The word "Germany" comes from the Latin word Germania. This is how the Romans called the people who lived east of the Rhine River during the Gallic War (58-51). The German name for the country, Deutschland, comes from a Germanic root that means “people” or “people.”
A Frankish court document (written in Latin in 768 AD) uses the term "theodisca lingua" to refer to the spoken language of people who did not speak either Latin or early forms of the Romance languages. From this point on, the word "deutsch" was used to emphasize differences in speech that corresponded to political, geographical and social differences.
Since the Frankish and Saxon kings of the early Middle Ages liked to call themselves emperors of Rome, at that time it was too early to talk about the emergence of their own national identity. By the 15th century, the name Heiliges Römisches Reich, or Holy Roman Empire, was supplemented by the definition of the German nation (deutschen Nation).
It is important to note that at that time the phrase “German people”, “German nation” applied only to those who were close to the emperor - dukes, counts, archbishops. However, such a name indicates the desire of members of the imperial court to separate from the Roman Curia, with which they were in conflict over various political and financial issues.
The territory that became known as Deutschland, or , was nominally under the rule of a German king who doubled as Roman Emperor beginning in the 10th century. In fact, various principalities, counties, cities had a sufficient degree of autonomy. They maintained their own traditions even after the founding of the nation-state, the German Empire, in 1871.
The ancient names - , Brandenburg, Saxony are still designations of their respective lands. Other names (for example, Swabia, Franconia) are stored in directories and maps in the section "Historic landscapes". Regional differences are of great importance in German culture, although it is quite obvious that they are often manipulated by the authorities for political and commercial purposes.
The Federal Republic of Germany was founded in 1949 after the country's defeat in World War II. At first it consisted of the so-called West Germany, that is, the area that was occupied by the French, British and Americans. In 1990, the five regions that made up eastern Germany - the territory under Soviet control known as the GDR (German Democratic Republic) - became part of the Federal Republic of Germany.
From now on, Germany consists of 16 federal states: Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Goldstein and Thuringia.
Education of the country
At different times, the concept of national was interpreted differently. Humanist scholars of the early 16th century initiated the debate about the German nation. In their opinion, modern Germans are the descendants of the ancient Germanic peoples, who are described in the works of Roman thinkers - Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) and Cornelius Tacitus (55-116 AD), author of the famous work “Germania” .
From the point of view of Ulrich von Hutten (1488-1523), it was Tacitus who came closest to understanding the origins of the German nation, which in many ways was, if not equal, then superior to the Romans. German humanists made their hero Armin, who defeated Roman troops at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD.
The interest of German thinkers in their famous predecessors and the literature of the time, as history shows, continued into the 18th century - this can be felt in the inspired patriotic poetry of Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (1724-1803) and the poets of the Göttinger Hain group founded in 1772 .
The scholar Norbert Elias has argued that the increased attention that German philosophers and writers paid to the writings of Roman intellectuals was motivated in large part by a rejection of the aristocratic courtly traditions that characterized their French counterparts.
On the eve of the Great French Revolution (1789), it was divided into almost 300 political entities of various sizes, each of which had its own degree of sovereignty. In 1974, French troops occupied the left bank of the Rhine, which was divided between several principalities.
In 1806, Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) disbanded the territory of the Holy Roman Empire. That same year, Napoleonic troops defeated Prussia and its allies in the battles of Jena and Auerstätt. German nationalism formed in response to this defeat. During the War of Liberation (1813-1815), many patriotic volunteers joined the army, and the Allied forces under Prussian leadership drove the French out of German territory.
Those who hoped that a unified German state would be created were disappointed in these aspirations after the Congress of Vienna (1815). The dynastic rulers of individual German lands remained in their positions. Along with the rise of historical scholarship in the first half of the 19th century, the emphasis on German history was complemented by medieval thinkers' ideas about the origins of the German nation.
In the era of nationalism, when the nation-state was understood as the end point of historical development, German historians tried to explain why Germany, unlike France and England, had still not been able to become a single state. They believed they had discovered the answer to this question in the medieval period of history. Soon after the death of Charles (814), the Carolingian empire was divided into northern, middle and eastern kingdoms.
From the teleological point of view of 19th century historians, the western kingdom became France, the eastern kingdom became Germany, and the middle lands remained a bone of contention between these states. The German king Otto I, who ruled in the 10th century, organized a number of expeditions to. In 962, the Pope crowned him emperor. From this point on, a close connection began to form between Germany and the medieval version of the Roman Empire.
German historians of the 19th century viewed the medieval kingdom as the beginning of the process of forming a German national state. The medieval ruler was the main initiator of national development, but modern historians are inclined to believe that the actual actions of the emperors contradicted this lofty goal.
The biggest villains of medieval history, especially in the eyes of Protestants, were the popes and those German princes who supported them against the emperor for reasons that were called "selfish". The opposition of the pope and the princes, as historians believed, “stifled” the proper development of the German nation. The highest point was the era of the Hohenstaufen emperors (1138-1254).
Emperor Frederick I of Hohenstaufen is considered a great hero of Germany, although after his reign the empire entered a long period of decline. The first Habsburgs, according to modern researchers, showed great promise, but their successors did not distinguish themselves in anything particularly good. The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), when Germany was tormented by both external and internal enemies, is considered the lowest point in the development of national identity.
The educated bourgeoisie and the masses of 19th century Germany hoped for a renewal of the state, but there was no consensus on what exactly it should be. The main conflict was between supporters of grossdeutsch - “big Germany” under Austrian rule and kleindeutsch - “little Germany” under Prussian rule and without taking into account the territory of Austria.
The second option was realized when Prussia won a series of wars - defeating Denmark in 1864, Austria in 1866 and France in 1871. In the writings of the Prussian school of history, the victory of Prussia and the founding of the German Empire in 1981 is portrayed as the realization of the plans of the medieval emperor Frederick I.
After the founding of the empire, the German government followed an aggressive policy aimed at other countries and territories adjacent to the eastern border. Defeat in World War I led to widespread dissatisfaction with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which many Germans considered unfair.
The people also opposed the founders of the Weimar Republic, as they considered them traitors. Adolf Hitler, leader of the National Socialist Party, deliberately exploited the resentment of the masses and their desire to achieve national greatness. National Socialist propaganda was built on the exaltation of the German nation, its biological superiority over other races.
National identity of Germany
After World War II, the question of the national identity of the Germans became not very convenient, since the national movement seemed to end with the rule of the Third Reich, because one of its aspects was the murder of millions of people, including 6 million Jews. Subsequent years of German history were devoted to combating this problem.
Many attempts have been made to explain the ideology of Nazism and the crimes committed by the Nazis. Some believe that Adolf Hitler and his henchmen are villains who misled the German people. Others blame Nazism for the Germans' lack of national character. Still others see the beginning of Germany's problems in the rejection of the rational and universal principles of the Enlightenment and the adoption of romantic irrationalism.
Marxist researchers consider Nazism to be a form of fascism, which, in turn, in their opinion, is capitalism formed under certain historical conditions. There are also opinions about the unsuccessful bourgeois revolution of the 19th century and the lingering power of the feudal elites - this is also considered the reason for the development of Nazism. Interpretations of this kind are called Vergangenheitsbewältigung (“overcoming the past”).
These attempts became widespread in West Germany during the socialist rule of the GDR. Some Germans emphasized the similarities between the two forms of dictatorship, National Socialist and Communist, while others, mainly East Germans, believed that the Third Reich and the GDR were essentially different states. The differences between the opinions of West and East Germany are referred to as the Mauer in den Köpfen, or wall - an allusion to the real wall that was erected to divide East and West Germany.
In recent years, German nationalism has been redefined according to a vision of the nation as an "imagined community" that is based on "imaginary traditions." Scholars have focused on the organization, symbolism, and trajectory of the national movement as it developed in the 19th century.
The most significant contribution to the development of national self-determination of that time was played by public associations that returned back to local, regional and national traditions; a number of monuments erected by the government and citizens; various works on the history of Germany and the thoughts of historians, which were already mentioned above. In addition, there is also literature in which the concept of national was also conceptualized.
There is considerable disagreement about the political implications of the critical history of nationalism in Germany. Some scholars seem to be eager to reject the deviant consequences of modern German nationalism, while simultaneously preserving those aspects with which, in their opinion, Germans should identify themselves. Others see nationalism as a dangerous stage in the process of historical development that Germans must leave behind.
Ethnic relations
The framers of the Grundgesetz ("Basic Law" or Constitution) of the Federal Republic of Germany adopted old laws according to which citizenship was determined according to jus sanguinis (literally: "law of the blood"), that is, a child must be born of German parents. For this reason, many people born outside of Germany are considered German, while those born in Germany itself are not.
Beginning in the 1960s, the country began to recognize the millions of immigrants who play a huge role in the German economy. Although immigrant workers from Turkey, Yugoslavia, Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal were called guest workers, many of them remained to live in Germany and started families here. They assimilated their livelihoods into the German way of life.
However, obtaining German citizenship is quite difficult for them. The Germans themselves consider them Ausländer (foreigners). Since 2000, new laws have come into force that grant dual citizenship to the children of foreigners who were born in Germany.
Due to the new legislation, discussions about Germany's status as a country of immigrants have intensified. Currently, all major political parties agree that this is and should be a country of immigrants, but they differ on many aspects of immigration policy.
Germany after World War II
Occupation zones:
Amer. + Brit. + owls + French
Deportation of Germans
Germany + GDR + Zap. Berlin
German reunification 1990
Modern Germany
State in Central Europe. Over the course of history, it has experienced periods of strong fragmentation and has repeatedly changed its borders. Therefore, the history of Germany is inseparable from the history of its closest neighbors Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy and France.
Antiquity
Prehistoric period
Even in the Upper and Middle Paleolithic era, Germany was a place of migration of the most ancient hominids (Heidelberg man, Neanderthal man).
During the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic era, several developed Paleolithic cultures existed in Germany (Hamburg, Ahrensburg, Federmesser).
During the Neolithic era, the territory of Germany was occupied mainly by representatives of the western branch of the linear-band ceramics culture (Rössen culture and its descendant, the Michelsberg culture). During this period, dolmens were actively constructed in Germany. The Michelsberg culture is gradually replaced by the Funnel Beaker culture.
The Bronze Age is associated with the speakers of the ancient Indo-European languages, although initially these were, apparently, the ancestors not of the Germanic, but of the Celto-Italic peoples (the culture of spherical amphorae, the Baden culture, the culture of the fields of funerary urns, etc.). The ancestors of the Germans occupied mainly the northern part of Germany, but since the Iron Age they gradually ousted the Celts from Germany, partially assimilating them, especially in the south of Germany.
Germans in ancient times
Germanic tribes lived in the territory of Central Europe back in the first millennium BC; a fairly detailed description of their structure and way of life is given by Tacitus in the treatise “”. Linguistic studies suggest that the separation of the Germanic peoples from the Balto-Slavs occurred around the 8th-6th centuries BC.
