Beginning Of The Thirty Years' War
(1600--1625.)
Growth of the Calvinistic or "Reformed" Church. --Persecution of
Protestants in Styria. --The Catholic League. --The Struggle for
the Succession of Cleves. --Rudolf II. set aside. --His Death.
--Matthias becomes Emperor. --Character of Ferdinand of Styria.
--Revolt in Prague. --War in Bohemia. --Death of Matthias.
--Ferdinand besieged in Vienna. --He is Crowned Emperor.
--Blindness of the Protestant Princes. --Frederick of the
Palatinate chosen King of Bohemia. --Barbarity of Ferdinand II.
--The Protestants Crushed in Bohemia and Austria. --Count Mansfeld
and Prince Christian of Brunswick. --War in Baden and the
Palatinate. --Tilly. --His Ravages. --Miserable Condition of
Germany. --Union of the Northern States. --Christian IV. of
Denmark. --Wallenstein. --His History. --His Proposition to
Ferdinand II.
[Sidenote: 1600.]
The beginning of the seventeenth century found the Protestants in
Germany still divided. The followers of Zwingli, it is true, had
accepted the Augsburg Confession as the shortest means of acquiring
freedom of worship; but the Calvinists, who were now rapidly increasing,
were not willing to take this step, nor were the Lutherans any more
tolerant towards them than at the beginning. The Dutch, in conquering
their independence of Spain, gave the Calvinistic, or, as it was called
in Germany, the Reformed Church, a new political importance; and it was
not long before the Palatinate of the Rhine, Baden, Hesse-Cassel and
Anhalt also joined it. The Protestants were split into two strong and
unfriendly sects at the very time when the Catholics, under the teaching
of the Jesuits, were uniting against them.
Duke Ferdinand of Styria, a young cousin of Rudolf II., began the
struggle. Styria was at that time Protestant, and refused to change its
faith at the command of the Duke, whereupon he visited every part of the
land with an armed force, closed the churches, burned the hymn-books and
Bibles, and banished every one who was not willing to become a Catholic
on the spot. He openly declared that it was better to rule over a desert
than a land of heretics. Duke Maximilian of Bavaria followed his
example: in 1607 he seized the free Protestant city of Donauwoerth, on
the Danube, on account of some quarrel between its inhabitants and a
monastery, and held it, in violation of all laws of the Empire. A
protest made to the Diet on account of this act was of no avail, since a
majority of the members were Catholics. The Protestants of Southern
Germany formed a "Union" for mutual protection, in May, 1608, with
Frederick IV. of the Palatinate at their head; but, as they were mostly
of the Reformed Church, they received little sympathy or support from
the Protestant States in the North.
[Sidenote: 1609. THE "SUCCESSION OF CLEVES."]
Maximilian of Bavaria then established a "Catholic League" in
opposition, relying on the assistance of Spain, while the "Protestant
Union" relied on that of Henry IV. of France. Both sides began to arm,
and they would soon have proceeded to open hostilities, when a dispute
of much greater importance diverted their attention to the North of
Germany. This was the so-called "Succession of Cleves." Duke John
William of Cleves, who governed the former separate dukedoms of Juelich,
Cleves and Berg, and the countships of Ravensberg and Mark, embracing a
large extent of territory on both sides of the Lower Rhine, died in 1609
without leaving a direct heir. He had been a Catholic, but his people
were Protestants. John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, and Wolfgang
William of the Bavarian Palatinate, both relatives on the female side,
claimed the splendid inheritance; and when it became evident that the
Catholic interest meant to secure it, they quickly united their forces
and took possession. The Emperor then sent the Archduke Leopold of
Hapsburg to hold the State in his name, whereupon the Protestant Union
made an instant alliance with Henry IV. of France, who was engaged in
organizing an army for its aid, when he fell by the dagger of the
assassin, Ravaillac, in 1610. This dissolved the alliance, and the
"Union" and "League," finding themselves agreed in opposing the creation
of another Austrian State, on the Lower Rhine, concluded peace before
any serious fighting had taken place between them.
[Sidenote: 1606.]
