The Hungarians had at the outset of Otto's reign, in 937 and in 938,
made two abortive attempts to invade Saxony.
made two abortive attempts to invade Saxony.
Cambridge Medieval History - v3 - Germany and the Western Empire
Otto set out against him, and drove him back to his
capital at Laon.
At this point in the campaign the scheming Duke of Franconia
openly joined in the revolt. Otto besieged him in the strong fortress
of Breisach on the Rhine. An attempt was made to come to terms:
Frederick, Archbishop of Mayence, was employed to negotiate with
Everard, but he went beyond his powers, conceding more than the king
was prepared to yield and Otto refused to ratify the treaty. The effect
was to throw the Archbishop into the ranks of the insurgents. He fled
privily by night to Metz where he expected to fall in with Henry and
Gilbert; but the latter had already started to join forces with Everard :
whether Henry accompanied the dukes on the fatal expedition to the
Rhine is uncertain ; more probably, making Metz his headquarters, he
remained behind to organise resistance in Lorraine. Everard and Gilbert
made a plundering raid and returned westward, intending to recross the
Rhine at Andernach. Part of their army had already crossed the river
and the dukes were quietly eating their dinner before crossing themselves,
when a body of Franconian troops led by Udo and Conrad Kurzpold,
Franconian counts, whose lands had especially suffered from the raid,
came up with them. Both the dukes fell in the fight that ensued.
Everard was slain by the sword, Gilbert was drowned : according to
one account he got into a boat already overloaded with fugitives and
the boat capsized; according to another he leapt with his horse into the
river and so met his end. By a mere stroke of luck the two leaders of
the rebellion were disposed of in a skirmish hardly worthy of the name
of battle at a moment when Otto's cause seemed desperate, and when,
says Widukind, “there seemed no hope of his retaining rule over the
Saxons, so widespread was the rebellion. ”
The effect was instantaneous. Breisach capitulated: Lorraine was
.
restored to order. Of the remaining leaders, Frederick, after being
refused admittance into his own town of Mayence, was captured and
punished by a short term of imprisonment; Henry, on hearing the news
which deprived him of all hopes of the crown, fled to his old stronghold
of Chèvremont but found the gates closed against him; he made his
way to France, but finding his cause to be hopelessly lost, yielded him-
self up to his brother's mercy. Otto with his habitual generosity and
magnanimity forgave him everything and took him again into his favour.
The royal authority was now firmly established. Henry made one more
attempt to overthrow his brother, but it was too late and the con-
spiracy of 941 collapsed without recourse to arms. The intention had
been to assassinate the king at the Easter festival at Quedlinburg: it
## p. 191 (#237) ############################################
Changes in the administration of the Duchies
191
reached the ears of Otto who proceeded as usual to the feast but with
a strong guard, and there seized and executed the whole gang of con-
spirators. Henry fled, was captured and imprisoned at Ingelheim, but
before the end of the year received the king's pardon. The un-
scrupulous Archbishop of Mayence was also implicated but cleared
himself of guilt by receiving the sacrament in public.
The civil wars involved extensive changes in the government of the
duchies. During the years which followed the restoration of order, Otto
inaugurated and gradually established the policy of attaching the duke-
doms more closely to himself by granting them to members of his own
family. The administration of Lorraine was in 931 entrusted to a
certain Otto, son of Ricwin, and on his death in 944 the duchy was
conferred upon Conrad the Red, a nephew of King Conrad I, who in
947 was married to Otto's daughter Liutgard. Franconia', after the
death of Everard at the fight of Andernach, the king retained in his
own hands. When Duke Berthold died in 947 his duchy of Bavaria
passed to the king's own brother Henry, who, after the failure of his
last attempt to win the throne in 941, had become one of the loyalest
of Otto's subjects and who was already akin to the Bavarian ducal
house through his marriage in 938(? ) with Judith, the daughter of
the old duke Arnulf. Lastly, on the death of Duke Herman in 949,
Swabia was given to Otto's son Liudolf, who married Ida, the daughter
of the late duke. By these arrangements the ancient supremacy of the
Franconian tribe was for ever crushed; but in the southern duchies the
order of things remained unchanged, for while granting the dukedoms
to his own kinsmen, he maintained the traditions and customs of the
tribal duchies by giving the new dukes in marriage to the daughters
of the old ducal houses.
In the meanwhile the eastern neighbours of Germany had taken full
advantage of the intestine troubles which filled the opening years of the
new reign. In the midst of the ducal rebellion of 939 Widukind
deplores the numerous enemies that beset his native Saxony, “Slavs
from the east, Franks from the south, Lorrainers from the west, and
from the north Danes and more Slavs"; he might have added Hun-
garians from the south-east, for their barbaric hordes swept into
Thuringia and Saxony in 937 and 938. They were beaten back and
never again ventured into Saxon territory. On the Wendish border
there had been ceaseless activity. Fortunately for Otto, the frontier
1 According to von Winterfeld, Neues Archiv, xxvIII. pp. 510 f. , on the authority of
a passage in Hrotsvit, Gesta Oddonis, 450 ff. , Otto did not retain the administration of
Franconia in his hands but granted it at this time to his son Liudolf-a boy of eleven
years old—who, if this conjecture is correct, would in 949 be Duke of Franconia and
Swabia. The evidence however is insufficient to justify this conclusion. For the
theory that certain parts of Franconia round the Upper Main and Bamberg were
granted to Berthold of Bavaria, see Giesebrecht, Kaiserzeit, 1. 816 f.
CH. VIII.
## p. 192 (#238) ############################################
192
War on the Eastern Frontier
!
1
11
3
11
command was in capable hands; Herman Billung and Gero repressed
the risings with a firm hand and even extended German influence further
eastward. The death of Henry the Fowler had been the first signal for
insurrection, in which the Redari seem to have taken the leading part.
Henry they had learnt to fear, but Otto was untried and had yet to
prove his strength. He hastened back from his coronation at Aix-la-
Chapelle and suppressed the rising. The Wends were held in check till
the year 939 when Germany was in the throes of civil war, when the
total subversion of the royal authority seemed inevitable, and an un-
rivalled opportunity of throwing off the German yoke presented itself.
They made repeated inroads which were beaten off by Gero, and even
the king himself, it appears, found time on more than one occasion to
enter into the border conflict. In Bohemia, Boleslav, who had in 936
gained the throne by murdering his brother Wenceslas at the gates of
the church of Alt-Bunzlau, asserted his independence; and though
temporarily checked by a force of Saxons and Thuringians sent against
him in 938, he continued to be a source of danger and disturbance till
Otto in 950 made an expedition in person to Bohemia and was recog-
nised as overlord. The results, however, of the frontier fighting were
on the whole satisfactory. Partly by his own efforts, partly by his keen
insight into character which enabled him to select the right men for
the work, Otto made progress, extended the German sway as far as the
Oder, and prepared the way for the next stage in his Eastern policy,
the consolidation of his conquests and the conversion of the conquered
peoples to the Christian religion. The newly acquired territory was
divided into two marches under the control of Herman and Gero.
The tribute and rents accruing from these sources were appropriated to
the maintenance of the frontier garrisons, to the establishinent of colonies,
and to the endowment of churches. In 948, probably on the occasion
of the visit of the papal legate Marinus, Bishop of Bomarzo, to Germany,
bishoprics were founded at Brandenburg and Havelberg in the province
of Mayence, and at Ripen, Aarhus and Schleswig in the metropolitan
diocese of Bremen for the organisation of further missionary work.
On the western frontier, also, the state of affairs was troublesome.
The possession of Lorraine was by no means entirely a source of strength
to the German monarchy. Owing to its position between the East and
West Frankish dominions it involved the German king in the everlasting
turmoil which characterised the history of France in the tenth century.
Moreover Lorraine was always firmly attached to the Carolingian tra-
dition, and there was always a party ready to support the Caroling kings
in their attempts to win back the province for the Western Kingdom.
There Louis IV was engaged in an incessant struggle to hold his own
against a strong coalition of feudal nobles under the leadership of the
all-powerful Count of Paris. During the decade 940-950 Otto was
busily engaged beyond the Rhine. He lent his aid first to one side,
## p. 193 (#239) ############################################
Otto's intervention in French affairs
193
then to the other', mediated between them and compelled both parties
to realise the weight of his power, the wide scope of his authority, the
value of his mediation. In the summer of 940 he entered France to
punish Louis for his interference in Lorraine and drove him into Bur-
gundy: but the expedition had daunted neither the spirit nor the
enterprise of Louis, who, as soon as Otto was back in Germany, again
set out for Lorraine. Otto once more turned westward, but as it was late
in the year the kings effected a truce and parted without fighting. For
two years Louis was pursued by his relentless adversaries; at last,
however, in 942, possibly as a result of the visit of the legate of Pope
Stephen VIII who commanded the princes to recognise Louis as their
king on pain of excommunication, a solemn assembly took place and a
general peace was concluded at a place uncertain but conjectured to be
Visé? on the Meuse, a few miles north of Liège. A similar obscurity
exists with regard to the terms, but it is clear that Louis on his side
engaged to desist from interfering in the affairs of Lorraine, while Otto
for his part agreed to refrain from assisting the French lords against
their king.
This settlement was but transitory, and two years later Otto was
again drawn into the affairs of the Western Kingdom. But the position
was altered : two of Louis' dangerous opponents, William of Normandy
and Herbert of Vermandois, were now dead; for a moment the king and
the Count of Paris were on terms of friendship. Then a trivial difference
and an accident brought about another change, and Louis was a prisoner
in the hands of his powerful feudatory. This was in 944. Hugh, with
his valuable prisoner in safe keeping at Laon, sought an interview with
Otto. The latter, however, perhaps anxious to abide by the compact of
942, perhaps from a genuine feeling of pity for the luckless king, declined
to accept Hugh's overtures and espoused the royal cause. ' The menace
of Otto's displeasure saved Louis: after nearly a year's confinement, he
was liberated, but only at the heavy price of losing his one sure strong-
hold, the fortress of Laon. Louis was free, but without shelter, almost
without friends. Gerberga, his queen, made a pressing appeal to her
brother. Otto's French campaign in the late summer of 946 met with
very limited success. Laon, Rheims, and Senlis were all in turn besieged,
but Rheims alone was captured. The two kings then made a plundering
raid into Normandy; they even, according to one account, laid siege to
Rouen. But in this enterprise they were alike unsuccessful, and Otto
made his way back to Germany.
a
1 Both the antagonists had equal claims, on the ground of kinship, to Otto's
friendship; each had married a sister of Otto, Hugh the Great married Hedwig and
Louis IV Gerberga, widow of Gilbert of Lorraine.
