&c. vince. Charlemagne had stretched a vague and nominal empire as far as the edge of Transylvania; but, after the failure of his legitimate line, the dukes of Moravia forgot their obedience and tribute to the monarchs of Oriental France. The bastard Arnulph was provoked to invite the arms of the Turks: they rushed through the real or figurative wall, which his indiscretion had thrown open; and the king of Germany has been justly reproached as a traitor to the civil and ecclesiastical society of the Christians. During the A. D. 900, life of Arnulph, the Hungarians were checked by gratitude or fear; but in the infancy of his son Lewis they discovered and invaded Bavaria; and such was their Scythian speed, that in a single day a circuit of fifty miles was stript and consumed. In the battle of Augsburgh the Christians maintained their advantage till the seventh hour of the day: they were deceived and vanquished by 'the flying stratagems of the Turkish cavalry. The conflagration spread over the provinces of Bavaria, Swabia, and Franconia; and the Hungarians (31) promoted the reign of anarchy, by forcing the stoutest barons to discipline their vassals and fortify their castles. The origin of walled towns is ascribed to this calamitous period; nor could any distance be secure against an enemy, who, almost at the same instant, laid in ashes the Helvetian monastery of St. Gall, and the city of Bremen, on the shores of the northern ocean. Above thirty years the Germanic empire, or kingdom, was subject to the ignominy of tribute; and resistance was disarmed by the menace, the serious and effectual menace, of dragging the women and children into captivity, and of slaughtering the males above the age of ten years. I have neither power nor inclination to follow the Hungarians beyond the Rhine; but I must observe with surprise, that the southern provinces of France were blasted by the tempest, and that Spain, behind her Pyrenees, was astonished at the approach of A. D. 900. these formidable strangers (32). The vicinity of Italy had tempted their early inroads; but, from their camp on the Brenta, they beheld with some terror the apparent strength and populousness of the new-discovered country. They requested leave to retire; their request was proudly rejected by the Italian king; and the lives of twenty thousand Christians paid the forfeit of his obstinacy and rashness. Among the cities of the West, the royal Pavia was conspicuous in fame and splendour; and the pre-eminence of Rome A. D. 924. itself was only derived from the relics of the apostles. The Hungarians appeared: Pavia was in flames; forty-three churches were (31) Hungarorum gens, cujus omnes fere nationes expertæ sævitiam, &c. is the preface of Liutprand (1. i. c. 2.), who frequently expatiates on the calamities of his own times. See 1. i. c. 5. 1. ii. c. 1, 2. 4, 5, 6, 7. 1. iii. c. 1, &c. l. v. c. 8. 15. in Legat. p. 485. His colours are glaring, but his chronology must be rectified by Pagi and Muratori. (32) The three bloody reigns of Arpad, Zoltan, and Toxus, are critically illustrated by Katona (Hist. Ducum, &c. p. 107-499.). His diligence has searched both natives and foreigners; yet to the deeds of mischief, or glory, I have been able to add the destruction of Bremen (Adam Bremensis, i. 43.). consumed; and, after the massacre of the people, they spared about two hundred wretches, who had gathered some bushels of gold and silver (a vague exaggeration) from the smoking ruins of their country. In these annual excursions from the Alps to the neighbourhood of Rome and Capua, the churches, that yet escaped, resounded with a fearful litany: "O! save and deliver us from the arrows "of the Hungarians!" But the saints were deaf or inexorable; and the torrent rolled forwards, till it was stopped by the extreme land of Calabria (33). A composition was offered and accepted for the head of each Italian subject; and ten bushels of silver were poured forth in the Turkish camp. But falsehood is the natural antagonist of violence; and the robbers were defrauded both in the numbers of the assessment and the standard of the metal. On the side of the East the Hungarians were opposed in doubtful conflict by the equal arms of the Bulgarians, whose faith forbade an alliance with the Pagans, and whose situation formed