The two claimants to the succession adopted a similar policy. Wolfgang
William became a Catholic, married the sister of Maximilian of Bavaria,
and so brought the "League" to support him, and the Elector John
Sigismund became a Calvinist (which almost excited a rebellion among the
Brandenburg Lutherans), in order to get the support of the "Union." The
former was assisted by Spanish troops from Flanders, the latter by Dutch
troops from Holland, and the war was carried on until 1614, when it was
settled by a division which gave John Sigismund the lion's share.
Meanwhile the Emperor Rudolf II. was becoming so old, so whimsical and
so useless, that in 1606 the princes of the house of Hapsburg held a
meeting, declared him incapable of governing, "on account of occasional
imbecilities of mind," and appointed his brother Matthias regent for
Austria, Hungary and Moravia. The Emperor refused to yield, but, with
the help of the nobility, who were mostly Protestants, Matthias
maintained his claim. He was obliged, in return, to grant religious
freedom, which so encouraged the oppressed Protestants in Bohemia that
they demanded similar rights from the Emperor. In his helpless situation
he gave way to the demand, but soon became alarmed at the increase of
the heretics, and tried to take back his concession. The Bohemians
called Matthias to their assistance, and in 1611 Rudolf lost his
remaining kingdom and his favorite residence of Prague. As he looked
upon the city for the last time, he cried out: "May the vengeance of God
overtake thee, and my curse light on thee and all Bohemia!" In less than
a year (on the 20th of January, 1612) he died.
Matthias was elected Emperor of Germany, as a matter of course. The
house of Hapsburg was now the strongest German power which represented
the Church of Rome, and the Catholic majority in the Diet secured to it
the Imperial dignity then and thenceforward. The Protestants, however,
voted also for Matthias, for the reason that he had already shown a
tolerant policy towards their brethren in Austria, Hungary and Bohemia.
His first measures, as Emperor, justified this view of his character. He
held a Diet at Ratisbon for the purpose of settling the existing
differences between the two, but nothing was accomplished: the
Protestants, finding that they would be outvoted, withdrew in a body and
thus broke up the Diet. Matthias next endeavored to dissolve both the
"Union" and the "League," in which he was only partially successful. At
the same time his rule in Hungary was menaced by a revolt of the
Transylvanian chief, Bethlen Gabor, who was assisted by the Turks: he
grew weary of his task, and was easily persuaded by the other princes of
his house to adopt his nephew, Duke Ferdinand of Styria, as his
successor, in the year 1617, having no children of his own.
[Sidenote: 1618. BEGINNING OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR.]
Ferdinand, who had been carefully educated by the Jesuits for the part
which he was afterwards to play, and whose violent suppression of the
Protestant faith in Styria made him acceptable to all the German
Catholics, was a man of great energy and force of character. He was
stern, bigoted, cruel, yet shrewd, cunning and apparently conciliatory
when he found it necessary to be so, resembling, in both respects, his
predecessor, Charles V. of Spain. In return for being chosen by the
Bohemians to succeed Matthias as king, he confirmed them in the
religious freedom which they had extorted from Rudolf II., and then
joined the Emperor in an expedition to Hungary, leaving Bohemia to be
governed in the interim by a Council of ten, seven Catholics and three
Protestants.
The first thing that happened was the destruction of two Protestant
churches by Catholic Bishops. The Bohemian Protestants appealed
immediately to the Emperor Matthias, but, instead of redress, he gave
them only threats. Thereupon they rose in Prague, stormed the Council
Hall, seized two of the Councillors and one of their Secretaries, and
hurled them out of the windows. Although they fell a distance of
twenty-eight feet, they were not killed, and all finally escaped. This
event happened on the 23d of May, 1618, and marks the beginning of the
Thirty Years' War. After such long chronicles of violence and slaughter,
the deed seemed of slight importance; but the hundredth anniversary of
the Reformation (counting from Luther's proclamation against Tetzel, on
the 31st of October, 1517) had been celebrated by the Protestants the
year before, England was lost and France barely restored to the Church
of Rome, the power of Spain was declining, and the Catholic priests and
princes were resolved to make one more desperate struggle to regain
their supremacy in Germany. Only the Protestant princes, as a body,
seemed blind to the coming danger. Relying on the fact that four-fifths
of the whole population of the Empire were Protestants, they still
persisted in regarding all the political forms of the Middle Ages as
holy, and in accepting nearly every measure which gave advantage to
their enemies.
