindungen', in Puhle, pp.507ff.
85
See Laudage, pp.104ff., 231ff.
86
Schulze, in Puhle, pp.37ff. for a summary of Otto's reign.
87
See Schulze, in Puhle, p.37, for a list of her holdings.
88
Laudage, p.125. Also Leyser, Rule and Conflict, p.16f.
310 Notes
89
See Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.49.
90
See H. Kamp, 'Konflikte und Konfliktführung in den Anfängen der Regierung
Ottos I.', in Puhle, pp.168ff.
91
Beumann, p.42.
92
M. Imhof, 'Das Zeitalter der Ottonen', in Beuckers, et al., p.18. See B. Ludowici,
'Die Pfalz Ottos des Großen in Magdeburg', in Puhle, pp. 391ff.
93
Ludowici, in Puhle, p.394f. The eastern apse of this edifice may have been
washed away by an extreme high water of the river Elbe. The erosion of the
embankment may have caused the church to collapse, to be relocated further
westward. But see also Böttcher, Gosch, in Puhle, pp.406ff.
94
Steuer, in Puhle, pp.91ff. for a detailed discussion of the urban development of
Magdeburg , its industrial and commercial strengths. Because many of the houses
were pit-houses, or erected with the post and beam construction, archeology
yielded much useful information. See G. Althoff, 'Die Gründung des Erzbistums
Magdeburg', in Puhle, p.344ff.
95
Lübke, in Puhle, p.69, reiterates a possible alliance with a Slavic dynasty.
96
Bauer, Rau, pp.84ff. See Laudage, pp.96ff., 99ff. Also Schulze, pp.172ff. And
Mitteis, p.56f. See Althoff, Ottonen, p.69f. Also Arnold, Medieval Germany,
p.137.
97
See Schutz, Carolingians, passim.
98
Beumann, pp.32, 54f. See Holzmann, pp.109ff. Also Althoff, Ottonen, pp.71f.,
75.
99
See Schulze, p.175.
100
Holzmann, p.111f. gives details of the ceremony and the spoken texts.
101
In 937, the archbishop of Mainz was made papal vicar in Germania, an
imprecise designation. See Beumann, p.63.
102
Bauer, Rau, p.89.
103
See Mitteis, p.102f, concerning the cultural significance of the number 4. See
also Althoff, Ottonen, p.76f.
104
Hlawitschka, p.114. See also Holzmann, p.110f.
105
Körntgen, p. 11f. See Althoff, Ottonen, pp.77ff.
106
Böttcher, Gosch, in Puhle, p.403.
107
Hlawitschka, pp.115ff.
108
Beumann, p.58f. for extensive details concerning the factional disputes. See
also Fleckenstein, Bulst, pp.44ff. Also Holzmann, p.113f.
109
Laudage, pp.113ff. for a biographical summary. Also Leyser, Rule and Conflict,
p.17. See Kamp, in Puhle, pp.168ff. Also Schulze, pp.178ff.
110
Holzmann, p.117, reports that Thankmar stood by the altar and defended
himself, when a spear through his back killed him. Killing an unarmed, kneeling
figure evokes more legendary pathos.
111
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.46f. Also Holzmann, p.115f., Laudage, p.115f. and
Schulze, pp.181ff.
112
Körntgen, pp.26ff.
113
Goez, Lebensbilder, p.18f. for an analysis of the feudal conditions. See
Holzmann, p.118f. See especially Laudage, p.122f.
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 311
114
D. Salewsky, 'Otto I und der sächsische Adel' in Puhle, p.55.
115
Fuhrmann, p.32f.
116
See Arnold, Medieval Germany, pp.162ff.
117
W. Metz, Das Servitium Regis (Darmstadt 1978). Körntgen, p.29f. Also Steuer,
in Puhle, pp.96ff, concerning mining of silver and the minting of coins.
118
See N. Kruppa, 'Emanzipation vom Bishof. Zum Verhältnis zwischen Bischof
und Stadt am Beispiel Minden', in U. Grieme, N. Kruppa, S. Pätzold (eds.), Bischof
und Bürger. Studien zur Germania Sacra 26. (Göttingen 2004), p.67.
119
See. H. Flachenecker, 'Die Rolle der bischöflichen Civitates, in U. Grieme, et
al., p.11f.
120
Holzmann, pp.119-124.Also Laudage, pp.116ff. See Althoff, Ottonen, pp. 88ff.
121
Holzmann, p.126f. The margrave Gero had pursued a rather brutal policy of
conquest against the Elbian Slavs, causing a Saxon revolt against him and his
backer, king Otto; see Schulze in Puhle, p.39. Also Althoff, Ottonen, pp.84ff.
122
Laudage, pp.22, 27, 119f. See G. Althoff, Otto III (Darmstadt 1996), p.43, who
illustrates that during the tenth century forgiveness was the greatest royal virtue.
Clemency involved public prostration and hence submission. See G. Althoff, 'Otto
III und Heinrich II in Konflikten', in B. Schneidmüller, S. Weinfurter, (eds.), Otto
III, Heinrich II. Eine Wende? (Stuttgart 2000), p.81f. See Kamp, in Puhle, p.174.
123
Laudage, p.128.
124
Beumann, p.61f. See Fleckenstein, Bulst, pp.47ff. Also Holzmann, p.137. See
S. Weinfurter, The Salian Century, translate from the German Herrschaft und
Reich der Salier,(Philadelphia 1999), p.9f.
125
Hlawitschka, pp.117ff. See Laudage, pp.128, 147f.
126
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.52. Also Holzmann, pp.137-147. Also Laudage,
pp.158ff., 165f. See also R. Schieffer, 'Das Italienerlebnis Ottos des Großen', in
Puhle, pp.446-460.
127
Goez, Lebensbilder, p.69, tell of her physical abuse intended to make her
pliable. See Schulze, pp.187ff. See Althoff, Ottonen, pp.93f., 96ff. See Ennen,
Frauen im Mittelalter, p.63f.
128
Beumann, p.67.
129
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.53. See Körntgen, in Puhle, p.122f. Also Goez,
Lebensbilder, pp.66-82. See Althoff, Ottonen, p.96f.
130
Holzmann, p.142f. mentions the defamation of Liudolf. See Hlawitschka,
p.119ff. Also Beumann, p.70. Otto did not await the marriage to act as king of
Italy. See H. Keller, 'Die Kaiserkrönung Ottos des Großen', in Puhle, pp.465ff.
131
Goez, Lebensbilder, p.69, tells how in folk lore she, a priest and a maid had dug
a passage under the walls and hidden in the grain fields, almost starving to death in
the swamps of the Po river, but were saved by a fisherman. See Laudage, p.165f.
for the sources of these adventures.
132
Schutz, Germanic Realms, p.358. for the example of queen Theodelinda's
choice of Agilulf following the death of Authari.
133
Schieffer, in Puhle, p.449.
134
See Laudage, pp.166-171, for his evaluation of Otto 's marriage and his
imperial intentions. See Althoff, Ottonen, p.99f.
312 Notes
135
Fleckenstein, Bulst, pp.55ff. mentions seditious talk among Liudolf and
likeminded followers over Christmas in 951 and then details the progress of the
revolt. See Laudage, pp.146ff.,154ff. who provides a speculative analysis of the
motives for the revolt. Also Leyser, Rule and Conflict, p.21. See also Schulze,
pp.189ff.
136
Holzmann, pp.148ff. suggests that the revolt was motivated by resentments over
the influence which Adelheit and Henry had on Otto. The conspirators wanted to
replace their influence by their own. See Laudage, p.148f.
137
Laudage, p.20f. See Althoff, Ottonen, pp.100ff.
138
See Holzmann, p.151f. concerning Brun 's administrative skills, and pp.169ff,
concerning the other dukes and their duchies. See N. Hiscock (ed.), The White
Mantle of Churches, (Turnhout 2003), p.11f. for a brief biographical sketch.
139
Laudage, p.21.
140
Laudage, p.151.
141
Beumann, p.75f. See also Fleckenstein, Bulst, pp.57ff. Holzmann, pp.153ff.
traces the disintegration of the revolt. Also pp.173ff. for details on the change of
administrative policy .
142
Körntgen, 'König und Priester', in Beuckers, p.61.
143
See Fichtenau, p.235f.
144
Tellenbach, p.91. Körntgen, p.30. See T. Reuter, 'Ottonische Neuanfänge und
karolingische Tradition', in Puhle, pp.184ff. for a succinct, 3 points, definition of
'Carolingian' rule: control of the church, annual campaigns and close contact with
the nobility. See Fichtenau, pp.191ff. Also Flachenecker, in Grieme, et al. p.13. .
145
See Reuter, p.160f.
146
See M. Springer, '955 als Zeitenwende – Otto I. und die Lechfeldschlacht', in
Puhle, pp.199ff. p.204 for the religious legend, which supports the victory. See
also Fichtenau, pp.207ff., 218f., concerning fighting bishops.
147
Schulze, p.194ff., calculates a total force, about 10,000 strong.
148
See Springer, in Puhle, p202f. Also Bauer, Rau, p.156f. Holzmann, p.158f.
provides details of the battle.
149
Beumann, p.79f. Holzmann, p.159, likens the significance of this victory over
the Hungarians to that which Charles Martel gained over the invading forces of
Islam at the battle of Tours, 732.
150
See Lübke, in Puhle, p.73. See Althoff, Ottonen, p.108.
151
Hlawitschka, p.124.
152
Bauer, Rau, p.158f. See Schulze, p.195f. concerning Widukind 's notion of Otto
as Roman 'soldier emperor'. Widukind makes no mention of Otto's coronation in
Rome, as though he preferred a return to the proclamation and elevation of the
emperor by his army, as the quotation suggests. See H. Beumann, 'Imperator
Romanorum, rex gentium. Zu Widukind III 76', in Kamp, Wollasch, Tradition als
historische Kraft (Berlin, New York 1982), pp.214ff., 226f. See Althoff, Ottonen,
p.107, who indicates that the royal chancellery did not adopt this title..
153
Hlawitschka, p.123. Also Beumann, p.80.
154
Hlawitschka, p.124f. See also Schulze, pp.230ff.
155
Schutz, Carolingians, p.74, for details concerning the circumstances.
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 313
156
Goez, Lebensbilder, p.73. Laudage, p.185-191, argues that the date coincides
with the presentation of Jesus in the Temple and that there is an analogical
relationship here with Otto's 'presentation in the temple', and relates the lengthy
coronation procedure. See also Keller, in Puhle, pp.468ff. Also Althoff, Ottonen,
p.113, for a summary of terms and conditions. See Ennen, Frauen im Mittelalter,
p.63f.
157
Laudage, p.191.
158
Goez, Lebensbilder, pp.83-94. Also B. Schimmelpfennig, Das Papsttum. Von
der Antike bis zur Renaissance (Darmstadt 1988), pp.122ff. See Holzmann,
pp.190ff.
159
Schutz, Carolingians, p.40f. This donation was based on the forged
Constitutum Constantini. See Laudage, pp.180ff. for an analysis of the
circumstances leading to the coronation. See Keller, in Puhle, p.472f. for text and
depiction of the document. Also Althoff, Ottonen, p.114f. See also Arnold,
Medieval Germany, p.85.
160
Schulze, p.201.
161
See Keller, in Puhle, pp.474ff. who suggests that the Italian problematic
circumstances transformed the imperial idea by forcing direct imperial intervention
in the papal and political affairs of Italy, leading to actual papal depositions. See
Also Althoff, Ottonen, p.116.
162
Goez, Lebensbilder, p.92. See also Laudage, pp.197ff.
163
See Schieffer, in Puhle, pp.452ff. for details of Otto's prolonged stay in Italy.
See Schulze, p.205, for a short list of the casualties among the Ottonian magnates.
164
Hlawitschka, pp.126f. See also Beumann, p.93, concerning the agreements.
Also Goez, Lebensbilder, pp.89ff., concerning the intrigues of the day and the
pope's trial.
165
J. Bumke, Courtly Culture. Literature and Society in the High Middle Ages,
translated from the German, Höfische Kultur: Literatur und Gesellschaft im hohen
Mittelalter (Woodstock, New York, 2000), p.351f. Bumke deals extensively with
almost all aspects pertaining to the High Middle Ages. References to this work are
intended as suggestions for further reading. Fichtenau, pp.175ff. concerning the
role of queens.
166
See Holzmann, pp.132-136. Beumann, p.66, proposes that the joint action of
church and state in promoting this missionary work later motivated the imperial
policy , which required the control over the Papacy, when it came to the royal
foundation of bishoprics.
167
See Althoff, Ottonen, p.120f. refers to a story in which during the installation of
his daughter Mathilda as abbess at Quedlinburg, the bishop of Halberstadt, despite
the papal encyclical of 962, had protested Otto's plans so vehemently that he
placed Quedlinburg under the interdict and Otto under the ban. Otto followed him
home and barefoot did penance, promising not to return to the question in the
bishop's lifetime. Only then was Otto released from the ban.
168
Laudage, pp.210f., 224ff. presents Wilhelm in a different, less reluctant light.
See G. Streich, 'Bistümer, Klöster und Stifte im ottonischen Sachsen', in Puhle,
314 Notes
211
See P. May, 'Theophanu, die Kaiserin des Abendlandes', in P. von Steinitz (ed.),
Theophanu, Regierende Kaiserin des Westreichs, p.35, suggests that she was 17
years old.
212
Schulze, p.212.
213
Sotiriadis, in Steinitz, p.11.
214
D. Matthes, Die Heiratsurkunde der Kaiserin Theophanu, 972 April 14, Rom.
Eine Ausstellung des Niedersäsischen Staatsarchivs in Wolfenbüttel (Göttingen
1972), pp.34 for the actual text. Hlawitschka, p.130f. Also Beumann, p.108f., and
Holzmann, pp.205-212. See Althoff, Ottonen, p.134.
215
Engels, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.290f. n.104. See Sotiriadis, in Steinitz,
p.12, for the frequency of the annual references.
216
C. Ruhmann, 'Die Handelnden Personen', in Wemhoff, pp.21ff. for a brief
summary of his life.
217
See Althoff, Ottonen, p.137f.
218
Althoff, Ottonen, p.139.
219
Schulze, in Puhle, p.48f. identifies founders and their foundations.
220
Sotiriadis, in Steinitz, p.14.
221
Schulze, p.251.
222
See Althoff, Ottonen, p.148, for some additional detail.
223
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.86. See also Schulze, in Puhle, p.43.
224
Holzmann, p.269f. gives a complete account of the adventure.
225
Holzmann, p.264, summarizes the course of the disputation. See Althoff,
Ottonen, p.144.
226
Holzmann, p.263, summarizes Gerbert's scientific biography. See Hiscock,
pp.32ff. concerning the state of learning and education and Gerbert's role in their
promotion. Also Hiscock, White Mantle of Churches, pp.6ff. for a biographical
sketch.
227
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.85f.
228
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.87. Also Althoff, pp.37ff.
229
Schulze, pp.260ff.
230
Schulze, p.211. Also Ennen, Frauen, p.64f.
231
Beumann, pp.113-124. Hlawitschka, pp.132-135. Also Fleckenstein, Bulst,
p.81ff. and Holzmann, pp.239-277, who offers extensive detail concerning the
major disputes during the reign of Otto II.
232
Holzmann, II, p.280.
233
Althoff, p.40f. See Engels, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.296f.
234
See Althoff, p.44f. for details. Also Beumann, Die Ottonen, p.128, who stresses
that on Palm Sunday 984 Henry proposed that the proclamation of his coronation
should take place in Quedlinburg at Easter.
235
Althoff, Ottonen, pp.153-158, offers a detailed account.
236
Holzmann, II, p.285. Also Althoff, p47f., who suggests that such was the
manner of the day to signal conflict resolution.
237
Althoff, pp.51ff. He suggests a specially designed ritual for Henry and a
demonstration of his reinstatement, when he performed the office of Stewart
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 317
during the Easter festivities in Quedlinburg, where only recently he had himself
acclaimed king.
238
Bumke, Courtly Culture, pp. 346ff.
239
See Chrysos, p.487.
240
Schneidmüller, in Puhle, pp.514ff. details the process of this crystallization of
independent interests.
241
Holzmann, II, p.307.
242
Holzmann, II, p.309.
243
See Althoff, Otto III, pp.126ff. Also Beumann, pp.127-136. Also Fleckenstein,
Bulst, pp.90-94. Also Holzmann, II, pp.279-311. Hlawitschka, pp.135ff. Also
Goez, Lebensbilder, pp.66-82. See also Steinitz, Theophanu, Regierende Kaiserin
des Westreichs.
244
Althoff, p.73, indicates that the event is not actually documented. M. de
Fernandy, Der heilige Kaiser. Otto III. Und seine Ahnen (Tübingen 1969). B.
Schneidmüller, S. Weinfurter, (eds.) Otto III – Heinrich III. Eine Wende?
(Stuttgart 2000). Also Beumann, pp. 137-156. Holzmann, II, pp.279-363.
Fleckenstein, Bulst, pp.95-120. Also Hlawitschka, pp.139-146. Althoff, Ottonen,
p.172, rejects the claim that Otto III immediately spurned his grandmother.
245
Schulze, p.268. See also H. Müller, 'Erzbischof Heribert von Köln und der
,Osten' ', in Wieczorek, Hinz, II, pp.774ff.
246
Althoff, pp.190ff.
247
Althoff, pp.199ff.
248
Hiscock, White Mantle of Churches, p.20f. for a brief biographical note.
249
Schulze, p.269f. See also Althoff, Ottonen, p.176.
250
See J. W. Bernhardt, 'Der Herrscher im Spiegel der Urkunden', in
Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.328f., who tabulates the frequency of Otto's stays in
Italy.
251
See Ullmann, pp.198ff. Also Schutz, Carolingians, p.69, n.142.
252
Schulze, p.289.
253
Bernhardt, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.330.