The Germans were divided into several groups - between the Rhine, Main and Weser lived the Batavians, Bructeri, Hamavians, Chatti and Ubii; on the North Sea coast - Hawks, Angles, Warins, Frisians; from the middle and upper Elbe to the Oder - Marcomanni, Quads, Lombards and Semnons; between the Oder and the Vistula - Vandals, Burgundians and Goths; in Scandinavia - swions, gauts.
From the 2nd century AD e. The Germans are increasingly invading the Roman Empire. To the Romans however they were simply barbarians. Gradually, they formed tribal alliances (Alemanni, Goths, Saxons, Franks).
Great Migration
Middle Ages
Frankish state
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Frankish tribes played the most significant role among the Germanic tribes. In 481, Clovis I became the first king of the Salic Franks. Under him and his descendants, Gaul was conquered, and from the Germans, the Alemanni and most of the Frankish tribes became part of the state. Later, Aquitaine, Provence, northern Italy, a small part of Spain were conquered, and the Thuringians, Bavarians, Saxons and other tribes were subjugated. By 800, all of Germany was part of the vast Frankish state.
Beginning of German statehood
The origins of the German state are connected with the Treaty of Verdun, which was concluded between the grandchildren of Charlemagne. This treaty divided the Frankish empire into three parts - the French (West Frankish Kingdom), which went to Charles the Bald, the Italian-Lorraine (Middle Kingdom), whose king was Charlemagne's eldest son Lothair, and the German, where power went to Louis the German.
Traditionally, the first German state is considered to be the East Frankish state. During the 10th century, the unofficial name “Reich of the Germans (Regnum Teutonicorum)” appeared, which after several centuries became generally accepted (in the form “Reich der Deutschen”).
Germany - birthplace of the Reformation
The Reformation marked the beginning of several religious wars in Germany, ending in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia. As a result, the fragmentation of Germany was consolidated.
Rise of Prussia
The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 led to a significant expansion of the possessions of the Electorate of Brandenburg, which had annexed the Duchy of Prussia earlier (in 1618). In 1701, the Brandenburg-Prussian state received the name “Kingdom of Prussia”. It was distinguished by a rigid bureaucratic system and militarism. Prussia and other East German states saw a second edition of serfdom. On the other hand, it was in Prussia that Kant and Fichte laid the foundation for classical German philosophy.
The most famous was Frederick II (King of Prussia). He was considered a supporter of an enlightened monarchy, abolished torture, and reorganized the army on the basis of drill. Under him, Prussia participated in the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years' War, and the division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Although the Austrian Habsburgs remained Holy Roman Emperors, their influence waned, and Prussia took Silesia from Austria. East Prussia was not even considered an integral part of the empire. The Holy Roman Empire existed in a fragmented and weakened form until 1806.
Creation of a single state
Germany during the Napoleonic Wars
United Germany (1871-1945)
German Empire (1871-1918)
Map of the German Empire at the beginning of the 20th century from the Brockhaus and Efron encyclopedia
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Weimar Republic, Gustav Stresemann, together with his French colleague Aristide Briand, moved along the path of rapprochement between the two countries and the revision of the Versailles Treaty, which was reflected in the Locarno Agreements concluded in 1925 and Germany's accession to the League of Nations in 1926.
Third Reich
The regime that existed in Germany under the Nazis is called the Third Reich. On February 1, 1933, the Reichstag was dissolved. The presidential decree of February 4, 1933 became the basis for the ban on opposition newspapers and public speeches. Using the Reichstag fire as an excuse, Hitler began mass arrests. Due to a lack of prison space, concentration camps were created. Re-elections were called.
World War II
On September 1, 1939, German troops invaded Poland. Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. During 1939-1941, Germany defeated Poland, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Greece, Yugoslavia, and Norway. In 1941, the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union and occupied much of its European territory.
There was a growing labor shortage in Germany. In all occupied territories, the recruitment of civilian migrant workers was carried out. In Slavic territories, mass deportations into slavery in Germany were also carried out. In France, a forced recruitment of workers was carried out, whose position in Germany was intermediate between the position of civilians and slaves.
A regime of intimidation was established in the occupied territories. Gradually, the mass extermination of Jews began, and in some areas, the partial extermination of the Slavic population (usually under the pretext of retaliation for the actions of the partisans). The number of concentration camps, death camps and prisoner of war camps grew in Germany and some occupied territories. In the latter, the situation of Soviet, Polish and Yugoslav prisoners of war differed little from the situation of prisoners in concentration camps.
Atrocities against civilians caused the growth of the partisan movement in the territories of the occupied USSR, Poland and Yugoslavia. Gradually, guerrilla warfare also unfolded in the occupied territories of Greece and France. In the territories of occupied Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and annexed Luxembourg, the regime was softer, but there was anti-Nazi resistance there too. Separate underground organizations also operated in Germany itself.
The principles of occupation policy and most of the territorial changes were fixed by the Potsdam Agreement.
Subsequently, the political and economic unification of the American, British and French occupation zones took place in the so-called. Trizonia, since 1949 Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).
A peace treaty with Germany following the Second World War has not been signed to date.
Federal Republic of Germany
The Federal Republic of Germany was proclaimed in 1949 on the territory of the British, American and French occupation zones. The capital of Germany was the city of Bonn. France tried to separate the Saar region from Germany, but in the end, according to the Luxembourg Treaty of 1956, the Saar was reunited with Germany.
Thanks to American assistance under the Marshall Plan, rapid economic growth was achieved in the 1950s (the German economic miracle), which lasted until 1965. To meet the need for cheap labor, Germany supported the influx of guest workers, mainly from Turkey.
Until 1969, the country was ruled by the CDU party (usually in a bloc with the CSU and less often with the FDP). In the 1950s, a number of emergency laws were developed, many organizations were banned, including the Communist Party, and bans on professions were introduced. In 1955, Germany joined NATO.
The USSR removed machinery and equipment from the Soviet occupation zone and collected reparations from the GDR. Only by 1950 did industrial production in the GDR reach the level of 1936. The events of June 17, 1953 in the GDR led to the fact that, instead of collecting reparations, the USSR began to provide economic assistance to the GDR.
As proclaimed, the citizens of the GDR had all democratic rights and freedoms. Although the Socialist Unity Party of Germany occupied a dominant position in the country (its leading role was enshrined in the Constitution), four other parties existed alongside it for decades.
The pace of economic development of the GDR was lower than in the Federal Republic of Germany, and the lowest among the Warsaw Pact states. Nevertheless, the standard of living in the GDR remained the highest among Eastern European countries. By the 1980s, the GDR had become a highly industrialized country with intensive agriculture. In terms of industrial output, the GDR ranked 6th in Europe.
History of Germany
Formation of the German state.
The German state was formed as a result of the collapse of the Frankish Empire. The German duchies conquered at different times were united under the rule of the Frankish kings and, according to the Treaty of Verdun in 843, became part of the East Frankish Kingdom, which went to one of the sons of Louis the Pious - Louis the German. The Carolingian dynasty ended in Germany in 911. For a short time, Duke Conrad I of Franconia became king. But he failed to subjugate other dukes to his power and secure the throne for his dynasty. In 919, the magnates elected Henry I the Birdcatcher as king, marking the beginning of the Saxon dynasty.
The beginning of the reign of the Saxon dynasty.
The Saxon rulers manage to protect their possessions from invasion for quite a long time; since the reign of the Swabian Duke Liudolf they have been the most powerful rulers in Germany. Before his death, the ailing Conrad I of Franconia transfers the attributes of German royal power to his grandson Henry I.
Henry I organizes the defense of the eastern provinces from the Hungarians and Slavs. He becomes the founder of the new Saxon dynasty. After the death of Henry I in 936, his son Otto ascended the throne.
The position of royal power in the country is still unstable, and Otto I, until 953, had to rely only on the help of his brother Henry, until his power was recognized by all of Germany, while the dukes became loyal representatives of the central government in the localities. Otto I tries to put the church at the service of the state, generously endowing it with lands and introducing investiture. The influence of Otto I was facilitated by his decisive victory over the Hungarians in 955 on the Lech River near Augsburg, after which the Hungarians stopped their raids on German lands and stopped on the Danube Plain.
Reign of Otto I the Great.
In 951, Otto made his first campaign in fragmented Italy. The reason for the campaign was a call for help from Adelheid, the widow of King Lothair II, imprisoned by the local ruler Berengarius. Otto frees Adelheide, marries her and proclaims himself king of Italy. But due to circumstances I am forced to entrust the management of the country to the same Berengarius
In 961, Otto made a new campaign in Italy. This time he defeated Berengarius at the request of Pope John XII. On February 2, 962, the pope crowns Otto I with the imperial crown in Rome. Otto I recognizes the pope's claims to secular possessions in Italy, but the emperor is proclaimed the supreme lord of these possessions. A mandatory oath of the pope to the emperor is also introduced, which is an expression of the papacy’s subordination to the empire. Thus, in 962, the Holy Roman Empire arose.
The emperor administers justice in the kingdom of the Franks, calls for the conversion of the Polish prince Mieszko to Christianity, achieves the acceptance of the Gospel by the Hungarians and undertakes many campaigns in the Slavic lands. One of the clearest indicators of imperial power is the beginning of the production of silver coins from 970 from ore mined in the Harz Mountains. Finally, Otto, who himself drove the Byzantines out of Italy, marries his son to the daughter of the Greek emperor Theophano.
By the time of his death in 973, Otto the Great is the most powerful ruler of Europe. But his empire, which included part of Italy in addition to Germany, was not an exact copy of the former empire of Charlemagne.
Unfulfilled plans of Otto III.
Emperor Otto II died in one of the campaigns in Italy. The regency of the empresses Adelheide and Theophano, who ruled on behalf of the four-year-old Otto III, begins.
Otto III, brought up in Byzantine traditions, dreams of uniting the Christian world into one under the rule of the pope and the emperor. In 996 he was crowned in Rome, where his residence is located in the palace on Aventine Hill. In 999, he elevated his teacher Herbert of Aurignac to the papal throne, who took the name Sylvester II. The premature death of Otto III in 1002, and soon after that of Sylvester in 1003, put an end to their ambitious plans.
Politics of the kings of the Franconian dynasty.
In the 11th century, large feudal lords sought to create autonomous possessions and make royal power completely dependent on themselves. In order to attract small feudal lords to his side, Conrad II secured for them hereditary rights to their fiefs. The kings of the Franconian dynasty tried to create a standing army of knights and ministerials (service men), built burgs in their domain and placed garrisons from ministerials in them in order to be able to suppress conspiracies and rebellions. At the same time, the royal power tried to attract service people, church and secular magnates to its side, which it often succeeded in doing. In the first half of the 11th century, this policy provided not only a temporary increase in power, but also contributed to the rise of the ministerial government.