[Sidenote: 1619.]
Although the Protestants had only three Councillors out of ten, they
were largely in the majority in Bohemia. They knew what retaliation the
outbreak in Prague would bring upon them, and anticipated it by making
the revolution general. They chose Count Thun as their leader,
overturned the Imperial government, banished the Jesuits from the
country, and entered into relations with the Protestant nobles of
Austria, and the insurgent chief Bethlen Gabor in Hungary. The Emperor
Matthias was willing to compromise the difficulty, but Ferdinand,
stimulated by the Jesuits, declared for war. He sent two small armies
into Bohemia, with a proclamation calling upon the people to submit. The
Protestants of the North were at last aroused from their lethargy. Count
Mansfeld marched with a force of 4,000 men to aid the Bohemians, and
3,000 more came from Silesia; the Imperial army was defeated and driven
back to the Danube. At this juncture the Emperor Matthias died, on the
20th of May, 1619.
Ferdinand lost not a day in taking the power into his own hands. But
Austria threatened revolution, Hungary had made common cause with
Bohemia, Count Thun was marching on Vienna, and he was without an army
to support his claims. Count Thun, however, instead of attacking Vienna,
encamped outside the walls and began to negotiate. Ferdinand, hard
pressed by the demands of the Austrian Protestants, was on the very
point of yielding--in fact, a member of a deputation of sixteen noblemen
had seized him by the coat,--when trumpets were heard, and a body of 500
cavalry, which had reached the city without being intercepted by the
besiegers, appeared before the palace. This enabled him to defend the
city, until the defeat of Count Mansfeld by another portion of his army,
which had entered Bohemia, compelled Count Thun to raise the siege. Then
Ferdinand hastened to Frankfort to look after his election as Emperor by
the Diet, which met on the 28th of August, 1619.
It seems almost incredible that now, knowing his character and designs,
the three Chief Electors who were Protestants should have voted for him,
without being conscious that they were traitors to their faith and their
people. It has been charged, but without any clear evidence, that they
were bribed: it is probable that Ferdinand, whose Jesuitic education
taught him that falsehood and perjury are permitted in serving the
Church, misled them by promises of peace and justice; but it is also
very likely that they imagined their own sovereignty depended on
sustaining every tradition of the Empire. The people, of course, had not
yet acquired any rights which a prince felt himself called upon to
respect.
[Sidenote: 1620. FREDERICK V. DRIVEN FROM BOHEMIA.]
Ferdinand was elected, and properly crowned in the Cathedral at
Frankfort, as Ferdinand II. The Bohemians, who were entitled to one of
the seven chief voices in the Diet, claimed that the election was not
binding upon them, and chose Frederick V. of the Palatinate as their
king, in the hope that the Protestant "Union" would rally to their
support. It was a fatal choice and a false hope. When Maximilian of
Bavaria, at the head of the Catholic "League," took the field for the
Emperor, the "Union" cowardly withdrew. Frederick V. went to Bohemia,
was crowned, and idled his time away in fantastic diversions for one
winter, while Ferdinand was calling Spain to attack the Palatinate of
the Rhine, and borrowing Cossacks from Poland to put down his Protestant
subjects in Austria. The Emperor assured the Protestant princes that the
war should be confined to Bohemia, and one of them, the Elector John
George of Saxony, a Lutheran, openly went over to his side in order to
defeat Frederick V., a Calvinist. The Bohemians fell back to the walls
of Prague before the armies of the Emperor and Bavaria; and there, on
the White Mountain, a battle of an hour's duration, in November, 1620,
decided the fate of the country. The former scattered in all directions;
Frederick V. left Prague never to return, and Spanish, Italian and
Hungarian troops overran Bohemia.
Ferdinand II. acted as might have been expected from his despotic and
bigoted nature. The 8,000 Cossacks which he had borrowed from his
brother-in-law, king Sigismund of Poland, had already closed all
Protestant Churches and suppressed freedom of worship in Austria; he now
applied the same measures to Bohemia, but in a more violent and bloody
form. Twenty-seven of the chief Protestant nobles were beheaded at
Prague in one day; thousands of families were stripped of all their
property and banished; the Protestant churches were given to the
Catholics, the Jesuits took possession of the University and the
schools, until finally, as a historian says, "the quiet of a sepulchre
settled over Bohemia." The Protestant faith was practically obliterated
from all the Austrian realm, with the exception of a few scattered
congregations in Hungary and Transylvania.