? See Lauer, Les Annales de Flodoard, p. 85, n. 5, and Louis d'Outremer, p. 83,
n. 3. Vouziers on the Aisne has also been conjectured. Cf. Giesebrecht, Kaiserzeit,
C. MED. H. VOL. III. CH. VIII.
13
P. 274.
## p. 194 (#240) ############################################
194
Situation in Italy in 950
The year 947 was occupied by a series of fruitless assemblies called
together to decide a dispute over the archbishopric of Rheims. The
two parties in France had each its candidate for the see, and the party
uppermost unscrupulously imposed the man of its choice upon the
diocese. These transactions, vain as they were, are not without their
importance, for they led up to the solemn synod held at Ingelheim on
7 June 948. The legate of Pope Agapetus II, Bishop Marinus of
Bomarzo, presided over it. It was an assembly of the highest significance:
it was the first occasion since the accession of the Saxon dynasty, since
the synod of Hohen Altheim in 916, that a papal legate had appeared
in Germany. It was attended by more than thirty bishops, and the two
kings Louis and Otto were present in person. The business was not
restricted to the Rheims dispute. The discussion on the political question
at issue resulted in a canon being passed against attacks on the royal
power and a declaration that Hugh should make his submission under
pain of excommunication. The dispute over the see of Rheims was
decided in favour of Artaud, the candidate of the royal party; his rival
Hugh, son of Herbert of Vermandois, was excommunicated. Hugh the
Great held the decrees of the synod at defiance; he was excommunicated
at the Synod of Trèves (September 948); he continued in his obduracy
and carried on hostilities against Louis and his allies Otto and Conrad
of Lorraine till 950, when, at a meeting held on the banks of the Marne,
he made his submission, restored Laon, and, by his homage, recognised
Louis as his lord.
The affairs of France were no sooner settled on a satisfactory basis
than a turn of events in Italy provided the occasion for Otto's first
expedition across the Alps. The occasion was the death of King Lothar,
leaving his widow Adelaide with a title to the Italian throne in her own
right, defenceless and soon to be a prisoner in the hands of Berengar,
Marquess of Ivrea, who was himself crowned King of Italy at Pavia
on 15 December 950. The old connexion between Germany and Italy
founded on the Empire of Charles the Great, though it had ceased to
be a reality since the death of the Emperor Arnulf in 899, is recalled to
memory by many minor incidents in the dark years of the first half of
the tenth century. The dukes of Swabia and Bavaria were frequently
drawn into the Italian struggles ; Berengar of Ivrea, fleeing from the
murderous designs of his rival Hugh of Arles, had crossed the Alps,
taken refuge in Swabia, and even commended himself to Otto (941), an
act which perhaps gave Otto the right to expect an acknowledgment of
overlordship from Berengar when the latter ascended the Italian throne
in 950. With the opposite faction Otto was also brought into close
connexion through Conrad of Burgundy, who had spent his youth at
the German court and whose sister Adelaide had married Hugh's son
Lothar.
The arrangements for the Italian expedition were settled at the
## p. 195 (#241) ############################################
Liudolf's disaffection
195
Easter festival held at Aix-la-Chapelle 30 March 951. Otto formed his
plans in close consultation with his brother Henry, now his most trusted
adviser, whose brilliant campaigns against the Hungarians, resulting in
the acquisition of the march of Aquileia, gave additional weight to his
councils. Liudolf, on the other hand, was apparently not taken into the
king's confidence: indignant at his exclusion, jealous of his uncle,
impetuous and anxious to make a name for himself on his own account,
he determined to anticipate his father. He rapidly crossed the Alps
with a small army of Swabians ; but his expedition was a complete
failure and before long he returned to sow the seeds of rebellion, the
news of which recalled Otto, who had assumed the title of King of the
Lombards at Pavia and taken Adelaide as his wife, in haste to Germany.
It was not only disappointment at his failure in Italy that led Liudolf
to rebel against his father. Otto's second marriage was not likely to be
to his son's advantage; it would lead to a new circle at the court in
which he would take but a secondary place; he might even look to being
a
ousted from the succession by the offspring of this new alliance-an
event which in fact occurred, for it was Adelaide's son, Otto, who was
designated as the successor to the total disregard of the claims of his
nephew and namesake, the son of Liudolf. The plans for the rebellion
were formed at a Christmas gathering held at Saalfeld; the place is
significant, for it was there that Henry had divulged to his friends his
designs against Otto in 939. Among the conspirators was Frederick,
Archbishop of Mayence, whose implication in the previous rebellions of
939 and 941 was more than suspected. He had been employed as Otto's
envoy to the court of Pope Agapetus and the failure of his mission may
have led to a rupture with Otto.
The news of this ominous assembly was the immediate cause of Otto's
return to Germany. He crossed the Alps in February 952 and by
Easter was again in Saxony. Conrad, Duke of Lorraine, was left behind
in Italy to complete the overthrow of Berengar. But instead of pursuing
the advantage which Otto had already gained, he made terms with
Berengar and returned with him to Germany to obtain the king's rati-
fication of his arrangements. They found the court at Magdeburg.
Otto was, however, far from satisfied: he had counted on the complete
subversion of Berengar. For three days the latter was not permitted to
approach the royal presence and even then, through the counsel of Duke
Henry, he was “barely granted his life and a safe return to his country. ”
The final settlement with regard to Italy was postponed to a meeting to
be held at Augsburg. On 7 August the diet met in the spacious
Lechfeld which extended to the south of the city. Franks, Saxons,
Swabians, Bavarians, Lombards, and even ambassadors from the Byzantine
court attended the gathering, to which a contemporary annalist assigns
the imposing Frankish title of Conventus publicus. There Berengar and
his son Adalbert took the oath of homage and fealty and, by the solemn
CH. VIII.
13_2
## p. 196 (#242) ############################################
196
Liudolf's rebellion
>
handing over of the golden sceptre, received back the kingdom of Lombardy
as a fief of the German crown. But Duke Henry had his reward for his
consistent loyalty at Berengar's expense: the marches of Aquileia and
Verona were added to the Bavarian dukedom.
Up to this point there had been no overt act of rebellion on the part
of the conspirators. Liudolf and the Archbishop of Mayence had been
present at the Augsburg diet; indeed the latter had taken a leading
part in the ecclesiastical business transacted there. But as the rebellion
matured, the causes of discontent increased. The marked displeasure of
Otto at Conrad's management of the affairs of Italy had driven the
Duke of Lorraine into the ranks of the malcontents. The appointment
of the king's brother Bruno to the post of archchancellor of Italy was an
additional grievance to Archbishop Frederick, who had counted upon
that dignified sinecure for himself. Whereas Henry had gained by the
settlement at Augsburg, Liudolf had received no share in the spoils.
Possibly the birth of a child to Adelaide, a boy named Henry who died
in infancy, at the end of the year 952, was the decisive event, which
determined the outbreak of hostilities.
Otto appears to have been blind to the dangers which surrounded
him. It was only while journeying to Ingelheim on his return from Alsace,
whither he had gone to visit his wife's relations, that he realised the
critical state of affairs. Judging it imprudent to keep the Easter festival,
as he had purposed, at so isolated a place as Ingelheim, he turned aside
to Mayence; but Mayence proved no less dangerous. He found the gates
of the city closed against him and in an unseemly manner he was kept
waiting until the Archbishop, who was absent from the city performing
his Lenten devotions in retreat, returned to grant him admittance.
Liudolf and Conrad also appeared on the scene, and the king was caught
in a trap. The conspirators made haste to clear themselves of having
any designs against their sovereign ; but they acknowledged that it had
been their intention to waylay Henry in the event of his coming to
Ingelheim for the Easter festival. Even towards the king their attitude
was not so peaceable as they had affirmed; by duress they extorted from
him some sort of treaty, of which the terms are unrecorded, but the nature
may be fairly conjectured. It was no doubt as advantageous to Liudolf
as it was detrimental to the interests of Duke Henry. Liudolf was
assured of the succession and possibly was even to have an immediate
share in the government. Otto was glad to escape at any price.
Nevertheless, once safe in Saxony he did not scruple to revoke the treaty.
He summoned Liudolf and Conrad to appear before him and ordered
them either to hand over their confederates or else to receive the
punishment due for their offence. A diet for the discussion of their
case was to meet at Fritzlar. The dukes did not present themselves at
the diet; they were deprived of their dukedoms, and hostilities began in
earnest.
## p. 197 (#243) ############################################
Widespread disaffection
197
In this rebellion, it is remarkable that the duchies invariably sided
against their dukes. The Lorrainers, under the leadership of Adalbero;
Bishop of Metz, and Reginar, Count of Hainault, weře, almost to a
man, loyal to the king and therefore in opposition to their duke, Conrad ;
whereas in Bavaria the king and his brother Henry met with their bitterest
and most dangerous opponents. At first Conrad sought to recover
his position in Lorraine ; but on the banks of the Meuse, in a desperate
battle lasting from noon to sunset, he was defeated, quitted his duchy,
and betook himself to Mayence, which henceforth became the headquarters
of the insurgents. With an army of Saxons reinforced on the march by
troops from Lorraine and Franconia, Otto invested the city. He was
soon joined by Henry with his Bavarians. For nearly two months the
royal army tried in vain to capture the stronghold of the rebels ; every
device of siege warfare was employed but all to no account; engines were
no sooner brought up to the walls than they were destroyed or burnt;
assaults were made upon the gates only to be beaten off with loss by the
defenders. At last, wearied by lack of success, Otto made overtures for
an armistice and sent his cousin Ekbert as an hostage. But the nego-
tiations came to nothing, and the king's ambassador was won over to the
side of the enemy. For Otto the situation was desperate. The defection
had spread to Saxony and to Bavaria ; in the latter duchy Arnulf, the
Count palatine, put himself at the head of a tribal revolt against the
rule of Duke Henry. This was perhaps the most serious phase in the
rebellion. The Bavarians, led by their duke to assist in the siege of
Mayence, went over in a body to the enemy. Leaving the defence of the
city in the charge of Conrad, Liudolf hastened with the Bavarian deserters
to Ratisbon, seized and plundered the city, and drove Henry's family and
adherents from the country. In September Otto abandoned the siege of
Mayence with the object of attempting to secure Ratisbon, but in this
enterprise he was also doomed to failure. Shortly before Christmas,
almost at the end of his resources, he withdrew to Saxony.
Owing to the firm rule of Herman, the insurrection in Saxony had
broken down, and Lorraine also remained loyal ; but the greater part of
Franconia and practically the whole of Swabia and Bavaria had taken up
arms against him. So widespread was the disaffection that it has been
sometimes regarded as an expression of a national resistance against
Otto's imperial policy, as though the interests of Germany were prejudiced
by his acquisition of the Italian thronel. It is, however, more in ac-
cordance with the facts to attribute the civil war rather to tribal than
national causes : the separate tribes were rebelling against the authority
.
1 So von Sybel, Die neueren Darstellungen der deutschen Kaiserzeit, pp. 18 f. , Die
deutsche Nation und das Kaiserreich, pp. 32 f. , and Maurenbrecher, Die Kaiser politik
Ottos 1, Historische Zeitschrift, v. 141, and Der Ludolfinische Aufstand von 953,
Forschungen zur deutschen Geschichte, iv. 597, but see Giesebrecht, Kaiserzeit, i.
828, and Dümmler, Otto der Grosse, 212 f. , for the opposite view.
CH. VIII.
## p. 198 (#244) ############################################
198
Hungarian invasion
of their dukes. It was the duke who was attacked in Bavaria, in Lorraine,
and in Saxony. Only in Swabia was Liudolf's personal popularity
sufficiently strong to secure the loyalty of the tribe ; though even there
an anti-ducal party was formed under the leadership of Burchard, a
kinsman of the former duke. The inception of the war may be traced
to personal causes, to the personal jealousy of the leaders : its support to
the tribal opposition to the centralising system of the dukedoms. The
issue was decided not by any military exploit, successful campaign, or
victory in the field, but by the diversion created by an Hungarian inroad,
and by the violent reaction which followed against the party which
sought to gain advantage from alliance with the invaders.
