THE BURGUNDIANS AND ARMAGNACS.—In the last days ofCharles V.of France, he tried in vain to absorbBrittany.FlandersandLanguedocrevolted against him. The aspect of public affairs was clouded whenCharles VI. (1380-1422), who was not twelve years old, became the successor to the throne. His uncles, the Dukes ofAnjou,Berri, andBurgundy, contended for the regency. Their quarrels distracted the kingdom. A contest arose with the Flemish cities under the leadership ofPhilip Van Artevelde; but they were defeated by the French nobles atRoosebeke, andArterieldewas slain. This victory of the nobles over the cities was followed by the repression of the municipal leaders and lawyers in France. Two factions sprang up,—theBurgundiansand theArmagnacs.
Margaret, the wife of the Duke of Burgundy, received Flanders by inheritance, on the death of her father the Count (1384). The king was beginning to free himself from the control of the factions when he suddenly went mad. Thenceforth there was a struggle in France for supremacy between the adherents of the dukes ofBurgundyand the adherents of the house ofOrleans. The latter came to be calledArmagnacs(1410), after theCount d'Armagnac, the father-in-law ofCharles, Duke of Orleans. The strength of theBurgundianswas in theNorthand in the cities. They adhered toUrban VI., the pope at Rome, in opposition to the Avignon pope,Clement VII.; for these were the days of the papal schism. They were also friends of the house ofLancasterin England,—ofHenry IV.andHenry V.The strength of theArmagnacswas in theSouth. At the outset, it was a party of the court and of the nobles: later it became a national party.Louis, Duke of Orleans, was treacherously assassinated by a partisan of the Burgundians (1407). This act fomented the strife.
BATTLE OF AGINCOURT: TREATY OF TROYES (1420).—It was in 1392 that the king partially lost his reason. For the rest of his life, except at rare intervals, he was either imbecile or frenzied. By the division of counsels and a series of fatalities, gigantic preparations for the invasion of England had come to naught (1386-1388).Henry V. of England(1413-1422) concluded that the best way to divert his nobles from schemes of rebellion was to make war across the Channel. Accordingly he demanded his "inheritance" according to the treaty ofBrétigny, together withNormandy. On the refusal of this demand, he renewed the claim of his greatgrandfather to the crown of France, although he was not the eldest descendant ofEdward III.Henryinvaded France at the head of fifty thousand men. By his artillery and mines he tookHarfleur, but not until after a terrible siege in which thousands of his troops perished by sickness. On his way towardsCalais, with not more than nine thousand men, he found his way barred atAgincourtby the Armagnac forces, more than fifty thousand in number, comprising the chivalry of France (1415). In the great battle that ensued, the horses of the French floundered in the mud, and horse and rider were destroyed by the English bowmen. The French suffered another defeat like the defeats ofCrécyandPoitiers. They lost eleven thousand men, and among them some of the noblest men in France. France was falling to pieces.Rouenwas besieged by Henry, and compelled by starvation to surrender (1419). The fury of factions continued to rage. There were dreadful massacres by the mob in Paris. TheDuke of Burgundy, John the Fearless(Jean sans Peur), was murdered in 1419 by the opposite faction. The young DukePhilip, and even the Queen of France,Isabella, were now found on the Anglo-Burgundian side. By theTreaty of Troyes, in 1420,Catherine, the daughter ofCharles VI., was given in marriage toHenry V., and he was made the heir of the crown of France when the insane king,Charles VI., should die.Henrywas made regent of France. The whole country north of theLoirewas in his hands. The DauphinCharlesretired to the provinces beyond that river.
FRANCE IN 1422.—BothHenryandCharles VI.died in 1422. The Duke of Bedford was made regent in France, ruling in the name of his infant nephew (Henry VI.).Charles VII.(1422-1461) was proclaimed king by theArmagnacssouth of the Loire. His situation was desperate, but he represented the national cause.Bedfordlaid siege toOrleans, the last bulwark of the royal party. The English were weakened, however, by the withdrawal of theDuke of Burgundyand his forces.
JOAN OF ARC.—When the national cause was at this low point, Providence raised up a deliverer in the person of a pure, simple-hearted, and pious maiden ofDomrémyinLorraine, seventeen years of age,Jeanne Dareby name (the nameJoan of Arcbeing merely a mistake in orthography). The tales of suffering that she had heard deeply moved her. She felt herself called of Heaven to liberate France. She fancied that angels' voices bade her undertake this holy mission. Her own undoubting faith aroused faith in others. Commissioned by the king, she mounted a horse, and, with a banner in her hand, joined the French soldiers, whom she inspired with fresh courage. They forced the English to give up the siege of Orleans, and to march away. Other defeats of the English followed. The Maid of Orleans tookCharlestoRheims, and stood by him at his coronation. The English and Burgundians rallied their strength.Joan of Arcwas ill supported, and was made prisoner at Compèigne by the Burgundians. They delivered her to the English. She was subjected to grievous indignities, was condemned as a witch, and finally burned as a relapsed heretic atRouen(1431). The last word she uttered was "Jesus." Her character was without a taint. In her soul, the spirit of religion and of patriotism burned with a pure flame. A heroine and a saint combined, she died "a victim to the ingratitude of her friends, and the brutality of her foes."
THE ENGLISH DRIVEN OUT—In 1435 theDuke of Burgundywas reconciled toCharles VII., and joined the cause of France. The generals of Charles gained possession of one after another of the provinces. During a truce of two years,Henry VI.of England (1422-1461) marriedMargaret of Anjou, the daughter of KingRené.Henrywas of a gentle temper, but lacked prudence and vigor. The king of France and the dauphin began the organization of a standing army, which greatly increased the military strength of the country (1439). In 1449 the war with England was renewed. With the defeat of the English, and the death of their commander,Talbot, in 1453, the contest of a century came to an end. All that England retained across the Channel wasCalaiswithHavreandGuines Castle. France was desolated by all this fruitless strife. Some of the most fertile portions of its territory were reduced to a desert, "given up to wolves, and traversed only by the robber and the free-lance."
REBELLION of "JACK CADE."—The peasants in England were now free from serfdom. UnderHenry VI.occurred a formidable insurrection of the men of Kent, who marched to London led byJohn Cade, who called himselfJohn Mortimer. They complained of bad government and extortionate taxes. One main cause of the rising was the successes of the French. The condition of the laboring class had much improved. The insurgents were defeated by the citizens, and their leader was slain. In this reign began the long "Wars of the Roses," or the contest of the houses ofYorkandLancasterfor the throne.
Matteo I, VISCONTI (nephew of Archbishop Otto),Lord of Milan, 1295-1332.|+—Stefano (d.1327).|+—Matteo II,[1] 1354-1355.|+—Bernabo,[1] 1354-1385.| || +—Catharine,|m.(2),| +—GIAN GALEAZZO, 1378-1402 (first duke, 1396).| | || | +—GIOVANNI MARIA, 1402-1412.| | || | +—FILIPPO MARIA, 1412-1447.| | | || | | +—Bianca Maria.| | |m.| | | +—FRANCESCO SFORZA, 1450-1466| | | | || | | | +—GALEAZZO MARIA, 1466-1476,m.| | | | | Bona, daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy.| | | | | || | | | | +—GIAN GALEAZZO, 1476-1494.| | | | || | | | +—LUDOVICO Il Moro, 1494-1500, 3, (d.1510)| | | |m.Beatrice d'Este.| | | | || | | | +—MASSAMILLANO,[4] 1512-1515 (d.1530)| | | | || | | | +—FRANCESCO MARIA, [4], 1521-1535.m.| | | | Christina, daughter of Christian II of Denmark (1)| | | || | | Jacopo (Muzio) Attendolo di Cotignola, called Sforza.| | || | +—Valentina, [2]m.| | Louis, Duke of Orleans.| | || | +—Charles, Duke of Orleans.| | || | +—LOUIS XII of France,| | Duke of Milan 1500-1512.| |+—Galeazzo II,[1] 1354-1378.