254
Bernhardt, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, pp.333, 335.
255
Beumann, p.140.
256
See J. Snyder, H. Luttikhuizen, D. Verkerk, Art of the Middle Ages (Upper
Saddle River, N.J. 2006), p.208, propose these crowned heads to be emperors,
perhaps his father and grandfather, their crown being identical to his. They
disregard J. Fried, Otto III. und Boleslav Chrobry (Stuttgart 1989), p.11, who
summarized the preceding discussion.
257
See Althoff, pp.91-99, for more detailed treatments. Also Althoff, Ottonen,
p.177, for a sketch of their relationship.
258
See Schramm, p.81f. Also Althoff, pp.114-125, in which he follows the
argument of K. Görich, Otto III. Romanus Saxonicus et Italicus. Kaiserliche
Rompolitik und sächsische Historiographie. (Sigmaringen 1993), that the ideas
attributed to Otto III are largely the ideas of modern historians. See Althoff,
Ottonen, p.183, concerning the first use of this formulation.
318 Notes
259
See Holzmann, II, p.323, for the church leaders who now joined the ranks of his
counselors.
260
Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.141f.
261
See Althoff, Otto III, p.132, n.21.
262
Althoff, p.100f.
263
Beumann, p.148. Crescentius was a descendant of Marozia. See Schulze, p.272,
who quotes an eyewitness that the anti-pope was excommunicated, had his eyes
gouged, and lips, ears and nose cut off. The anti-pope's parade of infamy consisted
of his 'coronation' with a cow's udder, seated backwards on a donkey, his hands
tied to its tail, as the donkey was driven through the streets accompanied by the
mockery of the bystanders. See also Holzmann, II, p.329. See especially Althoff,
pp.105-113, for the reports and explanations of the death of Crescentius. See also
Althoff, 'Otto III und Heinrich II in Konflikten', also Engels, in Schneidmüller,
Weinfurter, p.80 and pp.310-314. Also Althoff, Ottonen, p.181f.
264
The concept of the Renovatio had already been a Carolingian concern, but their
models were not the pagan Caesars, but such Christians as Constantine,
Theodosius and Justinian and it was the thrust of the Carolingian 'Renaissance' to
reactivate the traditions of the late Classical, Christian Rome and not the pagan
Rome of Augustus. Carolingian and Ottonian terminology is that used in Christian
Imperial Rome.
265
This is actually a disputed point in modern scholarship, which argues strongly
that it was Percy Ernst Schramm, who created Otto's vision to make the 'Golden
Rome' the capital of his Christian Empire . See Engels in Schneidmüller,
Weinfurter, pp.305ff.
266
See Holzmann, II, p.332f. for examples and terminology. See Engels, in
Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.324.
267
Schulze, pp.276ff. See Althoff, Ottonen, p.178f.
268
Althoff, Ottonen, p.187.
269
Körntgen, p.44. But see Engels, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.321,
concerning other reasons for the choice of name. See also Hiscock, White Mantle
of Churches, p.8.
270
Althoff, pp.128ff. discounts political considerations for Otto's journey to the
grave of his friend. See p.134f. for other possible motivations, and pp.136-147 for
details of the journey. See Schulze, pp.275ff. for a brief synopsis of the life of
Adalbert. See J. Fried, Otto III. und Boleslav Chrobry (Stuttgart 1989), pp.15ff. ,
p.81, who proposes this event to be a consequential moment, leading to the
inclusion of the Polish, Bohemian and Hungarian kingdoms in Western, Latin
Europe. See also Althoff, Ottonen, pp.189ff.
271
See Fleckenstein, Bulst, who details the proceedings in Gniezno. See Engels, in
Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.324, n.278, concerning the use of the designation
servus Jesu Christi. Also Landes, p.18.
272
See Althoff, pp.127, 139ff. who questions the basis for this argument and
discusses the later source of the claim. Also Krögner, p.45. See Schulze, pp.280ff.
for the emergence of Poland. See also Althoff, Ottonen, p.191f.
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 319
273
Beumann, p.151. See Althoff, pp.149ff. concerning the hagiographical
description of the opening of Charlemagne's tomb. No mention is made in the
description of the Roman sarcophagus taken to have been his. See Althoff,
Ottonen, p.193.
274
Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.59.
275
See Schulze, pp.284ff. concerning the creation of the Hungarian kingdom.
276
See Beuckers, p.2f. The procession of allegories leans heavily on the mosaic of
the Three Kings in San Appollinare Nuovo, in Ravenna.
277
C. Smith, Before and after the End of Time. Architecture and the Year 1000
(New York 2000), pp.xi ff., 1f.
278
Althoff, Ottonen, p.185, rejects the idea of a renewed brilliant reconstruction of
Rome to be a fabrication of modern scholarly projection.
279
Bernhardt, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.334.
280
Althoff, pp.171ff., 178ff., for a lengthy version of the speech.
281
See Holzmann, II, pp.350f., 355, for an excerpt of the text of the speech. See
also Althoff, p.173f. See also Engels, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.319f. who
summarizes a discussion, in which the 'Constantinian Donation' was suspect to
Otto III, and forfeited, owing to the carelessness of the popes. Bernhardt, in
Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.334, discusses this topic in the context of the renewal
of the Christian Roman imperium. See also Althoff, Ottonen, pp.195ff.
282
Engels, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, pp.308ff. summarizes the Byzantine
reasons for the delay.
283
Beumann, p.155, but see Holzmann, II, p.362. See also Ehlers, in
Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.58. But also Schulze, p.293.
284
Holzmann, II, p.363, cited by Althoff, p.7f.
285
Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.92.
286
T. Zotz, 'Die Gegenwart des Königs. Zur Herrschaftspraxis Ottos III. und
Heinrichs II', in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, pp.372, 383-386, for the itinerary
locations of Otto III and Henry II respectively.
287
Bernhardt, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.335, has calculated the percentages
of their respective sojourns in Italy : Otto III over 52%, Henry II only 7.5%. See G.
Tellenbach, 'Kaiser, Rom und Renovatio' in Kamp, Wollasch, pp.230ff. who
itemizes the locations and the little amount of time, which the emperors actually
spent in Italy. The long intervals between visits, made them seem as strangers.
Among other such intervals, thirty-six years separated the last visit to Rome of
Henry III and the first of Henry IV. Rome was never to be the imperial residence,
as 18 emperors resided there for a total of only about five years.
288
Althoff, p.208. See also B. Schneidmüller, S. Weinfurter, (eds.) Otto III.
Heinrich II. Eine Wende? (Stuttgart 2000), for an extensive review of this
discussion. See S. Weinfurter, Heinrich II. Herrscher am Ende der Zeiten
(Darmstadt 2002), pp.81ff. who cites references demonstrating Henry's respect for
Otto III. Weinfurter cites St. Paul's' Letter to the Romans, 13, 1-2' as the scriptural
justification for this argument. See also Althoff, Ottonen, p.207.
289
See H. Seibert, 'Herrscher und Mönchtum im spätottonischen Reich.
Vorstellung – Funktion – Interaktion', in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, pp.205-266.
320 Notes
290
See Hlawitschka, p.146f., for a list of possible claimants. Also Beumann,
pp.157ff. Also Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.121f. Bulst speaks of a possible disintegration
of the kingdom. Also Holzmann, II, pp.365-371. See Weinfurter, pp.22-37,
concerning Henry's youth and early years as duke of Bavaria, and for a list of the
claimants. Also B. Schleusing, 'Der Weg Heinrichs II.zum Thron', in Wemhoff,
pp.37ff.
291
See Schneidmüller, 'Otto III – Heinrich II', in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.15.
n.19, for additional references.
292
S. Weinfurter, 'Otto III and Heinrich II im Vergleich' in Schneidmüller,
Weinfurter, p.388f. indicates that the sources do not reveal the nature of Henry's
unsuitability, but may have lain with the expected direction of his leadership.
Consult J. Kirmeier, B. Schneidmüller, S. Weinfurter, E. Brockhoff, (eds.) Kaiser
Heinrich II. 1002-1024. Katalog zur Bayerischen Landesausstellung 2002,
Bamberg, 9. Juli bis 20.Otober 2002 (Augsburg 2002).
293
Weinfurter, p.48ff.
294
Holzmann, II, p.372. See Weinfurter, pp.50ff. for the intricacies of the
positions.
295
Hlawitschka, p.147. Also Körntgen, p.46ff. See Weinfurter, pp.38ff. Also
Schneidmüller, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.17, draws attention to the
deliberate continuity and studied indebtedness of the wording of documents issued
by Otto III.
296
Weinfurter, pp.54, 127f. provides maps showing the itineraries of the progress.
297
See Mitteis, p.65.
298
Weinfurter, Heinrich II. Also J. Kirmeier, B. Schneidmüller, S. Weinfurter, E.
Brockhoff, (eds.) Kaiser Heinrich II, 1002-1024. Also M. Wemhoff, Kunigunde –
empfange die Krone (Paderborn 2002).
299
See Weinfurter, p.22f. for calculations concerning his year of birth, perhaps
973. His mother was only about 13 years of age.
300
See Weinfurter, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.400f. indicates that Henry II
used the imperial seal as early as 1003, long before his imperial coronation.
301
See L. Körntgen, 'König und Priester. Das sacrale Königtum der Ottonen
zwischen Herrschaftstheologie, Herrschaftspraxis und Heilssorge', in Beuckers,
pp.51-61.
302
See Althoff, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.94, who discusses at length the
manner in which Henry II changed the rules of the monarchic game, by
abandoning the royal practice of extending clemency and generosity against those,
who had remonstrated against his majesty in any way.
303
Weinfurter, p.191f. Also Weinfurter, in Kirmeier, et al. p.22f.
304
See Weinfurter, p.193f. for the extensive interrelationship of this family. See
Beumann, p.168f. Also Holzmann, II, pp.395ff. for the implications of this conflict
on Lotharingia. See Althoff, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.85f. for an
interpretation of the negotiations. See Weinfurter, in Kirmeier, et al. p.25.
305
Hlawitschka, p.153f.
306
Holzmann, II, pp.369ff. See Weinfurter, pp.206-220, concerning the
complicated involvements. See Schulze, p.303f.
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 321
307
Weinfurter, p.219. Althoff, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.87ff. for a summary
of the continuing negotiations.
308
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.138. See K. Görich, 'Eine Wende im Osten: Heinrich II
und Boleslav Chrobry', in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, pp.95-167, concludes that
Henry's policy towards Boleslav did indeed mark a deliberate change from that
initiated by Otto III. See also Althoff, Ottonen, pp.208ff., 224f.
309
Beumann, p.160f. Also Fleckenstein, Bulst, pp.122ff.
310
See Holzmann, p.432, who sketches a period of devastation and torture, as
pagan Slavs wiped out Christian establishments. In 1019 king Canute took the field
against these Slavs.
311
Beumann, p.167f. Also Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.126, and Weinfurter, pp.220-226.
312
See Holzmann, II, p.386ff. for this campaign and the bloody events in Pavia.
Also Schulze, p.305f.
313
Hlawitschka, pp.148ff. for brief summaries of Henry's international relations,
including the 15 year long Polish war. See Beumann, pp.160-167, 169f, for a fuller
treatment of the three phases of the conflict. See Holzmann, II, pp.381ff.
concerning the details of the prolonged conflict.
314
Weinfurter, pp.226-237.
315
Weinfurter, p.24, indicates that a castle called Papinberg - Babenberg was given
to Henry the Quarrelsome. It was the ancestral name of the early dukes of Austria.
Papinberg - Babenberg was modified etymologically into Bamberg.
316
Bernhardt, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.339.
317
See Ehlers, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.59f.
318
Imhoff, in Beuckers, et al., p.23.
319
Holzmann, II, pp.379, 410. Concerning an extensive biographical treatment of
Kunigunde, see Weinfurter, pp.93-109, 254f. and 258f., for the crucial nature of
the Frankfurt synod of 1007. Also Ehlers, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.65.
320
Schneidmüller, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.19, points out that 28
documents issued on behalf of Bamberg after 1007 celebrate the memory of Otto
III.
321
Weinfurter, p.94.
322
See Weinfurter, pp.263ff., for a summary of the elaborate consecration of the
cathedral and the extensive episcopal personages in attendance. See Zotz, in
Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, pp.374ff. for a detailed list of locations and a summary
of the royal presence at religious festivals, factored into the royal itineraries.
323
Weinfurter, pp.263ff. Also Ehlers, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.69f. See G.
Althoff, Heinrich IV (Darmstadt 2006), p.284.
324
Körntgen, p.51. See Weinfurter, pp.258ff. for a list and map of the endowments.
325
Bernhardt, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, pp.341, 342ff., for Henry's perception
of his God-given mandate. See Körntgen, 'Priester und König', in Beuckers, et al.,
pp.51-61.
326
Weinfurter, pp.81ff. See pp.85ff. for a review of apocalyptic ideas concerning
the release of Satan at the end of the 1000 years stipulated in 'Revelation'. See
pp.144ff., for Henry's relationships with his bishops and their attitude towards the
investiture.
322 Notes
327
Beumann, p.159.Holzmann, II, p.376. See Weinfurter, pp.25ff., who supposes
that Henry's parents intended him for the clergy, considering the dukedom of
Bavaria lost to them
328
Weinfurter, p.176f.
329
Hiscock, White Mantel of Churches, p.5, indicates that after 994, two out of
three episcopal appointments came from the members of this capella. See also
Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.145f.
330
See Fleckenstein, Bulst, pp.131, 134, for the monasteries affected by the reform
movement. See Hiscock, White Mantle of Churches, p.12, concerning the interest
in reforms of Henry II, when he was still duke of Bavaria.
331
Weinfurter, p.182.
332
Blumenthal, pp.19-28, for its early period.
333
Weinfurter, p.184.
334
Holzmann, II, p.413f.
335
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.132. Also Holzmann, II, pp.377, 411f.. See Schulze,
p.314.
336
Hlawitschka, p.154f. Also Körntgen, p.53.
337
Weinfurter, pp.161ff.
338
I. Crusius, 'Sanctimoniales quae secanonica vocant. Das Kanonissenstift als
Forschungsproblem', in I. Crusius (ed.) Studium zum Kanonissenstift, Studien zur
Germania Sacra 24 (Göttingen 2001), pp.9ff.
339
Weinfurter, p.152f., lists the locations to which the churchmen were dispersed.
340
See Weinfurter, p.153f., for locations to which the revision spread.
341
Weinfurter, pp.155-160.
342
G. Mentgen, 'Kreuzzüge und Judenpogrome', in H.-J. Kotzur, Die Kreuzzüge
(Mainz 2004), p.67. See Landes, pp.40ff., 50f., p.154.
343
See Erdmann, p.113.
344
Erdmann, p.116.
345
Holzmann, II, p.416f.
346
C. Meckseper, Kleine Kunstgeschichte der deutschen Stadt im Mittelalter
(Darmstadt 1982), pp.253ff.
347
Landes, pp.45ff.
348
Schutz, Carolingians, p.305.
349
Weinfurter, p.56.
350
Holzmann, II, p.419, summarizes the Roman conflicts. Also Schulze, p.306f.
concerning the papal rivalries. See also Althoff, Ottonen, p.217f., concerning the
peace with the Poles.
351
See Weinfurter, pp. 237ff. for regulatory actions taken in Italy preceding the
coronation. See Holzmann, II, p.421, for a brief account of the coronation. Also
Weinfurter, in Kirmeier, et al. p.26.
352
Holzmann, II, p.425, indicates that Boleslav was invited to account for not
having accompanied the king, his liege lord, to Rome, but again the duke refused
to appear, whereupon the king withdrew from the duke his fiefs. See also Althoff,
Ottonen, p.221f. for a summary of additional circumstances contributing to the
crisis.
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 323
353
Holzmann, II, pp.431ff.
354
Weinfurter, p.243f.
355
Weinfurter, pp.244, 250 ff. See Ehlers, in Schneidmüller, Weinfurter, p.67.
356
See Beumann, pp.173f. for details concerning the south Italian troubles. Also
Althoff, Ottonen, p.226f.
357
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.139. See D. Abulafia, Frederick II, A Medieval Emperor
(Harmondsworth 1988), p.20f.
358
Fuhrmann, p.35. Holzmann, II, p.454. See Tellenbach, Church, pp.161ff. See
Miccoli, in LeGoff, p.76, who defines 'poverty' not as a negation of material goods,
but as a rejection of profane society, the renunciation of the mundane, a deliberate
espousal of personal asceticism, of obedience and a personal quest for God through
the steadfast study of the Scriptures, prayer and contemplation, as well as the
adoption of values threatened by sin and the constant temptations of Satan.
359
P. Scendes, Heinrich VI (Darmstadt 1993), p.9. Also Abulafia, Frederick II,
p.24.
360
In later times, partly to support Henry's and Kunigunde's canonization, it was
told unjustly and continued to be told, that they lived in an entirely platonic
relationship. See Holzmann, II, p.379.
361
S. Buckreus, S.Heimann, 'Die Krönung in Paderborn', in Wemhoff, pp.49ff. for
a discussion of the order of ceremony and the following festivities.
362
S. Dick, C. Meyer, 'Leben und Nachleben Kunigundes', in Wemhoff, pp.67ff.
describe Kunigunde's life as wife and co-ruler.
363
S. Weinfurter, Herrschaft und Reich der Salier (Sigmaringen 1992), p.24.
brings a distinct perspective to the treatment of this period.
364
E. Boshof, Die Salier (Stuttgart, Berlin, Köln, Mainz 1987), p.7f. Also
Weinfurter, Herrschaft, pp.13ff. Körntgen, p.55f.
365
See W. Stürner, Friedrich II, Teil I, Die Königsherrschaft in Sizilien und
Deutschland 1194-1220 (Darmstadt 1992), p.10f., for the philosophical,
theological support for the papal position of the day. See especially I. S. Robinson.