The Hungarians had at the outset of Otto's reign, in 937 and in 938,
made two abortive attempts to invade Saxony. In 948 and in 949 they
had made incursions into Bavaria, but had been beaten off by Duke
Henry, who in two campaigns in the following year had successfully
carried the war into their own country. Nevertheless, early in the year
954 the Hungarians, who were always ready to turn the intestine troubles
of their neighbours to their own advantage, once more poured into
Germany. Contemporary historians have laid the charge of inviting the
barbarians upon both parties concerned in the struggle, but the occasion
was too obvious to require any solicitation. Certain it is, however, that
the invaders were eagerly welcomed by Liudolf and Conrad, who supplied
them with guides. They swept through Bavaria and Franconia, plunder-
ing as they went; they were publicly entertained at Worms on Palm
Sunday and loaded with presents of silver and gold. Conrad himself led
them on across the Rhine in the hope of regaining his own duchy through
their aid. But the raid of the barbarians did nothing to improve the
duke's position in Lorraine; they penetrated as far as Utrecht merely
laying waste the land as they passed; thence they moved southward
through Vermandois, Laon, and Rheims into Burgundy, and the remnant
of their band, much reduced in numbers by fighting and disease, returned
to their own country by way of Italy.
The invasion was Otto's deliverance. The royal army pressed hard
upon the Bavarians, who were forced to crave a truce, which was granted
till 16 June when a diet was to be held at Langenzenn, near the present
town of Nuremberg, where the case was to be decided. At the diet of
Langenzenn, all the leaders of the revolt, realising that their cause was
lost, made their appearance. During the proceedings each party accused
the other of introducing the Hungarians. The Archbishop of Mayence
and Conrad made their submission, but Liudolf remained obdurate; he
rode off in the night with his attendants to Ratisbon. The king followed
in pursuit, fighting on his way an indecisive engagement at Rosstall.
Ratisbon withstood the assault of the royal army. A long siege followed,
during which many skirmishes were fought before the walls, and the
burghers were reduced to the point of starvation. Finally, after the
## p. 199 (#245) ############################################
Defeat of the Hungarians in the Lechfeld
199
city had been invested for some six weeks, Liudolf and the citizens ob-
tained a truce, pending a settlement to be arranged at a diet to be held
at Fritzlar. Liudolf made a last attempt to rally his cause in Swabia ;
failing in this, he sought and gained his father's forgiveness. But neither
he nor Conrad recovered their dukedoms. As a result of the civil war
there were many new appointments to be made. For this purpose a
diet was held at Arnstadt on 7 December. The dukedom of Swabia
was given to Burchard, probably the son of the old Duke of Swabia of
that name and so a first cousin to Queen Adelaide. Lorraine had already
been granted to the king's brother Bruno, who in the previous year had
succeeded Archbishop Wikfried in the metropolitan see of Cologne.
The see of Mayence was also vacant, since the turbulent Archbishop Frede-
rick had died a few weeks before the meeting of the diet. His place
was filled by William, Otto's natural son. Bavaria held out until the
spring; but Henry was victorious over Herold, the rebellious Archbishop
of Salzburg, and the burghers of Ratisbon, again reduced to the ex-
tremities of famine, submitted themselves to Otto. So by the end of
the spring of 955 Otto was able to return in peace to his native Saxony.
The Hungarians, encouraged by their successful raid of the previous
year, made another inroad early in the year 955. It was checked, and
Otto received in Saxony what purported to be an Hungarian embassy ;
in fact its intention was nothing more nor less than to spy out the land,
and immediately afterwards Duke Henry sent word that the barbarians
had crossed the frontier. Their main body was encamped on the banks of
the Lech near Augsburg. The city was defended by its Bishop St Ulric,
whose contemporary biographer speaks of the desperate straits to which
he was reduced ; the city walls were dilapidated and unprovided with
towers; it seemed impossible to withstand an assault from an enemy
whose numbers are said to have amounted to one hundred thousand
horsemen. Yet one day the bishop, arrayed in his pontifical robes, sallied
forth, himself unarmed, into the ranks of the enemy and threw them into
confusion. On the following day, the feast of St Lawrence (10 August),
as the bishop quietly awaited the inevitable counter-attack, he heard the
welcome news of Otto's approach. When the news of the invasion reached
him Otto had hurried southward with a small band of Saxons. On
his march, other troops collected and he reached the neighbourhood of
Augsburg with a vast army drawn from all parts of Germany. The host
was formed up in eight divisions: three from Bavaria, two from Swabia,
and one each from Saxony, Lorraine and Bohemia. The battle was fought
in the Lechfeld to the south of the city on the left bank of the river? ,
1 The exact site on which the battle was fought is much disputed. Schäfer in the
Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften (Berlin), xxvii. 1905, opposed the old
view asserted by Bresslau in Historische Zeitschrift, 1897, Der Ort der Ungarnschlacht,
that the battle was fought in the Lechfeld south of the city on the left bank of
the river, and supposes the place to have been on the left bank but north-west of
CH. VIII.
## p. 200 (#246) ############################################
200
Peace restored in Germany
As on other occasions, legend gives the credit of the victory to the Holy
Lance with which Otto was armed. At first the enemy made headway
.
against the Swabian and Bohemian divisions ; but the courage and re-
source of Conrad, the deposed Duke of Lorraine, who fell in the battle,
restored the fortunes of the royal army. The victory was complete ;
and for three days the scattered remnants of the Hungarian hordes
were pursued and killed or taken captive. The victory had far-reaching
effects both for the conqueror and the conquered. Germany was for ever
relieved of the menace of invasion and the Hungarians gave up their
restless mode of life and took to a settled and peaceful existence.
The Hungarians were not the only neighbours of Germany who
had sought to take advantage of the civil war. The Wends rose in
revolt against German rule. In 954 Margrave Gero and Conrad (it is
characteristic of Otto to entrust his recent antagonist with a command)
won a victory over the Ukrani. Further north, in the district under
the authority of Duke Herman, the trouble was more serious; the
duke's nephews Wichmann and Ekbert, who had already attempted
without success to raise Saxony in revolt against their uncle, now joined
with the Wends. No decisive victory determined the fighting, which
continued intermittently and with varying success for a period of two
years. It was the news of the defeat of the Hungarians on the banks of
the Lech which struck the Wends with awe, and compelled them to make
an abject submission. They sent messages offering their accustomed
tribute: but Otto was not disposed to let them off so lightly. Accom-
panied by Liudolf and Boleslav of Bohemia, he ravaged their land as far
as Recknitz to the west of the Isle of Rügen. . Their leader Stoinef was
slain : Wichmann and Ekbert fled the country and took refuge at the
court of Duke Hugh in France. In 957 Wichmann again appeared in
alliance with the Wends, but he was finally defeated in 958 and received
à pardon on taking “a terrible oath never to conspire again against
Otto or his kingdom. ”
In Lorraine also there were signs of trouble, but the wise and states-
manlike rule of Bruno restored and maintained peace. Count Reginar
of Hainault was at the root of the disturbance; it was his hostility
to Conrad that secured the loyalty of Lorraine during the civil war.
Apparently he expected reward for his services, and, failing to get it, he
stirred up revolts against the authority of Bruno. The archbishop
suppressed two risings in 957 and 959 and, as a precaution against dis-
order in the future, deemed it advisable to divide the duchy into two
units of administration: a certain noble of the country named Godfrey
had already been placed over the lower, and Frederick, brother of the
Augsburg. Others have suggested yet other possibilities, e. g. Wallmenich, Die
Ungarnschlacht auf dem Lechfeld, chooses the right bank of the river to the south-east
of the city and Hadank, Einige Bemerkungen über die Ungarnschlacht, 1908, the
right bank to the north-east of the city as the spot.
## p. 201 (#247) ############################################
Otto the Great as Emperor
201
powerful Bishop Adalbero of Metz, was now set over the upper province.
To the prudent and judicious policy of the Archbishop of Cologne, it
may be added, was due the maintenance of friendly relations with France,
and it is no exaggeration to assert that to his support Lothair, on the
death of Louis IV in 954, owed his peace'ul and uncontested succession
in that kingdom.
By the year 960 Otto's rule in Germany was firmly established. The
Hungarians were defeated once and for all: the Wends between the Elbe
and the Oder were quelled; Lorraine and the Western Kingdom, thanks
to Bruno, were at peace. The presence of envoys from foreign courts at his
solemn assemblies testifies to the strength of his rule and to the extent of
his fame. Romans and Greeks, Saracens and Russians visited his court,
bringing him gifts of gold, silver and ivory, balm and precious ointments,
and lions, camels, monkeys, and ostriches, animals hitherto unknown in
Saxony. All nations of the Christian world, concludes Widukind, looked
to the great king in their troubles. So in 959 ambassadors from the
Russian Queen Olga, who was baptised in 957, came to Germany to beg
Otto to send missionaries to their heathen country. A certain Libertius
was ordained bishop for the purpose but died before he could embark on
his difficult enterprise ; Adalbert from the monastery of St Maximin at
T'rèves was chosen in his place, but after a year's fruitless endeavour
returned to his own country.
So again, John XII, Pope and patrician of Rome, sought Otto's
assistance against the oppression of Berengar and his son Adalbert.
The project suited Otto's own policy. The conduct of the vassal king
of Italy had already earned his displeasure; but unable to go in person
he had sent Liudolf, who, since he had lost his dukedom, was in need of
employment. A brilliant and successful campaign (956–7) was, however,
cut short by the death of its leader. Liudolf died of fever at Pombia
and the work was left unfinished. At the appeal of the Pope in 959,
Otto prepared to cross the Alps himself. Anxious to secure the throne
in his own line in the event of his death during the campaign, he caused
his infant son Otto to be elected king at Worms and to be solemnly
crowned and anointed in the royal chapel of Charles the Great at Aix-
la-Chapelle. Then leaving the boy in charge of William, Archbishop of
Mayence, he set out to deliver Italy from its enemies and to receive the
imperial crown from the hands of Pope John XII.
Of the last twelve years of his life and reign, the Emperor spent
scarcely more than two in Germany. The imperial title brought with
it new responsibilities to bear, new difficulties to overcome; the work of
his later years was beyond the Alps. Nevertheless, it is unjust to lay to
his charge the neglect of Germany, a charge which can be supported
against his grandson Otto III. Otto the Great never lost interest, never
disregarded the affairs of his original kingdom. At Rome one of his first
considerations was the organisation of the Church on the eastern frontier
CH. VIII.
## p. 202 (#248) ############################################
202
Spread of Christianity in the North
I
of
.
D
of Saxony, the carrying out of his cherished plan, the foundation of a
metropolitan see at Magdeburg. As early as 955 he had sent Hademar,
Abbot of Fulda, to Rome to discuss this project with Pope Agapetus.
The jealousy of the Bishop of Halberstadt and of the Metropolitan of
Mayence put every obstacle in his path. But at last, on 12 February 962,
he was able to make the final arrangements and obtained from Pope
John XII a bull for the erection of an archbishopric at Magdeburg and a
bishopric at Merseburg. It was not, however, until 968 that effect was
given to it by the appointment of bishops. Adalbert, the first Arch-
bishop of Magdeburg, was a man of peculiar interest. He began life in
the monastery of St Maximin at Trèves, for some years he was a notary
in the chancery, in 961 he was sent as a bishop to preach the gospel in
Russia. In 966 he became Abbot of Weissenburg in Alsace, and in 968
Archbishop of Magdeburg. He is also conjectured to be the author of
the Continuation of the Chronicle of Regino of Prüm', and his varied life
and profound experience make his work of the highest value for the history
of Otto the Great.
