No More Learning

Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 144 OF BRANDENBURG AND THE HOHENZOLLERNS. [book n.
1234.
blue uniforms strolling about, and unlovely physiogno-
mies with a jingle of iron at their ancles, -- where
Luther has debated with the Zwinglian Sacramenters
and others, and much has happened in its time. Saint
Elizabeth and her miracles (considerable, surely, of
their kind) were the first origin of Marburg as a Town:
a mere Castle, with adjoining Hamlet, before that.
Strange gray old silent Town, rich in so many me-
mories; it stands there, straggling up its rocky hill-
edge, towards its old Castles and edifices on the top,
in a not unpicturesque manner; flanked by the river
Lahn and its fertile plains: very silent, except for the
delirious screech, at rare intervals, of a railway train
passing that way from Frankfurt-on-the-Mayn to Cassel.
"Church of St. Elizabeth," -- high, grand Church,
built by Conrad our Hochmeister, in reverence of his
once terrestrial Sister-in-law, -- stands conspicuous in
the plain below, where the Town is just ending.
St. Elizabeth's Shrine was once there, and pilgrims
wending to it from all lands. Conrad himself is buried
there, as are many Hochmeisters; their names, and
shields of arms, Hermann's foremost, though Hermann's
dust is not there, are carved, carefully kept legible, on
the shaft of the Gothic arches, -- from floor to groin,
long rows of them; -- and produce, with the other
tombs, tomb-paintings by Diirer and the like, thoughts
impressive almost to pain. St. Elizabeth's loculus was
put into its Shrine here, by Kaiser Friedrich II. and
all manner of princes and grandees of the Empire, "one
million two hundred thousand people looking on," say
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHaP. vI. |
145
THE TEUTONIC ORDER.
1234.
tie old records, perhaps not quite exact in their arith-
metic. Philip the Magnanimous, wishing to stop "pil-
grimages-no-whither," buried the loculus away, it was
never known where; under the floor of that Church
somewhere, as is likeliest . Enough now of Marburg,
and of its Teutsch Hitters too.
They had one or two memorable Hochmeisters and
Teutschmeisters; whom we have not named here, nor
shall. * There is one Hochmeister, somewhere about
the fiftieth on the list, and properly the last real Hoch-
meister, Albert of Hohenzollern-Culmbach by name,
who will be very memorable to us by and by.
Or will the reader care to know how Culmbach
came into the possession of the Hohenzollerns, Burg-
graves of Nurnberg? The story may be illustrative,
and will not occupy us long.
? In our excellent Kb'hler'sMflntj&eltis(iaimoen(Nlirnberg, 1729 et scqq.
II. 382; t. 102; Till. 880; dsc. ) are valuable glimpses into the Teutonic
Order, -- as into hundreds of other things. The special Book npon it is
voigt's, often cited here: Nine heavy Volumes; grounded on faithful reading, but with a fatal defect of almost every other quality.
Carlyle, Frederic the Great, I.
10
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 146 OF BRANDENBURG AND THE HOHENZOLLEUNS. [uOOK n.
1848,
CHAPTEK VII.
MAKGRAVIATE OF CULMBACH: BAIEEDTH, ANSPACH.
In the Year 1248, in his Castle of Plassenburg, --
which is now a Correction-House, looking down upon
the junction of the Red and White Mayn, -- Otto
Duke of Meran, a very great potentate, more like a
King than a Duke, was suddenly clutched hold of by
a certain wedded gentleman name not given, "one of
his domestics or dependents," whom he had enraged
beyond forgiveness (signally violating the Seventh Com-
mandment at his expense); and was by the said wedded
gentleman there and then cut down, and done to death.
"Lamentably killed, jdmmerlich erstochen," says old
Rentsch. * Others give a different colour to the homicide,
and even a different place; a controversy not interesting
to us. Slain at any rate he is; still a young man; the
last male of his line. Whereby the renowned Dukes
of Meran fall extinct, and immense properties come to
be divided among connexions and claimants.