'The institutions of the church, 1073-1216', in Luscombe, Riley-Smith, The New
Cambridge Medieval History, IV, pp.368ff.
366
See Boshof, pp.8ff. concerning the role of Worms and Speyer as ancestral
centers of the Salians. Among the other cathedrals and parish churches one can list
Basel, Freiburg. Strasbourg, Murbach, Marmoutier and the many Staufen churches
in Alsace, Bonn and Essen cathedrals, Neuss and the many immense parish
churches of Cologne, to mention just a few.
367
Weinfurter, Salian Century, p.19.
368
See Boshof, pp.25-32, 36, concerning a century of Conrad's pre-dynastic family
history and for possible pre-election agreements. See especially F.-R. Erkens,
Conrad II. Herrschaft und Reich des ersten Salierkaisers (Darmstadt 1998),
pp.13f., 16, for the genealogy . Also Körntgen, p.56f. Hlawitschka, p.156, argues
that it was only the bloodline, which mattered in determining the succession.
Boshof. p.33, points to the interlink between elected kingship and hereditary
legitimacy as a characteristic of the rules of succession. See Weinfurter,
324 Notes
Herrschaft, pp.13ff. for a Salian family history before their ascent to the throne.
See also Leyser, Rule and Conflict, p.93.
369
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.145. Also Körntgen, p.56, for the respective alignments
of supporters. Also Hlawitschka, p.156. See Boshof, p.34f. for a list of other
possible legitimate claimants to the crown; and p.37f. for a detailed comment on
the coronation proceedings. Goez, Lebensbilder, p.128. Also Erkens, pp.14f., 38ff.
who indicates that Conrad's biographer Wipo tailored the report of the election to
indicate a free vote for all, as though there had been no link with the Ottonians.
370
See Erkens, pp.42ff. for underlying assumptions and coronation procedures.
371
See Weinfurter, Herrschaft, p.27f. for a list of bishoprics under the jurisdiction
of Mainz.
372
See Althoff, Ottonen, p.224.
373
Erkens, p.54f. Also Weinfurter, Herrschaft, p.28.
374
Erkens, pp.31ff. provides a more personal discussion of Conrad and Gisela. He
discusses the blood relationship more fully. Goez, Lebensbilder, pp.124f., 129.
Also Ennen, Frauen, pp.67ff.
375
Erkens, p.34f. indicates that Henry II actively intervened in her affairs. Henry II
looked particularly askance at the Hammerstein relationship.
376
Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.31.
377
Hlawitschka, p.157, points to the continuity despite the dynastic change.
Körntgen, pp.56, 62..
378
Erkens, pp.56-67.
379
Boshof, p.40.
380
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.146. Hlawitschka, p.157. See Körntgen, p.58, concerning
Pavia. Boshof, p.41f.
381
The literature quotes Conrad's biographer Wipo, Gesta Chuonradi, c.7, for this
account. See Boshof, p.41. Erkens, p.66f.
382
Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.32.
383
Boshof, p.47f.
384
Erkens, pp.74-88. See Goetz, Lebensbilder, pp.121ff. for the details of the
ensuing quarrels.
385
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.147. Boshof, pp.48ff. Hlawitschka, pp.157f., 160,
concerning the list of attendees. Also Schulze, pp.328-337. Erkens, pp.90ff. See
Goez, Lebensbilder, p..123f.
386
See Boshof, pp.58ff. concerning the uprising instigated by Conrad's stepson,
duke Ernst of Swabia. Also Erkens, pp.69ff. See Goez, Lebensbilder, p.132f.,
suggests that the source, Wipo, has the vassals claim priority fealty to the king as
supreme overlord, rather than to their duke, which would have been an anomaly.
Also Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.50f., for Wipo's account of the defensive rationale
voiced by the rebels during the Council of Ulm, 1027: as servants they would have
been obliged to obey; as free men they were under the protection of the king. Only
by deserting him could they lose their freedom and their life.
387
See below, the references to the twelfth century epic of Herzog Ernst.
388
Boshof, pp.64-71, details Burgundian conditions. Hlawitschka, pp.158, 161,
concerning the ducal uprisings and the incorporation of Burgundy. Also Körntgen,
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 325
pp.55f., 58, concerning the claims to Burgundy. Also Schulze, pp.341ff. Erkens,
pp.68, 158-171, suggests that the weakness of Burgundy required support, if it was
not to fall prey to other ambitions. The Salians could make a genealogical claim to
it. See Weinfurter, Herrscher, pp.47ff.
389
Erkens, pp.93ff.
390
Boshof, pp.54f., 57. Also Erkens, pp.113ff. One princess had become a nun, the
second was at least in her forties and notorious for her riotous living, while the
third was not inclined to marriage. Any one of them would have been a
presumptive mismatch for the ten-year old prince Henry. See Weinfurter,
Herrscher, p.34.
391
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.154. Also Erkens, p.175f.
392
Schutz, Carolingians, pp.179ff.
393
Weinfurter, p.56f.
394
See Boshof, pp.45, 72ff. Also Fleckenstein, Bulst, pp.149ff.
395
Hlawitschka, p.159f., concerning the relations with Poland and Bohemia. See
Körntgen, pp.70-77. for the extensive royal relations and their intentions. Schulze,
pp.339ff., 341ff. Also Erkens, pp.150-157.
396
See Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.34f.
397
P. E. Schramm, Die Deutschen Kaiser und Könige in Bildern ihrer Zeit 751-
1190 (Munich 1983), p.107.
398
Weinfurter, Herrscher, pp.35, 41.
399
See Erkens, pp. 131ff. concerning the control of dukedoms and counties.
400
See Fleckenstein, Bulst, pp. 154ff. See Hlawitschka, p.159. Boshof, pp.82ff.
Also Körntgen, p.77f., and Schulze, p.348f.
401
Fuhrmann, p.39f. Also Boshof, p.85f. See also Körntgen, p.87f. Blumenthal,
pp.101ff. See K. Leyser, Communications and Power in Medieval Europe, ed. T.
Reuter (London and Rio Grande 1994), p.2f.
402
Fuhrmann, p.33f.
403
Erkens, pp.119ff.
404
Weinfurter, Herrschaft, p.35, and Plates 4 and 5. Also Salian Century, p.32, and
Figs. 7 and 8.
405
Erkens, pp.141ff. But see Goez, Lebensbilder, p.131, who stresses the good
relations between Conrad II and his bishops.
406
Erkens, p.124. der in ihm wohl vorrangig den gewählten Moderator
widerstreitender Interessen und entflammter Konflikte sah - 'who saw in him
primarily the chosen moderator of contrary interests and inflamed conflicts'.
407
See Erkens, p.149, for a map of Conrad's itineraries.
408
Boshof, pp.76-82. Also Erkens, pp.141f., 176-184, who argues, that Aribert was
guilty of lèse majesté, an affront to the majesty and hence deserving of removal.
See also Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.45f.
409
Fleckenstein, Bulst, pp.156ff. Hlawitschka, pp.159,161f. Also Körntgen, p.78.
Schulze, pp.346, 351f. Erkens, p.184f. Also Boshof, p.80f. and Weinfurter,
Herrscher, p.46. Goez, Lebensbilder, p.130f.
410
Fuhrmann, p.36f. See Reuter, p.231f..See especially B. Arnold, German
Knighthood,1050-1300 (Oxford 1985).
326 Notes
411
W. Urban, The Baltic Crusade (DeKalb 1975), p.7.
412
Arnold, pp.53ff.
413
See Arnold, Medieval Germany, pp.17ff.
414
Arnold, pp.23ff.
415
Arnold, p.103.
416
Arnold, p.56f.
417
See Weinfurter, Herrschaft, p.66f., for the conditions of service. See Csendes,
Heinrich VI, p.43. Also F. Opll, Friedrich Barbarossa (Darmstadt 1990), p.246f.
418
Arnold, p.53.
419
Arnold, pp.190ff.
420
Arnold, pp.69f., n.103, 83.
421
Arnold, p.74
422
Arnold, p.160.
423
Erkens, pp.187ff.
424
Boshof, p.88. During the meal at Pentecost, he began to suffer severely from his
ailment, from which he could not recover. He died the next day.
425
Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.75.
426
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.160. Hlawitschka, p.163. Schulze, pp.376ff.
427
Hlawitschka, pp.160, 163f. See Boshof, pp.115-121.
428
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p160f. Also Schulze, pp.279ff.
429
Boshof, pp.101-105, 116f. Also Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.161f., and Schulze,
pp.382ff. There were three dukes by the name Godfrey. See N. Heutger, 'Der
Verteidiger des Heiligen Grabes: Gottfried von Bouillon (*um 1060, †1100)', in
Kotzur, pp.166ff.
430
Tellenbach, pp.85ff. Boshof, p.95f. Also G. Tellenbach, The Church in western
Europe from the tenth to the early twelfth Century, translated by T. Reuter
(Cambridge 1993), p.142f.
431
Boshof, p.96.
432
Boshof, p.56f.
433
Fuhrmann, p.38f. Boshof, p.124f. Also Weinfurter, Herrscher, p78.
434
Fleckenstein, Bulst, pp.163ff. Also Schulze, pp.385ff. See especially
Blumenthal, p.100, who reviews the traditional doctrine of the inviolate personage
of the pope as it contravened the decisions at the Synod of Sutri.
435
Tellenbach, p.130f. Also Tellenbach, The Church, pp.167ff.
436
Fuhrmann, p.44f. See Tellenbach, Church, p.141f.
437
Boshof, p.130. Also Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.79. See Blumenthal, pp.69f., 74-
79.
438
Tellenbach, pp.89ff. Hlawitschka, p.166f. Also Boshof, pp.125-132. Körntgen,
pp.77, 79ff.
439
Tellenbach, pp.106, 126ff. Hlawitschka, p.167. See Arnold, Medieval Germany,
p.97.
440
Hlawitschka, p.172. See note 305 above. See Leyser, Communication and
Power, p.8f.
441
See Boshof, p.134f. and Goez, Lebensbilder, p. 150-167, for some biographical
detail. Brun's father had not joined the revolt of Conrad's stepson. Consequently
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 327
the remittance was waived. See especially Blumenthal, pp.80ff. See Tellenbach,
Church, pp.186ff. Also Erdmann, pp.118ff.
442
Tellenbach, p.98f. Fuhrmann, pp.45ff. Also Goez, Lebensbilder, p.158. Also
Tellenbach, Church, p.146f.
443
Tellenbach, pp. 108ff.
444
Boshof, p.138. See Blumenthal, p.87. Tellenbach, Church, pp.147, 322ff.
445
Körntgen, p.89f. Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.81f. According to Goez,
Lebensbilder, p.160, Leo IX crossed the Alps six times during his reign of five
years. See Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.36.
446
Goez, Lebensbilder, p.163, enumerates the privileges.
447
Fleckenstein, Bulst, pp.173ff., Schulze, p.389f. Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.83.
Blumenthal, p.69, does not support this view and offers contrary argumentation.
448
Fleckenstein, Bulst, pp.167ff.
449
Hlawitschka, p.164f.
450
Fuhrmann, p.164. Csendes, Heinrich VI, pp.215ff. See Stürner, I, pp.63, 230.
451
See Arnold, German Knighthood, Passim Also W.H. Jackson, Chivalry in
Twelfth Century Germany. The Works of Hartmann von Aue (Cambridge 1994),
pp.64-69, 74-77. Also Hlawitschka, p.38f. concerning the nobility as royal officials
and representatives of the people. See also O. Engels, Die Staufer, fourth edition
(Stuttgart, Berlin, Köln, Mainz 1989), p.11f.
452
Boshof, p.99f. Körntgen, p.74ff. Also Schulze, p.396.Weinfurter, Herrscher,
p.85.
453
See Landes, p.15. Also Erdmann, p.71.
454
E.-D. Hehl, 'War, peace and the Christian order', in Luscombe, Riley-Smith,
The New Cambridge Medieval History, IV, pp.189ff. See also Fichtenau, pp.432ff.
See also G. Duby, The Legend of Bouvines. War, Religion and Culture in the
Middle Ages. Translated by Catherine Tihanyi (Berkeley and Los Angeles 1990),
pp.61ff. See Landes, pp.28ff.
455
Schulze, p.374, n.1.
456
Boshof, pp.110-115, considers Henry's wish to attain peace to be the central
objective. Weinfurter, Herrscher, pp.65f., 87f., suspects an administrative
motivation in the king's interest, to impose order from above. See Arnold,
Medieval Germany, pp.151ff.
457
Powell, pp.59, 78ff.
458
Erdmann, p.302, suggests that as many as 12 000 pilgrims may have taken part
under the leadership of the archbishop of Mainz as well as the bishops of Bamberg,
Regensburg and Utrecht.
459
Erdmann, p.303.
460
Erdmann, p.305.
461
See Phillips, pp.53ff.
462
Erdmann, p.87, for a summary of the induction to the order.
463
Boshof, p114. Also Körntgen, pp.63ff.
464
Hlawitschka, p.165f. Körntgen, p.75. Also Blumenthal, p.63.
465
Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.64.
328 Notes
466
Tellenbach, p.128f. Körntgen, p.88. See especially Tellenbach, Church,
pp.172ff. for illustrations of real and false charges of simony.
467
See Erdmann, p.122f.
468
Boshof, pp.139f. Körntgen, p.81. Also Blumenthal, p.91f.
469
Boshof, p.141f. Goez, Lebensbilder, p.165f. Also Blumenthal, p.92f.
470
U.-R. Blumenthal, Gregor VII. Papst zwischen Canossa und Kirchenreform
(Darmstadt 2001), p.124f., indicates that such negotiations were being undertaken
for some time.
471
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.176.
472
Hlawitschka, p.165, projects a contrary image of the emperor.
473
See Boshof, p..143ff, for developments in Lotharingia. See Goez, Lebensbilder,
pp.233-254, for a note concerning the margravine Mathilda.
474
Körntgen, p.66f. A trial by combat was lost by the one accused of the plot. See
also Boshof, p.98f. And Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.89.
475
Boshof, pp.106ff.
476
Boshof, pp.147ff.
477
Boshof, p.154. Weinfurter, Herrscher, pp.89ff.
478
Boshof, pp.155-160. Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.95f.
479
Boshof, pp.164ff.
480
Fleckenstein, Bulst, p.177f. Fuhrmann, pp.61ff. Boshof, p.161f. See J. S.
Robinson, Henry IV of Germany, 1056-1106 (Cambridge 1999).
481
Boshof, p.162f. The high nobility may have reacted against the seeming
favoritism extended to the ministerials. Körntgen, p.83, suggests that this condition
may actually have been directed as a caution against the reign of Henry III.
Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.89. Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.42, suggests the proviso was a
reference to the electoral rights of the magnates.
482
See Opll, p.225.
483
Bumke, Courtly Culture, pp.33ff. See Schmid and Schadek, (ed.) Die
ZähringerII (Sigmaringen 1986), p.53f. for a list and map of the Zähringen
ministerials.
484
Stürner, I, p.204f.
485
Boshof, p.163f.
486
Körntgen, p.84f. Also Boshof, p.167f.
487
See Boshof, p.168f. The Salian abbess Beatrix of Gandersheim had to concede
to the charge of her Saxon canonesses, that she was squandering the abbey's
resources on ministerials. The archbishop of Bremen complained that the crown
was not intervening on his behalf against the dukes of Saxony, who were
encroaching on the archbishopric.
488
See Robinson, pp.33ff.
489
Boshof, p. 169f. Schulze, p.401f.
490
Boshof, pp.170ff.
491
See Boshof, p.176f. concerning the election of the anti-pope Benedict X by the
aristocracy of Rome. Also Tellenbach, Church, p.149, concerning the irregularities
surrounding the election of several popes.
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 329
492
Tellenbach, Church, pp.152ff. summarizes the period following the death of
Henry III and the court's attitude towards papal elections.
493
Boshof, p.172-175, deals with Anno's motivation. Körntgen, p.85f., suggests
that Agnes may have welcomed archbishop Anno's act as a clarification of her own
troubled situation. Also Schulze, p.401. Weinfurter, Herrscher,p.107, offers a
biographical note. See also Robinson, pp.43ff.
494
See Leyser, Communication and Power, p.47. Also Althoff, Heinrich IV,
pp.52ff.
495
Körntgen, p.105.
496
Concerning the Annolied, see below.
497
Körntgen, p.87. Also Schulze, p.409. Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.108 indicates
that Anno had a ninth of all imperial income transferred to the archbishopric of
Cologne, 'for the well-being of the king and the order of the realm'.
498
Blumenthal, Gregor VII, pp.88-93.
499
Blumenthal, p.106. Especially Blumenthal, Gregor VII, pp.98-122, concerning
the regulations for communities of canons.
500
Tellenbach, p. 111f. See Boshof, pp.175-180. Schulze, p.404f. See Weinfurter,
Herrscher, p.100f. Blumenthal, p.107. Also Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.37.
501
See Boshof, pp. 180-185, for a summary of the sequence of events. Also
Schulze, p.405.
502
See Althoff, Heinrich IV, pp.52ff. for the critical comments, describing the
political climate. Also von Boeselager, in Grieme, et al. p.93f.
503
Weinfurter, Herrscher, pp.109ff.
504
Althoff, Heinrich IV, pp.23, 63ff.
505
Boshof, p.189f. Körntgen, p.91f. See Blumenthal, pp.118ff.
506
Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.66.
507
Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.71.
508
Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.115, lists some of the accusations leveled against the
king. See G. Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.18f, n. 15.
509
See Boshof, pp.190-197. Schulze, p.410. See Robinson, pp.109ff.
510
Robinson, pp.122f., 125. Tellenbach, Church, pp.180f., 228ff.
511
Robinson, p.117-122, for a list of names, occasions and fundamental disputes.
See also Cowdrey, Pope Gregory VII, 1073-1085, p.75. See also Arnold, Medieval
Germany, p.97.
512
Cowdrey, p.88f., itemizes several of the magnates.