1 The Milanese territory was divided between the three brothers, and united on the death of Bernabo.
2 Hence the French claim to Milan.
3 Louis XII of France took Ludovico prisoner, and held Milan 1500-1512.
4 Puppet dukes. Milan being, in fact, the subject of contention between France and the Hapsburgs.
[Abridged from George's Genealogical Tables.]
[D. means King of Denmark; N., King of Norway; S., King of Sweden.]
HACO IV, N. (d.1263).|+—MAGNUS VI, N., 1263-1281.|+—ERIC II, N., 1281-1299.|+—HACO V, N., 1299-1320.|| MAGNUS I, S., 1279-1290.| || +—BERGER, S., 1290-1320 (deposed;d.1326)| |m.| | +—Martha.| | || | +—CHRISTOPHER II, D., 1320-1340.| | | || | | +—WALDEMAR III, D., 1346-1375.| | | || | | +—Margaret,[2] D. N., 1387, S., 1388 (d.1412).| | |m.HACO VI, N. (d.1380)| | | || | | +—OLAF VI, D. 1376, N. 1380 (d.1387).| | || | +—ERIC VI, D., 1286-1320.| | || | ERIC V, D., 1250-1286.| || +—Eric.|m.+—Ingeburga|+—Magnus VII (II), N. S., 1320-1365 (deposed).|+—Euphemia.m.Albert, Duke of Mecklenburg,| || +—Albert,[1] S., 1365-1388 (deposed).| || +—Henry, m. Ingeburga, daughter of Waldemar III, D.| || +—Mary,m.Wratislas of Pomerania.| || +—ERIC, D. N. S., 1412-1439| | (deposed;d.1459).| || +—Catharine,m.John, son of Emperor Robert.| || +—CHRISTOPHER, D. N. S. (d.1448).|m.(1)| Dorothea, daughter of John Alchymista,| Margrave of Brandenburg|m.(2)| CHRISTIAN I,[3] D. N. S.|+—HACO VI, N. (d.1380)
1 Elected to Sweden in opposition to Haco VI; deposed by Margaret.
2 Having united all three kingdoms in her own person, framed formal Union of Calmar, 1397.
3 Elected king on death of Christopher, whose widow he married; said to be descended from Eric V of Denmark.
[Abridged from George's Genealogical Tables.]
THE GREAT INTERREGNUM.—After the death ofFrederick II. (1250), Germany and Italy, the two countries over which the imperial authority extended, were left free from its control.Italywas abandoned to itself, and thus to internal division. The case ofGermanywas analogous. During the "great interregnum," lasting for twenty-three years, the German cities, by their industry and trade, grew strong, as did the burghers in France, and in the towns in England, in this period. But in Germany the feudal control was less relaxed. This interval was a period of anarchy and trouble.William of Hollandwore the title of emperor until 1256. Then theelectorswere bribed, andAlfonso X. of Castile, great-grandson of Frederick Barbarossa, andRichard, Earl of Cornwall, younger son of King John of England, were chosen by the several factions; but their power was nominal. The four electors on the Rhine, and the dukes and counts, divided among themselves the imperial domains. The dismemberment of the duchies ofSwabiaandFranconia(1268), and at an earlier day (1180) ofSaxony, created a multitude of petty sovereignties. The great vassals of the empire, the kings ofDenmark, ofPoland, ofHungary, etc., broke away from its suzerainty. There was a reign of violence. The barons sallied out of their strongholds to rob merchants and travelers. The princes, and the nobles in immediate relation to the empire, governed, each in his own territory, as they pleased. New means of protection were created, as theLeague of the Rhine, comprising sixty cities and the three Rhenish archbishops, and having its own assemblies; and theHanseatic League, which has been described (p. 303). Moreover, corporations of merchants and artisans were established in the cities. In the North, where the Crusades, and war with theSlaves, had thinned the population, colonies of Flemings, Hollanders, and Frisians came in to cultivate the soil. During the long-continued disturbances after the death ofFrederick II., the desire of local independence undermined monarchy. The empire never regained the vigor of which it was robbed by theinterregnum.
HOUSE OF HAPSBURG.—Rudolph, Count of Hapsburg (1273-1291), was elected emperor for the reason, that, while he was a brave man, he was not powerful enough to be feared by the aristocracy. He wisely made no attempt to govern in Italy. He was supported by the Church, to which he was submissive. He devoted himself to the task of putting down disorders in Germany. AgainstOttocar II., king of Bohemia, who now held also Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, and who refused to acknowledge Rudolph, the emperor twice made war successfully. In a fierce battle at theMarchfield, in 1278,Ottocarwas slain.Austria,Styria, andCarniolafell into the hands of the emperor. They were given as fiefs to Rudolph's sonAlbert; andCarinthiato Albert's son-in-law, theCount of Tyrol. This was the foundation of the power of the house of Hapsburg.Rudolphstrove with partial success to recover the crown lands, and did what he could to put a stop to private war and to robbery. Numerous strongholds of robbers he razed to the ground. His practical abandonment of Italy, his partial restoration of order in Germany, and his service to the house of Hapsburg, are the principal features of Rudolph's reign.
HENRY VII. (1308-1313): ITALY.—Adolphus of Nassau (1292-1298) was hired byEdward I. to declare war against France. His doings in Thuringia. which he tried to buy from the LandgraveAlbert, led the electors to dethrone him, and to chooseAlbert I. (1298-1308),Duke of Austria, son of Rudolph. His nephewJohn, whom he tried to keep out of his inheritance, murdered him.Henry VII. (1308-1313), who was Count ofLuxemburg, the next emperor, did little more than build up his family by marrying his sonJohnto the granddaughter of KingOttocar.Johnwas thus made king of Bohemia. In these times, when the emperors were weak, they were anxious to strengthen and enrich their own houses.Henrywent to Italy to try his fortunes beyond the Alps. He was crowned in Pavia king of Italy, and in Rome emperor (1312). But the rival parties quickly rose up against him: he was excommunicated byClement V., an ally of France, and died—it was charged, by poison mixed in the sacramental cup—in 1313. He was a man of pure and noble character, but the time had passed for Italy to be governed by a German sovereign.
CIVIL WAR: ELECTORS AT RENSE.—One party of the electors choseFrederick of Austria(1314-1330), and the otherLouis of Bavaria(1314-1347). A terrible civil war, lasting for ten years, was the consequence. In a great battle nearMühldorf, the Austrians were defeated, andFrederickwas captured.Louishad now to encounter the hostility of PopeJohn XXII. (at Avignon), who wished to give the imperial crown toPhilip the Fairof France.Louismaintained that he received the throne, not from the popes, but from the electors. He was excommunicated byJohn, who refused to sanction the agreement of Louis and of Frederick, now set at liberty, to exercise a joint sovereignty.Louiswas in Italy from 1327 to 1330, where he was crowned emperor by a pope of his own creation. All efforts of Louis to make peace withPopeJohnand his successor,Benedict XII., were foiled by the opposition of France. The strife which had been occasioned in Germany by this interference from abroad created such disaffection among the Germans, that the electors met atRense, in 1338, and declared that the elected king of the Germans received his authority from the choice of the electoral princes exclusively, and was Roman emperor even without being crowned by a pope.
DEPOSITION OF LOUIS OF BAVARIA.—The imprudence ofLouisin aggrandizing his family, and his assumption of an acknowledged papal right in dissolving the marriage of the heiress of Tyrol with a son ofKing John of Bohemia, turned the electors against him. In 1346 PopeClement VI. declared him deposed. The electors chose in his placeCharles, the Margrave ofMoravia, the son of KingJohn of Bohemia.Louisdid not give up his title, but he died soon after.