Royal power reached significant power under Henry III. This king strongly supported the movement for church reform, hoping in this way to weaken the episcopate and maintain dominance over the church. But in reality, the opposite happened: the reform strengthened the church hierarchy and weakened its dependence on imperial power. Under Henry III, the papacy remained dependent on the emperor. The king unceremoniously interfered in the affairs of the Roman Curia, removed and appointed popes.
Henry III's successor, Henry IV, inherited the throne at the age of six. The nobility took advantage of guardianship to seize actual power in the state and appropriate domain lands. Having reached adulthood, Henry IV tried to return the stolen property and curb the willfulness of the nobility, relying on small vassals and ministerials.
Saxon uprising.
The mass uprising of peasants and minor nobility in 1073 - 1075 in Saxony and Thuringia against King Henry IV was called the “Saxon Uprising”. The rebels opposed the system of measures of Henry IV - the construction of fortresses and the placement of garrisons in them from ministerials, mainly from Swabia and Franconia, the imposition of various duties on the local population, etc. - aimed at strengthening the royal domain in Saxony and Thuringia.
40-60 thousand people took part in the movement. At first, the rebels achieved some successes, captured and destroyed a number of fortresses; the king was forced to flee in August 1073 from the besieged Harzburg. Subsequently, Henry IV was supported by the feudal lords of the western and southern regions of Germany, as well as the city of Worms. On February 2, 1074, the leaders of the Saxon revolt made peace with Henry IV. The peasants, left without leadership, were defeated at Homburg on June 9, 1095. After the suppression of the uprising in Saxony, the process of involving peasants in feudal dependence accelerated. The feudal lords suffered almost no damage, only a few had their fiefs confiscated and some were subjected to short imprisonment.
Henry I the Birdcatcher (c. 876 - 936)
Saxon duke from the Liudolfing family, king of Germany since 919, founder of the Saxon dynasty. The nickname "Birdcatcher" is based on the legendary story that the news of his election as king found Henry I catching birds. He paid attention and relied mainly on the lands of his domain (Saxony and possessions in Westphalia), rather than on Germany. He achieved recognition of his power by the tribal dukes, for which he granted some of them (the dukes of Swabia and Bavaria) significant privileges - in fact, they were almost independent of the king. He transformed the army and created a strong knightly cavalry. He built a number of burgs in East Saxony to fight Hungarian raids, defeated the Hungarians on March 15, 933 at Riyadh on the Unstrut River. The capture of the Polabian Slavs began. In 925 he annexed Lorraine. Henry I's policies prepared for the strengthening of royal power under his son Otto I.
Otto I the Great (912 - 973)
King of Germany from 936, Holy Roman Emperor from 962, son of Henry I. To strengthen the central power and limit the separatism of the dukes, relying on an alliance with the church, which he tried to put in the service of the state. To do this, he granted the so-called “Ottonian privileges” to bishoprics and abbeys, granted them power over the territory, and gave them broad government powers. All episcopal and abbey positions were actually at the disposal of Otto I, and he also had the right of investiture. He strengthened the margraviate and palatine counties, split up the large duchies and placed his relatives at their head, which placed the major dukes in the position of royal officials and strengthened royal power in Germany. The ecclesiastical policy of Otto I was completed in his desire to establish control over the papacy. In 951, he began his first campaign in Italy, captured Lombardy and, having married Adelheid, the widow of King Lothair, took the title of king of the Lombards. In 961, Otto I made a new campaign to Rome and on February 2, 962, accepted the imperial crown from the hands of the pope, which marked the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire. He actually brought the papacy under his authority. However, his attempt to subjugate Southern Italy in 967 - 971 was unsuccessful. Otto I actively recruited church officials to perform diplomatic, administrative, military and public service. Such a church organization, placed at the service of royal power and becoming its support, was called the “imperial church.”
Otto I carried out campaigns against the Polabian Slavs and created two large brands on the conquered lands. In order to spread Christianity in the Slavic lands, he founded the Magdeburg Archbishopric in 968. He fought against the Hungarians and defeated them in 955 on the Lech River near Augsburg. Already during his lifetime, Otto I received the title "Great".
Otto II (955 - 983)
King and Holy Roman Emperor from 973; son of Otto I. He fought against the strengthening of the duchies, suppressed the rebellion of the Duke of Bavaria in 976, and strengthened the episcopal system created by his father. Invaded southern Italy in 981, met resistance from the Arabs and Byzantium and was defeated by them at Cotrona in Calabria in 982. It was the impetus for the uprising of the Danes and Polabian Slavs, who freed themselves from German rule thanks to the uprising of 983.
Otto III (980 - 1002)
King of Germany from 983, Holy Roman Emperor from 996; son of Otto II; had the nickname "Miracle of the World". Until he came of age in 995, his mother Theophano (until 991) and grandmother Adelheid were his regents. He was constantly in Italy, trying to restore the “world empire” and make Rome the capital of this empire, dreaming of uniting the entire Christian world under the rule of the Roman emperor.
Conrad II (c. 990 - 1039)
German king from 1024, Holy Roman Emperor from 1027, founder of the Franconian dynasty. In contrast to the strengthened secular and spiritual magnates, he sought to rely on a large layer of small feudal lords and ministerials. He forbade the feudal nobility to arbitrarily confiscate the fiefs of vassals, and secured them in the hereditary possession of the latter. The king's policies contributed to the strengthening of royal power. Captured Upper Lusatia from the Polish king Mieszko II in 1031. In 1032-1034 he annexed the kingdom of Burgundy (Arelat) to the empire.
Henry III the Black (1017 - 1056)
German king from 1039, Holy Roman Emperor from 1046; son of Conrad II. The main support of Henry III was the ministerials and chivalry. He made a campaign in Italy in 1046-1047, during which he deposed three rival popes; several times appointed candidates for the papal throne. He patronized the Cluny church reform, which contributed to the strengthening of papal power. He made the Czech Republic and Hungary dependent on the empire, and subjugated the Duke of Lorraine. Henry III sold fiefs for money, which alienated a number of feudal lords.
Henry IV (1050 - 1106)
German king from 1056, Holy Roman Emperor from 1084; son of Henry III. During his childhood (before 1065), the German princes became stronger, so upon reaching adulthood he had to strengthen royal power, which led to the Saxon uprising in 1073-1075. Having suppressed it, Henry IV opposed the intention of Pope Gregory VII to subjugate the German clergy and thereby weaken royal power. Henry IV's struggle with the pope for the right of church investiture in Germany and Northern Italy led to a clash in 1076: at a meeting of the highest German clergy in Worms, Henry IV announced the deposition of Gregory VII. In response, the pope excommunicated Henry IV from the church, deprived him of his royal rank, and freed the king's subjects from their oath to their sovereign. Under pressure from the princes, Henry IV in January 1077 was forced to go to repentance to the pope at the castle of Canossa in Northern Italy: having removed all the signs of royal dignity, hungry, barefoot, in only a hair shirt, with his head uncovered, he stood in front of the castle for three days. Finally, Henry IV was admitted to the pope and begged his forgiveness on his knees. In 1080 he was again excommunicated, but in 1084 he captured Rome and was crowned by his protege Clement III (antipope). Gregory VII fled south to the Normans and soon died. In 1090-1097, Henry IV made a third, unsuccessful campaign in Italy. In 1104, his son Henry rebelled against him, becoming close to his father’s opponents - the pope and a number of German princes. Henry IV was captured by his son, escaped, but died while preparing for war with his son.
Henry V (1081 - 1125)
German king from 1106, Holy Roman Emperor from 1111; son of Henry IV. At the end of 1104 he rebelled against his father. In 1122, he concluded a compromise Concordat of Worms with Pope Calixtus II, which ended the struggle for investiture. With the death of Henry V, the Franconian dynasty ended.
The fight for investment. Church reform.
The Church is in the hands of secular people.
Since the 10th century, the decline of central power and the emergence of the feudal system have threatened the church with dangerous consequences. Promising to protect the church, those in power appropriate its wealth for themselves, dispose of abbeys and bishoprics, not without profit, and distribute the titles of prelates to members of their family. The Church falls completely into the hands of secular rulers.
For their part, some priests, attracted by material benefits, evaluate this or that position or rank according to the benefits that it can bring. They do not hesitate to buy and sell church positions and demand payment for performing services - a practice known as simony.
The number of priests who have a divine calling is rapidly falling. Many are married or have a partner, and the Archbishop of Reims Manassa even regrets that his duties include celebrating Mass. The papacy itself became the object of rivalry between Roman families. During the first half of the 10th century, Senator Theophylact and his daughter Marozia erected and deposed popes. A century later, one of the counts fights for the papal throne until Emperor Henry III restores order in 1046.
Sprouts of church reform.
Given this state of affairs, in the first half of the 11th century, the first centers of reform appeared. The famous ascetic bishop Peter Damiani, who became a cardinal in 1057, sharply condemns the vices of the then clergy. His followers expose simony.
The idea is gradually emerging that in order to get out of the crisis, the church must get rid of the dominance of secular people. Thanks to this, in the 10th century a monastery was founded in Cluny, whose abbots led the Cluny movement for the reform of monastic life and the church. The Church must gain freedom, which requires a clear distinction between the clergy and secular people, their duties and way of life. Secular people are left with marriage, which by the end of the 11th century becomes a real social institution, and the clergy who devote themselves to serving God are left with celibacy, mandatory celibacy. The lifestyle of the latter should correspond to the life of monks in poor communities.
In addition, it was necessary that the reform of the church be universal and come from the pope, God's vicar on earth. Since 1046, emperors have elevated worthy people to the papal throne, people from the Lorraine reformers.
Pope Gregory VII.
On April 13, 1059, Pope Nicholas II promulgated a decree according to which only cardinals of the Roman Church had the right to elect the pope. The papacy, freed after imperial tutelage, can set about reforming the church and, above all, consecrating bishops.
This mission was entrusted to the former monk Hildebrand, who became the archbishop of the Roman Church and was for 15 years an adviser to the reforming popes. He ascended the papal throne on April 22, 1073 and took the name Gregory VII. As an authoritative figure wholly devoted to the service of God (he will be called "the servant of the servants of God"), he believes that the freedom of the church requires strict and centralized government.
In 1075, at the Roman Synod, Pope Gregory VII prohibited secular authorities from appointing bishops, that is, deprived them of the right to investiture, and also prohibited the clergy from receiving any positions from the hands of secular rulers. The actions of Gregory VII provoked a protest from Henry IV, who declared the pope a usurper and false monk. Gregory VII responded to this with a church curse, freeing his subjects from the oath taken to Henry IV.
Humiliation in Canossa.
The fight intensifies further when Henry IV appoints his chaplain as Bishop of Milan. Gregory VII excommunicates the king. Henry deposes the pope, and he, in turn, deposes the king in February 1076.
The German princes support the pope and want to replace the king. Henry IV refuses to comply. But he gives up, confessing in the castle of Canossa, a village in northern Italy. There, in January 1077, Gregory gives him absolution.