Meran, we remark, is still a Town, old Castle now
abolished, in the Tyrol, towards the sources of the
Etsch (called Adige by Italian neighbours). The Merans
had been lords not only of most of the Tyrol; but
Dukes of "the Voigtland:" -- Voigtland, that is Baillie-
* P. 293. KShlcr: Reichs-Historie, p. 245. Holle: Alte Gescluchle der
Stadt Baireulh (Baireuth, 1833), pp. 34-37.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHAP. VII. ]
147
BAIREUTH, ANSPAC1I.
ws.
land, wide country between Niirnberg and the Fichtel-
wald; why specially so called, Dryasdust dimly ex-
plains, deducing it from certain Counts von Reuss,
those strange Reusses who always call themselves Henry,
and now amount to Henry the Eightieth and Odd, with
side-branches likewise called Henry; whose nomencla-
ture is the despair of mankind, and worst than that of
the Naples Lazzaroni who candidly have no names!
-- Dukes of Voigtland, I say; likewise of Dalmatia;
then also Markgraves of Austria; also Counts of Andechs,
in which latter fine country (north of Miinchen a day's
ride), and not at Plassenburg, some say, the man was
slain. These immense possessions, which now (A. d.
1248) all fall asunder by the stroke of that sword,
come to be snatched up by active neighbours, and
otherwise disposed of.
Active Wurzburg, active Bamberg, without much
connexion, snatched up a good deal: Count of Orla-
miinde, married to the eldest Sister of the slain Duke,
got Plassenburg and most of the Voigtland: a Tyrolese
magnate, whose Wife was an Aunt of the Duke's, laid
hold of the Tyrol, and transmitted it to daughters and
their spouses, -- the finish of which Line we shall see
by and by: -- in short, there was much property in a
disposable condition. The Hohenzoller n Burggraf of
Niirnberg, who had married a younger Sister of the
Duke's two years before this accident, managed to get
at least Baireuth and some adjacencies; big Orlamiinde,
who had not much better right, taking the lion's share.
This of Baireuth proved a notable possession to the
10*
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 148 OF BRANDENBUKG AND THE HOHENZOLLERNS. [B00K n-
1248.
Hohenzollern family: it was Conrad the first Burggraf's
great-grandson, Friedrich, counted "Friedrich III. "
among the Burggraves, who made the acquisition in
this manner, A. d. 1248.
Onolzbach (On'z-SacA or "-brook," now calledAns-
pack) they got, some fourscore years after, by purchase
and hard money down ("24,000 pounds of farthings,"
whatever that may be),* which proved a notable twin
possession of the family. And then, in some seven
years more (A. d. 1338), the big Orlamunde people
having at length, as was too usual, fallen considerably
insolvent, sold Plassenburg Castle itself, the Plassen-
burg with its Town of Culmbach and dependencies, to
the Hohenzollern Burggraves,** who had always ready-
money about them. Who in this way got most of the
Voigtland, with a fine Fortress, into hand; and had,
independently of Nflrnberg and its Imperial properties,
an important Princely Territory of their own. Mar-
graviate or Principality of Culmbach (Plassenburg being
only the Castle) was the general title; but more fre-
quently in later times, being oftenest split in two be-
tween brothers unacquainted with primogeniture, there
were two Margraviates made of it: one of Baireuth,
called also "Margraviate On the Hill;" and one of
Anspach, "Margraviate Under the Hill:" of which, in
their modern designations, we shall by and by hear
more than enough.
* a. d. 1331: Sladl Anspach, by J. B. Fischer (Anspach, 1786), p. 196.
Bentsch. p. 157.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHaP. vII. ] BAIBEUTH, ANSPACH. 149
1248.
Thus are the Hohenzollern growing, and never
declining: by these few instances judge of many. Of
their hard labours, and the storms they had to keep
under control, we could also say something: How the
two young Sons of the Burggraf once riding out with
their Tutor, a big hound of theirs, in one of the streets
of Niirnberg, accidentally tore a child; and there arose
wild mother's-wail; and "all the Scythe-smiths turned
out," fire-breathing, deaf to a poor Tutor's pleadings and
explainings; and how the Tutor, who had ridden forth
in calm humour with two Princes, came galloping home
with only one, -- the Smiths having driven another
into boggy ground, and there caught and killed him;*
with the Burggraf's commentary on that sad proceeding
(the same Friedrich III. who had married Meran's
Sister); and the amends exacted by him, strict and
severe, not passionate or inhuman. Or again how the
Niirnbergers once, in the Burggraf's absence, built a
ringwall round his Castle; entrance and exit now to
depend on the Niirnbergers withal! And how the
Burggraf did not fly out into battle in consequence, but
remedied it by imperturbable countenance and power
of driving. With enough of the like sort; which readers
can conceive.