CHARLES IV. (1347-1378).—Charles IV. visited Italy, and was crowned emperor (1355); but, according to a promise made to the Pope, he tarried in Rome only a part of one day. He was crowned king of Burgundy atArles(1365). In Italy "he sold what was left of the rights of the empire, sometimes to cities, sometimes to tyrants." His principal care was for building up his own hereditary dominion, which he so enlarged that it extended, at his death, from the Baltic almost to the Danube. He fortified and adornedPrague, and established there, in 1348, the first German university.
THE GOLDEN BULL.—The great service ofCharles IV. to Germany was in the grant of the charter called theGolden Bull(1356). This expressly conferred the right of electing the emperor on the SEVEN ELECTORS, who had, in fact, long exercised it. These were the archbishops of Mentz, of Trier, and of Cologne, and the four secular princes, the King of Bohemia, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the Duke of Saxony, and the Margrave of Brandenburg. The electoral states were made indivisible and inalienable, and hereditary in the male line. The electors were to be sovereign within their respective territories, and their persons were declared sacred.
THE BLACK DEATH.—Germany, like the other countries, was terribly afflicted during the reign of Charles by the destructive pestilence that swept over the most of Europe (p. 319). One effect was an outbreaking of religious fervor. At this time the movement of the "Flagellants," which started in the thirteenth century, reached its height in Germany and elsewhere. They scourged and lacerated themselves for their sins, marching in processions, and inflicting their blows to the sound of music. Another result of the plague was a savage persecution of the Jews, who were falsely suspected of poisoning wells. Many thousands of them were tortured and killed.
ANARCHY IN GERMANY.—The son of Charles IV. (1378-1400),Wenceslaus, orWenzel, was a coarse and cruel king. Under him the old disorders of theInterregnumsprang up anew. The towns had to defend themselves against the robber barons, and formed confederacies for this purpose. Private war raged all over Germany.
ACCESSION OF SIGISMUND.—Wenceslauswas deposed by the electors in 1400. ButRupert, the Count Palatine, his successor (1400-1410), was able to accomplish little, in consequence of the strife of parties.Sigismund(1410-1437), brother ofWenceslaus, margrave of Brandenburg, and, in right of his wife, king of Hungary, was chosen emperor, first by a part, and then by all, of the electors. The most important events of this period were theCouncil of Constance(1414-1418) and the war with theHussites.
JOHN HUSS.—The principal end for which the Council of Constance was called was the healing of the schism in the Church,—in consequence of which there were three rival popes,—and the securing of ecclesiastical reforms. But at this councilJohn Huss, an eminent Bohemian preacher, was tried for heresy. The doctrines ofWickliffehad penetrated intoBohemia;and a strong party, of which Huss was the principal leader, had sprung up in favor of innovations, doctrinal and practical, one of which was the giving of the cup in the sacrament to the laity.Hussmade a great stir by his attack upon abuses in the Church. Under a safe-conduct fromSigismund, he journeyed toConstance. There he was tried, condemned as a heretic, and burnt at the stake (1415).Jerome of Prague, another reformer, was dealt with in the same way by the council (1416).
HUSSITE WAR.—The indignation of the followers ofHusswas such that a great revolt broke out in Bohemia. The leader was a brave man,Ziska. The imperial troops, after the coronation ofSigismundas king of Bohemia, were defeated, and driven out. The Hussite soldiers ravaged the neighboring countries. The council ofBasel(1431-1449) concluded a treaty with the more moderate portion of the Hussites, in which concessions were made to them. TheTaborites, the more fanatical portion, were at length defeated and crushed.
SWITZERLAND.—Switzerland, originally a part of the kingdom ofArles, had been ceded, with this kingdom, to the German Empire in 1033. Within it, was established a lay and ecclesiastical feudalism. In the twelfth century the cities—Zürich,Basel,Berne, andFreiburg—began to be centers of trade, and gained municipal privileges. The three mountain cantons—Uri,Schweitz,andUnterwalden—cherished the spirit of freedom. The counts ofHapsburg, after the beginning of the thirteenth century, exercised a certain indefinite jurisdiction in the land. They endeavored to transform this into an actual sovereignty. Two of the cantons received charters placing them in an immediate relation to the empire. After the death ofRudolph I., the three cantons above named united in a league. Out of this theSwiss Confederacygradually grew up. There were struggles to cast off foreign control; but the story ofWilliam Tell, and other legends of the sort, are certainly fabulous.Albert of Austrialeft to his successor in the duchy the task of subduing the rebellion. The Austrians were completely defeated atMorgarten, "the Marathon of Switzerland" (1315). The Swiss Confederacy was enlarged by the addition ofLucerne(1332),ZürichandGlarus(1351),Zug(1352), and of the city ofBernein 1353. The battle ofSempach(1386) brought another great defeat upon the Austrians. There, if we may believe an ancient song, a Swiss hero,Arnold of Winkelried, grasped as many of the spear-points as he could reach, as a sheaf in his arms, and devoted himself to death, opening thus a path in which his followers rushed to victory. Once more the Swiss triumphed atNäfels(1388). From that time they were left to the enjoyment of their freedom.
GUELFS AND GHIBELLINES: FREEDOM IN THE CITIES.—The inveterate foes of Italy were foreign interference and domestic faction. After the death ofFrederick II., the war of the popes against his successors lasted for seventeen years. After the defeat ofManfred(1266),Conradin, the last of the Hohenstaufens, died on the scaffold at Naples.Charles of Anjoulost Sicily through the rebellion of the Sicilian Vespers (1282); and dominion in that island, separated from Naples, passed to the house of Aragon. The papal states, after the election ofRudolphofHapsburg, became a distinct sovereignty of the pontiffs. The bitter strife of theGuelfsandGhibellineswent on in the Italian cities. The Genoese, who were Guelfic, defeated the Pisans in 1284; and "Pisa, which had ruined Amalfi, was now ruined byGenoa."Florence, which was Guelfic, grew in strength.GenoaandVenicebecame rivals in the contest for the control of the Mediterranean. InFlorence, new factions, theNeriandBianchi(Blacks and Whites), appeared; theNeribeing violent Guelfs, and theBianchibeing at first moderate Guelfs and then Ghibellines. PopeBoniface VIII. invited into ItalyCharles of Valois. He was admitted to Florence (1301), and gave the supremacy there to the Guelfic side. The coming of the EmperorHenry VII. into Italy (1310) was marked by a temporary, but the last, revival of imperial feeling. The connection of the popes with the French houses ofAnjouandValoisled to the "Babylonian Exile" atAvignon, during which Italy was comparatively free, both from imperial and papal control. During the period of the civil wars, while there was nominally a conflict between the party of the pope and the party of the emperor, theGuelfswere devoted to the destruction of feudalism, and to the building-up of commerce and republican institutions; while theGhibellines, dreading anarchy, resisted the incoming of the new order of things. It was in this period thatDanteproduced his immortal poem, which sprang out of the midst of the contest of Guelf and Ghibelline (p. 307). Dante was himself a Ghibelline and an imperialist. In the course of these conflicts, the plebeian class, before without power, is advanced. Older families of nobility die out, or are reduced in influence. New families rise to prominence and power. The burghers band together in arts or guilds; and out of these, in their corporate character, the governments of the cities are formed. "Ancients," and "priors," the heads of the "arts," supersede the consuls. The "podesta" is more and more limited to a judicial function. In some of theGuelfcities, there is "a gonfalonier of justice," to curb the nobility. InFlorence, there were also twenty subordinategonfaloniers.