[Sidenote: 1621.]
There is hardly anywhere, in the history of the world, such an instance
of savage despotism. A large majority of the population of Austria,
Bohemia and Styria were Protestants; they were rapidly growing in
intelligence, in social order and material prosperity; but the will of
one man was allowed to destroy the progress of a hundred years, to crush
both the faith and freedom of the people, plunder them of their best
earnings and make them ignorant slaves for 200 years longer. The
property which was seized by Ferdinand II., in Bohemia alone, was
estimated at forty millions of florins! And the strength of Germany,
which was Protestant, looked on and saw all this happen! Only the common
people of Austria arose against the tyrant, and gallantly struggled for
months, at first under the command of a farmer named Stephen Fadinger,
and, when he was slain in the moment of victory, under an unknown young
hero, who had no other name than "the Student." The latter defeated the
Bavarian army, resisted the famous Austrian general, Pappenheim, in many
battles, and at last fell, after the most of his followers had fallen,
without leaving his name to history. The Austrian peasants rivalled the
Swiss of three centuries before in their bravery and self-sacrifice: had
they been successful (as they might have been, with small help from
their Protestant brethren), they would have changed the course of German
history, and have become renowned among the heroes of the world.
The fate of Austria, from that day to this, was now sealed. Both
parties--the Catholics, headed by Ferdinand II., and the Protestants,
without any head,--next turned to the Palatinate of the Rhine, where a
Spanish army, sent from Flanders, was wasting and plundering in the name
of the Emperor. Count Ernest of Mansfeld and Prince Christian of
Brunswick, who had supported Frederick V. in Bohemia, endeavored to save
at least the Palatinate for him. They were dashing and eccentric young
generals, whose personal reputation attracted all sorts of wild and
lawless characters to take service under them. Mansfeld, who had been
originally a Catholic, was partly supported by contributions from
England and Holland, but he also took what he could get from the country
through which he marched. Christian of Brunswick was a fantastic prince,
who tried to imitate the knights of the Middle Ages. He was a great
admirer of the Countess Elizabeth of the Palatinate (sister of Charles
I. of England), and always wore her glove on his helmet. In order to
obtain money for his troops, he plundered the bishoprics in Westphalia,
and forced the cities and villages to pay him heavy contributions. When
he entered the cathedral at Paderborn and saw the silver statues of the
Apostles around the altar, he cried out: "What are you doing here? You
were ordered to go forth into the world, but wait a bit--I'll send you!"
So he had them melted and coined into dollars, upon which the words were
stamped: "Friend of God, foe of priests!" He afterwards gave himself
that name, but the soldiers generally called him "Mad Christian."
[Sidenote: 1621. PRINCE CHRISTIAN OF BRUNSWICK.]
Against these two, and George Frederick of Baden, who joined them,
Ferdinand II. sent Maximilian of Bavaria, to whom he promised the
Palatinate as a reward, and Tilly, a general already famous both for his
military talent and his inhumanity. The latter, who had been educated by
the Jesuits for a priest, was in the Bavarian service. He was a small,
lean man, with a face almost comical in its ugliness. His nose was like
a parrot's beak, his forehead seamed with deep wrinkles, his eyes sunk
in their sockets and his cheek-bones projecting. He usually wore a dress
of green satin, with a cocked hat and long red feather, and rode a
small, mean-looking gray horse.
Early in 1622 the Imperial army under Tilly was defeated, or at least
checked, by the united forces of Mansfeld and Prince Christian. But in
May of the same year, the forces of the latter, with those of George
Frederick of Baden, were almost cut to pieces by Tilly, at Wimpfen. They
retreated into Alsatia, where they burned and plundered at will, while
Tilly pursued the same course on the eastern side of the Rhine. He took
and destroyed the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg, closed the
Protestant churches, banished the clergymen and teachers, and supplied
their places with Jesuits. The invaluable library of Heidelberg was sent
to Pope Gregory XV. at Rome, and remained there until 1815, when a part
of it came back to the University by way of Paris.
[Sidenote: 1623.]