513
Blumenthal, Gregor VII, p.180f.
514
Blumenthal, Investiturstreit, p.132.
515
Tellenbach, Church, pp.181, especially pp.230ff. for the phases of the contest.
516
See Robinson, pp.62-104. Also Althoff, Heinrich IV, pp.75ff., and especially
pp.86-115.
517
Cowdrey makes very extensive use of these records. p.vii.
518
See Boshof, p.201. Körntgen, p.92f. Also Schulze, p.415f. Weinfurter,
Herrscher, p.116f. especially the map of fortified locations. See Blumenthal,
pp.122ff. Also Engels, p.11f. Also Reuter, pp.226ff.
330 Notes
519
Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.119. See Leyser, Communication and Power, pp.70ff.
But see Robinson, p.3f. who questions this tendency.
520
See Boshof, pp.200ff. See Leyser, Communication and Power, pp. 21ff., 33ff.
521
See Leyser, Communication and Power, pp.60ff.
522
Cowdrey, p.90.
523
Blumenthal, Gregor VII, p.181.
524
Boshof, p.205f. Körntgen, p.94. Schulze, p.419f. Leyser, Communication and
Power, pp.22f., 48f., argues that the war continued for another 16 years, leaving
north-south tensions behind, which it took a very long time to overcome. See also
Mitteis, p.87. Also Cowdrey, pp.92ff.
525
Cowdrey, p.105f. note 128.
526
Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.124f.
527
Blumenthal, pp. 101ff., 106. The decree specifies the role of Henry IV.
528
Cowdrey, p.94.
529
Arnold, p.58.
530
Boshof, p203f.
531
U.-R. Blumenthal, Der Investiturstreit (Stuttgart, Berlin, Köln Mainz 1982).
See Körntgen, p.114, who supports the argument that the designation ' Investiture
Struggle' is a misnomer, since that was not the cause of the conflict. See also
Robinson, pp.107-142.
532
Blumenthal, Investiturstreit, p.47.
533
Schimmelpfennig, Papsttum, pp.122-152.
534
See Reuter, p.275.
535
Tellenbach, p.93f.
536
Tellenbach, p.128f.
537
Schimmelpfennig, p.171.
538
Schimmelpfennig, p.204.
539
Tellenbach, p.131. See also Tellenbach, Church, pp.162ff.
540
Tellenbach, Church, pp.164ff.
541
Reuter, p.246.
542
See Robinson, p.6, who indicates that entire counties were conferred on
churchmen, in which they functioned as counts .
543
Schimmelpfennig, p.166.
544
Fuhrmann, p.64f. Schulze, p.420. Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.127ff. Robinson,
pp.143ff. See Cowdrey, p.134f.
545
Tellenbach, Church, p.155f. concerning the papal election of Gregory VII. See
also Cowdrey, pp.37-74. See Erdmann, pp.148ff.
546
Fuhrmann, pp.58ff. Boshof, p.207. Blumenthal, p.125, suggests that a royal
vote was not sought, because anyone associating with those excommunicated was
equally anathema and to be kept away from religious matters. See also
Blumenthal, Gregor VII. p.5, pp.16ff, for Hildebrand's early years and education.
See pp.136ff. for his election as pope.
547
Blumenthal, Gregor VII, pp.31-43, discusses the question at length, including
his gradual elevation to the highest ecclesiastical rank, even under supposed
protest. Tellenbach, Church, pp.205-218, concerning his relations with the
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 331
episcopate. Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.34, supports the argument that the Cluniac
reforms were not primarily responsible for the investiture conflicts.
548
Boshof, p.209f. Körntgen, p.96f. Also Schulze, p.425f. See Tellenbach, Church,
p.310f. for a summary. Also Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.119f. Also Cowdrey, p. 100.
549
Blumenthal, p.129, speaks of Gregory's mystical cult of St. Peter. Also
Blumenthal, Gregor VII, pp.140ff. See also Tellenbach, Church, pp.233f.
concerning the growing tensions between Henry IV and Gregory VII.
550
Erdmann, p.163.
551
Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.128. Blumenthal, Gregor VII., pp.10ff., 140ff. See
Tellenbach, Church, pp.222ff., 234.
552
See P. Landau, 'The development of law', in D. Luscombe, J. Riley-Smith, The
New Cambridge Medieval History, IV (Cambridge 2004), p.121f.
553
Blumenthal, Gregor VII, pp.143-167. See I. S. Robinson, 'Reform and the
Church, 1073-1122', in Luscombe, Riley-Smith, The New Cambridge Medieval
History, IV, pp. 276ff. concerning the polar polemics of the dispute. See Cowdrey,
pp.100ff.
554
Erdmann, pp.164ff.
555
See Körntgen, p.109f., for a summary of the evolving theory. See Blumenthal,
p.130. See Blumenthal, Gregor VII, pp.128ff., who indicates clearly, that
Hildebrand had assumed military functions on behalf of his papal predecessors
Nicholas II and Alexander II. 'Taking the sword' was not an anomaly for him'.
556
Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.119ff. Also Cowdrey, p.95 for details.
557
Cowdrey, pp.100, 110ff.
558
Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.35.
559
Erdmann, pp.95ff.
560
Erdmann, pp.57ff.
561
H. E. Mayer, Geschichte der Kreuzzüge (Stuttgart, Berlin, Köln 1989), p.25.
See also Riley-Smith, 'The Crusades, 1095-1198', in The New Cambridge Medieval
History, IV, p.536. See also Cowdrey, p.100.
562
Cowdrey, pp.96, 100.
563
See Boshof, pp.210-218, for a summary of the historical circumstances.
Körntgen, p.96f. Also Schulze, p.430. Blumenthal, Gregory VII, pp.150ff.
564
Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.126f.
565
Blumenthal, Gregor VII, p.178f.
566
Cowdrey, p.104f.
567
Körntgen, p.97f. Also Schulze, p.420. See also Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.128.
568
Blumenthal, p.132.
569
Tellenbach, Church, p.235f. See Cowdrey, pp.135ff.
570
See Tellenbach, p.143f. for the reaction among the German bishops and their
rejection of the papal claim to primacy. Blumenthal, Gregor VII, p.179.
571
Boshof, pp.218-221. Körntgen, p.97. Schulze, p.421. See Robinson, p.11.
572
See Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.98. Also Blumenthal, p.133. Also
Blumenthal, Gregor VII, p.181f. See Cowdrey, pp.140ff.
573
Erdmann, p.169.
574
Tellenbach, Church, p.237.
332 Notes
575
Körntgen, p.98. Schulze, p.422f.
576
Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.139. Also Cowdrey, pp.142ff.
577
Boshof, pp.221-225. Körntgen, p.99. Tellenbach, Church, p.238f. Cowdrey,
p.144.
578
Boshof, pp.225ff. Körntgen, p.98f. See Althoff, p.146f. for the list of charges
raised by Henry's magnates at the Council of Tribur in 1076 against him, justifying
his deposition. See Cowdrey, p.145f.
579
Schulze, p.431f.
580
Boshof, p.228. See Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.149.
581
Boshof, p.229. Schulze, p.432. See Cowdrey, p.154, for his itinerary.
582
See Robinson, pp.159ff, for a detailed account. See Cowdrey, p.155.
583
Fuhrmann, p.65f. Boshof, p.231. Schulze, pp.432ff. Weinfurter, Herrscher,
p.131. Also Althoff, Heinrich IV, pp.151ff. for a discussion of the sources.
584
See Körntgen, p.69, for Mathilda's family connections. Also Goez,
Lebensbilder, pp.234ff. See Tellenbach, Church, p.242, concerning the
interpretations of this event. See Cowdrey, p.156, for Gregory's own description of
the circumstances.
585
Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.97.
586
Althoff, Heinrich IV, pp.155ff., discusses the argumentation, without resolution.
587
See Cowdrey, p.157f., for the terms of the absolution.
588
Schulze, p.343. See Blumenthal, p.134f. Also Goez, Lebensbilder, p.244f. See
Robinson, p.162, for the wording of the oath. Also Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.158.
589
See Cowdrey, pp.158ff. for a favorable assessment of Canossa.
590
C. C. Bayley, The Formation of the German College of Electors in the Mid-
Thirteenth Century (Toronto 1949), p.110.
591
Scendes, p.3. See Fuhrmann, p.58.
592
Boshof, pp.232ff. Also Körntgen, pp.95, 100. Also Blumenthal, p.135f.
593
See Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.4.
594
Cowdrey, pp.167, 178.
595
Tellenbach, Church, p.244f. Also Cowdrey, pp.164f., 170ff.
596
Cowdrey, p.172.
597
Boshof, p.236f. Körntgen, p. 105. Blumenthal, p.136. Also Robinson, pp.166ff.
598
Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.132f.
599
Boshof, p.238.
600
Boshof, p.239.
601
Cowdrey, p.177ff. for the renewal of Henry's authority.
602
Engels, p.9, points to the pattern with which the nobility began to leave the
tribal consciousness in favor of the selection of a hereditary site, from which they
subsequently derived their dynastic name. Zähringen would be another clear
example. Also F. Opll, Friedrich Barbarossa (Darmstadt 1990), p.20f. Also
Csendes, p.24ff.
603
See Engels, pp.13f., 16ff., for the division of territories in the region of the
upper Rhine and their policies of expansion. See Opll, p.22f. See Reuter, p.234,
who points to the erroneous credit given to the Salians for the promotion of
urbanization.
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 333
604
See K. Schmid (ed.) Die Zähringer. Eine Tradition und ihre Erforschung, in 2
volumes (Sigmaringen 1986). See Engels, p.14f., concerning the Zähringen
holdings. Also Csendes, p.25.
605
Cowdrey, p.182f. Also Leyser, Communication and Power, p.72.
606
Boshof, p.242.
607
Cowdrey, pp.190ff.
608
Körntgen, p.117.
609
See Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.168, concerning the reliability of this source. Also
Cowdrey, p.194f.
610
Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.158, quotes from the Gregorii Registrum, lib.4, 12a,
p.314f. See also Cowdrey, pp.196ff.
611
Boshof, p.243. Schulze, p.437. Cowdrey, p.198, spells out that Rudolph had no
status in Italy. See also Erdmann, p.172.
612
Cowdrey, p.199.
613
See Althoff, Heinrich IV, pp.171ff. for a discussion of the consequences of this
excommunication. Also Cowdrey, pp.199ff.
614
Tellenbach, Church, p.246.
615
Robinson, pp.203ff., details the battle and its consequences. See Cowdrey,
p.206f. for the text of the inscription.
616
Cowdrey, p.208.
617
Boshof, p.246.
618
Cowdrey, p.219.
619
Boshof, p247f. Schulze, pp.439ff. See Althoff, pp.185-192. Also Cowdrey,
p.228.
620
Erdmann, p.176.
621
See Boshof, p.249. Also Cowdrey, p.230f. for the Norman sack of Rome. See
Tellenbach, Church, p.249, for Gregory's long-term effectiveness. Blumenthal,
Gregor VII, makes no mention of a Norman sack of Rome.
622
Tellenbach, Church, p.252.
623
Tellenbach, Church, p.333f.
624
See Robinson, pp.275ff. for the identities of Henry's episcopal choices. See
Cowdrey, pp.232ff., for a detailed view of the final conflicts between Henry IV
and Gregory VII, and pp.242ff. for a recapitulation of Gregory's relationship with
the German church.
625
Boshof, pp.250ff. Also Robinson, p.250f.
626
Robinson, p.290, also Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.207, refer to the empress as
Eupraxia, named Adelheit in the west.
627
Boshof, p.254f. Blumenthal p.147. See Tellenbach, Church, p.254, for a brief
summary of his career.
628
Boshof, p.257. Körntgen, p.104, offers greater detail concerning Henry's
reputed immorality and lasciviousness. Schulze, p.446f. Also Weinfurter,
Herrscher, p.115. See Robinson, p.290f.
629
Körntgen, p.109, refers to scholarship, which suggests that disputational
materials were meant to bolster the argumentation of respective positions, rather
than as a means to circulate invectives. See especially Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.213,
334 Notes
who accepts the possibility of her group rape, but suggests this to be the
mistreatment of a hostage, because the terms of the agreement were not violated.
630
See Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.212.
631
Tellenbach, Church, p.259.
632
Duby, Three Orders, p.198. See Erdmann, p.330.
633
Mayer, pp.11, 13ff., 40ff. See J. Riley-Smith, 'Der Aufruf von Clermont und
seine Folgen', in H.- J. Kotzur, (ed.), Die Kreuzzüge (Mainz 2004), pp.51ff. Also
Riley-Smith, in The New Cambridge Medieval History, IV, pp.534-563. See Hehl,
in The New Cambridge Medieval History, IV, pp.207ff. See J. Phillips, The
Crusades1095-1197 (Harlow and London 2002), p.5.
634
Phillips, Crusades, p.17.Also Erdmann, p.343.
635
Landes, p.155.
636
S. Blick, R. Tekippe, Art and Architecture of Late Medieval Pilgrimage in
Northern Europe and the British Isles (Leiden, Boston 2005), p.xxiv f.
637
See Duby, Three Orders, p.200f.
638
B. Hechelhammer, 'Frauen auf dem Kreuzzug', in Kotzur, pp.205-211. Joan of
Arc was condemned partly for wearing men's clothing
639
Riley-Smith, in Kotzur, p.52.
640
Riley-Smith, in Kotzur, p.54f. See Robinson, pp.302ff.
641
Fuhrmann, p.12f.
642
Mentgen, in Kotzur, p.67f.
643
E. Eickhoff, 'Die Bedeutung der Kreuzzüge für den deutschen Raum', in
Haussherr, III, p.241. Also Boshof, p.259f. Körntgen, p.113. Schulze, p.450.
644
Mentgen, in Kotzur, pp.68ff.
645
Mentgen, in Kotzur, p.70f.
646
Mentgen, in Kotzur, p.67f.
647
See Leyser, Communication and Power, pp.81-95, concerning the question of
money and supplies during the First Crusade.
648
See Smiley-Smith, in Kotzur, p.57f., who rejects the traditionally held views
concerning materialistic motivations for the crusades.
649
Mayer, pp.59-87.
650
Powell, p.90.
651
However, see Powell, p.82, who does not see this to be the rule.
652
K. P. Jankrift, 'Aufbruch ins Ungewisse. Die Kreuzzüge als logistische,
transporttechnische und kommunikative Herausforderung', in Kotzur, p.188f.,
gives several examples of the preparations involved. Also Hechelhammer, in
Kotzur, p.205f.
653
See M.-L. Favreau-Lilie, 'Die italienischen Städte und die Kreuzzüge', in
Kotzur, pp.193-203.
654
See Phillips, Crusades, p.19, who suggests that a force of c.60 000 set out from
western Europe.
655
Leyser, Communication and Power, pp.91ff.
656
Jankrift, in Kotzur, p.190.
657
Riley-Smith, in Kotzur, pp.60ff., indicates that the loss of Jewish lives in 1099
has to be revised downward.
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 335
658
B.U. Hucker, 'Das Grafenpaar Beatrix und Otto von Botenlauben und die
deutsche Kreuzzugsbewegung', in Kotzur, pp.25ff. For each of the Crusades
Hucker lists the German magnates among the participants. See also Heutger,
'Gottfried', in Kotzur, pp.166ff.
659
Boshof, p.258f. Also Mayer, pp.40-59. See Erdmann, p.350.
660
Riley-Smith, in Kotzur, p.61f.
661
See Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.219.
662
Althoff, Heinrich IV, pp.219ff.
663
Schulze, p.448f.
664
Hucker, in Kotzur, p.25.
665
See Arnold, Medieval Germany, pp.151ff.
666
Körntgen, p.102f.
667
Boshof, p.263.
668
Robinson, p.311.
669
Boshof, p.263. Körntgen, p.117, lends reserved support to the thesis that the
falling out between father and son, was motivated by the father's lacking support
for the Reform movement. There is, however little evidence, that Henry V
supported the reformed church and the reform Papacy. Weinfurter, pp.10, 139
suggests that Henry V placed transpersonal dynastic interests before personal
interests. See also Althoff, Heinrich IV, pp.228-239.
670
Althoff, Heinrich IV, pp.236ff.
671
Boshof, p.264f. See also Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.139f. for several judgments
of the actions of Henry V against his father.
672
See Althoff, Heinrich IV, pp.241ff., who quotes extensively from the partisan
correspondence and the opposing sources.
673
Schulze, pp.451f., 453ff., cites the tumult created among the people of Liège on
these occasions.
674
See P. Kidson, 'Architecture and the visual arts', in Luscombe, Riley-Smith, The
New Cambridge Medieval History, IV, p.708. Boshof, p.265f. The peasants
scraped together earth from his grave and spread it over their fields, or placed seed
grain on his bier, in order to improve the harvest. See Robinson, pp.321-344 for a
discussion of his last years, and pp.345ff. for partisan remarks concerning his
legacy. Also Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.253, concerning his personal care of the
injured and poor, whose wounds he bandaged and whom he invited to share his
table.
675
Althoff, Heinrich IV, pp.289ff.
676
Boshof, pp.267ff.
677
Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.146. See Blumenthal, p.175.
678
Boshof, p.270f. See Körntgen, p.115f.See Blumenthal, pp.154ff.
679
Boshof, p.272f. Körntgen, p.116f. Blumenthal, pp.163ff.
680
Blumenthal, p166f.
681
Boshof, p.273. Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.147
682
Schulze, pp.458ff.
683
Boshof, p.275.
684
Schulze, p.460.
336 Notes
685
Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.31.
686
Fuhrmann, pp.87ff. Boshof, p.275f. Körntgen, p.118f. Schulze, p.462.
Blumenthal, p.176.
687
Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.147f. Tellenbach, Church, p.280f.
688
Boshof, pp.276ff.
689
Körntgen, p.118 for an inclusive itemization of the term.
690
Althoff, Heinrich IV, p.33.
691
Boshof, p.279.
692
Schulze, p.464f.