The final triumph of Guelfs and of republicanism in Florence was in 1253. The body of the citizens established their sovereignty. When, in 1266, citizenship was confined to those who were enrolled in the guilds, the nobles, orGrandi, were wholly excluded from the government. This led them to drop their titles and dignities in order to enroll themselves in these industrial societies. The feuds of factions, especially of the "Whites" and "Blacks," sprang up next. In the latter part of the fourteenth century, strife arose between the "Lesser Arts," or craftsmen whose trades were subordinate to the "Greater Arts," and these last. The mob in Florence drove the "Signory," or chief magistrates, out of the public palace. This was the "Tumult of the Ciompi,"—Ciompisignifying wool-carders, who gave their name to the whole faction. Afterwards, of their own accord, they gave back the government to the priors of the Greater Arts. The effect of these disturbances was to reduce all classes to a level. The way was open for families, like theAlbizziandMedici, to build up a virtual control by wealth and personal qualities.
THE GENERALS IN THE CITIES.—In the cities, there were "captains of the people," who carried on war,—leaders of the Guelfs or Ghibellines, as either might be uppermost. They were persons who were skilled in arms: these were often nobles who had been merged in the body of citizens. In this way, there arose in the cities of Northern Italy ruling houses or dynasties; as theDella Scalain Verona, thePolentaat Ravenna, etc. InTuscany, where the commercial power ofFlorencewas so great, the communes as yet kept themselves free from hereditary rulers; yet, from time to time, their liberties were exposed to attack from successful generals.
THE TYRANTS.—At the beginning of the fourteenth century, as the fury of the civil wars declined, the cities were left more and more under the rule of masters called "tyrants." Tyranny, as of old, was a term for absolute authority, however it might be wielded. The visits of the emperorsHenry VII., andLouis IV. of Bavaria, and ofJohnof Bohemia, son of Henry VII., had no important political effect, except to bring increased power to the Ghibelline despots. Thus, after the interference of Louis IV. (1327), theViscontiestablished their power in Milan. But the changes in Italy after this epoch gave to the Ghibellines no permanent advantage over their adversaries. The leader of the Guelfs for a long time wasRobert, king of Naples (1309-1343).
THE CLASSES OF DESPOTS.—The methods by which the EmperorFrederic II. governed in Italy, and which he had partly learned from the Saracens in Sicily, furnished an example which the Italian despots followed later. He was imitated in his system of taxation, in his creation of monopolies, in the luxury and magnificence of his court, and in his patronage of polite culture. His vicar in the North of Italy,Ezzelino da Romano(1194-1259), who was captain, in the Ghibelline interest, inVerona,Padua, and other cities, was guilty of massacres and all sorts of cruelties, the story of which exercised a horrible fascination over others who came after. At last he was 'hunted down' by Venice and a league of cities, and captured; but he refused to take food, tore his bandages from his wounds, and died under the ban of the Church. The despots of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries have been divided byMr. Symondsinto six classes. Thefirstclass had a certain hereditary right from the previous exercise of lordship, as the house ofEstein Ferrara. Thesecondclass, as theViscontifamily in Milan, had been vicars of the empire. Thethirdclass were captains, or podestas, chosen by the burghers to their office, but abusing it to enslave the cities. Most of the tyrants of Lombardy got their power in this way. Thefourthclass is made up of theCondottieri, likeFrancesco Sforzaat Milan. Thefifthclass includes the nephews or sons of popes, and is of later origin, like theBorgiaof Romagna. Their governments had less stability. Thesixthclass is that of eminent citizens, like theMediciat Florence and theBentivogliof Bologna. These acquired undue authority by wealth, sometimes by personal qualities and noble descent. Among those who are called "despots" were individuals of worth, moderation, and culture. The records of many of them are filled with tragic scenes of violence and crime. To maintain their hated rule, they were impelled to the practice of barbarities hardly ever surpassed. (J. A. Symonds,Renaissance in Italy, vol. i. chap, ii.)
CONDOTTIERI.—With the end of the civil wars, there appear "the companies of adventure," or mercenary troops. The burghers, having put down the nobility and achieved their independence, lay aside their arms. They are busy in manufactures and trade. The despots and the republics prefer to hire foreign adventurers, the "free companies," who were a curse to Italy. Their occupation, which was a profitable one, was taken up by natives. These were thecondottieri. Their leaders introduced cavalry and more skillful methods of fighting. But the battles were bloodless games of strategy, and military energy declined. At the same time intrigue and state-craft were the instruments of political aggrandizement. One of these new leaders wasSforza Attendolo, whose son became Duke of Milan.
FIVE STATES IN ITALY.—In the middle of the fifteenth century, we find, as the political result of the changes of the preceding century and a half, five principal communities in Italy. These powers are the kingdom ofNaples, the duchy ofMilan, the republic ofFlorence, the republic ofVenice, and theprincipality of the Pope. A brief sketch will be given of each of these states down to 1447, whenNicholas V. reëstablished the papacy in its strength at Rome, after the exile atAvignon(1305), and the ecclesiastical convulsions that followed it.
LOWER ITALY.—Robert the Wise(of Anjou) (1309-1343), the successor ofCharles II. of Naples and the champion of the Guelfs, could not extend his power over Sicily, whereFrederickII. (1296-1337), the son ofPeterofAragon, reigned. Robert's granddaughter,Joan I., after a career of crime and misfortune, was strangled in prison byCharles Durazzo, the last male descendant of the house of Anjou in Lower Italy (1382), who seized on the government.Joan II., the last heir ofDurazzo(1414-1435), first adoptedAlfonso V. ofAragon, and thenLouis III. ofAnjouand his brotherRene.Alfonso, who inherited the crown ofSicily, united both kingdoms (1435), after a war with Rene and theViscontiof Milan. By this contest, Italy was divided into two parties, composed of the respective adherents of the houses ofAnjouandAragon, The rights ofRenewere to revert later to the crown of France, and to serve as a ground for new wars. For twenty-three yearsAlfonsoreigned wisely and prosperously in Southern Italy. He was a patron of letters, and promoted peace among the Italian states.
THE MILANESE: SFORZA.—Another great power was growing up in the North. The greatness of theViscontifamily dates fromJohn, Archbishop ofMilan, who reigned there, and died in 1354.Gian Galeazzo Viscontibecame sole master of Milan in 1385, and extended his dominion over Lombardy. He bought of the EmperorWenceslausthe ducal title. Twenty-six cities, with their territories, were subject to him. But atGaleazzo'sdeath, his state fell to pieces. Thecondottieri, whom he had kept under, broke loose from control; and in 1450, one of them,Francesco Sforza, with the help of the Venetians, seized on the supreme power, which his family continued to hold for fifty years.
VENICE.—Venice, in the fourteenth century, was as strong as any Italian state. Its constitution was of gradual growth. Thedoge, elected by the people, divided power in 1032 with asenate; and in 1172 theGrand Councilwas organized. This council by degrees absorbed the powers of government, which thus became an aristocracy. In 1297 the Senate became hereditary in a few families. In 1311 the powerfulCouncil of Tenwas constituted. For a long period Venice was not ambitious of power in Italy, but was satisfied with her commerce with the East. Her contest withGenoabegan in 1352, and lasted for thirty years. In the war ofChioggia,—so called from a town twenty-five miles south of Venice,—the Venetians were defeated byLuciano Doriain a sea-fight on the Adriatic. He blockaded Venice; butDoria, in turn, was blockaded inChioggiaby the Venetians, and forced to surrender. After reducing the naval power of Genoa, they addedVerona,Vicenza, andPaduato their territories (1410). UnderFrancesco Foscari, who was doge from 1423 to 1457, Venice took an active part in Italian affairs.