Burggraf Friedrich III. , and the Anarchy of Nineteen
Years.
This same Friedrich III. , Great-Grandson of Conrad
the first Burggraf, was he that got the Burggraviate
? Bentscn, p. 306 (Date not given; guess, about 1270).
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 150 OF BRANDENBURG AND THE HOHENZOLLERNS. [book n.
1254-'73.
made hereditary in his family (A. d. 1273); which thereby
rose to the fixed rank of Princes, among other ad-
vantages it was gaining. Nor did this acquisition come
gratis at all, but as the fruit of good service adroitly
done; service of endless importance as it proved. Fried-
rich's life had fallen in times of huge anarchy; the
Hohenstauffen line gone miserably out, -- Boy Con-
radin, its last representative, perishing on the scaffold
even (by a desperate Pope and a desperate Duke of
Anjou);* -- Germans, Sicilian Normans, Pope and
Reich, all at daggers-drawn with one another; no
Kaiser, nay as many as Three at once! Which
lasted from 1254 onwards; and is called "the Inter-
regnum," or Anarchy "of Nineteen Years," in German
History.
Let us at least name the Three Kaisers, or Triple-
elixir of No-Kaiser; though, except as chronological
landmarks, we have not much to do with them. First
Kaiser is William Count of Holland, a rough fellow,
Pope's protegee, Pope even raising cash for him; till
William perished in the Dutch peat-bogs (horse and
man, furiously pursuing, in some fight there, and getting
swallowed up in that manner); which happily reduces
our false Kaisers to two: Second and Third who are
both foreign to Germany.
Second Kaiser is Alphonso King of Castille, Al-
phonso the Wise, whose saying about Ptolemy's Astro-
nomy, "That it seemed a crank machine, that it was
pity the Creator had not taken advice! " is still remem-
* At Naples, 25th October 1268.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHaP. TO. ] BURGGRAT FRLEDRICH m. 151
1271.
bered by mankind; -- this and no other of his many
sayings and doings. He was wise enough to stay at
home; and except wearing the title, which cost nothing,
to concern himself very little about the Holy Roman
Empire, -- some clerk or two dating "Toleti (At To-
ledo)," did languidly a bit of official writing now and
then, and that was all. Confused crank machine of the
German Empire too, your Majesty? Better stay at
home, and date "Toleti. "
The Third false Kaiser, -- futile call him rather,
wanting clear majority, -- was the English Richard of
Cornwall; younger Son of John Lackland; and little
wiser than his Father, to judge by those symptoms.
He had plenty of money, and was liberal with it; --
no other call to Germany, you would say, except to
get rid of his money; in which he succeeded. He lived
actually in Germany, twice over for a year or two: --
Alphonso and he were alike shy of the Pope, as Um-
pire; and Richard, so far as his money went, found
some gleams of authority and comfortable flattery in
the Rhenish provinces: at length, in 1263, money and
patience being both probably out, he quitted Germany
for the second and last time; came home to Berkham-
stead in Hertfordshire here,* more fool than he went
.
Till his death (A. d. 1271), he continued to call himself,
and was by many persons called, Kaiser of the Holy
Roman Empire; -- needed a German clerk or two at
Berkhamstead, we can suppose: -- but never went
back; preferring pleasant Berkhamstead, with troubles
? Gongh's Camden, i. 339.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 152 OF BRANDENBURG AND THE HOHENZOLLERNS. [book Ir.
1268.
of Simon de Montfort or whatever troubles there might
be, to anything Germany had to offer him.
These
were Three futile Kaisers: and the late Kaiser Conrad's
young Boy, who one day might have swept the ground
clear of them, perished, -- bright young Conradin,
bright and brave, but only sixteen, and Pope's captive
by ill luck, -- perished on the scaffold; "throwing out
his glove" (in symbolical protest) amid the dark mute
Neapolitan multitudes, that wintry morning. It was
October 25th, 1268, -- Dante Alighieri then a little
boy at Florence, not three years old; gazing with
strange eyes as the elders talked of such a performance
indeed, which brought on the Sicilian Vespers by and
by; for the Heavens never fail to pay debts, your Holi-
ness! --
Germany was rocking down towards one saw not
what, -- an Anarchic Republic of Princes, perhaps,
and of Free Barons fast verging towards robbery?