693
Fuhrmann, pp.98ff.
694
See Cowdrey, p.82.
695
Boshof, pp.181-186.
696
Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.67.
697
H. Heinemann, 'Die Zähringer und Burgund', in Schmid, Zähringer I, pp.59-74.
See also Robinson, pp.298ff.
698
Leyser, Communication and Power, pp.101ff.
699
Körntgen, p.121. Schulze, p.469f.
700
Boshof, pp.292ff. See Tellenbach, Church, pp.283ff.
701
See Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.191.
702
Leyser, Communication and Power, p.181.
703
Schutz, Tools, Weapons and Ornaments, note 141.
704
Fuhrmann, p.33. Opll, p.226f. Also Csendes, p.212f. See also Flori, in
Luscombe, Riley-Smith, The New Cambridge Medieval History, IV, pp.160ff. for
its distinct character within the Empire. See also Urban, p.16, n.5. concerning the
forms of feudalism.
705
Weinfurter, Herrscher, pp.151, 154.
706
Schulze, pp.272ff.
707
Schulze, p.475.
708
Körntgen, p.121. Schulze, p.475. Also Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.150f.
709
Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.154f. He quotes the Chronicle of Dietmar von
Merseburg, 8, 34. See Blumenthal, p.179f.
710
Boshof, p.294ff. Schulze, p.478. Also Arnold, Medieval Germany, pp.100ff.
711
Tellenbach, Church, p.284.
712
Fuhrmann, p.92f. Weinfurter, Herrscher, p.155.
713
See Boshof, pp.297f., 300, for the First Lateran Council. Also Körntgen,
p.121f., for details of the First Lateran Council. Schulze, p.478f. See Blumenthal,
p.181.
714
Fuhrmann, pp.92ff.
715
Tellenbach, p.125. Also Tellenbach, Church, p.176f.
716
Leyser, Communication and Power, pp.104, 107f.
717
K. Schreiner, 'Die Staufer als Herzöge von Schwaben', in R. Haussherr, Die Zeit
der Staufer, III (Stuttgart 1977), p.7f. Boshof, p.303. See Engels, pp.12ff., 20f., for
a summary of the rise to prominence of the Hohenstaufen in the kingdom, and the
role of Agnes. Also Opll, Friedrich Barbarossa, pp.19ff., 20, for the names of her
other celebrated children. See also Goez, Lebensbilder, p.272f.
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 337
718
Engels, p.21f. Also Opll, p.25.
719
Fuhrmann, pp.117ff. Also Schreiner, in Haussherr, III, p.10f.
720
Engels, p.22f. See Goez, Lebensbilder, pp.270-281.
721
F. Opll, Friedrich Barbarossa (Darmstadt, 1990), p.22f.
722
Schreiner, in Haussherr, III, pp.8ff. Also D. Mertens, 'Die Habsburger als
Nachfahren und als Vorfahren der Zähringer', in Schmid, Zähringer 1, pp.151-174.
723
Schadek, Schmid, Zähringen II, p.77f.
724
Engels, pp.25ff. Also Opll, p.27f.
725
See Schutz, Carolingians, pp.95ff. The Welfs already played important roles in
Carolingian times, with Judith becoming the second wife of the emperor Louis the
Pious and her sister Hemma, the wife of Louis the German. Engels, pp.27ff.
concerning the Welfs and their rise to power. See Csendes, p.26.
726
H. Löwe, 'Die Staufer als Könige und Kaiser', in Haussherr, III, pp.21-34. Also
E. Maschke, 'Die deutschen Städte der Stauferzeit', in Haussherr, III, pp.59-73. See
Goez, Lebensbilder, p.278. See Opll, p.23. See Fuhrmann, pp.23ff.
727
Engels, p.34f. Goez, Lebensbilder, p.276. Opll, p.28f.
728
Fuhrmann, pp.129ff. See Csendes, p.14f.
729
See Löwe, in Haussherr, III, p.22f. Also Mayer, pp.87-99. Louis had tried in
vain to organize an armed pilgrimage without reference to the Papacy, but met
with little support from his nobles. See also Hucker, in Kotzur, pp.27ff.
730
Phillips, p.63f.
731
Eickhoff, in Haussherr, III, p.241. Also Mentgen, in Kotzur, p.72f.
732
Opll, p.31.
733
Eichhoff, in Haussherr, III, p.242. Also Engels, p.35. See Hucker, in Kotzur,
p.27. Also Phillips, Crusades, p.71f.
734
Phillips, Crusades, p.74
735
Phillips, Crusades, pp.68ff.
736
Fuhrmann, p.130. Hucker, in Kotzur, p.28. Also Riley-Smith, in The New
Cambridge Medieval History, IV, pp.552ff. for a concise summary of the Second
Crusade.
737
Eickhoff, in Haussherr, III, pp.239ff.
738
Löwe, in Haussherr, III, p.23. Goez, Lebensbilder, p.279f. Mayer, pp.94-98.
739
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.30f.
740
Engels, pp.35-49, summarizes the events preceding the election of Frederick I,
Barbarossa. Goez, Lebensbilder, p.281, suggests that for Conrad III the stability of
the kingdom had precedence over individual interests. See Opll, pp.32ff., and
Csendes, 27.
741
Opll, p.29f.
742
Engels, p.51, suggests that it was a Staufen request, which wanted to see the
imperium and sacerdotium restored and to demonstrate the unconditional accord
with the magnates. See also Opll, p.38f.
743
Opll, p.34f.
744
von Boeselager, in Grieme, et al. p.95f..
745
Engels, pp.52ff. Also Opll, p.42f.
746
Fuhrmann, p.141f.
338 Notes
747
Engels, pp.54ff. See Opll, pp.45ff.
748
Heinrich Jasomirgott, his nickname giving favorite phrase – yes with God's help
– was the son of the empress Agnes issued from her second marriage, making him
Barbarossa's close relative. Conrad's wife's sister was the wife of the eastern
emperor Manuel.
749
Opll, pp.48ff., 188ff., 256-260..
750
Engels, p.85f.
751
Schutz, Carolingians, Pl.2. See Opll, p.50f.
752
Fuhrmann, p.143f. Löwe, in Haussherr, III, p.25.
753
Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.105.
754
Stürner, I, p.2.
755
Opll, p.51.
756
Engels, pp.62ff. See Opll, pp.238, for the names of their 11 children and the
extent to which their betrothals and marriages played a role in Barbarossa's foreign
policy.
757
Engels, pp.67ff.
758
Opll, pp.57f., 205f. Stürner, I, p.12f.
759
Fuhrmann, p.145f. Opll, p.61. Also Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.106.
760
See Opll, pp.227, 258, the list of participating magnates included those of
Bohemia , Poland and Hungary, as well as major cities in Germany and Lombardy.
761
Engels, pp.69ff. See Opll, pp.62ff.
762
Opll, pp.68f., 207ff.
763
See Opll, p.53, for a brief biographical note.
764
Engels, p.72f. Also Opll, pp.69ff. See Fuhrman, p.148f. for details.
765
Opll, p.287. The position caused John of Salisbury to challenge the Germans'
presumed right to judge other nations. See also Fuhrmann, p.156.
766
Opll, pp.77f., 261.
767
See Fuhrmann, pp.157ff. Also Opll, p.88.
768
Opll, p.289.
769
According to Löwe, 'Die Staufer als Könige und Kaiser', in Haussherr, III, p.25,
Frederick encircled pope Alexander III with the sworn intention never to recognize
him or his successors as pope. Engels, pp.74ff. Opll, pp.90, 273ff, concerning
Barbarossa's foreign politics by means of marriages.
770
Opll, p.223. But see also Geary, Living with the Dead in the Middle Ages
(Ithaca 1994), pp.243-256, who suggests that the tradition originated in Cologne
and then spread to Milan.
771
Engels, p.77f. According to Opll, pp.93, 289, Charlemagne was celebrated as
saint of the realm
772
Engels, p.78f.
773
Opll, pp.94ff.
774
See Fuhrmann, p.154f. concerning Rainald von Dassel. See especially p.159f.
Engels, p.79. Opll, p.98, offers a list of religious and secular magnates , who died
during this epidemic.
775
See Leyser, Communication and Power, pp.125f., 129. Also Abulafia,
Frederick II, pp.70ff.
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 339
776
Opll, pp.105, 240. Also Csendes, pp.30f., 35ff., for a list of attendees and a
discussion of Henry's precedence over his brother Frederick. Both present the case
that the prince Frederick mentioned is actually prince Frederick, duke of Swabia,
originally baptized Conrad, born after the death of the first, deceased prince named
Frederick.
777
See Leyser, Communication and Power, p.123. See Opll, pp.242f, 245. for a
summary of Barbarossa's relationships in the context of the magnates of the
Regnum Italie.
778
Opll, pp.111ff. Csendes, p.41.
779
Opll, p.297f.
780
Opll, pp.116ff.
781
Löwe, in Haussherr, III, p.23. Opll, pp.118, 124-133. According to Fuhrmann,
p.160f., Henry demanded the city of Goslar and its silver mines before offering
military support. See G. Althoff, in G. Althoff, H. – W. Goetz, E. Schubert,
Menschen im Schatten der Kathedrale (Darmstadt 1998), p.25f.
782
Opll, p.118f.
783
Löwe, in Haussherr, III, p.26. Engels, p.80f. Also Opll, pp. 119ff., 264. See
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.74f.
784
See Schutz, Germanic Realms, pp.218ff.
785
Engels, p.81f.
786
Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.71.
787
Engels, p.97.
788
Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.68. Also Abulafia, Frederick II, p.76.
789
Opll, p.140f. See especially Csendes, pp.46-51. Also Althoff, Goetz, Schubert,
Menschen im Schatten der Kathedrale, pp.54ff.
790
Cardini, in LeGoff, pp.114ff. Also Duby, Bouvines, pp.84ff. 103ff.
791
Opll, p.292.
792
Opll, p.266.
793
Engels, pp.89ff. See Csendes, pp.52-62. See Abulafia, Frederick II, p.57, who
suggests that her name reflects the Constantinian view of monarchy held by her
father Roger II.
794
Csendes, p.58, suggests, that her total dowry was worth 40 000 marks, still an
astonishing sum.
795
See Fuhrmann, pp.180ff. Csendes, p.61. Also Abulafia, Frederick II, p.80.
796
See Engels, p.89f. Also Csendes, p.61f.
797
Opll, p.154. Also Csendes, p.61.
798
Engels, p.90. See Csendes, p.56.
799
Opll, p.185.
800
See Opll, pp.234ff. for a summary of the estrangement between the cousins.
801
Opll, p.84.
802
Engels, pp.91ff.
803
Engels, pp.97-102, 104f. Also Opll, p.132f.
804
Hucker, in Kotzur, p.29.
805
See Fuhrmann, p.151, for the sequence of events.
806
See Opll, p.161, for details concerning his re-entry and re-instatement.
340 Notes
807
Engels, p.105f. See also Opll, pp.245ff.
808
Phillips, Crusades, p.138f.
809
Csendes, p.69.
810
Mayer, pp.125-138. See Riley-Smith, in Luscombe, Riley-Smith, The New
Cambridge Medieval History, IV, pp.557ff.
811
Löwe, in Haussherr, III, p.27.
812
See Opll, pp.164ff., for a summarizing account of this crusade . Also Csendes,
pp.70, 74f. and Hucker, in Kotzur, p.30f., who lists the participants. See Mentgen,
in Kotzur, pp.73ff. for a brief sketch of the crusade inspired pogroms in English
towns , especially in York, and in France .
813
Eickhoff, in Haussherr, III, p.241.
814
Opll, p.280. Also Mayer, p.128f.
815
It was the standard practice to boil the flesh off a corps, to separate the bones.
See Opll, p.170, concerning the lost bones of Barbarossa .
816
Engels, pp.107ff.
817
Mayer, p.133. He also lists the deaths among the leading personalities of this
crusade , among the thousands of other casualties.
818
See N. Heutger, 'Die Ritterorden im Heiligen Land: Die Hospitäler und
Ordensgemeinschaften', in Kotzur, pp.137-153.
819
See Engels, pp.163ff. Especially Abulafia, pp.428ff.
820
Csendes, pp.76ff. enters into considerable detail. See Stürner, I, pp.34ff. for a
summarizing discussion of the concerns of the rivaling factions in the Sicilian
kingdom.
821
Phillips, Crusades, p.143.
822
Engels, p.110.
823
See Engels, p.111. Also Csendes, pp.94ff. for details of the ceremonial protocol
of the coronation .
824
Engels, p.110f. Also Csendes, pp.100ff. And Stürner, I, pp.36f. The diagnoses
of the illness range widely.
825
See Csendes, pp.106ff. Stürner, I, p.38f.
826
Csendes, pp.107-114.
827
Csendes, pp.121f.
828
Phillips, Crusades, p.145.
829
See Phillips, Crusades, p.148. Also Csendes, p.122, n.14.
830
Csendes, p.123.
831
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.69.
832
Hucker, in Kotzur, p.33, calculates that the ransom sum amounted to a mere
34.5 kg of silver, a paltry sum when compared to the 16 hundred weight of gold
annually, exacted from Constantinople in 1196.
833
Löwe, in Haussherr, III, p.27. Also Csendes, p.125. And Stürner, I, p.39. The
terms of his release and size of the ransom vary in the literature .
834
See Engels, p.112.
835
Csendes, p.127.
836
Engels, pp.111ff. Also Csendes, pp.128, 142.
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 341
837
Csendes, p.142, presents this marriage as a love match rather than the usual
arranged marriages.
838
Csendes, pp.148ff. It is variously reported, that the royal graves were broken
open, the funerary crown removed. Those, who had participated in the coronation
of Tancred and his son Roger, were burned at the stake or drowned at sea, or
buried alive. Others were blinded and imprisoned north of the Alps. Not even
Constance 's relatives were spared. See Stürner, I, pp.51ff., who suggests that the
measures served to overcome any last resistance.
839
Stürner, I, p.57f. Also Abulafia, Frederick II, p.12.
840
Engels, p.114.
841
Csendes, p.165, indicates that Henry would be accompanied by 1500 knights
and an equal number of foot soldiers. Each knight should have 30 ounces of gold,
every foot soldier 10 ounces.
842
Csendes, p.165.
843
Mayer, p.137.
844
See Fuhrmann, p.184.
845
See Hucker, in Kotzur, p.35, for a list of the participants, including members of
the middle classes.
846
Csendes, p.211, suggests the name might be associated with his mother
Constance . Stürner, I, p.47, points out that the story first appeared some five
decades later, with Albert von Stade, no friend of Constance's. Defamatory rumors
circulated about her during the thirteenth century.
847
Csendes, pp.171ff. summarizes the concessions and other considerations which
came into play on these occasions.
848
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.90.
849
Duby, p.62f. See Abulafia, Frederick II, pp.1, 436.
850
See Abulafia, Frederick II, p.83.
851
Stürner, I, p.63.
852
Löwe, in Haussherr, III, p.28.
853
Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.109.
854
Engels, pp.115ff. Also Csendes, pp.174ff. Also Stürner, I, pp.58ff.
855
See Stürner, I, p.63f. concerning a discussion of the ambiguous claims made
concerning this conspiracy.
856
Abulafia, Frederick II, pp.429f., 429f.
857
Csendes, p.224.
858
Csendes, pp.189ff., 219, 223, offers some details concerning the retributions
and their justification.
859
Csendes, p.193. Since the imprisonment of Richard, Henry VI was considered
excommunicate without right to a Christian funeral.
860
See Fuhrmann, p.185f. Csendes, p.194. Also Stürner, I, p.64f.
861
M. Wehrli, Deutsche Lyrik des Mittelalters (Zürich 1962), pp.86-91.
862
Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.185.
863
See G. Duby, The Three Orders. Feudal Society Imagined. Translated by A.
Goldhammer (Chicago and London 1980), pp.5, 40, 48.
342 Notes
864
Weinfurter, p.72f. See also Csendes, p.48f. Also J. Flori, 'Knightly Society", in
Luscombe and Riley Smith, The New Cambridge Medieval History, IV, p.148.
Also G. Duby, Art and Society in the Middle Ages (Cambridge 2000), p.22. Also
Duby, Bouvines, pp.15, 61f. Also Duby, The Three Orders.. See also Fichtenau,
p.304. Also LeGoff, pp.17ff.
865
See Ennen, Stadt, pp.145ff. concerning the history of fairs and the formation of
hanseatic trading associations.
866
E. Maschke, 'Die deutschen Städte der Stauferzeit' in R. Haussherr, Die Zeit der
Staufer , III, (Stuttgart 1977), p.64. See also Ennen, Stadt, pp.150ff. Also Ennen,
Frauen, pp.104ff., concerning guilds.
867
Hlawitschka, p.168f.
868
See Opll, pp.250ff.
869
Opll, p.255. Also Stürner, I, p. 7.
870
Boshof, p.92. Also Körntgen, p.112.
871
Flachenecker, in Grieme, et al., p.15.
872
H. Keller, 'Die Zähringer und die Entwicklung Freiburgs zur Stadt', in Schmid
(ed.) Zähringer I, pp.17-29. Also Schadek, Schmid, Zähringer II, pp.43ff., 220-
302, which include maps. See p.263, for details.
873
Bayley, pp.47ff.
874
Maschke, 'Die deutschen Städte der Stauferzeit', in Haussherr, III, p.60-64.
Maschke, p.69f., indicates the number of cities among the modern cities, which
existed during the Middle Ages.
875
See Gurjewitsch, in LeGoff, pp.274ff. for an extensive discussion of the
usurer's position in society.
876
Gurjewitsch, in LeGoff, pp.280ff., 292f.
877
LeGoff, p.17.
878
Meckseper, Stadt im Mittelalter, pp.59ff., 168ff. See Ennen, Frauen, pp.134ff.,
230. See also S. Shahar, Die Frau im Mittelalter, transl. R. Achlama (Frankfurt
a.M. 1988), pp24ff., 36ff., 44ff., 164ff., 179ff.