The Emperor returned to Germany at the beginning of the year 965.
After an absence of more than three years there was much work requiring
his attention. The Wends, again assisted and roused by the turbulent
Wichmann, had given much trouble to Otto's vicegerents, Herman and
Gero, and the intermittent warfare was only brought to an end in 967
when Wichmann, then in alliance with the Redarii, was defeated and slain.
Nevertheless, in spite of the many difficulties in the way, Christianity and
,
German influence had extended very rapidly. In a campaign in 963
Gero subdued the Lusatians and received the submission and tribute of
Mesco, Duke of the Poles, who was also engaged in war with the Wends.
Bohemia was on terms of close friendship with Germany when under the
younger Boleslav, who appeared in person at Otto's court in 973. He
was zealous in the cause of Christianity and it was through the influence
of his daughter Dabravka that Mesco was baptised and missionary work
was set on foot for the first time in Poland. About the same time Harold
Bluetooth, King of Denmark, was baptised, and enjoined the Christian
faith upon his subjects. The death of Gero, soon after his return from
a pilgrimage to Rome in 965, was a set-back to German expansion. He
was the real founder of the German dominion between the Elbe and the
Oder, and his place was difficult to fill. It provided the occasion for
,
the division of the conquered territory into the later system of marches:.
1 The conjecture now generally accepted is Giesebrecht's, see Kaiserzeit, 1. 778.
2 The date of Harold's conversion is disputed. Waitz, Heinrich, 1. , p. 165, attri-
butes it to the year 934. But the later date 965 accepted by Dümmler, Otto der Grosse,
p. 391, seems to be more in accordance with the evidence. Widukind, in. 65, who
gives a detailed account of the conversion, and Adam of Bremen, 11. 3, place the
event after a successful campaign by Otto against the Danes which must have taken
place after the Emperor's return from Italy in 965.
3 On Gero's death his march was divided into three: (1) the North march under
>
## p. 203 (#249) ############################################
Death of Otto the Great
203
a
The death of Archbishop Bruno in the same year deprived the Emperor
of another of his most loyal and most valuable governors. In his ducal
office he had no successor: the division of the duchy into the provinces
of Upper and Lower Lorraine, carried out by Bruno in 959, rendered a
duke or archduke over the whole superfluous.
The years 966 to 972 were spent in Italy. Two events which bear
upon German history may be recorded ; first, the young king Otto II
was crowned Emperor at the hands of the Pope John XIII on Christmas
Day 967; and secondly, after a long series of negotiations, a Byzantine
princess, a niece of John Tzimisces named Theophano, was given in marriage
to the young Emperor.
At Christmas 972 Otto the Great was again in Germany. He was
honoured by embassies to his court from distant lands, even from the
Saracens in Africa. His work, however, was completed, he had outlived his
friends and associates. While he was absent in Italy, his son William and
his mother Matilda had died (March 968): soon after his return he lost
his trusted and loyal servant Herman. He himself did not survive much
longer. He died at Memleben, the little town in the Harz Mountains
which had also witnessed the death of his father, on 7 May 973, in his
sixty-first year. His body was taken to Magdeburg and buried in the
cathedral he had built.
The Saxon historian, Widukind, sums up the achievements of his life
in the voice of popular opinion : "The people, saying many things in
“
his praise, recalled to mind that he had ruled his subjects with paternal
piety, he had liberated them from their enemies, had conquered with his
arms the proud Avars, Saracens, Danes, and Slavs; he had brought Italy
under his yoke ; he had destroyed the temples of his heathen neighbours
and set up churches and priests in their place. ” All this he had accom-
plished. If he had failed in his attempt to centralise the government of
Germany, his failure was due to the inevitable progress towards feudalism
and the too deeply rooted tribal traditions. If in this direction his
empire fell short of its model, the empire of Charles the Great, in an-
other direction it was conspicuously in advance of it. His work, in the
extension of German influence and civilisation and in the progress of
Christianity towards the north and east of his dominions, was of per-
manent value, and stood as the firm basis of future expansion and future
development.
one margrave, (2) the East march or March of Lausitz under two margraves, and
(3) the Thuringian march, later the March of Meissen, under three margraves.
CH. VIII.
## p. 204 (#250) ############################################
204
CHAPTER IX.
OTTO II AND OTTO III.
The stability of the Saxon dynasty is shewn in a marked degree by
the way in which son succeeded father almost without question until the
direct line breaks off for lack of an heir with Otto III. Otto II, who was
born towards the end of 955, had been elected and twice crowned (at
Aix-la-Chapelle in May 961 and at Rome on Christmas Day 967) during
his father's lifetime. When Otto the Great died in 973, he was universally
accepted as his successor. It was not that there was no opposition, but the
people of Germany as a whole were satisfied with the ruling family and,
in cases of rebellion, were prepared to give their support to the hereditary
sovereign. This fact is proved not only in the frequent Bavarian revolts
in the reign of Otto II, but also and more remarkably in the attempt of
the Duke of Bavaria to wrest the crown from its rightful possessor,
the infant Otto III. Otto the Red is described by the chronicler
Thietmar as being possessed of fine physical powers ; and though at
first, through lack of experience, he shunned wise counsel, chastened by
troubles he set a rein upon himself and lived nobly for the rest of his
days.
During the first seven years of his reign his energies were directed
towards Bavaria and Lorraine. Bavaria enjoyed a position of greater
independence than any of the other duchies. Its traditions were more
deeply rooted; the influence of the old ducal family was stronger. It
had ties closely binding it with the other southern duchy, Swabia.
Burchard, Duke of Swabia, had died the year of Otto's accession and
the new king filled the vacancy by appointing Otto, the son of his half
brother Liudolf, former Duke of Swabia. Duke Burchard's widow,
Hedwig, was the daughter of Judith, the widow of Henry I of Bavaria,
who was always anxious to advance the interests of her family. She and
her son Henry, the ruling Duke of Bavaria, resented the favour shewn to
Otto, son of Liudolf, and broke into open revolt. In the first struggles
we may see an arrangement of parties which remained unchanged
throughout the reign. On the one side stand the sons of the children
of Otto the Great by his first marriage with Edith, both named Otto,
the one just elected to the duchy of Swabia, the other shortly after
appointed Duke of Carinthia; to this party the Emperor first turned
## p. 205 (#251) ############################################
Bavarian revolts
205
for support. The Bavarian family, Duke Henry and his cousin Henry,
son of Duke Berthold, were the leaders of the opposite faction. Later,
it was openly favoured by the Empress Adelaide the queen-mother, who
had a somewhat natural aversion to the sons of her stepchildren, for it
was these men who had headed the revolt against her husband in 955
just after and largely in consequence of her marriage? . In the first rebel-
lion in Bavaria Henry's ambition seems to have aspired to the throne.
It was the more serious as he was allied with Boleslav, Duke of the
Bohemians, and with Mesco, Duke of the Poles. The plot was however
discovered in time; Henry and his chief adviser, Abraham, Bishop of
Freising, were summoned under pain of the ban to appear before the
Emperor and were imprisoned, Henry at Ingelheim, Bishop Abraham
at Corvey; Judith, who was also deeply involved in the conspiracy,
entered a convent at Ratisbon.
It was not until the autumn of 975 that Otto was able to take the
field against Boleslav of Bohemia to punish him for his share in the
Bavarian revolt. In the interval he had been called away to deal with a
dangerous incursion of the Danes under Harold Bluetooth who, having
crossed the frontier wall, was ravaging the country beyond the Elbe.
Otto hurriedly collected an army, marched against the invaders, and
drove them back to the wall. He could not pursue his success further
for a formidable army of Norwegians under Jarl Hákon blocked his way.
But his object was achieved. Harold opened negotiations offering all his
treasure; this Otto declined and withdrew to collect a larger army, but
when Harold offered not only treasure, but also a tribute and his son as
a hostage, his terms were accepted. To strengthen the frontier Otto
established a new fortress on the east coast of Schleswig.
Before two years had elapsed, Henry, who well merited his name
“the Wrangler," had escaped from his imprisonment at Ingelheim and
again broke into revolt. Two brothers, Berthold and Liutpold, of the
house of Babenberg, hurriedly mustered the local levies and held him
in check until, at the approach of Otto himself, the rebellious duke fled
I A table will make the relationships clear:
Henry the Fowler
Arnulf,
Berthold,
Edith=Otto I=Adelaide Henry, Duke of Bavaria Duke of
1
a
Duke of
Bavaria
Otto II=Theophano Bavaria Judith
Henry
Liudolf Liut- Otto III
gard=Conrad,
Otto,
Duke of
Duke of
Lorraine
Swabia
and
Bavaria Otto, Duke of Carinthia
Burchard,=Hedwig
Duke of
Swabia
Henry,
Duke of
(the Wrangler), Carinthia
Duke of
Bavaria
Henry II, Duke
of Bavaria and
later Emperor
H. .
## p. 206 (#252) ############################################
206
The War of the Three Henries
to Bohemia. At an assembly of princes held at Ratisbon in July 976
Henry was deprived of his duchy, which was granted to Otto of Swabia.
For the first time the two duchies were united under one ruler ; but the
Bavaria granted to Duke Otto was not the same Bavaria as Duke Henry
had formerly held. Several important changes diminished it in extent
and in power; first, Carinthia with the March of Verona was completely
severed and formed into a separate duchy which was conferred on Henry,
called the younger, son of the old Duke Berthold of Bavaria; secondly,
the two brothers, Berthold and Liutpold, were rewarded for their fidelity
to the imperial cause. Berthold was made more independent, the
Nordgau of Bavaria being formed into a new margravate on the Bohe-
mian frontier, while Liutpold was established on a firmer footing on the
East March, which we now know as Austria, where. his descendants
flourished first as margraves and later as dukes down to the thirteenth
century. Certain ecclesiastical changes were made at the same time.
The Church in Bavaria was freed from the control of the duke and
became directly dependent on the king ; large grants were made to the
bishops of Salzburg and Passau ; and the bishopric of Prague, founded
the previous year, was attached to the province of Mayence, thus freeing
the ecclesiastical centre in Bohemia from any Bavarian influence.
Boleslav of Bohemia had been a principal accessory to the Bavarian
revolts; the campaign of 975 had been without result, so in 977 Otto
again took the field against him. Though he himself was successful,
.
his nephew, Duke Otto, in command of an army of Bavarians, met
with a disaster. One evening his men were peacefully bathing in the
river near Pilsen, when they were surprised by a body of Bohemians
who slew many of them and captured much booty. Eventually, how-
ever, Boleslav was brought to submission and did homage to the
Emperor at Magdeburg (Easter 978). A year later a successful cam-
paign compelled Mesco, Duke of the Poles, to submit to the imperial
authority. But while the Emperor was engaged in the punitive expedi-
tion in Bohemia, a fresh conspiracy of an alarming nature was set on
foot in Bavaria. Henry of Carinthia, and Henry, Bishop of Augsburg,
allied themselves with Henry, the deposed Duke of Bavaria. Even the
Church wavered in its loyalty. Nevertheless, in the “War of the Three
Henries” as it was called, Otto was entirely successful. Accompanied
by Duke Otto he advanced against the rebels, whom he found in
possession of Passau. By means of a bridge of boats he closely invested
the town and soon brought it to surrender (September 977). At the Easter
Court (978) held at Magdeburg judgment was given against the
conspirators.
capital at Laon.