FLORENCE: THE MEDICI.—In Florence, theMedicifamily gained an influence which gave them a practical control of the government. In 1378Salvestro de Medicisignalized himself by a successful resistance to an oligarchical faction composed partly of the old nobility. The brilliant period in the history of Florence begins with this triumph of the democracy.Pisawas bought from the Duke of Milan, and forced to submit to Florentine rule (1406).John de Medici, a very successful merchant, was twice chosen gonfalonier (1421). His sonCosmo I., who was born in 1389, was also a merchant, possessed of great wealth. He attained to the leading offices in the state, having overcome theAlbizzifamily, at whose instigation he was for a while banished.Cosmoruled under the republican forms, but with not less authority on that account. He was distinguished for his patronage of art and letters. By his varied services to Florence, he earned the title of "Father of his Country," which was given him by a public decree.
THE ROMAN PRINCIPALITY: RIENZI.—After the popes took up their abode inAvignon, in the first half of the fourteenth century, Rome was distracted by the feuds of leading families who built for themselves strongholds in the city. In 1347 the Romans, fired by the enthusiastRienzi, who sought to restore the old Roman liberty, undertook to set up a government after the ancient model.Rienziwas chosentribune. He found much favor in other cities of Italy. But his head was turned by the seeming realization of his dreams. He was driven out of Italy by the cardinals and the nobles. He returned afterwards, sent by PopeInnocent VI., to aid in winning back Rome to subjection to the Holy See. But his power was gone. He disgusted the people with his pomps and shows, and, while trying to escape in disguise, was put to death (1354). CardinalAlbornozsucceeded in reuniting the dissevered parts of the papal kingdom. But in the period of theSchism(1378-1417), in the cities old dynasties were revived, and new ones arose; towns and territories were ceded to nobles as fiefs; and a degree of freedom almost amounting to independence was conceded to old republics, asRome,Perugia, andBologna. It was the work of PopeNicholas V. and his successors (from 1477) to regain and cement anew the fragments of the papal principality.
LITERATURE AND ART.—In this period, in the midst of political agitation in Italy, there was a brilliant development in the departments of literature and art. The major part ofDante'slife (1265-1321) falls within the thirteenth century.Petrarch(1304-1374),Boccaccio(1313-1375), a master in Italian prose, andDante, are the founders of Italian literature. They are followed by an era of study and culture, rather than of original production. In the arts,VeniceandPisafirst became eminent. The church ofSt. Markwas built at Venice, in the Byzantine style, in 1071. At about the same time the famous cathedral atPisawas begun; which was followed, in the twelfth century, by theBaptisteryand theLeaning Tower. TheCampo Santo, or cemetery, was built in 1278. In the thirteenth century, when architectural industry was so active, numerous high brick towers were built in Florence for purposes of defense. Some of them remain "to recall the bloody feuds of the irreconcilable factions of the nobility. In these conflicts, the strife was carried on from tower to tower, from house to house: streets were barricaded with heavy chains, and homes made desolate with fire and sword." Churches and great public buildings were constructed in this period. At the end of the thirteenth century the church ofSanta Crocewas built at Florence; and in the century following,Brunelleschi, the reviver of classical art in Italy, placed the great cupola on the Cathedral. The Gothic cathedral ofMilan, with its wilderness of statues, was begun in 1346.Cimabue, who died about 1302, andGiotto, who died about 1337, laid the foundations of the modern Italian schools of painting.
TRADE AND COMMERCE.—The seaports, Venice and Genoa, were centers of a flourishing commerce, extending to the far East and to the coasts of Spain and France. The interior cities—Milanwith its two hundred thousand inhabitants,Verona, Florence—were centers of manufactures and of trade. The Italians were the firstbankersin Europe. The bank ofVenicewas established in 1171, and the bank ofGenoa, although it was projected earlier, was founded in 1407. The financial dealings of Italian merchants spread over all Europe.
MORALITY.—The one thing lacking in Italy was a broader spirit of patriotism and a higher tone of morality. Advance in civilization was attended with corruption of morals.
HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY.—Resistance to the Arabs in Spain began in the northern mountainous region ofCantabriaandAsturia, which even the West Goths had not wholly subdued, althoughAsturiawas calledGothia.Asturia, a Christian principality (732), expanded into the kingdom calledLeon(916), of which Castile was an eastern county. East ofLeon, there grew up the kingdom ofNavarre, mostly on the southern, but partly on the northern side of the Pyrenees. On the death ofSancho the Great, it was broken up (1035). At about the same time the Ommiad caliphate was broken up into small kingdoms (1031). After the death ofSancho, or early in the eleventh century, we find in Northern Spain, beginning on the west and moving eastward, the kingdom ofLeon, the beginnings of the kingdom ofCastile, the reduced kingdom ofNavarre, the beginnings of the kingdom ofAragon, and, between Aragon and the Mediterranean, Christian states which had been comprised in theSpanish Marchover which the Franks had ruled. The two states which were destined to attain to the chief importance wereCastileandAragon. Of these,Castilewas eventually to be to Spain what France was to all Gaul. Ultimately the union ofCastileandAragongave rise to the great Spanish monarchy of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The four kingdoms ofLeon, Castile, Aragon,andNavarre, after the death ofSancho, as time went on, were joined and disjoined among themselves in many different ways.CastileandLeonwere finally united in 1230.Portugal, lying on the ocean, was partly recovered from the Arabs towards the close of the eleventh century, and was a county ofLeonandCastileuntil, in 1139, it became a kingdom. From this timeCastile, Aragon,andPortugalwere the three antagonists of Moslem rule. Each of these kingdoms advanced.Portugalspread especially along the Atlantic coast;Aragon, along the coast of the Mediterranean;Castile, the principal power, spread in the interior, and included by far the greater part of what is now Spain. In the latter part of the thirteenth century the Moslems were confined to the kingdom ofGranadain the South, which was conquered byCastileandAragon(1492), whosesovereigns, FerdinandandIsabella, were united in marriage. Theirkingdomswere united in 1516. In the latter part of the Middle Ages,Aragon, from its situation on the eastern coast, played an important part in the politics of Europe.CastileandPortugalled the way in maritime exploration.
THE MOORS.—It has been already related (p. 282), that, after the fall of the Ommiad caliphate, African Mohammedans came over to the help of their Spanish brethren. TheseMoorsdid not supplant the Arabic speech or culture. The two principal invasions of the Moors were the invasion by theAlmoravides(1086-110), and that by theAlmohades(1146).
ARAGON: NAVARRE.—The kingdoms ofAragonandCastileexisted for centuries side by side.Aragonsought to extend its conquests along the eastern coast;Castile, to enlarge itself toward the south.James I., or James the Conqueror (1213-1276), joined the Moslem state ofValencia, by conquest, to his kingdom ofAragon, to whichCataloniahad already been added. The union of these peoples developed a national character of a definite type. In its pride of birth and of blood, its tenacious clinging to traditional rights, and in its esteem of military prowess before intellectual culture, it resembled the old Spartan temper.Peter III.,(1276-1285), the son ofJames I., united with the three statesSicily, which, though it became a separate kingdom, gave to the house of Aragon its influence inSouthern Italy. Nearly the whole of the fourteenth century was taken up by Aragon in the acquisition ofSardinia, which the Pope had ceded, and in the endless wars, connected with this matter, which it waged with theGenoese. In 1410 the ruling house ofBarcelonabecame extinct. In the revolutions that followed,NavarreandAragonwere united underJohn II., second son ofFerdinand I., king of Aragon.John, by his marriage withBlancheof Navarre, shared her father's throne with her after his death. He was guilty of the crime of poisoning his own sonDon Carlos, Prince of Vianne. John was the father ofFerdinand"the Catholic," under whose scepter the kingdoms ofAragon, Castile, andNavarrewere brought together.