879
C. Meckseper, 'Städtebau', in Haussherr, III, p.85. Also Meckseper, Stadt im
Mittelalter, p.258. Ennen, Stadt, pp.80ff. See Pitz, p.175f..
880
Meckseper, Stadt im Mittelalter, p.87f.
881
Meckseper, in Haussherr, III, pp.75-79. Also Meckseper, Stadt im Mittelalter,
pp.76ff.
882
Maschke, in Haussherr, III, pp.59f., 66f. Also Engels, pp.134ff.
883
See S. Käuper, 'Aufstand und Kommunebildung im 13. Jahrhundert', in Grieme,
et al., p.27ff. See also Ennen, Stadt, pp.142ff. for the evolution of urban
administrative councils.
884
Flachenecker, in Grieme, et al., p.22.
885
See Geremek, in LeGoff, p.391f.
886
See Ennen, Stadt, p.124f. for variations of this concept. Also Ennen, Frauen,
pp.91ff., for a summary of the attractions offered by urban communities. Also
Rossiaud, in LeGoff, p.158f.
887
Käuper, in Grieme, et al., pp.34, 37f. Also Kruppa, in Grieme, et al. pp.79ff.
888
Käuper, in Grieme, et al. p.61f. Also Flachenecker, in Grieme, et al., p.24.
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 343
889
Urban, p.25.
890
Urban, p.44.
891
Csendes, p.201. See also Stürner, I, p.219, and especially Heutger, in Kotzur,
p.149ff. See Phillips, Crusades, pp.53ff., 56ff.
892
Details of the coat of arms provided by Kultur- und Verkehrsamt, Bad
Mergentheim, permanent seat of the order. Also Heutger, in Kotzur, p.151, for
organizational details.
893
Urban, pp.99-122.
894
Urban, p.130.
895
Engels, p.140f. See also Ennen, Frauen, pp.141ff. concerning demographics
and the role of women in urban settlements.
896
See Urban, pp.55ff., 136, concerning the rule and social structure of the order.
897
Urban, p.131.
898
Urban, p.85.
899
Stürner, II, p.124f. See also M. Burleigh, 'The military orders in the Baltic', in
Abulafia, The New Cambridge Medieval History, V, pp.743ff.
900
Urban, p.156f.
901
Urban, p.168. Eisenstein's rendition of the 'Battle on the Ice' delighted in great
detail as the heavily armed knights perished in the frigid waters under the breaking
ice.
902
Urban, p.251.
903
Abulafia, Frederick II, pp.34f., 64.
904
Stürner, I, p.48f.
905
See Stürner, I, pp.80ff. for a summary of Constance 's reign in Sicily. See
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.92f. for details of her will.
906
See Engels, p.121.
907
Schadek, Schmid, Zähringer II, p.76. Already in 1061, the empress Agnes had
realized the promise made by Henry III, and assigned them the duchy of Carinthia ,
and title, since they could not actually assume possession.
908
See Goez, Lebensbilder, pp.375-388, for a biographical note of this pope.
909
Stürner, I, pp.73, 78. Innocent III used the sun-moon analogy to describe the
relationship between church and crown. It was the light of the sun, which lent
radiance to the moon. See J.A. Watt, 'The Papacy ', in Abulafia, The New
Cambridge Medieval History, V, pp.114ff. on Innocent III and the concept of papal
primacy . See Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.107.
910
See Arnold, Medieval Germany, pp.108-111.
911
Engels, pp.119-123.
912
Engels, p.123f. Also Stürner, I, p.79.Also Abulafia, Frederick II, p.105.
913
See Powell, p.9.
914
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.110.
915
Stürner, I, p.126.
916
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.106.
917
Engels, pp.125ff. Also Stürner, I, pp.127ff.
918
See Abulafia, Frederick II, p.112f.
919
See Stürner, I, pp.105ff. for a summation of Frederick's youth and education.
344 Notes
920
Stürner, I, pp.141ff.
921
Stürner, I, pp.144-155. Also Abulafia, Frederick II, p.117f.
922
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.110.
923
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.119.
924
Stürner, I, pp.155-165. See Duby, Bouvines.
925
Stürner, I, p.166f.
926
Stürner, I, pp.168ff.
927
Engels, p.125.
928
Engels, pp.126ff.
929
Engels, p.129. See also Abulafia, Frederick II, p.123f. concerning the control of
cities.
930
Bayley, p.12.
931
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.120.
932
See Stürner, I, pp.173ff., 176f. for the fervor ignited among the masses by the
itinerant preachers of the crusade. Also Abulafia, Frederick II, p.121.
933
Stürner, I, pp.181ff.
934
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.212.
935
Meckseper, Stadt im Mittelalter, p.253.
936
See Abulafia, Frederick II, p.143f.
937
According to Abulafia, Frederick II, pp.244ff. the events took place at
Hagenau.
938
Stürner, II, p.13f. Also Meckseper, Stadt im Mittelalter, p.253.
939
Stürner, II, p.321f.
940
See D. E. Queller, (ed.) The Latin Conquest of Constantinople (New York,
London, Sydney, Toronto 1971) for a survey of interpretations of circumstances.
Also J. J. Norwich, A Short History of Byzantium. (Harmondsworth 1997), pp.307-
317. Also R. J. Lilie, 'Christen gegen Christen. Die Eroberung Konstantinopels
1203/04', in Kotzur, pp.154-165.
941
Lilie, in Kotzur, p.158.
942
See Hucker, in Kotzur, p.38, for a list of German participants.
943
Mayer, pp.176ff.
944
Lilie, in Kotzur, p.161f.
945
Hucker, in Kotzur, p.39.
946
Mayer, p.184. See also Lilie, in Kotzur, p.163f.
947
See Abulafia, Frederick II, p.98.
948
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.126.
949
Urban, p.151.
950
Engels, p.131f. See Goez, Lebensbilder, pp.437-453, for a biographical note of
Henry (VII). See Stürner, I, p.215f., for Frederick's disposition of the Zähringen
inheritance.
951
See Stürner, I, pp.198ff., for a discussion of the circle of noble and ministerial
advisors around Frederick, entrusted with administrative functions, who would
support the rule of the infant Henry (VII). Cistercians in particular provided the
clerical and scribal services.
952
Stürner, I, pp.231ff., 237ff.
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 345
953
Bayley, p.137.
954
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.130.
955
Stürner, I, pp.250ff. Also Abulafia, Frederick II, p.137f.
956
See J. M. Powell, Anatomy of a Crusade 1213-1221 (Philadelphia 1986), p.74f.
for a brief list of participating secular and ecclesiastical magnates.
957
Stürner, II, pp.1-84.
958
Stürner, II, pp.47-57. Also Abulafia, Frederick II, p.264.
959
Goez, Lebensbilder, p.440. Also Stürner, II, pp.126ff.
960
Löwe, in Haussherr, III, p.30f. Also Engels, pp.132ff.
961
Stürner, II, p.280.
962
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.201.
963
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.230f.
964
Maschke, in Haussherr, III, p.67. Also Stürner, II, p.280.
965
Abulafia, Frederick II, pp.232, 234..
966
Goez, Lebensbilder, pp.445ff. Also Stürner, p.285.
967
Goez, Lebensbilder, p.447f.
968
Stürner, II, p.297f. See Abulafia, Frederick II. P.237ff.
969
Goez, Lebensbilder, p.448f.
970
Eickhoff, in Haussherr, III, p.244. Also von Boeselager 'De bischup soll macht
hebben in der stad Bremen', in Grieme, et al. p.103f. Also Urban, pp.135, 153ff.,
who outlines the abuses.
971
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.155.
972
Stürner, II, pp.301ff. Abulafia, Frederick II, p.237f, considers the terminology.
973
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.54.
974
Engels, p.136f. Also Goez, Lebensbilder, p.452. See Stürner, II, p.305f. Also
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.241.
975
Stürner, II, p.306f. names the poets who had attended his court and lamented
his fate.
976
Mayer, pp.189ff.
977
Stürner, I, p.229f. Also Mayer, pp.191-201. See especially Powell..
978
Powell, pp.17ff., 47f.
979
Mayer, p.201f.
980
See E.-D. Hehl, 'Die Kreuzzüge. Feindbild – Erfahrung – Reflexion', in Kotzur,
pp.238-247; also P. Engels, 'Das Bild des Propheten Mohammed in
abendländischen Schriften des Mittelalters', in Kotzur, pp.249-263. See also
Kotzur, pp. 287-497, for an illustrated catalogue of scientific and technological
instruments available to Arabic-Islamic science , in such areas as mechanics,
astronomy , geography, hydraulics, medicine , music, and fortifications , defenses,
armaments and weapons, including such fused explosives as hand grenades.
981
Hehl, in Kotzur, p.246f.
982
See Powell, p.197.
983
Stürner, II, pp.98-115.
984
See Abulafia, Frederick II, pp.156-59.
985
Stürner, II, pp.130ff. See also Mayer, pp.203ff. Hucker, in Kotzur, p.42, offers a
list of participants aboard the first sailing, including 400 citizens of Worms .
346 Notes
986
Abulafia, Frederick II, pp.164ff.
987
See Stürner, II, p.136f., for a summary of the resulting accusations, arbitrary
charges and countercharges.
988
Abulafia, Frederick II, pp.152,169..
989
See Stürner, II, pp.139-157, for a detailed summary of the negotiations. Also
Mayer, p. 206f. who argues that by taking the Holy Land Frederick was able to
demonstrate his cosmocratic rule and the current eschatological ideas. See also
Abulafia, Frederick II, pp.182ff.
990
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.188.
991
Engels, pp.138-147. Also Stürner, II, pp.157-163. Mayer, p.209. See also
Abulafia, Frederick II, pp.194f., 196ff.
992
See Stürner, II, p.314f.
993
Stürner, II, p.310f.
994
Stürner, II, p.312f.
995
Stürner, II, pp.326f., 331ff.
996
Engels, p.141.
997
Engels, p.152. Also Stürner, II, pp.329f., 466-476. See Arnold, Medieval
Germany, p.124.
998
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.343.
999
See Stürner, II, pp.480ff. Also Arnold, Medieval Germany, p.124. See also
Abulafia, Frederick II, pp.341ff.
1000
Stürner, II, pp.485ff.
1001
Löwe, in Haussherr, III, p.32. Also Engels, pp.153ff.
1002
Stürner, II, pp.498-502. Also Abulafia, Frederick II, p.346f.
1003
Stürner, II, pp.502ff.
1004
See Stürner, II, p.521, for the list of required conditions to be fulfilled, before
absolution could be granted. Also Watt, in The New Cambridge Medieval History,
V, pp.137-145, concerning the Council of Lyon of 1245.
1005
Bayley, pp.16, 140.
1006
Abulafia, Frederick II, pp.430ff.
1007
Stürner, II, pp.474f., 531ff.
1008
Stürner, II, p.537f. See Watt, in The New Cambridge Medieval History, V,
p.143f.
1009
Stürner, II, pp.540ff., for a summary of Fredrick's counterarguments.
1010
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.375.
1011
Abulafia, Frederick II, pp.380ff., 386.
1012
Schreiner, in Haussherr, III, p.16. Also Stürner, II, p.546.
1013
Stürner, II, p.547.
1014
Stürner, II, p.550.
1015
Löwe, in Haussherr, III, p.33.
1016
Abulafia, Frederick II, pp.377ff.
1017
Stürner, II, pp.556ff.
1018
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.403, questions this story.
1019
Stürner, II, p.554. Also Hucker, in Kotzur, p.44f. See Abulafia, Frederick II,
p.401.
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 347
1020
Stürner, II, pp.571ff.
1021
Stürner, II, p.568.
1022
Stürner, II, p.585f.
1023
Engels, p.155f. See Opll, p.219, for the early relations between Staufens and
the Cistercian order, of which Bernard of Clairvaux figured in the early life of
Barbarossa and the Second Crusade. See also Stürner, II, p.588f., for Fredericks'
last will and testament.
1024
Bayley, p.65.
1025
Bayley, p.29.
1026
See M. Toch, 'Welfs , Hohenstaufen and Habsburgs ', in Abulafia, The New
Cambridge Medieval History, V, pp.392-398.
1027
Schreiner, 'Die Staufer in Sage, Legende und Prophetie', in Haussherr, III,
pp.17f., 249ff. Also Engels, pp.156ff.
1028
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.431f.
1029
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.436 lists some of the image-makers.
1030
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.264.
1031
Abulafia, Frederick II, p.254f.
1032
Abulafia, Frederick II, pp.267ff.
1033
See Luscombe, in Riley-Smith, The New Cambridge Medieval History, IV,
pp.484ff. See also A. S. McGrade (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Medieval
Philosophy (Cambridge 2003).
1034
Leyser, Communication and Power, p.185. Also Arnold, Medieval Germany,
p.174.