At this point in the campaign the scheming Duke of Franconia
openly joined in the revolt. Otto besieged him in the strong fortress
of Breisach on the Rhine. An attempt was made to come to terms:
Frederick, Archbishop of Mayence, was employed to negotiate with
Everard, but he went beyond his powers, conceding more than the king
was prepared to yield and Otto refused to ratify the treaty. The effect
was to throw the Archbishop into the ranks of the insurgents. He fled
privily by night to Metz where he expected to fall in with Henry and
Gilbert; but the latter had already started to join forces with Everard :
whether Henry accompanied the dukes on the fatal expedition to the
Rhine is uncertain ; more probably, making Metz his headquarters, he
remained behind to organise resistance in Lorraine. Everard and Gilbert
made a plundering raid and returned westward, intending to recross the
Rhine at Andernach. Part of their army had already crossed the river
and the dukes were quietly eating their dinner before crossing themselves,
when a body of Franconian troops led by Udo and Conrad Kurzpold,
Franconian counts, whose lands had especially suffered from the raid,
came up with them. Both the dukes fell in the fight that ensued.
Everard was slain by the sword, Gilbert was drowned : according to
one account he got into a boat already overloaded with fugitives and
the boat capsized; according to another he leapt with his horse into the
river and so met his end. By a mere stroke of luck the two leaders of
the rebellion were disposed of in a skirmish hardly worthy of the name
of battle at a moment when Otto's cause seemed desperate, and when,
says Widukind, “there seemed no hope of his retaining rule over the
Saxons, so widespread was the rebellion. ”
The effect was instantaneous. Breisach capitulated: Lorraine was
.
restored to order. Of the remaining leaders, Frederick, after being
refused admittance into his own town of Mayence, was captured and
punished by a short term of imprisonment; Henry, on hearing the news
which deprived him of all hopes of the crown, fled to his old stronghold
of Chèvremont but found the gates closed against him; he made his
way to France, but finding his cause to be hopelessly lost, yielded him-
self up to his brother's mercy. Otto with his habitual generosity and
magnanimity forgave him everything and took him again into his favour.
The royal authority was now firmly established. Henry made one more
attempt to overthrow his brother, but it was too late and the con-
spiracy of 941 collapsed without recourse to arms. The intention had
been to assassinate the king at the Easter festival at Quedlinburg: it
## p. 191 (#237) ############################################
Changes in the administration of the Duchies
191
reached the ears of Otto who proceeded as usual to the feast but with
a strong guard, and there seized and executed the whole gang of con-
spirators. Henry fled, was captured and imprisoned at Ingelheim, but
before the end of the year received the king's pardon. The un-
scrupulous Archbishop of Mayence was also implicated but cleared
himself of guilt by receiving the sacrament in public.
The civil wars involved extensive changes in the government of the
duchies. During the years which followed the restoration of order, Otto
inaugurated and gradually established the policy of attaching the duke-
doms more closely to himself by granting them to members of his own
family. The administration of Lorraine was in 931 entrusted to a
certain Otto, son of Ricwin, and on his death in 944 the duchy was
conferred upon Conrad the Red, a nephew of King Conrad I, who in
947 was married to Otto's daughter Liutgard. Franconia', after the
death of Everard at the fight of Andernach, the king retained in his
own hands. When Duke Berthold died in 947 his duchy of Bavaria
passed to the king's own brother Henry, who, after the failure of his
last attempt to win the throne in 941, had become one of the loyalest
of Otto's subjects and who was already akin to the Bavarian ducal
house through his marriage in 938(? ) with Judith, the daughter of
the old duke Arnulf. Lastly, on the death of Duke Herman in 949,
Swabia was given to Otto's son Liudolf, who married Ida, the daughter
of the late duke. By these arrangements the ancient supremacy of the
Franconian tribe was for ever crushed; but in the southern duchies the
order of things remained unchanged, for while granting the dukedoms
to his own kinsmen, he maintained the traditions and customs of the
tribal duchies by giving the new dukes in marriage to the daughters
of the old ducal houses.
In the meanwhile the eastern neighbours of Germany had taken full
advantage of the intestine troubles which filled the opening years of the
new reign. In the midst of the ducal rebellion of 939 Widukind
deplores the numerous enemies that beset his native Saxony, “Slavs
from the east, Franks from the south, Lorrainers from the west, and
from the north Danes and more Slavs"; he might have added Hun-
garians from the south-east, for their barbaric hordes swept into
Thuringia and Saxony in 937 and 938. They were beaten back and
never again ventured into Saxon territory. On the Wendish border
there had been ceaseless activity. Fortunately for Otto, the frontier
1 According to von Winterfeld, Neues Archiv, xxvIII. pp. 510 f. , on the authority of
a passage in Hrotsvit, Gesta Oddonis, 450 ff. , Otto did not retain the administration of
Franconia in his hands but granted it at this time to his son Liudolf-a boy of eleven
years old—who, if this conjecture is correct, would in 949 be Duke of Franconia and
Swabia. The evidence however is insufficient to justify this conclusion. For the
theory that certain parts of Franconia round the Upper Main and Bamberg were
granted to Berthold of Bavaria, see Giesebrecht, Kaiserzeit, 1. 816 f.
CH. VIII.
## p. 192 (#238) ############################################
192
War on the Eastern Frontier
!
1
11
3
11
command was in capable hands; Herman Billung and Gero repressed
the risings with a firm hand and even extended German influence further
eastward. The death of Henry the Fowler had been the first signal for
insurrection, in which the Redari seem to have taken the leading part.
Henry they had learnt to fear, but Otto was untried and had yet to
prove his strength. He hastened back from his coronation at Aix-la-
Chapelle and suppressed the rising. The Wends were held in check till
the year 939 when Germany was in the throes of civil war, when the
total subversion of the royal authority seemed inevitable, and an un-
rivalled opportunity of throwing off the German yoke presented itself.
They made repeated inroads which were beaten off by Gero, and even
the king himself, it appears, found time on more than one occasion to
enter into the border conflict. In Bohemia, Boleslav, who had in 936
gained the throne by murdering his brother Wenceslas at the gates of
the church of Alt-Bunzlau, asserted his independence; and though
temporarily checked by a force of Saxons and Thuringians sent against
him in 938, he continued to be a source of danger and disturbance till
Otto in 950 made an expedition in person to Bohemia and was recog-
nised as overlord. The results, however, of the frontier fighting were
on the whole satisfactory. Partly by his own efforts, partly by his keen
insight into character which enabled him to select the right men for
the work, Otto made progress, extended the German sway as far as the
Oder, and prepared the way for the next stage in his Eastern policy,
the consolidation of his conquests and the conversion of the conquered
peoples to the Christian religion. The newly acquired territory was
divided into two marches under the control of Herman and Gero.
The tribute and rents accruing from these sources were appropriated to
the maintenance of the frontier garrisons, to the establishinent of colonies,
and to the endowment of churches. In 948, probably on the occasion
of the visit of the papal legate Marinus, Bishop of Bomarzo, to Germany,
bishoprics were founded at Brandenburg and Havelberg in the province
of Mayence, and at Ripen, Aarhus and Schleswig in the metropolitan
diocese of Bremen for the organisation of further missionary work.
On the western frontier, also, the state of affairs was troublesome.
The possession of Lorraine was by no means entirely a source of strength
to the German monarchy. Owing to its position between the East and
West Frankish dominions it involved the German king in the everlasting
turmoil which characterised the history of France in the tenth century.
Moreover Lorraine was always firmly attached to the Carolingian tra-
dition, and there was always a party ready to support the Caroling kings
in their attempts to win back the province for the Western Kingdom.
There Louis IV was engaged in an incessant struggle to hold his own
against a strong coalition of feudal nobles under the leadership of the
all-powerful Count of Paris. During the decade 940-950 Otto was
busily engaged beyond the Rhine. He lent his aid first to one side,
## p. 193 (#239) ############################################
Otto's intervention in French affairs
193
then to the other', mediated between them and compelled both parties
to realise the weight of his power, the wide scope of his authority, the
value of his mediation. In the summer of 940 he entered France to
punish Louis for his interference in Lorraine and drove him into Bur-
gundy: but the expedition had daunted neither the spirit nor the
enterprise of Louis, who, as soon as Otto was back in Germany, again
set out for Lorraine. Otto once more turned westward, but as it was late
in the year the kings effected a truce and parted without fighting. For
two years Louis was pursued by his relentless adversaries; at last,
however, in 942, possibly as a result of the visit of the legate of Pope
Stephen VIII who commanded the princes to recognise Louis as their
king on pain of excommunication, a solemn assembly took place and a
general peace was concluded at a place uncertain but conjectured to be
Visé? on the Meuse, a few miles north of Liège. A similar obscurity
exists with regard to the terms, but it is clear that Louis on his side
engaged to desist from interfering in the affairs of Lorraine, while Otto
for his part agreed to refrain from assisting the French lords against
their king.
This settlement was but transitory, and two years later Otto was
again drawn into the affairs of the Western Kingdom. But the position
was altered : two of Louis' dangerous opponents, William of Normandy
and Herbert of Vermandois, were now dead; for a moment the king and
the Count of Paris were on terms of friendship. Then a trivial difference
and an accident brought about another change, and Louis was a prisoner
in the hands of his powerful feudatory. This was in 944. Hugh, with
his valuable prisoner in safe keeping at Laon, sought an interview with
Otto. The latter, however, perhaps anxious to abide by the compact of
942, perhaps from a genuine feeling of pity for the luckless king, declined
to accept Hugh's overtures and espoused the royal cause. ' The menace
of Otto's displeasure saved Louis: after nearly a year's confinement, he
was liberated, but only at the heavy price of losing his one sure strong-
hold, the fortress of Laon. Louis was free, but without shelter, almost
without friends. Gerberga, his queen, made a pressing appeal to her
brother. Otto's French campaign in the late summer of 946 met with
very limited success. Laon, Rheims, and Senlis were all in turn besieged,
but Rheims alone was captured. The two kings then made a plundering
raid into Normandy; they even, according to one account, laid siege to
Rouen. But in this enterprise they were alike unsuccessful, and Otto
made his way back to Germany.
a
1 Both the antagonists had equal claims, on the ground of kinship, to Otto's
friendship; each had married a sister of Otto, Hugh the Great married Hedwig and
Louis IV Gerberga, widow of Gilbert of Lorraine.
? See Lauer, Les Annales de Flodoard, p. 85, n. 5, and Louis d'Outremer, p. 83,
n. 3. Vouziers on the Aisne has also been conjectured. Cf. Giesebrecht, Kaiserzeit,
C. MED. H. VOL. III. CH. VIII.
13
P. 274.
## p. 194 (#240) ############################################
194
Situation in Italy in 950
The year 947 was occupied by a series of fruitless assemblies called
together to decide a dispute over the archbishopric of Rheims. The
two parties in France had each its candidate for the see, and the party
uppermost unscrupulously imposed the man of its choice upon the
diocese. These transactions, vain as they were, are not without their
importance, for they led up to the solemn synod held at Ingelheim on
7 June 948. The legate of Pope Agapetus II, Bishop Marinus of
Bomarzo, presided over it. It was an assembly of the highest significance:
it was the first occasion since the accession of the Saxon dynasty, since
the synod of Hohen Altheim in 916, that a papal legate had appeared
in Germany. It was attended by more than thirty bishops, and the two
kings Louis and Otto were present in person. The business was not
restricted to the Rheims dispute. The discussion on the political question
at issue resulted in a canon being passed against attacks on the royal
power and a declaration that Hugh should make his submission under
pain of excommunication. The dispute over the see of Rheims was
decided in favour of Artaud, the candidate of the royal party; his rival
Hugh, son of Herbert of Vermandois, was excommunicated. Hugh the
Great held the decrees of the synod at defiance; he was excommunicated
at the Synod of Trèves (September 948); he continued in his obduracy
and carried on hostilities against Louis and his allies Otto and Conrad
of Lorraine till 950, when, at a meeting held on the banks of the Marne,
he made his submission, restored Laon, and, by his homage, recognised
Louis as his lord.
