So important was his support to Philip, that he was confirmed in the office of Chancellor, and received the gift of the castle of Sternberg. Innocent ordered the Archbishop of Mentz to take possession of the estates of Wurtzburg; issued orders to the Archbishop of Magdeburg to interdict Conrad in the diocese of Hildesheim, and to command the Chapter to proceed to a new election. Yet there were secret intimations, that a man of his high character and position might find favour in Rome. To Rome he went; he returned Bishop of Wurtzburg; and if not now an opponent, but a lukewarm partisan of Philip. He was threatened with the loss of his dignity as Chancellor," perhaps became the object of persecution. His murder was an act of private revenge. He had determined to put down the robbers and disturbers of the peace round Wurtzburg. One of the house of Rabensburg presumed on his relationship to claim an exception from this decree: he was beheaded Dec. 3, 1202. by the inflexible Conrad. The kinsman of the executed robber, Bodo of Rabensburg, and Henry Hund of Falkenberg, resented this act of unusual severity. Two of their followers stole into Wurtzburg, murdered the Bishop on his way to church, and mutilated his body. When Philip came to Wurtzburg, the clergy and people showed him the hand of the murdered Bishop and demanded vengeance. Philip gave no redress: he was charged with more than indifference to the fate of a Bishop who had fallen off to Otho. The citizens broke out, took and razed the castles of the suborners of the murder. These men fled to Rome, confessed their sin, and submitted to penance. The penance is characteristic of the age; it was a just but life-long martyrdom. They were to show themselves naked, as far as decency would permit, and with a halter round their necks, in the cathedral of every city in Germany, through which lay their way from Rome, till they reached Wurtzburg. There, on the four great feasts, and on the day of St. Kilian the tutelar saint of the city, they must appear and undergo the discipline of flagellation. b Compare Innocent's letters.- Reg. i. 201; i. 223. He is called Chancellor at the time of his murder. Arnold Lubec.-Leibnitz, ii. 726. d Raynald, sub ann. 1203. CHAP. II. TEN YEARS OF CIVIL WAR. 51 They might not bear arms, but against the enemies of the faith, nor wear rich attire. Four years they were to serve, but in the garb of penitence, in the Holy Land. All their life they were to fast and pray, to receive the Eucharist only on their death-bed. war. For ten dreary years, with but short intervals of truce, Germany was abandoned to all the horrors of Ten years' civil war. The repeated protestations of Inno- A.D.1198-1203. cent, that he was not the cause of these fatal discords, betray the fact that he was accused of the guilt; and that he had to wrestle with his own conscience to acquit himself of the charge. It was a war not of decisive battles, but of marauding, desolation, havock, plunder, wasting of harvests, ravaging open and defenceless countries; war waged by Prelate against Prelate, by Prince against Prince; wild Bohemians and bandit soldiers of every race were roving through every province. Throughout the land there was no law: the highroads were impassable on account of robbers; traffic cut off, except on the great rivers from Cologne down the Rhine, from Ratisbon down the Danube; nothing was spared, nothing sacred, church or cloister. Some monasteries were utterly impoverished; some destroyed. The ferocities of war grew into brutalities; the clergy, and sacred persons, were the victims and perpetrators. The wretched nun, whose illusage has been related, was no doubt only recorded because her fate was somewhat more horrible than that of many of her sisters. The Abbot of St. Gall seized six of the principal burghers of Arbon, and cut off their feet, in revenge for one of his servants, who had suffered the like mutilation for lopping wood in their forests. Innocent seemed threatened with the deep humiliation of having provoked, inflamed, kept up this disastrous strife * The inscription on the place of the murder Hic procumbo solo, sceleri quia parcere nolo, Thus says Walther der Vogelweide Zu Rom hört ich lügen, Zwei künige betrügen; Das gab den aller-grösten Streit, Der jemals ward in aller Zeit, Da sah man sich entzweien Die Laien blieben Sieger, Das Schwert sie legten aus der Hand, Sie bannten wen sie wollten, Nicht den sie bannen sollten. Zerstört war manches Güttes haus. Simrock, p. 174; Lachmann, 9; Hurter, ii. 98. Innocent obliged to acknowledge Philip. Nov. 11, 1204. only for his own and his Emperor's discomfiture and defeat. Year after year the cause of Otho became more doubtful; the exertions, the intrigues, the promises, the excommunications of Rome became more unavailing. The revolt of the Archbishop of Cologne gave a fatal turn: the example of Adolph's perfidy and tergiversation wrought widely among Otho's most powerful partisans. There were few, on Otho's side at least, who had not changed their party; Otho's losses were feebly compensated by the defections from the ranks of Philip. At the close of the ten years the contest had become almost hopeless; even the inflexible Innocent was compelled to betray signs of remorse, of reconciliation, of accepting Philip as Emperor, of abandoning Otho," of recanting all his promises, struggling out of his vows of implacable enmity, of perpetual alliance. Negotiations had begun, Philip's ambassadors were received in Rome: two Legates, Leo the Cardinal Priest of Santa Croce, Cardinal Ugolino Bishop of Ostia and Velletri, were in Worms: Philip swore to subject