the barrier of the Byzantine empire. The barrier was overturned; the emperor of A. D. 924. Constantinople beheld the waving banners of the Turks; and one of their boldest warriors presumed to strike a battle-axe into the golden gate. The arts and treasures of the Greeks diverted the assault; but the Hungarians might boast, in their retreat, that they had imposed a tribute on the spirit of Bulgaria and the majesty of the Cæsars (34). The remote and rapid operations of the same campaign appear to magnify the power and numbers of the Turks; but their courage is most deserving of praise, since a light troop of three or four hundred horse would often attempt and execute the most daring inroads to the gates of Thessalonica and Constantinople. At this disastrous æra of the ninth and tenth centuries, Europe was afflicted by a triple scourge from the North, the East, and the South: the Norman, the Hungarian, and the Saracen, sometimes trod the same ground of desolation; and these savage foes might have been compared by Homer to the two lions growling over the carcass of a mangled stag (35). (33) Muratori has considered with patriotic care the danger and resources of Modena. The citizens besought St. Geminianus, their patron, to avert, by his intercession, the rabies, flagellum, &c. Nunc te rogamus, licet servi pessimi, Ab Ungerorum nos defendas jaculis. The bishop erected walls for the public defence, not contra dominos serenos (Antiquitat. Ital. med. Evi, tom. i. dissertat. i. p. 21, 22.), and the song of the nightly watch is not without elegance or use (tom. iii. diss. xl. p. 709.). The Italian annalist has accurately traced the series of their inroads (Annali d'Italia, tom. vii. p. 365. 367. 393. 401. 437. 440. tom. viii. p. 19. 41. 52, &c.). (34) Both the Hungarian and Russian annals suppose, that they besieged, or attacked, or insulted Constantinople (Pray, dissertat. x. p. 239. Katona, Hist. Ducum, p. 354-360.); and the fact is almost confessed by the Byzantine historians (Leo Grammaticus, p. 506. Cedrenus, tom. ii. p. 629.): yet, however glorious to the nation, it is denied or doubted by the critical historian, and even by the notary of Bela. Their scepticism is meritorious; they could not safely transcribe or believe the rusticorum fabulas: but Katona might have given due attention to the evidence of Liutprand, Bulgarorum gentem atque Græcorum tributariam fecerant (Hist. l. ii. c. 4. p. 435.). Victory of of Otho the Great, A. D. 955. The deliverance of Germany and Christendom was achieved by Fowler, the Saxon princes, Henry the Fowler and Otho the Great, who, in A. D. 934, two memorable battles, for ever broke the power of the Hunga→ rians (36). The valiant Henry was roused from a bed of sickness by the invasion of his country; but his mind was vigorous and his prudénce successful. "My companions," said he, on the morning of the combat," maintain your ranks, receive on your bucklers "the first arrows of the Pagans, and prevent their second discharge "by the equal and rapid career of your lances." They obeyed and conquered: and the historical picture of the castle of Merseburgh expressed the features, or at least the character, of Henry, who, in an age of ignorance, entrusted to the finer arts the perpe→ tuity of his name (37). At the end of twenty years, the children of the Turks who had fallen by his sword invaded the empire of his son; and their force is defined, in the lowest estimate, at one hundred thousand horse. They were invited by domestic faction; the gates of Germany were treacherously unlocked; and they spread, far beyond the Rhine and the Meuse, into the heart of Flanders. But the vigour and prudence of Otho dispelled the conspiracy; the princes were made sensible that unless they were true to each other, their religion and country were irrecoverably lost; and the national powers were reviewed in the plains of Augsburgh. They marched and fought in eight legions, according to the division of provinces and tribes; the first, second, and third, were composed of Bavarians; the fourth, of Franconians; the fifth, of Saxons, under the immediate command of the monarch; the sixth and seventh consisted of Swabians; and the eighth legion, of a thousand Bohemians, closed the rear of the host. The resources of discipline and valour were fortified by the arts of superstition, which, on this occasion, may deserve the epithets of generous and salutary. The soldiers were purified with a fast; the camp was blessed with the relics of saints and martyrs; and the Christian hero girded on his side the sword of Constantine, grasped the invincible spear of Charlemagne, and waved the banner of St. Maurice, the præfect of the Thebaan legion. But his firmest confidence was placed in the (36) They are amply and critically discussed by Katona (Hist. Ducum, p. 360–368. 