The Misfortunes Of Duke Ernst
In the reign of Conrad II., Emperor of Germany, took place the event
which we have now to tell, one of those interesting examples of romance
which give vitality to history. On the death of Henry II., the last of
the great house of the Othos, a vast assembly from all the states of the
empire was called together to decide who their next emperor should be.
From every side they came, dukes, margraves, counts and barons, attended
churchmen, with their proud retainers; Saxons, Swabians, Bavarians,
Bohemians, and numerous other nationalities, great and small; all
marching towards the great plain between Worms and Mayence, where they
gathered on both sides of the Rhine, until its borders seemed covered by
a countless multitude of armed men. The scene was a magnificent one,
with its far-spreading display of rich tents, floating banners, showy
armor, and everything that could give honor and splendor to the
occasion.
We are not specially concerned with what took place. There were two
competitors for the throne, both of them Conrad by name. By birth they
were cousins, and descendants of the emperor Conrad I. The younger of
these, but the son of the elder brother, and the most distinguished for
ability, was elected, and took the throne as Conrad II. He was to prove
one of the noblest sovereigns that ever held the sceptre of the German
empire. The election decided, the great assembly dispersed, and back to
their homes marched the host of warriors who had collected for once with
peaceful purpose.
Two years afterwards, in 1026, Conrad crossed the Alps with an army, and
marched through Italy, that land which had so perilous an attraction for
German emperors, and so sadly disturbed the peace and progress of the
Teutonic realm. Conrad was not permitted to remain there long. Troubles
in Germany recalled him to his native soil. Swabia had broken out in hot
troubles. Duke Ernst, step-son of Conrad, claimed Burgundy as his
inheritance, in opposition to the emperor himself, who had the better
claim. He not only claimed it, but attempted to seize it. With him were
united two Swabian counts of ancient descent, Rudolf Welf, or Guelph,
and Werner of Kyburg.
Swabia was in a blaze when Conrad returned. He convoked a great diet at
Ulm, as the legal means of settling the dispute. Thither Ernst came, at
the head of his Swabian men-at-arms, and still full of rebellious
spirit, although his mother, Gisela, the empress, begged him to submit
and to return to his allegiance.
The angry rebel, however, soon learned that his followers were not
willing to take up arms against the emperor. They declared that their
oath of allegiance to their duke did not release them from their higher
obligations to the emperor and the state, that if their lord was at feud
with the empire it was their duty to aid the latter, and that if their
chiefs wished to quarrel with the state, they must fight for themselves.
This defection left the rebels powerless. Duke Ernst was arrested and
imprisoned on a charge of high treason. Eudolf was exiled. Werner, who
took refuge in his castle, was besieged there by the imperial troops,
against whom he valiantly defended himself for several months. At
length, however, finding that his stronghold was no longer tenable, he
contrived to make his escape, leaving the nest to the imperialists empty
of its bird.
Three years Ernst remained in prison. Then Conrad restored him to
liberty, perhaps moved by the appeals of his mother Gisela, and promised
to restore him to his dukedom of Swabia if he would betray the secret of
the retreat of Werner, who was still at large despite all efforts to
take him.
This request touched deeply the honor of the deposed duke. It was much
to regain his ducal station; it was more to remain true to the fugitive
who had trusted and aided him in his need.
"How can I betray my only true friend?" asked the unfortunate duke, with
touching pathos.
His faithfulness was not appreciated by the emperor and his nobles. They
placed Ernst under the ban of the empire, and thus deprived him of rank,
wealth, and property, reducing him by a word from high estate to abject
beggary. His life and liberty were left him, but nothing more, and,
driven by despair, he sought the retreat of his fugitive friend Werner,
who had taken refuge in the depths of the Black Forest.
Here the two outlaws, deprived of all honest means of livelihood, became
robbers, and entered upon a life of plunder, exacting contributions from
all subjects of the empire who fell into their hands. They soon found a
friend in Adalbert of Falkenstein, who gave them the use of his castle
as a stronghold and centre of operations, and joined them with his
followers in their freebooting raids.
For a considerable time the robber chiefs maintained themselves in their
new mode of life, sallying from the castle, laying the country far and
wide under contribution, and returning to the fortress for safety from
pursuit. Their exactions became in time so annoying, that the castle was
besieged by a strong force of Swabians, headed by Count Mangold of
Veringen, and the freebooters were closely confined within their walls.
Impatient of this, a sally in force was made by the garrison, headed by
the two robber chiefs, and an obstinate contest ensued. The struggle
ended in the death of Mangold on the one side and of Ernst and Werner on
the other, with the definite defeat and dispersal of the robber band.
Thus ended an interesting episode of mediaeval German history. But the
valor and misfortunes of Duke Ernst did not die unsung. He became a
popular hero, and the subject of many a ballad, in which numerous
adventures were invented for him during his career as an opponent of the
emperor and an outlaw in the Black Forest. For the step-son of an
emperor to be reduced to such a strait was indeed an event likely to
arouse public interest and sympathy, and for centuries the doings of the
robber duke were sung.
In the century after his death the imagination of the people went to
extremes in their conception of the adventures of Duke Ernst, mixing up
ideas concerning him with fancies derived from the Crusades, the whole
taking form in a legend which is still preserved in the popular ballad
literature of Germany. This strange conception takes Ernst to the East,
where he finds himself opposed by terrific creatures in human and brute
form, they being allegorical representations of his misfortunes. Each
monster signifies an enemy. He reaches a black mountain, which
represents his prison. He is borne into the clouds by an old man; this
is typical of his ambition. His ship is wrecked on the Magnet mountain;
a personification of his contest with the emperor. The nails fly out of
the ship and it falls to pieces; an emblem of the falling off of his
vassals. There are other adventures, and the whole circle of legends is
a curious one, as showing the vagaries of imagination, and the strong
interest taken by the people in the fortunes and misfortunes of their
chieftains.
More
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