himself in all things to the Pope. Philip was solemnly absolved from his excommunication. At Metz the Papal Legates beheld the victorious Emperor celebrate his Christmas with kingly splendour. From this abasing position Innocent was relieved by the crime of one man. The assassination of Philip by Otho of Wittlesbach placed Otho at once on the throne. June, 1206. Aug. 1207. Christmas, 1207. Murder of The crime of Otho of Wittlesbach sprang from private revenge. Otho was one of the fiercest and most lawless chieftains of these lawless times; brave beyond most men, and so far true and loyal to the house of Swabia. Philip had at least closed his eyes at one murder committed by Otho of Wittlesbach. He had promised him his Two grants (Böhmer's Regesta sub ann. 1205) show the price paid for the archbishop's perfidy. h Compare Otho's desperate letter of covert reproach to Innocent, Epist. i. 754. Innocent's letter to the Archbishop of Saltzburg betrays something like shame, i. 748. In 1205 Innocent reproached the bishops and prelates of Otho's party-ex eo quod nobilis vir Dux Sueciæ visus est aliquantulum prosperare, contra honestatem propriam et fidem præstitam venientes, relicto eo cui prius adhæserant, ejus adversario adhærent.-Epist. i. 742. iReg. Imp. Chron. Ursberg.-Epist. i. 750, of Nov. 1. Compare Abel, Philip. der Hohenstaufer, p. 211. CHAP. II. MURDER OF KING PHILIP. 53 daughter in marriage; but the father's gentle heart was moved; he alleged some impediment of affinity to release her from the union with this wild man. Otho then aspired to the daughter of the Duke of Poland. He demanded letters of recommendation from the King Philip. He set forth with them, but some mistrust induced him to have them opened and read; he found that Philip had, generously to the Duke of Poland, perfidiously as he thought to himself, warned the Duke as to the ungovernable character of Otho. He vowed vengeance. On St. Alban's day Philip at Bamberg had been celebrating the nuptials of his niece with the Duke of Meran. He was reposing, having been bled, in the heat of the day, on a couch in the palace of the Bishop. Otho appeared with sixteen followers at the door, and demanded audience as on some affair of importance; he entered the chamber brandishing his sword. "Lay down that sword," said Philip, with a scornful reproach of perfidy: Wittlesbach struck Philip on the neck. Three persons were present, the Chancellor, the Truchsess of Waldburg, and an officer of the royal chamber. The Chancellor ran to hide himself, the other two endeavoured to seize Otho; the Truchsess bore an honourable scar for life, which he received in his attempt to bolt the door. Otho passed out, leaped on his horse and fled. So died the gentlest, the most popular of the house of Swabia.* The execration of all mankind, the ban of the Empire pursued the murderer. The castle of Wittlesbach was levelled with the ground, not one stone left on another: on its site was built a church, dedicated to the Virgin. The assassin was at length discovered, after many wanderings and it is said deep remorse of mind, in a stable, and put to death with many wounds. * Philip had been compelled during the long war grievously to weaken the power of his house by alienating the domains which his predecessors had accumulated. Hic cum non haberet pecunias quibus salaria sive solda præberet militibus, primus cœpit distrahere prædia, quæ pater suus Fredericus imperator late acquisierat in Alemannia; sicque factum est ut nihil sibi remaneret præter inane nomen dominii terræ, et curtales seu villas in quibus fora habentur et pauca castella terræ.-Chron. Ursberg. 311. The poems of Walther der Vogelweide are the best testimony to the gentleness and popularity of Philip. See der Pfaffen Wahl, p. 180; especially Die Milde, 184. Simrock. CHAPTER III. Otho INNOCENT AND THE EMPEROR OTHO IV. ОтHо was now undisputed Emperor; a diet at Frankfort, more numerous than had met for many years, Emperor. acknowledged him with almost unprecedented unanimity. He held great diets at Nuremberg, Brunswick, Wurtzburg, Spires. He descended the next year over the Brenner into Italy to receive the Imperial crown. Throughout Italy the Guelphic cities opened their gates to welcome the Champion of the Church, the Emperor chosen by the Pope, with universal acclamation: old enemies seemed to forget their feuds in his presence, tributary gifts were poured lavishly at his feet. The Pope and his Emperor met at Viterbo; they embraced, they wept tears of joy, in remembrance of their common trials, in transport at their common triumph. Innocent's compulsory abandonment of Otho's cause was forgotten the Pope demanded security that Otho would surrender, immediately after his coronation, the lands of the Church, now occupied by his troops. Otho almost resented the suspicion of his loyalty; and Innocent in his blind confidence abandoned his demand. Oct. 24. The coronation took place in St. Peter's church with more than usual magnificence and solemnity; magnificence which became this unwonted friendship between the temporal and spiritual powers; solemnity which was enhanced by the lofty character and imposing demeanour of Innocent. The Imperial crown was on the head of Otho; and-almost from that moment the Emperor and the Pope were implacable enemies. Otho has at once forgotten his own prodigal acknowledgment: "All I have been, all I am, all I ever shall be, after God, I owe to you and the Church." Already the evening before the a Quod hactenus fuimus, quod sumus gratantissime recognoscimus. - Regest. et quod erimus... totum vobis et Ro- Ep. 161. manæ ecclesiæ post Deum debere.... |