CASTILE.—Ferdinand III. (St. Ferdinand) (1214-1252), in warfare with the Moors extended the kingdom ofCastileandLeonoverCordova, Seville, andCadiz. His sonAlfonso X., or Alfonso the Wise (1252-1284), cultivated astronomy and astrology, was fond of music and poetry, enlarged the University of Salamanca, gave a code of laws to his kingdom, and caused historical books to be written; but he wasted his treasures in pomp and luxury, and in ambitious designs upon the German imperial crown. He allowed theMerinides, new swarms of African Saracens, to spread in the South of Spain.Alfonso XI.(1312-1350), after a stormy contest with the nobles during his minority, distinguished himself by the victory ofTarifaover the Moors (1340), and the taking of the city ofAlgeciras(1344). His enemies respected him; and when he died of the plague, in his camp before Gibraltar, the king ofGranadawent into mourning (1350). The reign ofPeter the Cruel(1350-1369) was filled up with perfidies and crimes. The league of the nobles against him only incited him to fresh barbarities. He committed the most atrocious murders, sometimes with his own hand. Protected by theBlack Prince, he was at first victorious againstHenry of Transtamarehis rival; and Du Guesclin was defeated in the battle ofNajarain 1367. AfterwardsPeterwas obliged to surrender, and was killed by the dagger ofHenryin a personal encounter. The power of the nobility inCastilehad so increased during the civil troubles thatHenry III. (1390-1406) had to sell his cloak to procure for himself a dinner. Roused by this humiliation to assert his authority, he succeeded with the help of theCortesin humbling the nobility; butJohn II. (1406-1454) was compelled by the most powerful lords, after a protracted contest, to strike off the head of an unworthy favorite,Alvaro de Luna, under whose despotic control he had placed the government (1454). There was a worse state of anarchy underHenry IV., John's successor (1454-1474).
CONSTITUTIONS OF ARAGON AND CASTILE.—The political institutions ofAragonandCastileare specially worthy of note. The kings ofAragonwere very much restricted in their authority by theCortes, or general assembly, composed of the higher and lower classes of nobles, the clergy, and the cities, which by their trade and manufactures had risen to wealth and power. With theCorteswas lodged the right to make laws and to lay taxes. AtSaragassain 1287, it was likewise ordained that they should enjoy certain importantprivileges.The concurrence of the estates was to be required in the choice of the king'scounselors;and in case the king without the warrant of a judgment of the highest judicial officer,the justiciary,and of the estates, should adjudge to punishment any member of the body, they should have the right to elect another king. These "privileges" were lost underPeter IV.(1336-1387), but the old rights were confirmed. To thejusticiarywas given the power to determine all conflicts of the estates with the king or with one another. His influence increased as time went on. He was the first magistrate in the kingdom.
InCastile,as early as 1169 the deputies of the cities were admitted into the Cortes. We find the cities, at the end of the thirteenth century, forming a confederation, called a "fraternity," against the nobles. Their deputies at that time had more power in the assemblies than the nobles and clergy. But the power of the nobles increased, especially from the accession ofHenry of Transtamare.In the overthrow ofAlvaro de Luna,their triumph was complete: they proved themselves to be stronger than the king.
THE CASTILIANS.—The Spanish Mohammedans were superior in refinement to their Christian adversaries. The latter learned much from their enemies, without losing the patriotic and religious ardor which was fostered by the popular minstrelsy, and by the romantic exploits and encounters with the "infidels." The result was the peculiar spirit of Castilian chivalry. The early development of popular government inCastileincreased the feeling of personal independence. Outside of Italy, no cities of Europe in the Middle Ages were so rich and flourishing as the cities ofCastile,Materials of commerce were afforded by the famous breed of sheep, and by the products of the soil and of manufactures. The nobles gained great wealth, and had vast estates in the country. They held court as petty sovereigns:Alvaro de Lunahad twenty thousand vassals. They were inured to war, they were haughty and overbearing, and complaints of their oppressions were frequent on the part of the lower orders. The Castilian ecclesiastics were often lax in their morals. The higher prelates were possessed of great riches and authority. In the beginning of the fifteenth century the people inCastilehad more power, compared with the power of the sovereign, than in any other European country. But the representation of the commons was exclusively from the cities, and not, as in England, largely from the landed proprietors.
THE ARAGONESE.—The extraordinary authority exercised by thejusticiary,or justice, of Aragon was perhaps the most remarkable feature of its constitution. Dwelling on the ocean, the Aragonese built up a naval power.Barcelona,after its union with Aragon, was the seat of a flourishing commerce, and framed the first written code of maritime law now extant. Its municipal officers were merchants and mechanics. Membership in the guilds was sought by nobles, as rendering them eligible to the magistracy. The burghers became proud and independent. The Catalans did not hesitate to assert their rights against encroachments of the kings. In 1430 the University of Barcelona was founded. "After the genuine race of troubadours had passed away," says Mr. Prescott, "the Provencal or Limousin verse was carried to its highest excellence by the poets of Valencia" (Prescott'sHistory of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella,Introduction).
PORTUGAL: COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION.—About 1095Alfonso VI.,king ofCastileandLeon,gave the territory between theMinhoand theDouroto his son-in-law,Henry of Burgundy,who assumed the title of Count of Portugal. His son and successor,Alfonso I.,who defeated the Moors atOuriquein 1139, was hailed as king by his army, and later was confirmed in the title by the Pope (1185). He was acknowledged as independent by the king of Castile. In a diet atLaimego, he gave an excellent constitution and body of laws to his people (1143). Soon after, he conqueredLisbon, and made it his capital. His son,Sancho I.(1185-1211), was distinguished both for his victories over the Moors and for his encouragement of tillage and of farm-laborers. Until we reach the fifteenth century, Portuguese history is occupied with wars with the Moors and the Castilians, contests of the kings with the nobles, and struggles between rival aspirants for the throne, and between the sovereigns on the one hand and the clergy and the popes on the other. UnderDionysius III. (1279-1325) there began a new era, in which the Portuguese became eminent for industry and learning, and in commerce and navigation. He founded the University of Lisbon.Alfonso IV. (1325-1357) continued on the same path. But he causedInes de Castro, who had been secretly married to his son, to be murdered (1354); a crime which the son,Peter I. (1357-1367), after his accession, avenged by causing the hearts of the murderers to be torn out.John I. (1385-1433) repelled a great invasion of the Castilians, in a battle near Lisbon, and became at first regent and then king. He was the founder of a new family. By himCeutain Africa was captured from the Moors.Madeirawas discovered (1419), and by the burning of the forests was prepared for the cultivation of sugar-cane and the vine. In 1432 the Portuguese occupied theAzores. A most active interest in voyages of discovery was taken byPrince Henry the Navigator(1394-1460), fourth son of KingJohn I. and ofPhilippa, daughter ofJohn of Gaunt.
THE BALTIC LANDS.—There are three divisions of Europe which neither Charlemagne's Empire nor the Eastern Empire included. The first isSpain, which had been comprised in the old Roman Empire. The second isGreat Britainand the adjacent islands. Only a portion of Britain was held as a province by old Rome. The third is the twoScandinavianpeninsulas,—Denmark, and Norway and Sweden, with theSlavoniclands to the east and south, which may be said to have had a common relation to theBaltic. TheScandinavianshad their period of foreign conquest and settlement, but their settlements abroad remained in no connection with the countries whence they came.Swedenwas cut off from the ocean. "The history of Sweden"—as Mr. Freeman, to whom we owe a lucid exposition of this subject, has pointed out—"mainly consists in the growth and the loss of her dominion in the Baltic lands out of her own peninsula. It is only in quite modern times that the union of the crowns, though not of the kingdoms, of Sweden and Norway, has created a power wholly peninsular and equally Baltic and oceanic." The Germans and Scandinavians spread their dominion over the Aryan and non-Aryan tribes on the south and east of the Baltic.Finland, inhabited by a Turanian or Scythic people whose language is akin to that of the Hungarians, was long under Swedish dominion. Now Finland and the east of the Baltic are in Russia, while the southern and south-eastern shore of the Baltic is German.Russia, in modern days, having no oceanic character like Great Britain and Spain, has expanded her dominion westward to the Baltic, but mainly to the east over Central Asia. She has built up acontinental, instead of a maritime and colonial, empire.