Heinrich tries to resume the fight. Then Gregory excommunicates him again and recognizes the new king chosen by the German princes. But on June 25, 1080, the German bishops deposed Gregory and elected antipope Clement III. Henry IV captures Rome, where Clement III crowns him emperor on March 31, 1084, while Gregory VII flees for his life. He died in Salerno in 1085.
The conflict would continue for about 40 years, until in 1122 Henry V, the son of Henry IV, concluded the Concordat of Worms with Pope Calixtus II, which ensured the emperor the right to participate in the election of bishops and abbots.
The Church is the head of Christianity.
In 1139, 1179 and 1215, the Lateran Councils regulated the life of the church and the leadership of the faithful, determined church discipline, the duties of the faithful, the order of worship and church rites.
The Church defended its right to lead Christianity. “Rome is the head of the world,” states the council in 1139. But Frederick I Barbarossa, starting in 1155, again tries to take control of the clergy. Claiming that he received his power from God, he declares his right to rule the world and attempts to establish power in Italy. He will face the Pope, the protector of the northern Italian cities united in the northern Lombard League. In the fight against the league, Emperor Frederick was defeated at Legnano in 1176 and signed a treaty in Venice in 1177, in which he recognized the sovereignty of the pope in church affairs and refused to support the antipopes. The plan to restore the emperor's supremacy over the papacy did not take place.
Reign of Lothair II /1125-1137/.
After the death of the childless Henry V in 1124, the German princes gathered in Mainz to elect a new king. There were three candidates: Frederick of Hohenstaufen, Duke of Swabia; Lothair, Duke of Saxony; Leopold, Margrave of Austria. The latter two asked voters not to place a heavy burden of power on them. On the contrary, Frederick considered himself alone worthy of the crown and did not hide this conviction. Archbishop Adalbert of Mainz, who could not expect anything good for himself from the Hohenstaufens, close relatives of the late emperor, asked all three candidates the question: would each of them willingly obey the one chosen by the princes. Lothair and Leopold answered in the affirmative. Frederick was slow to answer and left the meeting under the pretext that he needed to consult with his friends. This angered the princes, and, at the suggestion of Adalbert, they gave their votes to Lothair, without waiting for Frederick's return. Just before the voting began, Lothair fell to his knees and with tears asked the princes to exclude him from among the candidates. And when he was finally chosen, he refused to accept the crown. But Adalbert and the papal legates convinced the princes not to accept his refusal.
The Hohenstaufens, deceived in their ambitious hopes, became Lothair's enemies. Soon open hostility broke out between them and the emperor. As Henry V's closest relatives, they inherited all of his lands. But Henry at one time confiscated many fiefs and family estates of the princes who rebelled against him. Frederick considered them his property. But at the first imperial congress in Regensburg in 1125, Lothair turned to the princes with the question: should the confiscated estates be considered the private property of the king or should they be treated as state lands. The congress decided that they belonged to the state and could not be alienated into private hands. Frederick refused to recognize this decision, which deprived him of many lands. The next congress, held in Strasbourg, declared him a rebel. Lothair understood that the war with the powerful Frederick would be difficult, and took care of his allies. He entered into an alliance with the powerful family of the Bavarian Dukes of Welf. He married his only daughter Gertrude to the head of their family, Duke Henry. After this, the Duke of Bavaria became a loyal ally of the emperor. Together they besieged Nuremberg, which belonged to the Hohenstaufens, but were unable to take it.
The war against the Swabian Duke was soon supplemented by revolts in Burgundy and Lower Lorraine. In 1129, after a stubborn struggle, Lothair took Speyer, and the following year, together with the Dukes of Bavaria, Carinthia and Bohemia, he again approached Nuremberg. This time the city had to surrender. In 1131, Lothair pacified the Wends and repelled the attack of the Danes.
Deciding that now was the time for a coronation, Lothair marched with a small army to Italy in 1132. Verona and Milan closed the gates in front of him. The emperor besieged Cremona, stood under it for several weeks, but was never able to take it. Soon Pope Innocent II came to him, expelled from Rome by his rival Anacletus II. Around Easter 1133, Lothair approached Rome. On April 30, he entered the city and occupied the Aventine Hill. But the Castle of the Holy Angel and all the fortresses of the Roman region remained with the adherents of Anacletus. For several weeks the emperor tried to break through to St. Peter's Cathedral, but all his attacks were repulsed. I had to perform the coronation in the Lateran Temple. In June, Lothair returned to Germany.
Meanwhile, the war in Germany was going well. In 1134, Henry of Bavaria took Ulm, the last important fortress of those possessions that the Hohenstaufens fought to preserve. The war spread directly into Frederick's possessions - Lothair with a large army invaded Swabia and subjected it to devastation. The Hohenstaufens saw that the time had come to admit defeat. In March 1135, the rebellious Frederick appeared at the Bamberg Congress, fell at the feet of the emperor and swore allegiance to him. Lothair forgave him and confirmed him in the rank of Duke of Swabia. A few months later, Frederick's brother Conrad also reconciled with Lothair. At the next congress in Magdeburg, the Danish king Eric and Duke of Poland Boleslav Wrymouth took the oath of fealty to the emperor. Lothair established a general truce for 10 years.
In August 1136, Lothair went to Italy for the second time. This time he was accompanied by a large army, since all the princes took part in the campaign. In Verona and Milan the emperor was received with honor. Other Lombard cities were slow to submit. But after Lothair took Garda and Guastalla by storm, they also humbled themselves before him. Lothair conquered Pavia, Turin, took Piacenza by storm, and after a stubborn siege, Bologna. In January 1137, he moved against the Sicilian king Roger, who had taken possession of all of southern Italy. Lothair himself occupied all the Adriatic cities from Ancona to Bari. His son-in-law, Henry of Bavaria, meanwhile operated on the western side of the Apennines and captured all the cities from Viterbo to Capua and Beneventa. Roger, not accepting the fight, fled to Sicily. Thus the power of the empire over all of Italy was restored. On the way back, Lothair fell ill and died in the village of Breitenwang. Before his death, he declared his son-in-law Henry Duke of Saxony and gave him the insignia of kingship.
Reign of Conrad III /1138-1152/.
After the death of Emperor Lothair II, who left no sons, the German princes had to elect a new king. There were two contenders - the son-in-law of the deceased Heinrich Welf, Duke of Bavaria and Saxony, and Conrad, to whom his eldest brother Frederick, Duke of Swabia, willingly ceded the right to represent the Hohenstaufen family. If the elections had taken place at a general congress, Henry would certainly have taken the lead, so the Hohenstaufens preferred to act by cunning. Two months before the appointed date, the papal legate Albert and Archbishop Arnold of Cologne convened a congress of nobles in Koblenz, which was attended mainly by supporters of the Hohenstaufens. Here on March 7, Conrad was proclaimed king, and a week later he was crowned in Aachen. This choice, however, was recognized by all the ruling princes. Heinrich Welf hesitated until July to express his submission, but when he saw that he was left alone, he sent Conrad the signs of royal dignity that had previously been kept with him. In August, the rivals met at a congress in Augsburg. But this meeting did not lead to peace. Conrad announced that state laws do not allow one person to own two duchies, and therefore Henry must renounce Saxony. Welf replied that he would defend his possessions with weapons. Fearing attack, Conrad hastily left Augsburg, and at the next congress in Würzburg, Henry was declared a rebel. This event marked the beginning of a many-year war, which once again split Germany into two parties.
In 1139, Margrave Albrecht the Bear, whom Conrad proclaimed Duke of Saxony, and Leopold, Margrave of Austria, who received Bavaria from the Emperor, tried unsuccessfully to take possession of their duchies. Both the Bavarians and the Saxons unanimously supported the Welfs. Henry defeated both of his opponents, and then forced the emperor himself to retreat. But in October he suddenly fell ill and died, leaving behind his 10-year-old son, Henry the Lion. After this, the war went more successfully for the king. In 1140, Conrad besieged Weinsberg, the family castle of the Welfs, and defeated Welf, the uncle of the little duke, under it. Then, after a difficult siege, he forced the defenders of the castle to surrender. He ordered all the men to be executed, and allowed the women to leave, taking with them what they could carry on their shoulders. Then the women took their husbands on their shoulders and left the castle. Frederick did not want to let their husbands pass and said that permission was given to carry property, not people. But Conrad, laughing, answered his brother: “The royal word is unchanged.” That's what the legend says, but there is a possibility that it really happened.
After two years, peace was concluded. In 1142, at the Frankfurt Congress, Henry the Lion renounced Bavaria and was confirmed as Duke of Saxony.
At the end of 1146, the emperor was carried away by the sermons of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and at a congress in Speyer he vowed to take part in the Second Crusade. More than 70 thousand knights gathered under his banner for the war against the infidels. At the beginning of September 1147, the Byzantine Emperor Manuel transported them to Asia. Burdened with a huge baggage train and poorly organized, the army slowly moved towards Phrygia. On October 26, when the crusaders reached Dorileum, Turkish cavalry appeared. The knights immediately rushed at the enemy, but only tired their horses in vain. The Turks evaded the first onslaught, but when the tired knights stopped, they boldly attacked them and inflicted a brutal defeat on the Germans. Then the mood of the crusaders completely changed. Conrad convened a council of war, at which it was decided to return to the sea and wait for the French crusaders, who, led by their king Louis VII, were following. This retreat completed the defeat of the crusaders. The Turks attacked their army from all sides, showering it with arrows. Conrad and the princes bravely fought the enemy hand-to-hand several times; the emperor was wounded, but could not save his army. The German losses were enormous, and all the supplies were gone. Hunger and disease destroyed tens of thousands of people. Many people had already died in Nicaea from hunger and wounds. Of those who survived, most returned to Constantinople and their homeland. Only a small force led by King Conrad was determined enough to make another attempt to continue the crusade.
Soon an army of French crusaders approached Nicaea. Louis greeted Conrad very warmly and both monarchs decided to act together. Through Pergamon and Smyrna the crusaders reached Ephesus. But then the hardships he had suffered made themselves felt, and Conrad became seriously ill. To rest, he returned to Constantinople and spent the first months of 1148 here in noisy festivities at the Byzantine court. Having improved his health as much as possible, the emperor landed in April with a small army in Akko. In Jerusalem, Conrad was also received in the most flattering manner. The young king Baldwin III persuaded him not to begin the siege of Edessa, which was actually the goal of the Second Crusade, but suggested that the crusaders march on Damascus. King Louis soon joined this enterprise. But, despite the fact that the crusaders had enough forces, the siege of Damascus in July ended in nothing due to infighting between the crusaders and Palestinian Christians. In September, Conrad left the Holy Land and returned first to Constantinople, and from there in the spring of 1149 he went to Germany. Soon after his return he fell ill. At the beginning of 1150, his only son Henry died. Therefore, when dying, the emperor recommended that his nephew Frederick Barbarossa, Duke of Swabia, be elected king.