Frederick V., who had fled from the country, entered into negotiations
with the Emperor, in the hope of retaining the Palatinate. He dissolved
his connection with Mansfeld and Prince Christian, who thereupon
offered their services to the Emperor, on condition that he would pay
their soldiers! Receiving no answer, they marched through Lorraine and
Flanders, laying waste the country as they went, and finally took refuge
in Holland. Frederick V.'s humiliation was of no avail; none of the
Protestant princes supported his claim. The Emperor gave his land, with
the Electoral dignity, to Maximilian of Bavaria, and this act, although
a direct violation of the laws which the German princes held sacred, was
acquiesced in by them at a Diet held at Ratisbon in 1623. John George of
Saxony, who saw clearly that it was a fatal blow aimed both at the
Protestants and at the rights of the reigning princes, was persuaded to
be silent by the promise of having Lusatia added to Saxony.
By this time, Germany was in a worse condition than she had known for
centuries. The power of the Jesuits, represented by Ferdinand II., his
councillors and generals, was supreme almost everywhere; the Protestant
princes vied with each other in meanness, selfishness and cowardice; the
people were slaughtered, robbed, driven hither and thither by both
parties: there seemed to be neither faith nor justice left in the land.
The other Protestant nations--England, Holland, Denmark and
Sweden--looked on with dismay, and even Cardinal Richelieu, who was then
practically the ruler of France, was willing to see Ferdinand II.'s
power crippled, though the Protestants should gain thereby. England and
Holland assisted Mansfeld and Prince Christian with money, and the
latter organized new armies, with which they ravaged Friesland and
Westphalia. Prince Christian was on his way to Bohemia, in order to
unite with the Hungarian chief, Bethlen Gabor, when, on the 6th of
August, 1623, he met Tilly at a place called Stadtloon, near Muenster,
and, after a murderous battle which lasted three days, was utterly
defeated. About the same time Mansfeld, needing further support, went to
England, where he was received with great honor.
Ferdinand II. had in the meantime concluded a peace with Bethlen Gabor,
and his authority was firmly established over Austria and Bohemia. Tilly
with his Bavarians was victorious in Westphalia; all armed opposition to
the Emperor's rule was at an end, yet instead of declaring peace
established, and restoring the former order of the Empire, his agents
continued their work of suppressing religious freedom and civil rights
in all the States which had been overrun by the Catholic armies. The
whole Empire was threatened with the fate of Austria. Then, at last, in
1625, Brunswick, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg, Hamburg, Luebeck and Bremen
formed a union for mutual defence, choosing as their leader king
Christian IV. of Denmark, the same monarch who had broken down the power
of the Hanseatic League in the Baltic and North Seas! Although a
Protestant, he was no friend to the North-German States, but he
energetically united with them in the hope of being able to enlarge his
kingdom at their expense.
[Sidenote: 1625. ALLIANCE WITH CHRISTIAN IV.]
Christian IV. lost no time in making arrangements with England and
Holland which enabled both Mansfeld and Prince Christian of Brunswick to
raise new forces, with which they returned to Germany. Tilly, in order
to intercept them, entered the territory of the States which had united,
and thus gave Christian IV. a pretext for declaring war. The latter
marched down from Denmark at once, but found no earnest union among the
States, and only 7,000 men collected. He soon succeeded, however, in
bringing together a force much larger than that commanded by Tilly, and
was only hindered in his plan of immediate action by a fall from his
horse, which crippled him for six weeks. The city of Hamelin was taken,
and Tilly compelled to fall back, but no other important movements took
place during the year 1625.
Ferdinand II. was already growing jealous of the increasing power of
Bavaria, and determined that the Catholic and Imperial cause should not
be entrusted to Tilly alone. But he had little money, his own military
force had been wasted by the wars in Bohemia, Austria and Hungary, and
there was no other commander of sufficient renown to attract men to his
standard. Yet it was necessary that Tilly should be reinforced as soon
as possible, or his scheme of crushing the whole of Germany, and laying
it, as a fettered slave, at the feet of the Roman Church, might fail,
and at the very moment when success seemed sure.