The affairs of France were no sooner settled on a satisfactory basis
than a turn of events in Italy provided the occasion for Otto's first
expedition across the Alps. The occasion was the death of King Lothar,
leaving his widow Adelaide with a title to the Italian throne in her own
right, defenceless and soon to be a prisoner in the hands of Berengar,
Marquess of Ivrea, who was himself crowned King of Italy at Pavia
on 15 December 950. The old connexion between Germany and Italy
founded on the Empire of Charles the Great, though it had ceased to
be a reality since the death of the Emperor Arnulf in 899, is recalled to
memory by many minor incidents in the dark years of the first half of
the tenth century. The dukes of Swabia and Bavaria were frequently
drawn into the Italian struggles ; Berengar of Ivrea, fleeing from the
murderous designs of his rival Hugh of Arles, had crossed the Alps,
taken refuge in Swabia, and even commended himself to Otto (941), an
act which perhaps gave Otto the right to expect an acknowledgment of
overlordship from Berengar when the latter ascended the Italian throne
in 950. With the opposite faction Otto was also brought into close
connexion through Conrad of Burgundy, who had spent his youth at
the German court and whose sister Adelaide had married Hugh's son
Lothar.
The arrangements for the Italian expedition were settled at the
## p. 195 (#241) ############################################
Liudolf's disaffection
195
Easter festival held at Aix-la-Chapelle 30 March 951. Otto formed his
plans in close consultation with his brother Henry, now his most trusted
adviser, whose brilliant campaigns against the Hungarians, resulting in
the acquisition of the march of Aquileia, gave additional weight to his
councils. Liudolf, on the other hand, was apparently not taken into the
king's confidence: indignant at his exclusion, jealous of his uncle,
impetuous and anxious to make a name for himself on his own account,
he determined to anticipate his father. He rapidly crossed the Alps
with a small army of Swabians ; but his expedition was a complete
failure and before long he returned to sow the seeds of rebellion, the
news of which recalled Otto, who had assumed the title of King of the
Lombards at Pavia and taken Adelaide as his wife, in haste to Germany.
It was not only disappointment at his failure in Italy that led Liudolf
to rebel against his father. Otto's second marriage was not likely to be
to his son's advantage; it would lead to a new circle at the court in
which he would take but a secondary place; he might even look to being
a
ousted from the succession by the offspring of this new alliance-an
event which in fact occurred, for it was Adelaide's son, Otto, who was
designated as the successor to the total disregard of the claims of his
nephew and namesake, the son of Liudolf. The plans for the rebellion
were formed at a Christmas gathering held at Saalfeld; the place is
significant, for it was there that Henry had divulged to his friends his
designs against Otto in 939. Among the conspirators was Frederick,
Archbishop of Mayence, whose implication in the previous rebellions of
939 and 941 was more than suspected. He had been employed as Otto's
envoy to the court of Pope Agapetus and the failure of his mission may
have led to a rupture with Otto.
The news of this ominous assembly was the immediate cause of Otto's
return to Germany. He crossed the Alps in February 952 and by
Easter was again in Saxony. Conrad, Duke of Lorraine, was left behind
in Italy to complete the overthrow of Berengar. But instead of pursuing
the advantage which Otto had already gained, he made terms with
Berengar and returned with him to Germany to obtain the king's rati-
fication of his arrangements. They found the court at Magdeburg.
Otto was, however, far from satisfied: he had counted on the complete
subversion of Berengar. For three days the latter was not permitted to
approach the royal presence and even then, through the counsel of Duke
Henry, he was “barely granted his life and a safe return to his country. ”
The final settlement with regard to Italy was postponed to a meeting to
be held at Augsburg. On 7 August the diet met in the spacious
Lechfeld which extended to the south of the city. Franks, Saxons,
Swabians, Bavarians, Lombards, and even ambassadors from the Byzantine
court attended the gathering, to which a contemporary annalist assigns
the imposing Frankish title of Conventus publicus. There Berengar and
his son Adalbert took the oath of homage and fealty and, by the solemn
CH. VIII.
13_2
## p. 196 (#242) ############################################
196
Liudolf's rebellion
>
handing over of the golden sceptre, received back the kingdom of Lombardy
as a fief of the German crown. But Duke Henry had his reward for his
consistent loyalty at Berengar's expense: the marches of Aquileia and
Verona were added to the Bavarian dukedom.
Up to this point there had been no overt act of rebellion on the part
of the conspirators. Liudolf and the Archbishop of Mayence had been
present at the Augsburg diet; indeed the latter had taken a leading
part in the ecclesiastical business transacted there. But as the rebellion
matured, the causes of discontent increased. The marked displeasure of
Otto at Conrad's management of the affairs of Italy had driven the
Duke of Lorraine into the ranks of the malcontents. The appointment
of the king's brother Bruno to the post of archchancellor of Italy was an
additional grievance to Archbishop Frederick, who had counted upon
that dignified sinecure for himself. Whereas Henry had gained by the
settlement at Augsburg, Liudolf had received no share in the spoils.
Possibly the birth of a child to Adelaide, a boy named Henry who died
in infancy, at the end of the year 952, was the decisive event, which
determined the outbreak of hostilities.
Otto appears to have been blind to the dangers which surrounded
him. It was only while journeying to Ingelheim on his return from Alsace,
whither he had gone to visit his wife's relations, that he realised the
critical state of affairs. Judging it imprudent to keep the Easter festival,
as he had purposed, at so isolated a place as Ingelheim, he turned aside
to Mayence; but Mayence proved no less dangerous. He found the gates
of the city closed against him and in an unseemly manner he was kept
waiting until the Archbishop, who was absent from the city performing
his Lenten devotions in retreat, returned to grant him admittance.
Liudolf and Conrad also appeared on the scene, and the king was caught
in a trap. The conspirators made haste to clear themselves of having
any designs against their sovereign ; but they acknowledged that it had
been their intention to waylay Henry in the event of his coming to
Ingelheim for the Easter festival. Even towards the king their attitude
was not so peaceable as they had affirmed; by duress they extorted from
him some sort of treaty, of which the terms are unrecorded, but the nature
may be fairly conjectured. It was no doubt as advantageous to Liudolf
as it was detrimental to the interests of Duke Henry. Liudolf was
assured of the succession and possibly was even to have an immediate
share in the government. Otto was glad to escape at any price.
Nevertheless, once safe in Saxony he did not scruple to revoke the treaty.
He summoned Liudolf and Conrad to appear before him and ordered
them either to hand over their confederates or else to receive the
punishment due for their offence. A diet for the discussion of their
case was to meet at Fritzlar. The dukes did not present themselves at
the diet; they were deprived of their dukedoms, and hostilities began in
earnest.
## p. 197 (#243) ############################################
Widespread disaffection
197
In this rebellion, it is remarkable that the duchies invariably sided
against their dukes. The Lorrainers, under the leadership of Adalbero;
Bishop of Metz, and Reginar, Count of Hainault, weře, almost to a
man, loyal to the king and therefore in opposition to their duke, Conrad ;
whereas in Bavaria the king and his brother Henry met with their bitterest
and most dangerous opponents. At first Conrad sought to recover
his position in Lorraine ; but on the banks of the Meuse, in a desperate
battle lasting from noon to sunset, he was defeated, quitted his duchy,
and betook himself to Mayence, which henceforth became the headquarters
of the insurgents. With an army of Saxons reinforced on the march by
troops from Lorraine and Franconia, Otto invested the city. He was
soon joined by Henry with his Bavarians. For nearly two months the
royal army tried in vain to capture the stronghold of the rebels ; every
device of siege warfare was employed but all to no account; engines were
no sooner brought up to the walls than they were destroyed or burnt;
assaults were made upon the gates only to be beaten off with loss by the
defenders. At last, wearied by lack of success, Otto made overtures for
an armistice and sent his cousin Ekbert as an hostage. But the nego-
tiations came to nothing, and the king's ambassador was won over to the
side of the enemy. For Otto the situation was desperate. The defection
had spread to Saxony and to Bavaria ; in the latter duchy Arnulf, the
Count palatine, put himself at the head of a tribal revolt against the
rule of Duke Henry. This was perhaps the most serious phase in the
rebellion. The Bavarians, led by their duke to assist in the siege of
Mayence, went over in a body to the enemy. Leaving the defence of the
city in the charge of Conrad, Liudolf hastened with the Bavarian deserters
to Ratisbon, seized and plundered the city, and drove Henry's family and
adherents from the country. In September Otto abandoned the siege of
Mayence with the object of attempting to secure Ratisbon, but in this
enterprise he was also doomed to failure. Shortly before Christmas,
almost at the end of his resources, he withdrew to Saxony.
Owing to the firm rule of Herman, the insurrection in Saxony had
broken down, and Lorraine also remained loyal ; but the greater part of
Franconia and practically the whole of Swabia and Bavaria had taken up
arms against him. So widespread was the disaffection that it has been
sometimes regarded as an expression of a national resistance against
Otto's imperial policy, as though the interests of Germany were prejudiced
by his acquisition of the Italian thronel. It is, however, more in ac-
cordance with the facts to attribute the civil war rather to tribal than
national causes : the separate tribes were rebelling against the authority
.
1 So von Sybel, Die neueren Darstellungen der deutschen Kaiserzeit, pp. 18 f. , Die
deutsche Nation und das Kaiserreich, pp. 32 f. , and Maurenbrecher, Die Kaiser politik
Ottos 1, Historische Zeitschrift, v. 141, and Der Ludolfinische Aufstand von 953,
Forschungen zur deutschen Geschichte, iv. 597, but see Giesebrecht, Kaiserzeit, i.
828, and Dümmler, Otto der Grosse, 212 f. , for the opposite view.
CH. VIII.
## p. 198 (#244) ############################################
198
Hungarian invasion
of their dukes. It was the duke who was attacked in Bavaria, in Lorraine,
and in Saxony. Only in Swabia was Liudolf's personal popularity
sufficiently strong to secure the loyalty of the tribe ; though even there
an anti-ducal party was formed under the leadership of Burchard, a
kinsman of the former duke. The inception of the war may be traced
to personal causes, to the personal jealousy of the leaders : its support to
the tribal opposition to the centralising system of the dukedoms. The
issue was decided not by any military exploit, successful campaign, or
victory in the field, but by the diversion created by an Hungarian inroad,
and by the violent reaction which followed against the party which
sought to gain advantage from alliance with the invaders.