427–470.). Liutprand (1. ii. c. 8, 9.) is the best evidence for the former; and Witichind (Annal. Saxon. 1. iii.) of the latter but the critical historian will not even overlook the horn of a warrior, which is said to be preserved at Jaz-berin. (37) Hunc vero triumphum, tam laude quam memoria dignum, ad Meresburgum rex in superiori cœnaculo domus per wypaplav, id est, picturam, notari præcepit, adeo ut rem veram potius quam verisimilem videas: an high encomium (Liutprand, 1. ii. c. 9.). Another palace in Germany had been painted with holy subjects by the order of Charlemagne; and Muratori may justly affirm, nulla sæcula fuere in quibus pictores desiderati fuerint (Antiquitat. Ital. medii Evi, tom. ii... dissert. xxiv. p. 360, 361.). Our domestic claims to antiquity of iguorance and original imperfection (Mr. Walpole's lively words) are of a much more recent date (Anecdotes of Painting, vol. i. p. 2, &c.). holy lance (38), whose point was fashioned of the nails of the cross, and which his father had extorted from the king of Burgundy, by the threats of war, and the gift of a province. The Hungarians were expected in the front; they secretly passed the Lech, a river of Bavaria that falls into the Danube; turned the rear of the Christian army; plundered the baggage, and disordered the legions of Bohemia and Swabia. The battle was restored by the Franconians, whose duke, the valiant Conrad, was pierced with an arrow as he rested from his fatigues: the Saxons fought under the eyes of their king; and his victory surpassed, in merit and importance, the triumphs of the last two hundred years. The loss of the Hungarians was still greater in the flight than in the action; they were encompassed by the rivers of Bavaria; and their past cruelties excluded them from the hope of mercy. Three captive princes were hanged at Ratisbon, the multitude of prisoners was slain or mutilated, and the fugitives, who presumed to appear in the face of their country, were condemned to everlasting poverty and disgrace (39). Yet the spirit of the nation was humbled, and the most accessible passes of Hungary were fortified with a ditch and rampart. Adversity suggested the counsels of moderation and peace: A. D. 972. the robbers of the West acquiesced in a sedentary life; and the next generation was taught, by a discerning prince, that far more might be gained by multiplying and exchanging the produce of a fruitful soil. The native race, the Turkish or Fennic blood, was mingled with new colonies of Scythian or Sclavonian origin (40) ; many thousands of robust and industrious captives had been imported from all the countries of Europe (41); and after the marriage of Geisa with a Bavarian princess, he bestowed honours and estates on the nobles of Germany (42). The son of Geisa was invested with the regal title, and the house of Arpad reigned three hundred years in the kingdom of Hungary. But the freeborn Barbarians (38) See Baronius, Annal. Eccles. A. D. 929, No. 2-5. The lance of Christ is taken from the best evidence, Liutprand (l. iv. c. 12.), Sigebert, and the acts of St. Gerard; but the other military relics depend on the faith of the Gesta Anglorum post Bedam, 1. ii. c. 8. (39) Katona, Hist. Ducum Hungariæ, p. 500, &c. (40) Among these colonies we may distinguish, 1. The Chazars, or Cabari, who joined the Hungarians on their march (Constant. de Admin. Imp. c. 39, 40. p. 108, 109.). 2. The Jazyges, Moravians, and Siculi, whom they found in the land; the last were perhaps a remnant of the Huns of Attila, and were entrusted with the guard of the borders. 3. The Russians, who, like the Swiss in France, imparted a general name to the royal porters. 4. The Bulgarians, whose chiefs (A. D. 956) were invited, cum magna multitudine Hismahelitarum. Had any of these Sclavonians embraced the Mahometan religion? 