In this emergency, a new man presented himself. Albert of Waldstein,
better known under his historical name of Wallenstein, was born at
Prague in 1583. He was the son of a poor nobleman, and violent and
unruly as a youth, until a fall from the third story of a house effected
a sudden change in his nature. He became brooding and taciturn, gave up
his Protestant faith, and was educated by the Jesuits at Olmuetz. He
travelled in Spain, France and the Netherlands, fought in Italy against
Venice and in Hungary against Bethlen Gabor and the Turks, and rose to
the rank of Colonel. He married an old and rich widow, and after her
death increased his wealth by a second marriage, so that, when the
Protestants were expelled from Bohemia, he was able to purchase 60 of
their confiscated estates. Adding these to that of Friedland, which he
had received from the Emperor in return for military services, he
possessed a small principality, lived in great splendor, and paid and
equipped his own troops. He was first made Count, and then Duke of
Friedland, with the authority of an independent prince of the Empire.
[Sidenote: 1625.]
Wallenstein was superstitious, and his studies in astrology gave him the
belief that a much higher destiny awaited him. Here was the opportunity:
he offered to raise and command a second army, in the Emperor's service.
Ferdinand II. accepted the offer with joy, and sent word to Wallenstein
that he should immediately proceed to enlist 20,000 men. "My army," the
latter answered, "must live by what it can take: 20,000 men are not
enough. I must have 50,000, and then I can demand what I want!" The
threat of terrible ravage contained in these words was soon carried out.
Wallenstein was tall and meagre in person. His forehead was high but
narrow, his hair black and cut very short, his eyes small, dark and
fiery, and his complexion yellow. His voice was harsh and disagreeable:
he never smiled, and spoke only when it was necessary. He usually
dressed in scarlet, with a leather jerkin, and wore a long red feather
on his hat. There was something cold, mistrustful and mysterious in his
appearance, yet he possessed unbounded power over his soldiers, whom he
governed with severity and rewarded splendidly. There are few more
interesting personages in German history.
More
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Beginning Of The Thirty Years' War
(1600--1625.) Growth of the Calvinistic or "Reformed" Church. --Persecution of Protestants in Styria. --The Catholic League. --The Struggle for the Succession of Cleves. --Rudolf II. set aside. --His Death. --Matthias becomes Emperor.... Chronological Table
=OF GERMAN HISTORY.= The history of Germany is generally divided into Five Periods, as follows: I.--From the earliest accounts to the empire of Charlemagne. II.--From Charlemagne to the downfall of the Hohenstaufens. III.--From th... End Of The Frank Dynasty And Rise Of The Hohenstaufens
(1106--1152.) Henry V.'s Character and Course. --The Condition of Germany. --Strife concerning the Investiture of Bishops. --Scene in St. Peter's. --Troubles in Germany and Italy. --The "Concordat of Worms." --Death of Henry V. --Abse... End Of The Thirty Years' War
(1634--1648.) The Battle of Noerdlingen. --Aid furnished by France. --Treachery of Protestant Princes. --Offers of Ferdinand II. --Duke Bernard of Saxe-Weimar visits Paris. --His Agreement with Louis XIII. --His Victories. --Death of ... Europe At The End Of The Migration Of The Races
(570.) Extension of the German Races in A. D. 570. --The Longobards. --The Franks. --The Visigoths. --The Saxons in Britain. --The Tribes on German Soil. --The Eastern Empire. --Relation of the Conquerors to the Conquered Races. --Inf... From Luther's Death To The End Of The 16th Century
(1546--1600.) Attempt to Suppress the Protestants. --Treachery of Maurice of Saxony. --Defeat and Capture of the Elector, John Frederick. --Philip of Hesse Imprisoned. --Tyranny of Charles V. --The Augsburg Interim. --Maurice of Saxon... From Rudolf Of Hapsburg To Ludwig The Bavarian