Sovereignty of multiplex Princes, with a Peerage of
intermediate Robber Barons? Things are verging that
way. Such Princes, big and little, each wrenching-off
for himself what lay loosest and handiest to him, found
it a stirring game, and not so much amiss. On the
other hand, some voice of the People, in feeble whim-
perings of a strange intensity, to the opposite effect,
are audible to this day. Here are Three old Minstrels
[Minnesdnger) picked from Manesse's Collection by an
obliging hand, who are of this date, and shall speak
each a word:
N? . 1 loquitur (in cramp doggerel, done into speech): "To
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHaP. vII. ] BURGGRAF FRIEDRICH in. 153
1273.
"thee, OLord, we poor folk make moan; the Devil has sown
"his seeds in this land! Law thy hand created for protection
"of thy children: but where now is Law? Widows and
"Orphans weep that the Princes do not unite to have a
"Kaiser. "
N? . 2: "The Princes grind in the Kaiser's mill: to the
"Reich they fling the siftings; and keep to themselves the
"meal. Not much in haste, they, to give us a Kaiser. "
N? . 3: "Like the Plague of Progs, there they are come
"out; defiling the Reich's honour. Stork, when wilt thou ap-
"pear, then," and with thy stiff mandibles act upon them a
little? *
It was in such circumstances, that Friedrich III. ,
Burggraf of Niirnberg, who had long moaned and
striven over these woes of his country, came to pay
that visit, late in the night (1st or 2d of October 1273),
to his Cousin Rudolf Lord of Hapsburg, under the
walls of Basel; a notable scene in History. Rudolf
was besieging Basel, being in some feud with the
Bishop there, of which Friedrich and another had been
proposed as umpires; and Friedrich now waited on his
Cousin, in this hasty manner, -- not about the Basel
feud, but on a far higher quite unexpected errand, --
to say, That he Rudolf was elected Kaiser, and that
better times for the Holy Roman Empire were now
probable, with Heaven's help. ** We call him Cousin;
though what the kindred accurately was, a kindred by
mothers, remains, except the general fact of it, dis-
<< Mentzel: Geschichte der Dentschen, p. 345.
? * Kentsch, pp. 299, 285, 288,
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 154 OP BRANDENBURG AND THE HOKENZOLLERNS. [BOOK IT.
1273.
putable by Dryasdust. The actual visit, under the
walls of Basel, is by some considered romantic. But
that Rudolf, tough steel-gray man, besieging Basel on
his own quarrel, on the terms just stated, was alto-
gether unexpectedly apprised of this great news, and
that Cousin Friedrich of Niirnberg had mainly contri-
buted to such issue, is beyond question. * The event
was salutary, like life instead of death, to anarchic
Germany; and did eminent honour to Friedrich's judg-
ment in men.
Richard of Cornwall having at last died, and his
futile German clerks having quitted Berkhamstead for-
ever, -- Alphonso of Castille, not now urged by rivalry,
and seeing long since what a crank machine the thing
was, had no objection to give it up; said so to the
Pope, -- who was himself anxious for a settled Kaiser,
the supplies of Papal German cash having run almost
dry during these troubles. Whereupon ensued earnest
consultations among leading German men; Diet of the
Empire, sternly practical (we may well perceive), and
with a mininum of talk, the Pope too being held rather
well at a distance: the result of which was what we
see. ** Mainly due to Friedrich of Niirnberg, say all
Historians; conjoining with him the then Archbishop of
Maintz, who is officially President Elector (literally
Convener of Electors): they two did it. Archbishop of
Maintz had himself a pleasant accidental acquaintance
with Rudolf, -- a night's lodging once at Hapsburg,
with escort over the Hills, in dangerous circumstances;
? KBhler. 'pp. 249, 251. ? ? 29lh Scpt. mbcr 1273.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHAP. VII. ] BURGGRAF FRIEDRICII m. 155
1276.
-- and might the more readily be made to understand
what qualities the man now had; and how, in justness
of insight, toughness of character, and general strength
of bridle-hand, this actually might be the adequate
man.
Kaiser Rudolf and Burggraf Friedrich III.