The Hungarians had at the outset of Otto's reign, in 937 and in 938,
made two abortive attempts to invade Saxony. In 948 and in 949 they
had made incursions into Bavaria, but had been beaten off by Duke
Henry, who in two campaigns in the following year had successfully
carried the war into their own country. Nevertheless, early in the year
954 the Hungarians, who were always ready to turn the intestine troubles
of their neighbours to their own advantage, once more poured into
Germany. Contemporary historians have laid the charge of inviting the
barbarians upon both parties concerned in the struggle, but the occasion
was too obvious to require any solicitation. Certain it is, however, that
the invaders were eagerly welcomed by Liudolf and Conrad, who supplied
them with guides. They swept through Bavaria and Franconia, plunder-
ing as they went; they were publicly entertained at Worms on Palm
Sunday and loaded with presents of silver and gold. Conrad himself led
them on across the Rhine in the hope of regaining his own duchy through
their aid. But the raid of the barbarians did nothing to improve the
duke's position in Lorraine; they penetrated as far as Utrecht merely
laying waste the land as they passed; thence they moved southward
through Vermandois, Laon, and Rheims into Burgundy, and the remnant
of their band, much reduced in numbers by fighting and disease, returned
to their own country by way of Italy.
The invasion was Otto's deliverance. The royal army pressed hard
upon the Bavarians, who were forced to crave a truce, which was granted
till 16 June when a diet was to be held at Langenzenn, near the present
town of Nuremberg, where the case was to be decided. At the diet of
Langenzenn, all the leaders of the revolt, realising that their cause was
lost, made their appearance. During the proceedings each party accused
the other of introducing the Hungarians. The Archbishop of Mayence
and Conrad made their submission, but Liudolf remained obdurate; he
rode off in the night with his attendants to Ratisbon. The king followed
in pursuit, fighting on his way an indecisive engagement at Rosstall.
Ratisbon withstood the assault of the royal army. A long siege followed,
during which many skirmishes were fought before the walls, and the
burghers were reduced to the point of starvation. Finally, after the
## p. 199 (#245) ############################################
Defeat of the Hungarians in the Lechfeld
199
city had been invested for some six weeks, Liudolf and the citizens ob-
tained a truce, pending a settlement to be arranged at a diet to be held
at Fritzlar. Liudolf made a last attempt to rally his cause in Swabia ;
failing in this, he sought and gained his father's forgiveness. But neither
he nor Conrad recovered their dukedoms. As a result of the civil war
there were many new appointments to be made. For this purpose a
diet was held at Arnstadt on 7 December. The dukedom of Swabia
was given to Burchard, probably the son of the old Duke of Swabia of
that name and so a first cousin to Queen Adelaide. Lorraine had already
been granted to the king's brother Bruno, who in the previous year had
succeeded Archbishop Wikfried in the metropolitan see of Cologne.
The see of Mayence was also vacant, since the turbulent Archbishop Frede-
rick had died a few weeks before the meeting of the diet. His place
was filled by William, Otto's natural son. Bavaria held out until the
spring; but Henry was victorious over Herold, the rebellious Archbishop
of Salzburg, and the burghers of Ratisbon, again reduced to the ex-
tremities of famine, submitted themselves to Otto. So by the end of
the spring of 955 Otto was able to return in peace to his native Saxony.
The Hungarians, encouraged by their successful raid of the previous
year, made another inroad early in the year 955. It was checked, and
Otto received in Saxony what purported to be an Hungarian embassy ;
in fact its intention was nothing more nor less than to spy out the land,
and immediately afterwards Duke Henry sent word that the barbarians
had crossed the frontier. Their main body was encamped on the banks of
the Lech near Augsburg. The city was defended by its Bishop St Ulric,
whose contemporary biographer speaks of the desperate straits to which
he was reduced ; the city walls were dilapidated and unprovided with
towers; it seemed impossible to withstand an assault from an enemy
whose numbers are said to have amounted to one hundred thousand
horsemen. Yet one day the bishop, arrayed in his pontifical robes, sallied
forth, himself unarmed, into the ranks of the enemy and threw them into
confusion. On the following day, the feast of St Lawrence (10 August),
as the bishop quietly awaited the inevitable counter-attack, he heard the
welcome news of Otto's approach. When the news of the invasion reached
him Otto had hurried southward with a small band of Saxons. On
his march, other troops collected and he reached the neighbourhood of
Augsburg with a vast army drawn from all parts of Germany. The host
was formed up in eight divisions: three from Bavaria, two from Swabia,
and one each from Saxony, Lorraine and Bohemia. The battle was fought
in the Lechfeld to the south of the city on the left bank of the river? ,
1 The exact site on which the battle was fought is much disputed. Schäfer in the
Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften (Berlin), xxvii. 1905, opposed the old
view asserted by Bresslau in Historische Zeitschrift, 1897, Der Ort der Ungarnschlacht,
that the battle was fought in the Lechfeld south of the city on the left bank of
the river, and supposes the place to have been on the left bank but north-west of
CH. VIII.
## p. 200 (#246) ############################################
200
Peace restored in Germany
As on other occasions, legend gives the credit of the victory to the Holy
Lance with which Otto was armed. At first the enemy made headway
.
against the Swabian and Bohemian divisions ; but the courage and re-
source of Conrad, the deposed Duke of Lorraine, who fell in the battle,
restored the fortunes of the royal army. The victory was complete ;
and for three days the scattered remnants of the Hungarian hordes
were pursued and killed or taken captive. The victory had far-reaching
effects both for the conqueror and the conquered. Germany was for ever
relieved of the menace of invasion and the Hungarians gave up their
restless mode of life and took to a settled and peaceful existence.
The Hungarians were not the only neighbours of Germany who
had sought to take advantage of the civil war. The Wends rose in
revolt against German rule. In 954 Margrave Gero and Conrad (it is
characteristic of Otto to entrust his recent antagonist with a command)
won a victory over the Ukrani. Further north, in the district under
the authority of Duke Herman, the trouble was more serious; the
duke's nephews Wichmann and Ekbert, who had already attempted
without success to raise Saxony in revolt against their uncle, now joined
with the Wends. No decisive victory determined the fighting, which
continued intermittently and with varying success for a period of two
years. It was the news of the defeat of the Hungarians on the banks of
the Lech which struck the Wends with awe, and compelled them to make
an abject submission. They sent messages offering their accustomed
tribute: but Otto was not disposed to let them off so lightly. Accom-
panied by Liudolf and Boleslav of Bohemia, he ravaged their land as far
as Recknitz to the west of the Isle of Rügen. . Their leader Stoinef was
slain : Wichmann and Ekbert fled the country and took refuge at the
court of Duke Hugh in France. In 957 Wichmann again appeared in
alliance with the Wends, but he was finally defeated in 958 and received
à pardon on taking “a terrible oath never to conspire again against
Otto or his kingdom. ”
In Lorraine also there were signs of trouble, but the wise and states-
manlike rule of Bruno restored and maintained peace. Count Reginar
of Hainault was at the root of the disturbance; it was his hostility
to Conrad that secured the loyalty of Lorraine during the civil war.
Apparently he expected reward for his services, and, failing to get it, he
stirred up revolts against the authority of Bruno. The archbishop
suppressed two risings in 957 and 959 and, as a precaution against dis-
order in the future, deemed it advisable to divide the duchy into two
units of administration: a certain noble of the country named Godfrey
had already been placed over the lower, and Frederick, brother of the
Augsburg. Others have suggested yet other possibilities, e. g. Wallmenich, Die
Ungarnschlacht auf dem Lechfeld, chooses the right bank of the river to the south-east
of the city and Hadank, Einige Bemerkungen über die Ungarnschlacht, 1908, the
right bank to the north-east of the city as the spot.
## p. 201 (#247) ############################################
Otto the Great as Emperor
201
powerful Bishop Adalbero of Metz, was now set over the upper province.
To the prudent and judicious policy of the Archbishop of Cologne, it
may be added, was due the maintenance of friendly relations with France,
and it is no exaggeration to assert that to his support Lothair, on the
death of Louis IV in 954, owed his peace'ul and uncontested succession
in that kingdom.
By the year 960 Otto's rule in Germany was firmly established. The
Hungarians were defeated once and for all: the Wends between the Elbe
and the Oder were quelled; Lorraine and the Western Kingdom, thanks
to Bruno, were at peace. The presence of envoys from foreign courts at his
solemn assemblies testifies to the strength of his rule and to the extent of
his fame. Romans and Greeks, Saracens and Russians visited his court,
bringing him gifts of gold, silver and ivory, balm and precious ointments,
and lions, camels, monkeys, and ostriches, animals hitherto unknown in
Saxony. All nations of the Christian world, concludes Widukind, looked
to the great king in their troubles. So in 959 ambassadors from the
Russian Queen Olga, who was baptised in 957, came to Germany to beg
Otto to send missionaries to their heathen country. A certain Libertius
was ordained bishop for the purpose but died before he could embark on
his difficult enterprise ; Adalbert from the monastery of St Maximin at
T'rèves was chosen in his place, but after a year's fruitless endeavour
returned to his own country.
So again, John XII, Pope and patrician of Rome, sought Otto's
assistance against the oppression of Berengar and his son Adalbert.
The project suited Otto's own policy. The conduct of the vassal king
of Italy had already earned his displeasure; but unable to go in person
he had sent Liudolf, who, since he had lost his dukedom, was in need of
employment. A brilliant and successful campaign (956–7) was, however,
cut short by the death of its leader. Liudolf died of fever at Pombia
and the work was left unfinished. At the appeal of the Pope in 959,
Otto prepared to cross the Alps himself. Anxious to secure the throne
in his own line in the event of his death during the campaign, he caused
his infant son Otto to be elected king at Worms and to be solemnly
crowned and anointed in the royal chapel of Charles the Great at Aix-
la-Chapelle. Then leaving the boy in charge of William, Archbishop of
Mayence, he set out to deliver Italy from its enemies and to receive the
imperial crown from the hands of Pope John XII.
Of the last twelve years of his life and reign, the Emperor spent
scarcely more than two in Germany. The imperial title brought with
it new responsibilities to bear, new difficulties to overcome; the work of
his later years was beyond the Alps. Nevertheless, it is unjust to lay to
his charge the neglect of Germany, a charge which can be supported
against his grandson Otto III. Otto the Great never lost interest, never
disregarded the affairs of his original kingdom. At Rome one of his first
considerations was the organisation of the Church on the eastern frontier
CH. VIII.
## p. 202 (#248) ############################################
202
Spread of Christianity in the North
I
of
.
D
of Saxony, the carrying out of his cherished plan, the foundation of a
metropolitan see at Magdeburg. As early as 955 he had sent Hademar,
Abbot of Fulda, to Rome to discuss this project with Pope Agapetus.
The jealousy of the Bishop of Halberstadt and of the Metropolitan of
Mayence put every obstacle in his path. But at last, on 12 February 962,
he was able to make the final arrangements and obtained from Pope
John XII a bull for the erection of an archbishopric at Magdeburg and a
bishopric at Merseburg. It was not, however, until 968 that effect was
given to it by the appointment of bishops. Adalbert, the first Arch-
bishop of Magdeburg, was a man of peculiar interest. He began life in
the monastery of St Maximin at Trèves, for some years he was a notary
in the chancery, in 961 he was sent as a bishop to preach the gospel in
Russia. In 966 he became Abbot of Weissenburg in Alsace, and in 968
Archbishop of Magdeburg. He is also conjectured to be the author of
the Continuation of the Chronicle of Regino of Prüm', and his varied life
and profound experience make his work of the highest value for the history
of Otto the Great.