1035
H. Fuhrmann, Einladung ins Mittelalter (Munich 1988), Figure preceding
p.237.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aachen, 32, 42, 54, 61, 64, 70, 73, agriculture, 16, 248, 297
75, 76, 85, 86, 89, 90, 92, 95, Albertus Magnus, 298
96, 99, 104, 107, 108, 116, 118, Alexander Nevsky, 262
139, 141, 175, 209, 215, 224, Alexios IV Angelos, 273
225, 226, 246, 264, 270, 276 Alfred the Great, 35, 40
Aachen, Palace Chapel, 42, 76, 86, Alsace, 24, 47, 80, 207, 250, 254
95, 96, 107 altars, 48, 100, 107, 179, 189, 192,
abbesses, 67, 95, 100, 103, 116 290
abbeys, 15, 69, 83, 99, 103, 105, analogy, 78, 94, 100, 127, 132, 263,
143, 156, 192 280
abbots, 52, 66, 67, 68, 69, 74, 80, anathema, 168, 171
103, 120, 124, 133, 134, 139, Anatolia, 183, 213, 234, 241
141, 142, 155, 167, 193, 198, Anno of Cologne, 142, 147
199, 203, 228, 269 Anno shrine, 144
acceptance, 11, 47, 139, 176, 244, Annolied, 144
267 anointing, 30, 42, 120, 200, 205
Acre, 231, 238, 245, 259, 286 Anselm of Canterbury, 192
Adalbero of Laon, 245 Antichrist, 89, 147, 170, 194, 204,
Adalbert of Hamburg-Bremen, 136, 214, 287, 289, 290, 292, 299
144, 145, 147, 148, 149 anti-king, 26, 113, 140, 141, 150,
Adalbert of Mainz, 201, 204, 206 169, 171, 173, 175, 176, 196,
Adalbert of Prague, 66, 86, 90 200, 205, 207
Adam of Bremen, 132 Antioch, 184, 235
Adelheit, 21, 36, 41, 49, 50, 55, 58, Apocalypse, 290
59, 65, 69, 70, 71, 73, 77, 79, Apostles, 203
81, 110 apotheosis, 84, 86, 89
abbess, 92, 93 apses, 119, 121
administration, 13, 18, 46, 56, 57, Apulia, 73, 108, 129
62, 68, 82, 85, 91, 93, 102, 120, Aquileia, 39, 50, 119, 121
121, 125, 131, 134, 137, 143, Aquitaine, 117, 126, 264
146, 189, 225, 236, 240, 287, Arabs, 22, 64, 68, 73, 236
296 Aragon, 267
Adolph von Nassau, 296 archbishops, 29, 30, 39, 41, 42, 51,
adventures, 39, 98, 118, 179, 182, 55, 61, 62, 72, 75, 82, 83, 89,
185, 205, 219, 231 90, 95, 100, 104, 108, 115, 122,
Aeneid, 228 127, 136, 142, 144, 145, 146,
Agnes of Poitou, 126, 139 147, 148, 153, 155, 171, 173,
Agnes, empress, 128, 131, 138, 141, 188, 192, 197, 204, 206, 215,
142, 144, 146, 157, 169
356 Index
223, 228, 231, 264, 268, 286, Bavaria, 10, 22, 23, 24, 26, 29, 30,
293 31, 38, 39, 43, 45, 49, 51, 53,
architecture, 10, 23, 52, 68, 70, 71, 54, 72, 77, 90, 95, 97, 99, 104,
84, 114, 136, 156, 298 107, 111, 120, 126, 130, 138,
Arelat, 230 139, 141, 164, 171, 187, 199,
Aribert of Milan, 122 211, 214, 215, 216, 230, 231,
Aribo of Mainz, 115 239, 277, 278
aristocracy, 62, 122, 128, 166, 196, Bavarians, 23, 35, 39, 85
217 Beatrix, 136, 139, 140, 219, 230,
Aristotle, 299 269
Armenia, 241, 244 Béguines, 255
Arnold of Brescia, 218 Belgrade, 181, 234
Arnulf, 25, 26, 30, 31, 38, 39, 43, bellatores, 178, 245
45, 48 Benedictine Rule, 66, 68, 103
art, 23, 66, 68, 70, 84, 96, 298 Benevent, 129, 135
Ascension, 84 Berengar, 49, 50, 55
asceticism, 67, 84, 89 Bern, 249, 250, 254
Asia Minor, 181, 184, 213, 234 Bernard of Clairvaux, 211, 212,
Askanians, 211, 228, 231 213, 281
astronomy, 75, 282, 298 Bertha of Turin, 136, 140, 147
atrium, 42, 76 Bertha von Sulzbach, 211
audience, 125, 150 Bertha, empress, 174, 175
Augsburg, 53, 55, 72, 95, 125, 142, Berthold von Regensburg, 252
166, 220, 246, 257, 271 Bertold V von Zähringen, 264
Augustus, 90, 288 Besançon, 167, 220, 221
Austria, 10, 53, 211, 214, 228, 230, bishops, 13, 25, 32, 35, 45, 48, 52,
235, 277, 287 61, 62, 68, 89, 101, 103, 105,
autonomy, 25, 32, 35, 54, 74, 78, 106, 107, 108, 109, 117, 120,
102, 103, 134, 147, 149, 158, 122, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128,
204, 247, 248, 278 133, 134, 136, 137, 138, 141,
Averroës, 299 144, 155, 160, 161, 162, 165,
Avicenna, 299 166, 169, 172, 175, 176, 181,
Babenberg, 73, 167, 205, 206, 211, 191, 192, 193, 195, 198, 199,
216, 238 201, 203, 206, 212, 215, 217,
Bad Hersfeld, 102 219, 223, 226, 228, 246, 257,
Bad Wimpfen, 250 267, 269, 278, 292
Baldwin of Flanders, 136, 186 Bohemia, 9, 10, 19, 35, 60, 65, 72,
Balkans, 22, 73, 173, 228, 241 77, 82, 98, 107, 125, 130, 166,
Baltic Sea, 98, 249, 250, 258, 261, 175, 180, 191, 214, 228, 237
262 Bohemians, 19, 44, 53, 125
Bamberg, 33, 57, 99, 104, 108, 110, Boleslav I Chrobry, 82, 90, 98, 107,
111, 116, 129, 133, 154, 170, 119
209, 214, 225, 266 Boleslav II, 72, 96, 98
Basel, 10, 257 Boleslav of Bohemia, 35, 44, 53, 60,
basilica, 224. See cathedral 77
Bologna, 218, 227, 229
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 357
162, 169, 180, 184, 210, 212, consorts, 58, 59, 71, 76, 78, 197,
217, 221, 222, 223, 225, 226, 230
229, 243, 246, 247, 250, 251, Constance, 104, 216, 219, 221, 229,
255, 256, 264, 278, 284, 288, 236, 237, 240, 242, 244, 257,
294 264, 265, 267, 268, 276
City of David, 285 Constance of Aragon, 268
clergy, 25, 39, 42, 52, 56, 101, 109, Constance, treaty of, 284
120, 132, 138, 140, 143, 147, Constantine, 17, 33, 85, 89, 92, 218,
153, 157, 171, 177, 180, 220, 263
221, 247, 287 Constantinian Donation, 56, 85, 88,
clerics, 15, 131, 132, 144, 164, 191, 92, 153, 154, 224
192, 197, 246, 276, 285 Constantinople, 22, 44, 53, 56, 63,
Clermont, 176 66, 70, 73, 84, 85, 118, 135,
cloak, 109, 115, 236, 276 154, 177, 178, 181, 182, 184,
cloisters, 103, 255 213, 231, 234, 241, 272, 273
Cluniac Reforms, 69, 82, 103, 131, Constitutio de feudis, 122
132, 148, 164, 170, 175 Constitutum Constantini, 55, 85
Cluny, 60, 68, 82, 103, 126, 129, continuity, 11, 18, 19, 23, 24, 42,
175, 198 76, 78, 88, 90, 95, 100, 116,
cohesion, 19, 22, 23, 79, 104, 105, 134, 141, 151, 210, 224, 227,
115, 134, 136, 205, 210, 218, 230, 275
227, 245, 248, 278 coronation, 11, 23, 27, 30, 31, 39,
College of Cardinals, 129, 134, 144, 42, 44, 50, 55, 63, 65, 70, 75,
154, 288 77, 83, 87, 88, 90, 94, 95, 96,
College of Electors, 287 97, 99, 103, 107, 110, 115, 117,
Cologne, 32, 42, 51, 59, 62, 67, 75, 118, 119, 120, 128, 144, 153,
80, 83, 90, 100, 115, 125, 128, 154, 171, 175, 193, 195, 200,
144, 146, 153, 180, 193, 196, 205, 207, 213, 216, 217, 219,
201, 215, 231, 242, 246, 247, 220, 224, 226, 229, 230, 237,
250, 251, 263, 266, 293 242, 263, 265, 266, 267, 270,
columns, 43, 53, 125 274, 275
Concordat of Westminster, 192 Coronation Gospels, 43
Concordat of Worms, 12, 202, 203, Corvey, 30, 34, 36, 38, 41, 67, 102,
205, 210, 215, 216, 269 103
Confederatio, 269, 270, 276 Cosmocrator, 288
Conrad I, 21, 23, 24, 48, 170, 205 Council of Chalcedon, 129
Conrad II, 111, 113, 115, 117, 119, Council of Constantinople, 151
121, 125, 134, 140, 205 Council of Lyon, 290, 291
Conrad III, 209, 211, 213, 214, 216, counts, 57, 95, 97, 101, 105, 131,
230, 256 199, 232
Conrad IV, 209, 287, 294, 295 courts, 15, 122, 201, 231, 275
Conrad von Hildesheim, 245, 259 craftsmen, 251, 297
Conradin, 209, 296, 297 Cross of Lothair, 119
consensus, 15, 34, 46, 47, 147 crosses, 33, 118, 124
consors imperii, 55, 59, 72, 110 crossing, 115, 166, 230, 233, 249
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 359
crown, 9, 11, 14, 17, 25, 29, 30, 32, dominium mundi, 55, 63, 86, 130,
38, 39, 47, 48, 50, 51, 54, 55, 153, 164, 204, 220, 244, 287
59, 62, 65, 72, 75, 82, 83, 86, dukes, 24, 26, 28, 31, 36, 40, 43, 45,
100, 102, 103, 107, 113, 114, 49, 50, 57, 73, 75, 82, 126, 130,
115, 117, 119, 121, 122, 134, 136, 141, 145, 148, 164, 167,
138, 140, 141, 143, 144, 147, 187, 199, 211, 228, 230, 232,
150, 152, 156, 160, 168, 171, 238, 249, 264
172, 173, 176, 191, 192, 193, duty, 14, 17, 72, 117, 133, 146, 199,
195, 196, 199, 200, 201, 202, 228
203, 204, 205, 207, 210, 211, Easter, 29, 64, 78, 100, 108, 109,
219, 220, 221, 224, 226, 227, 117, 130, 139, 152, 165, 174,
228, 230, 233, 239, 244, 258, 192, 218, 226, 234, 237
263, 265, 266, 267, 270, 272, Ecclesia, 86, 106
274, 279, 285, 288, 291, 294, Edessa, 186, 211, 213
296 Edgith, 35, 39, 40, 48, 49, 64, 84,
Crusade, Children's, 267, 270, 280 113
crusader states, 183, 263 Edward the Confessor, 136, 224
Crusades, 17, 106, 123, 132, 135, Eguisheim, 129, 254
177, 178, 179, 180, 182, 184, Egypt, 272, 281
185, 187, 188, 200, 212, 213, Eichstätt, 67, 137
223, 232, 235, 236, 238, 240, Eleanor of Aquitaine, 179, 225, 239
241, 243, 244, 245, 247, 267, Empire, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20,
270, 275, 277, 279, 281, 283, 22, 33, 38, 43, 44, 55, 57, 59,
284, 287, 289, 291, 292, 293, 61, 63, 65, 66, 69, 70, 73, 75,
295, 297 76, 78, 79, 84, 86, 88, 91, 93,
crypts, 28, 125, 138, 224 98, 103, 105, 107, 111, 113,
culture, 15, 71, 76, 84, 114, 204, 115, 117, 119, 120, 130, 133,
247, 248, 283, 297 136, 137, 138, 139, 143, 145,
Curia, 154 148, 153, 154, 155, 164, 165,
curriculum, 67, 277 168, 185, 187, 190, 191, 192,
Cyprus, 11, 241, 244, 285, 294, 295 195, 199, 203, 210, 211, 214,
Damascus, 213 216, 217, 219, 220, 221, 222,
Damietta, 281, 283 224, 225, 226, 227, 229, 230,
Danes, 35, 60 231, 236, 239, 240, 241, 242,
Daniel, 17 243, 250, 261, 263, 264, 266,
Book of, 17 268, 270, 274, 275, 276, 280,
David, 66, 127, 280, 285, 287 287, 288, 290, 293, 296, 297,
Denmark, 10, 44, 72, 117, 136, 231, 300
237, 260, 261, 294 Empress Maude. See Mathilda of
Dictatus papae, 158 England
discipline, 172, 182, 185 end of days, 242, 244, 281
divine grace, 32, 118 England, 35, 80, 117, 136, 171, 181,
divinity, 96 192, 213, 222, 228, 229, 233,
domini terrae, 278 234, 236, 239, 244, 264, 270,
Dominicans, 255, 277, 279, 291 286, 292
entrances, 117, 274
360 Index
epic poetry, 36, 66, 228 Frederick I, 206, 207, 209, 214, 217,
Erfurt, 40, 231 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223,
Essen, 67, 95 225, 226, 228, 230, 231, 233,
Estonia, 260, 262 234, 248, 271, 286, 287
Estonians, 258 Frederick II, 140, 209, 242, 260,
Eugene III, 217 261, 267, 268, 269, 272, 274,
excommunication, 21, 69, 111, 114, 275, 278, 283, 286, 287, 288,
145, 149, 155, 160, 161, 164, 296, 297, 299
165, 166, 169, 171, 172, 174, freedom, 257
187, 190, 191, 192, 193, 196, Freiburg, 206, 249, 250, 253, 254,
197, 198, 221, 227, 266, 268, 255, 256
269, 284, 287, 288, 289, 294, Freising, 29, 215
295, 297, 299 frescoes, 119, 154, 218
experience, 37, 52, 97, 126, 146, Fribourg, 249
170, 180, 298 Frisia, 37, 213
falconry, 298 Fritzlar, 30
feudalism, 232 Fulda, 25, 29, 67, 102, 271
fiction, 64, 85, 92, 110 Gandersheim, 27, 67, 95, 116
Fifth Crusade, 281, 286 Gebhard of Eichstätt, 137
filigree, 71 Gelnhausen, 250
Finland, 136, 263 gems, 229
First Crusade, 161, 181, 185, 187, genealogy, 36, 227
190, 211, 270, 283 Genoa, 281, 289
Flanders, 98, 136, 181, 191, 213 Gerberga, 32, 54
Flavia Helena, 33 Gerbert of Aurillac, 74, 86, 88
Florence, 136, 176 Germany, 9, 43, 47, 51, 54, 64, 72,
Forchheim, 23, 170 74, 75, 81, 85, 90, 91, 92, 93,
fortifications, 27, 34, 149, 151, 210, 109, 119, 120, 125, 129, 135,
230, 254, 261 162, 163, 166, 169, 172, 174,
Fourth Crusade, 242, 272, 281 175, 186, 195, 196, 197, 203,
Fourth Lateran Council, 270, 271 204, 206, 207, 210, 211, 212,
France, 9, 22, 44, 47, 48, 54, 73, 74, 219, 222, 223, 226, 236, 239,
79, 98, 106, 126, 129, 131, 136, 240, 241, 256, 263, 264, 267,
161, 176, 181, 191, 192, 205, 268, 272, 274, 276, 277, 278,
211, 212, 222, 223, 228, 233, 286, 288, 292, 296, 297
234, 236, 238, 239, 264, 265, Gernrode, 69
266, 268, 270, 277, 280, 288, Gero, 44, 54, 60, 69
292 Ghibellines, 267, 296
Franciscans, 255, 291 Gieselbert, 32, 43, 47
Franconia, 23, 26, 43, 44, 48, 53 Gisela, 91, 115, 117, 121
Franconians, 23, 26, 30 glory, 18, 65, 86, 88, 114, 224, 245,
Frankfurt, 48, 99, 110, 148, 270, 290
275 Gniezno, 82, 85, 90
Franks, 21, 33, 36, 43, 44, 47, 85, Godfrey of Bouillon, 126, 185, 190
113, 227 Golden Bull of Eger, 269, 270
fraternities, 31, 45, 104 Golden Bull of Rimini, 261, 262
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 361
Hohenstaufen, 14, 19, 20, 131, 167, imperial crown, 38, 56, 107, 117,
171, 187, 205, 206, 225, 248, 227
260, 265, 274 imperial insignia, 33, 159
Hohenzollern, 263 imperialis philosophia, 86
Holstein, 37 imperium, 219, 227, 240
Holy Grave, 132 Imperium, 274, 288, 292
Holy Lance, 33, 39, 53, 90, 95, 96, Imperium Christi, 159
105, 119, 143 Imperium Christianum, 9, 17, 19,
Holy Land, 133, 161, 177, 179, 180, 20, 25, 52, 54, 57, 70, 84, 88,
187, 206, 212, 232, 236, 238, 93, 105, 108, 114, 128, 134,
241, 244, 245, 259, 264, 267, 136, 155, 157, 174, 203, 204,
272, 275, 281, 284, 285, 289, 222
294, 295 Imperium Sacrum Romanorum, 138
Holy Places, 180, 241, 282 influences, 17, 76, 85, 128, 174, 297
Holy Spirit, 158, 180, 195 Ingelheim, 126
homage, 42, 47, 52, 78, 96, 98, 101, Inquisition, 279
114, 116, 120, 123, 126, 129, insignia, 12, 14, 26, 30, 33, 42, 77,
139, 143, 152, 153, 156, 159, 95, 115, 188, 192, 214, 266,
160, 161, 164, 172, 188, 191, 270, 275
192, 206, 211, 228, 230, 231, instruments, 86
237, 238, 240, 244 Investiture, 12, 17, 25, 45, 52, 69,
honor, 55, 60, 162, 201, 216, 274, 72, 87, 101, 103, 109, 111, 114,
283 120, 128, 130, 137, 138, 141,
Hospital of St. Mary of the German 143, 148, 149, 151, 152, 153,
House, 234 155, 156, 158, 159, 160, 161,
Hrabanus Maurus, 119 162, 163, 164, 172, 174, 175,
Hrotsvit von Gandersheim, 41, 65 185, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194,
Hugh Capet, 79 195, 198, 201, 203, 204, 205,
Hugh of Cluny, 134, 139, 142, 167 215, 216, 237, 248, 270, 287
Hugh of Lower Burgundy, 38 Investiture Struggle, 12, 120, 130,
Hugh, king of Italy, 49 172, 203, 204, 205, 216
Hungarians, 10, 22, 23, 24, 33, 34, Isaac, 240
36, 37, 44, 51, 52, 56, 60, 125, Isabella of England, 286
181, 216 Isabella of Jerusalem, 284
Hungary, 9, 19, 91, 93, 97, 98, 130, Islam, 73, 106, 211, 281
141, 153, 155, 166, 191, 214, Italy, 10, 16, 17, 22, 33, 38, 44, 49,
234, 267 50, 54, 55, 58, 61, 63, 64, 65,
Iceland, 136 66, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77, 81, 83,
Ida, 48, 50 84, 91, 92, 93, 98, 107, 108,
illuminated gospels, 43, 55, 78 111, 116, 119, 122, 125, 129,
illuminations, 84, 86, 91, 96 135, 136, 140, 143, 147, 153,
images, 31, 247, 283 154, 167, 171, 173, 176, 186,
immunities, 52, 62, 102, 135, 159, 195, 197, 198, 199, 204, 207,
238 210, 211, 216, 217, 218, 220,
imperator Romanorum, 222 221, 222, 223, 224, 226, 227,
imperial cross, 118, 143 229, 230, 234, 237, 239, 240,
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 363
244, 264, 266, 267, 268, 280, knights, 122, 131, 132, 133, 140,
281, 284, 286, 287, 293, 295, 146, 159, 171, 177, 179, 182,
296, 297 184, 185, 186, 189, 193, 196,
itinerancy, 14, 15, 29, 46, 47, 57, 201, 214, 228, 231, 232, 237,
58, 59, 71, 72, 82, 87, 109, 111, 238, 239, 247, 259, 267, 276,