(1273--1347.) Rudolf of Hapsburg. --His Election as Emperor. --Meeting with Pope Gregory X. --War with Ottokar II. of Bohemia. --Rudolf's Victories. --Diet of Augsburg. --Suppression of Robber-Knights. --Rudolf's Second Marriage. --Hi... From The Death Of Joseph Ii To The End Of The German Empire
(1790--1806.) The Crisis in Europe. --Frederick William II. in Prussia. --Leopold II. in Austria. --His short Reign. --Francis II. succeeds. --French Claims in Alsatia. --War declared against Austria. --The Prussian and Austrian Invas... From The Liberation Of Germany To The Year 1848
(1814--1848.) Napoleon's Retreat. --Halting Course of the Allies. --The Treaty of Paris. --The Congress of Vienna. --Napoleon's Return to France. --New Alliance. --Napoleon, Wellington and Bluecher. --Battles of Ligney and Quatrebras.... Germany At The Time Of The Interregnum
(1256--1273.) Change in the Character of the German Empire. --Richard of Cornwall and Alphonso of Castile purchase their election. --The Interregnum. --Effect of the Crusades. --Heresy and Persecution. --The Orders of Knighthood. --Co... Germany During The First Three Centuries Of Our Era
(21--300 A. D.) Truce between the Germans and Romans. --The Cherusci cease to exist. --Incursions of the Chauci and Chatti. --Insurrection of the Gauls. --Conquests of Cerealis. --The Roman Boundary. --German Legions under Rome. --The... Germany During The Reign Of Maximilian I
(1493--1519.) Maximilian I. as Man and Emperor. --The Diet of 1495, at Worms. --The Perpetual Peace declared. --The Imperial Court. --Marriage of Philip of Hapsburg to Joanna of Spain. --War with Switzerland. --March to Italy. --Leagu... Germany To The Peace Of Ryswick
(1648--1697.) Contemporary History. --Germany in the Seventeenth Century. --Influence of Louis XIV. --Leopold I. of Austria. --Petty Despotisms. --The Great Elector. --Invasions of Louis XIV. --The Elector Aids Holland. --War with Fra... Germany Under Maria Theresa And Joseph Ii 1740 1790
Maria Theresa and her Government. --Death of Francis I. --Character of Joseph II. --The Partition of Poland. --The Bavarian Succession. --Last Days of Maria Theresa. --Republican Ideas in Europe. --Joseph II. as a Revolutionist. --His Re... Germany Under Napoleon
(1806--1814.) Napoleon's personal Policy. --The "Rhine-Bund." --French Tyranny. --Prussia declares War. --Battles of Jena and Auerstaedt. --Napoleon in Berlin. --Prussia and Russia allied. --Battle of Friedland. --Interviews of the So... Hermann The First German Leader
(9--21 A. D.) The Cherusci. --Hermann's Early Life. --His Return to Germany. --Enmity of Segestes. --Secret Union of the Tribes. --The Revolt. --Destruction of Varus and his Legions. --Terror in Rome. --The Battle-Field and Monument. ... King Konrad And The Saxon Rulers Henry I And Otto The Great
(912--973.) Growth of Small Principalities in Germany. --Changes in the Lehen, or Royal Estates. --Diet at Forchheim. --The Frank Duke, Konrad, chosen King. --Events of his Reign. --The Saxon, Henry the Fowler, succeeds him. --Henry's... The Ancient Germans And Their Country
(330 B. C.--70 B. C.) The Aryan Race and its Migrations. --Earliest Inhabitants of Europe. --Lake Dwellings. --Celtic and Germanic Migrations. --Europe in the Fourth Century B. C. --The Name "German." --Voyage of Pytheas. --Invasions ... The Decline Of The Saxon Dynasty
(973--1024.) Otto II., "The Red." --Conquest of Bavaria. --Invasion of Lothar of France. --Otto's March to Paris. --His Journey to Italy. --His Defeat by the Saracens, and Escape. --Diet at Verona. --Otto's Death. --Theophania as Rege... The Dynasty Of The Royal Stewards
(638--768.) The Steward of the Royal Household. --His Government of the Royal Lehen. --His Position and Opportunities. --Pippin of Landen. --His Sway in Germany. --Gradual Transfer of Power. --Grimoald, Steward of France. --Pippin of ... The Emperors Of The Carolingian Line
(814--911.) Character of Ludwig the Pious. --His Subjection to the Priests. --Injury to German Literature. --Division of the Empire. --Treatment of his Nephew, Bernard. --Ludwig's Remorse. --The Empress Judith and her Son. --Revolt of... The Foundation Of The Hapsburg Dynasty