Reign of Frederick I Barbarossa (c. 1125 - 1190)
Frederick I Barbarossa (Redbeard) - German king since 1152, from the Staufen dynasty, Holy Roman Emperor since 1155.
He made 5 military campaigns in Italy (1154 - 1155, 1158 - 1162, 1163 - 1164, 1166 - 1168, 1174 - 1178), the main goal of which was to subjugate the northern and Tuscan city-republics, as well as the pope and the Papal State.
During the first Italian campaign, he helped the pope suppress the uprising of Arnold of Brescia in Rome (1143 - 1155), for which the grateful pope presented him with the imperial crown.
In 1158 - 1176 he tried to forever subjugate the cities of Northern and Central Italy (the dependence of the cities of Lombardy and Tuscany on the empire before the campaigns of Frederick Barbarossa was nominal). During the second Italian campaign, in 1158, he gathered representatives of the municipal cities in the Roncal Valley (near Piacenza) and made a decision to deprive the cities of self-government rights and to transfer them under the authority of the podesta. Thus, the northern Italian cities had to submit completely to the emperor. Milan, which opposed this decision, was taken by Frederick Barbarossa (after a two-year siege) and completely destroyed. The territory of the city was plowed with a plow.
This reprisal of Frederick Barbarossa caused an uprising of two cities of Northern Italy led by Milan, which in 1167 created an alliance against the German emperor - the so-called Lombard League, which was supported by Pope Alexander III. After a long war with the Lombard League, Frederick Barbarossa was defeated at the Battle of Legnano in 1176 by the combined forces of the League and the Papal State. By the Peace of Constance of 1183, he renounced his claims to Italy, which effectively meant the restoration of self-government for the cities of Italy.
The reign of Frederick I Barbarossa is the period of the most external splendor of the empire. He pursued a policy of centralization within the country (generally unsuccessfully); sought to strengthen his power over the princes, for which he took a number of measures (for example, he obliged all feudal lords to perform military service for the emperor - the Feudal Law of 1158); centralized vassal-feudal relations; crushed the fiefs of the princes and tried to create a continuous royal domain in the southwest of Germany. In pursuing such a policy, he relied mainly on ministers.
In 1186, he annexed Southern Italy and Sicily to the Staufen possessions, successfully marrying his son Henry to Constance of Sicily.
He led (together with the French king Philip II Augustus and the English king Richard I the Lionheart) the Third Crusade, during which he drowned on June 10, 1190 in the mountain river Salefa in Cilicia (Asia Minor).
Reign of Henry VI the Cruel /1165-1197/
Henry VI - German king since 1190, Holy Roman Emperor since 1191, from the Staufen dynasty, son of Frederick I Barbarossa. In 1186, he married the heiress of the Sicilian king Constance, annexed the Kingdom of Sicily to the Staufen possessions, but established himself there only in 1194 after a difficult struggle. He made plans to create a “world empire”, subjugate Byzantium, and made the English king Richard I the Lionheart a vassal of the empire. He sought to make the power of the emperors in Germany hereditary, which caused resistance from the papacy and a number of German princes.
Reign of Otto IV /1176 - 1218/
Otto IV of Brunswick - King of Germany from 1198, Holy Roman Emperor from 1209, from the House of Welf; son of Henry the Lion, nephew of Richard I the Lionheart, Count of Poitou. He was nominated by the Welfs as an “anti-king” in opposition to Philip of Swabia in 1197, after the death of Henry VI. He finally established himself on the throne of Germany in 1208 after a long struggle with Philip of Swabia. Was supported by Pope Innocent III. He tried to seize the Kingdom of Sicily (in 1210), which was under the rule of the pope, because of which the pope excommunicated Otto IV from the church and nominated Frederick II Staufen (son of Henry VI) to the German throne. In fact, he lost power after the defeat at Buvin in 1214.
Germany in the first half of the 13th century.
In 1212, Pope Innocent III helped Frederick II Staufen (1212-1250) take the German throne. By this time, the German princes had already strengthened their independence so much that there could be no question of their real subordination to the imperial power. Therefore, Frederick II, one of the most educated monarchs of the Middle Ages, did not set such goals. He seeks to maintain normal supremacy over the princes and obtain their military support to maintain power over Italy. Unlike his predecessors, he did not seek an alliance with individual princes or princely groups, but tried to pacify the entire princely class, assigning to it actually already acquired and new privileges. It was at this time that the highest state prerogatives of the princes were legislated. According to the “Privileges of the Princes of the Church” published in 1220, bishops received the right to mint coins, collect taxes and establish cities and markets. All German princes received even more significant privileges according to the decrees of 1231-1232. The emperor renounced his right to build cities and fortresses and establish mints if this would harm the interests of the princes. The princes were recognized with an unlimited right of jurisdiction in all matters; they could issue their own laws. Zemstvo cities remained in the complete power of the princes. All unions of townspeople were prohibited, including craft guilds. Cities were deprived of the right of self-government and the creation of intercity unions.
But the regulations aimed at cities remained only on paper. The cities, in a difficult struggle with the princes, defended their rights to unions and self-government. These decisions caused more damage to the royal power than to the cities, since they finally deprived it of reliable allies in clashes with the princes. Having acquired the support of the German princes at such a high price, Frederick II hoped with their help to subjugate the northern Italian cities and all of Italy. But such an intention had even less chance of success than in the time of Frederick Barbarossa.
Having consolidated his power in the Kingdom of Sicily, Frederick II began to strengthen his position in Northern Italy. The danger of enslavement forced the northern Italian cities to restore a military alliance - the Lombard League, which the pope again joined. Despite his victory over the league at the Battle of Cortenova, Frederick II was unable to force the cities to lay down their arms. The following year he was defeated at the siege of the city of Brescia. The League strengthened its military forces and was ready to repel any attack by the emperor.
Even more unsuccessful was Frederick II's attempt to subjugate the papacy. The Pope successfully used his fail-safe weapon of ecclesiastical excommunication. The emperor was constantly under the papal curse. To give his actions greater weight, Pope Gregory IX announced the convening of an ecumenical council in Rome. But Frederick II captured the prelates heading to the council and blocked Rome. Gregory IX soon died in the besieged city. His successor Innocent IV, with whom the emperor tried to reconcile at the cost of great concessions, secretly left Rome and went to French Lyon, where he convened an ecumenical council, at which Frederick II was excommunicated and deprived of all honors and titles. The appeal of the council called on the population to disobey the heretic king, and the princes to elect a new king in his place. The German nobility abandoned Frederick II and elected an anti-king, Henry Raspe. In Italy, the war with the Lombard League resumed. In the midst of these events, Frederick II died suddenly.
His successor Conrad IV (1250-1254) unsuccessfully continued the fight against the papal curia and the Lombard League. At the call of the pope, the brother of the French king, Charles of Anjou, landed in Sicily. In the war with the pope and the Angevins, all representatives of the Staufen dynasty died. In 1268, the last of them, 16-year-old Conradin, was beheaded in a square in Naples. Southern Italy and Sicily passed to the Angevin dynasty. A 20-year interregnum began in Germany.
Interregnum and the beginning of the Habsburg dynasty.
During the interregnum of 1254-1273, territorial fragmentation occurred in Germany. Although the imperial throne did not remain vacant, there was virtually no supreme power in the country, and local territorial rulers became completely independent sovereigns. The first place among them was occupied by electors - princes who enjoyed the right to elect an emperor.
The anarchy that prevailed in the country brought losses to the feudal lords themselves. That is why four of the seven electors decided to enter into an agreement to elect a new king. In 1273, the electors elected Rudolf of Habsburg to the throne, who bore the title of count, but did not belong to the class of imperial princes. The Habsburgs had relatively small possessions in Southern Alsace and Northern Switzerland. The electors hoped that the new king, who did not have sufficient funds, would not be able to pursue an independent policy and would carry out their will. But their hopes were disappointed. Rudolf Habsburg used imperial power to enrich his house and create a large hereditary principality.
He tried to take possession of lands that previously belonged to the Staufen domain and were appropriated by other princes, but failed. Then Habsburg started a war against the Czech king Przemysl II, as a result of which the Czech king died, and the lands belonging to him - Austria, Styria, Carinthia and Carniola - came into the possession of the Habsburgs. Rudolf Habsburg also increased his holdings in Alsace and Switzerland.
The strengthening of the Habsburg dynasty as a result of the seizure of Austrian lands made it undesirable for the princes to remain on the throne of the empire. After the death of Rudolf of Habsburg, the electors did not want to transfer the throne to his son Albrecht and elected one of the minor German princes, Adolf of Nassau, as king, forcing them to sign the so-called electoral capitulation, which put the king under the complete control of the prince-electors. In 1298 he was deposed by the Electors for violating this "surrender".
After a short stay on the throne of the representative of the Habsburg dynasty, Albrecht I, in 1308, one of the petty princes of Germany, the owner of the County of Luxembourg, Henry VII (1308 - 1313), was elected king, who followed the example of the Habsburgs: marrying his son John to the heir to the Czech throne, Elizabeth , Henry of Luxembourg provided his dynasty with hereditary rights to the Kingdom of Bohemia and the title of Elector of the Empire.
Henry VII resumed his campaigns in Italy. In 1310, he marched with troops beyond the Alps to obtain money and the imperial crown in Rome. The intense struggle between the warring parties in the cities of Italy ensured the success of the campaign at first, but the robberies and violence of the Germans caused uprisings in Italian cities. During the war, Henry VII died, and the senseless campaign ended in failure.
The intensified struggle between the major princes for political dominance led to the election of two kings to the throne at once - Frederick of Habsburg and Ludwig of Bavaria. The rivals started a war, from which Ludwig of Bavaria (1314 - 1347) emerged victorious. Like his predecessors, he used power to expand his house, in which he achieved considerable success. But this did not strengthen his position in the empire, but only increased the number of his opponents. Ludwig of Bavaria repeated his predatory campaign in Italy. Pope John XXII of Avignon excommunicated him and imposed an interdict on Germany. However, the campaign was a success at first. Relying on the opponents of the Avignon pope in Italy, Ludwig occupied Rome and installed the antipope on the throne, who placed the imperial crown on his head. But then the usual story repeated itself: the Germans’ attempt to collect a tax from the population caused an uprising of the Roman townspeople; the emperor and his protege, the antipope, fled the city.