5. The Bisseni and Cumans, a mixed multitude of Patzinacites, Uzi, Chazars, &c. who had spread to the lower Danube. The last colony of 40,000 Cumans, A. D. 1239, was received and converted by the kings of Hungary, who derived from that tribe a new regał appellation (Pray, Dissert. vi, vii. p. 109-172. Katona, Hist. Ducum, p. 95-99. 259-264. 476. 479-483, &c.). (41) Christiana autem, quorum pars major populi est, qui ex omni parte mundi illuc tracti sunt captivi, &c. Such was the language of Pilgrinus, the first missionary who entered Hungary, A. D. 973. Pars major is strong. Hist. Ducum, p. 517. (42) The fideles Teutonici of Geisa are authenticated in old charters: and Katona, with his usual industry, has made a fair estimate of these colonies, which had been so loosely magnified by the Italian Ranzanus (Hist. Critic. Ducum, p. 667-681.). Origin of the were not dazzled by the lustre of the diadem, and the people asserted their indefeasible right of choosing, deposing, and punishing the hereditary servant of the state. III. The name of RUSSIANS (43) was first divulged, in the ninth monarchy. century, by an embassy from Theophilus, emperor of the East, to A. D. 839. the emperor of the West, Lewis, the son of Charlemagne. The Greeks were accompanied by the envoys of the great duke, or chagan, or czar, of the Russians. In their journey to Constantinople, they had traversed many hostile nations; and they hoped to escape the dangers of their return, by requesting the French monarch to transport them by sea to their native country. A closer examination detected their origin: they were the brethren of the Swedes and Normans, whose name was already odious and formidable in France; and it might justly be apprehended, that these Russian strangers were not the messengers of peace, but the emissaries of war. They were detained, while the Greeks were dismissed; and Lewis expected a more satisfactory account, that he might obey the laws of hospitality or prudence, according to the interest of both empires (44). This Scandinavian origin of the people, or at least the princes, of Russia, may be confirmed and illustrated by the national annals (45) and the general history of the North. The Normans, who had so long been concealed by a veil of impenetrable darkness, suddenly burst forth in the spirit of naval and military enterprise. The vast, and, as it is said, the populous, regions of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, were crowded with independent (43) Among the Greeks, this national appellation has a singular form, Poç, as an undeclinable word, of which many fanciful etymologies have been suggested. I have perused, with pleasure and profit, a dissertation de Origine Russorum (Comment. Academ. Petropolitanæ, tom. viii. p. 388436.) by Theophilus Sigefrid Bayer, a learned German, who spent his life and labours in the service of Russia. A geographical tract of D'Anville, de l'Empire de Russie, son Origine et ses Accroissemens (Paris, 1772, in 12mo.), has likewise been of use.* (44) See the entire passage (dignum, says Bayer, ut aureis in tabulis figatur) in the Annales Bertiniani Francorum (in Script. Ital. Muratori, tom. ii. pars i. p. 525.), A. D. 839, twenty-two years before the era of Ruric. In the xth century, Liutprand (Hist. 1. v. c. 6.) speaks of the Russians and Normans as the same Aquilonares homines of a red complexion. (45) My knowledge of these annals is drawn from M. Lévêque, Histoire de Russie. Nestor, the first and best of these ancient annalists, was a monk of Kiow, who died in the beginning of the xiith century; but his Chronicle was obscure, till it was published at Petersburgh, 1767, in 4to. Lévêque, Hist. de Russie, tom. i. p. xvi. Coxe's Travels, vol. ii. p. 184.† call the Swedes, to the present day, Roots, Rootsi, Ruotzi, Rootslaue. See Thunman, Untersuchungen über der Geschichte der Estlichen Europaischen Völker, p. 374. Gatterer, Comm. Societ. Reg. Scient. Gotting. xiii. p. 126. Schlözer in his Nestor. Koch. Révolut. de l'Europe, vol. i. p. 60. Malte-Brun, Géograph. vol. vi. p. 378.-M. The later antiquarians of Russia and Ger- The late M. Schlözer has translated and added a commentary to the "Aunals of Nestor;" and his work is the mine from which henceforth the history of the North must be drawn. |