CONVERSION OF SCANDINAVIA.—In the earlier part of the Middle Ages, the two Scandinavian peninsulas are known only through the piratical expeditions which they send forth upon the two adjacent seas. By the way of the North Sea, the Northmen reached France, England, Greenland, and America; by the way of the Baltic, Russia. The conversion ofDenmarkto Christianity was completed in the eleventh century, underCanute; that of Norway in the tenth, and of Sweden in the eleventh. After the foreign settlements were made, and with the introduction of the gospel, piracy ceased, and civilization began (p. 239).
DENMARK.—AfterCanute VI.(1182),Waldemar II., the Victorious, was the prominent personage in Danish history. He conqueredHolsteinandPomerania,—in fact, every thing north of the Elbe and the Elde. In 1219 he overranEsthonia, in a crusade for the forcible conversion of the pagans, when the Danish standard, theDannebrog,—a white cross on a blood-red field,—began to be used. On his return, he was treacherously captured, and with his son was kept in prison in Mecklenburg for three years, byHenry, Count ofSchwerin.Waldemarwas defeated in 1227, in the war undertaken to recover the conquests which he had given up as the price of his release. He was the author of a code of laws.
UNION OF CROWNS.—Waldemar III.(1340-1375) regained the conquests of Waldemar II. This brought on a general war, in which theHanseatic League, as well as Sweden, were among his antagonists (1363). Denmark, having control of the entrance to the Baltic, and exacting tolls of vessels, was a second time involved in war with that great mercantile confederacy and its allies, and was worsted in the conflict (1372). Waldemar's second daughter,Margaret, marriedHakon VI., King of Norway. Hakon's sonOlafwas a child at his father's death, and the regency was held by his mother.Olaf(1376-1387) was elected by the Estates king ofDenmark. His mother, now regent in both countries, became queen in both afterOlaf'sdeath. In 1388 Margaret accepted the crown of Sweden; the Swedes having revolted against the king,Albert, who was defeated and captured atFalkoeping(1389).
SWEDEN.—War existed for centuries between theSwedesand theGoths, the inhabitants of the southern part of the peninsula. Each race contended for supremacy. Political union began withWaldemar(1250-1275), son ofBirger Jarl(Earl Birger). Stockholm was founded in 1255. Private wars and judicial combats were suppressed, commerce was encouraged, and the condition of women improved. Large duchies were established, afterwards a source of discord.Magnus I. (1279-1290) was surnamedLadulas, orBarnlock, for protecting the granaries of the peasants from the rapacious nobles. His reign was succeeded by war between his sons. As the result of a popular revolt in 1319,Magnus Smek, an infant, became king, and during the regency succeeded, by right of his mother, to the crown ofNorway, where he (1350) placed on the throne his sonHakon. But whenMagnusattempted to rule without the senate, he was deposed, andAlbertofMecklenburgwas elected king (1365). But the nobles were supreme: in 1388 they deposedAlbert, and gave the crown toMargaretof Norway and Denmark.Albertwas held a prisoner for six years, and then renounced his claim to the throne.
NORWAY.—Magnus III. (1095-1103), called from his Scottish dressBarefoot, united theHebridesandOrcadesinto a kingdom for his sonSigurd, and invaded Iceland, where he died.Sigurdinherited the spirit ofHarold Fairhair(860-about 933), through whom Norway had been made a united kingdom. He made a voyage to Jerusalem through the Mediterranean, and was a renowned crusader. After his death (1130), there were fierce contests for the throne, the more fierce as illegitimate sons had the same right in law as those born in wedlock. In 1152 a papal legate established a hierarchy in Norway, which interfered in the struggle. Conflicts arose between the clerical party and the national party, in which the latter at length gained the day. UnderHakon VI.,Icelandwas conquered (1260).Magnus VI. (1263-1280) brought in an era of quiet, without stifling popular freedom. The cities engaged actively in manufactures and commerce.Magnusstrengthened and organized the military and naval force. By him theHebrideswere ceded to Scotland. UnderEric(1280-1299), calledPriest-hater, there was a struggle to curb the power of the clergy and nobles, in which the king was aided by the peasants. He was worsted in the conflict with the Hanse towns, and compelled to join their League. The accession ofMagnus Smek, the son of his daughter, to the throne of Norway (1319), led eventually to theUnionofCalmar(1397), in which Sweden, Norway, and Denmark were brought together.
"The situation of Norway, during the Middle Ages, might be shortly described as an absolute monarchy resting almost directly on one of the most democratic states of society in Europe." The greater families, by the partition of their estates, became a part of the class of small land-owners. Between them and the king there was no intermediate class.
AFTER THE UNION OF CALMAR.—After the death ofMargaret, who governed the united kingdoms after the union,Eric XIII. of Pomerania succeeded. The union was shaken by the revolt ofSchleswigand ofHolstein, and was dissolved on the death ofChristopherof Bavaria (1448), who had been chosen king. The Swedes broke off, and madeCharles Canutsonking, under the name ofCharles VIII.DenmarkandNorwayremained united; and underChristian I. of the house ofOldenburg, whom they made king,SchleswigandHolsteinwere again attached to Denmark (1459).
THE SLAVONIC TRIBES.—The settlement of theHungarians(Magyars) in Europe had the effect to divide the Slavonic tribes into three general groups. ThenorthernSlaves were separated from the Slaves south of the Danube,—the inhabitants of Servia, Croatia, Dalmatia, etc. Thenorth-westernSlaves bordered on the Western Empire. The states ofBohemiaandPolandgrew up among them. On the east of this group of Slaves were the Russians. BothPolandandRussiabecame independent kingdoms. In the course of history, a part of thenorth Slavonic lands, those which are represented by Mecklenburg, Pomerania, Brandenburg, and Saxony, were Germanized. Lands in thesouth-west, as Bohemia and Moravia, remained predominantly Slavonic in speech. Acentralregion formed the kingdom of Poland. On the east were the Slavonic tribes which were the nucleus of modernRussia.
LITHUANIANS AND PRUSSIANS.—BothPolandandRussiawere originally cut off from the Baltic by other races. Such were the non-AryanFinsin Esthonia (Esthland) and Livonia (Livland). Such, also, were the Aryans of theLetticbranch, of whom theLithuaniansand thePrussianswere the principal divisions. TheLithuaniansformed at one time a strong state. ThePrussiansfinally gave their name to the Teutonic kingdom in which they were absorbed.
THE POLES.—ThePolesderive their name from a word meaningplains. They were inhabitants of the plains. They were the strongest of a group of tribes dwelling between the Oder and the Vistula, and holding the coast between their mouths. Between them and the sea, on the east of the Vistula, were thePrussians.