Dissatisfied with the strengthening of the Bavarian house, the Electors elected the Czech King Charles of Luxemburg to the throne of the empire during Ludwig's lifetime. Charles IV (1347 - 1378) cared primarily about strengthening his hereditary kingdom of the Czech Republic. In an effort to establish calm in the empire, he made concessions to the princes and in 1356 issued the Golden Bull. According to this legislative act, the full political independence of the electors was recognized, the princely plurality of power that existed in Germany was confirmed and the established procedure for electing the emperor by a college of 7 prince-electors, which included 3 ecclesiastical persons / the archbishops of Mainz, Cologne and Trier / and 4 secular / the King of Bohemia, was legitimized. Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Brandenburg/. The Emperor was elected by a majority vote in Frankfurt am Main. The election was to be carried out on the initiative of the Archbishop of Mainz. The bull defined the duties of the electors and sanctioned not only the old, but also the new privileges of the princes. It secured for them the right to develop mineral resources, mint coins, collect customs duties, have the right to a higher court, etc. At the same time, it legalized private wars, except for the war of a vassal against a lord, and prohibited alliances between cities. This bull greatly contributed to the political fragmentation of Germany.
The Luxembourg dynasty held the imperial throne (with a break) until 1437. In 1437, imperial power finally passed to the House of Habsburg. Under Frederick III (1440 - 1493), a number of imperial territories came under the rule of other states. Denmark took possession of Schleswig and Holstein in 1469, and Provence was annexed to France. At the end of his reign, Frederick III even lost his hereditary possessions - Austria, Styria and Carinthia, conquered by the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus.
However, the complete collapse of the empire did not occur. At the end of the 15th century, the position of the Habsburgs strengthened. As a result of the collapse of the Burgundian state, the empire temporarily annexed the Netherlands and Franche-Comté, legally this was formalized by the marriage between Maximilian I of Habsburg and Mary of Burgundy. And in 1526, the Habsburgs again annexed a significant part of Hungary and Austria.
History of Bavaria.
Long before the new era and before the Romans came to these lands, ancient Celts lived in the territory of what is now Bavaria. And only after the departure of the Roman legions, in the 5th century AD, these places were populated by people from Bohemia, which at that time bore the name Boyerland. Therefore, both they and the Ostrogoths, Lombards and Thuringians who later moved here began to be called Bayovars, then Bavarians and, finally, Bavarians, and the country itself - Bavaria. After the creation of the Holy Roman Empire, the Bavarian dukes really laid claim to power in it. But only Ludwig IV of Bavaria, who belonged to the Wittelsbach dynasty, managed to receive the emperor's crown in 1314. The next representative of this family who managed to prove himself in the political arena was Duke Maximilian. The period of his reign included one of the most difficult periods for Europe - the Thirty Years' War of 1618 - 1648.
After the followers of Protestantism united in the Union in 1608, the Catholics, in turn, created the League, headed by Maximilian. With his commander Tilly, he wins the first battle of the Thirty Years' War - the Battle of White Mountain. But soon luck changed the winners. The Catholics were defeated, Swedish troops captured Munich. On October 6, 1648, Maximilian inflicted another defeat on the Swedes in the Dachau region, although this battle could no longer solve anything. For Germany, the Thirty Years' War turned into a shame and tragedy: the country broke up into separate principalities.
In 1741, the Bavarian Elector Karl Albrecht managed to achieve the title of Holy Roman Emperor, but during the Wars of the Austrian Succession (1740 - 1748), Bavaria was occupied by the Austrians three times, and in 1792, French troops captured the Rhine left bank of the Palatinate. Bavaria finds itself in a pincer movement. And then Maximilian IV Joseph entered the political scene. Skillfully maneuvering between the two sides, he made peace with France in 1800, and in 1805 he received Napoleon Bonaparte for a visit. As a result of the deal, from 1806 Bavaria became a kingdom and Maximilian became king. His daughter Augusta marries Napoleon's adopted son, Eugene Beauharnais. Soon, 30 thousand Bavarians are sent to the Russian front to help the French army and die during the retreat of Napoleonic troops from Russia. This was the price for the crown. After the defeat of Bonaparte, Maximilian goes over to the side of the Austrians, which allows him, according to the Treaty of Vienna of 1815, to preserve his kingdom.
In 1825, Maximilian's son, Ludwig I, ascended the throne and launched extensive construction in the capital. In Munich, Ludwigstrasse Avenue appears, a complex of museums is built according to ancient models - Pinakothek, Glyptothek, Propylaea. And suddenly, when the king was already in his sixties, the young dancer Lola Montez came into his field of vision. Ministers and university professors seek her expulsion, and for Ludwig himself this adventure costs the crown: in 1848 he abdicates the throne in favor of his son.
Maximilian II behaves like a liberal and progressive politician: he organizes the first industrial exhibition on German soil in the Bavarian capital, following the example of his father, he builds a new avenue, Maximilianstrasse... However, not all of the king’s plans came true: his sudden death in 1864 prevented him. Ludwig II, the eldest son of Maximilian, who was only 19 years old at that time, becomes the new ruler.
In 1866, Bavaria was defeated in a quick war with Prussia. And when in 1871, after Prussia’s victories first over Austria and then over France, the issue of creating a united German Empire was decided, Ludwig II of Bavaria was forced to sign a letter recognizing Wilhelm I as Emperor. The sovereignty of Bavaria was infringed, the sense of independence of the Bavarians was offended. However, Ludwig is passionate about something else: Wagner's music and the personality of the composer himself. The monarch acts as the patron of the musician and builds fantastic castles in the Bavarian Alps, inspired by images of Wagner's operas. Construction not only depletes Ludwig's own funds, but also almost ruins the state treasury. The government is trying to remove the king from the political arena and declares him incompetent. On June 13, 1886, Ludwig’s body was found in the waters of Lake Starnberg: he went for an evening walk without bodyguards and never returned to the castle. Today this romantic monarch is incredibly popular in Bavaria. His image is repeatedly depicted in works of sculpture and painting. And in memory of his favorite composer, the prestigious Wagner Festival is held in Bayreuth, an invitation to which music lovers wait ten years.
After the death of Ludwig II, power passed to his uncle, 65-year-old Luitpold. Since Ludwig II's mentally handicapped younger brother was then alive, Luitpold became Prince Regent and ruled Bavaria until 1912. The throne then passes to his son Ludwig III. After Germany's defeat in World War I, amid a political crisis and the November Revolution of 1918, Ludwig fled the country, ending the centuries-long reign of the House of Wittelsbach in Bavaria.
On April 7, 1919, the Soviet Republic was proclaimed in Bavaria, which did not last long - only three weeks. And after the formation of the Weimar Republic in July 1919, Bavaria became one of its lands. In 1923, Hitler’s “beer” putsch took place in Munich, which collapsed almost instantly. However, just 10 years later, the Nazis came to power legally - as a result of elections. Bavaria becomes the “heart” of its movement, but as a result of the general centralization of the German state it finally loses its independence and autonomy. After the end of World War II, a trial of war criminals was organized in Nuremberg. Thus, the Nazi movement, which originated in Bavaria, was condemned here. In 1946, Bavaria adopted a new constitution and, with the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949, became part of it.
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Germany in the 12th and 13th centuries
Socio-economic development.
There were only 500 cities in Germany, they were along the Rhine and Danube. The largest city is Cologne. The guild organization of crafts reached its peak. The struggle of the guilds against the patriciate in the OS
Foreign policy
It has 2 aspects: 1. Expansion to the east of the German princes 2. Italian policy of the emperors.
Expansion to the east of the princes - in the 12th century, the German prince Henry the Lion spoke out against the Ubudrite Slavs, he founded the Duchy of Mecklenburg. Albrech the Bear spoke out against the Lutichs and founded the Mark-County of Brandenburg. In the 13th century, the conquest of the eastern Baltic began. The Order of the Swordsmen conquered Latvia and Estonia, and the Tefton Order conquered Lithuania. German peasants moved to the conquered lands on preferential terms. In 1242, the Tefton Order made a campaign on.
Italian Politics of Emperors
It was due to the fact that they considered themselves emperors of the Roman Empire. The most active policy was carried out by Frederick I Barbarossa of Hohenstaufen. In 1154 he marched on Rome and was crowned Emperor. In 1158, he made a New Campaign during which he deprived Italian cities of self-government, instead of elected bodies, governors were appointed - podestà. In 1162 Milan was defeated, and in 1176 the Lombard League of Cities defeated Frederick1. In 1183, Frederick made peace with the Pope and restored self-government of the cities. Frederick II of Hohenstaufen - grandson of the reigned in 1220-250, he lived and grew up in Sicily. In 1268, his grandson Conradin was defeated by the French Charles of Anjou
Germany in the 14th and 15th centuries.
By the beginning of the 14th century, the Holy Roman Empire remained the largest political entity in Europe, but lacked internal unity. The core was the old German lands, as well as vast areas that were Germanized during the colonization beyond the Elbe and along the Danube. In addition, the Empire included only formally associated states of northern Italy, the Tuscans, and the kingdom of the Czech Republic. In 1291, the Swiss Union appeared, but it finally took shape at the beginning of the 16th century. The Swiss became famous for managing detachments of peasant peasants to defeat Charles the Bold of Burgundy. The empire had no fixed borders; it changed as a result of wars, dynastic marriages, and changes in vassal ties.
Social Economic Development
This was the time of the greatest prosperity of cities - there were 1600 of them in Germany. Three zones can be identified - North German: Bremen, Hamburg, Lubeg, Wismar, Rostock, Stralsund, etc. These cities are located on the Northern and Baltic Monasteries, rivers. These cities traded on the London-Novgorod and Bruges-Bergen routes. South German: Ausburg, Nuremberg, Ulm, Regensburg, Basel, Vienna. These cities traded with Italy. And group 3 is the cities along the Rhine - From Cologne to Strasbourg. They connected trade between the South and the North. But the attraction of individual regions to each other remains weak. Trade is mainly foreign. Own production in German cities was designed for local markets. The exception was South German linen and cotton fabrics. The craft is especially developing in clothmaking and metalworking, where specialization develops - a prerequisite for manufacture. Manufacturing production developed in printing and mining. But the obstacle was fragmentation. Cities were forced to defend themselves and therefore united into trade and political partnerships. The most famous among them was the Hansa - it lived until 1669. The main cities were Luberg and Hamburg. The goal was active intermediary trade, ensuring the safety of trade, guaranteeing the privileges of free citizens abroad, and maintaining the stability of the political system in the cities of the union. The means for this ranged from diplomacy to blockade and war. Each Hanse city was autonomous in the conduct of trade and political affairs, but so that there were no problems for the union. The Hansa played a dual role: it united the cities of Northern Germany, but separated them from other interests of the country. Since the middle of the 15th century, the Hansa has been pressed by Dutch and English merchants, who received support from their states, which the Hansa did not have. Also, in addition to the Hansa, there were the Swabian and the Rhine alliances. Two trends grew in the village: to the west of the Elbe, the domain was abandoned; in the northwestern regions there was a layer of wealthy peasants - Meiers, who used the labor of landless peasants. In the southwest there was a pure signory, and small peasant farms. Here there was far-reaching stratification and indebtedness of the peasants; the peasants were the least protected. There was a multifaceted attack on the rights of peasants (feudal reaction: seizure of communal lands, return to corvée, and all-round dependence). East of the Elbe there were many free peasants, but there was a tendency towards corvee labor.