The Emperor returned to Germany at the beginning of the year 965.
After an absence of more than three years there was much work requiring
his attention. The Wends, again assisted and roused by the turbulent
Wichmann, had given much trouble to Otto's vicegerents, Herman and
Gero, and the intermittent warfare was only brought to an end in 967
when Wichmann, then in alliance with the Redarii, was defeated and slain.
Nevertheless, in spite of the many difficulties in the way, Christianity and
,
German influence had extended very rapidly. In a campaign in 963
Gero subdued the Lusatians and received the submission and tribute of
Mesco, Duke of the Poles, who was also engaged in war with the Wends.
Bohemia was on terms of close friendship with Germany when under the
younger Boleslav, who appeared in person at Otto's court in 973. He
was zealous in the cause of Christianity and it was through the influence
of his daughter Dabravka that Mesco was baptised and missionary work
was set on foot for the first time in Poland. About the same time Harold
Bluetooth, King of Denmark, was baptised, and enjoined the Christian
faith upon his subjects. The death of Gero, soon after his return from
a pilgrimage to Rome in 965, was a set-back to German expansion. He
was the real founder of the German dominion between the Elbe and the
Oder, and his place was difficult to fill. It provided the occasion for
,
the division of the conquered territory into the later system of marches:.
1 The conjecture now generally accepted is Giesebrecht's, see Kaiserzeit, 1. 778.
2 The date of Harold's conversion is disputed. Waitz, Heinrich, 1. , p. 165, attri-
butes it to the year 934. But the later date 965 accepted by Dümmler, Otto der Grosse,
p. 391, seems to be more in accordance with the evidence. Widukind, in. 65, who
gives a detailed account of the conversion, and Adam of Bremen, 11. 3, place the
event after a successful campaign by Otto against the Danes which must have taken
place after the Emperor's return from Italy in 965.
3 On Gero's death his march was divided into three: (1) the North march under
>
## p. 203 (#249) ############################################
Death of Otto the Great
203
a
The death of Archbishop Bruno in the same year deprived the Emperor
of another of his most loyal and most valuable governors. In his ducal
office he had no successor: the division of the duchy into the provinces
of Upper and Lower Lorraine, carried out by Bruno in 959, rendered a
duke or archduke over the whole superfluous.
The years 966 to 972 were spent in Italy. Two events which bear
upon German history may be recorded ; first, the young king Otto II
was crowned Emperor at the hands of the Pope John XIII on Christmas
Day 967; and secondly, after a long series of negotiations, a Byzantine
princess, a niece of John Tzimisces named Theophano, was given in marriage
to the young Emperor.
At Christmas 972 Otto the Great was again in Germany. He was
honoured by embassies to his court from distant lands, even from the
Saracens in Africa. His work, however, was completed, he had outlived his
friends and associates. While he was absent in Italy, his son William and
his mother Matilda had died (March 968): soon after his return he lost
his trusted and loyal servant Herman. He himself did not survive much
longer. He died at Memleben, the little town in the Harz Mountains
which had also witnessed the death of his father, on 7 May 973, in his
sixty-first year. His body was taken to Magdeburg and buried in the
cathedral he had built.
The Saxon historian, Widukind, sums up the achievements of his life
in the voice of popular opinion : "The people, saying many things in
“
his praise, recalled to mind that he had ruled his subjects with paternal
piety, he had liberated them from their enemies, had conquered with his
arms the proud Avars, Saracens, Danes, and Slavs; he had brought Italy
under his yoke ; he had destroyed the temples of his heathen neighbours
and set up churches and priests in their place. ” All this he had accom-
plished. If he had failed in his attempt to centralise the government of
Germany, his failure was due to the inevitable progress towards feudalism
and the too deeply rooted tribal traditions. If in this direction his
empire fell short of its model, the empire of Charles the Great, in an-
other direction it was conspicuously in advance of it. His work, in the
extension of German influence and civilisation and in the progress of
Christianity towards the north and east of his dominions, was of per-
manent value, and stood as the firm basis of future expansion and future
development.
one margrave, (2) the East march or March of Lausitz under two margraves, and
(3) the Thuringian march, later the March of Meissen, under three margraves.
CH. VIII.
## p. 204 (#250) ############################################
204
CHAPTER IX.
OTTO II AND OTTO III.
The stability of the Saxon dynasty is shewn in a marked degree by
the way in which son succeeded father almost without question until the
direct line breaks off for lack of an heir with Otto III. Otto II, who was
born towards the end of 955, had been elected and twice crowned (at
Aix-la-Chapelle in May 961 and at Rome on Christmas Day 967) during
his father's lifetime. When Otto the Great died in 973, he was universally
accepted as his successor. It was not that there was no opposition, but the
people of Germany as a whole were satisfied with the ruling family and,
in cases of rebellion, were prepared to give their support to the hereditary
sovereign. This fact is proved not only in the frequent Bavarian revolts
in the reign of Otto II, but also and more remarkably in the attempt of
the Duke of Bavaria to wrest the crown from its rightful possessor,
the infant Otto III. Otto the Red is described by the chronicler
Thietmar as being possessed of fine physical powers ; and though at
first, through lack of experience, he shunned wise counsel, chastened by
troubles he set a rein upon himself and lived nobly for the rest of his
days.
During the first seven years of his reign his energies were directed
towards Bavaria and Lorraine. Bavaria enjoyed a position of greater
independence than any of the other duchies. Its traditions were more
deeply rooted; the influence of the old ducal family was stronger. It
had ties closely binding it with the other southern duchy, Swabia.
Burchard, Duke of Swabia, had died the year of Otto's accession and
the new king filled the vacancy by appointing Otto, the son of his half
brother Liudolf, former Duke of Swabia. Duke Burchard's widow,
Hedwig, was the daughter of Judith, the widow of Henry I of Bavaria,
who was always anxious to advance the interests of her family. She and
her son Henry, the ruling Duke of Bavaria, resented the favour shewn to
Otto, son of Liudolf, and broke into open revolt. In the first struggles
we may see an arrangement of parties which remained unchanged
throughout the reign. On the one side stand the sons of the children
of Otto the Great by his first marriage with Edith, both named Otto,
the one just elected to the duchy of Swabia, the other shortly after
appointed Duke of Carinthia; to this party the Emperor first turned
## p. 205 (#251) ############################################
Bavarian revolts
205
for support. The Bavarian family, Duke Henry and his cousin Henry,
son of Duke Berthold, were the leaders of the opposite faction. Later,
it was openly favoured by the Empress Adelaide the queen-mother, who
had a somewhat natural aversion to the sons of her stepchildren, for it
was these men who had headed the revolt against her husband in 955
just after and largely in consequence of her marriage? . In the first rebel-
lion in Bavaria Henry's ambition seems to have aspired to the throne.
It was the more serious as he was allied with Boleslav, Duke of the
Bohemians, and with Mesco, Duke of the Poles. The plot was however
discovered in time; Henry and his chief adviser, Abraham, Bishop of
Freising, were summoned under pain of the ban to appear before the
Emperor and were imprisoned, Henry at Ingelheim, Bishop Abraham
at Corvey; Judith, who was also deeply involved in the conspiracy,
entered a convent at Ratisbon.
It was not until the autumn of 975 that Otto was able to take the
field against Boleslav of Bohemia to punish him for his share in the
Bavarian revolt. In the interval he had been called away to deal with a
dangerous incursion of the Danes under Harold Bluetooth who, having
crossed the frontier wall, was ravaging the country beyond the Elbe.
Otto hurriedly collected an army, marched against the invaders, and
drove them back to the wall. He could not pursue his success further
for a formidable army of Norwegians under Jarl Hákon blocked his way.
But his object was achieved. Harold opened negotiations offering all his
treasure; this Otto declined and withdrew to collect a larger army, but
when Harold offered not only treasure, but also a tribute and his son as
a hostage, his terms were accepted. To strengthen the frontier Otto
established a new fortress on the east coast of Schleswig.
Before two years had elapsed, Henry, who well merited his name
“the Wrangler," had escaped from his imprisonment at Ingelheim and
again broke into revolt. Two brothers, Berthold and Liutpold, of the
house of Babenberg, hurriedly mustered the local levies and held him
in check until, at the approach of Otto himself, the rebellious duke fled
I A table will make the relationships clear:
Henry the Fowler
Arnulf,
Berthold,
Edith=Otto I=Adelaide Henry, Duke of Bavaria Duke of
1
a
Duke of
Bavaria
Otto II=Theophano Bavaria Judith
Henry
Liudolf Liut- Otto III
gard=Conrad,
Otto,
Duke of
Duke of
Lorraine
Swabia
and
Bavaria Otto, Duke of Carinthia
Burchard,=Hedwig
Duke of
Swabia
Henry,
Duke of
(the Wrangler), Carinthia
Duke of
Bavaria
Henry II, Duke
of Bavaria and
later Emperor
H. .
## p. 206 (#252) ############################################
206
The War of the Three Henries
to Bohemia. At an assembly of princes held at Ratisbon in July 976
Henry was deprived of his duchy, which was granted to Otto of Swabia.
For the first time the two duchies were united under one ruler ; but the
Bavaria granted to Duke Otto was not the same Bavaria as Duke Henry
had formerly held. Several important changes diminished it in extent
and in power; first, Carinthia with the March of Verona was completely
severed and formed into a separate duchy which was conferred on Henry,
called the younger, son of the old Duke Berthold of Bavaria; secondly,
the two brothers, Berthold and Liutpold, were rewarded for their fidelity
to the imperial cause. Berthold was made more independent, the
Nordgau of Bavaria being formed into a new margravate on the Bohe-
mian frontier, while Liutpold was established on a firmer footing on the
East March, which we now know as Austria, where. his descendants
flourished first as margraves and later as dukes down to the thirteenth
century. Certain ecclesiastical changes were made at the same time.
The Church in Bavaria was freed from the control of the duke and
became directly dependent on the king ; large grants were made to the
bishops of Salzburg and Passau ; and the bishopric of Prague, founded
the previous year, was attached to the province of Mayence, thus freeing
the ecclesiastical centre in Bohemia from any Bavarian influence.
Boleslav of Bohemia had been a principal accessory to the Bavarian
revolts; the campaign of 975 had been without result, so in 977 Otto
again took the field against him. Though he himself was successful,
.
his nephew, Duke Otto, in command of an army of Bavarians, met
with a disaster. One evening his men were peacefully bathing in the
river near Pilsen, when they were surprised by a body of Bohemians
who slew many of them and captured much booty. Eventually, how-
ever, Boleslav was brought to submission and did homage to the
Emperor at Magdeburg (Easter 978). A year later a successful cam-
paign compelled Mesco, Duke of the Poles, to submit to the imperial
authority. But while the Emperor was engaged in the punitive expedi-
tion in Bohemia, a fresh conspiracy of an alarming nature was set on
foot in Bavaria. Henry of Carinthia, and Henry, Bishop of Augsburg,
allied themselves with Henry, the deposed Duke of Bavaria. Even the
Church wavered in its loyalty. Nevertheless, in the “War of the Three
Henries” as it was called, Otto was entirely successful. Accompanied
by Duke Otto he advanced against the rebels, whom he found in
possession of Passau. By means of a bridge of boats he closely invested
the town and soon brought it to surrender (September 977). At the Easter
Court (978) held at Magdeburg judgment was given against the
conspirators.