Last time we saw Rudolf, near thirty years ago, he
was some equerry or subaltern dignitary among the
Ritters of King Ottocar, doing a crusade against the
Prussian Heathen, and seeing his master found Konigs-
berg in that country. Changed times now! Ottocar
King of Bohemia, who (by the strong hand mainly,
and money to Richard of Cornwall, in the late troubles)
has become Duke of Austria and much else, had him-
self expected the Kaisership; and of all astonished men,
King Ottocar was probably the most astonished at the
choice made. A dread sovereign, fierce, and terribly
opulent, and everyway resplendent to such degree; and
this threadbare Swiss gentleman-at-arms, once "my do-
mestic" (as Ottocar loved to term it), preferred to me!
Flat insanity, King Ottocar thought; refused to ac-
knowledge such a Kaiser; would not in the least give
up his unjust properties, or even do homage for them
or the others.
But there also Rudolf contrived to be ready for
him, Rudolf invaded his rich Austrian territories; smote
down Vienna, and all resistance that there was;* forced
* 1276 (KShlcr, p. 253),
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 15G OF ISRANDENBURG AND THE HOUENZOLLEUNS. [book II.
1278.
Ottocar to beg pardon and peace. "No pardon, nor
any speech of peace, till you first do homage for all
those lands of yours, whatever we may find them to
be! " Ottocar was very loth; but could not help him-
self. Ottocar quitted Prag with a resplendent retinue,
to come into the Danube country, and do homage to
"my domestic" that once was. He bargained that the
sad ceremony should be at least private; on an Island
in the Danube, between the two retinues or armies; and
in a tent, so that only official select persons might see
it . The Island is called Camberg (near Vienna, I con-
clude), in the middle of the Donau River: there Ottocar
accordingly knelt; he in great pomp of tailorage, Ru-
dolf in mere buff jerkin, practical leather and iron; --
hide it, charitable canvas, from all but a few! Alas,
precisely at this moment, the treacherous canvas rushes
down, -- hung so on purpose, thinks Ottocar; and it
is a tent indeed, but a tent without walls; and all the
world sees me in this scandalous plight!
Ottocar rode home in deep gloom; his poor Wife,
too, upbraided him: he straightway rallied into War
again; Rudolf again very ready to meet him. Rudolf
met him, Friedrich of Niirnberg there among the rest
under the Reichs-Banner; on the Marchfeld by the
Donau (moder n Wagram near by); and entirely beat
and even slew and ruined Ottocar. * Whereby Austria
fell now to Rudolf, who made his sons Dukes of it;
which, or even Archdukes, they are to this day. Bohe-
mia, Moravia, of these also Rudolf would have been
* 26th August 1278 (Kb'hler, p. 253).
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHAP. TO. ] BDRGGRAF FRIEDRICH m. 157
1278.
glad; but of these there is an heir of Ottocar's left;
these will require time and luck.
Prosperous, though toilsome days for Rudolf; who
proved an excellent bit of stuff for a Kaiser; and found
no rest, proving what stuff he was. In which prosperi-
ties, as indeed he continued to do in the perils and
toils, Burggraf Friedrich III. of Niirnberg naturally
partook: hence, and not gratis at all, the Hereditary
Burggrafdom, and many other favours and accessions
he got. For he continued Rudolfs steady help, friend
and first-man in all things, to the very end. Evidently
one of the most important men in Germany, and can-
dour will lead us to guess one of the worthiest, during
those bad years of Interregnum and the better ones of
Kaisership. After Conrad his great-grandfather he is
the second notable architect of the Family House; --
founded by Conrad; conspicuously built up by this
Friedrich HI. , and the first story of it finished, so to
speak. Then come two Friedrichs as Burggrafs, his
son and his grandson's grandson, "Friedrich IV. " and
"Friedrich VI. ," by whom it was raised to the second
story and the third, -- thenceforth one of the high
Houses of the world.
That is the glimpse we can give of Friedrich first
Hereditary Burggraf, and of his Cousin Rudolf first
Hapsburg Kaiser. The latest Austrian Kaisers, the
latest Kings of Prussia, they are sons of these two men.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 158 OF BRANDEKBURG AND THE HOHENZOLLERNS. [book It
1278.
CHAPTEK Vin.
ASCANIER MARKGRAVES IN BRANDENBURG.
We have said nothing of the Ascanier Markgraves,
Electors of Brandenburg, all this while; nor, in these
limits, can we now or henceforth, say almost anything.