POLAND: ITS CONSTITUTION.—In the tenth century theLechs, orPoles, on the Vistula, had acquired considerable power, and had a center atGnesen, which remained the metropolis of Poland. There are legends of a first duke,Piastby name. A dynasty which bore his name continued in Poland until 1370; in Silesia, until 1675.Miecislas I. was converted to Christianity by his wife, a Bohemian princess. He did homage to the EmperorOtto I. (978).Boleslav I. (992) aspired to the regal dignity, and had himself crowned as king by his bishops.Gregory VII. excommunicated him, deprived him of the title of king, and laid Poland under an interdict.Boleslav III., the Victorious (1102-1138), subdued thePomeranians, and compelled them to receive Christianity. He divided his kingdom among his four sons.Silesiabecame an independent duchy. A long crusade was carried on against thePrussians, a heathen people, who attacked the Poles, by the "Brethren of the soldiers of Christ," and the "Teutonic knights," two orders which were united (about 1226). The Teutonic knights at length became the enemies of the Poles. The savageLithuaniansassailed them on the north. From the anarchy that reigned, Poland was rescued byCasimir III., the Great (1333-1370), who defeated the Russians, and carried his eastern boundary as far as theDnieper. Prior to this time, Poland was an important kingdom. Casimir framed a code of written laws for his people, and gave an impulse to commerce. But in order to secure the election of his nephew,Louisking of Hungary (1370-1382), he had to increase the powers and privileges of the nobles. The accession ofLouisterminated the long rivalry of Poland and Hungary. He, likeCasimir, died without children. The nobles madeJagellon, the Grand Duke ofLithuania, his successor (1386), who took the name ofVladislav II. Under a series of conquering princes,Lithuaniahad extended its dominion over the neighboring Russian lands, and become a strong state.Vladislavwas chosen on the condition that he should espouse the daughter of the last king, and, with his nation, embrace Christianity. This event doubled the territory of Poland. TheTeutonic Knights, who ruled from the Oder to the Gulf of Finland, were now overcome. The treaty ofThorn(1466) confined their dominion toEastern Prussia. The misfortune ofPolandwas its political constitution. Although the monarchy was not yet completely elective, but hereditary in the house ofJagellon, the election of every king had to be sanctioned by the nobles. They alone took part in the diet, and held the offices and honors. There was no burgher class, no "third estate." Every man who owned and was able to equip a horse was counted as a noble. The burden of taxation fell on the peasants.
NATURAL FEATURES OF RUSSIA.—Russia in Europe comprises at present more than half the territory of that entire continent. Yet it has but a small share of seaboard, and of this a large part is frozen in winter. The surface of Russia is of a piece with the boundless plateaus of Northern and Central Asia. It has been defined as the "Europe of plains, in opposition to the Europe of mountains." The mountains of Russia are chiefly on its boundaries. It is a country subject to extremes of heat and cold. From the scarcity of stone, all buildings were formerly of wood, and hence its towns were all combustible. The rivers of Russia have been of immense importance in its history. "The whole history of this country is the history of its three great rivers, and is divided into three periods,—that of theDnieperwithKiev, that of theVolgawithMoscow, and that of theNevawithNovgorodin the eighth century, andSt. Petersburgin the eighteenth."
RUSSIANS AND POLES.—The Russian Slaves in the ninth century occupied but a small part of what is now Russia. There was probably little difference then between them and the Poles; but the one people were molded by the Greek Church and Greek civilization, the other by the Latin Church and by the collective influences of Western Europe.
RUSSIAN HISTORY.—The Northmen underRurikhad founded their dominion in Russia.Novgorodwas their center. Thence they pushed their conquests to the south. Their descendants madeKiev, on the Dnieper, their capital. In Russia, as elsewhere, the Scandinavians quickly blended with their native subjects. UnderVladimir I.(980-1015), who was converted to Greek Christianity, with his people, andIaroslaf I.(1019-1051), they attained to considerable power; but the custom of the sovereigns to divide their dominions among their sons, broke up their territory into a multitude of petty principalities. The result was a monotonous series of fierce contests, without any substantial result. In the midst of the bloody and profitless civil wars occurred the great invasion of theMongols, who destroyed the principality ofKiev, and made that ofVladimirtributary. For two centuries the Russians continued under the yoke of the "Golden Horde," which the Mongols established on the Volga. They were obliged to pay tribute, and the Russian princes at their accession had to swear fealty to thekhanon the banks of the riverAmoor. At the time of the Mongol conquest,Novgorodwas the center of Russian dominion. Towards the end of the thirteenth century,Moscowbecame a new center of Russian power. FromMoscowcomes the nameMuscovy. "Muscovy was to Russia what France in the older sense was to the whole land which came to bear that name." In the fourteenth century, whileLithuaniaandPolandwere absorbing by conquest the territories of earlier orWesternRussia, the Duchy ofMoscowwas building up a new Russia in the East, out of which grew the Russia of to-day.Ivan I., regarded as the founder of the Russian monarchy, made Moscow his capital in 1328. Most of the other princes were subject to him.Demetrius(orDimtri) I. gained two great victories over the Mongol horde (1378 and 1380); but in 1382 they burnedMoscow, and slew twenty-four thousand of its inhabitants. It was not until the reign ofIvan III., Ivan the Great (1462-1505), thatNovgorodsubmitted toMoscow, and Russia was wholly delivered from the control and influence of the Mongols.
THE ARPAD DYNASTY.—The chiefs of the TuranianMagyars, about 889, electedArpadas successor of the leader under whom they had crossed the Carpathian Mountains. They overran Hungary and Transylvania, and terrified Europe by their invasions (p. 249). After their defeats by the emperorsHenry I. andOtto the Great(p. 261), they confined themselves to their own country. The first king,Stephen,—St. Stephen,—was crowned, with the consent of PopeSylvester II., in the year 1000. He divided the land into counties, organized the Church, and founded convents and schools. He conferred on the bishops high offices. He established a national council, composed of the lords temporal and spiritual, and of the knights, out of which sprung thediets.Ladislaus I. conqueredCroatia(1089), and a part of the "Red Russian" land ofGalicia(1093). Coloman, "the Learned," a brave and able man, annexedDalmatia, which he wrested from the Venetians (1102). In the reign ofAndrew II. (1205-1235), the "Golden Bull" was extorted by the nobles, which conferred on them extraordinary rights and privileges, including exemption from arrest prior to trial and conviction, and the control of the diet over appointments to office. It even authorized armed resistance on their part to tyrannical measures of the king,—a right that was not abrogated until 1687. Hungary was devastated by the great Tartar invasion (1241-42) (p. 283). The kings of Hungary supported the cause ofRudolphof Austria againstOttocarof Bohemia (p. 332).
INVASIONS OF THE TURKS.—The last king of theArpaddynasty died in 1301. There was a division of parties in the choice of a successor. PopeBoniface VIII. and the clergy supported the claims of CountCharles Robert of Anjou, who was related to the former reigning family. Under the son ofCharles Robert, Louis,who also succeededCasimir III. as king of Poland (1370), Hungary became a very powerful state.Galiciawas regained,MoldaviaandBulgariawere conquered. After the death ofLouis, his daughterMariareigned from 1386 conjointly withSigismund, afterwards emperor, and king of Bohemia. He established his supremacy overBosnia. From this time the invasions of theTurksbegin. There had been a party in favor of raising to the throneVladislaus, king of Poland; and after the death of Sigismund's successor,Albert II. of Austria (1437), and the death of the queen, he gained the crown (1442). He was slain atVarna, in the great battle in which the Hungarians were vanquished by the Turks (1444).John Hunyady, who had several times defeated the Turks, and who escaped on the field of Varna, was made for the time "governor;" but on the release of the son of Albert,Ladislaus Posthumus, who had been kept from the throne by the EmperorFrederick III., he was recognized as king (1452).Hun-yadywas made general-in-chief.Frederickhad also retained in his hands the crown, which had been intrusted to his care, and which Hungarians have always regarded with extreme veneration. A little later, great advantages were gained over the Turks, to be lost again in the sixteenth century.