The Saxon Emperors E-Book

Alfred Rambaud

• Herausgeber: Blackmore Dennett
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

The Saxon emperors were the architects of medieval Germany, shaping the foundations of the Holy Roman Empire and redefining the balance of power in Europe. In The Saxon Emperors, Alfred Rambaud presents a masterful account of this transformative era, exploring the reigns of the rulers who steered the Germanic kingdoms from fragmentation to imperial might. With a keen eye for political and military strategy, Rambaud brings to life the ambitions, triumphs, and struggles that defined the Saxon dynasty and left an enduring legacy on European history.
     At the heart of this narrative is Henry the Fowler, the dynasty’s founder, whose military acumen secured Germany’s borders and laid the groundwork for expansion. His son, Otto the Great, ascended to imperial glory, crushing the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld and reviving the imperial authority of Charlemagne’s age. As the first true Holy Roman Emperor, Otto’s reign solidified Germany’s dominance over Central Europe and extended its influence into Italy. Rambaud traces the lineage through the reigns of Otto II, who struggled against internal and Byzantine opposition, and Otto III, whose grand vision sought to reunite Christendom under a revived Roman ideal, yet whose untimely death left a lasting question over the empire’s future.
     Beyond the battlefield and the throne room, The Saxon Emperors delves into the political and cultural transformations that defined the era. Rambaud examines the intricate relationships between the emperors and the church, the feudal structures that shaped governance, and the administrative reforms that forged a stronger imperial state. He vividly reconstructs the alliances, rivalries, and ideological conflicts that influenced the course of medieval Europe, offering a deeper understanding of how these rulers shaped the destiny of a continent.
      Written with clarity and depth, The Saxon Emperors is a definitive exploration of a dynasty that laid the foundations for centuries of European history. This Blackmore Dennett edition revives Rambaud’s essential historical work for modern readers, providing an illuminating study of an empire in the making, the rulers who built it, and the forces that shaped the medieval world.

Leseprobe

THE

SAXON

EMPERORS

by Alfred Rambaud

Published 2019 by Blackmore Dennett

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Thank you for your purchase. If you enjoyed this work, please leave us a comment.

1 2 3 4 10 8 7 6 5 00 000

Also available from Blackmore Dennett:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Henry the Fowler

Conquests in the Slavian Northeast—Defeat of the Hungarians

Otto the First

The Reincorporation of Italy with the Empire

Otto the Second and Otto the Third

Henry the Second, the Holy

Immunities—Increasing Importance of the Churches and Cities, and Consequent Decrease of the Ducal Power

Henry the Fowler

The princes, with the exception of Burkhard and of Arnulf, assembled at Fritztlar, elected the absent Henry king, and dispatched an embassy to inform him of their decision. It is said that the young duke was at the time among the Harz Mountains, and that the ambassadors found him in the homely attire of a sportsman in the fowling floor. He obeyed the call of the nation without delay, and without manifesting surprise. The error he had committed in rebelling against the state, it was his firm purpose to atone for by his conduct as emperor. Of a lofty and majestic stature, although slight and youthful in form, powerful and active in person, with a commanding and penetrating glance, his very appearance attracted popular favor; besides these personal advantages, he was prudent and learned, and possessed a mind replete with intelligence. The influence of such a monarch on the progressive development of society in Germany could not fail of producing results fully equaling the improvements introduced by Charlemagne.

The youthful Henry, the first of the Saxon line, was proclaimed king of Germany at Fritzlar, A.D. 919, by the majority of votes, and, according to ancient custom, raised upon the shield. The archbishop of Mayence offered to anoint him according to the usual ceremony, but Henry refused, alleging that he was content to owe his election to the grace of God and to the piety of the German princes, and that he left the ceremony of anointment to those who wished to be still more pious.

Before Henry could pursue his more elevated projects, the assent of the southern Germans, who had not acknowledged the choice of their northern compatriots, had to be gained. Burkhard of Swabia, who had asserted his independence, and who was at that time carrying on a bitter feud with Rudolf, king of Burgundy, whom he had defeated, AD 919, in a bloody engagement near Winterthur, was the first against whom he directed the united forces of the empire, in whose name he, at the same time, offered him peace and pardon. Burkhard, seeing himself constrained to yield, took the oath of fealty to the newly-elected king at Worms, but continued to act with almost his former unlimited authority in Swabia, and even undertook an expedition into Italy in favor of Rudolf, with whom he had become reconciled. The Italians, enraged at the wantonness with which he mocked them, assassinated him. Henry bestowed the dukedom of Swabia on Hermann, one of his relations, to whom he gave Burkhard’s widow in marriage. He also bestowed a portion of the south of Alemannia on King Rudolf, in order to win him over, and in return received from him the holy lance, with which the side of the Saviour had been pierced as he hung on the cross. Finding it no longer possible to dissolve the dukedoms and great fiefs, Henry, in order to strengthen the unity of the empire, introduced the novel policy of bestowing the dukedoms, as they fell vacant, on his relations and personal adherents, and of allying the rest of the dukes with himself by intermarriage, thus limiting the different powerful houses in the state into one family.

Bavaria still remained in an unsettled state. Arnulf the Bad, leagued with the Hungarians, against whom Henry had great designs, had still much in his power, and Henry, resolved at any price to dissolve this dangerous alliance, not only concluded peace with this traitor on that condition, but also married his son Henry to Judith, Arnulf’s daughter, AD 921. Arnulf deprived the rich churches of great part of their treasures, and was consequently abhorred by the clergy, the chroniclers of those times, who, chiefly on that account, depicted his character in such unfavorable colors.