A proud enough, valiant and diligent line of Mark-
graves; who had much fighting and other struggle in
the world, steadily enlarging their border upon the
Wends to the north; and adjusting it, with mixed suc-
cess, against the Wettin gentlemen, who are Mark-
graves farther east (in the Lausitz now), who bound us
to the south too (Meissen, Misnia), and who in fact
came in for the whole of modern Saxony in the end.
Much fighting, too, there was with the Archbishops of
Magdeburg, now that the Wends are down: standing
quarrel there, on the small scale, like that of Kaiser
and Pope on the great; such quarrel as is to be seen
in all places, and on all manner of scales, in that era
of the Christian World.
None of our Markgraves rose to the height of their
Progenitor, Albert the Bear; nor indeed, except massed
up, as "Albert's Line," and with a History ever more
condensing itself almost to the form of label, can they
pretend to memorability with us. What can Dry-
asdust himself do with them? That wholesome Dutch
cabbages continued to be more and more planted, and
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHAP. VIII. ] ASCANIER MARKGRAVES. 159
1278.
peat-mire, blending itself with waste sand, became
available for Christian mankind, -- intrusive Chaos,
and especially divine Triglaph and his ferocities being
well held aloof: -- this, after all, is the real History
of our Markgraves; and of this, by the nature of the
case, Dryasdust can say nothing. "New Mark," which
once meant Brandenburg at large, is getting subdivided
into Mid-Mark, into Uckeitnaxk (closest to the Wends);
and in Old Mark and New, much is spreading, much
getting planted and founded. In the course of centu-
ries there will grow gradually to be "seven cities; and
"as many towns," says one old jubilant Topographer,
"as there are days in the year," -- struggling to count
up 365 of them.
Of Berlin City.
In the year (guessed to be) 1240, one Ascauier
> Markgraf "fortifies Berlin;" that is, first makes Berlin
a German Burg and inhabited outpost in those parts:
-- the very name, some think, means "LittleBampart"
(WehAva), built there, on the banks of the Spree,
against the Wends, and peopled with Dutch; of which
latter fact, it seems, the old dialect of the place yields
traces. * How it rose afterwards to be chosen for
* Nicolai: Beschreibung der KSniglichen Residenztlddle Berlin und
Potsdam (Berlin, 1786), i. pp. 16,17 of "Einleitung. " Nicolai rejects the
Wehrlin etymology; admits that the name was evidently appellative, not
proper, "The Berlin," "To the Berlin;" finds in the world two objects,
one of them at Halle, still called "The Berlin;" and thinks it must have
meant (in some language of extinct mortals) "Wild Pasture-ground," --
"The Scrubs," as we should call it. -- Possible; perhaps likely.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 1G0 OF BRANDENBURG AND THE HOHENZOLLfiRNS. [book II.
1278.
Metropolis, one cannot say, except that it had a central
situation for the now widened principalities of Branden-
burg: the place otherwise is sandy by nature, sand and
swamp the constituents of it; and stands on a sluggish
river the colour of oil. Wendish fishermen had founded
some first nucleus of it long before; and called their
fishing-hamlet Coin, which is said to be the general
Wendish title for places founded on piles, a needful
method where your basis is swamp. At all events,
"Coin" still designates the oldest quarter of Berlin;
and "Coin on the Spree" (Cologne, or Coin on the
Rhine, being very different) continued, almost to modern
times, to be the Official name of the Capital.
How the Dutch and Wends agreed together, within
their rampart inclusive of both, is not said. The river
lay between; they had two languages; peace was ne-
cessary: it is probable they were long rather on a taci-
turn footing! But in the oily river you do catch
various fish; Coin, amid its quagmires and straggling
sluggish waters, can be rendered very strong. Some
husbandry, wet or dry, is possible to diligent Dutch-
men. There is room for trade also; Spree Havel Elbe,
is a direct water-road to Hamburg and the Ocean; by
the Oder, which is not very far, you communicate with
the Baltic on this hand, and with Poland and the
uttermost parts of Silesia on that. Enough, Berlin
grows; becomes, in about 300 years, for one reason
and another, Capital City of the country, of these many
countries. The Markgraves or Electors, after quitting
Brandenburg, did not come immediately to Berlin; their
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7y Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHaP, vm.