Class struggle
1. The armlady movement is a movement against urban moneylenders, it did not result in a broad anti-feudal struggle
2. Struggle in the Swiss way - a struggle in which the hope of creating our own, consisting of free peasants, was embodied
3. The fight against the Armagnacs - multi-tribal detachments of mercenaries who invaded from France during the 100 Years' War. It was for them that the Shoe became a symbol for the first time.
Political development
Princes changed kings, preventing any dynasty from strengthening. The kings were busy with dynastic politics and strengthening their ancestral domains. In 1356, the “Golden Bull” of Charles4 was adopted, which confirmed the procedure for electing the emperor by a board of 7 prince-electors. The election of the king took place without the participation of the Pope, and the crowning with the imperial crown was carried out by the Pope. The princes secured the right to a higher court, minting coins, collecting customs duties, feudal lords had the right to wage war, while alliances between cities were called conspiracies. From 1437, the crown passed to the Habsburgs for many years, i.e., the heredity of the dynasty arose. But the princes strengthened their positions so much that this did not pose any danger to them.
Specifics of the development of estate-representative bodies:
1. The influence on their formation, fragmentation, and weak imperial power
2. The meeting of representatives of officials, at the end of the 15th century, received the name of the Reichstag. The main role was played by the princes, the church was not allocated to Kuryu, the cities were incompletely represented and only issues affecting them directly were discussed. Chivalry, which had lost its military significance by this time, was not represented there
3. The Reichstag was a body with deliberative rights; there was no special institution for implementing the decisions of the Reichstag, as well as the imperial court and treasury necessary for these purposes
4. Local assemblies were more similar to the representative bodies of other countries - Landtags
Opposition movements in cities
In the cities there was a struggle between the guilds and the patricians. The guilds won in the cities of Cologne and Ausburg. In the 14th century, the teachings of major German mystics, Eckart Tauler Susa, spread. They talked about merging with God the human soul containing a spark of divine nature. The emphasis was shifted from external forms of Catholic cult to the development of individual religiosity. Thus arose the “new piety” movement. Its participants were called “brothers of common life.” They believed that piety did not consist in entering a monastery, but in conscientious worldly activity. At the same time, a political pamphlet on the reformation of Sigismund appeared. It contained the following demands: 1. Prohibition of feudal wars, subordination of princes to the control of cities, unified legal proceedings, coin; The task of the church is to support the secular authorities to which it must obey; return of communal lands; abolition of personal dependence of peasants.
The emergence of the German state - the territory of Germany in the YI - YIII centuries. was part of the Frankish state. With the collapse of the Carolingian Empire (843), the territory of Germany became part of the East Frankish Kingdom, which marked the beginning of the state separation of the German regions;
The completion of the formation of an independent German early feudal state occurred after the election of the Saxon Duke Henry I, the founder of the Saxon dynasty, as the German king in 919;
Initially, Germany included four tribal duchies (Saxony, Franconia, Swabia, Allemania) and Bavaria; later Lorraine and Frisia were annexed (Friesland - French, Italian and Slavic lands).
The periodization of the history of the German feudal state represents the period of a relatively unified early feudal state (X - XII centuries) and the period of feudal fragmentation (XIII - early XIX centuries).
During the period of the early feudal state in Germany, there was a growth in feudal agriculture, the mass of peasants were drawn into personal and land dependence on the feudal lords - owners. However, this process proceeded slowly and unevenly compared to other European countries;
Until the end of the XI century. Germany was a relatively unified state, and the royal power had considerable power. The king also relied on the support of the church, and the episcopate became his main support;
The early feudal system of judicial and administrative structure with division into counties and hundreds was preserved in one form or another;
There was a national military organization with compulsory military service of all free people and military service of all vassals in favor of the king;
By the end of the 11th century. the entire population of Germany was drawn into feudal relations, the intensive growth of cities began - both from old Roman fortifications and from new craft and trading settlements;
From the middle of the 11th century. In Germany, political decentralization increased. Large feudal lords, acquiring full judicial and administrative power, began to create closed estates. Cities, which were initially dependent on their lords (bishops, secular feudal lords, the king), achieved liberation from their power, self-government, and personal freedom of the townspeople.
By the 13th century. Germany's territory expanded significantly. Large independent principalities arose in the east. In all areas of the economy, commodity-money relations spread, and guild craft production grew. The North German cities, led by Lübeck, united into a large trade union - the Hansa;
From the 13th century The territorial fragmentation of the country is growing. Princes turn into virtually independent sovereigns. The greatest power was enjoyed by the electors (princes - voters), secular and spiritual aristocrats, who had a decisive influence on the election of kings;
In the XIII – XIY centuries. Germany finally breaks up into many principalities, counties, baronies and knightly possessions. At the same time, the formalization of the system of estates and estate representation is being completed.
Features of the class structure of Germany were fragmentation and lack of unity throughout the country. Imperial estates (in the empire) - imperial princes, imperial knights and representatives of imperial cities;
Zemstvo estates (in the principalities) - nobles and clergy of the principalities and citizens of the princely cities.
The clergy was divided into higher ones - bishops, abbots; at the lowest - rural and urban priests.
In German cities, property differentiation led to the formation of three different groups:
Ø patriciate - the city elite, which held all city positions in its hands;
Ø burghers, which consisted of the middle part of the population of cities, full-fledged masters and was in opposition to the patriciate;
Ø urban plebs, who also opposed the patriciate; he included apprentices, day laborers, and poor townspeople.
The situation of the peasant population in Germany in the 14th century. in general, it improved somewhat, since instead of the previous corvee system, the feudal lords introduced new forms of economic organization, which involved the weakening and elimination of personal dependence, but it was different in different regions of the country.
In Saxony, the practice of releasing peasants without land and providing them with plots of land for rent has spread;
In the south and southwest of Germany, peasants owned small plots of land, corvee here was replaced by cash rent;
In the colonized eastern lands, peasants were in the most favorable conditions - they received land plots, economic independence and personal freedom, and paid moderate fixed payments to the feudal lords.
The highest state power in Germany was recognized by the college of electors, who elected the emperor and decided the most important national affairs;
The emperor did not have effective imperial executive bodies and imperial finances, he did not have a permanent imperial army, and there was no imperial court.
The all-German legislative body was the Reichstag, consisting of three curiae; the curia of electors, the curia of princes and the curia of imperial cities; the petty nobility and peasantry did not have their own representation in the Reichstag;
The Reichstag was convened by the emperor twice a year. Cases were subject to discussion among the curiae and were finally agreed upon at general meetings of all curiae;
The competence of the Reichstag was not precisely defined, it included the following: establishing peace between the principalities, organizing imperial military enterprises, issues of war and peace, relations with other states, imposing imperial duties, changes in imperial law, territorial changes in the composition of the empire and principalities and etc.
The principalities developed their own local estate-representative institutions - Landtags, meetings of local officials, consisting of three chambers and representing the clergy, nobility and townspeople; in some lands these assemblies also included representatives of the free peasantry;
The representatives who sat in the Landtags received instructions from their voters that were mandatory; if the instructions did not contain instructions on how to resolve a particular issue, the commissioners turned to their voters for them;
The competence of the Landtags included the election of a sovereign in the event of the suppression of the ruling dynasty, the administration of certain functions in the field of foreign policy, and some church, police and military affairs. The Landtag was considered the supreme court of the principality until the formation of special courts;
By influencing the formation of the composition of princely councils or the appointment of senior officials, the Landtags could interfere in the administration of the state.
Cities played a significant role in the life of Germany. The legal status of the city determined the extent of its independence. German cities were of three types:
Ø imperial - direct vassals of the king;
Ø free - enjoying complete self-government;
Ø princely - subordinate to the prince in whose principality they were located.
By the end of the XY century. more than 80 cities (imperial and some episcopal) received political liberties and were self-governing units;
Legislative power in cities was exercised by a council consisting of commissions on sectors of the urban economy. The executive branch is a magistrate headed by one or more burgomasters. The positions of council members and burgomasters were not paid;
In most cases, power in cities was seized by the urban patriciate, who arrogated to themselves the right to elect the city council and replace city magistrates and used this power in their own interests. This caused discontent among the other urban population, which led to the 14th century. to uprisings of artisans in a number of cities, in which guilds usually played a leading role and which most often ended in a compromise between the patriciate and the guild elite - artisans were part of the councils or formed a special board within the former council.
The German judicial system is characterized by the presence of several types of courts:
Ø seigneurial, feudal courts, created on the estates of landowners. Initially, the land owner had the right to judge only his serfs, then his jurisdiction extended to the entire population living in his lordship;
Ø church courts, whose jurisdiction extended, on the one hand, to certain categories of people (clergy and some categories of secular persons), on the other, to a certain range of cases (cases about marriages, spiritual wills, etc.);
Ø city courts. The structure of city courts was different in individual cities. In some cities, the trial was carried out by judges and assessors, in others - by the city council. In most cities, judges were chosen by the community;
Ø with the strengthening of princely power, the highest court of the principalities was formed;
England
Period of early feudal monarchy
In the 1st century AD Britain was one of the outlying provinces of the Roman Empire. At the beginning of the 5th century. AD Roman rule here ended. The conquest of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons began - the North Germanic tribes of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, who pushed the Celtic population (Brits) to the outskirts of the island.
By the end of the 6th century. On the territory of Britain, seven early feudal kingdoms were formed (Wessex, Sussex, Kent, Mercia, etc.), which in the 9th century. under the leadership of Wessex united into the Anglo-Saxon state - England.
The main stages of the development of the English feudal state:
Ø the period of the English early feudal monarchy (IX – XI centuries);
Ø the period of centralized seigneurial monarchy (XI – XII centuries);
Ø period of estate-representative monarchy (second half of the 13th century - 15th century);
Ø period of absolute monarchy (end of the 15th century - mid-17th century);
The main feature of the formation of feudalism among the Anglo-Saxons is the preservation of the freedom of the rural community for a long time.
In the first century after the conquest, the basis of society was made up of free peasants - community members (kerls) and noble people (erls). The clan nobility at first occupied a special position, but was gradually pushed aside by the warriors, on whom the king relied, asserting his power, and to whom he distributed land positions - communal lands along with the peasants who lived on them.
The peasants bore duties in favor of the landowners and became personally dependent on their masters. Those peasants who remained free performed duties in favor of the state.
As social inequality grew and the community disintegrated, the earls turned into large landowners.
By the 11th century. Thanks to the support of both royalty and the church, which encouraged the development of feudal land ownership and justified the enslavement of peasants, communal relations were replaced by feudal ones.
In the Anglo-Saxon era, the needs of defense in the fight against Norman raids and the need to unite all the forces of the ruling class in order to overcome the resistance of the peasants to enslavement created the preconditions for the rise and strengthening of royal power;
The royal court became the center of government of the country, and the royal associates became officials of the state.