116, 121, 130, 157, 212, 246 282, 283, 284, 285
itineraries, 15, 16, 102, 210 Knights of the Hospital of St. John,
Jerusalem, 11, 37, 91, 106, 108, 254, 260
149, 159, 161, 176, 178, 179, Knights of the Hospital of St. Mary
180, 184, 185, 186, 187, 223, of the German House, 124, 131,
224, 231, 232, 235, 241, 243, 235, 258, 259, 261, 262, 263
245, 267, 272, 281, 284, 285, Knights of the Temple of Solomon,
286, 288 133, 231, 236, 260
Jews, 37, 106, 132, 145, 180, 182, Koblenz, 209
185, 212, 233, 242, 249, 271 Königsnähe, 48, 52, 65, 110, 142,
Joachim of Fiore, 244, 290 171
John Lackland, 238. See King John Krakow, 90, 125
John of Salisbury, 222 Krems, 238
John Philagathos, 77, 83, 84, 87 Kumans, 261
John Tsimiskes, 70 Kunigunde, 96, 99, 106, 107, 109,
jousts, 228, 229 110, 111, 115
Judaism, 106 laboratores, 245
Justinian, 17, 224, 288 Lake Peipus, battle of, 262
Kaiserslautern, 250 Landfrieden, 187, 286
Kaufungen, 110 landgraves, 207
Kiev, 98, 107, 119, 175, 191 Lateran Council, 144, 203, 277
King Canute, 80, 98, 108, 118 Latvians, 258, 260
King John, 239, 266, 269 League, Lombard, 225, 226, 248,
King Stephen, 90, 97 280, 284
Kingdom of Jerusalem, 241 League, Veronese, 226
kings, 12, 20, 25, 28, 36, 40, 52, 60, learning, 29, 66, 67, 105, 142, 248,
86, 124, 128, 134, 157, 159, 276
162, 170, 173, 199, 201, 222, legitimacy, 20, 29, 30, 36, 49, 64,
231, 233, 234, 237, 241, 244, 77, 94, 127, 152, 157, 163, 172,
255, 261, 264, 270, 275, 277, 176, 215, 224, 266, 282
293, 296, 300 Legnano, 226, 231
King's Peace, 132 Lenten Synod of 1076, 163
kingship, 11, 14, 20, 21, 23, 25, 26, Leo of Vercelli, 86, 88
30, 38, 42, 45, 70, 72, 87, 95, Leopold III of Austria, 205, 235
101, 111, 119, 121, 125, 127, Leopold VI of Austria, 277
143, 145, 151, 170, 172, 173, Liberal Arts, 276
190, 199, 200, 205, 209, 239, Liège, 67, 188
240, 243, 246, 265, 280, 296, Limburg an der Lahn, 191
297 literacy, 68
knighthood, 129, 228, 233, 297 literature, 67, 79, 91
Lithuanians, 262
364 Index
Mathilda of Quedlinburg, 77, 81, 128, 136, 141, 146, 148, 150,
83, 87, 92 156, 164, 165, 166, 170, 171,
Mathilda of Tuscany, 167, 173, 176, 199, 200, 201, 204, 205, 210,
195 240, 243, 247, 267, 269, 274,
Mathilda, Saxon queen, 28, 29, 36, 286, 300
39, 40, 71 monastic reform, 66, 68, 102
medicine, 277, 298 money economy, 247, 248, 250,
Mediterranean, 22, 184, 214, 242, 252, 297
273, 281, 283 Mongols, 283, 288
Meissen, 44, 80, 119 monks, 69, 103, 104, 129, 133, 156,
Memleben, 40, 64 246
merchants, 132, 247, 251, 258, 259, Monte Casino, 129
261 Moravia, 10, 22, 98
Merovingians, 18, 31, 246 Moslems, 73, 185, 213, 235, 242,
Merseburg, 28, 34, 95, 96, 99, 111, 271, 282
149, 173, 215 Munich, 29, 230, 249, 250
Messina, 235, 236, 244 Münster, 250
Metz, 68, 180 Münzenberg, 233
Michael Scotus, 298 Naples, 237, 244, 276, 296, 297
microcosm, 94 university of, 276
middle class, 181, 189, 201, 247, Nativity, 107
248 Near East, 211
Mieszko I, 61, 72, 77, 82 nobility, 11, 16, 23, 26, 34, 38, 44,
Mieszko II, 90, 119 46, 48, 52, 56, 62, 78, 91, 97,
Milan, 117, 122, 147, 148, 162, 176, 98, 101, 104, 109, 118, 122,
193, 217, 220, 221, 223, 229, 125, 131, 132, 137, 140, 143,
237 146, 147, 150, 154, 155, 157,
Militia of Christ, 259 158, 166, 167, 171, 177, 179,
millennium, 20, 69, 91, 133 180, 183, 188, 189, 190, 193,
Minden, 89, 250 196, 199, 209, 210, 213, 232,
ministerials, 34, 122, 123, 124, 131, 233, 243, 247, 272, 279, 286,
139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 146, 292
150, 171, 188, 189, 194, 196, Nördlingen, 254, 256
200, 201, 202, 210, 231, 232, Norman Sicily, 229, 240
238, 247, 261, 277, 294 Normandy, 180, 205, 212, 213, 232,
Minnesänger, 228, 245, 279 239
minority, 54, 58, 81, 138, 141, 143, Normans, 108, 135, 136, 137, 144,
147, 149, 157, 276, 277 147, 162, 173, 174, 176, 193,
missi dominici, 14 197, 207, 211, 214, 216, 218,
missionaries, 53, 61, 68 219, 273
missions, 259 Northumbria, 40
monarchs, 14, 18, 21, 50, 58, 67, 69, Norway, 133, 261
155, 157, 221, 248, 270, 275, Novgorod, 261, 262
284, 291, 299 Nürnberg, 130, 210, 268, 277, 280
monarchy, 14, 24, 33, 43, 50, 58, Nymwegen, 80, 118, 225, 246
62, 65, 73, 96, 117, 121, 126,
366 Index
oath, 13, 14, 30, 42, 45, 46, 47, 48, Palermo, 240, 242, 244, 264, 274,
52, 56, 57, 72, 77, 87, 96, 101, 295
133, 137, 141, 154, 156, 159, Palestine, 133, 182, 184, 186, 237,
164, 165, 166, 167, 169, 173, 272, 281
184, 190, 191, 192, 193, 199, Papacy, 17, 18, 20, 22, 25, 38, 49,
202, 226, 264, 279, 284, 287 52, 56, 63, 66, 69, 74, 79, 84,
obedience, 99, 114, 121, 132, 134, 87, 99, 103, 105, 113, 118, 121,
139, 152, 153, 158, 159, 161, 127, 128, 129, 134, 135, 136,
162, 165, 166, 169, 172, 173, 137, 138, 142, 144, 146, 147,
188, 190, 194, 195, 201, 205, 148, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155,
279, 289, 291, 297 156, 158, 160, 164, 165, 167,
Obodrites, 146 168, 171, 174, 177, 189, 190,
Odilo of Cluny, 80, 103, 128 192, 195, 198, 200, 201, 202,
Ohtrich of Magdeburg, 74 203, 204, 205, 211, 216, 219,
omnipotence, 158, 159, 288, 293 220, 221, 222, 225, 226, 227,
oral tradition, 57 230, 241, 244, 260, 264, 265,
oratores, 245 266, 267, 268, 269, 275, 281,
Ordo Teutonicorum, 235, 259 283, 284, 287, 289, 290, 292,
Original Sin, 155 294, 296, 299
Ostarichi, 216 Papal States, 10, 55, 135, 137, 153,
Otto I, 21, 29, 33, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 193, 195, 225, 227, 229, 230,
43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 50, 51, 53, 237, 240, 269, 287, 288. See
54, 55, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, Patrimonium Petri
65, 68, 69, 70, 71, 74, 76, 84, Paris, 73, 224
88, 113, 153, 199, 220 Parma, 294
Otto II, 21, 35, 42, 50, 55, 59, 63, Parzival, 283
70, 72, 73, 74, 76, 81, 84, 102, Passau, 53
119, 125 Patriarchs, 154
Otto III, 21, 58, 70, 72, 75, 76, 80, Patrimonium Petri, 55, 121
81, 84, 86, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, patrons, 67, 99, 173
93, 94, 95, 98, 99, 103, 104, Pavia, 50, 55, 78, 79, 81, 84, 86, 99,
108, 119, 154, 214 109, 116, 218, 222
Otto IV, 209, 264, 265, 266, 267, Peace of God, 131, 175, 177
268, 269 Peace of the Land. See Landfrieden
Otto von Freising, 215 peasants, 34, 132, 140, 151, 171,
Ottonians, 9, 12, 14, 17, 19, 20, 21, 245, 263, 279
27, 30, 33, 39, 40, 45, 46, 54, penance, 86, 89, 92, 97, 162, 165,
55, 57, 64, 70, 79, 91, 105, 113, 167, 178, 180, 186, 187, 231,
117, 151, 153, 155 270
Ottonianum, 56, 84, 88, 108, 158 Pentecost, 47, 228
Paderborn, 29, 96, 109, 111 Pepin, 21, 31, 56, 154
paganism, 19, 75, 161, 213, 233, Peter and Paul, 91, 203
261, 270 Peter the Hermit, 180
pagans, 17, 54, 98, 241 Philip, 176, 209, 240, 264, 266, 296
palaces, 14, 15, 41, 64, 88, 91, 96, Philip I of France, 159
116, 246, 250
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 367
Sylvester III, 127 Ravenna, 61, 63, 74, 75, 86, 88, 92,
Urban II, 83, 133, 175, 176, 117, 127, 173, 278
177, 180, 186, 187, 191, 194 realism, 93
Victor II, 136, 137, 138, 141, Redemption, 177, 179, 183, 270,
142, 221 282
Victor IV, 222, 223 reform movement, 157
Posnan, 61, 82 reform movements, 60, 62, 67, 69,
Prague, 35, 61, 65, 72, 90, 98, 125, 103, 120, 122, 127, 132, 137,
175, 180 139, 144, 145, 153, 156, 192,
Praxedis, 175, 176 204
priests, 20, 134, 158, 164 reforms, 63, 66, 68, 94, 103, 121,
primacy, 18, 20, 24, 26, 33, 40, 48, 134, 137, 154, 156, 169, 297
55, 61, 63, 85, 87, 91, 92, 93, refuges, 34, 149
113, 121, 128, 129, 135, 144, regalia, 14, 30, 42, 118, 173, 193,
153, 154, 155, 158, 163, 167, 194, 203, 218
169, 171, 175, 190, 200, 201, regency, 22, 23, 54, 77, 78, 82, 85,
204, 205, 218, 220, 221, 257, 138, 141, 145, 146, 157, 264
270, 274, 289, 291, 292 Regensburg, 53, 67, 99, 102, 104,
prince electors, 12, 43, 199, 266, 125, 180, 188, 210, 216, 233,
300 246
privileges, 14, 72, 96, 107, 111, 113, Regino von Prüm, 66
130, 155, 172, 181, 194, 210, Regnum, 161, 171, 240, 265, 292
218, 220, 221, 231, 241, 243, Regnum Burgundie, 98, 116, 118,
247, 248, 256, 272, 275, 278, 126, 203
292 Regnum Francorum, 23, 24, 32
privilegium Ottonianum, 56, 153 Regnum Italie, 19, 44, 50, 57, 74,
progress, 9, 14, 29, 40, 46, 74, 82, 88, 93, 99, 107, 111, 116, 117,
85, 96, 97, 102, 109, 115, 118, 120, 122, 125, 127, 137, 147,
125, 215 169, 176, 203, 217, 220, 225,
property, 26, 39, 51, 56, 81, 99, 109, 229, 230, 236, 241, 266
136, 141, 151, 154, 156, 158, Regnum Sicilie, 229, 242, 243, 274
181, 183, 185, 191, 192, 194, Regnum Teutonicum, 9, 30, 31, 44,
195, 201, 271, 276 155, 169, 190, 203
Provence, 10, 119, 180 Reichenau, 67, 69, 86, 91, 102
providence, 31, 38, 53, 227 Reims, 42, 198, 237
Prüm, 102 reintegration, 32
Prussian Crusade, 262 relics, 33, 52, 65, 69, 73, 86, 177,
Prussians, 90, 261, 262 231, 271, 273
pulpits, 76, 107 Renaissance, 23, 68, 242, 298
purgatory, 13, 291 Renovatio, 17, 86, 87, 88, 90, 94,
Quedlinburg, 28, 29, 39, 64, 67, 77, 97, 107
81, 83, 87, 95, 116, 139 Renovatio Imperii Romanorum, 86,
queens, 12, 29, 36, 58, 78 88, 91, 242
Rainald von Dassel, 220, 222, 223, renunciation, 67, 110, 143, 145,
224, 225 163, 178, 180, 193, 278
resignation, 264
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe 369
rex et sacerdos, 120, 155 sacerdotal, 14, 18, 19, 25, 28, 52,
Rex Francorum et Italicorum, 50, 65, 87, 93, 100, 101, 104, 114,
59 118, 119, 120, 136, 137, 152,
Rex Romanorum, 125 157, 169, 199, 204, 215, 247
Rex Teutonicus, 169 sacerdotism, 14, 20, 25, 65, 88, 96,
Rheinfelden, 142, 249 100, 101, 104, 114, 118, 120,
Rhineland, 114, 180, 185, 207, 212, 128, 137, 150, 152, 157, 169,
280 199, 215, 220, 247
Ribémont, 10 sacerdotium, 96, 161, 171, 219, 227,
Richard of Cornwall, 209, 296 265, 288, 292
Richard the Lionheart, 131, 179, sacramentaries, 55
225, 235, 264 Sacrum Imperium Romanum, 9
Richenza, 211 Sacrum Imperium Romanum, 215
Richeza, 90, 119 saints, 33, 65, 69, 73, 89, 90, 105,
Riga, 260, 261 108, 120, 121, 177, 223, 224,
Riquewihr, 255 228
Roma nova, 224 Saladin, 226, 232, 238, 283
Romanesque, 41, 52, 68, 246 Salerno, 174, 237, 277
Romans, 55, 63, 68, 85, 87, 90, 91, Salians, 14, 20, 48, 113, 114, 115,
92, 128, 135, 163, 174, 216, 227 170, 196, 200, 206, 209, 225,
Rome, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 25, 37, 38, 248, 264
42, 44, 49, 50, 54, 55, 57, 58, Salvation, 14, 52, 59, 69, 83, 91, 94,
61, 63, 70, 73, 74, 75, 76, 79, 100, 103, 110, 128, 155, 178,
81, 83, 84, 86, 87, 90, 91, 92, 179, 180, 183, 190, 248, 282,
93, 96, 99, 103, 107, 108, 109, 294, 299
111, 117, 121, 127, 129, 134, Salzburg, 39, 100, 171, 222, 246
136, 142, 144, 146, 148, 153, Santi Quattro Coronati, 154, 218
154, 158, 160, 161, 163, 166, Santiago de Compostela, 178, 228
167, 173, 176, 178, 187, 192, Saracens, 73, 108, 280, 290
193, 197, 202, 204, 207, 216, Savior, 181
217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, Saxons, 11, 13, 19, 23, 26, 27, 30,
223, 224, 237, 241, 265, 268, 35, 37, 47, 51, 65, 85, 95, 96,
276, 287, 288, 290, 296 98, 131, 164, 170, 225, 264
Roncaglia, 218, 284 Saxony, 10, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28,
Rothenburg, 255 35, 40, 48, 51, 53, 54, 62, 80,
rotundas, 42 85, 91, 98, 99, 116, 126, 136,
Rouen, 180 141, 149, 171, 173, 175, 191,
royal progress, 15. See itinerancy 196, 201, 204, 211, 213, 215,
Rudolf II of Upper Burgundy, 33 216, 223, 225, 226, 228, 230,
Rudolf III of Burgundy, 117 231, 239
Rudolf von Habsburg, 300 Scandinavia, 65, 136, 171, 215
Rudolf von Rheinfelden, 113, 141, Scandinavians, 258
148, 170, 205 scepter, 115, 156, 203
ruler portraits, 96 schism, 135, 145, 146, 147, 186,
Russia, 61, 231 197, 221, 223, 273
Russians, 258, 260 Schleswig, 37
370 Index
symbols, 42, 148, 191, 192 Turks, 149, 159, 161, 183, 186, 226,
Synagoga, 106 234
synagogues, 254 Tuscany, 136, 137, 140, 197, 229,
synods, 13, 25, 47, 56, 61, 63, 99, 240, 264, 266
109, 117, 127, 136, 155, 156, Two Authorities, 20, 63, 85, 119,
161, 163, 165, 172, 173, 174, 128, 130, 157, 160, 164, 216,
175, 176 222, 291, 292, 297
Syria, 263 Two Swords, 20, 58, 160, 165, 216
Tancred, 236, 237, 239, 240 Ulrich of Augsburg, 53
temporalia, 191, 192 urban centers, 172, 200, 213, 246,
territorial particularism, 134, 190, 247, 248, 278
194, 200, 202, 205, 243, 270, urbanization, 171, 253, 297
299 Utrecht, 67, 104, 125, 165, 192, 205
tetramorphs, 86 vanity, 88, 169
Thankmar, 28, 39, 44 vassalage, 11, 31, 122, 124, 144,
Thebaic Legion, 33 153, 155, 184, 191, 199, 217,
Theoderic the Great, 117 218, 231
Theodosius, 17 vassals, 25, 46, 52, 105, 121, 122,
Theophanius, 79 125, 135, 136, 159, 169, 199,
Theophanu, 21, 36, 64, 70, 71, 72, 203, 232, 263, 276, 292
73, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, Venice, 227, 272, 273
84, 85, 107, 110, 141 Verona, 75, 76
Thietmar von Merseburg, 97 vestments, 100, 165
Third Crusade, 233, 259, 281 Vicarius Christi, 93, 96, 109, 114,
Thomas Aquinas, 277 115, 117, 120, 127, 168
Thuringia, 10, 25, 26, 27, 149, 207, Vienna, 238, 246, 287
293 Vikings, 22, 37, 44, 80
towns, 16, 34, 55, 105, 140, 153, villages, 132, 250
193, 201, 210, 246, 249, 250, Virgin Mary, 76, 100, 107, 115,
251, 255, 256, 279 121, 263
trade, 16, 37, 49, 66, 116, 132, 147, visions, 185
162, 184, 210, 216, 217, 245, vita, 104, 178
248, 249, 250, 258, 261, 272, vita activa, 178
297 vita communis, 104
transitoryness, 94 vita contemplativa, 178
tribal dukes, 45, 48 Viterbo, Godfrey of, 244
Tribur, 139, 148 Viterbo, Rainer of, 290, 292
Trier, 32, 42, 67, 68, 180, 192, 246, Walther von der Vogelweide, 266,
250 277, 280, 296
Trifels, 238, 240 Welfs, 167, 171, 187, 197, 206, 207,
Trinity, 69 209, 211, 215, 216, 225, 230,
troubadours, 228, 229 231, 237, 238, 239, 244, 250,
Truce of God, 132, 133, 135, 175, 260, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268,
177, 180 275, 286
Turin, 136, 140, 167 Wends, 213
Wessex, 35, 40
372 Index
Westphalia, 231 Worms, 12, 33, 34, 51, 55, 70, 78,
Widukind von Corvey, 12, 26, 30, 114, 115, 125, 146, 152, 163,
34, 36, 38, 41, 53, 54, 65 165, 180, 202, 242, 246, 247,
Widukind, duke of Saxony, 28 250, 254, 272, 278, 280, 286,
Wilhelm, 41, 61, 70 294
William II of Norman Sicily, 229, Würzburg, 67, 99, 197, 201, 212,
236 219, 232, 247
William of Holland, 282, 293, 295, Yiddish, 234
296 Zähringen, 167, 171, 187, 197, 207,
William the Conqueror, 159, 171 230, 237, 249, 250, 254, 264,
William V of Aquitaine, 126 274
Willigis of Mainz, 75, 77, 95 Zara, 272
Wittelsbach, 228, 231, 266, 296 Zürich, 207, 250