(1438--1493.) Albert of Austria Chosen Emperor. --His Short Reign. --Frederick III. succeeds. --His Character. --The Council of Basel. --The French Mercenaries and the Swiss. --The Suabian Cities. --George Podiebrad in Bohemia and Joh... The Frank Emperors To The Death Of Henry Iv
(1024--1106.) Konrad II. elected Emperor. --Movements against him. --Journey to Italy. --Revolt of Ernest of Suabia. --Burgundy attached to the Empire. --Siege of Milan. --Konrad's Death. --Henry III. succeeds. --Temporary Peace. --Co... The Invasion Of The Huns And Its Consequences
(412--472.) General Westward Movement of the Races. --Stilicho's Defeat of the Germans. --Migration of the Alans, Vandals, &c. --Saxon Colonization of England. --The Vandals in Africa. --Decline of Rome. --Spread of German Power. --At... The Kingdom Of The Franks
(486--638.) Chlodwig, the Founder of the Merovingian Dynasty. --His Conversion to Christianity. --His Successors. --Theuderich's Conquest of Thuringia. --Union of the Eastern Franks. --Austria (or Austrasia) and Neustria. --Crimes of ... The Luxemburg Emperors Karl Iv And Wenzel
(1347--1410.) The Imperial Crown in the Market --Guenther of Schwarzburg. --Karl IV. Emperor. --His Character and Policy. --The University of Prague. --Rienzi Tribune of Rome. --Karl's Course in Italy. --The "Golden Bull." --Its Provi... The New German Empire
(1871--1893.) The First German Parliament by Direct Vote. --The Political Factions. --The Ultramontane Party in Opposition to the Government. --Struggle with the Church of Rome. --"Kulturkampf." --Falk appointed Minister of Culture. -... The Reformation
(1517--1546.) Martin Luther. --Signs of the Coming Reformation. --Luther's Youth and Education. --His Study of the Bible. --His Professorship at Wittenberg. --Visit to Rome. --Tetzel's Sale of Indulgences. --Luther's Theses. --His Mee... The Reign Of Charlemagne
(768--814.) The Partition made by Pippin the Short. --Death of Karloman. --Appearance and Character of Charlemagne. --His Place in History. --The Carolingian Dynasty. --His Work as a Statesman. --Conquest of Lombardy. --Visit to Rome.... The Reign Of Frederick I Barbarossa
(1152--1197.) Frederick I., Barbarossa. --His Character. --His First Acts. --Visit to Italy. --Coronation and Humiliation. --He is driven back to Germany. --Restores Order. --Henry the Lion and Albert the Bear. --Barbarossa's Second V... The Reign Of Frederick Ii And End Of The Hohenstaufen Line
(1215--1268.) Rival Emperors in Germany. --Pope Innocent III. --Murder of Philip of Hohenstaufen. --Otto IV. becomes Emperor. --Frederick of Hohenstaufen goes to Germany. --His Character. --Decline of Otto's Power. --Frederick II. cro... The Reign Of Frederick The Great
(1740--1786.) Youth of Frederick the Great. --His attempted Escape. --Lieutenant von Katte's Fate. --Frederick's Subjection. --His Marriage. --His first Measures as King. --Maria Theresa in Austria. --The First Silesian war. --Maria T... The Reign Of Sigismund And The Hussite War
(1410--1437.) Three Emperors in Germany and Three Popes in Rome. --Sigismund sole Emperor. --His Appearance and Character. --Religious Movements in Bohemia. --John Huss and his Doctrines. --Division of the University of Prague. --A Co... The Revolution Of 1848 And Its Results
(1848--1861.) The Revolution of 1848. --Events in Berlin. --Alarm of the Diet. --The Provisional Assembly. --First National Parliament. --Divisions among the Members. --Revolt in Schleswig-Holstein. --Its End. --Insurrection in Frankf... The Rise And Fall Of The Ostrogoths
(472--570.) Odoaker conquers Italy. --Theodoric leads the Ostrogoths to Italy. --He defeats and slays Odoaker. --He becomes King of Italy. --Chlodwig, king of the Franks, puts an End to the Roman Rule. --War between the Franks and Vis... The Rise And Migrations Of The Goths
(300--412.) Rise of the Goths. --German Invasions of Gaul. --Victories of Julian. --The Ostrogoths and Visigoths. --Bishop Ulfila. --The Gothic Language. --The Gothic King, Athanaric. --The Coming of the Huns. --Death of Hermanric. --...