Despite the fact that the relationship to the king as a military leader and the principle of elections when replacing the throne still remained, the monarch gradually approved:
Ø your right of supreme ownership of the land;
Ø monopoly right to mint coins, duties;
Ø the right to receive supplies in kind from the entire free population;
Ø the right to military service on the part of the free.
The highest state body was the Witanagemot - the council of the Vitans, which included the king, the highest clergy, and the secular nobility. The main functions of the Council of Vitans were the election of kings and the highest court.
Local government in England retained the principles of territorial self-government;
The main territorial units of the country in the 10th century. There were 32 districts - counties, the centers of which were fortified cities. The most important local affairs were discussed at a county meeting twice a year. All free people of the district were to participate in it;
Cities and ports had their own assemblies, which eventually became city and merchant courts. There were also village assemblies;
The county was headed by an ealdorman, who was appointed by the king with the consent of the Witanagemot from representatives of the local nobility and led the county assembly, as well as its armed forces;
By the 10th century The personal representative of the king, Gref (appointed by the king from the middle stratum of the service nobility), acquires police and judicial powers, overseeing the timely receipt of taxes and court fines into the treasury.
Topic 2.Byzantium
The Byzantine Empire was a centralized state. The emperor was at the head of the state. The legislative, executive and judicial powers were in his hands. The emperor managed not only secular, but also church affairs, convened church councils, and appointed senior church officials. The church played a very important role in Byzantium. The Patriarch of Constantinople was the second person in the state after the emperor and had a great influence on political life.
According to the teachings of the Byzantine (Orthodox) church, the emperor received his power from God, his personality was considered sacred.
In Byzantium there was no specific order of succession to the throne. Formally, it was believed that the emperor was elected by the senate, the army and the “people.” His coronation by the patriarch was envisaged. But very often, various groups of the ruling class and the army carried out palace coups and killed emperors in order to place their protege on the throne
Under the emperor, there was a permanent advisory body, the Senate. He discussed issues of foreign and domestic policy, considering bills that, after approval by the emperor, entered into legal force, appointed senior officials, and administered justice in the most important criminal cases. However, the Senate did not play a decisive role in political life. And during the reign of Emperor Leo VI (886912), the right to consider bills and appoint senior officials of the empire was taken away from the Senate in favor of the imperial power.
At the head of the central government was another advisory body, the State Council. He discussed all current issues of public administration and carried out judicial functions.
The highest officials of the empire included two praetorian prefects, a prefect of the capital, a master of the palace, a quaestor, two comites of finance and two masters of the army.
The praetorian prefect of the East ruled Asia Minor, Pontus and Thrace, the Illyrian praetorian prefect ruled the Balkan Peninsula. All administrative, financial and judicial power in these territories was concentrated in their hands.
Constantinople and the surrounding rural area formed an independent administrative unit, headed by the prefect of the capital, who was directly subordinate to the emperor. At the same time he was the chairman of the Senate.
The head of the palace, being the commander of the palace guard, was in charge of the emperor's security, his personal office, state mail and foreign policy activities. He was also responsible for control of the police and supervision of officials.
The quaestor was the chairman of the State Council; in addition, he was in charge of the development and distribution of imperial decrees and had judicial power.
One of the two finance committees managed the state treasury, the other was in charge of the imperial property.
At the head of the army were two masters. One of them commanded the infantry, the other the cavalry.
In the 7th century all Byzantine officials were divided into 60 categories. The highest officials were called logothetes. This entire system was headed by the logothete drama, who was in charge of the imperial guard, his personal office, mail, communications, foreign affairs and the police.
The offices exercised direct control over individual spheres of state life. The large staff of officials in these departments, who received small salaries, became a breeding ground for corruption and bribery. There was a practice of selling positions.
Administratively, Byzantium was divided into two prefectures, which, in turn, were divided into 7 dioceses. Each diocese included 50 provinces.
Initially, local government was built on the principles of separation of military and civil government. Local communities were governed by elected officials under the control of government officials. But under the influence of the military threat, new administrative units of the theme were formed in many regions, where military and civil power was concentrated in the hands of the commander of military units located in this territory.
Byzantium had a fairly strong army. In the 7th century, a special military class of stratiots was created from among the free communal peasants. The land of the stratiots could not be alienated and was inherited by one of the sons, who was supposed to serve.
Since the 11th century, a new form of conditional feudal holding of pronium, similar to Western European benefices, has been spreading.
The highest judicial body of Byzantium was the imperial court. It tried cases of the most serious state crimes and also served as an appellate court.
The State Council had jurisdiction over cases of state crimes and crimes of officials.
The prefect of Constantinople had jurisdiction over the affairs of members of craft and trade corporations.
Land disputes and cases of wills were considered by the quaestor, one of the highest judicial officers. In themes and provinces, the highest judicial authority was the praetor. Church justice had an extensive judicial system.
Thus, the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) in the feudal era had a unique and special system of state power and administration.
Topic 3. Feudal states of Central and South-Eastern Europe
In the 6th century, Slavic tribes began colonizing the Balkans. In the 7th century, they formed a union on the territory of what is now Bulgaria known as the “Seven Slavic Tribes.” In the 70s In the same century, nomadic tribes of the Bulgars, led by Khan Asparukh, invaded this area.
In the face of a military threat from Byzantium and other nomadic tribes, the Bulgars and Slavs entered into an alliance. Khan Asparukh becomes the supreme ruler of Bulgaria.
The level of economic and cultural development of the Slavs was higher than the Bulgars; in addition, they outnumbered the latter. Therefore, very soon the Bulgars were assimilated by the Slavic population, but left them their generic name.
In the 9th century, feudal relations were established in Bulgaria. The dominant class of feudal lords "Bolyare" and the exploited peasantry are distinguished. The peasants were divided into three categories: the Bashtinniks, who retained personal freedom, allotments and some freedom in the disposal of property; wigs of serfs who bore duties both in favor of the feudal lords and the state and the youths of slaves planted on the land.
In the 9th century. scattered Slavic tribes were united into one Bulgarian state, which contributed to increased centralization of the state and the adoption of Christianity.
At the beginning of the 11th century, Bulgaria was conquered by Byzantium and was under its rule for about 150 years. In 1187, the Bulgarian kingdom regained its independence.
During Byzantine rule, the personal freedom of the Bashtin peasants was eliminated, they turned into serfs.
In the regions of the Balkans neighboring Bulgaria, the formation of the Serbian people and the development of feudal relations among them took place. However, due to geographical disunity and the constant struggle with Byzantium and the Bulgarian kingdom, these processes are slow. However, during the period of the 111th centuries. the formation of early feudal statehood among the Serbs takes place. Since the 9th century they have accepted Christianity.
In the 12th century, during the reign of Stefan Neman, the Serbian state united most of the Serbian lands up to the Adriatic coast. In 1217 Serbia becomes a kingdom. Feudal relations are flourishing. Serbia achieved its greatest strength and greatness during the reign of Stefan Dusan (1308-1355).
The ruling class of Serbia consisted of two classes of rulers and rulers.
The highest feudal nobility were the rulers. Their land ownership was hereditary and did not depend on the will of the king. The rulers occupied all the most important positions in the central and local apparatus. The rulers were feudal lords of the lowest rank.
The Serbian peasantry was divided into three main groups: free people, enslaved people (meropkhs), who had to bear certain natural and monetary duties for the benefit of the feudal lords, and slave youths.
After the death of Stefan Dusan, Serbia quickly began to disintegrate into fiefs, which weakened the power of the state.
At the end of the 14th century. beginning of the 15th century Serbia and Bulgaria fell under the yoke of Turkey and their independent state development ceased for a long time.
At the turn of the 9th century, statehood and the formation of feudal relations took place on the territory of Polish lands. The first ruler of the Polish state was Prince Mieszko I (960-992). During his reign, Poland adopted Christianity.
Princes rely on their squad. But their power is limited to the council of the nobility and feudal congresses (diets).
During this period, the bulk of personally free peasants, dedichi, became “assigned”, i.e. personally dependent.
During the 13th century, the custom of inheriting the highest positions in the country within certain families was established. Various tax, judicial, and administrative immunities are widespread.
The peculiarities of Poland's economic development were due to the fact that Polish cities, where German colonists occupied a dominant position, were not interested in establishing strong royal power. The kings, seeing their main support in chivalry, were forced to satisfy its political demands. In 1374, the Polish nobility achieved equal rights to land with the magnates and exemption from duties (taxes) in favor of the state. In various regions, gentry-magnate assemblies of sejmiks of lands began to be formed. And since 1454, the rule has been established that no law affecting the interests of the nobility can be adopted without the prior consent of the sejmiks. Court cases against the gentry were removed from the jurisdiction of the royal court and transferred to the estate gentry zemstvo court.
In 1569, at the Lublin Sejm, Poland was united with the Principality of Lithuania into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The head of state was the king. But his power was rather conditional. Royal power was elective and depended on the will of the magnates and gentry.
The actual power belonged to the all-Polish Sejm, which met twice a year. The Sejm consisted of two chambers. The lower one, the “embassy hut,” consisted of deputies elected by the gentry diets. The upper one, the Senate, included representatives of the feudal aristocracy, church hierarchs, and higher officials. Representatives of cities did not take part in the work of the Sejm.
A unanimous vote was required to make a decision. Even one vote “against” led to the failure of the decision. The nobility protected this principle in every possible way, calling it “libertum veto” (the right of free prohibition).
The general consequence of this political system was the weakening of the state. During the 18th century, as a result of 3 partitions between Austria, Prussia and Russia, Poland lost its statehood.
In the 9th century, the Great Moravian Principality arose in the territory settled by Czech tribes, but in 906 it fell under the pressure of the Hungarian invasion. In the middle of the 10th century, the Czech Principality was formed on the territory of these lands.
The Czech Republic developed along the path of "noble democracy". Due to the fact that the leadership position in Czech cities belonged to the German patriciate, the Czech kings were forced to look for support in the middle and minor nobility.
In 1433, freedom of religion, secularization of church property, and the abolition of church jurisdiction in criminal matters were established in the Czech Republic.
By the decisions of the Zemsky Court in 1437, the personal freedom of peasants and their right to dispose of their own property without the permission of the master was eliminated.
The Czech Sejm began to represent all three classes of lords, the small gentry (lords) and the burghers (citizens). But feudal magnates (lords) gained predominant importance here too. And after 1500, the city patriciate was generally excluded from participation in the Sejm.
At the beginning of the 16th century, the threat of Turkish conquest loomed over the Czech, Hungarian and Austrian lands. This necessitated a closer union, and in 1526 Ferdinand Habsburg was elected king of the Czech Republic. The policy of imposing Catholicism and restricting the rights of Czech government institutions began. The king secured the right to appoint all the highest positions in the country and determine the work of the Sejm. The Czech throne was declared the hereditary possession of the Habsburgs. In 1627, the independent state existence of the Czech Republic was terminated.
